Wei Cheng stared at the approaching Purple Wind Building, murmuring to himself, "It's indeed strange. None of these five include Tao Bingjun, nor the ones I saw last time. Could there be more experts inside the Purple Wind Building now?" He had been constantly sensing various auras in the air, and his expression grew increasingly astonished, as he couldn't detect Tao Bingjun's presence from within the building.
When Gao Shupeng and his group of thirteen entered within a kilometer of the Purple Wind Building, the lookout on duty spotted them. Remembering Xu Haishui's recent orders, he dared not delay and hurried to report.
"So soon?" Su Li and Gong Xiao, who received the news, were both greatly surprised. They immediately rose, left the room, and observed from a distance. Then, they saw three rafts.
"Thirteen people. This is too fast, isn't it? We've been back less than an hour." Su Li and Gong Xiao exchanged glances, both finding it hard to believe. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, and these thirteen weren't here about the deaths of Gao Shuxue and the others.
"Whoever they are, whatever their purpose, we need to be prepared." Su Li quickly gathered his people, ready to welcome the approaching group.
Xu Xuehui had sharp eyes. Even from several hundred meters away, she clearly recognized Gao Shupeng's appearance—identical to the slain Gao Shuxue. After she spoke, Su Li and Gong Xiao understood that this man, who looked almost exactly like Gao Shuxue, must be Gao Shupeng, the leader of "Golden Eagle Building 1A."
"This is bad. They've found us so quickly. Maybe they have some special way of knowing Gao Shuxue is dead. If that's the case, we're in trouble," Gong Xiao muttered softly.
Su Li remained calm, saying, "Let's go down and take a look first." Though the enemy had thirteen people, he wasn't afraid.
In this world, there was no law or order, no room for reasoning. Whoever had the stronger fist made the rules.
Su Li led Gong Xiao, Xu Haishui, Luo Jun, Bai Wenwei, Jin Sixing, and a dozen others downstairs. They boarded rafts and arrived at a floating island less than thirty meters from the Purple Wind Building. He planned to welcome Gao Shupeng's group here.
The floating island was spacious enough. If a fight broke out, his "Spider Walk" ability could be used to full effect. The open view also made it hard for the enemy to escape once they set foot on the island, unlike inside the Purple Wind Building, with its many floors, rooms, and narrow corridors. Fighting there would be more dangerous, abilities harder to use, and if the enemy tried to flee, it would be difficult to stop them or kill them all.
Su Li's thinking was simple: either don't fight, but if they did, he wouldn't leave any survivors. Uproot the weeds and leave no trace, or they'd grow back with the spring breeze. He didn't want endless grudges or to kill one wave only to face another.
In the corridors of the Purple Wind Building, people gathered, occasionally poking their heads out to watch. They were curious about the three distant rafts and the thirteen people on them, wondering where they came from.
Gao Shupeng and his group also spotted the football-field-sized floating island from afar and were astonished.
"Wei Cheng, are the five killers all on this island?" Gao Shupeng squinted, sizing up Su Li and the others on the island, then glancing at the people leaning out from the building's corridors and windows.
"Only two are on the island. The other three are on the top floor," Wei Cheng said, sniffing the air before speaking.
Su Li and Gong Xiao had come to the floating island, while Ding Longyun, paralyzed with muscle stiffness, lay on his bed. Qi Mengyu and Xu Xuehui were ordered by Su Li to stay on the top floor. Since Gao Shupeng's group seemed hostile, he didn't want the two women to take risks.
"Good. First, kill everyone on this island, then storm the Purple Wind Building." Gao Shupeng nodded slightly, giving the order. He gripped his long sword, over a meter in length, his eyes gleaming with a fearsome light.
He shared Su Li's mindset. Seeing the open space of the floating island as an ideal place for killing, he decided to land there first and eliminate Su Li and his men.
"These fools. Seeing us coming, they still split their forces? Weakening themselves—how stupid," said Song Yuanqing, standing beside Gao Shupeng, shaking his head in disdain.
Either everyone should gather on the island or all stay in the building. Instead, they were scattered. Only about a dozen were waiting on the island, with perhaps another dozen or twenty left in the building. That meant their numerical advantage wasn't as great.
Wei Cheng muttered, "They probably didn't expect us to attack immediately. They thought they were just welcoming distant guests. You don't send everyone out to greet people—only a few. It's normal."
