Chapter Fifty-Five: Are You Human or a Demon?

“Go to hell!!” Su Ye stared unblinkingly at Li Haoxuan’s agonized face as he twisted the dagger forcefully in his hand, causing blood to gush forth in streams.

Li Haoxuan tried to speak, but no words came out. His body toppled backward, and with a heavy thud, he collapsed to the ground.

It was as if Su Ye had spent every ounce of his strength; he staggered back several steps, his eyes flashing with a momentary fear, but it vanished in a blink. Now, not a shred of mercy remained in his heart.

If he had been asked to kill an innocent man, he would not have been able to do it. But at the moment Li Haoxuan cut the rope, he felt no hesitation or pity for him.

Such a man deserved to die!

In this era where martial artists rampaged unchecked, it was the beginning of a new age—order crumbling everywhere. Who could say how many lives the great clans had already taken?

If you must kill, do not be indecisive!

“And that Zhou Yuyang—he deserves death even more!”

Su Ye tore the dagger free and gripped it tightly. Fixing his gaze on the fading figures ahead, he drew in a breath of energy and gave chase.

He dashed wildly, shouting in a fierce voice, “Zhou Yuyang, where do you think you’re running?”

At the sound of his cry, the crowd burst into terrified screams. “He’s killed someone, run!”

Among this group, many had followed Zhou Yuyang. Along the way, they had mocked Su Ye repeatedly. Now, fearing that Su Ye would pursue them, they threw all caution aside and ran for their lives.

Zhou Yuyang was no weakling, but he knew full well—even the top prodigy, Yu Zhisha, had fallen to Su Ye; how could he possibly be a match? He ran like a madman.

“Su Ye, just wait! Soon enough, I’ll make you kneel and die—”

Su Ye heard this from afar, and his heart trembled, but he pressed on in pursuit.

The two of them, one chasing the other, soon plunged into the dense forest.

As he ran, Zhou Yuyang shouted at the top of his lungs: “Someone help! I’m the young master—come save me!”

Hearing this, Su Ye’s heart leapt with alarm. Had Zhou Clan’s people arrived? Or was Zhou Yuyang just bluffing to scare him?

He chased for a stretch further when suddenly, cries rang out ahead—there really were others.

Zhou Yuyang was overjoyed and shouted, “I’m here, over here! Come quick!”

Swish! Swish!

Suddenly, a figure burst from the undergrowth—a middle-aged man with eyes as sharp as an eagle’s. He gave Su Ye no time to react; with a single kick, he launched a white arc of energy that sliced through the air, sending leaves swirling.

Bang!!

The kick landed squarely on Su Ye, sending him flying backward. His chest felt as though his ribs had been shattered, and even breathing brought waves of pain.

He tumbled along the ground for a considerable distance before managing to steady himself.

At that moment, a thought flashed through his mind: “Qi Condensation Realm—he’s at the Qi Condensation Realm!”

The man, having unleashed his kick, regarded him coldly. “So, you’re merely at the Acupoint Opening stage, yet you survived a kick from Zhou Zhi. Not bad,” he said in a deep voice.

Zhou Yuyang was already gasping for breath. Gritting his teeth, he snapped, “What are you waiting for? Kill him! Kill him now!”

Clenching his jaw, Su Ye suddenly sprang up, channeling all the power of his Thunder Veins. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the dagger at Zhou Yuyang.

Whoosh—

“Careful!” Zhou Zhi shouted, clearly not expecting Su Ye to strike back. In a flash, he smacked at the flying dagger.

Rip!

The dagger was deflected by his palm wind, whistling past Zhou Yuyang’s neck and embedding itself deep in a tree behind.

“Damn it!”

Su Ye cursed under his breath. Without hesitation, he turned and fled.

With Zhou Zhi present, it was impossible to kill Zhou Yuyang; staying would only mean death.

So close—just a little more!

“Young master, are you alright?” Zhou Zhi rushed to Zhou Yuyang’s side.

Zhou Yuyang, pale and shaken, barked, “Go after him and kill him, now!”

“Don’t worry, young master. We brought plenty of men this time—he can’t escape. I’ll take you to regroup with our clan’s warriors first, then we’ll hunt him down.”

Su Ye sped away, glancing back to see that Zhou Zhi did not give chase but instead stayed behind to protect Zhou Yuyang. This gave Su Ye a brief chance to breathe.

But after running for some distance, he found his chest hurt so much he could barely draw breath.

He was only at the Acupoint Opening stage; facing an opponent at even the first level of Qi Condensation, he was hopelessly outmatched.

What now?

Moreover, he could faintly hear that other clans’ people were arriving.

“Does that mean all the clans are here? Did Clan Leader Jiang send people too, since he had me come? Or is it just a few families?”

Su Ye shook his head. It was all speculation. Even if there were others, none could save him now. If every family had sent people, why hadn’t they shown up during the poison gas, the water demon, the glowing jellyfish, or when people died?

Most likely, only one or two families had sent representatives.

He ran for a long time, and before he knew it, evening had fallen.

This trial of the Martial Alliance truly was a crucible of rapid growth. Everyone who survived it would emerge transformed.

In the chaos of pursuit, Su Ye had left his pack in the grassy hollow by the cave. Now, he could only return for it.

Hunched over, clutching his chest, he limped back, convinced he was bleeding internally.

From a distance, he saw the cave—now flooded with seawater, transformed into a natural lake, shimmering beautifully in the sunset.

