Chapter 22 : Undying Overlord Body

Chapter 22: Undying Overlord Body

Moonlight stretched Li Qingqiu’s shadow long across the courtyard.

Sword in hand, he walked toward the house ahead, already able to hear the breathing of those inside.

His footsteps were light, without a sound.

He arrived before the door, pressed his palm against it—it was tightly shut, impossible to push open without force.

Drawing in a deep breath, he suddenly sent a shock through the latch from behind the door, then struck straight toward the direction from which the breathing came.

The First Alliance Leader of the Seven Peaks Alliance, Lü Taidou, was asleep on his bed.

As one of the world-renowned top experts, his vigilance was extraordinary. Even in slumber, the moment the door opened, his eyes snapped open.

He glimpsed a flash of sword light slicing toward him from the darkness. Startled, he rolled off the bed, twisting his body to dodge, but was still cut across the shoulder.

The bear-faced, tiger-eyed Lü Taidou, a man in his forties, glared wide-eyed.

The hair on his temples and his beard swayed in the air, as though flames of rage were burning.

Li Qingqiu was slightly surprised—he hadn’t expected the man to evade a fatal strike.

This man’s martial arts far surpassed that of Yang Jueding!

“Presumptuous!”

Lü Taidou bellowed. His right palm gathered inner energy, and flames burst forth as he struck toward Li Qingqiu.

Li Qingqiu leaped back, raised his sword, and infused it with energy to block.

Boom—

The windows shattered under the force of the explosion. Tables and cabinets on both sides were blown apart, and the entire house trembled.

Lü Taidou’s eyes widened.

The strike he had unleashed with full power had actually been blocked. Around Li Qingqiu, a shimmering aura had formed, fending off his surging fiery inner energy.

The floor beneath Li Qingqiu’s feet cracked from the pressure, proof enough of Lü Taidou’s formidable strength.

“Who are you?”

Lü Taidou asked in a low, grim voice. He dared not withdraw his strength now—for doing so would only injure his own organs.

Li Qingqiu lifted his gaze. His left hand suddenly reached behind his waist and, in one fluid motion, flung something forward. He moved too swiftly—by the time Lü Taidou saw it, it was already too late.

Three silver needles pierced through the blazing inner energy.

Tiny threads of lightning crackled along their bodies as they shot unerringly through Lü Taidou’s throat.

Lü Taidou’s aura collapsed instantly.

The surging energy within his body blasted him backward, slamming him against the wall before he fell onto the bed, shattering it to pieces amid a cloud of dust.

Li Qingqiu withdrew his hand and turned to leave the room.

He lifted the unconscious Seven Peaks Alliance disciple lying in the courtyard, vaulted onto the rooftop, and dashed swiftly across the tiles.

After leaping a hundred zhang away, he used the Ghostly Rejuvenation Needle to awaken the man.

The disciple’s eyes snapped open as he gasped, like waking from a nightmare.

Li Qingqiu covered his mouth and whispered, “Keep leading the way—take me to the other alliance leaders.”

This disciple, named Chen Ye, had only joined the Seven Peaks Alliance less than half a year ago.

He was currently doing menial tasks like gatekeeping and running errands, having yet to learn the alliance’s advanced martial arts.

In his heart, the First Alliance Leader Lü Taidou was the greatest expert under heaven.

So he had brought Li Qingqiu to Lü Taidou’s courtyard first, hoping the intruder would seek his own doom.

Yet from what Li Qingqiu just said… could Lü Taidou already be dead?

Impossible!

Chen Ye stared at Li Qingqiu in disbelief. At such close distance, he finally saw Li Qingqiu’s face—so young, it felt unreal.

Li Qingqiu frowned and asked coldly, “What’s wrong? Gone dumb—or deaf?”

Chen Ye jolted back to his senses and blinked frantically. Seeing that, Li Qingqiu immediately grabbed him and forced him to point the way.

The disturbance from Lü Taidou’s courtyard had already roused nearby disciples.

They rushed out of their rooms, heading toward the source of the commotion.

Li Qingqiu and Chen Ye had barely gone far when a strange, echoing horn blared from the distance—loud and resonant beneath the night sky.

He saw people pouring out from every courtyard around. He quickly pressed Chen Ye down, keeping both of them hidden from sight.

“What’s that sound?” Li Qingqiu whispered.

Chen Ye swallowed hard. “It’s the Seven Peaks Alliance invasion horn. Whenever there’s even a hint of danger, the horn must be sounded. Even if it’s a false alarm, the alliance leaders won’t blame us. But if an intruder enters and the horn keeper fails to sound it—no matter the reason—they’ll be severely punished.”

Soon, horns from other directions echoed in response. So there wasn’t just one invasion horn.

Li Qingqiu had to admit—he had underestimated the vigilance of the Seven Peaks Alliance.

No wonder there were no visible patrols at night; the true defenses lay hidden.

“Once the invasion horn sounds, there’s no way you’ll approach the other alliance leaders unnoticed,” Chen Ye murmured. If Lü Taidou were truly dead, he feared Li Qingqiu might drag him before the others.

Li Qingqiu struck him again, knocking him unconscious.

Then he stripped Chen Ye’s clothing and swiftly put them on himself. He even took Chen Ye’s sword, leapt down from the roof, and continued in the direction Chen Ye had pointed earlier.

More and more Seven Peaks Alliance disciples were emerging. Li Qingqiu passed several of them head-on and finally grasped the true depth of the alliance’s strength.

Three thousand disciples might not sound like much—but facing them directly, their power was staggering.

And the Seven Peaks Alliance was a true martial powerhouse; every disciple was trained in martial arts.

