“The overflowing evil aura, nauseating.” Li Tan ignored the powerful fluctuations surrounding the old man, his face turned icy cold, and he calmly stepped forward, quietly gathering his true energy into his right fist and throwing it straight forward.
It was just a simple punch, not even a martial arts move. The opponent was an old man at the peak of the Xiantian stage, yet Li Tan appeared completely fearless, as if he were merely picking on a street thug.
“Hmph, do you think having some external power makes you fearless? Naive. Let me teach you a lesson, and that treasure of yours can be the tuition fee.”
The old man thought he understood everything and was convinced Li Tan must have some hidden treasure. His eyes grew fiercer, and in an instant, his terrifying punch was thrown downward.
According to normal reasoning, this strike alone was sufficient to instantly kill any martial artist at the Houtian stage upon contact. However, at the moment the two fists met, something strange occurred.
The old man’s martial arts technique, powerful enough to destroy this entire room, along with the outwardly surging true energy, completely vanished. From an observer’s perspective, it was as if two martial artists at the Houtian stage were simply exchanging punches.
“What… what’s going on?”
The old man’s expression froze as his eyes stared at Li Tan, who was less than half a step away.
A flash of golden light passed through Li Tan’s eyes, and a slight smirk formed on his lips.
“That all you’ve got? I thought you were much stronger.”
The old man’s face turned dark green with rage, gritting his teeth, his expression turning sinister as he questioned.
“Just who exactly are you?”
“Feigning ignorance. You should know who I am very clearly.”
“I originally thought you were just someone who had obtained some treasures, which enabled you to do those things. But now it seems otherwise. Such a dramatic change within a few days—it’s impossible unless you’ve been replaced. Could it be a soul transference?”
Li Tan was slightly surprised, but upon further thought, it was understandable. After all, his transformation was indeed extraordinary. It wasn’t strange for someone to think of soul transference, so he simply remained silent.
To him, it wasn’t important.
Silence was tantamount to confirmation. The old man’s face grew even darker. Unusually, the murderous intent in his eyes didn’t fade—it intensified.
Generally speaking, unless one possessed overwhelming strength, anyone who discovered another person had undergone soul transference would usually seek reconciliation.
Li Tan could only think of one reason for the old man’s behavior: their organization’s existence must not be known by anyone who shouldn’t know.
“What is the name of your organization?”
Li Tan narrowed his eyes slightly and asked coldly.
The old man’s expression tensed, replying coldly.
“Soul transference? So what? No matter how powerful you were before, now you’re just a ten-year-old brat. A threat that can’t grow isn’t a threat at all.”
“Hehe, if you tell me honestly, I might consider letting you go.”
“Arrogant nonsense. Do you think I’m one of those useless men from Linjiang? Ridiculous, pitiful, and tragic. Take this!”
Without giving Li Tan any chance to react, the old man launched a swift attack. Yet again, Li Tan dodged effortlessly. After several exchanges, Li Tan remained at ease while the old man’s martial arts techniques were repeatedly neutralized by some unknown force.
After so long, he finally seemed to understand something.
“Damn it! You’re using mental energy. How is it possible? Such skillful usage—who exactly are you?!”
The old man was growing frenzied.
“That’s none of your concern. Choose: speak or die. My patience is limited.”
“Tsk, do you think saying that will make me fear you? I haven’t even used my full strength yet! Aaaaaa!”
The old man’s eyes turned blood-red, emitting a sinister fluctuation. However, just as Li Tan was preparing to find a weakness, the old man struck the wall. The bricks immediately caved in, and a sound of gears turning abruptly echoed. Then, to everyone’s shock, an opening suddenly appeared in the ground. The old man shouted a farewell, laughed maniacally, and jumped down. The entrance immediately sealed shut. Li Tan tried knocking on the wall bricks but found no reaction.
“I was too careless.”
Li Tan sighed helplessly, shifting his gaze to Xiaoxue. As he was about to pick her up, a rumbling sound suddenly came, followed by violent tremors in the ground.
“Damn it, it’s a self-destruct mechanism!”
Li Tan quickly carried the unconscious Xiaoxue out of the training room. After running only a few steps, he encountered Lin Cui and, without explanation, grabbed her hand and rushed toward the exit.
Under normal circumstances, the entrance would be sealed to kill intruders. Li Tan had already prepared to work with Lin Cui to smash it open. However, someone had already blasted a huge hole at the exit.
Lin Cui was completely confused, unable to understand what was happening, while Li Tan had no time to explain. Amidst falling debris, he rushed toward the nearest window and smashed through it as quickly as possible.
It was extremely dangerous. If the entrance hadn’t been destroyed by someone else, he might have been in serious trouble. Then who destroyed the entrance?
Curious, Li Tan glanced around, but before he could use his mental energy to search, the savior was already found.
Standing on the moonlit street was an exquisitely beautiful girl. Slightly bowing her head with a frown, the old man who had fled through the secret passage lay on the ground, coughing up black blood, seemingly already dead.
“Le Yin…” Li Tan stood there in shock.
“Eh? Aren’t you the young master from this morning?”
A faint blush appeared on Tang Leyin’s smooth cheeks as her body stiffened slightly, appearing shy.
“Wait, what exactly is going on? Do you two know each other?”
Lin Cui looked from Xiaoxue to Tang Leyin, whose beauty made her feel somewhat inferior, and hurriedly asked. She was completely lost.
Only now did Li Tan notice Lin Cui. Reluctantly, he selectively offered a brief explanation.
“I met Miss Tang Le this morning at the Pill Pavilion. We have some connection. After I found Xiaoxue’s kidnapper, I activated the self-destruct mechanism…” Tang Leyin took over, her voice slightly soft and childlike.
“Well, I felt an uncomfortable aura earlier and wanted to investigate. I guessed there might be a secret passage, but although I found the entrance, I couldn’t locate the switch, so I forced it open. I had just entered when this person suddenly appeared from somewhere. The unpleasant aura came from him, so I went after him, but he committed suicide.”
“Poison? A typical trick of these sinister types.”
Li Tan felt a slight regret. He actually had some confidence in removing such a forced suicide poison before it took effect, but unfortunately, this opportunity was missed.
But it wasn’t a big deal. The gains of this day had already been more than sufficient.
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