Chapter 43: Tidal Fury in the Snow

Thud!

Thud!

The heavy footsteps, echoing like bells and drums, steadily drew near.

Thick snow mixed with rain churned in rippling waves, tumbling like a shaking quilt. These surges spread from afar and crashed onto the stone steps in front of Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop, unleashing snow-waves like a startled tide.

Wave after wave—it was as if each step set off such a ripple.

Mournful, sobbing cries wound their way from one end of Long Street to the other.

It was as if the gates of hell had been flung open, releasing a legion of wailing ghosts…

The anguished howls erupted, haunting the dead of night!

In an alleyway.

An old man listened intently to the approaching footsteps, feeling an overwhelming divine aura mingled within, as he gently patted the child beside him, Lu Chi.

“Go on, you fool.”

“A brawl between fighters is one thing—but for a divine cultivator to meddle… that’s just too much.”

The old man spoke softly.

At his words, Lu Chi’s eyes showed not a trace of fear; instead, they flared like a blazing fire.

“Master, leave it to me!”

“Consider it an early surprise for that uninitiated junior sister!”

Lu Chi grinned broadly, tilting his head mischievously.

In the next moment, he pulled a thumb-sized wooden carving from his bosom. Though small, it vividly depicted a child wielding a red-tasselled spear, sporting a bun hairstyle, clad in a red vest and enveloped in red silk.

Clearly, it was the work of a master.

Eyes wide, furious glares, an imposing presence…

Lu Chi pressed the tiny carving against his brow. In an instant, flecks of light began to drift out— the divine aura sealed within the wood.

All of it converged into his brow as the carving crumbled into dust and sand, slipping through his chubby hands.

A flush of red crossed his brow; his eyes locked in a fierce glare, burning with anger!

“My uninitiated junior sister is going to meet a terrible end!”

“Ah! I’m so furious!”

“Prince, assist me!”

Lu Chi roared, anger surging in torrents as his eyes blazed and his aura intensified with each passing moment.

The old man smiled and flicked his finger; in an instant, streams of red silk danced out, coiling around Lu Chi.

Lu Chi’s features became completely obscured by the raging, fiery divine aura.

A swirling storm of snow enveloped him, with red silk winding about his frame like a tornado at his feet—a truly fearsome sight!

The old man stroked his beard with a smile and gave a slight nod.

The divine aura of anger.

【Furious Third Prince】!

……

……

Clattering winter rain, mixed with flurries of snow, began to fall.

Plummeting from the heights, the rain landed on an oil-paper umbrella—its surface slick with tung oil—and bounced around like marbles.

Beneath the umbrella, a figure in white, as brilliant as fresh snow, moved with an otherworldly grace. His handsome, almost ethereal features were tinged with sorrow, accentuated by a tear-shaped mole at the corner of his eye—as if poised to unleash countless woes.

A few stray strands at his forehead danced, revealing Si Mu Bai’s tearful expression.

Holding the umbrella in one hand, he strode forward; each step sent the snow surging, clearing a pristine path for his passage.

He ambled leisurely in the direction of Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop.

Unconcerned with the chaos unfolding within.

Whether it was Zhao Chuanxiong having his head severed by the Ogre or four blood-swapping fighters locked in a heart-stopping chase with the Ogre…

None of it disturbed his measured, unhurried steps.

“Zhao Chuanxiong is dead.”

Si Mu Bai pressed his lips together; the vivid tear-mole on his face amplified his growing sorrow. On the verge of tears, his voice dripped with grief.

“What a pity… he’s dead. But I’m so scared—so frightened that Zhao Xuanhai will come after me…”

“Divine constable, if you strike me down, I’m terrified… so heartbroken… sob, sob, sob…”

Enveloped in sorrow, Si Mu Bai was channeling his divine aura. His emotions—raw and potent—were the very fuel for his power, intensifying his battle prowess.

Cultivating one’s emotions was a vital lesson for every divine cultivator.

Amid his tearful sorrow, his eyes remained piercingly clear.

Si Mu Bai gazed at the snowbound Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop, his sorrow mingled with gloom. And then—the Ogre had appeared.

Earlier, Zhao Chuanxiong had brazenly abducted Chen Daba, stirring up chaos outside Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop. It had clearly attracted the Ogre’s murderous wrath.

Yet even Si Mu Bai had underestimated how rapidly the Ogre’s strength was growing.

The lingering divine aura of 【Chin Ku Zhen Gui】, clinging to Zhao Chuanxiong, brought shocking news—the Ogre had already undergone a blood substitution!

