C15 Fighting Head on

Ignoring the crowd's gasps and Zhao Tuo's lethal glare, Su Li placed his right hand on Su Hai's chest. With a slight exertion of force, he snapped the broken ribs back into place.

"Little bastard, you've finally decided to come back!"

No sooner had Su Li mended Su Hai's ribs than Yang Qian came sprinting out from the Su family courtyard. Yang Qian had assumed he would find Su Li there, but despite turning the place upside down, Su Li's shadow was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, Yang Qian stormed out of the Su household, intent on taking his anger out on Su Hai.

However, to his surprise, the moment he stepped outside, he was confronted with the sight of Su Li's face—a face that infuriated him. Without a second thought, Yang Qian's figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing before Su Li. Clenching his right fist, he unleashed a ferocious gust of Genuine Qi and aimed a vicious blow at Su Li's head.

"Don't do it, Crown Prince!"

Tan Qing's face paled at the sight of Yang Qian challenging Su Li. Yang Qian was oblivious to Su Li's fearsome power, but Tan Qing was all too aware. Su Li's ability to kill Lan'er, even under Zhao Tuo's watchful eye, spoke volumes of his formidable nature. At the early stage of the Oceanic Wheel Realm, Yang Qian was surely courting death by picking a fight with Su Li.

"Hahaha, rest assured, killing Su Li will be as easy as slaughtering a dog!" Yang Qian bellowed with laughter, ignorant of the recent events and blind to Lan'er's bloodied body.

At that moment, his mind was consumed by a single purpose: to severely wound Su Li and make him pay for his deceit.

As Yang Qian charged at him, Su Li nonchalantly lifted his right foot and delivered a casual kick.

Bang!

The crisp sound echoed as Yang Qian plummeted to the ground like a kite severed from its string, making intimate contact with the earth.

Following a night of cultivation, Su Li had assimilated the core of a Demonic Beast at the pinnacle of the Celestial River Realm, reviving the embryonic form of the Most High bone. Moreover, his cultivation had soared from the early to the peak of the middle stage of the Oceanic Wheel Realm, leaving him just half a step shy of the late stage.

Su Li's combat experience, soul perception, and the robustness of the Genuine Qi within his Qi Sea far surpassed that of an average Oceanic Wheel mid-stage cultivator. In essence, he could effortlessly eliminate Yang Qian in the blink of an eye.

With a few indifferent stomps on Yang Qian's chest, Su Li kicked him towards Su Ye, the Su Family's Third Elder, and commanded, "Keep an eye on him for me. If anyone from the royal family tries to approach, kill him on the spot."

"Understood!"

Su Ye nodded emphatically.

Indeed, the entire Su Family was bracing for a fierce battle.

Su Li's powerful return and the capture of Yang Qian had given the Su Family a much-needed reprieve from their dire situation.

Yet, it was clear to all.

The Su Family's true adversary was the Trembleglades, not the royal family, and certainly not the Mo Family.

Regardless of whether Su Li was a castoff of the Trembleglades, the mere act of killing Shen Ning's personal maid, Lan'er, was enough to doom him to a graveless death.

Tan Qing, witnessing Yang Qian's restraint, stood frozen, not daring to intervene.

He had no illusions about the situation.

Should he attempt to rescue Yang Qian, Su Li would undoubtedly order his execution without a moment's hesitation.

Left with no other option, Tan Qing reluctantly shifted his focus to Mo Wentian.

This assault on the Su Family was a joint effort by the Imperial Family and the Mo Family, with him representing the former at the peak of the Oceanic Wheel.

The Mo Family's representatives were likely to possess similar levels of power.

"Just wait."

Mo Wentian understood Tan Qing's intent to coordinate a sudden strike with the Mo Family's forces.

But Mo Wentian was no fool.

With Zhao Tuo from the Trembleglades present, it was not the Mo Family's place to make a move.

"You fool, you've made a grave mistake," Zhao Tuo remarked, realizing that killing Su Li now would be futile, as Lan'er was already dead.

To quell Shen Ning's fury, the only option was to take Su Li alive and extract the location of his mother from him. Otherwise, he'd be clueless about his own demise.

"Kneel down!"

Zhao Tuo stepped forward, his early-stage Celestial River aura bearing down on Su Li. His voice was menacing as he commanded, "Open your mind to my control, or I swear, I'll decimate the Su Family, leaving no survivors!"

With a hiss, Su Li called upon the regenerative power of the Most High bone and retorted icily, "Zhao Tuo, fate has a twisted sense of humor to cross our paths again."

It was Zhao Tuo who had orchestrated the false accusations of Shen Ning's infidelity.

Now, facing Zhao Tuo once more, Su Li's eyes blazed with animosity.

"Quite impressive, you're able to withstand my aura," Zhao Tuo remarked, his lips curling into a smirk. "But what does it matter? You'll soon learn that the chasm between the Celestial River and the Oceanic Wheel realms is vast and unbridgeable!"

With that, Zhao Tuo leapt into action, transforming into a blur as he charged forward.

"Watch out!"

"Li'er, fall back!"

"Get out of here! As long as you survive, there's still hope!"

The Su Family members shouted their warnings as Zhao Tuo bore down on Su Li, each one ready to lay down their life to protect him.

In their eyes, Su Li was the beacon of hope for the Su Family. His safety was paramount, even if it meant the family's ruin.

"Stay put, all of you!" Su Li bellowed, channeling the Genuine Qi from his Qi Sea into his palm and unleashing a counterstrike.

He executed the third form of the Heavenly Evil Palm—Absolute Heaven!

The Genuine Qi, guided by the technique, morphed into an immense palm imprint that crashed down with force.

Zhao Tuo's face registered a flicker of fear as he witnessed Su Li's formidable attack.

"Scarlet Wind Ghost Palm!" he muttered, shaking his head to clear it.

With a swift motion of his wrist, Zhao Tuo unleashed the third-grade battle skill, Scarlet Wind Ghost Palm.

Suddenly, a palm print as fearsome as the first shot out, leaving no room for evasion as it collided with Su Li's palm print.

Crack!

The two forces met.

The immense shockwave spread out like an autumn breeze scattering fallen leaves, reaching in all directions. Some cultivators who were not yet at the Oceanic Wheel level were sent flying.

"The Most High's bones are stripped, yet his power remains this terrifying!"

Zhao Tuo retreated a few steps, his face a mask of cold fury as he regarded Su Li. In a deep voice, he said, "We cannot allow him to grow any stronger! Otherwise, he might pose a threat to the Trembleglades!"

From their brief encounter, Zhao Tuo had gauged the extent of Su Li's strength.

In a direct confrontation, Su Li was slightly outmatched.

Although Zhao Tuo had only recently ascended to the Celestial River level, handling a mid-stage Oceanic Wheel cultivator like Su Li was not a significant challenge.

However, Zhao Tuo was well aware that if Su Li chose to flee, it would be nearly impossible to stop him.

Turning to Mo Wentian, he said, "The royal family has sent Tan Qing, a peak Oceanic Wheel expert. What about the Mo Family? Are you planning to take advantage of the chaos?"

"No, no, no, the Mo Family has a strong presence here as well!" Mo Wentian blanched and hastily shook his head before calling out to the other side of the alley, "Ghost Blade, show yourself! What are you waiting for?"