Chapter 268: Join hands

His anger didn't stem from the minor squabbles of the juniors.

Rather, it was because humanity was about to lose a round under his watch.

Especially with a Grand Shaman of Shaman God Mountain sitting before him.

However, despite his anger, he could do nothing.

He wouldn't force Liu Junyi over such a matter; anger was one thing, but he always maintained his composure.

Liu Junyi had already made it clear that he wouldn't participate in a siege unless it was a life-or-death battle.

Moreover, he had also said that there was still a Young Master of Shaman God Mountain who hadn't made a move, and even if he were to act now, the other party could probably stop him.

It seemed that with him, victory would be assured, but in reality, it would still only be a draw.

The Qing of the Honglu Temple understood that this was Liu Junyi's hint, an attempt to persuade him to agree to Liu Junyi not taking action.

Because this way, there would still be room for maneuver.

Regardless of winning or losing, the situation wouldn't become too ugly.

If they lost, it could be said that they had the demeanor of a gentleman, never pursuing and giving way.

If they won, it meant they still had strength to spare, winning easily, even if they held back.

If it was a draw, then everyone would be happy, and both sides would have something to say.

Of course, the Qing of the Honglu Temple knew this was certainly not Liu Junyi's true intention.

His true intention should be very simple: he just didn't want to bully the few with the many. But to avoid offending him, a third-rank Official, he proactively offered this step down and presented these benefits, hoping to persuade him.

Doing so made it convenient for Liu Junyi to uphold his integrity, not offend him, a purple-robed Official, and also saved Face for everyone else present, even preventing the situation from deteriorating further.

These considerations instantly flashed through the Qing of the Honglu Temple's mind.

He had to admit, Liu Junyi... was a smart man, and a very kind-hearted smart man.

Therefore, he no longer pressured him, but sat back down and continued to watch the battle below.

Since things had come to this, he would just let the juniors do their thing, and he would handle the aftermath.

It was a pity that this time they couldn't shame Shaman Dao; instead, he was slapped in the Face.

The other side was one step ahead; the actions of these three Young Masters of Shaman God Mountain must have been instructed by the Grand Shaman!

Thinking these thoughts, the Qing of the Honglu Temple sat steady and took a sip of tea.

Liu Junyi also relaxed and stopped.

Afterward, he even smiled and nodded at Zhong Minglou.

Zhong Minglou was blind and had his eyes covered with cloth, but at this moment, he seemed to be able to see and returned Liu Junyi's greeting.

Liu Junyi was slightly surprised.

He bowed out of politeness, not genuinely believing the other party could see.

Was this person's blindness... feigned?

Or perhaps he had other means of observation?

Liu Junyi speculated but didn't dwell on it too much.

Because the battle below was reaching an exciting point.

Below, countless Daoist Art were blocked by the peculiar cosmic light, causing the rear to be fast and the front to be slow, so they all piled up together, forming a special 'wall.'

That wall was truly a marvel, with various Daoist Art piled together yet not chaotic, still operating normally, but their speed became incredibly slow, allowing people to spot the flaws within at a glance.

Yan Ke rapidly selected, sorted, and then individually deciphered them, sending the results and numbers to Bo Yue via the Formation Plate.

After Bo Yue received the deciphered results, he would then match the numbers with the messages transmitted by Li Qi.

Li Qi was on the other side, not making a sound, because speaking was too slow at this time.

He directly input text with his mental voice, almost a hundred words per second, each word a pearl, swiftly refuting every 'reason' of the opponent.

Then, these refutations would be numbered by Li Qi and sent to Bo Yue.

Yan Ke's deciphered results and Li Qi's refutations were matched and combined, then Bo Yue would proofread, compare, and even personally modify some contradictions between Li Qi and Yan Ke, and then package them with the Formation Plate, sending them to each opponent.

Precise cooperation, each performing their duties, processing all information according to their own rhythm.

It was truly exquisite.

Liu Junyi had a good understanding of himself; he compared himself and wondered how long he could last if he faced the three of them cooperating like this?

Yes, he hadn't even considered winning, but immediately began to think about how long he could last.

After some thought, his answer was... probably no more than five minutes.

Of course, that was when facing all three simultaneously; if he fought alone, he should be stronger than any one of the three.

However, this was due to the power of his official position.

He himself was not a weak eighth-rank, and coupled with an eighth-rank official position, this was the strongest form of the human Dao, meaning he was excellent himself while also being able to gather the strength of many.