“That was fast… this Ogre… who exactly is pulling its strings?”

Si Mu Bai’s curiosity was truly piqued.

Yet, despite his best efforts, he couldn’t recall anyone whose energy matched that of the Ogre.

Neither fighters nor divine cultivators had ever resonated with him.

“This city… doesn’t need heroes.”

“Not tonight.”

“Then let me give this lone hero a proper send-off.”

Si Mu Bai propped his oil-paper umbrella, its dripping raindrops resembling the tears of his despair.

But the thought of slaying the Ogre ignited a spark of excitement within him that battled his sorrow—nearly coaxing a smile.

His expression wavered between weeping and grinning, with sobs echoing like ghostly wails.

Suddenly.

Si Mu Bai lifted his foot and brought it down forcefully.

A heavy thud resounded!

The amassed snow surged like a tidal wave, hurtling into the distance.

A stiff neck strained to rise, and a face etched with raw sorrow froze, as if carved in wood.

The rushing snow, transforming into a tidal surge, melted on impact into a river of water at the tide’s edge—as though a blazing inferno ahead was burning through the ice and snow of Long Street!

And atop that surge,

a child stood with eyes burning like embers, his features blurred. Draped in swirling red silk resembling a dancing dragon and with jet-black hair whipping wildly like seaweed,

his chubby fingers were balled into fists, and his angry gaze was fixed unblinkingly on him.

An intense divine aura burst forth like red lotuses in bloom.

Si Mu Bai’s tear-streaked face, overwhelmed by inescapable sorrow, stared at the child with the red-lotus aura, every hair on his body standing on end.

“Such divine aura… the aura of anger at the Four Majesty-level… 【Furious Crown Prince}?”

The entire Long Street…

Under rising temperatures, the snow and rain melted; the falling rain transformed into a torrent, drumming relentlessly on the umbrella and drenching the once elegant Si Mu Bai, with water trickling from his forehead.

Si Mu Bai’s complexion turned an unnaturally flushed red.

He coughed violently, the sorrow in his eyes shattering into a glimmer of fear.

“Four Majesty-level?”

“No way! How can Feilei City have a Four Majesty-level divine foundation?!”

“How could that be?!”

“This Ogre… someone is pulling its strings!”

……

……

Blood and qi roared like an enraged python; raindrops on the burly figure evaporated in an instant.

Li Che, wearing a Cute Cow Mask, felt the raindrops pelting his bamboo hat. He quietly wondered—how had all the snow turned to rain?

But he had no time to ponder the strange weather as four blazing auras closed in, encircling him.

He slammed his foot down; the blue bricks cracked apart, fanning out like spiderwebs.

Li Che halted the towering, demonic figure—even as his eyes behind the mask remained as impassive as ever.

They were in a secluded area near Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop, far from his own courtyard, creating the illusion for the four blood-swapping fighters that escape was impossible.

Li Che did not retreat any further.

Three blood-swapping experts from Lingying Sect formed an array ahead of him, sealing off his escape on all three sides.

They wore childlike masks, their expressions shifting from tears to laughter to anger…

Further away, like a sharp spear jutting from a rooftop, stood Guo Zhan—one of Si Mu Bai’s blood-swapping fighters—with an arrow nocked and bow drawn, watching him impassively as rain trickled down his jaw in delicate strands.

No matter how torrential the downpour, not even a hint of movement disturbed the arrow he aimed.

“Run… Ogre, run if you can…”

“You took the bait—not even cow bait—and still think you can escape? There’s no way that’s going to work!”

The three blood-swapping experts from Lingying Sect, their masked eyes grim and unyielding, fixed their gaze on Li Che.

“There’s no escape—surrender now… let us have a good look at…”

“Under that Ogre mask, what kind of hero’s face are you hiding?”

A blood-swapping fighter wearing a weeping girl mask sneered.

Li Che, donning a bamboo hat and drenched in rain-soaked elastic armor that perfectly showcased his burly, muscled build, kept his head bowed.

He lowered his head.

Desperate? No escape?!

Indeed, he had been cornered with no way out.

【Dao Fruit: Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv1 90%)】

Before his eyes, a Dao Fruit prompt appeared.

So close…

Yet, not quite.

Li Che suddenly raised his head, his eyes ablaze with battle fervor and a ruthless killing intent that could no longer be concealed!

At that moment.

Since arriving in this world, the doubts and anxieties that had weighed on his heart were now unleashed, matching the raging fury and murderous intent of Lingying Sect’s onslaught!

Everything would be unleashed in this battle…

A complete outburst!

I will…

Kill! Eradicate! You all!

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