Jiang Shuijue knew what he was going to say and immediately shook her head. "Brother Su, we appreciate your kindness, but we can't accept the conditions for joining the Golden Eagle Alliance. Today's matter has nothing to do with you. We're grateful for your help, and we'll repay you if we get the chance."
Her tone was resolute, clearly determined to fight Ding Shijie to the bitter end.
Su Li frowned slightly. "What are the conditions for joining?"
Gu Mingfeng said indignantly, "If we agree to join, all of us have to be split up. We can't stay together. The twenty-six of us from Jinhui Center would be divided into three groups, evacuated separately, and sent to designated places."
Ding Shijie nodded. "That's right. That's the basic condition. Especially you three—you can't stay together. Otherwise, within the alliance, factions would form and everyone would fight for themselves. How could we have unified command? The alliance would be meaningless."
Hearing this, Su Li took a deep breath and looked at Ding Shijie. "Brother Ding, does that mean if our Zifeng Building joins the Golden Eagle Alliance, our people would also have to be separated?"
Ding Shijie nodded. "Yes, that's the fundamental rule for joining the Golden Eagle Alliance. No exceptions, not even for myself."
Su Li fell silent, thinking that according to this rule, he would have to be separated from Ding Longyun, Xu Xuehui, Gong Xiao, and the others. Otherwise, they'd be seen as a small clique too—and he couldn't accept that condition.
Now he finally understood why Jiang Shuijue and the others were so opposed, willing to fight Ding Shijie rather than join the "Golden Eagle Alliance."
With a bitter smile, Su Li slowly turned around, faced Ding Shijie, and raised his head, speaking in a低沉 voice. "Brother Ding, it's no wonder they can't accept this condition. It's really asking too much. Let's just drop this matter today. Since they don't want to join the Golden Eagle Alliance, why force them?"
Ding Shijie sighed. "So Brother Su can't understand my predicament either. What I just said is my bottom line. Now we only have two paths: either you convince them to follow the Golden Eagle Alliance's rules and join us—then we'll all be brothers and sisters—or... they become my enemies."
Su Li didn't try to persuade Jiang Shuijue again, knowing they'd never agree to Ding Shijie's demands. He just stared at Ding Shijie. "Brother Ding, must you insist on this? Just walk away and keep the peace. Why fight over pride? Once blood is shed, people will die—what's the point?"
Ding Shijie laughed heartily. "Since ancient times, great achievements have always required bloodshed and sacrifice. For the sake of the majority having a future, what's a few deaths now? Brother Su, say no more. Step aside."
As he spoke, the skin on his right arm began turning blood-red again, clearly preparing to strike at Jiang Shuijue and her group.
Out of respect for Su Li, he had waited patiently until now, but seeing that Su Li hadn't persuaded Jiang Shuijue and instead kept urging him to back off, he was growing impatient and starting to think less of Su Li.
Su Li didn't step aside. Instead, he spread his arms slightly. "Brother Ding, if you want to attack them, you'll have to go through me first."
Hearing this, Ding Shijie paused, then sucked in a breath and let out a low chuckle.
"Heh... heh heh... Su Li, have you misunderstood something?"
"Or have you overestimated your own importance?"
Ding Shijie's tone grew colder, his eyes fixed on Su Li as his expression darkened. "Su Li, I saw talent in you, so I tolerated a lot and even offered you the position of second leader in the Golden Eagle Alliance. But you're so ungrateful—are you really going to oppose me for their sake?"
Su Li remained calm and smiled. "I told you, they helped me. Now it's time to repay that debt. Besides, I'm used to being free and unfettered. I have no interest in joining the Golden Eagle Alliance. I'm afraid I can't accept your generous offer."
"Su Li, are you really going to stand against me?" Ding Shijie suddenly raised his voice.
Su Li reached his right hand to his chest, pulled out the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword with a swift motion, and faced Ding Shijie directly. "Brother Ding, it's not that I want to oppose you—it's that you refuse to let us go."
Seeing Su Li willing to fight Ding Shijie for their sake, Jiang Shuijue and the others were deeply moved. Jiang Shuijue couldn't help saying, "Brother Su, we appreciate your sentiment, but please leave. This has nothing to do with you—you don't need to get involved."
She had just witnessed Ding Shijie's terror and feared Su Li was no match for him. She couldn't bear to drag him into this.
