The moon hung high in the sky, and all was quiet. Among the disciple dormitories surrounding the Wuqu Terrace, only a few scattered lights remained lit.
Jiang Li's residence was one of them.
"It's been a month."
Yang Chong stared with bloodshot eyes through the slightly ajar window, watching the room to his front right under the bright moonlight.
For thirty consecutive nights, the light in that room hadn't gone out. Could this Jiang Li have secretly accommodated an Owl Dao Fruit?
To monitor Jiang Li, Yang Chong's sleep schedule had become utterly chaotic. He had endured this hardship every day for a month. If he hadn't accommodated the Heavenly Soldier Dao Fruit, granting him a constitution superior to ordinary people, he likely would have died from exhaustion already.
Thinking of his own toil, Yang Chong couldn't help but grit his teeth silently.
Just then, the room that had been under surveillance for a full thirty days suddenly showed activity.
Under the moonlight, the door to Jiang Li's room opened quietly. A figure emerged and gently closed the door behind him.
It was Jiang Li!
Yang Chong's eyes widened.
In the moonlight, the surveillance target he had firmly memorized held a long sword, glanced around furtively, and then quickly walked out of the dormitory courtyard.
Almost without thinking, Yang Chong grabbed the black-scabbarded long sword beside him, silently opened the window, vaulted out, and stealthily trailed behind, following Jiang Li.
After a month of surveillance, Jiang Li hadn't left his room except for basic necessities. His sneaky departure today definitely meant something was amiss.
...
[Leaving the disciple dormitories, Jiang Li took increasingly remote paths, gradually heading towards the other side of Qiao Mountain Island. The person tailing him followed closely the entire way, never losing track—clearly an experienced stalker.]
Jiang Li read the Causality Collection as he walked. Though he never looked back, he was fully aware of the movements of the person behind him.
He followed a quiet path into a bamboo forest. The moonlight, obscured by bamboo leaves, made Jiang Li's figure flicker indistinctly.
Then, in a certain instant, Jiang Li suddenly quickened his pace and dashed into the shadows.
Yang Chong, trailing behind, lost sight of him and hurriedly moved forward. Unexpectedly, a cyan shadow flashed in the darkness ahead. Shielded by the shadows, a cloud of grayish-white dust sprayed out, aimed directly at his head and face.
Standard procedure: start with quicklime as a sign of respect.
However, Yang Chong seemed to have anticipated this. His long sword emerged from its sheath with a clang. The wind from the blade howled as Qi formed a current, managing to sweep away all the quicklime. Immediately after, the sword tip quivered, and several cold glints suddenly bloomed in the shadows, enveloping the cyan figure.
'Fast Sword.'
Jiang Li instantly identified the type of sword technique his opponent used. He continued his forward charge without pause, his own long sword slashing diagonally upwards. The path of his blade was erratic and unconventional, yet it intercepted all the cold glints.
Jiang Li understood swordplay.
Or rather, Jiang Li had practiced various martial arts involving fists, palms, fingers, legs, claws, sabers, swords, and more. He was thoroughly familiar with all the introductory martial arts of the Dinghu Sect. He simply didn't carry weapons regularly to avoid revealing his unique circumstances.
The essence of the Louguan Sword Art lay in observation and calculation. Analyzing factors like position, environment, and the opponent's moves was primary; the specific sword forms were secondary. This allowed Jiang Li to quickly grasp the technique.
Intercepting the cold glints with one strike, Jiang Li slid forward. One hand held behind his back, the other wielded the sword in a direct thrust. The precisely calculated blade aimed straight for Yang Chong's neck.
Yang Chong hastily brought his sword around, attempting to parry Jiang Li's blade. Unexpectedly, upon contact, a refined burst of inner strength rebounded. Despite supposedly having the advantage in strength, he failed to push the opposing sword away.
Following that, a bright light suddenly flared on Jiang Li's sword, and a talisman instantly appeared in Yang Chong's vision.
Wind Repelling Talisman.
The talisman on the sword body activated, unleashing a blast of wind. Yang Chong's sword was instead forced aside, while Jiang Li's blade continued unimpeded.
