Chapter 2012: Lines I Won’t Cross

When Wu Lingchong saw Golden Bridge City in the distance, his heart clenched.

The typically crowded city gates were completely abandoned. There was no sign of cultivators nearby, either.

This was extremely unusual.

“It seems the city’s experts anticipated your arrival, Daoist Brother,” Wu Lingchong whispered. “If it’s as I suspect, you’ll face grave peril as soon as you enter the city.”

Su Yi casually raised a jug of wine and said, “We’ll rest here for a day, then set off.”

Wu Lingchong froze, stunned. He could tell that Su Yi wasn’t the least bit concerned about the danger they’d encounter now that they’d arrived here.

As they conversed, they reached the gates of Golden Bridge City. Su Yi didn’t delay; he just walked confidently inside.

In stark contrast with Su Yi’s composure, Wu Lingchong’s heart tensed, and he watched his surroundings on high alert. He was ready to fight from the moment he first entered the city.

The streets were deserted, save for the odd hurried figure. The once bustling teahouses and restaurants had all shut their doors.

Everything they passed was terrifyingly quiet.

Wu Lingchong was in low spirits. It was true that Su Yi was heaven-defyingly strong, but even if he could stave off enemies who attacked openly, he couldn’t necessarily defend against foes hidden in the shadows. Cultivators willing to resort to underhanded methods had countless such methods up their sleeves.

“You needn’t be nervous,” Su Yi said calmly. “‘When the heavens plot your demise, the stars and constellations shift. When the earth wishes you dead, dragons and serpents rise from its depths. When people exude murderous intent, heaven and earth are overturned.’ Whether they try to assassinate me, ambush me, trap me, trick me, seize the advantage, so long as they harbor murderous intent, they’ll reveal a trace of it the instant they attack.”

“For instance…” Su Yi glanced at a teahouse to the side of the street. The teahouse was empty. Its doors were open, but there was no one inside.

But the moment Su Yi looked over, an ear-splitting gong and booming drum rang out.

Clang!!!

The beating of the gong and drum shook the heavens. Wu Lingchong’s soul quivered, and everything went black.

Before he could react, Su Yi stretched out his hand and tapped the air.

Boom!

The teahouse collapsed, splitting into pieces. A figure shot forth, transforming into a strange blood-red bird that turned and tried to fly away.

But before it got far, a large hand plucked it from midair.

Bang!!

The thousand-foot bird exploded.

But upon closer inspection, the fragments of its body just transformed into countless shreds of paper. It obviously wasn't a living thing, but rather, a manifestation of a secret treasure.

At the same time, an intricately prepared ambush erupted, targeting Su Yi from all sides.

To the southeast, a figure shot from beneath the eaves of a restaurant like a bolt of lightning. With a wave of their hand, over one hundred formation talismans with strange auras shot forth, creating a sinister and imposing formation in midair.

In the northwest, a stone tile split, and a windstorm manifested of saber qi rose, shot into the firmament, and expanded. Saber qi ran rampant, slicing the sky to pieces. It was indistinct, but a tiny man stood at its center, the maelstrom wrapped around him.

From up ahead, an arrow suddenly appeared, shooting out of the void. It brought with it surging purple divine flames.

From behind, it was as if the gates of hell had opened. Thousands of malevolent spirits silently bared their fangs, extended their claws, and charged.

All of this appeared at the same time as that strange, blood-colored bird exploded. Su Yi was instantly under attack on all sides!

Wu Lingchong panicked.

The earlier beating of the gong and drum had shaken his soul, and before he could fully react to that, a terrifying ambush began. It was so quick that it seemed unbelievable.

That dense, murderous intent almost seemed palpable. Goosebumps rose all over his skin, and he felt the aura of impending doom.

There was no doubt about it. Their attackers had prepared thoroughly for this!

But then, Su Yi took a step forward.

Boom!

Heaven and earth shook, and the sky quivered on all sides as an unbelievable scene unfolded. The grand, sinister formation, the explosive divine arrow ripping through the sky, the windstorm slicing the air to bits… All of these attacks froze in place, entirely unmoving, as if seized firmly by a giant, invisible hand.

Even the malevolent spirits froze mid-charge, their fangs still bared and their claws locked in place mid-slash.

This strange, frozen scene was a powerful assault to the senses.

But when Su Yi waved his sleeve…

Boom!!!

The scene shattered.

The formation shattered, the arrow crumbled, the windstorm dispersed… all of their attacks popped like soap bubbles and scattered into a rain of light.

All Su Yi did was take a step forward and wave, but it was enough. The ambush they’d poured so much effort into preparing broke!

Wu Lingchong stared.

This is what they call 'stabilizing heaven and earth with a flip of your palm!'

Startled cries rang out as numerous figures shot out of the surrounding area and fled into the distance.

One look at the auras emanating from them and the secret arts they used to flee, and it was obvious that all of them were far from comparable to ordinary Great Realm experts.

