Chapter 4: The Uprising Part 3

As Li Wuji began to push open the doorway, the prisoners began to tremble with anticipation; their fear and anxiety were almost tangible in the atmosphere. They didn't know what was in store for them beyond this point.

'Has Li Wuji actually kept his word?' Lin Feng couldn't help thinking to himself as he watched Li Wuji open the door. 'No, that can't possibly be the case; he isn't being entirely truthful with us.' 

The door slowly began to crack open as Li Wuji used a great deal of might to push the metal doors, which was accompanied by the cheers of the animated prisoners behind him.

'This band of dim-witted fools have served their purpose thus far.' Li Wuji observed the enigmatic jubilation that was going on behind him with a blank expression. 'I may have reduced their numbers a bit too much, but I still believe they shall suffice as is.'

"Behold my brothers!" LI Wuji roared with majestic valor. "Our path to freedom is before us!" The prisoners pushed aside one another as they raced through the open gateway. 

 

"All of you stop!" Lin Feng channeled all the strength his body had left into his lungs as he shouted with every ounce of his forte. "That is not the path to freedom; he is leading you to your demises!!"

Unfortunately, Lin Feng's urgent cries did not reach the ears of his fellow prisoners in time. Li Wuji watched the prisoners race into the open courtyard from the entrance of the doorway.

"Our journey together ends here." Li Wuji whispered to the distant silhouettes of his 'brothers'. "It is time for you all to go on to the yellow springs without me."

The prisoners frantically raced to the door that was situated across the quiet courtyard with little regard for each other's safety.

But just as they were about to reach the door, the unthinkable happened: the door seemed to open itself as a voice from within the door spoke in a furious tone. The intent behind this voice was too much for the frontrunner's to bear, as they were completely immobilized and fell to the ground as froth began to foam out of their mouths.

"It has been over a decade since prisoners had the audacity to try and escape this place!" The voice boomed with unspeakable fury. "But you are the first group to ever gather the courage to harm a guard during your foolish crusade."

The rest of the prisoners stopped dead in their tracks; they had a premonition that the person beyond that door was the most formidable existence within this entire prison.

'So he decided to come in person.' Li Wuji was still standing by the other doorway as he looked on at the scene transpiring not far away from his vicinity. 'In any case, his untimely appearance changes nothing.'

"Have no fear, brothers!" The burly prisoner that Li Wuji had ordered before tried to rally the remaining prisoners. "You don't need to fear this man; after all, brother Li is with us."

The prisoner's spirit's were uplifted the moment they recalled the courage of the man who defeated their captor and led them to this point. The group stood together at the spot with a more determined stance. 

'It seems that they see me as a protector of some sort.' Li Wuji could see the subtle change that occurred after the burly prisoner's rallying words. 'There is truly no point having subordinates that are weaker than hatchling's…'

 

"So now you think that you can actually face me, good. Very good It seems that I was mistaken." The voice sounded like it was gradually approaching them. "The only punishment that is befitting for a band of ruffians like yourselves is death."

The prisoners could feel the vindictive nature behind the voice's declaration as well as the suffocating pressure of its proprietor as they emerged from the door and stepped into the desolate courtyard.

'Who is that man?' Lin Feng was only able to see the silhouette of the mysterious figure as they emerged from the door on the other side of the courtyard. 'Could that be the warden of this place.'

Lin Feng's deduction was in fact correct; the figure that stood before the group of prisoners at that moment was none other than the Warden of the Black temple, Wei Dong.

Wei Dong was a tall, imposing figure with broad shoulders and a chiseled jawline that exuded an air of authority. He wore a long black robe adorned with gold embroidery and a red sash tied around his waist. His hair was long and black hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and his sharp eyes were a piercing shade of blue.

'5th Stage of the Qi Shattering realm, Pathetic.' Li Wuji was easily able to see through the opposition's cultivation level, which was two levels below his own. It was understandable for Li Wuji to undermine his opponent from this fact alone.

As he approached, the rest of the prisoners instinctively stepped back; their terror and nervousness were palpable in the air. Wei Dong's presence commanded esteem and veneration, to the extent that even the insurgent group of prisoners felt like bowing their heads in deference.

Once a cultivator reaches the mid-stages of the Qi shattering realm, their Qi presence goes through a qualitative change, which enables them to directly injure anyone below their cultivation level relatively easily.

"What should we do, Brother Li?" A prisoner in the Origin Gathering realm was panicking ludicrously as he was sweating profusely from the pressure from Wei Dong's Qi presence, while Li Wuji was the polar opposite as he stood calmly in place as the pressure didn't even phase him.

Li Wuji observed the trembling prisoners with a sense of detachment, his mind already calculating the best course of action in this dire situation. As he glanced at the panicked prisoner beside him, he spoke with a confident tone that belied any hint of fear.

"Do not fret, my friend," Li Wuji said calmly, his eyes never leaving Wei Dong's imposing figure. "We must stand our ground and face this foe head-on. Fear is our greatest enemy in times like these."

"U-understood…" The prisoner looked at Li Wuji with a mixture of awe and desperation, finding solace in the unwavering prowess reflected in his eyes. Despite the overwhelming pressure emanating from Wei Dong, Li Wuji stood tall and resolute, a beacon of strength for the rest of the group.

As Wei Dong drew closer, his presence suffocating and oppressive, Li Wuji took a step forward, meeting the warden's gaze without flinching. There was a moment of tense silence as the two formidable figures stood face-to-face. It was evident that these were the two crucial pieces that would determine the outcome of this clash.

