After Ye Qiu dealt with Cold Blood, his gaze shifted toward Qilin’s direction.
Qilin was engaged in a fierce battle with the Hanged Ghost.
After losing his left shoulder to Ye Qiu’s sword strike, the Hanged Ghost’s combat power had significantly diminished. He was enduring the pain while defending against Qilin’s relentless attacks, unable to mount any counteroffensive.
The Hanged Ghost had been keeping an eye on the fight between Ye Qiu and Cold Blood, hoping Cold Blood would quickly finish off Ye Qiu and come to his aid. However, to his dismay, Cold Blood had been killed.
Seeing Cold Blood lying in a pool of blood, the Hanged Ghost felt a chill run down his spine. He shouted, “Little brother, we need to retreat!”
The Starving Ghost was locked in a fierce battle with Azure Dragon, thoroughly enjoying the fight. He replied, “Big brother, give me a moment. I’m about to finish this guy off.”
Hearing this, the Hanged Ghost almost coughed up blood in frustration.
Idiot! If we keep fighting, we’ll both die here.
“Little brother, stop fighting! Cold Blood is dead. We need to retreat now!” the Hanged Ghost urgently called out.
The Starving Ghost glanced back and saw Cold Blood lying in a pool of blood. Shocked, he prepared to retreat, but at that moment, Azure Dragon landed a powerful kick to his stomach.
“Bang!”
The Starving Ghost’s massive body was sent flying like a ball.
Despite being sent flying, the Starving Ghost reacted quickly. As soon as he hit the ground, he scrambled to his feet and charged toward Qilin, intending to escape with the Hanged Ghost.
Ye Qiu moved like a flash, intercepting the Starving Ghost.
“Azure Dragon, go help Qilin,” Ye Qiu said, his gaze fixed on the Starving Ghost. A cold, murderous smile played on his lips as he said, “Since you’re here, you might as well stay.”
“You bastard! You hurt my big brother! I’ll fight you to the death!” The Starving Ghost roared, charging at Ye Qiu with his two cleavers.
The Starving Ghost had hoped to engage Ye Qiu in a prolonged battle, but before he could even get close, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky.
“Boom!”
The Starving Ghost was instantly struck, smoke rising from his body.
However, the Starving Ghost was incredibly resilient. Despite being struck by lightning, he wasn’t severely injured. Instead, the attack only fueled his rage.
“I’ll kill you! Aaaah!”
The Starving Ghost’s eyes turned bloodshot as he charged at Ye Qiu again, cleavers in hand.
Ye Qiu stood his ground, waiting until the Starving Ghost was right in front of him before swiftly slashing out with two strikes.
“Crack!”
“Crack!”
The two cleavers were shattered into pieces.
Ye Qiu followed up with a powerful punch to the Starving Ghost’s stomach.
“Bang!”
The Starving Ghost was sent flying like a sandbag.
Ye Qiu quickly pursued, catching the Starving Ghost mid-air and delivering a powerful kick to his back.
“Thud!”
The Starving Ghost spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying again. Just as he was about to hit the ground, Ye Qiu leaped into the air, driving his knee into the back of the Starving Ghost’s neck.
“Crack!”
The Starving Ghost’s neck bone dislocated.
“Damn, he’s still alive?” Ye Qiu was shocked. An ordinary person would have died instantly from such a blow, but the Starving Ghost only suffered a dislocated neck.
“Let’s see how much punishment you can take.”
Ye Qiu set down the Emperor Sword and clenched his fists, leaping into the air.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Ye Qiu landed sixteen consecutive punches on the Starving Ghost’s body.
Each punch carried the force of a thousand pounds.
The Starving Ghost vomited blood repeatedly, his bones breaking in multiple places. The most tragic part was that he was suspended in mid-air, like a sandbag, being pummeled relentlessly by Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu followed up with fifteen more punches.
Even after all that, the Starving Ghost was only severely injured, not dead.
Finally, Ye Qiu concentrated all his strength into his right arm and delivered one last punch.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
With four final punches, the Starving Ghost’s massive body exploded.
