40: Sanyi vs. Erjiu

"Clang, clang, bang, bang."

Streaks of sword light flashed, and sharp Sword Qi left deep gouges on the cell walls and ceiling.

Iron rings, chains, and pipes made of special materials all fell to the ground with smooth-cut edges.

With his restraints broken, Zhou Yan stood up, stretched lazily, and then straightened his clothes.

Aside from his upper garment being somewhat damaged due to the iron rings and pipes, revealing his smooth skin beneath, there wasn't a single scratch on Zhou Yan's body.

In principle, if a minor Cultivator in the Qi Refinement Stage had their collarbones pierced, their magical power would be restricted and their body would become weak; at such a time, they should be even worse off than a Mortal.

However, the game panel would tell you: don't try to apply the rules of the real world to the bugs of a game world, otherwise, in principle, you'll just encounter more bugs.

Zhou Yan's collarbones were part of his own character model, so the so-called 'piercing of the collarbones' was just a clipping error; once the model blocking him was destroyed, everything was fine.

Don't ask too many questions; if you do, the answer is 'game mechanics.'

He picked up the key from the ground. It felt strange; although it looked like a shell on the outside, it felt like jelly to the touch.

Zhou Yan had originally been curious about how this conch—which looked like a rapier, had a strange shape, and felt so bouncy—was supposed to serve as a key.

It pulled away from Zhou Yan's hand and quickly stabbed into the large door.

Then it began to turn to the left, and glowing blue rings appeared one after another on the door.

When it turned to the right, the rings overlapped layer by layer, the light becoming even more dazzling, until finally the light dissipated and the door swung wide open.

Zhou Yan poked half his head out to check. Currently, whether through the mini-map or the naked eye, only an empty passage could be seen, with some light at the far end.

Because it was too far away, he couldn't see clearly what was there. However, since there was light, it should be the exit.

After confirming repeatedly that there were no hidden doors nearby and that the mini-map showed no extra gray, locked spaces,

Zhou Yan finally pulled the key from the door, stuffed it into his backpack, and strode out.

Without the key to support it, the door closed again shortly after Zhou Yan left. Unless someone came to open it and look inside, nothing would seem out of the ordinary.

Zhou Yan walked through the spacious passage, keeping a wary eye on the mini-map.

Just as Yi Sanyi had said, there wasn't a single guard in the passage.

What on earth is this Yi Sanyi plotting?

Reaching the end of the passage, Zhou Yan witnessed a shocking scene.

"Whoa."

What greeted Zhou Yan's eyes was an entire water city built within an underground cavern.

The underground vault was shrouded in a faint blue glimmer, and thousands of glowing Fluorite veins hung from the massive rocky ceiling like an inverted starry sky.

An ink-black underground river cut across the cavern, the sound of water roaring, its surface floating with dots of glowing Ghost-Algae.

The steep rock walls on both banks were carved with honeycomb-like caves and hanging houses, with wooden boardwalks and rope bridges connecting the buildings at various heights.

Warm yellow lamplight shone from most of the windows on both banks, reflecting on the surging water alongside the cold light from the overhead mineral veins; this was the light Zhou Yan had seen from within the passage.

Zhou Yan looked toward the opposite bank. The vermilion pavilion Yi Sanyi had mentioned was unmistakably obvious, situated at the highest point on the other side.

Even gazing at it from this distance, he could clearly feel its magnificence; its style was vastly different from the other houses.

While Zhou Yan was observing the pavilion across the way, he suddenly noticed a dense cluster of red dots appearing on the map, not far from his current position.

"Damn, a forced stealth segment is starting!"

"Tap-tap, tap-tap."

A flurry of hurried footsteps approached.

Zhou Yan looked around; aside from the very wide passage he had just come from, there was nowhere to hide.

"Damn, don't tell me I'm going to get a 'Returning Veteran' screen right after coming out!"

A squad of half-fish, half-human monsters wearing chainmail and carrying sharp spears was rushing over.

"Hurry up, hurry up! Lord Yi Sanyi and the Village Chief are fighting. A grand battle like this isn't seen often!" an obvious leader urged the others behind him.

