Chapter 22: Everything Is According to Plan

Yun Yi spent the entire day in cultivation. It was not until dusk that he made a trip to the Contribution Hall to exchange for a specific item.

Midnight arrived. The back mountains.

"Brother Qian, do you think this Yun Yi will actually show up?"

Hearing his underling's question, Mou Qian glanced at the unconscious Lei Ling'er and sneered, "How could he not? Unless he is a heartless man, but it is clear he is not!"

"Brother Qian! You said Yun Yi was going to die anyway, look at her..."

A nearby underling, hearing this, stared at Lei Ling'er on the ground with a lecherous glint in his eyes, drooling.

Mou Qian, well aware of the nature of his cohorts, saw the intense hunger in his own men's eyes as well. He spoke with an arrogant air, "What’s the rush? Once I’m done with her, you can all have your turn!"

Suddenly, a rustling sound echoed. Shen Ziyi, who had been sitting on the ground meditating, opened his eyes. A smug grin spread across his face as he spoke with pleasant surprise:

"He’s here!"

At these words, everyone instantly sobered up and became alert.

When Yun Yi’s figure finally appeared, Mou Qian burst into maniacal laughter, pointing at him and shouting, "Hahahaha! Yun Yi, what do you have to fight me with? You can’t even protect your own woman."

Yun Yi sensed that Lei Ling'er was still breathing and felt a slight sense of relief. He fixed his gaze on Shen Ziyi and said coldly, "Using a woman to threaten me—is this the 'perennial runner-up' of the previous Heaven Rankings?"

Shen Ziyi offered a wicked smile in response. "Yun Yi! Spare me your high-minded lectures. All I know is that today is the day you die!"

"If you kill me, aren't you afraid of a thorough investigation by the Academy?" Yun Yi demanded sharply.

"Hahahaha! Do you think you’re the first one I’ve killed? I’ve killed plenty, and haven't I been just fine? Go to hell, Yun Yi!"

With those words, Shen Ziyi lunged forward like a bolt of lightning.

Yun Yi felt his vision blur and thought, "Oh no!"

He recoiled instantly, and just as he dodged, the spot where he had been standing was struck by Shen Ziyi, leaving a crater in the ground.

Yun Yi dared not be careless; he dodged again before Shen Ziyi could close the distance.

"Hahaha! Didn't you act all arrogant, Yun Yi? Why are you scurrying around like a rat now!"

"That's right! Beat him to a pulp, Master Shen!"

Watching the lopsided fight, Mou Qian and his men grew increasingly excited, jeering and shouting, their eyes filled with hunger as they already envisioned how they would toy with Lei Ling'er later.

After four or five exchanges, Shen Ziyi stopped and looked at Yun Yi with a playful, mocking sneer.

"You run fast enough! But this game of cat and mouse ends here!"

As he finished speaking, Shen Ziyi’s spiritual energy erupted. The energy of heaven and earth surged toward him, and he formed hand seals. Before Yun Yi could react, he roared:

"Heaven-Severing Palm!"

"It’s the senior’s signature technique! That brat is finished!" Mou Qian shouted, his eyes burning with fanaticism.

In an instant, Yun Yi felt the pores on his body tighten. An aura of death enveloped him; he knew he could not withstand this blow.

The fundamental difference between Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining is that Qi Refining practitioners can only use martial techniques requiring close combat, whereas those at Foundation Establishment can use spiritual techniques to project their energy, making their attacks significantly more formidable.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar resounded. A smile curled on Shen Ziyi's lips; could his famous signature move fail to kill a little brat who hadn't even reached Foundation Establishment?

Amidst the swirling dust, Mou Qian couldn't see Yun Yi’s figure and jumped up in excitement.

"Hahaha! That’s what you get for fucking with me! I’m definitely going to play your woman to death!"

But Shen Ziyi suddenly felt something was off. Abruptly, Yun Yi’s presence reappeared—right beside Lei Ling'er.

"Not good!"