"Stop!"
Yang Chong uttered a low, deep shout. An invisible aura of authority suddenly erupted as he rapidly dodged.
At the critical moment, he finally used his Dao Fruit ability.
Unlike the Daoist's abilities, which leaned towards support and growth, both abilities of the Heavenly Soldier Dao Fruit directly aided combat prowess. One was [Heavenly Soldier Divine Body], greatly enhancing physical strength, and the other was [Heavenly Soldier Divine Might], used to intimidate others.
What Yang Chong used now was precisely [Heavenly Soldier Divine Might].
However, Jiang Li possessed [Seeking Return to Truth], keeping his mind clear. Although the deep shout caused ripples in his mental state, it was utterly unable to truly shake his spirit.
The cold blade grazed perilously past Yang Chong's neck, drawing crimson blood. The stinging pain made him feel the imminent threat of death.
"Ah!"
He yelled again, his imposing aura once more震荡ing the surroundings. He sprang backward, his sword dancing rapidly, creating a swirling wind current as he retreated frantically.
"Trying to run?"
Jiang Li smiled, waving his left hand forward. Six yellow talismans shot out from his sleeve simultaneously.
"Can you?"
The talismans flew into the wind current, caught by the sword wind. Like swallows returning to their nest, they flew towards Yang Chong from six different directions at once, pressed tightly against his body by the force of the wind.
The Louguan Sword Art combined Jiang Li's divination abilities with combat. Although it was the martial art Jiang Li chose to replace the Flower Plucking Hand, the benefits it brought him far outweighed those of the latter.
The technique of anticipating the enemy could be applied not only to swordplay but flexibly to any move, including but not limited to martial arts and magical arts.
Just like now, through precise calculation, Jiang Li secured victory in a single move.
One bright light after another flared as all the talismans activated simultaneously.
"Pop," Jiang Li softly uttered a word.
"Bang!"
Six Fire Thunder Talismans detonated at the same time. A ball of fire exploded, blasting Yang Chong a zhang away. He crashed into a thick green bamboo stalk and violently spat out a mouthful of blood.
The cold sword tip followed closely, piercing Yang Chong's left shoulder and firmly pinning him to the bamboo.
"You fell before I even tried."
Jiang Li held the sword hilt, looking at his captive, and said with some regret.
For this night's battle, he had prepared fifty Six Ding Six Jia Protection Talismans and two hundred unranked talismans. His cyan robe was practically filled and stuffed to the brim.
He had even mentally simulated the battle twenty times, repeatedly performing divination, determined to consider every possibility, prepare for failure, and plan four escape routes.
And this was the result?
An enemy like this made Jiang Li feel like his past month had been a joke; he had been battling wits with thin air.
"Senior Brother, you disappoint me."
Jiang Li leaned closer, staring into the other's eyes. "I hope you won't disappoint me further. Otherwise, I'll have to resort to methods that might damage our fraternal feelings."
"Junior Brother, what are you talking about? You ambushed me without reason, and now you're spouting this nonsense," Yang Chong said angrily. "Let me go quickly."
He had already recovered from his earlier fear, and rationality had regained control. He refused to admit he had been tailing Jiang Li first, even turning the accusation back on him.
Besides, Jiang Li couldn't possibly kill him for real.
A disciple being killed within the sect was no small matter. His death would trigger a full-scale investigation by the sect—divination, Dao Fruit abilities, magical arts, all sorts of methods would be employed. The killer would absolutely not escape punishment.
Yang Chong believed Jiang Li wouldn't do something so irrational.
Unfortunately, Yang Chong didn't know that some methods could make a person suffer more than death.
Having been in this world for two and a half years, Jiang Li had already adapted. His moral compass differed greatly from his previous life; it had become more flexible.
And anyone or anything threatening his life served as the standard for shifting that moral compass up or down.
Jiang Li needed to live, to keep living, because only then would he have a chance to reach Rank 1 and try to go home.
Against those who threatened his life, Jiang Li never hesitated to use any means necessary.