But Su Ye was in no mood to admire the view. He found his pack and immediately set about tending his wounds with medicine and bandages.

Just then, a splash sounded on the lake’s surface—a figure was swimming toward shore.

Turning to look, Su Ye froze. Upon the water glided a figure resembling a woman, her entire body glowing with an unearthly light.

Her hair was strange, too—like a mass of tentacled braids that floated and undulated in the water.

When Su Ye saw her face, he managed to calm himself—a human face, alluring and almost demonic, with a touch of the rebellious style some young women wore for effect.

Her eyes seemed to wear colored contacts, vast and blue as the ocean, unnaturally large.

“Who... who are you?!” Su Ye demanded, his voice low and wary. Somehow, she felt familiar.

The woman in the water did not come closer. She glanced at the distant corpse of Li Haoxuan, and the hostility in her eyes eased somewhat. In a bitter voice, she said, “You killed him, so we are no longer enemies. You are a friend of the sea.”

Su Ye watched her, still alert. “Who are you, really? Are you human or a demon?”

“You don’t know who I am? Then why did you try to kill me?” She shot back, then ducked her head beneath the surface and swam to the shore, emerging once more.

This time, her appearance had changed.

She became a breathtakingly beautiful young woman, exuding a lethal allure no human could possess—a temptation that seemed to emanate from her very bones, ensnaring the deepest desires of the soul.

Her blue eyes glimmered, reflecting Su Ye’s shadow with crystalline clarity. In a soft murmur, she said, “I was ready to perish in the sea, but your aura triggered my transformation. You are a friend of my ocean.”

Su Ye’s mind buzzed. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he could never have believed any of this. Cautiously, he asked, “Are you… the jellyfish?”

The bewitching girl replied earnestly, “I am not a jellyfish. I merely dwelled inside one. The sea gave me a name—Qian Lilu.”

Clutching his aching chest, Su Ye sat down heavily. In his condition, there was little else he could do. “Qian Lilu, since I am your friend, you won’t try to kill me again, will you?”

“Of course not. To harm a friend is to suffer the curse of the ‘Oath of the Sea,’” she replied, utterly serious.

Su Ye almost laughed. He’d grown up studying and training in his clan, and after arriving in Yangcheng, his world had been turned upside down. It seemed he knew very little of China, or of this world.

“I see. I was sent here by my clan to find the Cold Feast Shell, and I knew nothing of all this. Why did they want to kill you? Can you tell me about your ocean? Are there many like you?”

Qian Lilu listened intently. Perhaps she could not stay above water for long; she sank below the surface, then rose again. “I’ve dwelled within the jellyfish for a long, long time. Only when I return to the sea will I know if there are others like me. If you wish to know, I’ll tell you next time. As for why the people of the land wish to kill me, it is for my heart… My heart grants immortality for a thousand years.”

Su Ye’s pupils shrank. A thousand years of life? What an unimaginable span! The oldest martial artist he’d heard of lived to two hundred, never more.

Yet, such longevity held no allure for him. With Zhou Clan’s warriors hunting him, surviving till dawn would already be a miracle.

“If they all want your heart, you’d best hide. Many martial artists have come this time—I’m running for my life myself!” Su Ye struggled to his feet. This place was no sanctuary.

“By the way, my name is Su Ye. I’m glad to meet you.”

Qian Lilu watched him clutch his chest and attempt to leave. Suddenly, she said, “Why don’t you heal your wounds? If you improve your cultivation, you won’t fear them.”

“I’d like to, but there’s no elixir here…” Su Ye sighed. Qian Lilu was not human, after all—she couldn’t understand his troubles.

“Your aura triggered my transformation. You lack innate energy—I can help you recover, perhaps even improve your cultivation,” she said, a trace of confusion in her voice.

“You’ll help me? How?” Su Ye recalled how fearsome she’d been within the jellyfish.

“Come with me,” Qian Lilu beckoned, and with a surge of water, she drew him in.

Su Ye was yanked suddenly and toppled into the deep lake with a loud splash.

Caught off guard, he swallowed two mouthfuls of seawater, cursing himself for trusting too easily. Was he about to be drowned?

Suddenly, Qian Lilu swam toward him. She wore not a stitch, her undulating form shimmering in the dappled light beneath the water’s surface—so beautiful it was almost unreal.

Her body moved with boneless grace, swaying in the water as if in the throes of rapture, a languor that bordered on intoxication. She smiled shyly, parted her lips, and spat out a pearl.

The pearl drifted into Su Ye’s mouth, where it pulsed with warmth, as if every pore in his body could breathe.

Thus, the two of them descended together, some six or seven hundred meters to the lake’s bottom.

In the glow of the Cold Feast Shells, light shimmered all around.

Su Ye thought the pressure at such depths would surely crush him, but he felt little discomfort—only the pain in his chest remained fierce.

“Su Ye, are you ready? I’ll use the blood of my kind to mend your innate deficiency. The energy within you is too strong; you must control it carefully,” Qian Lilu said, a flicker of fear crossing her face at the last.

“You mean the heavenly thunder inside me?” Su Ye asked.

“Heavenly thunder? No, that’s only energy transformed into lightning… Just be careful to control it!”

Qian Lilu glided to his back, her soft, pale hand reaching out. With a flick of her finger, she tore open the fabric on his back.

At once, nine hideous scars were revealed.

Qian Lilu’s blue eyes lingered over the scars, and a flush spread across her beautiful face. Slowly, she leaned in, her soft lips parting, and pressed a kiss to the wounds.

“Ah… you—”