Chapter 32

As Feng Yi retreated, the collapse of the Feng family could no longer be stopped. With Ling Yushi, Ling Feng, and Ling Xin fighting fiercely, those Feng family members who couldn't immediately flee were quickly killed on the spot.

Qin Lie did not continue to participate in the battle. He walked over and picked up the Green-Winged Axe, sensing it and discovering that the Green-Winged Axe was not completely destroyed and could still be used for a while. He couldn't help but feel secretly relieved.

"Even Feng Yi, at the eighth level of the Body Tempering stage, isn't particularly strong. In a direct confrontation... I didn't see him being any better than me."

He pondered in his mind, recalling the previous battle, and then circulated his power to examine his body's condition. His eyes suddenly lit up slightly.

He found that when he circulated his spiritual energy, the spiritual energy in his dantian would surge out, flowing through his tendons and muscles, gathering in his arms, and then being released through his palms and fingers, pouring into the spiritual weapon.

However, this was not the full extent of his power!

When the spiritual energy flowed, there were actually threads of lightning power merging into the spiritual energy from his tendons, muscles, bones, and even his internal organs. This made the spiritual energy become fierce and powerful, not only enhancing the energy of the spiritual energy but also making it carry lightning power, thus greatly increasing its power!

He suddenly understood.

For five years, he had been tempering his body with the power of the Nine Heavens Thunder. The lightning power that had seeped into his body, after strengthening and refining his body, did not completely disappear but was hidden in his physical body, becoming another force beyond his spiritual energy!

This lightning power could burst out during battles, greatly enhancing his combat strength!

Originally at the seventh level of the Body Tempering stage, with this lightning power added in battle, his true strength had risen another notch, allowing him to hold his own against Feng Yi.

Similarly, Feng Jie and Feng Lun, who were at the same level as him, could not match him at all.

"…So that's how it is. It seems that the hard training over the years has not been in vain! The Heavenly Thunder Punishment not only greatly enhanced the strength of my body but also gave me the power of lightning, indeed making me fierce and powerful!"

Qin Lie thought to himself, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Then, without activating the Heavenly Thunder Punishment, he tried to control the spiritual energy in his dantian.

The relatively calm spiritual energy surged out from the dantian, flowing into his palm, and finally poured into the Green-Winged Axe.

"Whoosh!"

The Green-Winged Axe suddenly emitted a faint green glow. Upon careful inspection, he immediately found that there was no additional lightning power seeping into the axe.

Indeed, without activating the Heavenly Thunder Punishment, the spiritual energy that surged out of his body was just normal spiritual energy, which would not damage the structure of the spiritual weapon.

"Another low-level spiritual weapon, a simple spirit-gathering array, no different from a short spear..."

With a slight perception using his mental power, Qin Lie was disappointed again. He then retracted the spiritual energy and walked towards the Ling family members.

"Qin Lie!" Before Ling Yushi could speak, Ling Ying suddenly called out, her face filled with indescribable excitement, "You're such a bad guy, deceiving us for so long! Tell me, were you just pretending to be foolish and laughing at us all this time?"

"Really didn't expect Qin Lie to be so strong!" Ling Xiao said excitedly.

"You little rascal!" Ling Feng walked up, smiling and giving him a light punch on the chest, his face full of joy.

"This time... we really owe it to you. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to escape this disaster." Ling Yushi's bright eyes shone.

"Ling Yang is dead." Ling Xin, the only one who didn't join in, stood at the back, his head hanging low, and said in a low voice.

Qin Lie looked at him from a distance, walked over silently, and said calmly, "Then live well and avenge him by killing all the Feng family members!"

Ling Xin suddenly looked up, staring deeply at him, his tiger-like eyes revealing complex emotions. He said in a deep voice, "I, Ling Xin, owe you a life! I will definitely repay you in the future!"

Qin Lie was surprised, shook his head, and said, "You don't owe me anything. I killed Feng Jie for everyone, and for myself. With just my own strength, I couldn't have fought against the Feng family. If you guys weren't here, I would have been killed by the Feng family and wouldn't have survived."

"Anyway, I owe you a life!" Ling Xin said stubbornly.

"Three people from the Feng family, including Feng Yi, escaped. They will find the people from the Shuibing Manor and come back to kill us again." Qin Lie took a deep breath and said with a bitter smile, "So we are still in danger. Everyone, don't argue, let's leave here as soon as possible."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

As he continued to lead the group, avoiding places where spirit beasts might gather, no one questioned his decisions anymore.

As the sky grew darker, Qin Lie and his group gathered in a valley with tall shrubs.

The shrubs in the valley were taller than people, providing natural cover. Even if the Shuibing Manor was powerful, it would be almost impossible to approach silently.

