Chapter 119 - 85 : Late Qi-Refining (1)

Chapter 119: Chapter 85 : Late Qi-Refining (1)

The calmness in the older man’s voice stood out against the chaos around them. Several cultivators turned toward the sound, and for a moment, some seemed to think the pressure of the battle had finally broken someone. In the middle of all this panic, who would calmly say something like that and claim he could deal with Ethan alone? A few exchanged uncertain looks, wondering if the man had simply lost his mind.

Then the pressure came.

It spread outward from the older man in a quiet, suffocating wave, rolling through the surrounding cultivators and making the air itself seem heavier. The difference was immediate. The man who had appeared to be another ordinary Early Qi Refining cultivator no longer felt like one.

A startled gasp escaped from somewhere in the crowd.

"Mid Qi Refining cultivator..."

The realization passed through the nearby cultivators almost instantly. So that was why he had spoken with such confidence.

The uncertainty that had been pulling them toward the exits began to ease. If a Mid Qi Refining cultivator was willing to take Ethan on directly, perhaps the situation really was not as hopeless as it had seemed.

The older man kept his eyes on Ethan and stepped forward. He wasn’t waiting for the others to finish the fight anymore. He intended to do it himself. The others understood what he wanted without needing another explanation. Keep Ethan surrounded. Don’t let him escape. Leave the next move to the stronger cultivator.

Their grips tightened again, and those who had been edging backward stopped. Some even moved forward, drawn along by the renewed confidence spreading through the group. The fear had not disappeared, but it had been given something to stand behind.

Hope returned to the battlefield.

The older man’s eyes remained fixed on Ethan.

Years had passed since he had reached Mid Qi Refining, and his cultivation had remained there ever since. His body was still strong, and the pressure he released was enough to make the surrounding cultivators give him space, but there was something different about the vitality within him. Ethan could sense it clearly. The strength was still there, yet beneath it was something that had begun to fade, like a flame that had burned for too long and was slowly running out of fuel.

He needed resources. More than anything, he needed something that could give him a chance to extend his remaining years. The bounty represented that chance, and he had already gambled too much to simply walk away now.

Then another pressure rose from within the crowd, making several cultivators turn toward it almost at once.

A second figure stepped forward from among them.

He had kept himself hidden throughout the battle, allowing the others to mistake him for another Early Qi Refining cultivator. Now there was no reason to keep pretending. His expression was cold as he walked out, and the spiritual energy surrounding his body carried a different feeling from the older man’s. It was not as smooth. There were subtle irregularities in its flow, faint breaks that would have been difficult to notice without looking closely.

His meridians had been damaged long ago. Repairing them required resources far beyond what he could normally obtain, and the hundred and fifty spirit stones offered for Ethan’s head could change that. Like the older man, he had been waiting for the right moment, unwilling to face Ethan alone while the others could still be used to wear him down. Now that moment was slipping away.

The second cultivator stopped several steps from the crowd and glanced toward the older man. The older man turned his eyes toward him, and their gazes met. For a brief moment, neither spoke. They had both been watching the same battle from within the same crowd, both waiting for Ethan to weaken, and neither had known that the other was hiding the same strength.

A few nearby cultivators noticed the exchange, and their expressions changed.

Two?

The thought passed through the crowd almost at once. Some looked from one cultivator to the other, then instinctively glanced around the valley as though there might be another hidden figure waiting to reveal himself. Others tightened their grips on their weapons, their minds already racing through the possibilities. If there were two Mid Qi Refining cultivators here, could there be a third? A fourth? No one knew. But the realization that two of them had been standing among the crowd without anyone noticing was enough to send a fresh wave of shock through the valley.

The two men seemed to reach the same conclusion without needing to discuss it. Whatever their reasons for coming, they were now facing the same target. Ethan. They would work together, kill him, then divide whatever remained of the bounty between them.

The fear that had begun spreading through the crowd slowly gave way to something else. Confidence returned to the faces around them as the cultivators looked toward the two hidden experts. Two Mid Qi Refining cultivators against one wounded demonic cultivator. After everything they had lost, this was the advantage they had been waiting for.

Ethan looked at the two men standing before him.

Then he smiled faintly.

"I was wondering how long you two intended to hide."

The two men stiffened.

Something inside Ethan shifted.

The pressure he had been holding back suddenly surged through his body, and for an instant, the entire valley seemed to tighten around him. The accumulated energy within him pushed against the limit it had reached, and then the barrier broke.

A heavy pressure spread outward from Ethan.

At the same moment, a strange lightness swept through his body. The heaviness that had settled into his limbs during the battle disappeared almost instantly, replaced by a surge of strength that made every part of him feel more responsive. His muscles felt tighter, his movements lighter, and even the weight of his own body seemed to have diminished. The change was so sudden that, for a brief moment, Ethan had the strange impression that he could crush anything standing in his way.