Beside him, a somewhat young monster looked at the leader with concern.

"Captain, will we be okay if we just go like this?"

The leader shot him a sidelong glance and then smacked him on the head.

"You blockhead."

"We are concerned for the safety of the Village Chief and Lord Yi Sanyi, and for the harmony within our village."

"Isn't such a legitimate reason enough?"

"Besides, isn't that beast still watching? What could possibly go wrong?"

"Let's go, let's go. If we don't hurry, there won't be any spots left. I just saw those Spirit Fish farmers heading there too. It'll definitely be fine if we go."

These words indeed put everyone at ease, and they quickened their pace toward their destination.

After about half a quarter-hour, a dark shadow descended from above.

“Whew, scared the life out of me.”

Zhou Yan had become a bit jittery from that scene just now.

That feeling of watching a massive amount of red dots approach on the mini-map while having nowhere to run and no way to resist was truly high-pressure.

Fortunately, since ancient times, 'CTs don't look up,' and hide-and-seek games are still games. As a veteran player who had played everything, he naturally had some experience in all areas.

But from what they said, it seems Yi Sanyi has started a fight with Second Nine Jia.

Good grief, Sanyi, you're a ruthless one!

So this is why you said there would be no one for three double-hours? You're going to scrap with the old man for six hours?

Meanwhile, in Langqi Village.

"Little Sanyi, don't you lose face now!"

"That's right, that's right! We of the Yi Generation all came up through the edge of a blade!"

"Perk up, don't lose face, good lad!"

Surrounded by a crowd of elders and the younger generation of the Yi lineage, Yi Sanyi walked out coolly, shedding his outer robe to reveal the sturdy muscles beneath.

"Damn."

Yi Sanyi slammed his robe onto the ground with a fierce expression and strode into the Village Chief's house.

"Good! Let's see what he does!"

"Don't lose face!"

"Good lad!"

The shouting continued outside, and as more and more spectators arrived to watch the excitement, the cheers showed signs of growing even louder.

"Second Nine Jia, the Dynasty's Wild Stallion!"

"Just because you are of the Jia Generation, you were gifted a treasure by an Immortal to advance to Qi Refining Level 6."

"In terms of business and scheming, I don't fear you!"

"And in terms of cultivation talent, I am even stronger than you!"

Although Yi Sanyi's expression was currently very distorted, it wasn't a sign of anger.

He was just trying so hard to hold back his laughter that his face had become deformed.

Young Brother Zhou, don't let me down. For your sake, I've even laid hands on my dear Village Chief.

Hee hee.

While things were going one way there, Zhou Yan's side was in a bad spot.

"Bad luck! Bad luck! Bad luck!"

On the broad surface of the river, a handsome young man was sprinting across the water.

"What the hell is this thing!"

Behind Zhou Yan, a massive dorsal fin floated on the water. From the size of the fin alone, one could guess its owner was not to be trifled with.

"Roar—" Accompanied by a roar, a Tiger-Headed Monster Fish leapt from the water, opening its huge maw to swallow Zhou Yan whole.

Zhou Yan wasn't sure what the subsequent impact would be if he released Foundation Establishment-level Sword Qi here and destroyed the houses and buildings.

So he could only perform a sudden brake on the water's surface, then turn around and execute a sliding tackle.

The sudden stop plus sliding tackle wasn't a martial art technique from Zhou Yan's original body, but experience accumulated from his student days in his previous life when rushing for food.

This might not work against a murderous enemy, but it could certainly deal with an extremely hungry monster. After all, he knew all too well how to dodge a starving crowd!

Only, Zhou Yan looked at the vermilion pavilion, which was now even further away from him.

If he kept dodging like this, he wouldn't be able to get across!

"Over here, young man, come over here!"

There was no one else here now, only the roaring of the monster, so the human voice was exceptionally clear. Zhou Yan followed the sound and looked toward a passage by the riverbank that was mostly submerged in water.

And at the end of the passage was a person who was locked up.

Jia Sanyi

Rank: Mortal