Chapter 70: Decision

“What?”

As Tang Leyin was about to speak, her back suddenly got a pat. Li Tan nodded slightly at her, and she immediately understood and stopped herself.

Li Tan raised his head and looked at the two robed figures again, not hesitating to mock them.

“What does this have to do with you? You talk too much.”

“Answer the question.” The tall robed figure’s gaze beneath the hood turned slightly cold, his tone leaving no room for doubt, while the shorter robed figure remained calm.

“Hehe, you should understand your current situation. Be obedient, and we’ll let you leave. After all, we don’t want to kill anyone.”

If this were the younger Li Tan before his rebirth, he might have been genuinely scared and spilled everything. However, the current Li Tan did not do that. How could he not understand the sinister intentions of these two?

“You indeed won’t kill me. At most, you want to cripple my cultivation, then let Lin Suifeng take the blame, leading to a conflict between the Lin and Li families.”

Li Tan’s words hit the nail on the head. The two robed figures immediately fell silent. The shorter robed figure’s smile vanished without a trace, while the tall one became even more solemn.

“You really know a lot,” the shorter robed figure slightly lifted his head, his eyes revealing a hint of killing intent, making the air seem colder.

The tall robed figure had already drawn his sword, its cold light dazzling.

“Hehe, finally tearing off the mask. This is better.”

Li Tan stared intently at the two robed figures not far away, then turned to Tang Leyin.

“Sorry, I dragged you into this.”

Tang Leyin smiled calmly.

“It’s nothing serious. Besides, it’s our duty as cultivators to eliminate evil.”

Knowing exactly what she would say, Li Tan smiled back. He extended his spiritual power into the second level of the desolate pagoda searching for weapons, and remembering there were none, he wasn’t worried. He casually picked up a stick from the ground.

Tang Leyin looked at him in surprise.

“You don’t have a weapon, sir?”

Li Tan swung the stick a couple of times.

“This is enough to deal with them.”

“Hehe, big talk.”

The tall robed figure scoffed, then slowly raised the hand holding the sword along his thigh side until it formed a thirty-five-degree angle with his waist.

The shorter robed figure no longer had the mood for jokes, no longer underestimating Li Tan as before, he raised his sword in the same manner.

“Don’t get too cocky. Even if you’re at the Innate Realm, that doesn’t necessarily make you superior to these so-called ‘useless’ folks here in Linjiang. My sword will soon teach you a proper lesson.”

(Note: “先天” is translated as “Innate Realm” to reflect the cultivation level commonly used in xianxia/wuxia contexts. “Linjiang” is kept as a proper noun.)

“Teach me a lesson?

Haha, how many years has it been since someone said that to me?”

Li Tan suddenly burst into wild laughter, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. Tang Leyin secretly gave him a sidelong glance, inwardly sighing at the words “how many years,” unaware that this was indeed a fact.

Since clearing the universe five hundred years ago, these two were the second batch to dare to disrespect Li Tan. The first was You Kuang.

“Come on, let me see your strength.”

Li Tan swung the stick forcefully, producing a whistling sound. A huge shadow suddenly appeared from afar, instantly covering the entire Linjiang.

It turned out the sun had been blocked by clouds.

With swords drawn and tensions high, the fight was about to erupt! With a “whoosh,” the tall robed man pushed off the ground with his heel, causing cracks, and his body shot forward like an arrow.

“Again with this nauseating evil Qi.”

Tang Leyin frowned, not really paying attention to the swiftly attacking robed figure, instead watching Li Tan with a look of innocent curiosity.

“Minor tricks.”

Li Tan sneered disdainfully, quickly dodging to the left and keenly seizing the opponent’s opening, striking the shoulder with the stick.

The dark-clothed man grunted and swiftly created distance from Li Tan.

“That’s amazing!”

Tang Leyin’s eyes widened in surprise, and she couldn’t help clapping her hands.

Li Tan hadn’t felt much at first, but upon hearing Tang Leyin’s praise, he couldn’t help feeling a bit elated. He proudly glanced at the tall robed figure, who was taking him seriously, and the shorter robed figure, who stood still with an unreadable expression.

“You both can come together. I’m in a hurry.”

“Tsk, you’ll regret your arrogance.”

The shorter robed figure murmured eerily, and in the next moment, he dashed out like lightning. His sword shimmered with cold light while an eerie black Qi coiled around it, making the blade even sharper.

The tall robed figure didn’t stay idle either. Almost simultaneously with the shorter one, he rushed out, flanking from both sides.

Both were cultivators at the Xiantian level. Though they weren’t employing martial techniques, their seamless coordination made even experts beyond the Xiantian realm wary of underestimating them. Yet, Li Tan remained composed.

“Full of openings everywhere. Are you lifting your hands to greet me for the New Year?”

Whoosh! Li Tan didn’t even move, but this single strike turned the mundane into the miraculous. With two quick swipes, he struck the abdomens of the two robed figures. They both grunted and retreated several steps.

“Such strength! You’re only at the Houtian level?”

The tall robed figure stood firm, his tone heavy.

The shorter robed figure, filled with shock, muttered.

“At the Houtian level, how can your speed be this fast!”

The greatest distinction between Houtian and Xiantian cultivation lies in the utilization of Qi. At the Houtian level, Qi can only circulate within the meridians, augmenting physical strength. Upon reaching the Xiantian stage, cultivators gain the ability to project Qi over short distances, typically employing it to coat the body’s surface as a defensive measure against attacks. However, Li Tan’s strikes gave them no opportunity to react—as if he had anticipated their every movement.

This level of combat understanding and reaction speed could only be honed through countless battles.

But Li Tan hadn’t even reached adulthood yet. Where would he have gained such combat experience?

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Perhaps because Tang Leyin was watching, Li Tan unusually refrained from ending the fight quickly, instead taunting them with a show-off-like attitude.

After all, every man wishes to showcase his strengths in front of the woman he likes.

Seeing Li Tan happy, the two robed figures, however, couldn’t maintain their composure. Being looked down upon by a mere child, if this news spread, how could they continue their ways?

“Die!”

The shorter robed figure revealed his ferocity, glaring fiercely at Li Tan. The tall robed figure shook his sword and said.

“This kid is strange. To avoid prolonged conflict, let’s finish this quickly!”

“Understood.”

They quietly made their decision. This time, the two robed figures didn’t rush toward Li Tan as they had before. Instead, they once again increased the distance and cautiously began circling clockwise around him.

Although Li Tan looked down on these two, he wasn’t foolish. Facing two opponents whose cultivation levels were a major tier higher than his own, he wouldn’t be careless. He anticipated their next move, his expression slightly more serious as he carefully observed their actions.