Martial Universe: The Eyes That Determine the Fate

Chapter 9, Part 2: The Boss Wu Sha

Many people were already holding bows and crossbows, arrows aimed at Li Yi, fingers on the strings, but no one dared to fire first, nor did anyone dare to let go.

Li Yi stopped and looked up at the mountain stronghold.

The gate was built of rough timber, about three zhang high, with sharpened wooden stakes stuck in it and several black flags planted on top. On each flag was a black dragon coiled and twisted, exuding a ferocious aura. Above the gate beam were three large characters carved crookedly: Black Dragon Village.

There are many wooden houses built against the mountain on both sides of the village gate, densely packed, stretching from the mountainside all the way to the top of the mountain, numbering at least several hundred.

"It's built quite high," Li Yi remarked, continuing his ascent.

The stone steps were long. Li Yi had walked halfway up when people kept rushing out of the wooden houses on both sides.

Some people were carrying knives, some were carrying guns, some didn't even have any weapons and rushed out shirtless, and some had just crawled out of bed wearing only their underwear, clutching a wooden stick, their eyes still closed.

"Who is it?"

"Trespassing Black Dragon Stronghold? You're asking for death!"

"Brothers, grab your weapons! Don't let him get away!"

The noise came from all directions, but Li Yi didn't even look at them and continued walking up the mountain.

A henchman rushed up to him, raising his knife to strike, but just as the knife was above his head, Li Yi coaxed him to sleep.

A henchman rushed in from the side and stabbed him with a gun. The tip of the gun was still half a foot away from his clothes. The man suddenly screamed, dropped the gun, and squatted on the ground, trembling all over.

A henchman attacked him from behind, swinging a wooden stick at the back of his head. Before the stick even hit the ground, the man felt an invisible force strike his chest, sending him flying backward. He crashed into the wall of the wooden house, slid down, and fell asleep.

Li Yi did not make a move; it was the pressure from the double pupils that caused all of this.

As his double pupils opened and closed, wisps of ancient and mysterious purple runes flickered in Li Yi's eyes, as if some ancient law was at work. Those runes spread out along his gaze, landing on the surrounding henchmen like a thousand-pound burden, making them unable to straighten their backs or lift their heads.

Li Yi didn't even specifically target them; he simply kept his eyes open and went his own way.

But the oppressive aura had already spread from him, and within a radius of several feet centered on him, no one could stand. The closer one got to him, the heavier the oppressive aura became, and the more people fell down.

Some people knelt on the ground, kowtowing desperately, their heads hitting the stone steps until they were covered in blood, crying out, "Spare me... Spare me... Spare me."

Someone was lying paralyzed on the roadside, convulsing, foaming at the mouth, with their eyes rolled upwards, leaving only the whites of their eyes visible.

Some people turned and ran, but after only a few steps, a powerful pressure came from behind, like an invisible hand pressing down on their shoulders and forcibly pushing them to the ground.

Screams, cries, and pleas for mercy mingled together, echoing across half the mountain.

Li Yi didn't look at them at all, he just kept walking up the stone steps. Behind him, a group of people collapsed. No one rushed out of the wooden houses on both sides. Those who hadn't come out yet heard the commotion outside, so they blocked the door from the inside and hid inside, trembling, not daring to even breathe.

The platform halfway up the mountain is the martial arts training ground of Black Dragon Village. The ground is quite large, enough for a hundred people to line up in formation, and it is already full.

Li Yi walked up the last stone step and stood on the edge of the platform. Behind him was a long stone staircase, and in front of him was a dense crowd of people.

More than a hundred henchmen blocked his way, but not one of them dared to step forward.

They had all seen the terrible state of those who had fallen before them.

At that moment, a path suddenly parted in the crowd, and a burly figure stepped out.

The man was burly, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, wearing a black short jacket that revealed his two strong arms. What was most striking was his face—square, thick, with a seemingly simple and honest smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

But Li Yi noticed that his eyes weren't smiling.

Those eyes were cold, like knives, scrutinizing him from head to toe as if assessing the value of a piece of merchandise.

"So you're the one who hit my men?"

Li Yi glanced at him and hummed in agreement.

"Did you come alone?"

"Um."

"Just you?"

Li Yi did not reply.

The man's smile deepened. He took two steps forward, standing three steps away from Li Yi, and looked him up and down again.

"My name is Wu Sha, the second-in-command of Black Dragon Stronghold."

"Um."

"Aren't you afraid?" Wu Sha tilted his head, looking at Li Yi as if he were looking at something strange.

"What are you afraid of?" Li Yi retorted.

Upon hearing this, Wu Sha paused for a moment, then laughed loudly, turning back to shout to his henchmen, "Haha! What's there to be afraid of, kid!"

The henchmen laughed along, but their laughter was sparse and more unpleasant than crying.

"Kid, do you even know where you are?"

"I know, Black Dragon Village."

"You knew that, yet you still dared to come?"

Li Yi looked at him, thought for a moment, and then said, "The road is here."

"What?" Wu Sha was completely confused by Li Yi's words.

"I want to go east, but you've built on the mountain road, blocking my way."

Wu Sha stared at Li Yi for several breaths, trying to confirm whether he was joking, but Li Yi's expression was very serious.

"You injured my men and stormed Black Dragon Stronghold, is that all? What kind of bullshit reason is that? You're just here to cause trouble, aren't you?"

One of the oddly-looking henchmen behind them couldn't help but burst out laughing, saying, "Second Master, this guy's probably an idiot! Haha!"

Wu Sha turned around and glared at the henchman, took a deep breath, and said to Li Yi, "Kid, I think you're a talent."

Then he held up three fingers: "I'll give you three choices. First, kneel down and admit your mistake, leave some money for the road, and I'll let you go. Second, join Black Dragon Stronghold, live a life of luxury, and I'll be your boss. Third,..."

He didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was already quite clear.

Li Yi looked at him and asked, "How much?"

"What?!"

Wu Sha was stunned. He had imagined all sorts of excuses Li Yi might give, but he never expected Li Yi to say something like this.

"...Ten thousand Yang Yuan Stones!"

"no."

"What do you have on you?"

"A few dozen copper coins."

Wu Sha's "honest" smile finally crumbled, and the flesh on his face twitched.

"You little brat, you dare to mess with me!"

"no."

"Then you fucking..."

"I'm telling the truth," Li Yi interrupted him, "I only have a few dozen copper coins on me."

Wu Sha fell silent. He didn't know whether he should be angry or not. He had been a bandit for decades and had robbed hundreds, if not thousands, of people. What kind of poor bastards hadn't he seen? But no one had ever dared to say so confidently that they had no money.

"Then don't blame me."

Wu Sha's patience finally ran out, and the "honesty" on his face completely disappeared, replaced by a fierce and ferocious expression.

"Are you going to make a move?" Li Yi suddenly asked.

Wu Sha did not answer, but the Yuan Power surging within him was the best answer.