Chapter 586 - 373: The Price of Fighting to the End

Chapter 586: Chapter 373: The Price of Fighting to the End

"Surrender! There’s no way you can slip from my grasp... Huh??? How is that possible?!!!"

Liu Yuancheng’s words trailed off as he suddenly froze. First came a flicker of confusion, then his face twisted into an expression of utter disbelief.

’His Spiritual Energy signature vanished? Don’t tell me he ran out of Spiritual Energy and was forced out of his Elemental Body, and then... No, that’s impossible. If he’d been burned to death, how could he have not let out a single scream before he died?’

The target he had locked onto with his Perception had vanished in an instant, leaving Liu Yuancheng utterly baffled.

He immediately ordered the fire-fighting team to extinguish the blaze with everything they had.

After several arduous hours, the great fire consuming the Red Blood Gang’s main base was finally extinguished.

Black smoke curled into the air over ground covered in murky wastewater. Liu Yuancheng stood at the very spot where his target was last detected.

He scanned the area but found no charred body.

’How in the world did he manage to escape?’ Liu Yuancheng pondered for a long time but couldn’t figure out how Lin Li had vanished. Finally, he couldn’t help but laugh.

"The Lord City Lord was right. It doesn’t pay to be overconfident; you’ll just end up eating your words."

Liu Yuancheng then gave instructions to the Guards who had arrived on the scene, ordering them to thoroughly investigate this incident with the Red Blood Gang.

They were to report to him the moment they had any news. With that, he flew off and returned home.

...

On the Mysterious Small Island, shrouded in a boundless white mist, a figure of pure flame materialized out of thin air.

Back on the Mysterious Small Island, with a mere thought from Lin Li, his Elemental Body deactivated, and he reverted from his inhuman state back to his human form.

Now back in his human form, Lin Li was hit by a wave of exhaustion. The battle against an Initial Stage Tier Three Cultivator had been a massive drain on both his Spiritual Energy and his physical stamina.

His gaze drifted to the southern side of the Mysterious Small Island, toward a two-meter-tall Spirit Plant with fan-shaped leaves and fruit that resembled cherry tomatoes. Lin Li couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

’I could have beaten that guy if I were willing to do it at all costs, but it just wasn’t necessary.’

With a single thought, Lin Li vanished and reappeared in front of the Spirit Plant, which was laden with Spirit Fruits.

He reached out, plucked three cherry-tomato-like Spirit Fruits from the Spirit Plant’s branches, and popped them into his mouth.

Not only did the Spirit Fruits look like cherry tomatoes, but they tasted similar, too. A moment after Lin Li ate the three Spirit Fruits, he could feel them steadily releasing Spiritual Energy in his stomach.

He circulated the little Spiritual Energy he had left in his Dantian, absorbing all the new energy being released by the Spirit Fruits.

In just a few moments, his nearly depleted Dantian had recovered the majority of its Spiritual Energy.

Just as Lin Li had thought, in terms of overall combat strength, his Peak Tier Two cultivation was no match for Liu Yuancheng.

However, in a battle of attrition, he could have used his Elemental Body and simply eaten Spirit Fruits to rapidly restore his Spiritual Energy, eventually draining Liu Yuancheng’s reserves and claiming victory.

But there was no need for that. His primary goal had been to crush the Red Blood Gang. Fighting Liu Yuancheng was just a whim, a chance to see for himself the gap between his own power and that of an Initial Stage Tier Three Cultivator.

Once he’d had a good fight and his Spiritual Energy was nearly spent, it was time to pull back. There was no point wasting precious Spirit Fruits to fight the man to the death.

After eating the Spirit Fruits to restore most of the Spiritual Energy to his depleted Dantian, the uncomfortable feeling of exhaustion vanished. He then left the Mysterious Small Island and returned to his home on Blue Star.

...

In Dongwu City, not far from the City Lord’s Mansion, stood a magnificent estate. A plaque hanging over the main gate bore the two words: Zhao Mansion.

The estate was a dazzling collection of numerous pavilions and multistoried halls.

Anyone with a poor sense of direction would likely get lost within moments of entering.

In one corner of the estate was a garden filled with all sorts of rare and exotic flowers and plants.

These were varieties rarely seen on the open market, evidently purchased at great expense from traveling merchants who had come to Dongwu City from all over.

Two pretty young maids carrying trays of tea and pastries entered the garden. They followed a pebble-stone path toward a pavilion.

A priceless Spiritual Pendant Lamp hung in the pavilion. Beneath its bright light, a handsome man sat at a stone table. He had a tall, straight posture, a fair complexion with chiseled features, and was dressed in magnificent clothes.

The two maids who had brought the tea and pastries entered the pavilion, placed their trays on the stone table, and stole a few glances at the handsome, book-reading man as they departed.

After the two maids had left, a burly man, one-point-nine meters tall and dressed in a servant’s uniform, strode into the garden and approached the pavilion.

TAP, TAP, TAP...

Hearing the hurried footsteps, the handsome man kept his eyes on the ancient book in his hands.

"Young Master," the burly servant said respectfully as he entered the pavilion.

"Zhao Chuan, what’s the rush? Has something happened?" Young Master Zhao, Zhao Haoyu, asked his trusted servant in an even tone.

"Reporting, Young Master. Li Mai is here to see you," Zhao Chuan replied.

"Oh, him," Zhao Haoyu said. Hearing the name, it took him a moment to recall who Li Mai was.

He had to think for a moment before remembering the man was someone who had come to him not long ago, volunteering to serve him.

"What about the task I gave him—to go treasure hunting at Bibo Lake? How has that progressed?"