Cultivators of the human Dao in this form could be said to be stronger than Cultivators of any other Dao at the same rank, unless the talent and combat prowess of both sides were too far apart, otherwise, the human Dao would definitely be stronger.

This was a characteristic of the human Dao, and also the fundamental reason why a large number of human Dao Officials could establish themselves.

However, as the battle progressed, the Grand Shaman became increasingly delighted, while the Qing of the Honglu Temple's expression grew gloomier.

Because it was the first time Li Qi and the other two had cooperated in battle, they were initially a bit rusty, making the situation appear 'evenly matched.'

Their cooperation was already so tacit that everyone thought they had trained for a long time, believing these three Young Masters were accustomed to this fighting style.

But in reality, this was their first time fighting like this.

The so-called tacit understanding was actually just 'the tacit understanding of geniuses'; everyone was smart and naturally knew what to do, so before, everyone was stiffly forcing themselves.

But as the battle progressed, they became more familiar with this fighting style, their efficiency increased, redundancy decreased, and as time passed, the combat power of the three actually rapidly improved!

Yan Ke began to expand the range of the peculiar cosmic light, enveloping Bo Yue and Li Qi within it, causing their speed to increase by several times out of thin air.

They hadn't done this before because Bo Yue and Li Qi couldn't adapt to the peculiar cosmic light, but after only a few minutes of joint combat, the two of them learned how to deal with two different time flows within the peculiar cosmic light.

Li Qi, on the other hand, began to transmit the information observed by True Knowledge Dao Resonance to the two of them. This information transmission used to be a side effect for the other two, because only Li Qi himself was accustomed to a large influx of information washing over his brain while still being able to think nonchalantly. The other two, when their brains were flooded with information, would directly become stunned and stop in place.

But after only a few minutes, they had already begun to try and adapt to low-intensity information flooding their brains, to the point where they could accept the sensory impact brought by True Knowledge Dao Resonance and thus gain its benefits.

The benefits of True Knowledge Dao Resonance were simple: an almost meticulous perception of all surrounding intelligence.

And Bo Yue, simultaneously possessing True Knowledge Dao Resonance and the peculiar cosmic light, could process many times more information!

The combination of all this made the hundreds of attackers feel despair.

No matter how many reasons they poured in, Li Qi could perfectly refute them.

No matter how many Daoist Art they used, Yan Ke easily deciphered them all.

The combined strength of a thousand people was like a flood.

And the area formed by the three in front of them was like an abyss.

No matter how mighty the river or how surging the currents, falling into the abyss would not even produce a sound, having no effect whatsoever.

You would have to wait a while to hear the echo of the landing.

That echo would tell you that your Daoist Art was deciphered, your reasoning was refuted; here is the content of the refutation, keep it and study it carefully.

At first, it was just enduring.

So these attackers could still increase their firepower, trying to overwhelm this abyss that only took hits.

But very quickly, after rapid coordination, Li Qi and the other two... the abyss began to fight back.

From the abyss, the counterattack of the very attacks they had just thrown in spread out.

The counterattack had arrived!

The three joined forces, as if an irresistible giant beast crawled out of the abyss!

The earth violently trembled, and a shockwave swept across, so much so that even further away, this scene was noticed.

And the hundreds of people in the center of the arena participating in the battle all had massive amounts of information poured into their heads, and at the same time, corresponding Daoist Art were also attacking!

They suffered the same fate they had just inflicted upon Li Qi and the others.

That is, being attacked by thousands of Daoist Art while also having to decipher thousands of different reasons.

But these thousands of Sage reasons alone had already been directly poured into their brains, the sound reverberating in their minds.

Everyone stood dumbfounded, and the fighting completely stopped.

Under the immense deluge of ancient wisdom, they did not immediately organize and withstand it like the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain; instead, each one became dazed and foolish in the Face of such vast information, some even started drooling, muttering incoherently, unable to think of anything in their minds.

However, Daoist Art would not wait for them.

The combined Daoist Art of the three, like a steamroller, crushed forward. If it hit, though these hundreds of people wouldn't die, certainly more than half would be severely injured, and those whose cultivation fell would be numerous.

But at this moment, Liu Junyi suddenly accelerated.

A gentle breeze came, and his figure blocked the front along with it.

Then, he reached out his hand.

The mind is empty, without prior objects; the Qi is harmonious, without external disturbances; for the mind is empty and the Qi is harmonious.

Calm and skilled, in harmony with the Dao.

Not an ancient method, but a modern one.

The mind is empty and the Qi is harmonious, to the point of transformation, and the traces of greatness vanish.

Humble and open-minded, even if thousands of weapons assault, they will not touch my body.