Su Li didn't look back at her, just smiled. "Miss Jiang, you're being too polite. Since I've seen this, how could I stand by and do nothing?"
He thought to himself that this wasn't entirely about helping Jiang Shuijue's group. From Ding Shijie's tone, even if he ignored this today, after dealing with Jiang Shuijue and the others, the next target would likely be Zifeng Building. Conflict with them was inevitable anyway—this was just happening sooner.
Seeing Su Li standing before him with sword in hand, Ding Shijie's face grew uglier. He nodded. "Fine, fine. You're dead set on being my enemy..."
The skin on his exposed right arm grew redder, as if blood was about to seep from the surface.
Jiang Shuijue, holding her twin blades, flickered to Su Li's side, clearly ready to face Ding Shijie together.
"Miss Jiang, I have a favor to ask." Su Li's focus was entirely on Ding Shijie, knowing he was about to attack.
"What is it?" Jiang Shuijue also stared intently at Ding Shijie, her pretty face tense.
Ling Yi and Gu Mingfeng stepped forward too, standing alongside Su Li.
Facing the four of them alone, Ding Shijie's expression didn't change; instead, his eyes blazed with battle fervor.
"The man who came with me is called Liu Jiande. If something happens to me, I hope you can escort him back to Zifeng Building. I brought him out, and I promised to take him back safely. I'm entrusting this to you."
Jiang Shuijue was startled, not expecting such a request. Her lips moved as if to speak, but then she saw a blur—Ding Shijie had already struck.
Ding Shijie's speed was so fast it made Jiang Shuijue's vision swim. Among them, only Su Li could keep up, swinging the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword without hesitation to meet Ding Shijie's right arm.
Though Ding Shijie's right arm was as hard as iron, the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword could cut through metal like mud—a true treasure. Su Li put all his strength into this strike, and he could even unleash a "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash." No matter how strong Ding Shijie was, if hit by that, he'd likely be overwhelmed.
But the "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash" could only be used once in a while, so Su Li wouldn't use it without absolute certainty.
Ding Shijie let out a low laugh, his blood-red right arm unafraid of the blade, meeting it with flesh and blood.
With three sharp clangs of metal, Su Li's Dragon Rhinoceros Sword was deflected. The wooden raft beneath Ding Shijie shook violently, creaking under the immense force.
Without a word, Ling Yi struck at the same moment, his right hand and sword crystallizing. Taking advantage of Ding Shijie's clash with Su Li, he thrust several times, each aimed at Ding Shijie's vital points.
With a tearing sound, Ding Shijie suddenly leaped back, widening the distance. He looked down and saw his chest torn, blood seeping out.
While attacking Su Li, he had dodged Ling Yi's sword, but a slight misstep left a wound on his chest. Though shallow, Ding Shijie's face darkened completely—being wounded was a deep disgrace to him.
Ding Shijie was formidable, unafraid even against Jiang Shuijue, Ling Yi, and Gu Mingfeng alone. But adding Su Li changed everything.
Just Su Li alone required his full effort, leaving him unable to handle the attacks from Jiang Shuijue and the others.
Even so, he didn't call for help from the "Golden Eagle Alliance" members watching behind him. Instead, he opened his mouth, his expression turning ferocious.
"Today, all of you will..."
Suddenly, his left hand went to his chest and clenched. A mist of ice emerged from his chest, and as his left hand grasped it, the mist solidified into an icy sword hilt.
Su Li's heart leaped.
"Die—"
Ding Shijie roared, pulling a ribbon-like object from his chest with his left hand. It transformed into a sword in his grip.
The sword was semi-transparent, its blade covered in snake-scale patterns like an ice sculpture, with icy mist swirling around it. As the sword emerged, everyone felt a chill.
Jiang Shuijue, Ling Yi, and Gu Mingfeng stared wide-eyed. Earlier, when Su Li pulled the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword from his chest, they had been surprised but not shocked, assuming it was a "Source Art."
Reaching level 5 allowed one to learn all kinds of bizarre "Source Arts." If Su Li's was pulling a powerful sword from his chest, it wasn't too strange—stranger things existed.
But when Ding Shijie also pulled a semi-transparent ice sword from his chest, they realized this wasn't a "Source Art."
Ding Shijie's "Source Art" was clearly about superheating his right arm. No one could master two "Source Arts." The only possibility was that the ice sword he pulled from his chest was a real weapon.