"Welcome, five distinguished guests, to Purple Wind Tower!"
A low, hoarse laugh echoed from the stairwell. Then, with his left hand, he picked up a candle, and with his right, a lighter, igniting the wick. In the dim, shadowy staircase, a small glow emerged.
In the candlelight, Su Li saw a man in a white peaked cap and a black leather coat, sitting high on the steps leading to the thirty-first floor. His pale, bloodless face bore a faint smile as he looked down at them.
Su Li felt a chill in his hands and feet, realizing they had fallen into a trap. Their movements had been anticipated, and the enemy was ready, waiting for them to walk right in.
"It's Tao Bingjun... How could this be..." Xu Haishui's face drained of color as he recognized the man with the candle and the peaked cap. His expression was one of shock and disbelief.
His plan had been flawless. This was supposed to be the time when everyone was gathered for a meal, and he had approached by diving underwater, making it impossible to alert anyone here. Yet, it was as if these people had foreseen everything, lying in ambush, trapping them in this corridor with no way forward or back.
"So this is Tao Bingjun?" Su Li took a deep breath, quickly calming himself. He began to discreetly observe the four people at the stairwell ahead and the six blocking their rear, activating his "Peek Rune."
A single glance made his heart sink.
There were four people at the stairwell ahead: one at Level 5 and three at Level 6.
Su Li immediately understood that these four were the other leaders Xu Haishui had mentioned, aside from Chen Xiangyu. They had all reached Level 5 yesterday, and today, three of them had advanced to Level 6. The one still at Level 5 was a tall, thin man in his twenties with short hair, wielding a massive cleaver.
Su Li recalled Xu Haishui saying that among these four leaders, Li Wei was exceptionally skilled with a blade, having once seen him cut a man in two with a single stroke. From this, Su Li guessed that the tall, thin man with the giant cleaver was Li Wei.
Sitting on the steps, wearing a white peaked cap and holding a lit candle, was the top leader of Purple Wind Tower, Tao Bingjun—the most enigmatic of them all. Even Xu Haishui didn't know what his ability was.
Standing before Tao Bingjun were two men: one was a short, pudgy man in his thirties with a fair, plump face; the other was oddly disheveled, wearing a patient's gown from a mental hospital.
Both were Level 6 Spirit Source users, naturally Sun Wenbo and Wang Zhensheng, the other two leaders. Su Li couldn't tell which was which.
Blocking the front stairwell were these four leaders, while the six people cutting off their retreat were likely their trusted confidants.
As Su Li and his group sized up the enemy, the four ahead were also studying them. Most of their gazes, however, were fixed on Gong Xiao, their eyes so menacing that she involuntarily retreated behind Su Li, using his body to shield herself from those invasive stares.
"So it's you, Xu Haishui, you little traitor. Pah! Chen Xiangyu and the others haven't come back—looks like you screwed them over." Li Wei, wielding the giant cleaver, recognized Xu Haishui and glared at him with undisguised murderous intent.
"Bringing outsiders in secretly—what's the plan? Trying to ambush us? With just this bunch? Hehe, that's hilarious..." The pudgy, fair-skinned man covered his mouth with a giggle, flicking a delicate finger in a effeminate gesture.
"Sun Wenbo, can you stop with that finger? It's disgusting." Tao Bingjun, still seated, suddenly scowled at him.
"Oh, fine, I can stop. It's just a habit..." Sun Wenbo lowered his hand, putting on a hurt expression.
Su Li listened quietly, now identifying the pudgy man as Sun Wenbo and the disheveled one in the patient gown as Wang Zhensheng.
Ding Longyun felt trapped with no way forward or back and subtly signaled Su Li with his eyes, asking, "What do we do?"
Despite being cornered, he wasn't particularly afraid. After all, all five of them were at Level 5, and with Su Li among them, numbers alone didn't guarantee the enemy's victory. Even if they couldn't win, fighting their way out shouldn't be too hard.
"Curious why we're here waiting for you?" Tao Bingjun, holding the candle, seemed in a good mood, not rushing to act. He smiled, apparently enjoying the shock on Su Li's group's faces when they saw them.
