Lǐ Hǔ's revenge did not come, but what did arrive was far more thrilling.
The Spiritual Energy near their cultivation spot suddenly grew dense, forming visible, rotating halos of light that looked remarkably like special effects from a short-video app. Jiang Ye stood there dumbfounded, watching the spectacle.
"Damn, Sister Lí, how much must special effects like this cost?" he blurted out.
Ye Shuli was in no mood to joke with him. She keenly sensed that these were no special effects at all—some precious treasure was about to manifest!
A powerful wave of Spiritual Energy emanated from nearby, carrying a terrifying and heart-palpitating pressure.
Almost simultaneously, numerous figures darted out from the surrounding woods, their eyes gleaming with greed as they bolted straight toward the source of the spiritual fluctuation.
"Rare cultivation resources!" someone cried out in exclamation.
Even Jiang Ye understood the situation now. He rubbed his hands together and said excitedly, "Sister Lí, shall we go join in the fun too?"
Before Ye Shuli could answer, a menacing group of people blocked their path.
At the lead was a burly, fierce-looking man with a heavily fleshed face who clearly meant trouble. He was followed by a pack of tough-looking underlings, all of whom exuded a fierce aura and clearly possessed some cultivation prowess.
"Well, well, if it isn't the punk who got taught a lesson by Lǐ Hǔ earlier?" The big man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "What's this? Want a piece of the pie too? Why don't you weigh yourselves first to see if you've got the chops!"
The big man was named Sūn Měng, a minor boss of a large nearby gang. Leading a bunch of thugs at the early and mid-stages of the Spirit User level, he was considered a local tyrant in these parts.
He had long coveted the auspicious feng shui of Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye's territory. Now that precious cultivation resources had appeared, he naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by—he wanted to snatch the resources and annex their turf all in one go.
Hearing this, Jiang Ye instantly lost his nerve. Hiding behind Ye Shuli, he trembled and said, "Sister Lí, I'm scared..."
Ye Shuli: "..."
She just knew this kid was completely unreliable!
Ye Shuli stepped forward to shield Jiang Ye, fixing a glacial glare on Sūn Měng as she said coldly, "If you want our territory, let's see if you have what it takes!"
Sūn Měng burst out laughing, as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.
"Little girl, you've got quite a big mouth! Do the two of you really think you can fight me?" With a wave of his hand, his subordinates immediately swarmed forward, rubbing their palms and eager for a fight.
"Sister Lí..." Jiang Ye tugged at Ye Shuli's sleeve and whispered, "How about... we..."
"Sister Lí, how about... we run?" Jiang Ye's voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum, and his body shook like a sieve; anyone watching would have thought he had come down with some terrible illness.
Seeing this, Sūn Měng and his men laughed with even greater abandon.
"Hahaha, what a coward! Little girl, if you know what's good for you, obediently hand over your territory, and you might spare yourselves some physical pain!"
"Boss, this little chick is actually quite pretty. How about..." A skinny, monkey-like man beside Sūn Měng rubbed his hands together, casting a lewd gaze at Ye Shuli.
Sūn Měng's eyes lit up, and he laughed obscenely, "Good idea! Once I grab the resources, I'll properly enjoy this little beauty!"
Ye Shuli watched them expressionlessly while inwardly sneering. A bunch of idiots!
Just as Sūn Měng was getting carried away and pressing forward step by step, Ye Shuli quietly took a tiny step back.
"Boss, watch out!"
Before the monkey-like man's voice faded, he felt a blur before his eyes, followed immediately by a miserable scream that echoed through the mountains.
Sūn Měng was startled. Before he could react, he saw his subordinate clutching his crotch and rolling on the ground, his face pale white and cold sweat pouring down.
"Damn it! You punk..." Sūn Měng roared, raising his hands to attack, only to find that Jiang Ye had somehow charged into the crowd. Slippery as an eel, he threw punches left and right—seemingly without any method, yet every single blow landed on someone's most vulnerable spot.
"Ouch! My lower back!"
"My leg! It's broken, it's broken!"
