"Where?"
"Over there!"
Following
"Miss Zhang — such a delicate woman — how could she be participating in this kind of bloody duel? Has that man surnamed
"Xiuer is also a Core Disciple of the Seven Absolute Hall. Didn't I ever tell you?" Li Feiyu let out a bitter smile and dropped a piece of news that greatly surprised Han Li.
Han Li fell silent.
Clearly, the
"Brother, I won't waste words. I'm going to stay with Xiuer — take care of yourself!" Li Feiyu put his arm around Han Li's shoulder, said softly, then turned and headed into the crowd.
He hadn't taken two steps before he heard a soft sigh behind him. A gentle breeze stirred, and a figure appeared at his side — it was Han Li.
"What's the big deal? It's just a Death Contract Duel. This little scene isn't going to intimidate me. We're friends, after all — I'll lend a hand." Han Li said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Li Feiyu didn't say another word. He punched Han Li hard on the chest and whispered, "Good brother! Thank you!"
Han Li smiled but said nothing. Just as he had said, he had come along for two reasons. First, he had spent a long time with Li Feiyu, and their bond ran deep — he couldn't just stand by and watch him walk into danger alone. Second, he was confident in his own abilities and didn't believe the so-called experts of the Wild Wolf Gang could pose much of a threat to someone who had already mastered the Fire Bullet Technique and the Wind Riding Technique. Besides, he was itching to test his current strength for himself.
The two of them shouldered their way through the crowd and headed straight for Wang Juechu. Halfway there, they tore off their Duanshui Gate uniforms, revealing the robes of the Seven Mysteries Sect underneath.
Han Li and Li Feiyu's sudden appearance before the crowd and their dramatic change of identity left everyone on both sides dumbfounded. For a moment, no one moved to stop them, and they walked right up to Wang Juechu without hindrance.
"Hall Master Li!"
"Doctor Han!"
At this moment, many of the Seven Mysteries Sect's disciples recognized these two famous figures from within the sect and cried out in astonishment.
Seeing Li Feiyu, Zhang Xiuer was overjoyed, her lovely face filled with delighted surprise. If there hadn't been so many people around, she probably would have thrown herself into her beloved's arms long ago to pour out her heart.
Sect Master Wang naturally recognized them as well. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes — he was quite startled by their sudden appearance.
"Deputy Hall Master of the Outer Blade Hall, Li Feiyu, pays respects to the Sect Master!" Li Feiyu called out in a loud voice.
"The two of us are willing to sign the death contract and join the blood duel. We humbly ask the Sect Master to grant us this." Without waiting to be questioned, he stated his request directly. Han Li stood off to the side in silence, looking every bit the follower who deferred to Li Feiyu.
After hearing Li Feiyu's words, the reprimand that had been rising in Sect Master Wang's throat automatically retreated. A hint of warmth appeared on his usually icy face, and he said gently:
"Good! You are truly loyal disciples of our Seven Mysteries Sect. With Hall Master Li joining the duel, our sect's chances of victory have improved somewhat. However, I would prefer that Doctor Han not participate. After all, his medical skills are of great value to our sect. If something were to happen to him in the death duel, it would be a loss far greater than any gain."
Upon hearing this, Han Li smiled faintly. Without waiting for Li Feiyu to explain, he shifted his body, and right before Sect Master Wang's very eyes, he simply vanished.
Sect Master Wang was startled. He was about to search around when he heard Han Li's lazy voice coming from behind him.
"I wonder if my humble skills might meet the Sect Master's standards! I believe that even in the death duel, I have enough ability to protect myself. I humbly ask the Sect Master to honor my loyalty and grant my request."
Sect Master Wang was horrified deep inside. He had never imagined that Han Li — famous within the sect only for his medical arts — possessed such terrifying movement technique. He had been approached from behind without a sound and hadn't noticed a thing.
"Such terrifying skill! Who is this man, really? What is his purpose in hiding within our sect?" A barrage of frightening thoughts flooded Wang Juechu's mind.
He turned around and looked at Han Li, who still wore an innocent, harmless expression, then couldn't help but glance toward his three martial uncles.
His three martial uncles' expressions had shifted slightly, and their eyes held a trace of alarm as well. Clearly, Doctor Han's abilities had put them on guard too.
A succession of different thoughts circled through Sect Master Wang's mind several times over before he finally made his decision.
He suddenly burst into hearty laughter, then said warmly:
"Since Doctor Han shows such wholehearted loyalty to our sect, how could I, as Sect Master, possibly refuse?"
He then pointed, ordering the two weakest fighters among the original death duel participants to step aside. In their place, Han Li and Li Feiyu joined the lineup. He had them sign the death contracts first, with black ink on the blood-red life-and-death register, making them the first to officially become participants in the death duel.
The spectacle on the Seven Mysteries Sect's side was, of course, watched in its entirety by
And so, once both sides had finished signing the death contracts and exchanged the documents, the blood duel — in which only one side would walk out alive — finally began.