Chapter 33: Nets of Heaven and Earth

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Nets of Heaven and Earth

The apothecary guards patrolled along fixed routes and at a set pace. It wasn’t time for the changing of the guard.

The thought had barely crossed Chen Yue’s mind.

BAM!

The wooden door of the Alchemy Room was kicked in from the outside with tremendous force. The bolt snapped instantly, and the heavy door flew inward, slamming against the wall with a deafening crash that sent wood splinters flying.

Three figures radiating an undisguised, ferocious aura burst through the shattered doorway. All three carried drawn sabers, their blades glinting coldly in the fading daylight.

"Make it quick! The guards outside have already noticed us!"

The burliest of the three growled, his voice like scraping metal. Before he’d even finished speaking, the trio’s sabers were already whistling through the air, descending upon Chen Yue, who was still seated in his chair.

The sharp glint of the blades cut off all his escape routes. Their intent was clear: to cripple and capture him in an instant!

In a flash, the moment Chen Yue sensed the auras of three experts from the Refining Flesh Realm, his Inner Strength instinctively began to circulate.

He chose neither to meet the attack head-on nor to slip through the gaps in the web of blades.

The instant before their blades could touch him, Chen Yue kicked off hard from the chair’s legs. The sturdy wooden chair instantly shattered into pieces!

Using the recoil, Chen Yue shot forward like an arrow from a taut bow. At an incredible angle and speed, he hurtled toward the closed window on the other side of the room.

CRASH!

The wooden window frame, paper and all, shattered on impact. Like a night owl bursting through the window, Chen Yue’s figure vanished into the growing twilight outside.

"After him!"

The three attackers clearly hadn’t expected Chen Yue to react so quickly and decisively. They were even more surprised by the sheer speed at which he’d crashed through the window. A flicker of astonishment crossed the eyes of their burly leader, Zhou Yi, but he didn’t hesitate for a moment. With a sharp cry, he leaped through the shattered window in pursuit!

However, by the time they landed in the courtyard, they saw Chen Yue, as nimble as an ape, place one hand on the wall—nearly twice a man’s height—and vault over it. He then leaped down the other side without a moment’s hesitation.

The entire process was as fluid as moving clouds and flowing water, so fast it was hard to follow. It was hardly the kind of speed a Martial Artist of the Skin Refining Realm should possess.

’This Body Technique...’ Zhou Yi’s pupils constricted, his suspicion deepening.

’The intel was wrong again! Chen Yue’s speed is comparable to some experts of the Refining Flesh Realm who specialize in Body Techniques. But now isn’t the time to dwell on it.’

"After him! We can’t let him get away!"

Zhou Yi roared. The three of them picked up their pace, vaulted the wall, and gave chase. The sounds of their urgent footsteps and clothes whipping in the wind faded into the alley.

Meanwhile, from the apothecary’s front courtyard and other areas, the chaotic shouts and running footsteps of guards could finally be heard.

"Intruders!"

"They’re in the west Alchemy Institute!"

"Protect Master Lin! Protect Chen the Pill Master!"

The commotion had alerted guards in other parts of the apothecary. Several of them, weapons in hand and faces tense, rushed to Chen Yue’s Alchemy Courtyard.

But when they burst into the courtyard, all they saw was an open doorway and a shattered window. The room inside was a complete mess, with fragments of a chair and wood splinters strewn across the floor, but there was no one there.

"Where is Chen the Pill Master?"

"Oh no! Chen the Pill Master has been kidnapped!"

"Quick! Notify Steward Chen Lin! Go after them!"

The guards’ expressions changed instantly as they realized what had happened. One man rushed off to make a report, another began searching for tracks inside and outside the courtyard, while most of the others grabbed their weapons and chased in the direction of the commotion in the alley. It was chaos.

Another guard immediately ran to the nearby courtyard of the main Alchemy Room, where Lin Quan lived. He banged urgently on the door. "Master Lin! Master Lin! Are you all right?"

A moment later, the door opened. Lin Quan poked his head out, looking alarmed and confused. "What’s with all the commotion?"

Seeing that Lin Quan was unharmed, the guards first let out a collective sigh of relief, but then their confusion only deepened.

"Master Lin, it’s a relief you’re all right... Intruders just broke in. Over at Chen Yue’s... at Chen the Pill Master’s place... something might have happened," a guard captain said quickly.

"Something happened to Chen Yue?" Lin Quan’s expression changed, all traces of drowsiness vanishing. "What’s going on? Tell me, quickly!"

When the guard described the chaotic state of Chen Yue’s room while his own had been completely quiet, Lin Quan’s brow furrowed.

’The intruders... why did they only go after Chen Yue? My place, on the other hand...’ He glanced at his own peaceful courtyard, then toward Chen Yue’s, his mind racing.

As the night deepened, the apothecary was brightly lit, but a sense of panic filled the air.

Chen Lin rushed to the scene as soon as he heard, his face grim. While ordering the guards to widen the search perimeter and send for reinforcements from the main Chen Family estate, his own mind was plagued with doubts.

At that very moment, in the labyrinthine alleys of Youlin County, Chen Yue’s figure flitted ahead. His footwork seemed chaotic, yet he expertly used every uneven stone and brick to his advantage. His movements were erratic and unpredictable as he exploited the complex terrain to its fullest.

Yet the three dark figures behind him were like a persistent plague, their pursuit relentless.

The abundant Qi Blood and stamina of the Refining Flesh Realm Martial Artists were on full display. Although their Body Techniques weren’t as agile as Chen Yue’s, their speed in a straight sprint and over long distances was by no means slower.

Thanks to Chen Yue’s exquisite Body Technique, his pursuers couldn’t close the distance, but he couldn’t shake them off either.

Zhou Yi, leading the chase, watched Chen Yue’s escape route with an increasingly dark expression. The kid was heading straight for the main Chen Family estate.

’I can’t let him get any closer!’ Zhou Yi felt a surge of anxiety, mixed with a stifling rage.

’Three distinguished experts of the Refining Flesh Realm, with a meticulous plan, and they couldn’t even handle a mere boy from the Skin Refining Realm? Instead, he was leading them on a wild goose chase straight to the Chen Family?’

’This was an absolute disgrace!’

"Yuan Shi!" Zhou Yi barked.

"Understood!" replied Yuan Shi, the scrawniest of the three, in a low voice.

A look of grim determination, tinged with pain, flashed in his eyes. His exposed skin instantly flushed an unnatural crimson as the blood began to race beneath it, even producing a faint HISSING sound.

Yuan Shi’s speed abruptly surged. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, he shot past Zhou Yi and the other assassin, Jia Ge, rapidly closing the distance with Chen Yue!

Five yards... three yards... one yard!

A vicious glint flared in Yuan Shi’s eyes. He raised his saber, its blade carving a cold arc through the darkness as he lunged for Chen Yue’s back.

He was determined to land this strike, to cripple Chen Yue and rob him of his mobility.

However, in the very instant his blade shot forward...

Chen Yue, who had been sprinting ahead, came to a sudden, unheralded stop. His body transitioned from extreme motion to absolute stillness in a heartbeat.

Then, Chen Yue spun around. His face was expressionless, but his eyes shone with a terrifying light in the darkness.

Chen Yue didn’t retreat. Instead, he used the momentum of his turn to execute another change in his Floating Light and Shadow Technique. His body folded back on itself like a phantom, not only dodging the lunging saber but also instantly closing the distance to Yuan Shi, who was now overextended.

The two were now face-to-face, mere inches apart!

Yuan Shi could even smell the faint scent of herbs on Chen Yue and see the bone-chilling killing intent in his eyes.