With that resounding shout, a scruffy, bald man burst out from the dense crowd at the city wall, charging straight towards the battlefield.
His formidable seventh-rank Tribulation Realm aura flared without restraint.
“Who’s this Hui Jue? A seventh-rank Tribulation Realm! Is he joining the fight too?”
The onlookers were utterly shocked.
Hui Jue was a low-profile Tribulation Realm powerhouse in the Xingwu Empire, known only to those in higher circles, most cultivators had never heard of him.
“Hui Jue’s stepping in?” Master Hong atop the city wall paled.
Though Hui Jue kept a low profile and lacked fame, those in the know understood his strength was formidable!
“Hui Jue, it’s him!” Lin Yun stared, stunned.
He remembered this man, when he’d arrived at Xingwu City for the Wanhua Banquet, he’d encountered Hui Jue at the gate.
Lin Yun had even defeated Hui Jue’s disciple, Jiang Cheng, in the Wanhua Tournament.
In a flash, Hui Jue reached the battlefield.
“Brother Hui Jue, please take out this Lin Yun!” the Gu family head’s voice boomed.
Tangled with the Heavenly Sword Sect Leader, and with the other sect leaders tied up by the Wanderer and Du Yuanzi, they couldn’t break free, the Third Elder was already gravely injured, they needed someone strong enough to handle Lin Yun.
Hui Jue had been arranged by the Gu family head to deal with Lin Yun’s battle pet, their biggest fear.
But since Lin Yun hadn’t summoned it even when nearly killed, the Gu family head was certain Lin Yun either couldn’t use it or it was gone.
If so, Hui Jue could take on Lin Yun directly.
“Hui Jue, I aided you in your youth, how dare you turn on my Heavenly Sword Sect!” the Sect Leader roared in fury.
“Sect Leader Xiao, you said it yourself, that was then,” Hui Jue sneered coldly, clearly dismissing that old favour.
“You… you ungrateful wretch! Aren’t you afraid the martial world will scorn you for this?” the Sect Leader’s face darkened.
Hui Jue chuckled, “Relax, Sect Leader Xiao, I’ll repay that debt, after they destroy your sect, I’ll ensure they only cripple your cultivation and spare your life, consider that saving you, of course, Lin Yun must die! And your Heavenly Sword Sect must fall!”
With that, Hui Jue turned his gaze to Lin Yun.
“Lin Yun, you’re impressive, my disciple Jiang Cheng fell to you, today, don’t blame me for being ruthless, I hear you’ve got a fearsome battle pet, if you can’t summon it now, it’s a dead end!”
As he spoke, Hui Jue lightly pointed a finger.
An invisible, terrifying wave surged towards Lin Yun at astonishing speed.
Though it was a mere flick, its power seemed capable of shattering the heavens!
“Master, save him! Please!” Mo Qing sobbed, pleading desperately.
“My true body’s in another empire, far from here, this is just an energy clone, honestly, forming it over such a distance limits its strength, it can’t beat a seventh-rank Tribulation Realm, only my true self could crush him easily,” the black-robed Immortal shook his head.
This was why he wouldn’t save Lin Yun or the Heavenly Sword Sect, this clone was weak, if it fought and was destroyed, he couldn’t even protect Mo Qing.
Facing the crushing attack, Lin Yun’s face twisted, he’d been powerless against a first-rank Tribulation Realm, let alone this seventh-rank?
This level outstripped the Gu family head and others by far, a trump card of the Zhutian Alliance!
Despair!
Lin Yun sank into profound despair once more!
“Lin Yun, go! If you don’t leave now, I’ll self-destruct right here! I mean it!” the Sect Leader’s furious roar echoed in Lin Yun’s mind.
Lin Yun had never heard the Sect Leader shout at him like this.
“Lin Yun, run, if you escape, the Heavenly Sword Sect still has a chance, you’re their main target! They’ll send plenty after you, easing the pressure here,” another voice rang in his head.
Lin Yun jolted—it was Master Hong.
“If you get away, I’ll help the Heavenly Sword Sect, their focus is you!” Master Hong’s voice came again.
Lin Yun flipped his hand, the Thousand Miles Vanishing Talisman appearing.
There was no other choice!
*Buzz!*
The talisman flared with light, enveloping Lin Yun.
“Zhutian Alliance, when I, Lin Yun, return, I’ll make you tremble! Every last one of you will pay!!!”
As Lin Yun’s furious roar resounded, Hui Jue’s finger attack reached him.
But Lin Yun vanished into thin air, the strike missing, streaking off into the horizon.
With his disappearance, his wrathful words lingered, echoing through the sky, thundering in their ears!
“He’s gone!”
The Zhutian Alliance’s faces shifted.
Yet this wasn’t beyond their expectations.
“He won’t escape! Hui Jue, Soul Refining Sect Leader, chase him down! Kill him!” the Gu family head bellowed.
Golden light flashed in Hui Jue’s eyes, scanning the area, he instantly pinpointed Lin Yun’s teleportation direction.
Turning into a streak of light, he sped off in pursuit!
The Soul Refining Sect Leader broke from the fight, summoning a flying ship, pushing its speed to the limit to give chase!
“He’s escaped! Lin Yun’s fled!”
The watching crowd erupted as Lin Yun vanished.
“With two Tribulation Realm cultivators after him, including a seventh-rank, even if he escapes now, he’s unlikely to get far.”
“Even if he slips away temporarily, with the Zhutian Alliance set on hunting him, he can’t stay in the Xingwu Empire!”
…
In the battlefield.
“He finally listened to me,” the Sect Leader, mid-battle, gave a relieved smile.
If Lin Yun could escape, he’d have no more worries, the weight in his heart lifted completely.
From here on, even death held no fear!
Lin Yun’s flight drew two Tribulation Realm foes away, easing the battlefield’s tension.
“Lin Yun, you must escape! You must survive! You must…” Mo Qing stared at the sky, fists clenched, her eyes brimming with hope and anxiety.
“Senior Brother Lin Yun got away!” Zhi Jin and the others cheered, thrilled at his escape.
