Moonlight stretched Li Qingchu’s shadow long across the courtyard.
He approached the house with his sword in hand, already able to hear the breathing of the person inside.
His footsteps were light, producing not a single sound.
He reached the door and pressed his palm against it.
The door was tightly shut and could not be pushed open without force.
He took a deep breath, suddenly shattering the door bolt behind the wood, and then lunged toward the direction of the breathing.
Lu Taidou, the First Alliance Leader of the Seven Peaks Alliance, was sleeping soundly.
As a peerless expert famous throughout the world, his alertness was extremely high.
Even in his sleep, the moment the door opened, his eyes snapped open.
He caught a glimpse of a sword light flashing toward him in the darkness.
Startled, he rolled out of bed and twisted his body to dodge, yet he was still struck in the shoulder by the blade.
Lu Taidou, in his forties with a bear-like face and tiger-like eyes, glared wide.
The sideburns and long beard on his face fluttered as if fires of rage were burning.
Li Qingchu was somewhat surprised.
He hadn’t expected the man to dodge his lethal strike.
‘This person’s martial arts are far above Yang Jueding’s!’
“Presumptuous!”
Lu Taidou bellowed.
His right palm condensed inner Qi, which actually ignited into flames as he struck out at Li Qingchu.
Li Qingchu jumped back, raising his sword and channeling Essence to block.
Boom—
The windows were shattered by the powerful air current.
The tables and wooden cabinets on both sides suffered the same fate, and the entire house trembled.
Lu Taidou’s eyes widened.
His full-strength palm strike had actually been blocked.
He saw a Qi barrier appearing around Li Qingchu, resisting his surging, flaming inner Qi.
The ground beneath Li Qingchu’s feet was crushed, showing the depth of Lu Taidou’s power.
“Who are you?”
Lu Taidou asked in a heavy voice.
He didn’t dare to withdraw his hand; doing so at this moment would surely cause internal injuries to his organs.
Li Qingchu looked up.
His left hand suddenly reached behind his waist and threw something forward.
His movement was too fast.
By the time Lu Taidou saw it, he had no time to react.
Three silver needles pierced through his flaming inner Qi.
The needles crackled with threads of lightning, piercing Lu Taidou’s throat with unstoppable force.
Lu Taidou’s aura instantly collapsed.
The powerful Qi blast sent him flying, slamming him into the wall before he tumbled onto the bed.
The weight caused the bed to collapse, sending dust flying.
Li Qingchu withdrew his hand and turned to leave the room.
He picked up the unconscious Seven Peaks Alliance disciple lying in the courtyard, leaped onto the eaves, and ran quickly.
After reaching a rooftop a hundred paces away, he used the Ghost-Celestial Rejuvenation Needles to wake the disciple.
The disciple opened his eyes as if waking from a nightmare, gasping for breath.
Li Qingchu covered his mouth and whispered, “Continue leading the way.
Go find the other alliance leaders.”
This disciple was named Chen Ye.
He had joined the Seven Peaks Alliance less than half a year ago and currently did gatekeeping and errand work, having not yet learned the sect’s high-level martial arts.
In his heart, the First Alliance Leader Lu Taidou was the number one expert in the world.
Therefore, he had taken Li Qingchu to Lu Taidou’s courtyard first, hoping Li Qingchu would bite off more than he could chew.
However, hearing Li Qingchu’s words, could it be that Lu Taidou had already died at his hands?
How was that possible!
Chen Ye stared wide-eyed at Li Qingchu in disbelief.
In the close-up confrontation, he saw Li Qingchu’s face clearly.
He was too young.
So young it felt surreal.
Li Qingchu frowned and asked in a low voice, “Are you stupid, or deaf?”
Chen Ye snapped back to his senses and blinked frantically.
Seeing this, Li Qingchu immediately pulled him up and had him point the way.
The commotion in Lu Taidou’s courtyard had startled the nearby disciples awake.
They quickly left their rooms and rushed toward the direction where the sound had originated.
It was exceptionally loud under the night sky.
He saw people pouring out of courtyards in all directions.
He had to press Chen Ye down to crouch, hiding from the sight of those disciples.
“What is that sound?” Li Qingchu asked softly.
Chen Ye swallowed and said, “That is the Seven Peaks Alliance’s Invasion Horn.
Once there is any sign of trouble, the horn will sound.
Even if it is a misunderstanding, the alliance leaders will not blame us.
Conversely, if an enemy infiltrates and the disciple in charge fails to blow the horn, for whatever reason, they will be severely punished.”
At that moment, horn sounds began to rise from other directions as well.
It turned out there were multiple points for the invasion horn.
Li Qingchu had to admit he had underestimated the alertness of the Seven Peaks Alliance.
No wonder there were no disciples patrolling at night; such a defensive line was hidden in the shadows.
“Once the Invasion Horn is blown, it is almost impossible for you to approach the other alliance leaders without being noticed.”
Chen Ye said in a low voice.
If Lu Taidou was truly dead, he was also afraid that Li Qingchu would take him before the other alliance leaders.
Hearing this, Li Qingchu struck him again, sending him into a coma.
Subsequently, Li Qingchu began to strip Chen Ye of his clothes and quickly put them on himself.
He even took Chen Ye’s sword before jumping down from the eaves.
He continued toward the direction Chen Ye had previously indicated.
More and more disciples were coming out of their rooms.
Li Qingchu encountered many head-on, and only then did he feel the depth of the Seven Peaks Alliance’s foundation.
A count of three thousand didn’t sound like much, but when actually encountered, its terror could be felt.
Moreover, the Seven Peaks Alliance was a genuine great martial sect; every disciple possessed martial arts skills.
As he walked, Li Qingchu reflected on Lu Taidou’s inner Qi.
‘The path of martial arts is not simple.’
