World's Best Martial Artist

The meat lump was absorbing Energy Essence desperately.

Fang Ping could feel Old Man Li’s desperation. Certain parts of the meat lump were bursting!

“If you die from being too full, so be it. That’s still better than dying a wimp!”

Fang Ping hissed. Usually, Fang Ping would have thrown curses around when Old Man Li was so wild and wasteful.

However, facing an impending deadly crisis now, who would even care about these things?

Next to him, the roots acted even wilder now.

As if it had sensed that the thief was currently consuming its Life Essence that it had to collect bit by bit. Willow Tree Monster was infuriated. Masses of roots penetrated through the mud, attacking Fang Ping madly!

They were nearly 10 li away from the center of the roots. However, these roots were still equipped with mighty powers.

Every attack was strong enough to kill a Rank-4.

Paired with its degree of tenacity and sharpness, even a Rank-5 martial artist might be killed too.

A Rank-9’s power was no ordinary power!

If this was in the inner city, perhaps even a Rank-6 would be killed by these roots. A little nearer, and even high ranks might not be able to escape.

As for a typical Rank-9 martial artist, even if one wanted to kill a Rank-7, it would not be as fast as this.

Willow Tree Monster might be much stronger than a typical Rank-9.

Below him, the roots were attacking Fang Ping; above him, the Rank-7’s aura was approaching.

Further down, another Rank-7 powerhouse’s aura emerged.

A hint of hopelessness was evident in Fang Ping’s eyes. This time, he was really done for!

He was trapped in a hopeless situation!

“Even if I die, I won’t let you get away with this so easily!”

Fang Ping drank a mouthful of Energy Essence in one gulp, feeling like he was about to explode. A split second later, Fang Ping employed a slash!

This move unleashed outbursts of even greater energy!

Boom!

A loud crash. The passageway collapsed. The slashed crystal-like colored roots turned slightly dull.

Even so, Fang Ping who had launched a full-force slash could not even cut these peripheral roots in half!

An A-class Divine Weapon, one that was paired with a full force slash that was comparable to Middle-stage Rank-5 power, had done nothing but made the roots slightly dimmer!

“Divine Weapon!”

Presently, Fang Ping did not harbor any greed at all. Instead, he was in despair.

This Willow Tree Monster was too powerful!

Roots like this covered the entire fort densely. There might be hundreds of thousands of them.

Each one of them was more powerful than an A-class weapon. What sort of concept was this?

Could hundreds of thousands of middle-ranked martial artists even kill such a mighty tree monster in a siege?

“Just hold on a little longer!”

Just as Fang Ping was in despair, the meat lump started transforming. There was a dull thud, and Old Man Li’s voice was heard.

“Hold on just a bit longer! Give me more Energy Essence. Quick!”

Now, the meat lump that was wrapped in Energy Essence demonstrated slight changes, like it was growing limbs.

Or to put it in another way, the limbs were already there. They had only lost their supporting bones, hence they were integrated with the body.

With an abundance of energy now, even though his bones had yet to grow back, he received support from the energy instead. His limbs were all propped up.

“You’re not f*cking dead yet!”

Fang Ping was delighted for things turned out beyond his expectations. He hurriedly retrieved even more Energy Essence and enveloped the meat lump with it.

As for himself, he had also begun tunneling downward.

He had yet to arrive inside the drainage pipeline when someone struck upward from beneath him!

In the pit, Fang Ping was squashed by the surrounding stones that he was nearly deformed. Huge amounts of blood gushed out.

“Spitting and spitting. It isn’t so bad after getting used to it!”

Such irresponsible thought emerged in his mind. Fang Ping did not continue diving downward. Instead, he started opening up new passageways toward the sides.

Below him, someone was constantly launching attacks!

Next to him, roots were also piercing over.

Fang Ping knew that he might have turned into a honeycomb briquette without even taking a look.

He did not die because he repeatedly consumed his Wealth to replenish his Vitality and Mentality, constantly employing huge amounts of Vitality and Mentality to form a protective cover.

If this was a typical Rank-6 martial artist, one might have already died now.

Fang Ping, with his incredible endurance, was currently portraying a great tenacity. Not one of you could kill me!

He was not hit directly. It was also not easy for the after-wave to shock him to death.

High-ranked powerhouses were undoubtedly strong. However, it would still not be so easy for them to shock him to death with countless meters deep of stones and mud standing in between them.

Even so, after numerous tremors, Fang Ping felt like he could not hold on any longer.

