The Emperor Reigns Them All

"Be careful!"

The nearby cultivator immediately issued a warning.

The Level 2 Qi-refining cultivator wore an unprecedented solemn expression. His reaction was rather swift. The moment Li Ye charged out of the cyan light shield, he promptly retrieved his sword and flicked his long sleeves. A yellow Invocation Seal flew out of his sleeve and aimed straight for Li Ye.

"Confinement Seal, explode!"

The cultivator performed Incantation Gestures with his fingers and suddenly thrust his finger forward. The yellow Invocation Seal immediately burst open with a bang. Seven to eight white shackles abruptly emerged amidst the radiance and extended toward Li Ye like they were a bunch of feelers.

The white shackles got so close to Li Ye that he didn't even have the time to dodge them. One of them was about to wind around him and confine him!

Li Ye, having just charged out of the Great Mystery Formation, was currently locked in midair and was about to become the cultivators' target. Countless techniques would hit his body in no time at all, crushing him into dust!

Nevertheless, Li Ye wasn't afraid. He continued to launch explosive punches, using his brute strength to shatter all techniques. "Break!"

Amid the clouds of Purple Qi, Li Ye's punches were like dragons. The white shackles that entwined him like tentacles unexpectedly dissipated after suffering his punch. In a flash, the radiance in midair flickered and fluttered like willows in the wind.

Li Ye had also broken through this layer of willows to arrive in front of the cultivator. Once again, he wielded his fist.

"How vile!" The cultivator's face changed, and he lifted his sword in front of his chest at once.

Li Ye's punch hit the cultivator's long sword with a resounding explosion. The sword abruptly curved backward. Waves of Spiritual Qi extended outward with the spot where the fist and the sword collided as its center. The force was so great that Li Ye's long hair fluttered frantically behind him. The white light distinctly painted an outline of his grave and stern face.

The cultivator went pale in the face. He felt a burst of numbness in the pit of his stomach and nearly failed to stop blood from raising up his throat. He retreated, wanting to land on the top of the festooned gate.

Since the battle started, he was the first person that Li Ye didn't manage to seriously injure with a single punch. Even though they were both Level 2 Qi-refining cultivators, he couldn't help feeling proud of himself. He immediately sneered at Li Ye. "I was wondering how great you are. Turns out you're just so-so."

He turned to look at the companions that flanked him. "What are you waiting for? Kill him with explosions!"

His companions didn't need his reminder. They were already aiming in an orderly fashion at Li Ye with their techniques, launching a strong assault.

However, right when everyone's attention was on Li Ye...

"Be careful!"

"Watch your back!"

The cultivator's more perceptive companions immediately warned him after seeing what happened behind him.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The other silhouette had already leaped out of the Great Mystery Formation as quick as lightning. The moment the cultivator rapidly retreated, the figure intercepted his trajectory before the cultivator moved backward. He raised his saber high above his head and brought it viciously down, slashing the cultivator!

It was a figure dressed in an armor made of thin scales.

Shangguan Qingcheng!

The ice-cold tip of the saber made a brilliant arc in the air.

The moment the cultivator turned around, his rigid face was already under the exceptionally clear saber radiance.

Even if the cultivator promptly turned his body, he was unable to dodge the saber. He didn't even have the time to perform Incantation Gestures. He couldn't help crying out in fear.

"Pfft!"

The saber slashed open the cultivator's shoulder and its momentum didn't lower in the slightest as it traveled downward at a perfectly straight angle. To everyone's surprise, it directly cut off the cultivator's left arm!

Blood sprayed everywhere as the severed arm flew away.

The cultivator screamed and clasped his hand over his bleeding shoulder as he fell. He had already lost all of his battle power!

Fortunately, he was in the midst of retreating and didn't fall into the Great Mystery Formation. However, that was all he could feel happy about.

"How could that happen?!"

"Who else in Prince An's Manor is a Practitioner of Qi techniques aside from Li Ye?!"

The group of cultivators cried out in surprise. Their expressions had all changed drastically.

Right now, the cultivation that Shangguan Qingcheng demonstrated was clearly that of the Qi-refining Stage!

It was already difficult enough to deal with Li Ye and his Great Mystery Formation. To make things worse, another Practitioner of Qi techniques who was able to team up with him had shown up as well?!

Of course, these people wouldn't know that Shangguan Qingcheng had attained the Qi-refining ability after consuming the Cultivation Pills that Li Ye gave her!

Shangguan Qingcheng didn't stop after succeeding with a single strike. She returned to the Great Mystery Formation before those besieging them could react.

"Kill Li Ye with explosions!"

In front of the festooned gates, Li Muzhao yelled loudly.

Shangguan Qingcheng had appeared abruptly and retreated just as swiftly after attacking. The group of cultivators was completely caught off guard and had no way of putting up a countermeasure. However, Li Ye had always remained in everyone's vision. Thus, the cultivators had no choice but to target him alone.

"Use combined assault techniques! Close off any of his escape paths!"

The cultivators were all intelligent people. Li Ye dared to ambush them with the Great Mystery Formation because he was counting on the formation to protect him and the arrows to cover him. He would definitely retreat after every strike, or he would fall into their siege of techniques. Thus, in their attack this time, eight out of 10 of them targeted the spot where Li Ye would return to the cyan light shield.

"Go to hell!"

The moment Shangguan Qingcheng turned away, the cultivators had already made their move. All kind of glinting techniques were launched at the same time, raining down on the spot where Li Ye would return to like a meteor shower. Starlight gleamed vibrantly at that spot, its radiance covering all things!

