Chapter 81: Crisis

Hearing Li Qing's words, Zhao Yin felt his blood surge instantly to his head, his vision darkened, and he nearly fainted from rage! Regardless of victory or defeat tonight, they had completely severed ties with the Zhao family. But because of a sudden, unexpected interloper, their entire plan had crumbled—not only had they failed to cripple Ouyang Zijin, but they had lost two peak external martial artists for no reason at all.

How could he possibly explain this to the young master upon his return?

As these thoughts churned in his mind, Zhao Yin glared at Jiang Xiaotian with venomous hatred. "You little bastard! You dare sabotage the Zhao family's affairs! Don't worry, the Zhao family will take your life! And you, Young Master Li! So much for your reputation—you couldn't even deal with a useless external strength practitioner!"

He was utterly beside himself with fury, but the defeat was certain; if he didn’t leave now, he’d have no chance. So Zhao Yin cast one last murderous glance at Jiang Xiaotian, then hoisted the two half-dead martial artists onto his shoulders and retreated in disgrace.

Li Qing, however, neither showed anger nor panic. He looked calmly at Ouyang Zijin. "You’ve grown stronger. Now, you’re finally worthy of me, hahahaha."

Ouyang Zijin felt a chill run down her spine; she had no affection for men with such sly and sardonic airs.

Li Qing finished speaking, then strolled away at his leisure. He was the strongest among them; even Jiang Xiaotian couldn’t stop him, let alone the others. If he wanted to leave, the rest could do nothing but watch.

Moreover, he hadn’t come alone.

The moment Li Qing exited the park, someone was waiting for him. He climbed into a discreet business car, where members of his family sat.

"Young master, how did it go?" asked an elderly steward.

"She’s stronger now, and even more beautiful," Li Qing replied with a smile.

The steward was momentarily speechless. "Young master!"

"Ha, just joking. Ouyang Zijin has indeed reached the early stage of internal strength, but an inexplicable outsider intervened halfway through, and we failed."

Although their plan had failed, the Li family did not share the Zhao family’s urgency or anger.

For them, this setback was insignificant.

Unlike Zhao Zheng, Li Qing was not reckless but meticulous in his actions.

From the very start, the Li family had never intended to truly ally with the Zhao family.

Everything about this affair was suspicious. First, someone had tipped off the Zhao family about Ouyang Zijin concealing her strength; then, someone had informed the Li family, even providing precise details of her hiding place and defensive arrangements.

Who was revealing these secrets? How did he know, and what was his motive?

Li Qing had no clue, but for now, it seemed this person wanted to sow discord among the three families.

Thus, though he agreed to help Zhao Zheng, he had always held back, just as he had never truly exerted himself against Jiang Xiaotian.

Ideally, he hoped the Ouyang family would arrive in time and fight Zhao Yin and his men to the death—then the Li family could play the role of the opportunistic bird snatching the prey while the mantis and cicada fought.

Moreover, judging from Ouyang Zijin's reaction, she had at least heard some rumors, and together with that young man employing strange martial arts, Li Qing had no desire to get caught in this quagmire.

"Don’t worry, I barely took action. The Ouyang family was prepared today; their fury will fall solely on the Zhao family. We’ll just sit back and enjoy the show," Li Qing said, as if he had everything under control. He stretched lazily, eager to go home and rest.

After all, tomorrow would mark a turning point in Dragon City.

No sooner had they left than Jiang Xiaotian decided to slip away as well.

But Ouyang Zijin was not about to let him go so easily.

"Hey! Where are you going? Why are you running? You’re Ouyang family’s benefactor! I have to thank you properly! Quick! Catch him! Don’t let this guy escape!"

Bah!

Jiang Xiaotian silently cursed. Her words sounded pleasant enough, but her actions were anything but gentle. Besides, her smile didn’t suggest anything good was about to happen!

He had barely taken a few steps when he noticed something on the action tracker—a set of coordinates.

Jiang Xiaotian examined it and frowned.

The coordinates seemed to be right nearby.

He stopped and scanned his surroundings.

Those chasing after him paused as well, and Ouyang Zijin hurried forward, grabbing him by the arm. "Little rascal! What’s the matter with you? Do you think I’m a cannibal?"

Jiang Xiaotian ignored her, remaining vigilant.

Something felt off, a sense of unease—the same apprehension he’d felt the night before setting out for Dragon City.

"Why are you covering your face? Hey! Why won’t you answer me?" Ouyang Zijin waved her hand in front of him.

At least she was polite—though curious about his appearance, she didn’t try to pull off his mask, considering he’d saved her life.

Jiang Xiaotian recalled Li Qing’s words and deliberately lowered his voice: "Did you notify your family to come to your aid?"

Ouyang Zijin was startled, then shook her head.

She had heard Li Qing mention that her family’s reinforcements had arrived, prompting them to flee, but she herself had just learned of the Zhao family’s attempted ambush. She had hurriedly arranged her own men, but there hadn’t been time to call for further reinforcements.

"They must have sensed danger on their own, I suppose? Oh, you needn’t be afraid! Rest assured, the Ouyang family isn’t ungrateful. You helped me out, so last night’s accidental exposure is forgiven!"

Her words nearly made Jiang Xiaotian laugh aloud—she even brought it up herself, remarkable!

But this woman’s thought process was indeed peculiar; after a moment, she leaned in and whispered, "By the way, am I pretty?"

A scene full of springtime delight unfolded in Jiang Xiaotian’s mind, and he nearly had a nosebleed.

Yet in the next instant, that uneasy feeling surged to its peak.

Ouyang Zijin seemed to sense something as well, turning around.

But Jiang Xiaotian abruptly activated Dragon’s Fury, tackling her to the ground at lightning speed.

In that moment, he sensed something extremely dangerous brush past his ear; had he acted a second later, both he and Ouyang Zijin would have been finished!

It was invisible, without any detectable fluctuation, or perhaps his current strength simply couldn’t perceive it.

But whatever it was, it sent chills through Jiang Xiaotian’s entire body!

Ouyang Zijin, unsuspecting, fell to the ground; just as she was about to snap at Jiang Xiaotian for his proximity, she noticed another intruder had entered her territory.

Following Jiang Xiaotian’s gaze, her heart trembled.

On a tree branch stood a figure clad entirely in black, watching them.

He wore a bizarre mask, yet exuded no aura whatsoever, like an ordinary person.

But when Jiang Xiaotian met his eyes, danger overwhelmed him.

This was someone far beyond his ability to confront.

Jiang Xiaotian finally understood—the action tracker hadn’t been reminding him to carry out a mission, but warning him that danger was approaching!