Chapter 24: Broken Body

The excited emotions gradually dissipated, and a sharp pain radiated from Junior Brother Bai Ming's chest; at this critical, hair-trigger moment, he caught his breath.

"Hold on, the exit is right before my eyes. As long as I make it through, the world will be my oyster, and I will never have to see that crazy woman again."

A Fire Fist struck out, but Senior Brother Xiao dodged to the side and returned with a sword strike, only for Junior Brother Bai Ming to press his left hand onto the blade, exposing his own chest.

Junior Brother Bai Ming shouted, "Heart Fire!" igniting Senior Brother Xiao's body, while simultaneously kicking out directly at his lower abdomen.

Senior Brother Xiao hurriedly twisted his sword to block the kick. Junior Brother Bai Ming wanted to use the recoil of the kick to get away, but his leg was grabbed, and he was thrown to the ground.

Senior Brother Xiao examined the strange flames burning on his body; they could not be extinguished, yet they continued to burn incessantly.

It was precisely this strange flame that allowed the young man before him to find opportunities and seize openings time and time again.

A burning sensation washed over his entire body, and Senior Brother Xiao felt as if he were amidst burning coals, his heart and lungs being roasted on a rack.

"No wonder the junior brothers were in such pain; this flame is truly bizarre." Senior Brother Xiao charged at Junior Brother Bai Ming on the ground with his sword.

Junior Brother Bai Ming used the houses to maneuver, feeling some doubt in his heart.

Why did he come so quickly? Could the Heart Fire have failed?

Yet, in the depths of his intuition, he could sense that the Heart Fire was indeed working.

Junior Brother Bai Ming darted into the street, hiding his figure. "He really is difficult to deal with."

A sword aura shattered a wooden sign and struck at Junior Brother Bai Ming, who was hiding behind it.

Junior Brother Bai Ming's position was exposed, and he had no choice but to continue fleeing forward, chased by dozens of tiny sword lights.

At the end of the street, by the city gate.

Junior Brother Bai Ming flew out of the alley, wanting to leap over the city gate, but a bright white sword arc slashed toward him, its massive semi-circular shape blocking all paths forward.

As the bright light struck, Junior Brother Bai Ming covered his chest with his hands, which were coated in flaming gauntlets; a powerful force from the sword arc hit him, knocking him back dozens of meters.

Junior Brother Bai Ming clicked his tongue. "Damn it, I was just a little bit away. Others are coming soon too; am I going to stop here?"

"No, it's not over yet." Junior Brother Bai Ming touched his lower abdomen, where the spiritual root that brought him hope was still emitting warmth.

"My potential, spiritual power, talent, aptitude—I give it all to you!"

"Burn to your heart's content, you trash spiritual root!"

The spiritual root responded, emitting an intense aura, and a violent burning sensation permeated Junior Brother Bai Ming's entire body, as if he were placed at the core of the earth.

Dancing flames surfaced on Junior Brother Bai Ming's skin, his hair turned into a cluster of fire, and his face was covered by dense flames, with only his pair of black pupils visible.

However, these flames did not ignite his clothing; they seemed to emanate from within, merging with him.

Senior Brother Xiao watched Junior Brother Bai Ming's strange transformation and sighed inwardly; the flames on his own body seemed to respond to this change, becoming even more turbulent.

He truly did not expect the young man before him to still have a trump card.

But he, Xiao Yu, also had a trump card!

Six sword lights separated from his spirit sword. Unlike the previous blurry sword lights, these six had distinct edges, were clear and bright, and looked like six spirit swords forged from light.

The six blades struck out together, converging to shred the fire-man on the ground!

Junior Brother Bai Ming rolled his eyes incessantly, observing the trajectories of the six light swords, but they moved without a trace, with extreme speed, and three of them constantly stayed in his blind spots.

High in the sky, Xiao Yu manipulated the six light swords to disrupt Junior Brother Bai Ming's offense, forcing him to dodge constantly, while simultaneously unleashing the One Qi Sword Art to slash toward the ground.

The harassment of the six light swords left Junior Brother Bai Ming exhausted from dodging, and the occasional sword arcs further compressed the space.

The flames were too slow to catch the light swords and easily revealed openings; if this continued, Junior Brother Bai Ming would undoubtedly lose.

