Chapter 250: Zhang Yu’s Foundation Establishment
“Not good!”
Chi He leaped violently to the side.
At the same time, a sword-light materialized from the adjacent shadows, streaking across like a bolt of heavenly thunder, slashing toward the hastily dodging Chi He.
Seeing the figure within the lightning, Chi He’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets in fury. “Bai Zhenzhen!”
“That crazy woman! She didn’t run… she turned back to ambush me?!”
Once she had decided to act, Bai Zhenzhen had no intention of letting any advantage go to waste.
They know we’re buying a Heavenly Spiritual Root, so they’ll be watching the couriers. That means wherever the delivery address is, that’s where the battlefield will be.
In other words, I get to choose the battlefield, and I can set up an ambush in advance.
Having lain in wait outside the factory for a long time, Bai Zhenzhen decided to make Chi He her first target the moment she saw him.
Wang Yin’s lapdog. He must be the one leading the team to capture us.
If I take him down first, it should throw them into disarray.
She used the heart art of the Cold Soul Ice Heart Art to heighten her body’s responsiveness in this desperate situation, making her muscles and nerves react faster.
She used the True Spiritual Root to help gather all her physical strength for the most powerful possible strike.
She used the electric field she had previously laid out with the Nine Heavens Thunderwalk to accelerate her speed.
She used the Thunder God’s Decisive Bolt to unleash all her thunder magic power in an instant, delivering a lightning-fast slash…
Although Bai Zhenzhen’s raw power hadn’t increased much since the Foundation Establishment exam, her practice and deduction of cultivation techniques, along with her repeated contemplation of swordsmanship, had given her an increasingly profound understanding of her own martial dao, and of the sound-breaking strike she had delivered in the exam.
The sudden eruption of power now produced a world-shaking sword strike, which in an instant pierced through Chi He’s chest, tearing a massive hole.
Boom!
The strike, like a thunderous heavenly sword, instantly captured the attention of all the other experts.
Facing their gazes—be it of shock, bewilderment, anger, or fear—Bai Zhenzhen roared, “Patrol team on official business! Who seeks death? You’ll end up just like him.”
She kicked the half-dead Chi He away and continued, “A little reminder for you all: it’s not illegal for me to kill you right now. If you dare make a move against me, be prepared to lose everything.”
As she spoke, Bai Zhenzhen activated all the remaining electric fields from her Nine Heavens Thunderwalk and shot backward in a blur.
Simultaneously, through her breathing exercise, her True Spiritual Root began to frantically absorb spiritual energy, constantly replenishing her magic power.
After nine months of cultivation, Bai Zhenzhen was now able to retain a trace of magic power for circulation after unleashing the burst of the Thunder God’s Decisive Bolt. This, combined with the spiritual energy absorption from her True Spiritual Root, ensured she wouldn’t suffer a period of complete magic power depletion.
Especially with the aid of her True Spiritual Root, every moment she performed the breathing exercise restored a portion of her magic power for combat.
And under the force of Bai Zhenzhen’s lethal strike and thunderous shouts, the other Qi Refinement experts present seemed momentarily stunned, watching blankly as she retreated.
Just then, a wave of divine power descended from the sky, pouring into Chi He’s body.
Chi He’s nearly dead body began to recover at a visible rate.
Someone exclaimed in shock, “It’s a surgical talisman from the Ministry of Health!”
At the same time, everyone’s phones rang in unison, automatically answering to broadcast Wang Yin’s voice.
“I will be casting the talismans remotely. You don’t have to worry about dying.”
“As for losing everything… whatever losses you incur in this battle, I will compensate you double.”
“And as for the rewards afterward, I never disappoint my people.”
Hearing Wang Yin’s words, everyone was instantly invigorated.
After all, they all remembered Mr. Wang’s generosity and boldness. His few words were enough to fill them with fighting spirit.
Ye Mantian took the lead, charging after Bai Zhenzhen.
“Get her!”
Seeing this, Bai Zhenzhen’s heart sank.
Especially when she saw Chi He, whom she had seized a rare opportunity and exhausted her magic power to severely wound, about to recover in an instant. She couldn’t help but curse inwardly, Damn rich people.
This is going to be a tough fight.
However, she was also secretly relieved to have her identity as a patrol team member as cover, and that Deng Bingding had said the righteous gods on either side would not intervene directly.
Otherwise, the enemy’s talisman would likely have been used directly on her.
“Hmph.”
Seeing the crowd chasing her like a pack of rabid dogs, Bai Zhenzhen turned and sped away in a streak of electric light.
“Then bring it on.”
“Let’s see how many times I can kill you!”
While Oasis Group’s experts were all distracted by Bai Zhenzhen…
Zhang Yu slowly walked out of a commercial building.
Looking at the box in his arms, he let out a soft breath.
Inside this box… was the Heavenly Spiritual Root he had just purchased in the building.
As for the delivery used to lure the enemy, it was merely a cash-on-delivery decoy to draw their attention.
Arriving at a prearranged location deep within the sewers, Zhang Yu opened the box, knowing that from this moment until he completed his Foundation Establishment, he could not move again.
He thought to himself, Zhen, hold on.
I’ll come for you as soon as I’m done.
With that, Zhang Yu swallowed the Heavenly Spiritual Root in a single gulp and began the process of fusing the root with his body to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. The sound of tearing air echoed.
A dozen figures chased one another through the alleyways, the sounds of their clashes erupting intermittently.
This abandoned factory district, specially chosen by Bai Zhenzhen as the battlefield, had a complex and labyrinthine terrain, filled with numerous alleys, underground passages, and unfinished buildings.
In the course of pursuing Bai Zhenzhen, the dozen or so pursuers, some fast and some slow, quickly became separated by the complex terrain.