Right at that very moment, the cultivators felt as if they could see the scene where Li Ye struggled with the bombardment of their techniques.

However, when the rays of light dissipated, the cultivators stood in a daze. The Great Mystery Formation stood at the center of their vision, with ripples emerging on the surface of its cyan light shield. The light waves extended outward like the flow of a river. The only thing they couldn't see was Li Ye!

The scene where Li Ye's robe turned to tatters and him falling to the ground didn't materialize!

Right then, due to the distance, Li Muzhao who had been observing the battlefield, suddenly yelled, "He's over there!"

Before his voice even faded, some of the cultivators had already reacted. They saw the scene of purple clouds rising once again!

This scene was the cultivators' nightmare. It was what they least wanted to see. That was because each time this scene appeared, someone would inevitably get hurt!

However, this scene had truly appeared in midair. There was nothing they could do about it!

It turned out that after Li Ye and Shangguan Qingcheng teamed up to launch a successful attack, they didn't return to the formation. While everyone was distracted by her, Li Ye abruptly changed direction and ambushed another Practitioner of Qi techniques.

Following a booming sound, a screech came from someone who was caught off guard. One Practitioner of Qi techniques fell to the ground with his body bent like a curved dumpling!

This time, everyone saw clearly that Li Ye was right behind him!

However, everyone was unable to make a move!

That was because Li Ye was hugging the cultivator's body and dragging the latter with him down into the Great Mystery Formation.

If they struck Li Ye, they would also be killing that cultivator.

Moreover, Li Ye had attacked so abruptly with such a nimble turn of his body. They had just made their attacks. Even if they wanted to use their techniques now, they couldn't do it in such a short time.

"How vile!"

"Disgraceful!"

"How could this be?!"

The cultivators went white on the face, each paler than the one before. They wanted nothing more than to chop Li Ye into pieces, but they felt utterly powerless now. That was because they couldn't do anything against Li Ye. They hated their lack of power as well as Li Ye's cunning. Thus, they were incomparably indignant. The more indignant they were, the more it showed their incompetence!

None of them thought that the deteriorating Prince An's Manor would have a Practitioner of Qi techniques in their ranks after Li Ye abruptly gained cultivation.

Earlier, Li Ye had moved against the Level 2 Qi-refining cultivator first and drew everyone's attention to him. Shangguan Qingcheng's sudden appearance naturally allowed her to succeed with a single strike. When everyone turned their focus on her, Li Ye suddenly turned around to seriously injure a cultivator.

Their cooperation might be simple, but it was also practical. Right now, it even felt seamless. It didn't at all appear like the cooperation between an Heir Apparent and a military officer of the manor, but like the teamwork between two old comrades on the battleground. It was the kind of tacit understanding that could only develop after experiencing bloody battles.

Li Ye returned to the Great Mystery Formation and slashed the captive cultivator with a single saber strike. The cultivators on the roof, courtyard, and attic exchanged looks of dismay. For a while, no one knew what to say. But they could see the fear and dread in each other's eyes.

Now that things have come to this, they could no longer not feel fear!

Of the 13 Practitioners of Qi techniques, several of them were even in Level 2 of Qi-refining Realm. They had ambushed Prince An's Manor together with the belief that it would be as easy as pie to capture and kill a cultivator who had recently broken into the Level 2 Qi-refining Realm. No one thought only four would be left in the brief time they started fighting!

Their military strength had reduced to nearly one-third in a flash!

The one with the strongest battle prowess, Li Muzhao, was now lying in front of the festooned gates. Forget continuing the operation, he needed considerable effort just to stand up.

Had they been on a battlefield, an army that had lost nearly one-third of its soldiers would be as good as fallen. They would be considered as an army that had lost its military strength and be called back to reorganize.

Before they came here, no one had foreseen that an Heir Apparent in a precarious state, an Heir Apparent without any adults or items or aid, would have a Rank 2 magic treasure. Moreover, it was a treasure that could unleash defensive measures like the Great Mystery Formation!

Most importantly, they couldn't have foreseen that Li Ye would utilize the Great Mystery Formation to such extent while working with the guards of Prince An's Manor to display such immense might!

Was Li Ye still the target of an ambush here?

Li Muzhao, who was partially leaning against a pillar of the festooned gates, looked deathly pale. He stared at the scene unfolding before his eyes in a daze. Suddenly, he felt incredulous.

He wasn't an idiot. Of course, he had long realized that Li Ye wasn't passively responding to their attacks. Rather, Li Ye had made preparations for this long ago. He even used the Great Mystery Formation and guards of Prince An's Manor to plant a trap for them.

Rumors had it that Li Ye was a good-for-nothing who couldn't cultivate. For the past 20 years, he had been unable to step into the Warrior Knight Realm.

Li Muzhao thought that the first person who spread this rumor must be an irrevocable fool for making such a misjudgment.

And those who believed in such a rumor were even more idiotic than that fool.

Li Muzhao was one of them.

The rumored Li Ye was a weakling without any learning, skill, or talent.

Li Muzhao thought that this rumor was even stupider.

How could the good-for-nothing Li Ye assimilate the guards of Prince An's Manor, the archers, swordsmen, and Great Mystery Formation with his fighting style so perfectly?

If that wasn't the case, it would be impossible for Li Ye to kill and injure nearly one-third of the cultivators in the brief time since they first met!

Thinking of this, Li Muzhao gradually felt both his hands shiver. Even his body began to tremble.

They had completely made an error in determining their opponent's strength. None of their estimations was correct at all.

Their opponent was excessively powerful.

Behind this impressive strength was a hint of mysterious power.

That mysterious power was like a deep and unmeasurable abyss!