A surge of righteous Qi protected Liu Junyi. The combined Daoist Art of Li Qi and the other two merely touched it and vanished without a trace.

He alone, seemingly effortlessly, dissolved Daoist Art capable of severely injuring hundreds of eighth-rank peers.

Liu Junyi cupped his hands and said to the three in the distance, "Three of you, stop here. Things have come to this; going further would be undignified. Ending it here is just right."

The three in the distance exchanged glances.

Unbelievable, how could an existence of the same rank silently block the combined efforts of the three of them?

Bo Yue narrowed his eyes and asked, "What method? Dao Resonance?"

Li Qi unfolded his True Knowledge, perceived a bit, and found that he hadn't detected any aura of Daoist Art or Divine Ability, so he nodded: "It should be Dao Resonance. I also felt a surge of righteous Qi."

As an eighth-rank, Li Qi knew that no Daoist Art or Divine Ability could achieve this, so it could only be Dao Resonance.

Yan Ke looked at Liu Junyi: "Truly formidable. That person, in a one-on-one fight, which of us three could win?"

Li Qi estimated for a moment, then shook his head: "In a one-on-one fight, we can't beat him. He has an official position."

Bo Yue scoffed: "Who's fighting him one-on-one? I'm a Shaman; when I want him dead, he won't even see me."

The three nodded in agreement.

Indeed.

They were Shamanes; they only personally attacked in special circumstances. Most of the time, they operated from behind the scenes.

Each retracting their methods, the three reached an agreement.

Yan Ke stepped forward: "Since that's the case, let's cease the battle. May I ask Your Excellency's name?"

"I am Liu Junyi. There's no need to address me as Your Excellency; just call me by my name."

But at this moment, before they could continue speaking, the Grand Shaman and the purple-robed Official on the dais stood up.

"This is far enough," the two said in unison.

No matter what they were thinking in their hearts, now they both maintained a serious demeanor, devoid of personal emotions.

"The victor has been decided. This round appears to be a draw," said the Grand Shaman.

"Since that's the case, let the dispute be temporarily set aside. This is a state banquet to welcome envoys; we must not be negligent. Everyone, sit down and let the banquet begin," the Qing of the Honglu Temple said indifferently.

As the two spoke, a translucent barrier rapidly swept through the entire hall.

In just a quick sweep, all damaged areas were repaired, disordered tables and chairs returned to their original positions, injured people were fully restored, and everyone sat back in their seats.

However... Li Qi's pupils contracted.

He realized that True Knowledge Dao Resonance was telling him this wasn't 'resetting.'

This was... refreshing!

It was like... the refresh button in a game scene; with just one click, everything would reset!

Seeing the barrier sweep towards him, Li Qi broke out in a cold sweat and suddenly wanted to flee!

Damn it, refresh!

Who knew what would happen to him after being refreshed?!

Everyone else felt nothing, but he alone felt an intense, incredible sense of oppression!

Something, something!

True Knowledge Dao Resonance felt it!

However, he was merely an eighth-rank, and even if he wanted to flee, it was too late; he was directly swept over.

In that instant, Li Qi unhesitatingly activated the Great Blessing Divine Qi within him!

The four wisps of Qi Zhu Fengdan gave him, representing the sun, moon, stars, and planets, he had already used one, and now he directly used another, trying to break free!

This time, he used the sun Qi.

He only felt a dull thud.

Li Qi's vision went black, and his entire body almost fell apart.

However, that thing was only slightly hindered.

Li Qi gritted his teeth, exerted all his strength, and activated another wisp of Great Blessing Divine Qi.

This time, it was the moon Qi.

The sun and moon Qi combined, erupting with an effect far greater than one plus one.

The two wisps of Great Blessing Divine Qi exploded, and an abstruse fluctuation unfolded, forcibly tearing open a light for Li Qi in the darkness.

Li Qi felt a glimmer of hope, something that could stop this refresh!

He lunged forward, grabbed it, and finally, light appeared before his eyes.

Then, the entire world appeared before him.

Only... he was already seated at the table, with fragrant dishes laid out before him.

Everything around him had returned to how it was when they first sat down; the tables were restored, the damage caused was repaired, everyone was seated, and although their memories remained, their bodies seemed to have been reset.

Except for Li Qi.

Li Qi had continuously used two wisps of Great Blessing Divine Qi to break through the refresh, and it seemed that only he hadn't been restored?

No, Yan Ke still had injuries on him, so only Bo Yue was refreshed?

What exactly was that refresh just now?

Where did that sense of great terror come from?