In an instant, blood and bone fragments scattered everywhere.
“Little brother!” The Hanged Ghost, witnessing this scene, was filled with rage and tried to charge forward, but Azure Dragon landed a punch to his jaw, leaving him disoriented.
At the same time, Qilin delivered a powerful punch to the Hanged Ghost’s back.
The two of them worked together, quickly finishing off the Hanged Ghost.
Finally, the battlefield fell silent.
“Ye Qiu, are you okay?” Qilin asked, noticing the bloodstains on Ye Qiu’s body.
“I’m fine,” Ye Qiu replied with a smile. Most of the blood on him had splattered from the Starving Ghost’s death.
“That’s good. I was worried we arrived too late,” Qilin said with a grin. “The Nine Thousand Years Old Man sent us to help you.”
“If you’re both here, who’s protecting the Nine Thousand Years Old Man?” Ye Qiu asked.
Azure Dragon chuckled. “You don’t know this, but the Nine Thousand Years Old Man found two people to disguise as us and stay by his side.”
So that’s how it was.
Ye Qiu expressed his gratitude. “Thank you both. If it weren’t for you, I might have died here today.”
At that moment, Tang Fei and Long Ye also got out of the car.
“Thank you, brothers,” Tang Fei said.
“Does it still hurt from the beating I gave you last time?” Qilin asked with a smirk. That night, after he and Azure Dragon arrived in the northwest and heard that Ye Qiu had been buried under the sand and was in critical condition, Qilin had punched Tang Fei.
“If I say it hurts, will you feel guilty?” Tang Fei asked.
Qilin laughed. “I never feel guilty.”
“Hmph,” Tang Fei snorted.
Long Ye clasped his hands together and said to Azure Dragon and Qilin, “Brothers, thank you for today. If you ever need anything from me, Long Ye, just say the word. I’ll go through fire and water for you.”
“We’re all brothers. No need for formalities,” Azure Dragon said. “Ye Qiu, the Nine Thousand Years Old Man ordered us to escort you to the capital.”
“You two should hurry back to Yangcheng to protect the Nine Thousand Years Old Man,” Ye Qiu said. “He can’t be left without you.”
“But the Nine Thousand Years Old Man has already ordered us to escort you to the capital no matter what.”
“Listen to me,” Ye Qiu insisted. “The Witch God Sect is watching closely, and there might be other enemies lurking in the shadows. If you’re not by the Nine Thousand Years Old Man’s side, he’ll be in danger if enemies attack. You need to go back.”
“As for me, don’t worry. I have ways to deal with any enemies I encounter.”
“Go back with peace of mind!”
Qilin looked at Azure Dragon and smiled. “Looks like the Nine Thousand Years Old Man was right.”
Ye Qiu looked at them, puzzled.
Azure Dragon explained, “Before we left, the Nine Thousand Years Old Man predicted that you would tell us to go back as soon as you saw us.”
“So, the Nine Thousand Years Old Man has mobilized the underground forces of the fourteen northern provinces, totaling one hundred thousand Dragon Gate brothers, to guard your path to the capital and ensure your safety.”
Azure Dragon took out a flare gun from his pocket and handed it to Ye Qiu. “If you encounter danger, fire this flare. The Dragon Gate brothers will arrive within ten minutes to support you.”
Ye Qiu took the flare gun, took two steps back, and bowed deeply to Azure Dragon and Qilin. “When you return, please convey my gratitude to the Nine Thousand Years Old Man. I will never forget his great kindness.”
Qilin patted Ye Qiu on the shoulder. “Ye Qiu, you need to hurry to the capital, and we need to return to Yangcheng immediately. We’ll catch up another time and have a drink.”
“Take care!” Azure Dragon gave Ye Qiu a deep look, then turned and left with Qilin.
Ye Qiu watched as Azure Dragon and Qilin disappeared into the night. Then, he got into the car with Tang Fei and Long Ye, speeding toward the capital.
