Chapter Fifty-Three: The Gamble

Receiving the signal, Jackal hesitated briefly, but swiftly approached Liu Pan.

“Cough, cough!”

Liu Pan let out two gentle coughs, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He lifted his chin and spoke in a hoarse voice to Jackal, “Bring me the first, third, and fourth ones from the left.”

Following Liu Pan’s gaze, Jackal immediately spotted the porcelain bottles scattered across the ground. Without delay, he moved to retrieve the three bottles Liu Pan had indicated.

Liu Pan reached out, grabbed one of the bottles, bit off the stopper, and swallowed several pills. He exhaled, handed the bottle back to Jackal, and said, “From each of these three bottles, take three pills and give them to Liu Kuang.”

As he spoke, Liu Pan closed his eyes, letting the vital energy in his dantian surge wildly, accelerating the spread of the medicine’s effects.

Though victorious in the earlier battle, both Liu Pan and Liu Kuang had sustained serious injuries. Liu Pan, in particular, had suffered a heavy blow; Li Liao’s final attack was clearly launched with a reckless determination to take them both down. Though Li Liao couldn’t channel much vital energy in that brief instant, the strike landed squarely on Liu Pan’s unguarded body.

A desperate, dying attack is never to be underestimated—especially when delivered by a martial master like Li Liao.

The punch hadn’t struck Liu Pan’s vital organs directly, but it was powerful enough to shake his internal organs out of place, causing severe internal injuries. Without prompt treatment, he would suffer massive internal bleeding and die within the hour.

Liu Pan felt oddly fortunate; the seventh tier of the Sevenfold Water Yuan Seal had not disappointed him.

During his clash with Li Liao, Liu Pan’s entire right arm had been fractured. To cope with the agony, he had frantically channeled his ice elemental energy. In the instant he intensified the flow of ice energy, sweat on his arm froze into crystalline ice.

Water turning to ice reminded Liu Pan of the Sevenfold Water Yuan Seal he cultivated.

The reason he hadn’t perfected the Sevenfold Water Yuan Seal was due to the explosive repulsion generated when the seventh seal formed. Liu Pan believed this repulsion stemmed from uneven distribution of energy within the seal. Ice and water, though originating from the same source, possess distinct properties. Thus, Liu Pan immediately thought to use ice elemental energy in place of water energy to condense the seventh seal.

After mastering the second and third layers of the Profound Ice Technique, Liu Pan could already wield ice elemental energy. However, without a cultivation method for a Sevenfold Ice Yuan Seal, he had never considered using ice energy to condense the seals.

Yet, in the moment he suppressed his pain and ice crystals formed on his arm, inspiration flashed in his mind. The reasoning could be reversed: though ice and water differ, they share a common origin. If so, using ice energy to condense the seventh water seal might well succeed.

Ultimately, Liu Pan was gambling when he used ice energy to condense the seventh water seal—he had no certainty of success. But with Yan’s existence at stake, he chose to gamble without hesitation.

If he didn’t take the risk, Yan would be exposed. If he gambled, Yan had a chance to remain hidden. Faced with these options, Liu Pan naturally chose to bet.

Fortunately, he won. The power of the Seventh Water Yuan Seal did not let him down. His palm struck Li Liao’s right shoulder, crushing half of Li Liao’s body with overwhelming force. With his spiritual sense locked on, Liu Pan knew that unless someone powerful intervened, Li Liao would not survive.

Yet, despite winning this gamble, Liu Pan felt no great joy. Instead, the fight had left him with a sense of immense pressure—he yearned to grow stronger, much stronger.

From the moment Li Liao discovered him, Liu Pan had been gambling: breaking the spiritual imprint on the broad-bladed saber was a gamble; confronting Li Liao head-on was a gamble; even after Liu Kuang rushed forth, Liu Pan continued to gamble. Some bets were won, some lost, but the final gamble was the most fortunate.

These gambles arose only because of insufficient strength. If he were strong enough, none of this would require gambling. Now, Liu Pan’s greatest wish was to become powerful—so powerful that his fate would always be in his own hands.

The strong never need to gamble—they possess absolute power to control the situation.

The elixir entered his stomach, its effects rapidly spreading through his organs as vital energy drove it onward. Liu Pan immediately felt much better.

The pill he had taken was called Great Yellow Pill, a low-grade Human Yuan Pill specialized for treating internal injuries. Liu Pan was grateful he hadn’t refused Elder Lin’s gift of these pills earlier; otherwise, he wouldn’t have lasted this long.

He opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and rose to walk toward Liu Kuang.

Although Liu Kuang had only been kicked once by Li Liao, his injuries were no less severe than Liu Pan’s, given his low cultivation—barely at the martial artist level.

Liu Pan used his spiritual sense to examine Liu Kuang’s body. Confirming there were no major issues, he helped Liu Kuang up, hoisting him onto his back with one hand.

Glancing at the dazed Jackal standing nearby, Liu Pan spoke quickly: “The storage bags and pills over there are yours. Take them, then go to Medicine Peak and find Elder Lin. Tell him I sent you, and ask him to take you away from Baiyang Sect immediately—never to return. If he has any doubts, say that I will surely repay this favor in the future!”

Finishing his instructions, Liu Pan didn’t wait for Jackal’s reply. Light flashed beneath his feet as he darted away, carrying Liu Kuang.

Jackal watched Liu Pan disappear with Liu Kuang, stunned for a moment. Then a strange light flickered in his eyes. Ignoring the storage bags and pills scattered on the ground, he moved to chase after Liu Pan and Liu Kuang.

With Jackal gone, only Li Liao’s solitary body remained in the battle arena. At that instant, some of the watching disciples snapped out of their daze, and a wave of noise erupted.

As for Liu Pan, he wasn’t simply fleeing Baiyang Sect with Liu Kuang. He was heading for Skyward Peak.

Now that Li Liao was dead, the news would soon spread throughout Baiyang Sect. This meant that the “transgressor” Yang Jiangshui would go berserk, and the news of Liu Kuang possessing a “spiritual weapon” would reach every corner of the sect.

The less knowledgeable might not recognize the spiritual weapon in Liu Kuang’s hands, but the elders certainly would.

Liu Pan’s plan was simple: before this news reached Yang Jiangshui and the other elders, he would ascend Skyward Peak, seek out the old man at the Cultivation Method Pavilion, and have him take Liu Kuang and himself away from Baiyang Sect.

At this point, it was the only path available. If he attempted to flee the sect with Liu Kuang, even if they managed to escape, they wouldn’t get far before the elders tracked them down.

Within the sect, martial masters were few. Liu Pan could only trust the old man from the Cultivation Method Pavilion and Elder Lin from Medicine Peak.

As for Elder Lin, setting aside the distance to Medicine Peak, his strength made it difficult to escape with both Liu Pan and Liu Kuang.

The old man from Skyward Peak’s Cultivation Method Pavilion rivaled Sect Leader Yang Jiangshui in strength, making him the best hope for escape.

Liu Pan felt helpless; his momentary carelessness had led to this situation. He had once hoped to wait until the four-star sects arrived in half a year to select disciples, but now he realized how naïve that hope had been.

Moreover, with this incident, the plot surrounding Baiyang Sect in the original story was completely shattered. The future was now unpredictable, especially since Liu Kuang had revealed his possession of a spiritual weapon.

Though Baiyang Sect was only a small two-star sect, when the four-star sects came in half a year to recruit disciples, the news of Liu Kuang’s spiritual weapon would spread. For Liu Kuang’s safety, he would never be able to join any sect that had recruited from Baiyang Sect. That would deviate from the storyline Liu Pan had originally intended.

One misstep leads to another. How could Liu Pan not feel resigned?

He ran at full speed; only moments later, Liu Pan frowned. His spiritual sense detected that Jackal had not followed his instructions to gather the storage bags and pills and seek out Elder Lin—instead, Jackal was chasing after him.

“What’s going on?” Liu Pan wondered.

Asking Jackal to find Elder Lin was an act of necessity. With his internal injuries, Liu Pan dared not exert himself, so he had exposed his connection to Jackal.

In Liu Pan’s view, having Jackal’s relationship with him exposed was not a major issue. At worst, Jackal could seek out Elder Lin during the chaos of Liu Pan and Liu Kuang’s flight, drawing attention away and ensuring Elder Lin could help Jackal escape Baiyang Sect safely.

Liu Pan was not particularly worried about Elder Lin’s willingness to help; he was confident the elder would assist him.

But now, with Jackal ignoring his instructions, Liu Pan sensed trouble.

He paused, turned to Jackal, and asked, “Why are you following me? Didn’t I tell you to go to Medicine Peak and find Elder Lin?”

At Liu Pan’s reproach, Jackal’s eyes flashed with a keen light. He replied, “I want to help you.”

As he spoke, Jackal reached out and “snatched” Liu Kuang off Liu Pan’s back, carrying him himself. “Where to?”