But it was as if Su Yi had precognition. They’d barely even begun to flee when he swung his sleeves through the air.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Streaks of sword qi exploded into being and shot forth, slaying one fleeing figure after another with ease.

All of them died to a single hit!

Fresh blood splattered the air. Desperate cries rose, then abruptly fell silent.

Su Yi was already leading Wu Lingchong further in. The whole time, he seemed as casual as if he were out for a stroll.

The perfectly straight, wide-open city streets quickly returned to stillness. The attack was over as soon as it began, almost as if it had never happened at all.

“Ambushes, traps, assassinations, arrangements… all such methods are naught but petty, unseemly little tricks in the face of absolute power. They aren’t even worth mentioning,” said Su Yi.

He walked with one hand behind his back. The other held a jug of wine, and he seemed as leisurely as a traveler out window shopping.

Waves of emotion crashed through Wu Lingchong’s heart. He couldn’t help but be rueful.

He dared say with certainty that any other Great Profound Stage cultivator would have died instantly just now. Even demigods would likely have fared poorly!

But Su Yi was different. To him, this assassination attempt was like a childish game. It was entirely unworthy of notice!

A moment later, Su Yi sighed. “I have a sudden premonition that the ‘disasters’ to come will all disappoint me too.”

“....” Wu Lingchong was at a complete loss for words.

Who complains about trouble not being big enough!?

Suddenly, a group appeared on the distant city streets. When Wu Lingchong got a clear look at them, he couldn’t help but frown.

Practically all of them were indigenous with weak cultivations. They included the elderly, women, and children, as well as fragile-looking youths. Some of them had barely even begun their cultivations!

As the crowd gradually increased, it grew into a sea of people, all of them weak and frail.

Su Yi noticed this, too.

A bony old man at the forefront of this procession said in a quavering voice, “Senior, please, stop here!”

With that, he flung himself to the ground.

The dense crowd knelt, and all of them cried out at once.

“Please go no further, Senior!”

“Please go no further!”

Their voices shook the firmament.

Wu Lingchong frowned. He could tell that something wasn’t right here; the weak, sick, and elderly were almost certainly being exploited. Someone was forcing them to block the road ahead.

Su Yi took a sip of wine and asked, “Why stop me?”

“Senior, your arrival is sure to bring upheaval to the city. When a city gate burns, the fish of the moat suffer. If the city is destroyed, who knows how many of us weak and humble folk shall perish?” The old man knelt there, his voice solemn. “Please be compassionate, senior. Please leave us a path to life!”

The countless kneeling locals cried out and begged in unison. “Please show mercy, senior!”

A five-year-old child knelt, her little face full of trepidation.

A weatherbeaten old man quivered, his eyes full of utter helplessness.

A swaddled infant wailed piteously.

These were obviously members of the weakest, lowest echelons of society, and there was no hiding their terror and unease.

Wu Lingchong furrowed his brow.

The higher someone’s cultivation was, the less inclined they were to mistreat the weak.

But Su Yi’s expression didn’t even waver. “Would you believe me if I said that if I really stopped here, or worse, turned and left, it would only hurt these people?”

Wu Lingchong froze, stunned. He couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”

Su Yi’s gaze was utterly disdainful. “Because then, they’d know that using the lives of the weak as leverage was effective against me. Even if endangering them wasn’t enough to make me lower my head, they’d use them to restrict my movements and hinder me in battle.

“And when my enemies found themselves in danger, they could use the weak as shields to avert catastrophe.”

Wu Lingchong’s expression was dark and unsightly. “Are they really that despicable?”

Su Yi said calmly, “This is nothing. So long as they kill me, they can receive a reward from the Nine Great Heavenly Gods. They wouldn’t care even if every last ordinary citizen in this city died.”

There’d never been a shortage of people who’d do whatever it took to achieve their ends. To them, human life was worth no more than straw.

There were even demonic and heretical cultivators who took pride in slaughtering the masses.

“Then… what should we do?” asked Wu Lingchong. He really couldn’t bear the thought of hurting the pitiful masses.

“I’ve never been a saint,” Su Yi said calmly.

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he waved his sleeves, and the dense crowd rose into the air, like grass plucked from the field, wrapped in invisible power.

A moment later, they landed gently along the side of the streets. Not one of them was injured.

“But I’m different from those bastards completely devoid of humanity. At the very least, I have lines I won’t cross.” Here, the depths of Su Yi’s gaze shone with murderous intent. “And they’ve crossed my bottom line!”

Wu Lingchong’s heart shook. Su Yi had been as relaxed as a tourist on vacation this entire time, but now, he suddenly emanated cold, heart-palpitating murderous intent.

“You wait here.” Su Yi took a step forward, then vanished into thin air.

He’d been waiting for an ambush, and rather eager to see what “delightful surprises” they had in store.

But now, he’d completely lost interest. His enemies weren’t worth anticipating, and worse, despite their lofty cultivations, they’d sunk to exploiting the weakest and lowliest citizens of Golden Bridge City.

How could people like that possibly be worthy of being Su Yi’s enemies?