A light sword slashed across Junior Brother Bai Ming's cheek, the flames on his face weakening and becoming faintly unstable.

"No, if this drags on, I'll fall here sooner or later. Since that's the case, I'll stake it all!"

The flames concentrated on Junior Brother Bai Ming's hands and feet, and with a kick, he recklessly charged toward Xiao Yu in the sky.

The six light swords pierced through Junior Brother Bai Ming one after another from different directions, creating six transparent holes, but this did not curb his speed.

Xiao Yu's eyes were grave, his spirit sword glowing faintly; he was clearly condensing the One Qi Sword Art.

Junior Brother Bai Ming condensed two cone-shaped spears from the flames in his hands, attempting to interrupt Xiao Yu's charging.

With the two only a meter apart, Xiao Yu's sword aura was completed, his spirit sword radiating light, and the massive bright white sword arc was about to be unleashed.

At such close range, Junior Brother Bai Ming was too late and had no power to resist.

But Junior Brother Bai Ming's eyes were firm, without the slightest intention of dodging. Xiao Yu was startled by this gaze, hesitating for an instant as the words of his junior brother flashed through his mind.

"Is he not afraid of death?"

But it was precisely this instant of hesitation that allowed Junior Brother Bai Ming's flame spear to suddenly lengthen and pierce his wrist, altering the trajectory of the sword arc.

The massive bright white sword arc slashed across the night sky, illuminating the streets and houses below. The white-clad youth, covered in flames, plummeted toward the ground, recalling the scene just now while in mid-air.

Although the trajectory of the sword arc had been altered, the two were too close, and a small portion of the aftermath still struck Junior Brother Bai Ming.

Enduring the sword wounds, Junior Brother Bai Ming moved without the slightest hesitation, delivering a heavy strike condensed with most of his flames that wounded him.

"The flames on your body are Heart Fire; as long as I will it, they will never stop. If you pursue me again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Xiao Yu steadied himself in the air; he still had strength remaining. The flames on his body had caused him quite a bit of trouble until now, but they were far from causing him severe injury.

He simply shook his head and did not pursue Junior Brother Bai Ming.

The fire-man in tattered clothes leapt out of the city gate. He had already lost, and there was no reason to block him further, nor did he want to.

Xiao Yu patted the flames on his body and put away his spirit sword. "Why must Senior Sister insist on detaining him? In any case, the mission to block him from leaving the city has already failed. Let's just wait and see what happens next."

Junior Brother Bai Ming leapt over the ten-meter-high city wall and, sensing that no one was chasing him from behind, felt extremely excited.

All that talk about the Heart Fire burning forever was just a bluff; as long as he fainted and his consciousness dissipated, the Heart Fire would naturally vanish.

Every seemingly perilous action just now was based on one premise: betting that he dared not kill him.

From beginning to end, their goal was to capture Junior Brother Bai Ming, not to kill him, which meant there was always room for maneuver.

It was precisely by utilizing this room for maneuver that he was able to break out of the encirclement.

As the moist air, mixed with the scent of soil, entered his body, Junior Brother Bai Ming felt as if he had come back to life, even though his spiritual power was nearly exhausted and his body was not intact in a single place.

Yet, he, Junior Brother Bai Ming, had ultimately escaped!

Junior Brother Bai Ming coughed a few times, spat out a mouthful of dark red, turbid blood, and then let out a wanton laugh.

"Who can stop me! From this moment on, my life begins anew. Song Wanqing, the humiliation you brought upon me, one day I will repay it all in full!"

The breeze kissed the wounds on Junior Brother Bai Ming's body, causing a faint, stinging pain in his chest, where two terrifying wounds continued to drip fresh blood, bringing a heavy scent of blood to the air.

His body hurt so much that the slightest touch would cause him to tremble violently; the cool night breeze felt like blades of wind, and one could even see the white bones within his legs.

Undoubtedly, he was on the verge of death; if he stopped, he might never be able to take another step.

But the lingering warmth of his burning spiritual root and his firm will supported his broken body as he moved step by step away from Canglan City.

He did not know when Song Wanqing's Core Formation would end, but no matter how much of a genius she was, Core Formation would take at least ten days or so, which was enough time for him to escape.