Chapter 101: Treading the Void
Hum—
The air rippled.
An aura of Grandmaster-level pressure, like a vast, invisible fishing net that could be felt but not seen or touched, enveloped all thirty-odd people surrounding Tang Mubai.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Like dumplings being dropped into a pot, the thirty-plus gunmen who had been aiming at Tang Mubai all collapsed to their knees at once, their weapons clattering to the ground. Each of them lay half-crouched or completely prostrate, pinned in place by the terrifying pressure, unable to move a single inch.
All except the bald middle-aged man!
A faint golden light suddenly appeared around his body, like a gauze robe enveloping him, blocking the suppression of Tang Mubai's aura.
However, the bald middle-aged man's expression at this moment was also exceedingly grim.
His gaze toward Tang Mubai was filled with terror and utter disbelief.
Grandmaster!
Tang Mubai, who wasn't even twenty years old, was actually a Grandmaster-level expert!
Although the bald middle-aged man had known that Tang Mubai daring to venture out of the domain alone, entering the ruins to collect baleful qi, meant he must have some kind of trump card on him.
That trump card was most likely some powerful treasure or spirit artifact.
Just like the jade pendant he was relying on right now to withstand the Grandmaster's pressure.
This jade pendant was a protective talisman he had obtained at great cost.
It could not only resist Grandmaster-level pressure, but also block a full-force strike from a Grandmaster-level expert.
As long as he wore this jade pendant, the bald middle-aged man—who was half a step away from breaking through to Master-level—didn't need to fear Grandmasters.
After all, if he couldn't win, he could run.
But when he truly faced the pressure released by a Grandmaster-level expert, the bald middle-aged man realized just how laughable his previous thinking had been.
The jade pendant on him could indeed resist Grandmaster-level pressure, but it was draining at an alarming rate!
The bald middle-aged man knew very well that this jade pendant was a defensive treasure. Once its energy was depleted, it would shatter.
In simple terms, it was a disposable item—once used up, it was gone.
Under the coverage of the Grandmaster's pressure, the faint golden light was gradually dimming.
The longer the pressure lasted, the faster the light dissipated.
The bald middle-aged man estimated that within three minutes at most, the jade pendant on his body would crack and break apart!
Without the pendant to protect him, death would not be far behind.
So, upon discovering that Tang Mubai was a Grandmaster-level expert, the bald middle-aged man made his decision in a flash of lightning.
*Swish!*
A puff of pinkish powder was flung from his hand, scattering toward Tang Mubai.
The bald middle-aged man himself spun around like lightning and fled at top speed toward the mountain forest behind him.
His speed was extreme. In a few brief flickers, he vanished into the woods and disappeared from sight.
The others lying on the ground stared at this scene, utterly dumbfounded.
He ran...
The bald middle-aged man, their leader, had actually run!
Without sparing a single one of them a second glance, he had turned and fled without the slightest hesitation!
In that instant, everyone lying on the ground felt both desolation and fury.
A few of them were just about to curse—
*Whoosh!*
A burst of fierce wind suddenly kicked up.
*Swish!*
A snow-white blade of light bloomed on the scene.
*Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!*
Accompanied by spurts of crimson blood spraying through the air, the thirty-odd people either kneeling half-upright or lying flat on the ground had their throats slit by the lightning-fast blade light, or their entire heads severed clean from their bodies.
In less than ten seconds, everyone who had been aiming guns at Tang Mubai moments before was dead.
*Life Force +78*
*Life Force +86*
*Life Force +91*
*Life Force +77*
...
A stream of recovery notifications flashed rapidly through his mind.
Tang Mubai didn't bother counting them. He immediately employed his lightness skill and shot off like a bolt of lightning, chasing in the direction the bald middle-aged man had fled.
The pinkish powder the bald middle-aged man had scattered—whatever its purpose—never got the chance to take effect.
Tang Mubai had been holding his breath from the very start. How could he have fallen for it?
*Swish, swish, swish!*
His figure moved like a shadow, swift as lightning.
Tang Mubai gripped his battle blade, pushed his lightness skill to the absolute limit, and drove his sixth sense to full power. Without a moment's hesitation or pause in the mountain forest, he pursued at full speed.
The result did not disappoint him.
In less than three minutes, he spotted the bald middle-aged man in the distance, darting rapidly through the woods.
Immediately, Tang Mubai drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and prepared to shoot him dead.
But unexpectedly, at that very moment, the bald middle-aged man burst out of the forest and saw that there was no path ahead—only a sheer cliff. He suddenly lifted both feet off the ground, treading upon empty air as if invisible stairs existed in midair. Step by step he ascended into the sky, flying toward the top of the several-hundred-meter-tall cliff!
"...So cool!"
Tang Mubai stared, stunned. His intention to shoot the bald middle-aged man dead instantly changed.
The arrow on the bowstring still flew forth, but its target was no longer the bald middle-aged man's chest—it was his legs!
*Thunk—*
The arrow pierced through his thigh, blood spraying through the air.
The bald middle-aged man, who had been executing his exquisite lightness skill, let out a muffled groan. His entire body lost balance and plummeted from the sky.
Fortunately, he had only risen less than ten meters above the ground, so when he fell, he wasn't killed on the spot.
Though he didn't die, he did break one leg and one arm. Lying on the ground, drenched in sweat, his body trembling uncontrollably, he gritted his teeth and dared not cry out.
If he made a sound, the ferocious beasts and giant insects in the mountain forest would absolutely charge over immediately and tear him apart limb from limb.
When Tang Mubai walked over, the bald middle-aged man didn't hesitate in the slightest. His face flushed, he gritted his teeth and begged for mercy, "Young master, I was wrong! I shouldn't have coveted the baleful qi on you. I was wrong, I'm guilty! As long as you spare my life, I can give you a large sum of money!"
"How about ten million? If ten million isn't enough, how about thirty million? If thirty million isn't enough, how about fifty million? If fifty million still isn't enough, how about a hundred million? As long as you agree to spare me, I'll give you—"
"Enough."
Tang Mubai raised his hand to cut him off. "I don't want money. I want the lightness skill you just used. And don't tell me the manual for that skill isn't on you. I saw it just now—your lightness skill, though exquisite beyond compare, is a martial art within the third cycle. The corresponding manual would only be a text record, not one with illustrations!"
The bald middle-aged man: "..."
That was right. For martial arts within the third cycle, the corresponding manuals were all text records.
It was only starting from fourth-cycle martial arts that illustrations accompanied the explanations.
This was a secret Tang Mubai had discovered after learning the *Cloud-Rolling Hand*.
He didn't know the exact reason. Perhaps martial arts within the third cycle didn't involve attribute power?
Whatever the cause, the point was that martial artists who practiced text-recorded manuals would mostly memorize them.
Even if he only remembered a tenth of it, Tang Mubai could use the system to deduce the complete version!
The bald middle-aged man knew none of this. Upon hearing the demand, he immediately recited a passage of text.
Tang Mubai memorized it while attempting to practice at the same time.
Soon—
*[Incomplete manual detected: Sky-Treading Step. Consume 15 years of lifespan to deduce and complete?]*
...
(PS: This is the final public chapter. It will be paywalled tomorrow. Hoping for everyone's support, o(╥﹏╥)o)