"You are the ringleader of these hooligans... Excellent! I shall eradicate this plague from the source!" Wei Dong didn't waste another breath as he blasted over a mountain-shaking palm strike that threatened to turn Li Wuji into meat paste, It was obvious that Wei Dong was enraged by the unrest and wished to end the rebellion in a single move.

[1st move of the Great Earth Palm art: Mountain Striking Palm]

In the face of the heavy palm shadow that pervaded earth intent, Li Wuji remained unfazed and met this attack with a vicious response. A ripping sound could be heard in the air as the image of the imposing palm was ruthlessly torn to shreds by a formless claw, while Wei Dong went pale from the sudden backlash of having his attack completely repelled.

[1st move of the Ghost Martial Claw art, Ethereal Claw]

The period of solitary isolation was not spent idly, as Li Wuji had cultivated two of the sky-tier martial arts to the adept stage, while the Devil flame fist was still in the novice stage. The intent in the Devil Flame fist was overwhelming, which made it extremely hard to cultivate. It was already praiseworthy for him to have reached the novice stage in such a short time.

Wei Dong's Great Earth Palm art was merely a high-tier mystic martial art; when facing a Sky-tier martial art intent, the result was obvious. This fact, coupled with the difference in cultivation levels, caused the sad scene of Wei Dong being repelled like a fly encountering strong wind.

"W-what in the world... you are a QI shattering expert?!" A single exchange was enough for Wei Dong to realize that he wasn't a match for the opponent that stood before him, when at the Qi shattering stage the difference in cultivation levels was rather large. 

'I must use the array; it is the only way to contest." Wei Dong had just broken through to the 5th stage of the Qi Shattering realm less than a month ago after remaining stagnant in the 4th stage for over a decade. A seasoned martial artist such as him was well aware that the bridge between the two of them could not be crossed by normal means.

"If this were the outside world, I wouldn't even bother fighting against you. However, the Black temple is my domain, so I have no reason to fear you." Wei Dong suddenly pulled out a strange black crystal that seemingly resonated with the surrounding as the blue sky turned gray, while the pressure on the other prisoners increased by tenfold.

The black crystal had somehow allowed Wei Dong to siphon Heaven and Earth qi directly, causing his cultivation to surge from the 5th stage of the Qi shattering stage to the peak stage of the Qi shattering stage. 

"Your tool only functions within the confines of these walls; I hardly think borrowed strength will be enough for you to contest against me." Li Wuji spoke in harsh tone, clearly unaffected by Wei Dong's sudden surge in power; it was almost as if the balance hadn't tipped.

[2nd move of the Great Earth Palm art: Extinguishing Earth Palm]

Wei Dong's second move wasn't just double the power of his first move; it had actually gone through a qualitative change and had the might of a peak-tier Mystic Martial Art. The array amplification was rather exaggerated as Wei Dong started exuding an aura that was far superior in both quality and quantity to his normal self, it was no wonder his Mystic Martial art had gone through such a drastic change. 

"Your palm art is meager at best; witness the true power of palm martial art." Li Wuji was the only person within this place capable of spouting such words, as the gap between him and the warden was something that couldn't be closed with ease.

[1st move of the Five Yaksha Palm art: Devouring Yaksha Palm]

'KEKEKEKEKKEKEKEKEKE!' A baleful qi enveloped Li Wuji as he struck out with a palm of his own, which caused the atmosphere to echo with sinister laughter as a horrifying red palm materialized from thin air and zoomed towards the unsuspecting Wei Dong.

"The warden is no match for him." Lin Feng couldn't help being shocked by the vicious strength of Li Wuji, which caused his legs to go weak as he saw the scene of the palms clashing. The prisoners in the courtyard were blasted away by the shock wave from the two palms clashing and tumbled over each other like dominoes. 

"S-sky t-tier Martial art" As the dust from the clash cleared up, a shocking scene was left in the aftermath as the warden of the Black Temple was slumped against a broken wall, Wei Dong could only utter one statement as he fell unconscious due to blood loss.

"The Warden has even lost an arm due to clashing with Brother Li; it seems that fate is truly unpredictable." One of the prisoners had a hard time believing the scene before him as a pool of blood flowed freely from Wei Dong's body, which came from the missing appendage that had been completely obliterated.

The deciding factor in the clash between Li Wuji and Wei Dong was ultimately the gap in Martial arts and Technique grades, If Li Wuji had cultivated some Mystic Martial art and techniques, he would be easily defeated by Wei Dong due to the amplification of the array.

"The gap between us is simply too great; it is your defeat." Li Wuji felt no sense of accomplishment from the victory, as the opponent wasn't an opponent to begin with. It would be unusual for an adult to celebrate after defeating a child, It may seem that this comparison is exaggerated but that was simply the case.

A mystic-tier Martial art would never be able to counter a sky-tier Martial art due to the difference in profundity and comprehensiveness; it didn't matter whether the practitioner had a low cultivation level. As long as the qi within the practitioner was enough to execute the Sky tier Martial art, it could extinguish foes of superior cultivation due to the powerful intent.

This was even more prevalent as the competence of the user grew, Li Wuji had only cultivated the Five Yaksha Palm art to the Adept stage yet the results were simply shocking. The intent in the palm was strong enough to disperse Wei Dong's palm like blowing off dust and even destroy his right arm, It was too bad he had only realized the level of Li Wuji's Martial art after crossing moves with him.