Li Qingchu thought secretly.
Had he not broken through to the third level of the Essence Nurturing Realm, killing Lu Taidou would have been quite troublesome.
Slaying him would have surely exhausted his Essence, making it no easy feat to escape from the sect.
Lu Taidou was only a martial expert of Gu Prefecture.
The Great Li Dynasty had other provinces, and there were surely existences stronger than him in the world.
‘I must not look down on the people of the world in the future!’
Although Li Qingchu had successfully slain the enemy leader, he became even more cautious because of it.
Of course, if he had to do it again, he would still take the same action, at most finding a better opportunity.
With an expert like Lu Taidou, the Seven Peaks Alliance was definitely not an existence the current Clear Firmament Sect could provoke.
He couldn’t restrict the movements of his disciples forever while waiting for a massive invasion.
Wearing the robes of a Seven Peaks Alliance disciple, Li Qingchu did not arouse suspicion.
He didn’t intentionally avoid others either, as that would look strange.
He walked briskly and openly, brushing past many disciples.
Suddenly.
He stopped at the gate of a certain courtyard.
He turned to look, his brow furrowing.
He heard a very faint crying sound.
It seemed someone was sobbing quietly, and it wasn’t just one person.
Another person wasn’t crying, but their breathing was weak.
He originally didn’t want to meddle in others’ business, but for some reason, he thought of his junior brothers and sisters.
Zhang Yuchun, Jiang Zhaoxia, and Li Dongyue were also afraid when they first came to the Clear Firmament Sect, hiding away to cry alone.
Wu Man’er wasn’t that sentimental—as long as there was food, she was fine.
Li Sifeng and Li Sijin had each other for company and weren’t as afraid or lonely.
He hesitated for a moment and then walked into the courtyard, arriving before a room.
This courtyard was piled with firewood and miscellaneous items, with no one guarding it.
He pushed the door open gently and squinted inside.
He saw it was filled with dry wood.
A child was sitting against a pile of firewood, and moonlight shone through a hole in the roof, landing exactly on him.
This child looked only seven or eight years old.
Crucially, he was holding an even smaller child in his arms—the one who was crying.
Li Qingchu pushed the door and entered, startling the child, who turned to look at him.
“Do you want to leave?”
Li Qingchu looked at him and asked directly.
Facing Li Qingchu’s question, the child asked blankly, “Can I?”
“As long as you are willing, I will take both of you away,” Li Qingchu replied.
Hearing this, the child quickly stood up, his hands tightly clutching the child in his arms.
That child looked only one or two years old.
A foul stench emanated from them.
“Who are you?”
The young Yuan Qi asked cautiously.
He had never seen Li Qingchu, but the thought of leaving the Seven Peaks Alliance made his heart race.
Li Qingchu replied, “In any case, I do not belong to the Seven Peaks Alliance.
I have killed their leader and am preparing to withdraw.”
Hearing this, Yuan Qi was not frightened.
His eyes widened, and tears burst forth.
He was actually smiling.
“I will go with you, but you must take my brother!” Yuan Qi wiped his tears and spoke to Li Qingchu seriously.
Li Qingchu nodded and said, “From now on, you and your brother will join my sect.
How about it?”
“No problem.
We will join your sect and will certainly repay your kindness in the future!”
Yuan Qi responded without hesitation.
Li Qingchu immediately walked to him, took the younger brother from his arms, and used a dirty cloth from the floor to wrap the child of less than two years against his own chest.
Then, he picked up Yuan Qi with one arm and walked quickly out of the room.
After leaving the room, Yuan Qi finally saw Li Qingchu’s face clearly by the moonlight.
His pupils dilated, and a strange light flickered in his eyes.
This scene would be forever etched in his memory.
Upon exiting the house, Li Qingchu leaped onto the eaves and advanced with light footsteps.
He followed by calling up the Sacred Heritage panel to check the disciple count.
Sure enough, the Yuan brothers had been added.
He clicked on Yuan Qi’s avatar to check his loyalty.
90/80!
‘Not bad.
This boy has a conscience.’
Li Qingchu didn’t look closely at his fate and skipped over him, instinctively checking Yuan Qi’s brother’s avatar.
The moment he clicked it, he felt a twinge of regret.
The child was so young and in a coma; how could there be any loyalty?
Sure enough, Yuan Qi’s younger brother was named Yuan Li, and his loyalty values were both 0.
However, in the next second, Li Qingchu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He even stopped his pace.
Name: Yuan Li
Gender: Male
Age: 1 year old
Loyalty (Sect Leader/Sect): 0/0 (Max 100)
Cultivation Talent: Extremely Low
Comprehension: Extraordinary
Fate Tokens: Indestructible Tyrant Body, Grandmaster’s Heart, Tenacity
Indestructible Tyrant Body: A rare ancient physique in the mortal world, a great creation of heaven and earth.
However, because the physical body was born into the mortal realm, it requires a special method to awaken.
Grandmaster’s Heart: Possesses extreme comprehension and imagination toward the path of combat.
Skilled in creation and willing to share.
Tenacity: No matter what trials are experienced, the heart’s will will never waver.
…
He had picked up a treasure!
Three Fate Tokens, and “Indestructible Tyrant Body” and “Grandmaster’s Heart” looked incredibly strong.
Especially the “Indestructible Tyrant Body”—this thing was too mystical!
Li Qingchu looked down again and felt as if the Yuan Li in his arms was radiating golden light.
Yuan Qi, who was being held in one arm, saw him stop and looked down at his brother, asking nervously, “What’s wrong with my brother?”
Li Qingchu looked ahead and continued to advance, replying casually, “It seems he has wet himself.”
Hearing this, Yuan Qi was instantly embarrassed.
He lowered his head and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito, “I’m sorry…”