Just a quarter of an hour ago, Lü Wuji had been brimming with confidence, reveling in his grand scheme—kill Jiang Chen, eliminate Ye Rong, install Prince Ye Hao on the throne, and someday rise to become the Grand Steward of the Dragon Tooth Guard.
But this beautiful dream had barely begun to sink in before reality delivered a ruthless slap, dragging him straight from the heavens of his fantasies into the depths of hell.
Watching Blood Three and his men head for the door, Lü Wuji's first impulse was to grab them and stop them from leaving. Yet a voice in the depths of his heart told him he couldn't do that.
If he tried, killers as hard-hearted as Blood Three would cut him down on the spot without so much as a twitch of their brows.
"No, no. I can't just sit here and wait to die. I can't stay here—I have to leave too! Even if Xue Tong testifies against me, at worst I'll flatly deny everything and refuse to admit a thing. With only Xue Tong's one-sided account and no other witnesses, they can't touch me!"
The moment this thought struck him, Lü Wuji rushed toward the door in a panic.
But the instant he reached the doorway, he ran straight into Blood Three and the others, their faces dark, turning back.
Blood Three's fury boiled over the moment he saw Lü Wuji. Without a word, he backhanded Lü Wuji with enough force to send his entire body flying into the wall.
That single slap nearly killed Lü Wuji.
He had absolutely no room to resist. His body smashed into the wall with a muffled grunt, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from his lips.
"Lü Wuji, you worthless trash. You told me nobody was following you? Then what about the triple encirclement outside—both inside and out? Did I, Blood Three, bring them here?" The assassin leader's face was black with rage, and he wished he could simply execute Lü Wuji on the spot.
Lü Wuji had been sent flying by Blood Three, his face a mask of shock and fury. But when he heard Blood Three say they were surrounded, the anger drained away in an instant, replaced by a bone-deep chill—as if he'd been plunged into an ice cellar.
"Surrounded? How is that possible?" Lü Wuji struggled to his feet.
Blood Three paid him no further attention. In a low voice he addressed his four subordinates: "When we move out, we'll split into three groups. I'll take one, and the four of you pair up into two. Remember—don't get bogged down in fighting. The Dragon Tooth Guard have numbers, but they lack overwhelming force. They may not be able to hold you."
"Third Master, we'll cover your escape!" all four subordinates said at once.
Blood Three replied with cold arrogance: "No need. As long as you make it out, I'll be fine. The Dragon Tooth Guard think they can keep me?"
As an Earth Spirit Realm powerhouse, Blood Three possessed tremendous strength. In all of the Tiangui Kingdom, there were only a handful of people who could match him.
On top of that, he was a born assassin with a constant stream of tricks for escape and concealment. Even surrounded, Blood Three didn't believe these Dragon Tooth Guard could hold him.
His four subordinates were all in the Spirit Realm as well, but only at the first or second level. Their cultivation was vastly inferior to his.
In the midst of a sea of soldiers, Blood Three, as an Earth Spirit Realm powerhouse, stood like a crane among chickens—with an overwhelming advantage and strong odds of breaking through.
But the first through third levels of the Spirit Realm belonged to the Minor Spirit Realm—beginner-tier cultivation, in plain terms. Facing an army, they had no such overwhelming edge.
"Third Master, we can die, but you absolutely must not come to harm."
"We'll pave the way for Third Master and cover his retreat!"
"Third Master, this subordinate is willing to die for you!"
One by one, they were resolute. They knew Blood Three was powerful, but against an ocean of enemies, even someone as strong as Blood Three couldn't be a hundred percent certain of escape.
After all, once a human wave tactic was in play, even an Earth Spirit Realm cultivator could find his strength insufficient.
Blood Three spoke in a frigid tone: "Listen to me! In the entire Tiangui Kingdom, unless Ye Chonglou himself takes the field, keeping me here won't be so easy!"
The Tiangui Kingdom was indeed one of the four great kingdoms within the Sixteen-Nation Alliance and far more powerful than an ordinary kingdom. But apart from Old Master Ye Chonglou, whose deterrent force was absolute, the other powerhouses—though they existed—simply weren't strong enough to give Blood Three pause.
Only Ye Chonglou, this Protector Spirit King whose age no one could fathom, inspired in Blood Three a sense of awe like staring up at a towering peak. Proud as Blood Three was, he knew that was an existence he simply could not contend with.
A Spirit King—that was the absolute pinnacle of the Spirit Realm. One who earned the title of Spirit King stood at the very apex, beyond the reach of any Earth Spirit Realm cultivator.
The Spirit Realm comprised nine levels. Levels one through three formed the Minor Spirit Realm.
Levels four through six formed the Earth Spirit Realm.
Levels seven through nine formed the Heavenly Spirit Realm.
And the Spirit King stood above even the Heavenly Spirit Realm, reigning supreme at the very summit of the Spirit Realm. Once one bore the title of Spirit King, that cultivator was the absolute elite within the entire Spirit Realm.
Though Lü Wuji had been ignored, he still forced himself forward with thick skin: "Then… what about me? Blood Three, you can't just leave me behind!"
Blood Three sneered: "You? The only reason I haven't killed you is that you can at least serve as a small distraction. Don't tell me you actually think I'd take you along when I flee?"
Lü Wuji's face went deathly pale: "If you don't take me with you, do you think you can escape the Royal Capital?"
"And bringing you along would guarantee a breakthrough?" Blood Three's voice dripped with disdain. "A piece of trash like you wants to be my burden? At least have the decency to ask whether you're even qualified."
The amount of humiliation Lü Wuji had endured in his entire life probably couldn't match what he'd suffered today.
But at this moment, he could no longer afford to worry about face. He shouted: "Take me out and I can use my authority to cover your escape from the Royal Capital! Otherwise, once I'm dead, your entire network here is cut off!"
"Lü Wuji, I never thought that even now you'd still be this naive. If you truly had that much power in the Royal Capital, we wouldn't be surrounded like this. My downfall to this point is entirely because I was foolish enough to trust a piece of trash like you."