Everything happened in a heartbeat. Before Shen Ziyi or Mou Qian could react, Yun Yi had already scooped up Lei Ling'er and fled.

Only Yun Yi knew how dangerous that moment had been. He had gambled that the Yanhuang Jade would block the lethal blow for him, then swallowed a Breath-Concealing Pill to rush to Lei Ling'er’s side and escape.

Luck played a major part, but the rest was simply due to Shen Ziyi’s arrogance and his failure to take Yun Yi seriously.

As soon as Yun Yi dashed away, Shen Ziyi was the first to react and gave chase.

Mou Qian stood stunned, unable to believe Yun Yi had managed to escape. Watching his underlings scramble to follow, he shouted angrily, "You idiots, do you think my senior brother can't catch him? Just wait here!"

Mou Qian clearly had immense faith in his senior brother.

"Oh? Wait here? Is that safe?"

At that moment, a voice rang out, and Mou Qian’s heart skipped a beat. He turned around, and upon seeing who it was, his eyes filled with terror.

"You! How are you here!"

"Hmph! We’re here to take your life!"

"Ah, let's finish this quickly so we can go back to sleep!" Qian Duoduo covered his mouth and yawned, looking at Mou Qian's underlings with excitement in his eyes. "I get to have some fun, too!"

Qian Mo sneered. Before Mou Qian could react, Qian Mo moved first, flashing in front of him and throwing a punch!

How could Mou Qian withstand Qian Mo’s attack? Qian Mo’s cultivation was earned through hard work, while Mou Qian’s was merely piled up through resources!

With a single blow, Mou Qian was sent flying backward.

"Fatty, make it quick!" Qian Mo instructed, closing the distance to Mou Qian once more.

"No! Don't... don't kill me!"

Seeing Mou Qian sitting on the ground and wetting himself in fear, Qian Mo’s eyes flashed with murderous intent as he struck at Mou Qian’s head.

Under the moonlight, blood splattered.

"Brat! Did you really think you could get away?"

Looking at Shen Ziyi, who was sneering behind him, Yun Yi stopped abruptly, a mocking smile on his lips.

"Oh? Why aren't you running anymore?"

Seeing Yun Yi stop, Shen Ziyi sensed something was wrong, but thinking of the gap in their cultivation levels, he dismissed his unease.

"Shen Ziyi, I never expected you to be this kind of person!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the composed expression on Shen Ziyi’s face turned into panic. When he saw who it was, he was terrified. "Lingling, listen to me!"

"Shen Ziyi! Keep your chauvinism to yourself! It’s disgusting!" Feng Lingling stared at him with undisguised loathing, articulating every word.

Shen Ziyi’s face turned gloomy and his teeth gritted in frustration; he knew he couldn't kill Yun Yi today.

"Yun Yi! You just wait!"

After delivering his threat, Shen Ziyi gave Yun Yi a fierce glare and turned to leave.

"Thank you, Senior Sister," Yun Yi said earnestly as he looked at Feng Lingling.

"It was no trouble at all. Your plan was quite well-executed," Feng Lingling praised.

Everything had been under Yun Yi’s control: as long as he lured Shen Ziyi away, Qian Mo and the others would kill Mou Qian, and then he would escape and let Feng Lingling step in to block Shen Ziyi. Yun Yi was certainly no reckless fool who would come alone to throw his life away.

As the two spoke, Qian Mo and Qian Duoduo arrived.

"Everything is taken care of, boss!" Qian Mo’s eyes were wild with excitement; it was clear that killing a piece of trash like Mou Qian had been quite satisfying.

At that moment, before Yun Yi could speak, a roar from Shen Ziyi echoed from the distance.

The group shared a knowing smile.

"What are you going to do now?"

Hearing Feng Lingling’s question, Yun Yi’s eyes narrowed, and he pulled a piece of jade from his robes.

"A Recording Jade!" Feng Lingling exclaimed in surprise; this man was far too meticulous.

Staring toward the edge of the forest in the distance, a ruthless glint appeared in Yun Yi’s eyes as he muttered:

"I refuse to believe I can't play him to death."