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Decision, Part II

While not entirely, just because Bai Qi was near the heirs of the several powers joining into this fray, Bai Qi had been protected from most of the attacks and effects caused by the aura that Su Bo released right after the city's formation, a previous hope, was released just to became a nightmare for everyone inside.

With the formation oppressing even Warrior Emperors, Bai Qi's senses were expanded far more than the ones he could release before. So he learned of the effects of the formation far quicker than the now-restricted Warrior Kings, making him aware of the actual implications even before they were brought into play.

But before he could even formulate a strategy or at least try to think of something useful to help the now-passively defending Warrior Kings of the escort, the situation changed once more, as the suddenly disappeared [Voidblade] reappeared once again, a strange bladed gauntlet crashing against Du Ten's individual defenses while avoiding their combined aura defense or even the scattered strands of aura that every cultivator of a decent level would leave around to prevent such attacks.

*Crash* *Tear*

While such a physical attack, even if unexpected, could crash through the few inches of aura Du Ten had left around himself for self-preservation, they would not affect the latter in any way but tear a bit of his heavily armored martial robe. While the attack was perfectly executed, the amount of force and lack of resources actually only made Bai Qi worry even more about what was happening.

Du Ten had been fighting the [Demon Worshipping] region on the frontlines, developing from just a medium-tier Warrior King sent by the conscription order of the [Great Forest Sect] into a true powerhouse that could deal with anyone in his cultivation range.

While only a pretty low talent for learning in a classroom or lesson-type environment, and, Du Ten's understanding skills being far below the average, he had proven to be an absolute genius in learning and adapting during combat, not only reaching the peak of the Warrior King realm in just a couple of months but actually creating strategies to deal with the unexpected assaults of assassins and unexpected raids that the enemy employed.

And while having it developed only to counter the ways of the enemy on the battlefront, Du Ten, for some reason, still chose to wear the same kind of martial robe even as he arrived at the [Eastern Inscription City], precious metals covering each of the internal organs and vulnerable spots, especially the heart area and the neck, as the [Demon Worshipping] region cultivators had nearly an obsession of targetting just that two.

Who could know that this would actually save his life and allow him to continue fighting as if he didn't notice anything? Well, except for an enemy on the undefended side. Not that he could see the same as an external observer saw, the lack of actual force behind the attack!

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Having been taught, and very forcefully if one was to think about it, by the foes of his region, Du Ten didn't consider much of the attack that ripped the armored plates made of [Saint-steel] on his chest and instead released a forceful back-kick towards the direction of the punch that could have killed him, if not for the defensive methods he had developed, all while continuing his forceful usage of the [Earthshaker Warhammer] unique skill, all to combat the now, far more powerful, aura coming at them while combining with the [City-wide Formation] that by some reason, even if he could actually understand it but he still didn't want to accept such, was already overwhelming the defenses of the four Warrior Kings present.

While he wasn't affected much by the reappearance of the [Voidblade], as who else could it be, a [Void] user was truly dangerous to any other cultivators present, especially to the Warrior Lords left at his charge. And in such a situation, how could the Protector of the [Pan Trade Company] act as the offensive while leaving Pan Tong's safety to a random stranger that he had just met?

Such were Du Ten's thoughts, which he would openly share with everyone present, explaining that as he retired from combat to prepare the killing strike, he would be basically in a passive position, no better than the Warrior Lords present.

***

With the presence of the formation that actually weakened them and helped the enemy, granting boosts like far quicker healing and a nearly unlimited input of qi that could be used for both internal and aura, the four present Warrior Kings were already at the ropes. Now, with an assassin running around, making Protector Boling enter the shadows to intercept the [Void] user, and Du Ten backing off while claiming to prepare a killing strike, it was nothing strange that the remaining two were close to despairing.

While brave enough to accept such a challenge when on their own, when considering the Warrior Lords behind them, who would be nothing more than a weight, but also something to be protected in such a situation, and having lost the two that had been providing over a half of their offensive, even Lei Su grew close to panic.

Lei Su herself felt that she could fight evenly with the so-problematic Su Bo, but that would be in a fair environment - where each would fight by herself. But such wasn't the case.

{Got it, so we have to gain time, right?} As Lei Su and Zhu Chen communicated, they arrived at the same decision, and both of them, on behalf of their respective powers and the allied forces present at the moment that tried to change the situation had no other choice but for them to do so, anyway.

***

*Beam*

The [Last Swing of the Lost Sword] was a forbidden skill that even the so-loyal to sword manuals like the [White Grove] considered a no-go. After all, not only did it require one to pay with one's life force, shaving years of one life expectancy, but it would also eat through the mastery of the user, dropping an entire Sacred or actual Saint level each time, far worse for lower-leveled users as someone like Lei Su, who hasn't even reached the peak of the Saint steps.