"I've enhanced my eyes. I spotted you from far away, saw you get off the raft and dive underwater, so... I decided to give you a grand welcome here. And while I'm at it, I'd like to know why you sneaked in."
Tao Bingjun didn't know Xu Haishui or about his connection to Zhang Ying. He was simply curious about their stealthy approach.
Hearing this, Su Li and the others understood, exchanging bitter smiles. They had thought their infiltration was unnoticed, only to realize they'd been watched the whole time, with the enemy gathering forces to spring the trap.
Li Wei glared at Xu Haishui and barked, "You're with Chen Xiangyu, so why bring people sneaking in? Spill it—where's Chen Xiangyu? If you don't talk, I'll chop off your hands and feet, cut off your nose and ears, and make you wish you were dead!"
With that, Li Wei stepped forward, raising his giant cleaver, his aura fierce and murderous.
Xu Haishui's face flushed and paled. Though he had mustered the courage to sneak in and save Zhang Ying, the sight of this setup made him falter. His earlier bravery evaporated, and he instinctively stepped back as Li Wei pressed him.
"Still not talking?" Li Wei roared, lifting his cleaver to sever Xu Haishui's arm.
He had no respect for this coward who followed Chen Xiangyu, having mocked him plenty before. He dismissed Su Li and Ding Longyun as well—after all, what strong fighters could a timid weakling like Xu Haishui bring? They were probably all the same.
But Tao Bingjun enjoyed playing games, so he had gathered everyone for this elaborate setup. To Li Wei, it was a waste of time. He just wanted to act, cripple Xu Haishui, kill Su Li and Ding Longyun, and capture the two women alive. Tonight, he'd have new entertainment.
From the moment he saw Gong Xiao, he didn't want to waste another second. Killing the three men and taking her upstairs was the priority.
But without Tao Bingjun's order to kill, Li Wei hesitated to act on his own. So he decided to cut off Xu Haishui's arm as a warning, without overstepping.
Though brash and domineering, Li Wei feared Tao Bingjun and dared not defy him.
Li Wei had been a Level 5 Spirit Source user since yesterday, having mastered Spirit Source techniques and several special abilities. He was powerful, but during today's hunt, he encountered an unexpectedly strong monster, barely escaping. He was still short of a dozen Spirit Sources to break through to Level 6, unlike Tao Bingjun and the other two.
Raising his giant cleaver, he swung it with a fierce wind, aiming to slice off Xu Haishui's arm in an instant.
Then, suddenly, Su Li, who had been silently standing beside Xu Haishui, moved.
Li Wei saw a blur—Su Li seemed to vanish and reappear like a phantom, sidestepping. His right hand went to his chest, and when it came out, a sword had materialized, sweeping toward Li Wei's neck.
Li Wei's eyes flickered with surprise at Su Li's sudden attack. But as a Level 5 Spirit Source user who had risen from thirty-plus people in Purple Wind Tower to become one of the five leaders, he was no pushover. He had survived countless brutal battles.
In that split second, he showed his skill. Dropping his arms and twisting his wrist, he redirected his cleaver mid-swing, clanging it against Su Li's Longxi Sword.
"My real—" Li Wei began to laugh, but his words died in his throat. He had been targeting Xu Haishui, but he was already wary of Su Li beside him and Ding Longyun behind. He planned to kill them all if they moved, figuring Tao Bingjun couldn't blame him for acting first.
He relished killing humans—it felt far better than slaying monsters. He was addicted.
Li Wei's laughter cut short. The second half of his sentence never came. He couldn't believe his eyes—his steel-forged giant cleaver had snapped.
This cleaver was devastating, capable of breaking ordinary blades on contact. But now, as it struck Su Li's sword, it shattered mid-strike, the pieces flying away. The sword continued unhindered, its speed unchanged, slicing through his neck.
This was beyond Li Wei's expectations. Even as the Longxi Sword passed through his neck and his head flew off, his face still wore a look of bewilderment.
It made no sense.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. From Li Wei's sudden move on Xu Haishui to Su Li's counterattack and Li Wei's head flying off, the others barely had time to blink. Then, the six people blocking their rear erupted in chaos, their faces pale.
Li Wei, one of the five strongest leaders, had his head chopped off in a single exchange?
Was this guy a monster?
In Su Li's mind, information surfaced.