As long as the green hills remain

Had it not been for the empowerment of the Qi Accumulation Art, Xǔ Tiānlí surely wouldn’t have been able to withstand those two attacks.

Now that he had advanced to the First-tier, using the same spell would yield even greater effects.

‘My master truly didn’t deceive me; the Qi Accumulation Art really can help me advance!’

In Xǔ Tiānlí’s mind, he was too much of a good-for-nothing to ever reach the First-tier, even with the Qi Accumulation Art.

However, the mortal peril brought by Hèlóng had inadvertently rectified this very flaw.

‘Under such dual stimulation, even someone as useless as me could take a monumental step forward in life!’

“You’re just a little tougher, I have plenty of…”

Before Hèlóng could finish his boast, Xǔ Tiānlí’s fist was already upon him.

Hèlóng didn’t dodge, confident that a First-tier punch would, at most, sting a little and inflict minimal damage.

He even planned to seize Xǔ Tiānlí’s wrist after the punch landed and snap it.

Then, in the very next instant, Hèlóng’s thoughts suddenly fragmented.

The moment Xǔ Tiānlí’s fist squarely struck his face, the leader of the Wolf Fang Gang was sent flying.

After tumbling awkwardly across the ground for several rotations, Hèlóng finally snapped back to reality, comprehending what had just transpired.

He touched his bleeding nose, his widened eyes filled with utter disbelief.

‘How did he do that?’

‘The sheer force behind that punch didn’t seem like something a First-tier Spirit Wielder could unleash.’

Hèlóng noticed that the air currents around Xǔ Tiānlí had shifted once more.

Originally, they had merely converged towards Xǔ Tiānlí’s body; now, they were dissipating outwards in all directions.

‘What kind of miraculous spell is this now?’

Hèlóng was dumbfounded.

Lowering his fist, Xǔ Tiānlí experienced another flash of enlightenment.

‘So this was why Master had demonstrated the second stage of the Qi Accumulation Art at the orphanage.’

‘She was testing me, wanting me to comprehend the next stage of the art on my own.’

‘Where there is accumulation, there is naturally dispersion.’

‘If accumulating qi is for defense, then dispersing qi must be for offense!’

Xǔ Tiānlí’s previous punch had been infused with the power of the second-stage Qi Accumulation Art, which was why it had sent the Second-tier Hèlóng flying.

Only now did Hèlóng feel a peculiar emotion, his eyes trembling as he looked at Xǔ Tiānlí.

“Not coming anymore?” Xǔ Tiānlí asked, seeing him motionless, and began to advance.

With each step he took, that emotion deepened on Hèlóng’s face, as if solidifying into reality.

The name of that emotion was ‘fear’.

‘Damn it, who spread the rumor that this kid was useless?’

‘He’s not useless at all, he’s incredibly strong!’

‘Unbelievably powerful.’

‘A normal person fighting a First-tier, a First-tier fighting a Second-tier—Hèlóng’s month of hard work was nullified in mere minutes.’

‘Should I continue?’

Hèlóng reached into his pocket, clutching something tightly.

If he fought to the death, he might still have a chance, but in that case… he himself might not make it out unscathed.

“Wait!”

Hèlóng suddenly shouted loudly.

“You ruthless brat, those little kids are inside.”

“I don’t want them anymore!”

“Trying to leave?”

Seeing that Xǔ Tiānlí seemed intent on blocking him, Hèlóng immediately squeezed an object in his palm and slammed it forcefully onto the ground.

His shadow suddenly elongated, surging like a tide and engulfing Xǔ Tiānlí.

‘What is this?’ His vision was obscured by darkness, and his sense of direction blurred.

Xǔ Tiānlí panicked for a moment.

He swung his arms, expecting an ambush, but none came before the shadow vanished.

Hèlóng, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.

Xǔ Tiānlí pressed his lips together, the thought of pursuit flashing through his mind, but after feeling the warning from his body, his shoulders slumped.

‘Pain, such intense pain.’

Once he relaxed, the delayed agony nearly made him lose his footing.

‘If I were to continue fighting, even if I could heavily wound Hèlóng, Xǔ Tiānlí himself would collapse, wouldn’t he?’

“First, save them…”

He mumbled, his swaying figure entering the cave.

Hèlóng, completely oblivious to Xǔ Tiānlí being at his limit, merely fled through the forest, heedless of the noise he made, simply running.

Only after confirming that no one was pursuing him did Hèlóng finally sigh in relief and slow his pace.

“That little brat, how could he be so outrageous?”

“I’m already a Second-tier, and I still wasn’t his match.”

He had only intended to avenge his vice-leader and re-establish his authority before his subordinates, but he had nearly lost his own life.

However, it didn’t matter.

‘Where there’s life, there’s hope.’ Hèlóng still had a secret weapon he hadn’t tested.

He clutched the precious item he held dear, thinking of secluding himself again upon his return to attempt to break through to the Third-tier.

‘I refuse to believe he can defeat a Third-tier!’

Hèlóng was well aware of his own talent.

Even though he knew this would come at a significant cost, with power, he could enjoy a better life for the rest of his days.

A Third-tier was no ordinary Spirit Wielder.

They could thrive across the entire Sacred Dynasty, and even the branch chief of the Heaven’s Will Bureau in Wufeng City was a Third-tier Spirit Wielder!

‘I still have a chance, yes, a chance!’

Hèlóng let out a high-pitched laugh, pushed through a thicket, and then froze.

He saw her—the figure seated on the grass.

Her dark hair fluttered, and upon hearing the commotion, she opened her golden eyes.