Song Yuanqing nodded slightly. "Your analysis makes sense. That seals their tragic fate today."
But they didn't know that Su Li had brought only a dozen people to the island because he didn't want too many of his own getting in the way. Many, though now at level 4, weren't combat-savvy. In a potential life-or-death battle, they'd be more of a hindrance than a help.
Seeing the three rafts heading straight for the island, Su Li and Xu Haishui stood at its edge to greet them.
"My name is Xu Haishui. Welcome. May I ask where you distinguished guests come from?"
Xu Haishui smiled broadly. He vaguely sensed ill intent but didn't know Gao Shupeng's group's background or that Su Li and Gong Xiao had killed seven of their people earlier. Curiosity flickered in his eyes.
Gao Shupeng said nothing. Song Yuanqing laughed lightly. "We're from 'Golden Eagle Building 1A.' Where's your leader, Tao Bingjun? Why isn't he here?" He planned to stall until they landed.
Xu Haishui's mind stirred. Tao Bingjun was quite famous. Smiling, he said, "Tao Bingjun has left our Purple Wind Building. If you're looking for him, you'll be disappointed. He's not here. You might try elsewhere."
"I see," Wei Cheng murmured, realizing why he couldn't sense Tao Bingjun's aura.
The three rafts quickly closed to within ten meters of the island. Gao Shupeng's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly barked, "No need to go elsewhere. You're the ones we're after. Fu Tianhua, attack!"
He raised his voice, calling out a name and issuing the command.
Fu Tianhua stood on another raft, a green tattoo on his neck. At Gao Shupeng's order, he was ready. A white light gathered in his right hand, and he hurled it forward.
The white light shot out, streaking toward Su Li and the others on the island.
"Dodge!" Xu Haishui hadn't expected an attack before they even landed, especially a ranged one. Startled, he scrambled to evade.
No one knew what the thrown white light was. No one dared block it. They all dodged desperately.
The white light landed among them with a thunderous explosion, its power even surpassing Ding Longyun's "Air Missile."
Three screams rang out. Three people were blasted, bloodied. One, the slowest and closest, had his lower body blown off. His upper half crashed to the ground, spilling entrails, as he screamed in agony, clearly beyond saving.
As Fu Tianhua launched the white light, Gao Shupeng and his men on the rafts raised their weapons, shouting fiercely. The rafts sped toward the island as they leaped onto it.
The people on the island were thrown into chaos by the explosion. Two were injured, one dead.
"You bastards! Is there no reasoning with you?" Xu Haishui roared in fury. Seeing one of his own dead and two wounded, flames erupted from his body as he activated his "Fire Control" ability, the fire spreading to the short spear in his right hand.
Su Li said nothing, drawing his Dragon Rhinoceros Sword. Since the enemy attacked without even asking about the deaths of Gao Shuxue and the others, there was only one possibility: they already knew, through some means, that Su Li and his group were the killers. No need to waste time questioning.
"Kill them all! Leave no one!" Gao Shupeng's voice was hoarse and menacing. He gripped his long sword with both hands, leaped onto the island, and charged.
Through his "Peeping Rune," Su Li saw that among the thirteen enemies, five were level 6 experts, and the remaining eight were level 5. In terms of strength, they far outmatched his own group.
On the floating island, the Purple Wind Building side also had thirteen people, but only Su Li, Gong Xiao, and Xu Haishui were level 6. Luo Jun, Bai Wenwei, Jin Sixing, Ling Tian, and Wang Xiaofei were level 5. The other five were mere level 4 spirit source users, brought by Xu Haishui to even the numbers and not lose face.
They hadn't expected the enemy to have a ranged attacker, whose single explosion had already taken out three of theirs.
Enraged and alarmed, Xu Haishui's shout spurred the Purple Wind Building side to charge forward bravely, still trusting in Su Li's strength.
Meanwhile, those left in the building rushed downstairs, boarded rafts, and hurried to support them.
The brutal battle erupted instantly. Led by Gao Shupeng, the five level 6 experts were all formidable. Fu Tianhua, with the green tattoo on his neck, could condense white light in both hands. His right hand's light could be thrown for ranged attacks, while his left hand's light was for close combat—anything it touched would explode, but the blast didn't harm him. His ability was terrifying.
Su Li, having assessed the enemy's levels, knew they were far stronger. He realized that if he didn't end this quickly, his side would suffer heavy losses, with many severely injured or dead.