Chapter 218 - 217: The Escape

Chapter 218: Chapter 217: The Escape

Sitting in the adjacent VIP box, Old Ancestor Li’s face turned from pale to deep red, his veins bulging on his temples as his silver beard shook violently. His face burned with unprecedented rage and embarrassment.

He gritted his teeth so hard they nearly shattered, clutching his tea cup until it turned to fine dust. ’That shameless, unrefined barbarian! He’s publicly fixing matches for a handful of spirit stones!’ the Old Ancestor roared internally.

Luckily, Liu Xiong had entered under his own name rather than as a representative of the Li family. Otherwise, the pristine reputation that the Li clan had cultivated for centuries in South River City would have been utterly destroyed in a single afternoon!

In the VIP Box, the young Li brothers, Li Yujian, Li Yuhan, Li Cheng, and the others looked at their Uncle Liu with helpless, bewildered expressions. Li Yuhan covered his face with his palm, sighing deeply, while Li Cheng shook his head in disbelief. They had always thought Uncle Liu was a fierce, mysterious senior, but now they realized he was surprisingly mischievous, unruly, and completely thick-skinned!

Li Yujian leaned over to his brothers, and whispered: "Prepare yourselves. The moment the tournament ends, we need to sprint out of this place as fast as our legs can carry us..."

"Sprint? Jian, look at the crowd below," Li Yuhan whispered back, his eyes darting toward the furious crowd gathering below their box.

Li Cheng frowned: "They’re already surrounding the exit stairwells. If Uncle Liu keeps winning these ridiculous bets, we might have to fight our way out!"

Li Juanxin nervously adjusted his sleeves and glanced at Liu Xiong, who was still casually sitting there sipping his wine: "Do you think Great-Grandfather will help us if things turn sour? He looks like he wants to strangle Uncle Liu himself."

"Great-Grandfather is busy trying to impress Elder Chu," Li Jingxuan added: "He’s pretending he doesn’t even know us right now."

"Then we have no choice but to rely on ourselves," Li Jingsheng said calmly, his gaze fixed on the main gate: "As soon as Uncle Liu collects his spirit stones, we’ll be out of here."

...

Inside the main hall, Elder Xuan was surrounded by the burning gazes of the crowd, his face pale, and cold sweat were soaking his robes.

Elder Mo of the Nine Spirits Sect, the Sect Master of the Frost Sky Sect, and the elders of the Thundercloud Sect surrounded him like hungry wolves. Their soul force surged, and a sense of oppression filled the air. Their faces were contorted with rage, as they demanded an immediate explanation from Elder Xuan.

"Elder Xuan! You are one of the chief examiners of this tournament!" Elder Mo said, suppressing his anger: "Who is that black-robed scoundrel sitting in the VIP Ancestral Box?! What right does he have to openly cheat, manipulate the betting, and humiliate the geniuses of our various sects at our South River City martial arts tournament?!"

"Elder Xuan, you owe everyone an explanation."

Elder Xuan’s face froze instantly. He had known this moment would come, only hoping it would happen after Liu Xiong left. Unfortunately, Liu Xiong showed no intention of leaving.

Elder Xuan cleared his throat: "There’s nothing to explain."

"Speak! Did the organizing committee collude with this nameless barbarian?!" The Frost Heaven Sect Master coldly questioned, the stone slabs beneath his feet instantly frosting.

"A Soul Palace cultivator defeated a Divine Power Realm expert."

Elder Xuan nodded in agreement: "Truly unexpected."

"Who is that person?" Elder Mo asked

Elder Xuan’s expression immediately changed: "He is a distinguished guest."

"You prepared the ancestral token for him and even placed bets for him, yet you refuse to reveal his identity?"

Elder Xuan sighed: "You’d better not press the matter further."

The Frost Sky master frowned: "Are you threatening us? What gives you the right to threaten us?"

Elder Xuan remained silent. How could he possibly reveal Liu Xiong’s true identity? Revealing the name of an overlord from the Ghost Realm, an existence capable of crushing South River City into dust, would not only bring unimaginable disaster, but Lord Liu had also explicitly ordered him to remain silent.

Caught between the wrath of an invincible overlord and the fury of the three major sects, Elder Xuan could only helplessly stammer out vague excuses.

"Useless!" Elder Mo snorted in disgust, completely losing patience: "Since the committee refuses to act, we’ll uphold justice ourselves!"