As he moved, Li Qingqiu recalled the feel of Lü Taidou’s inner energy.

“The martial path is no simple thing,” he thought. If he hadn’t reached the third layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, killing Lü Taidou would’ve been troublesome.

Slaying him would have drained his vital energy, making any escape from the Seven Peaks Alliance nearly impossible.

Lü Taidou was but a martial master of Guzhou.

The Great Li Dynasty had many other states—there were surely even stronger figures in the world.

He must never underestimate anyone again.

Though he had succeeded in slaying the enemy leader, Li Qingqiu became even more cautious because of it.

Still, if given the chance again, he would make the same choice—perhaps only picking a better time.

With masters like Lü Taidou among them, the Seven Peaks Alliance was not an opponent the Clear Sky Sect could currently provoke.

He couldn’t simply confine his disciples within the sect, waiting for the alliance’s eventual invasion.

Disguised in a Seven Peaks disciple’s uniform, Li Qingqiu drew no suspicion.

He didn’t deliberately avoid others either—that would only seem strange.

He strode openly, passing disciple after disciple.

Suddenly—

He stopped before a courtyard gate, turned his head, and frowned.

He heard faint sobbing—soft, but not solitary. Someone was crying quietly, and another person’s breathing was weak.

He hadn’t intended to meddle—but for some reason, the sound reminded him of his own junior brothers and sisters.

When Zhang Yuchun, Jiang Zhaoxia, and Li Dongyue first joined the Clear Sky Sect, they too had been frightened, hiding away to cry.

Wu Man’er wasn’t so sentimental—feed him and he was content. Li Sifeng and Li Sijin had each other for company and weren’t lonely or afraid.

After a brief hesitation, he entered the courtyard and made his way to a small house.

The yard was cluttered with firewood and junk, unguarded.

He gently pushed open the door and squinted inside.

The room was filled with dry firewood.

A child sat leaning against a pile of it, bathed in a beam of moonlight that fell through a hole in the roof.

The boy looked to be seven or eight years old—and in his arms, he held an even smaller child, whose sobbing was the sound Li Qingqiu had heard.

When Li Qingqiu entered, the boy turned his head in fright.

“Do you want to leave?”

Li Qingqiu asked directly.

The child’s clothes were ragged and filthy, reminding Li Qingqiu of Xu Ning when he first met her.

The boy blinked blankly. “Can I?” he asked.

“As long as you wish to, I’ll take you both away,” Li Qingqiu replied.

The boy’s eyes widened. He quickly stood up, clutching his little brother tightly.

The younger one looked barely a year old, and a foul smell came from both their bodies.

“Who are you?” the older boy—Yuan Qi—asked cautiously. He had never seen Li Qingqiu before, but the thought of leaving the Seven Peaks Alliance made his heart race.

“I’m no member of the Seven Peaks Alliance,” Li Qingqiu said. “I killed their Alliance Leader—and I’m preparing to leave.”

Hearing that, Yuan Qi wasn’t frightened at all. His eyes filled with tears, yet he smiled.

“I’ll go with you—but you must take my brother too!” Yuan Qi wiped his tears, staring at Li Qingqiu with determination.

Li Qingqiu nodded. “From this moment, you and your brother will join my sect. How about that?”

“No problem. We’ll join your sect, and we’ll repay your kindness one day!” Yuan Qi answered without hesitation.

Li Qingqiu stepped forward, took the younger child from his arms, and wrapped the infant—less than two years old—in a dirty cloth, strapping him to his chest. Then, with one hand, he lifted Yuan Qi and quickly left the house.

Outside, under the moonlight, Yuan Qi finally saw Li Qingqiu’s face clearly. His pupils dilated, eyes shining with awe—the sight would be forever etched in his memory.

Li Qingqiu leaped onto the roof and dashed forward with light, soundless steps.

He summoned the Dao Lineage interface and checked the disciple list—indeed, the Yuan brothers had been added. He opened Yuan Qi’s profile to check his loyalty.

90 / 80!

Not bad—this child had a conscience.

Li Qingqiu didn’t bother checking his Fate Traits and moved on instinctively to the younger brother’s profile.

The moment he clicked it open, he regretted it.

The child was far too young—barely conscious. How could he have any loyalty rating?

Sure enough, the younger one’s name was Yuan Li. His loyalty was zero.

But the next second, Li Qingqiu’s eyes widened in disbelief. He even halted his steps.

【Name: Yuan Li】

【Gender: Male】

【Age: 1 year】

【Loyalty (to Sect Master / Sect): 0 / 0 (max 100)】

【Cultivation Aptitude: Extremely Low】

【Comprehension: Extraordinary】

【Fate Traits: Undying Overlord Body, Heart of a Grandmaster, Tenacity】

【Undying Overlord Body: A rare ancient physique—a grand creation of heaven and earth. Born in the mortal realm, it requires a special method to awaken.】

【Heart of a Grandmaster: Exceptional insight and creativity in the art of combat, with a natural inclination to teach and share.】

【Tenacity: No matter the hardships endured, the heart and will shall never waver.】

…

He had struck gold!

Three Fate Traits—and two of them, Undying Overlord Body and Heart of a Grandmaster, were astounding.

Especially the Undying Overlord Body—how utterly mysterious!

Li Qingqiu looked down again, feeling as if a golden radiance shone faintly from Yuan Li in his arms.

Yuan Qi, still being carried in his other arm, saw him pause and look down anxiously. “What’s wrong with my brother?” he asked.

Li Qingqiu looked ahead again, resuming his pace, and answered casually, “He seems to have peed.”

Yuan Qi froze, face flushing red.

Lowering his head, he whispered softly, “I’m sorry…”