His senses sharpened as well. The world around him seemed to come into clearer focus. He could feel the movement of every cultivator around him, the flow of vitality within their bodies, and even the air brushing against his skin. The faint sound of the wind passing through the mountains became clearer, while every movement in the valley seemed to slow just enough for him to catch details he would have missed before. Everything felt closer, clearer, and more distinct.

Ethan took a breath and felt the difference again.

His body was stronger.

Late Qi Refining.

The two Mid Qi Refining cultivators stared at Ethan with shock clearly visible from their faces.

The confidence that had begun to spread through the crowd disappeared almost instantly. The older man’s expression tightened, his eyes widening slightly as he looked at the aura now rolling off Ethan. The second cultivator’s face went rigid, the cold composure he had carried since stepping forward replaced by open disbelief.

Neither men spoke.

For a moment, they simply stood there, staring at the figure who had just crossed into a stronger stage in the middle of the battlefield.

A breakthrough.

Here?

In the middle of a fight?

The thought alone was difficult to accept. A breakthrough was supposed to be handled with care, with the cultivator focused on guiding the change and keeping the energy within the body under control. One mistake could send everything into disorder, damaging the meridians or even ruining the cultivation they had spent years building. Yet Ethan had just done it while surrounded by enemies, without retreating, without sitting down, without giving himself the slightest chance to prepare.

Around them, the other cultivators slowly began to realize what had happened. Faces that had only moments ago carried renewed confidence changed one after another. Some stared at Ethan in disbelief, while others instinctively took a step back, their weapons lowering slightly as the pressure coming from him settled over the valley.

The realization hit them all at once.

They had believed Ethan was nearing his limit.

They had been wrong.

Ethan moved.

The distance between them disappeared in an instant. To the cultivators watching, there was barely enough time to register his movement before his figure was already standing in front of the older man.

The old man’s pupils contracted. He was still caught in the shock of Ethan’s breakthrough, his mind struggling to process what had just happened, but years of experience as a cultivator made his body react on instinct. His weapon began to rise, his muscles moving before his thoughts had fully caught up with the danger.

But Ethan was already there.

His dao flashed.

The blade swept across the man’s throat before he could complete the motion. Blood sprayed beneath the moonlight, and the older man’s eyes remained wide as his body lost its strength. His weapon slipped from his fingers and struck the ground with a dull clang as he collapsed.

The entire exchange took only a breath.

By the time the cultivators around them reacted, it was already over. The older man’s body lay motionless on the blood-soaked ground, while Ethan stood where he had been, dao in hand. The cultivators stared at the scene, their expressions frozen between disbelief and shock. They had barely recovered from witnessing Ethan break through into Late Qi Refining, and one of the two Mid Qi Refining cultivators they had believed could finally stop him had already fallen.

The second Mid Qi Refining cultivator watched the older man’s body hit the ground, and the last of his confidence vanished with it. He had stepped forward after seeing the other Mid Qi Refining cultivator reveal himself, believing that two cultivators at the same realm would be enough to finish a wounded Mid Qi Refining demonic cultivator. He had watched that confidence turn into certainty when they stood together, only for Ethan to break through and kill the older man before he could properly defend himself. The difference in strength had become impossible to ignore. If Ethan could kill a Mid Qi Refining cultivator that easily, then staying here was no longer a matter of whether they could win. It was whether he could get away before Ethan reached him.

He turned and ran.

The bounty, the spirit stones, the chance to repair his damaged meridians, all of it disappeared from his mind. At that moment, none of it mattered anymore. He only cared about getting himself out alive. He pushed his Qi into his legs and fled through the darkness, keeping close to the battlefield as he searched for an opening between the rocks. He knew Ethan would come after him, and that thought drove him harder. His Qi surged through his legs as he forced more speed from his cultivation, wishing with everything he had that he had been born with another pair of legs. Anything that could carry him away from this place faster would have been welcome.

Yet despite everything he poured into his escape, he could feel the distance behind him disappearing. What frightened him was not the sound of pursuit, but the complete absence of it. There was nothing behind him to tell him where Ethan was.

He ran harder, his breath coming faster as he reached the edge of the rocks, then glanced back.

Nothing.

His heart tightened.

Where was he?

The question had barely formed when a presence appeared behind him.

The cultivator’s eyes widened as his body twisted in shock. His body reacted instinctively, but the movement was already too late. He could not bring himself around quickly enough to face whatever was behind him, and his weapon was still out of position.

How could he be this fast?

Something struck him from behind.

He felt the short dao pierce through his back, the blade driving deep into his body before continuing straight into his heart. Pain exploded through his chest. His body jerked violently, his throat catching around a breath that never became a sound, and his mouth fell open as his thoughts scattered beneath the sudden agony. For a brief instant, he could only stare ahead, unable to understand how Ethan had crossed the distance so completely that he had not even sensed him coming. Darkness began closing in at the edges of his vision, spreading inward until the rocks, the trees, and the faint moonlight all blurred together.

Then everything went dark.