The three powerful elders didn’t utter another word, unleashing their full power, they charged straight towards the VIP Box! flames, crackling thunder, and biting winds swept through the corridors as they rushed towards the top-floor VIP box, determined to... bring the black-robed swindler to the ground.

Watching the three enraged experts pounce on them like furious beasts, Liu Xiong merely smiled smugly. With a flick of his wrist, he took out a luxurious space flying carriage with gold trim: "Alright, children, time’s up! Get in!"

The six brothers quickly climbed in one after another.

The winged spirit beast let out a deafening roar, and a dazzling golden light flashed. Before the three elders could even step into the VIP box, the carriage crashed through the roof tiles, sparks flying and fragments scattering, shooting into the sky like silver meteors!

"Stop, you shameless thief!" Elder Mo roared from below, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, cursing under his breath.

Without hesitation, the three elders each took out their high-speed flying carriages, leaping into them and unleashing their spiritual power to propel them forward in hot pursuit!

Not far away, Patriarch Li, trying to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor in front of Elder Chu, witnessed the chaos. Seeing Liu Xiong speeding away with his great-grandchildren, Patriarch Li’s face turned from deep red to ashen: "You idiot!" he muttered under his breath, and also took out his own carriage.

"Where are you going?" Elder Chu asked, seeing his swift actions.

"To stop that fool from bringing those people home! Are you coming?"

"Of course," she said with a smile.

they boarded his cloud-piercing carriage and sped away.

As he drew near, he leaned out of the carriage window and roared at the top of his lungs: "Liu Xiong, you bastard! Don’t you dare bring those angry old fogies to my manor! If even one more wall falls on my manor today, I’ll skin you alive!"

Chaos erupted over South River City. Four magnificent carriages engaged in a fierce battle amidst the clouds, circling among the city’s towering spires and weaving through narrow alleyways, circling countless times in the air. The three elders were also shouting their grievances at the top of their lungs.

Worse of all, Liu Xiong seemed to be enjoying it. He sat at the front of the carriage, one hand lazily holding a gourd of wine, the other pulling the reins. Turning back, he sneered at the angry old men behind him: "Old men, is this all your divine beasts can do?! My donkey is faster than that crap you have! Come on, put some effort into it!" He laughed as he dodged a stray bolt of lightning.

"You arrogant fool!!!"

On the streets of South River City, thousands of citizens, merchants, and cultivators stood frozen on the sidewalks, staring dumbfounded at the sky.

Four magnificent carriages were performing high-difficulty stunts, unleashing spiritual magic, a scene that left everyone speechless.

"What’s going on today?" a merchant asked in a low voice, puzzled: "Is there a carriage race at the year-end celebration? Why wasn’t anyone notified beforehand?"

However, inside Liu Xiong’s carriage, the atmosphere was anything but relaxed. Sharp turns, sudden dives, and rolls terrified the Li brothers. Li Yuhan clutched her stomach, her face ashen; Li Cheng gripped the carriage seat pillar tightly, groaning in pain; even the usually composed Li Yujian swayed, his knuckles white, clutching the window frame.

"Uncle Liu, I’m not feeling well," Li Juanxin said.

Liu Xiong turned around and saw Li Juanxin’s pale face; the other brothers weren’t much better off. He sighed, realizing that the children might be motion sick. It’s a shame because he wanted to play around with those old fools a bit more.

Liu Xiong: "Hang in there, we almost lost them."

"Uncle Liu! Stop the carriage! Please!" Li Jingsheng clutched his throat, his eyes darting around in circles as he shouted: "We’re going to throw up! Take us to Father! Take us to the tavern!"

Hearing the children’s desperate pleas, Liu Xiong chuckled: "Alright! Hold on tight to your stomachs!" Before he finished speaking, he yanked the reins sharply, and the carriage plunged vertically downwards, like an anvil falling from the clouds, heading straight for the back alleys of the city’s commercial district.

Boom!

The carriage crashed heavily into the quiet stone courtyard behind the tavern, stirring up a gust of wind that whipped up withered leaves and dust. The moment the wheels touched the ground, the carriage door flung open. The Li brothers fell one after the other onto the stone floor, scrambling on their hands and feet towards the nearby flowerbeds and wooden barrels, vomiting uncontrollably in agony.