“Are you done?”

“Done!”

The meat lump was slowly recovering back into a human form. However, after Fang Ping gave it a once over, his expression changed instead.

Presently, the human form was still a badly mangled one. Although it was much bigger than before, it was still not much different from a skinned piglet.

In addition to that… its head was slightly odd. Flat and sunken.

Fang Ping could hardly recognize that this was Old Man Li from his badly slanted head.

“There’s no bones left? It’s impossible!”

A bizarre thought emerged in Fang Ping’s heart. This was too f*cking ugly!

If this was what Old Man Li would recover to, looking like a fool that he was now, he would be better off dead. He would frighten others to death if he went out.

“Stop looking. I’m not fully recovered yet. Give me the saber!” Old Man Li shouted exasperatedly.

What the f*ck were you looking at. He knew how foolish he looked like right now without needing to hear it from Fang Ping!

He was already beyond fortunate for being alive!

Fang Ping handed the saber over hurriedly. Energy was surging in Old Man Li’s body. He opened up a new passageway with a slash, saying swiftly, “You bastard. What a troublemaker. A Rank-8 powerhouse is nearly here. Get behind me and continue pouring Energy Essence on me!”

Fang Ping went behind him immediately and continued pouring Energy Essence on him.

Old Man Li waved the saber repeatedly, slashing out a deep passageway.

“Can we kill these guys?”

Fang Ping could not help but ask.

“F*ck off!”

Anxiety was evident in Old Man Li’s voice, he hissed, “Don’t be too optimistic. My bones are not completely healed yet. I may look like a person, but I’m just a pile of rotten meat! We’ll get out of the city first. If someone chases after us, then I’ll employ a slash. Remember, after I employ the slash, I might shatter. Do you still have Energy Essence?”

“Not much left…”

“D*mn. We’ll see. You, kid, have created such great chaos to bring me back to life. Dying like that is just too regretful!”

If Old Man Li truly died, he would die a regretful death for sure.

This kid Fang Ping was too insane!

In order to steal these Energy Essences, he had made the entire city come after him!

A Rank-4 martial artist like him had done something that even a Rank-9 dared not do.

If he died now, he would feel really sorry for all the adventure Fang Ping had taken this time.

As he was saying, a figure ahead broke the underground soil apart and penetrated through.

Without thinking, Old Man Li let out a deafening roar. The Chaos-Vanquishing Saber unleashed an extremely intense blood-tinted glow, slashing outward. The ground shook and the passageway collapsed straightaway.

A split second later, Old Man Li bored down without thinking.

Upward was out of bounds!

If they came surfaced on the ground, they would be dead for sure!

His crisis awareness was better than Fang Ping.

The Catacombs forts’ monster plant guardians were beyond mighty. Now, they were underground, far away from the other party. The other party could not just move about at will. Its Mentality intimidation only tens of meters radius underground, so its powers were also limited.

However, if they soared into the sky, then the other party could employ a portion of its abilities. No matter how far, its unparalleled pressure would have him, Li Changsheng, kneeling on both knees.

Upon entering the underground pipeline, Old Man Li dashed outside at blinding speed!

In front of them, another human figure appeared!

“Kill!”

Old Man Li roared madly. The changdao’s blood-tinted glow shot out hundreds of meters. The person in front let out a guttural roar as well, smacking outward, striking Old Man Li so hard that his body was quivering ceaselessly.

“Give me energy!”

“Okay!”

Fang Ping held onto his shoulders now, stopping him from quivering further. The Energy Essence in the storage space was constantly being poured out.

Massive amounts of Energy Essence seeped into his body. Old Man Li’s body looked like it had been energized.

“Kill!”

Old Man Li was letting out a series of deafening roars. The changdao was no longer releasing blood-tinted glow. Instead, countless energy condensed and formed a saber glow!

The passageway was collapsing nonstop. Old Man Li was slashing wildly whilst dashing outside.

“D*mn it!”

Looking at the passageway collapsing, countless alarming cries were heard coming from the fort. The high-ranked powerhouse who was blocking ahead was also in a towering rage.

When fighting underground, both their abilities were equally powerful. If this continued, they might collapse the underground passageways.

Now, the willow tree roots were no longer launching attacks. Instead, they started stabilizing the underground passageways.

If the fort was destroyed, that would still be fine. However, there were still mineral veins underground. If the mineral veins were destroyed, then it would be catastrophic.

“The Rank-8 is here!”

Fang Ping hissed. Behind them, the Rank-8 powerhouse’s aura was closing in on them!