“You’ve arrived.”

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

She smiled, a smile that made Hèlóng once again feel the true meaning of fear.

‘Who is this person?’

The moment Mù Qīngyǔ spoke to him, Hèlóng was somewhat bewildered.

He had indeed made many enemies since founding the Wolf Fang Gang, but he had never encountered such a delicate-looking woman among them.

“Who are you, little girl?”

“Don’t block my way.”

Upon hearing the words “little girl,” Mù Qīngyǔ nearly raised her hand to touch her face, wondering if her disguise had failed and she was appearing in her true form.

But then she considered it; to a man in his forties, her current appearance, which seemed less than twenty-five, indeed qualified as a “little girl.”

“You’re a high-ranking member of the Wolf Fang Gang, aren’t you?”

“You know me?”

“Not only do I know you, but I also know all the ‘good deeds’ you’ve just committed.”

From the grievances at the market to kidnapping children and forcing Xǔ Tiānlí into a duel, Mù Qīngyǔ recounted the entire process in detail.

She particularly emphasized how Xǔ Tiānlí had broken through during the battle, becoming a First-tier Spirit Wielder and ultimately defeating Hèlóng.

After she finished speaking, Hèlóng’s eyes widened involuntarily, thinking, ‘Could this woman have been watching the entire fight?’

“Of course I know everything, because I am his master, and I am intimately familiar with his situation.”

In truth, that wasn’t the real reason.

The actual reason was that she had already read the script and knew the plot that would unfold.

According to the original trajectory, this battle today was crucial for Xǔ Tiānlí’s awakening and his becoming a First-tier Spirit Wielder.

Judging by the commotion earlier, he had indeed succeeded.

Mù Qīngyǔ deliberately chose not to appear at this critical moment, precisely because she didn’t want to alter the plot’s direction again, aiming to let it proceed as originally intended.

However, considering that Xǔ Tiānlí’s mind seemed to have some issues, she had still left a map at the orphanage, just in case the boy couldn’t find the Wolf Fang Gang’s dueling location.

“You’re… that brat’s master?” Hèlóng’s voice trembled slightly.

“So that good-for-nothing suddenly awakened because you were secretly helping him?”

“You wouldn’t be wrong to think that.”

“Then why are you here now?”

“Shouldn’t you be concerned about your disciple?”

“I don’t need to be concerned about him.”

Although recent events had shown Hèlóng to be stronger than she remembered from the original plot, Xǔ Tiānlí, who had already defeated a First-tier Spirit Wielder as an ordinary person, surely wouldn’t lose.

After all, once he advanced to the First-tier, the only gap between them would be erased.

If Xǔ Tiānlí could still lose after that, it would truly be a waste of his monstrous talent.

“I’m here to deal with you.”

Mù Qīngyǔ’s purpose in waiting here was for the fleeing Hèlóng.

Xǔ Tiānlí would win, but Hèlóng would escape.

So, she had ambushed him here in advance to claim this fellow’s head, and then show off a bit in front of Xǔ Tiānlí.

The entire plan would not only ensure the plot remained authentic but also eliminate Xǔ Tiānlí’s worries with Hèlóng’s head, thereby increasing her authority as his master in his eyes—simply perfect!

Although Hèlóng appeared much more spirited than expected, Mù Qīngyǔ was convinced he was at his wit’s end.

A severely wounded Second-tier Spirit Wielder, even the current Mù Qīngyǔ could handle.

‘It’s my favorite part: slaying enemies above my level!’

Thinking this, Mù Qīngyǔ couldn’t suppress the faint smile at the corner of her lips, but when her laughter reached Hèlóng’s ears, it transformed entirely into a dangerously cold sneer.

‘To be able to make a good-for-nothing like Xǔ Tiānlí awaken and become a First-tier, this woman who calls herself his master must not be underestimated.’

‘What tier of Spirit Wielder is she?’

‘Is she too skilled at hiding, deliberately suppressing her presence to my level?’

‘If that’s the case, I should be even more vigilant.’

‘A biting snake isn’t scary; what’s terrifying is a snake that hides itself among the leaves.’

It was at this moment that Hèlóng suddenly felt the surrounding air currents change, beginning to flow towards Mù Qīngyǔ.

After converging into a small vortex, the currents suddenly burst forth, invading the surroundings and rustling the trees.

This was the same spell he had witnessed on Xǔ Tiānlí.

It seemed these two truly were connected.

A thought emerged in Hèlóng’s mind, quickly dominating his reason: ‘If I continue to hide, I will truly die here!’

He looked down at the object tightly clutched in his hand—a dark green gem.

It was a treasure he had stumbled upon by chance; without the terrifying power it contained, he would never have been able to cross the chasm and advance to the Second-tier in such a short time.

If he fully activated this gem, he could wield even greater power, but whether his body would still hold together afterward was another question.

‘Never mind! Survival is paramount.’

‘I’ll stake everything on this fight!’

Hèlóng directly threw the dark green gem into his mouth and swallowed it.

The next second, his eyes immediately became riddled with dense, dark blood vessels, and his previously languid state swiftly recovered to its peak, even surpassing his prime and stepping into a higher tier.

Forcibly stimulated by external power, unleashing strength beyond his endurance limit, the current Hèlóng was a Third-tier Spirit Wielder!

Hèlóng grunted, the surging aura from his body directly disrupting the slow-moving wind currents around Mù Qīngyǔ, spreading throughout a large portion of the back mountain.

‘Hmm?’

Mù Qīngyǔ frowned slightly.

‘Something seems to be wrong here, doesn’t it?’