Chapter Forty-Nine: The Response Plan

The human heart cannot withstand trials; even the strongest bonds and deepest emotions will unravel if tested too often. As long as one understands what one truly desires, that is enough.

For Zhou Yi, what he wants is the Mountain Blade Sect, and the support of his senior brother—nothing more. Time is the most crucial thing right now. He must announce his strength before descending the mountain, making it clear that he is not easily bullied and that those who seek his and his brother's heads will find it no simple task. This will make others in the sect weigh their options, buying him precious time. With this time, he can rapidly improve his abilities, preparing for the fiercer battles ahead.

Zhou Yi dislikes misfortune. Since that is the case, let these misfortunes be suppressed.

"Sea!" With a thought, Zhou Yi turned and called out to Song Hai. Song Hai glanced at him, nodded, and understood.

A protector—after breaking through to the innate stage—must become familiar with his new strength; thus, a protector is needed.

"Two of you!" But before becoming familiar, there was still one matter to address. Zhou Yi turned to Huang Yue and Qiu Feng, clasping his hands in greeting.

Though he said nothing, Huang Yue and Qiu Feng were no fools; they understood Zhou Yi's meaning. If they were truly dull-witted, they would not have reached this point.

He was about to retreat and consolidate his breakthrough, and outsiders like them would only be inconvenient here.

Huang Yue and Qiu Feng exchanged a glance. Finally, Qiu Feng stepped forward and bowed deeply to Zhou Yi. "Forgive our boldness, but would you take us with you to the Isle of the Peerless when you depart?"

"You wish to go to the Isle of the Peerless?" Zhou Yi looked at them. Their request was not unexpected. Since they had started following him and his brother, he had already guessed as much. He had never intended to refuse; after all, they had shared much information, helping him avoid stumbling blindly.

But that was before the Isle's bounty was announced. After the bounty, things changed.

The entire martial world was hunting them—two minor figures, the strongest merely at the innate stage, the weakest still acquired. Could they truly survive and reach the Isle?

Even Zhou Yi, armed with his golden finger, dared not claim he would survive. All was but a beautiful hope. Whether it would come to pass depended on reality.

Yet, judging from their tone, the two seemed more convinced than Zhou Yi himself that they would survive and reach the Isle.

Where did this confidence come from? That was what Zhou Yi found curious.

"Yes!" Huang Yue and Qiu Feng nodded firmly, their expressions determined as they looked at him.

"In that case, you two may leave for now. You know the situation—we brothers are hunted by all of the martial world. Wherever we go, trouble follows. So, you should depart, and if we survive this calamity and head to the Isle of the Peerless, we will surely take you with us!" Zhou Yi thought for a moment. He could not fathom their confidence, but time was pressing, so he agreed. It cost him nothing.

"Understood!" They nodded again, without hesitation. Having received a satisfactory answer, they bowed and turned to leave.

Once they were gone, Zhou Yi felt the burden in his heart lighten. He sat cross-legged on the spot, closed his eyes, and entered seclusion.

Song Hai placed his hand on his blade, standing guard at Zhou Yi’s side, scanning their surroundings.

There was no time to seek a proper place for seclusion. The Isle's bounty might have been issued long ago, and since the first wave of enemies had already arrived, the next could not be far behind.

What they lacked most now was time. Rather than searching for a hidden spot, it was better to wait in place. He only needed to familiarize himself with the changes following his breakthrough, which would not take long. Driven by urgency, he chose to remain where he was, breaking through in battle, counterattacking in battle.

That was Zhou Yi’s plan. Battle itself is movement; whether he strikes others or they strike him, kinetic energy will be generated—far more than under normal circumstances.

In other words, the next enemies, whether they are ones he can easily defeat or those who can defeat him, so long as they cannot kill him in one blow, as time passes he will accumulate more and more kinetic energy, steadily increasing his strength and ultimately achieving reversal.

If his strength were still at the acquired stage, Zhou Yi would not dare attempt such a plan. No matter how extraordinary his acquired strength, it could only compare to a Celestial. A strong Celestial could dispatch him easily.

But fortunately, his power had recently broken through to the innate stage. With the transformation from acquired to innate, his strength had grown tremendously.

His foundation was incredibly deep—nearly two hundred years’ worth of profound internal energy, the Mountain Blade technique pushed to its utmost, the waves, the sea, the mountain—three layers of true intent combined and stacked, so that after his breakthrough, his strength soared to a realm Zhou Yi had never dared to imagine.

Until now, Zhou Yi had not seen a Celestial, but from Huang Yue and Qiu Feng’s descriptions, he had some understanding. An ordinary Celestial’s strength was about equal to the formation of the Eighteen Arhats he had encountered before.

Such a Celestial, he could kill five with a slap, one for each finger.

Even among stronger Celestials, he could not claim victory, but at least he was certain he would not be killed.

As long as he was not killed, hope remained.

Now, Zhou Yi’s sole concern was the so-called False Pill realm that Huang Yue and Qiu Feng had mentioned. This was the first time he had heard of such a stage, but luckily, he had encountered someone of this strength.

Leng Feng—undoubtedly of False Pill strength.

Whenever Zhou Yi thought of him, he could not help but tremble. He had faced Leng Feng directly. Though he could not tell exactly how strong Leng Feng was, even now, after his own breakthrough and multiplied strength, he dared not claim he could withstand the green aura that Leng Feng had unleashed.

Just a single strand of that aura, and Zhou Yi doubted he could break free.

Such power was terrifying even to imagine.

If all those of False Pill strength were so formidable, then Zhou Yi could only pray that none would appear during the coming pursuit.

If his plan originally had a seventy percent chance of success, the appearance of a False Pill would reduce that to one percent.

He had no confidence he could defeat Leng Feng, nor even survive.