“I know!”

Old Man Li was swearing. He said madly, “It’s a pity that I no longer have my Longevity Sword!”

The Longevity Sword had already shattered completely after he killed the Rank-8.

Otherwise, having the Longevity Sword that he had nurtured for more than ten years in his hands, his combat strength would be much stronger than how it was now.

However, even if he had his Longevity Sword, he could not slash a Rank-8 with his current condition. That slash earlier was a result after nurturing his sword for many years.

“What rank are you now?”

Fang Ping asked again.

“I don’t know!”

Whilst replying to the question, Old Man Li ran toward other directions. Only ghosts would know what rank he was!

Right now, he was filled with Energy Essence. His bones were completely shattered. He did not show any traits that could determine his ranks.

However, with large amounts of Energy Essence surging in his flesh, his outbursts were not any weaker.

Whilst they were talking, Old Man Li slashed at random, destroying the passageway, causing the top to collapse.

“Bastard!”

The powerhouses who were chasing behind flew into a rage. Was he going to destroy the mineral veins?

A powerful Mentality pressure suppressed them without warning!

The Mentality barrier that Fang Ping had put up was shattered instantly, his mind turned blank. Blood was flowing ceaselessly out of the seven openings of his head.

“I’m about to die!”

Old Man Li’s reaction was not too big, though. Now, he was not considered a living being. His entire body was made up of Energy Essence.

Sensing Fang Ping’s condition, Old Man Li roared, “Blow up the Energy Essence!”

“How do I do that?”

Fang Ping asked in a delirious state.

“Pour your Mentality into it. It’s the same as blowing up Vitality!”

A split second later, huge amounts of Energy Essence emerged. Fang Ping suppressed his agony, his Mentality emerged once more. Then, he blew up the Energy Essence in the blink of an eye!

Boom!

An ear-splitting crash was heard, blasting the land within hundreds of meters radius into a pit straightaway!

“Let them leave the city. We’ll kill them in a siege outside the city!”

Behind them, someone let out an infuriated roar!

They could not proceed fighting underground anymore. If this continued, the mineral vein would collapse.

Once he had said those words, rage flashed through a chieftain powerhouse’s eyes ahead who was prepared to stop them. He stepped aside instead.

If this continued, the underground would collapse!

It was a pity that Willow King was not around!

Divine Willow could not move out of the inner city at will. Or else, these two would not even make it this far!

“How spiteful!”

A raging roar was heard. Old Man Li did not utter a word. They would die sooner or later if they stayed in the city. The other party was worried that this would turn into a life-and-death struggle, whereas Old Man Li was worried that the other party would never let them go until the end. If they truly destroyed the underground, they would also die for sure.

Since they had prepared to kill him in a siege now, he had a slim chance of survival, at least.

The other party had stepped aside, so Old Man Li did not hold back either, charging out at the speed of light.

After fleeing wildly for a moment, they came to the end of the drainage pipeline. Without thinking, Old Man Li soared into the sky, penetrating through the surface ground straightaway.

Now, they were already outside of the city.

However, on the sky, two Rank-7 powerhouses charged over at breakneck speed; Behind them, a Rank-8 and a Rank-7 were also hot on their heels.

This time, they no longer had any apprehensions.

No matter how big of a movement they made, how destructive their force was, it would not affect Royal City so much anymore.

“Energy!”

Fang Ping wasted no time on nonsense. Once again, he poured out huge amounts of Energy Essence.

“Kill!”

Chaos-Vanquishing Saber unleashed an extremely intense and rich energy radiance!

The complexion of the two Rank-7 powerhouses in the sky changed slightly. Although this slash would not kill them, these guys were actually wounded. If the other party unleashed a full-force slash now, it would also be troublesome after this.

Such thoughts flashed across their minds. In the next second, something unbelievable happened.

The changdao unleashed an extremely intense energy radiance, but Old Man Li’s feet unleashed an even more intense radiance!

Almost at the same time, before the changdao was employed, Old Man Li pierced through the void. He was already hundreds of meters away.

“Continue giving me energy!”

Old Man Li let out a guttural roar. Fang Ping felt like his cheeks were scraped by knives. The speed was too quick. Now, he could not even speak. He could only grab onto Old Man Li with all his might.

As for Old Man Li’s escaping… he was not too surprised either.

Of course, he was definitely no match for them. He would only be waiting for death if he did not run!