At this moment, the fastest and closest was Ye Mantian, who was only about ten meters behind Bai Zhenzhen.
The farthest pursuer, meanwhile, had been left more than a hundred meters behind.
Thus, when Bai Zhenzhen came to a sudden halt, spun around, and drew her sword, the only opponent she had to face at that moment was the one closest to her, Ye Mantian.
Ye Mantian also understood instantly… at this moment, although Bai Zhenzhen was still being pursued by more than a dozen experts, the only one who could help him was himself.
Boom!
With a fierce roar, Ye Mantian’s muscles swelled as he thrust his fists forward with all his might, like battering rams.
“You’re not going anywhere!”
He believed that as long as he could tie Bai Zhenzhen down for a few breaths, his teammates would quickly catch up.
And with his strength, even if he couldn’t defeat her, could he not last for a mere few breaths?
However, to Ye Mantian’s astonishment, Bai Zhenzhen neither blocked nor parried, neither dodged nor evaded, but instead charged head-first toward his iron fists.
Ye Mantian knew that Bai Zhenzhen was by no means a body-tempering expert, nor had she practiced anything like Iron Head Kung Fu; this strike could very well shatter her skull.
“Not good!”
Ye Mantian remembered with perfect clarity that Wang Yin and Chi He had repeatedly ordered them not to kill Bai Zhenzhen.
Wang Yin: “Even if you yourselves are gravely injured, you absolutely must not kill Bai Zhenzhen!”
“Dead or alive, fresh or frozen—the prices are worlds apart!”
Ye Mantian let out a furious roar and abruptly retracted his fists, withdrawing his power.
Having just unleashed his full strength, he now had to suddenly pull it back. He felt as if he were fighting against himself. Not only were his muscles on the verge of tearing, but the magic power within him was in turmoil.
But Bai Zhenzhen, as if she had anticipated this all along, had already leaped past his rigid body, her fingertips trailing a flash of thunderous sword-light.
With a loud bang, blood burst from Ye Mantian’s body as the sword-light swept across his hands, feet, eyes, and dantian.
Then, with a thud, Ye Mantian collapsed to the ground, only able to watch Bai Zhenzhen’s retreating figure.
That woman… she’s a complete lunatic, Ye Mantian thought. Wasn’t she worried I wouldn’t pull back in time? She was literally gambling with her life.
Bai Zhenzhen glanced as the power of the surgical talisman descended upon Ye Mantian, watching him begin to heal. She thought, Just as I expected… since he has this kind of remote healing, not killing them is the best option.
Although I was fairly confident I could have killed him just now…
…if I had gone for the kill, faced with a threat to his life, he might not have continued to hold back against me, regardless of Wang Yin’s orders.
Seeing Chi He circle around to block her path up ahead, Bai Zhenzhen assessed her magic power, and with a flicker of her body, she changed direction.
In this manner, she fought and retreated through the complex terrain, occasionally leaving behind an electric field to accelerate suddenly, at other times forcing her way through encirclements with desperate gambits, and at others, building up power for a sword strike, unleashing the fifteenth sword of the Myriad Sword Everlasting Art to break the sound barrier…
Bai Zhenzhen darted left and right, dragging out the fight for over forty minutes.
But the encirclement was tightening, leaving her with less and less room to maneuver.
Just as she was about to be captured, she slashed open a manhole cover with her sword and leaped, intending to jump inside.
My stamina, magic power, and room to move are all reaching their limits, Bai Zhenzhen thought. According to the escape route I prepared… I’ll fall back for a while.
Just as Chi He, Ye Mantian, and the others watched in frustration, a figure suddenly shot out from the sewer.
The newcomer was Zhou Yang of the Zhou family.
His face was disguised, and he had even hidden his title of Purple-Gold Merit Master. With a low shout, an endless cold qi enveloped Bai Zhenzhen.
Feeling the astonishing chill that seemed to freeze her very blood, Bai Zhenzhen looked at him in disbelief. Who is this guy? When did he get here?
Zhou Yang had sprung into action the moment he realized Oasis Group was hunting Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.
On one hand, he wanted to see if he could seize this opportunity to capture the two.
On the other, with the Zhou family in continuous decline, he wanted to take the chance to curry favor with Wang Yin and secure a future for himself.
Thus, he had been gathering intelligence, tracking Chi He and his team, and after discovering the conflict, he had silently waited for an opportunity… which had finally arrived.
With the full power of his Frost Heaven Freezing Qi Field erupting, Zhou Yang struck out with his palm.
With a loud bang, Bai Zhenzhen hastily met the blow. Her body temperature plummeted, and frost instantly formed on her arm and face.
Bai Zhenzhen slammed into a wall with a thud, retching and spitting out a mouthful of icy blood that steamed with cold.
She was about to retreat when Zhou Yang’s hand gently pressed down on her shoulder.
As waves of cold qi flooded her body, Bai Zhenzhen was completely suppressed on the spot by Zhou Yang.
Chi He and the others had surrounded them. Looking at the disguised Zhou Yang and the subdued Bai Zhenzhen, he frowned and asked, “Who are you?”
Zhou Yang nodded slightly, replying politely, “Just a small figure who wishes to serve Mr. Wang.”
Chi He sneered. “Hand Bai Zhenzhen over to us.”
“I will take you to see Mr. Wang shortly.”
Zhou Yang’s heart leaped with joy. Just as he was about to hand Bai Zhenzhen over, a thick white fog suddenly rose all around them.
The factory, alleys, and buildings were instantly swallowed by the white fog, as if the entire district had been pulled into another world.
At the same time, from within the dense fog, Zhang Yu’s cold voice slowly drifted out.
“Clown, release her with your filthy paws.”