Old Man Li's earlier behavior had looked exactly like a man casually packing up to attend a banquet. When the time came to fight, he’d seemingly been forced to improvise with whatever was on hand—a state where any random object could become a deadly weapon.
Yet the truth was that he had long since mastered the Realm of No Sword in Hand but Sword in Heart.
The Long Halberd manifesting in his grip was clearly no physical object, but a unique condensation of transcendent power—a weapon far more suited to his style.
His astonishing burst of speed proved as much.
And yet, despite possessing such a technique, the old man had still bothered to tear a lampstand off the wall earlier, wielding it with deadpan seriousness the entire time.
The sequence of events just now was actually quite simple.
By shouting "continue," he had lulled the hidden target into a false sense of security. His explosive opening strike still utilized the Lampstand Sword Technique, aiming at a trajectory designed to strike the grass to startle the snake.
Under the cover of that seemingly furious, flailing assault, he had unleashed his true killing blow and landed a successful hit.
That splash of blood clearly confirmed their earlier theory: the entity spying on them from the shadows really did possess a physical body.
They finally had a breakthrough in this desperate situation, and Old Man Li's methods were truly awe-inspiring.
At the same time, Fu Qian firmly believed that if he had acted too suspiciously or posed too great a threat along the way, that cleverly concealed halberd might have been buried in his own skull instead.
But as the saying went, for every foot the devil rises, evil climbs ten feet higher. As fellow intellectuals, evading seemingly nonexistent dangers was standard operating procedure.
He might have appeared unrestrained this whole time, but he had always measured his actions perfectly.
With a sense of kindred spirits cherishing each other, Fu Qian let the long whip in his hand dissipate, signaling that this stage of testing was complete.
"There really is something there!"
Even with that revelation, Her Excellency Aike remained in a temporary daze, her mind still reeling from the mental devastation she had endured.
Only Lu Yi, standing furthest away, let out an involuntary gasp.
Meanwhile, Ji Ning, who had been supervising the battle from her position, seemed entirely unsurprised by the Old Man's tactics.
The moment the strike landed, she aimed her palm precisely at the splashing blood and abruptly clenched her fist.
Following her motion, the empty air in that spot violently twisted and warped.
Unfortunately, the effect ended there. The space ultimately settled back into silence, revealing nothing else.
Even Old Man Li brought his Long Halberd slashing down for a second time.
Yet the entity had still managed to escape!
Stepping back to Ji Ning's side, Old Man Li stood silently for a moment, refraining from launching any more blind attacks.
Clatter!
A moment later, he casually tossed the lampstand to the ground. Even the Long Halberd rapidly dissipated as he turned to look at Fu Qian.
"You were right."
"It possesses a physical body, highly advanced concealment, and isolates targets one-on-one. Most importantly... its form is indeed quite similar."
Under the group's watchful eyes, Old Man Li gave a terse summary. His gaze then shifted toward Lu Yi—the only person to cry out—and settled on the space right in front of the man.
"So it really is this thing..."
The situation had changed in the blink of an eye. Used as a living example, it took Lu Yi a moment to process what the Old Man meant.
Realizing that the growth inside his own body would eventually morph into a living creature and spy on them from the shadows left him muttering to himself in obvious discomfort.
"If that's the case... then our young friend Benjamin might not be so simple after all."
Feeling validated, Fu Qian wasn't the least bit upset that their ambush had ended up falling short by a single basket of earth.
Staring at that same cyan growth, he continued his solemn analysis.
"How so?"
After Fu Qian's earlier performance, Old Man Li's confidence in him seemed to have grown significantly.
"Against Her Excellency Aike's countermeasures, this thing completely lacked the ability to resist."
Fu Qian pointed straight at the humanoid branch, recalling what had just transpired.
"Perhaps that was just because it wasn't fully matured. However, once it separated, not only could it conceal its tracks to such an extreme degree, but it also successfully evaded your surprise attack. That's far too massive a leap in power."
"So, could we assume that the wail of that Laria Offspring planted a seed within a human host? And once that seed truly hatches, it receives a secondary share of the original's power."
"This shared power grants the seeds extraordinary concealment and vitality—along with, of course, the mission to spread corruption through their own cries. And yet, not a single one of these traits is something an ordinary Demigod Realm combatant could easily handle."
...
"A God. Is that what you're trying to imply? The power Rank that newborn represents."
Having listened intently, Old Man Li swiftly deduced Fu Qian's true meaning.
"I can only say it certainly looks that way. At the very least, its sheer resilience can be measured on a similar scale."
Dealing with smart people was always a joy. With zero regard for the team's morale, Fu Qian nodded with a smile.
Unfortunately, a smile wasn't always contagious.
The moods of Lu Yi and Her Excellency Aike—whose eyes had only just begun to regain their focus—visibly plummeted.
"Very well. In truth, I share your assessment. The trouble we've stumbled into this time is likely going to be extremely thorny."
Sadly, their fragile states earned them no pity. After shooting Fu Qian a hard look, Old Man Li, the team's sole person in charge, fully endorsed his analysis, successfully cratering their morale.
"So, An Ke, do you have any ideas?"
But just as the principle of rebuilding after destruction dictated, the Old Man wasn't one to dig a grave without a plan to fill it. In the very next breath, he pivoted, attempting to scrounge up a silver lining.
"Pessimistic progress is still progress. We managed to catch it once, which means we can catch it again."
He had certainly asked the right person. A professional morale manipulator would never only short the market.
His gaze instantly hardening with resolve, Fu Qian expressed unwavering confidence in their bright future, pointing out that, however winding it might be, their path to victory was already visible on the horizon.
"Are you truly that confident?"
This time, even Ji Ning was forced to speak up.
"Of course. At the very least, none of us has shown any symptoms yet, right? We still have plenty of room for trial and error."
Fu Qian gestured around them, perfectly and deliberately avoiding Lu Yi.
"And Her Excellency Aike seems to have recovered rather well, hasn't she?"
He then looked over at Aike, who had regained enough composure to frown at him, and offered a warm expression of concern.
...Is this the room for trial and error you were talking about? That she's recovered just enough for you to whip her all over again?
While Aike's gaze was still slightly glazed over, the questioning Ji Ning screwed her face up into a tight grimace.
"Can you still hear the wailing?"
Unfazed by the hostile glares, Fu Qian simply pressed the victim for details.
"I still can... but the corruption built up in my body really does seem to have faded a bit."
Finally regaining her ability to answer, Aike broke her silence, carefully examining herself as she replied.
"If we need to do it again, I don't have a problem with—"
"There's no need. This time... it actually isn't over yet."
However, her display of team spirit was instantly interrupted.
Offering no further explanation, the speaker, Li He, looked straight at Ji Ning.
"Can you track it?"
"I can."
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