"If everything goes well, we can enter the Cold Fog Mountain the day after tomorrow. Once we reach the Cold Fog Mountain, we can take a detour back to the Ling family. That area often has Star Cloud Pavilion warriors active. If we're lucky and run into some people, we might truly escape this disaster." Qin Lie looked behind him, pointing to the faintly visible Cold Fog Mountain, explaining to everyone.

Everyone gathered together, eating some dried meat to fill their stomachs, all listening intently to his words.

"Qin Lie, how do you know the Cold Fog Mountain so well? You've been in the Medicine Mountain all these years, how could you know so much about the Cold Fog Mountain?" Ling Feng asked with a smile, drinking clear water.

Everyone also looked puzzled.

"It's my grandfather who knows the Cold Fog Mountain well. He told me some things..." Qin Lie evaded the question and then said, "Tonight will be the most difficult night. Everyone, recover well first, and then we'll travel through the night with full energy."

"Okay, everyone, go rest." Seeing that he didn't want to say more, Ling Feng smiled and waved for everyone to rest.

Everyone gradually dispersed, each choosing a place to sit and meditate. Ling Ying was also very tired and didn't continue to pester him, which made Qin Lie secretly relieved.

"Thank you so much. Without you, Ling Ying and I... would have suffered greatly, and our clan members would all have been killed." After everyone left, Ling Yushi stayed behind. Her eyes shone, and she seemed a bit hesitant to look at Qin Lie, instead looking in Ling Ying's direction. "That girl is very curious about you. I thought she would cling to you again, but it seems she's really exhausted."

"She does talk a lot." Qin Lie nodded in agreement. "I was afraid of her questions. It's much better that she didn't come over."

Seeing his expression of lingering fear, Ling Yushi couldn't help but chuckle. After a moment, she asked softly, "Many times, I noticed your eyes were really vacant and lost. You weren't just pretending to be foolish for the past five years, right?"

"Yes, many times I was really in a daze, due to practicing a certain technique. It's only recently that I truly woke up..." Given the situation, there was no need to hide some things, so he explained briefly to give Ling Yushi an answer.

"Last time, when I went in to help you bathe, what state were you in?" Ling Yushi suddenly lowered her head, her face slightly red, and softly called out in a shy voice.

"Help me bathe? When was that? I don't remember. I was probably still practicing." Qin Lie's heart raced, and he quickly pretended to be confused.

Hearing this, Ling Yushi's mind was in chaos, feeling that he was not being honest but couldn't catch him in a lie. She blushed and said nervously, "Then, I'll go rest..." and hurriedly walked away, keeping a distance from him.

Qin Lie touched his face, suddenly realizing how thick-skinned he was. Looking at Ling Yushi's shy and embarrassed figure in the distance, he secretly smiled, finding it amusing: She's two years older than me, yet her face is thinner than mine. This woman... is quite interesting.

"Is that bad guy telling the truth? If it's true, then at that time... he had a reaction, didn't he?" On the other side, Ling Yushi, facing away from Qin Lie, her heart was still in turmoil, unable to calm down.

"Crack!"

Half an hour later, while the Ling family members were still recovering, the sound of breaking shrubs suddenly came.

Ling Yushi, Ling Feng, and others' expressions changed dramatically. They quickly whispered to everyone to hide carefully, each taking out their weapons, ready to fight if necessary.

No one dared to move recklessly or run away, as running would also break the shrubs and immediately expose their location.

They crouched in the dense shrubs, not even daring to breathe, hoping the newcomers wouldn't come their way.

However, the more they feared something, the more it happened. The direction of the breaking shrubs was precisely where they were.

Ling Feng's face was grim as he silently made a fighting gesture to everyone, instructing them to attack the enemy by surprise when they saw them.

Qin Lie also gripped the Green-Winged Axe tightly, his eyes fixed on the direction of the sound, silently cursing his bad luck.

Suddenly, a blood-soaked figure appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Liu Yan!"

The Ling family members were stunned for a moment, then saw Gao Yu and two other Gao family members, also covered in blood, appear behind Liu Yan.

Seeing that the newcomers were Liu Yan and the Gao family members, Ling Yushi, Ling Feng, and others immediately emerged with surprise and called out.

Qin Lie's face changed, and he inwardly cursed. Liu Yan's appearance meant that the people from the Shuibing Manor were likely nearby. Meeting Liu Yan would bring them no benefit and only add more danger.

On the contrary, when Liu Yan and Gao Yu saw the Ling family members, their eyes lit up, as if they had seen hope.

"Why are you here?" Liu Yan called out, his gaze sweeping over the Ling family members and finally settling on Qin Lie. He said heavily, "Qin Lie! Very good! You're very good!"

Gao Yu also had a grim face, looking coldly at Qin Lie and said, "We didn't all die. Are you disappointed?"

Qin Lie smiled bitterly, knowing that with Liu Yan and Gao Yu's insight, they had already guessed that the one who had helped the Ling family plan was him and had seen through his intentions.

...ps: Rolling for recommendation votes support~~

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