A Rank-8 and three Rank-7s. It was hard to tell what rank Old Man Li was right now. However, he was definitely not as strong as a Rank-7. At least he had confronted them earlier. He was no match for them.

At this point now, they could only run!

A tremendous amount of Energy Essence was poured out once more.

Fang Ping had no idea how much he had wasted, nor the amount he had left. He had no time to find out.

Sonic booms were constantly growing further away. At this moment, Old Man Li’s speed had exceeded the speed of sound.

Even for high-ranked powerhouses, wanting to break the sonic barrier was not so easy to achieve.

Usually, when Fang Ping and the rest would flee, their speed was a hundred meters per second. This was already considered an extremely fast speed. This was even achieved after breaking through Peak Rank-4.

Speed like this was not slower than typical Rank-5 and 6 martial artists.

It was only natural for higher ranks to have even higher speeds.

However, exceeding the sonic barrier and increasing one’s speed was not the same as saying that one’s ability had also increased.

At such quick speed, all Fang Ping could feel was that his blood was nearly dried up, flowing outward unrestrainedly through the countless penetrated pores and openings on his body.

Under such helplessness, Fang Ping did not care anymore. He began gulping down Energy Essence himself. It was better to die from being too full than to bleed to death.

Behind them, a few intense auras were hot on their heels.

Old Man Li’s liver had also exploded. Perhaps, he might not even have a liver to blow up. His speed had gone through the roof. Numerous cracks had also appeared on his flesh, with evidence of continuous cracks.

“Give me more…”

Old Man Li’s voice sounded somewhat weak now.

Fang Ping had no choice but to continue pouring Energy Essence. He took the advantage to scan the storage space with his Mentality. His face was beyond purple.

Nearly finished!

Also, they were constantly being hunted, hence he did not have time to check his own Wealth. Motherf*cker. Were the ones he consumed counted under Wealth?

This was an unprecedented situation!

If they were not counted, then he had really suffered a great loss this time.

“Continue pouring!”

“It’s nearly empty!”

Fang Ping’s voice carried a hint of weeping. ‘Give’ was the only word the old fellow knew. Did you even know how much had been poured out for you now!

Risking getting chased after by a Rank-9, with a bunch of Rank-7s on their tails. Motherf*cker, you had nearly emptied everything, yet still looked more dead than alive. Did this even make sense!

There was a pause in Old Man Li’s voice. Then, he yelled, “Just one more time. Otherwise, we’ll really have nothing if we die!”

Fang Ping did not waste any time either. He poured more than half of what was left of the Energy Essence out.

Old Man Li’s badly mangled legs unleashed intense energy waves once more. It was as if they were time traveling. In the blink of an eye, they ran thousands of meters away, gradually pulling their distance away from the soldiers chasing behind them.

“One more time!”

“There’s really no more!”

“…”

Old Man Li did not utter a word. He unleashed outbursts once more. The flesh on his body started drying up, looking like he was about to turn into a meat lump once more.

Fang Ping was helpless. He could only pour out a little once more.

After a few outbursts, the people behind them were left far behind.

In front, a forest appeared. Old Man Li dug into the ground. Without staying to rest, he scuttled very quickly, escaping out of the forest at the speed of light.

Then, they dug their way into a small valley.

They did not stay in the small valley. After running to the back of the small valley, Old Man Li saw a river. Without saying a word, he jumped into the river, fled hundreds of meters following the river flow. Then, he began digging underneath the water…

Such a familiar function. Fang Ping thought it looked especially familiar.

After digging a pit in the mud, Old Man Li dug in hurriedly. Fang Ping did not waste any time either, digging into it immediately, covering the mud on top properly.

As usual, the duo still did not stay. Following the pit along the riverbed, they continued digging downward. This was the deciding point whether they could escape this time or not.

They were chased by so many Rank-7 and 8s. If they were discovered, there would be a one hundred percent chance that they would not survive.

Now, Fang Ping had no aura at all. Old Man Li’s aura was also weakening very quickly.

Watching him turning mud-like, Fang Ping’s head hurt. There was only a bit of Energy Essence left. Could this old man recover?

Both of them made no sound, nor were they breathing.

When one had reached Fang Ping’s level, although one could not stop breathing for eternity, under the operation of Vitality, one could go a few days without breathing.

As for how Old Man Li did it, Fang Ping could not care less right now.

Lying amidst the mud, Fang Ping took a look at Old Man Li’s head. He could not bring himself to look at him directly, turning his head away quickly. How ugly. Flat and sunken. It disgusted him just looking at it.