Still, it was the only method she could use in such a situation! While she would never abandon Lei Guying, she wouldn't die for others, not even for someone who she saw as a promising youngster, and even deep inside, a marriage candidate for her so-promising relative. Still, at this moment, neither mattered, as if she didn't do all that she could to protect nearly everyone by herself, Zhu Chen - not an asset to be counted upon, in her mind, everyone, including her and Lei Guying, would die!

***

[Yuxuan City] Gao clan sent him - Zhu Chen, who was someone while having been forced out of the [Eastern Inscription City], was still, deep in his heart, a member of the [Zhu Clan]. While not the ideal messenger, as his interactions with the acting City-Lord (Lady) showed, he was still a 9th level Warrior King - a cultivator who could be considered able to move entire cities if he desired, especially with the so-powerful [Yuxuan City] behind him.

While below, in both rankings and strength when compared to Du Ten, Zhu Chen still was one of the finest Warrior Kings in the [Gao Clan], not to mention that his keen mind, political acumen, and excellent diplomacy skills had granted him the actual title of a political genius in the entire city, not only the ruling clan!

While not lauded for his combat skills, between the dangers of his position and the fact that he was an actual peak 9th level Warrior King, one could understand that he couldn't be a pushover.

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Members of the same city, even clan, adversaries, or rivals to a degree, at this moment, nothing mattered.

"[Praying to the Divines] - [Destroying the Enemy]" A skill usable and forbidden to anyone who understood that the [Zhu] meant not [Vermillion] but [To Pray], Zhu Chen roared out as his aura increased tenfold, all while his physical body started decaying while bathed in a strange multicolored light that resembled the actual physical image of the [Earth and Heaven Qi].

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After a good swing of emotions, including a bit of despair, especially as he saw that his trump cards would hardly work against the so-called [Agony's Embrace], Su Bo, wouldn't do anything but distract her for a few moments, Bai Qi calmed down, even if by unreasonable means.

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Truly powerful, even if first-level ones but charged with enough Mind power, spells required time to be cast and activated, and even if one counted on one of the methods to prepare a spell, one with enough mind power to block or even injure a Warrior Emperor, as Bai Qi could do, there would be a delay to use it. Thus, even Mind power saints required a bit of protection, or protective measures to show their prowess.

While there were dozens of methods to have a spell ready to be used, Bai Qi counted with none at the moment, and even if he did, he couldn't even guarantee he wouldn't be targetted before he did release the spell, Su Bo's aura already repressing the entire battlefield, basically giving her full control, at least in the information side, of anything happening in the covered terrain, especially now that two of the auras in the grouped one protecting him and the others faded.

For his other trump card, Kui Mulang, between the constant absorption of the latter's demon qi by Bai Qi's body, thanks to his cultivation method, as well as to the full merge they have undercome, especially with his souls merging and the 4th level Warrior Lord advancement, the transformation could at most create a temporal force equal to a medium-tier Warrior King, all while having already dropped to something akin to a very elite 3rd level Warrior King!

While his previous estimation was a bit higher, by the moment he thought of no other option but to call upon it, Bai Qi understood that even the so-powerful [Demon Transformation], as to call it somehow, could barely hold a candle to either of the weaker Warrior Kings present, what to say about the strongest!

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By the moment Bai Qi's mind and disposition returned to the usual coldness that he considered his ideal state, he had not only discarded his current trump cards, his Mind power, and Kui Mulang's remanent power but also scrapped even the scrolls and talismans he had on himself.

No matter what he activated, it could, at most, work either as a distraction or a determent, but the latter was only actual for people who had a power that could be deterred, a high call from Su Bo and her [Soulrend Elders].

Bai Qi's rational mind, now that it was calmed to the point that only logic worked out, even if by forcefully using his Mind power on himself after feeling actual despair tinges, reached the true depth of his memories as the [White Scroll Immortal], and even touched the ones merged by Kui Mulang, who also was called the [Prince of Destruction], while discarding, thinking, or even planning on every method available in such a setting.

***

In the end, after discarding all of the self-destructive or too-flawed methods, Bai Qi was left with only three of them.

And as Su Bo's aura combined with the remaining four [Soulrend Elders] Warrior Kings started overpowering even the last-stand-like defense of Lei Su and Zhu Chen, an impressive one, if one was to give an opinion, Bai Qi rushed his decision to the one that was both dangerous but also gave him the biggest chance to survive - [Spectral Vessel Shift].

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As Bai Qi investigated the revival method he subsequently used, even if, not planning to, mixing the [Astral Scourges] methods and several investigations about the rumored, as it was still not confirmed at all, at least by actually rebirthed beings, [Reincarnation Wheel], Bai Qi had found about a taboo method called the [Spectral Vessel Shift].