"Ah! My face!"
Sūn Měng's subordinates wailed one after another while clutching their injuries, turning the once menacing formation into a chaotic mess in an instant.
"Sister Lí is awesome!" Jiang Ye didn't forget to pause and give Ye Shuli a thumbs-up.
The corners of Ye Shuli's mouth curved upward slightly. Taking advantage of Sūn Měng's momentary daze, she moved her feet and triggered a mechanism she had set up beforehand.
"Click—"
With a soft sound, the ground beneath Sūn Měng suddenly vanished, and his entire body fell backward out of control.
"Ah, damn it—"
"Bang!"
Sūn Měng crashed heavily to the ground, completely dazed and unable to crawl back up for a long while.
The surrounding rogue cultivators, who had been waiting to watch a good show, were dumbfounded, followed instantly by a thunderous outburst of cheers.
"Good kid! Well played!"
"This kid's got some moves!"
"Now that's a real man!"
Hearing the cheers all around him, Jiang Ye instantly felt filled with strength. He put his hands on his hips and shouted arrogantly at Sūn Měng, "Sūn Měng, with your pathetic state, you still want to steal our territory? Why don't you take a piss and look at your own reflection first!"
Sūn Měng finally snapped out of his daze. He climbed up from the ground, his face livid, and glared at Jiang Ye with eyes spitting fire as he said through clenched teeth, "You little punk... you're asking for death!"
He slowly drew the long saber at his waist, its blade flashing with a cold glint in the sunlight.
"Kid, you've successfully angered me!"
Brandishing his long saber with a biting aura of murder, Sūn Měng slashed toward Jiang Ye.
Although Jiang Ye was nimble, his cultivation was ultimately inferior to Sūn Měng's. After just a few exchanges, he was already struggling to hold his ground.
"Sister Lí, save me!" he cried out for help while dodging.
Ye Shuli rolled her eyes. This kid only knew how to scream for help at critical moments.
"Solve your own mess!" Though she said that, her hands did not stop moving.
She pulled out a long wooden stick from somewhere and began tinkering with something nearby.
Sūn Měng's attacks grew increasingly fierce, placing Jiang Ye in constant peril as he came within a hair's breadth of being cleaved by the blade.
"Ah—" Jiang Ye closed his eyes and shouted in despair.
The expected pain never arrived. He opened his eyes in confusion and discovered that he was completely unharmed.
He saw Sūn Měng flying high up into the air like a kite with a snapped string, tracing a perfect parabola through the sky before slamming heavily onto the ground with a loud "bang."
"What the hell? What's going on?" Jiang Ye looked bewildered.
Ye Shuli dusted off her hands and said smugly, "Physics knowledge, ever heard of it? The principle of leverage, understand?"
As it turned out, Ye Shuli had scouted the terrain beforehand. Using a long wooden stick and a rock, she had constructed a simple lever device. The moment Sūn Měng attacked Jiang Ye, she had triggered the mechanism, launching him high into the air.
Sūn Měng struggled to crawl up from the ground, covered in dirt and looking utterly wretched.
Pointing at Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye, he roared in fury, "You... you just wait!" With that, he clutched his backside and limped away.
The surrounding rogue cultivators once again burst into thunderous applause and cheers.
"Awesome! Absolutely awesome!"
Jiang Ye put his hands on his hips and said triumphantly to Ye Shuli, "Sister Lí, you're the best!"
Ye Shuli glanced at him indifferently. "Stop flattering me and go see what treasure is down there!"
The two arrived at the source of the spiritual fluctuations, only to find a huge crater opened up in the ground, its bottom radiating a dazzling light.
"What... what is this?" Jiang Ye widened his eyes.
Ye Shuli narrowed her eyes, carefully observing the object at the bottom of the crater. Suddenly, her expression shifted. Grabbing Jiang Ye's wrist, she said in a deep voice, "Let's go!"
"What's wrong?" Jiang Ye was utterly clueless.
"There's no time to explain!" Ye Shuli grabbed Jiang Ye and turned to run.
"Boom—"