[Spectral Vessel Shift] was a forbidden method that split the user's soul, mind, and qi into two vessels: a clone designed for absolute escape and an original body left behind in suspended animation. The technique condensed the clone with spatial qi, creating an untraceable void pathway for instantaneous travel across vast distances, bypassing even high-level formations. To mislead pursuers, it scattered fragmented auras and illusory trails. Meanwhile, the original body entered a qi cocoon, shielding it from immediate harm but leaving it defenseless and comatose for a while, then becoming something akin to an actual clone, able to respond and act under the guidelines of the user, but to a far lower degree.

The procedure came at a steep cost, drastically reducing lifespan and risking the clone's existence if it didn’t reunite with the body in time, or it didn't absorb enough resources to recreate a physical body, allowing the user to either cut the connection with the original or get a secondary self. It was a desperate gamble, prioritizing escape while clinging to the faint hope of survival, at least in the case of the user having no one to support his clone.

In the case of Bai Qi, he had neither the lifespan to spend, with him already losing nearly nine-tenths of his own during his advancement to the Warrior Lord real, nor someone who would actually support his clone with the required resources to recreate a true physical body. Thus, what he planned to do was to use the technique differently...

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Seeing no other option and waiting no more, Bai Qi released his aura and Mind power to the utmost, removing all limiters and boundaries he had followed until now.

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With the fight raging on, no one paid too close attention to Bai Qi, neither his allies nor the enemies, even Su Bo concentrating mostly on getting rid of the trump cards used by Zhu Chen and Lei Su, powerful enough to stop even her aura from advancing upon the undefended Du Ten or the Warrior Lords.

Thus, when Bai Qi suddenly flared out with a discharge of his full aura, mind power, and even inner qi while using some unknown skill, even Su Bo winced in surprise as she felt an actual threat from that mass of peak Warrior Lord aura and Mind Power comparable even to some weaker Emperors, it could be said that he attracted the attention of everyone.

But his following actions would place all the present cultivators in a stupor, as neither he defended nor attacked but used that generated full power to crash against reality itself, opening an enormous tear in the void.

Only for it to close a moment later, not even the Warrior Kings' senses catching on to what happened their eyes glued to a weak-looking Bai Qi falling on his knees...

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Several days later, deep forests of the central [Great Forest] area.

The man stirred awake on the damp forest floor, his body heavy with the aches of exhaustion and disuse. His mind drifted into a foggy stupor, caught between fragmented dreams and the biting chill of reality. When his eyes finally opened, the canopy of gnarled trees loomed overhead, their twisted branches clawing at a pale dawn sky. He blinked slowly, trying to clear the haze that clung to his thoughts.

He rose with deliberate effort, the rugged texture of his skin brushing against the coarse earth. His tattered clothes hung loosely on his lean frame, more rags than garments. From afar, they might resemble the remnants of a once-pristine whitish martial robe, now sullied beyond recognition. Standing about six feet tall, his posture sagged with the weight of unseen burdens. His once-proud face, carved with lines of hardship, hinted at faded handsomeness, a stark contrast to the stark white of his hair—save for a few solitary black strands that defied time’s erosion.

He ran a hand through the grime streaking his face, his fingers trembling as if testing their strength after an eternity of slumber. The wilderness was silent, the usual hum of life replaced by an uneasy stillness. Every breath he took tasted of earth and damp decay, and the faint scent of distant rain clung to the air.

As he gazed into the distance, clarity began to seep back into his mind, bringing with it memories half-formed and jagged, like shards of shattered glass. His gaunt frame trembled under the weight of both the past and an uncertain present. Yet, in his dark eyes, something stirred—an almost demonic flicker of black flames, faint and unyielding, like a force of nature refusing to be subdued.

***

"Well, at least it worked..." The man studied himself as he slowly regained both physical and mental composture, qi starting to slowly accumulate in his body, relieving him from the weakness that had assaulted him as he awoke.

After allowing himself to meditate for a couple of hours, the man's face turned into a sour grimace as he finished digesting all of the changes that his decision had originated. Still, that grimace wore off in just a few breaths, replaced by a determined expression as he contemplated his next actions.

Before rising and starting to walk in a random direction, having no actual idea even where he was, escaping with only a dormant physical body did prevent him from controlling the path after all, he suddenly created a few seals with his hands, summoning something akin to a thunderbolt of pure mind power.

*BOOM* *Shatter*

As the thunderbolt crashed and shattered the only boulder in the overgrown thicket he was in, shattering it as it was not a 4 feet tall rock twice that in width but a fake or illusion, the man allowed himself a small smile before asking no one, "Having this looks, a blocked cultivation, and only mind power to go on... maybe Qiu Zemin..?"