You promised steampunk martial arts, but you've got an internal combustion engine in your chest

"Looks like... I'll have to deal with you first, you blind guy with cheat codes."

As soon as Baili Jing finished speaking, he leaped into the air!

He ignored the black-clad henchmen around him, locked his gaze on Ning Ji, and suddenly exerted force with his feet!

boom!

He swung his steel blade and charged straight at Ning Ji!

However, Ning Ji had no intention of confronting him head-on.

He tilted his head slightly, and as if his feet were greased, he slid to the side and slipped into the gap between the cargo boxes next to him!

After his attack missed, Baili Jing was about to turn and give chase, but the next second, he felt his arms sink. It was two Blackwater Hall disciples at the second level of the Forging Furnace Realm who had attacked from both sides and grabbed his arms without fear of death!

Then, the third, the fourth...

The thugs from the canal gang pounced on him like wild dogs, some clinging tightly to his legs, others hanging on his back, using their weight to slow him down.

"You guys only make a little money a month, why are you risking your lives like that?!"

Baili Jing was enraged by the group of people and let out a roar. His blood and qi suddenly sank in his waist and abdomen, and he spun around in place like a top!

"Get out of my way! All of you, get the hell out of my way!!"

Centrifugal force, mixed with scalding steam, flung the Blackwater Hall disciples away, knocking down a large number of their comrades around them.

But these people, in order to buy Ning Ji a chance, didn't care about anything else. As long as they could still move, they pounced on him one by one, entangled Baili Jing like he was stuck in a quagmire.

In that instant, Baili Jing caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye. Ning Ji, just like the previous times, appeared silently, ready to take advantage of Baili Jing's moment of exhaustion and deliver another vicious blow!

"I've been waiting for you!!"

This time, Baili Jing was more careful.

Without any hesitation, he grabbed a black-clad disciple by the back of his hand and, using the momentum of the rotation, swung the hundred-pound man like a meteor hammer at Ning Ji.

This sudden turn of events startled Ning Ji.

He could see through the flow of qi and blood and the movement of muscles through runes, thus predicting the direction the enemy wanted to attack. However, at this distance, and with too many people surrounding Baili Jing, his runes were ineffective.

Ning Ji's face tightened, and he ducked to the left, narrowly avoiding the human cannonball. However, due to the hasty dodge, he inevitably stumbled slightly.

This stumble was a stark contrast to his previous seemingly prophetic and fluid dodging style, making him appear like a completely different person!

"I see……"

Baili Jing's eyes suddenly lit up.

This guy's predictive ability has a distance limit!

He can only perfectly predict his own movements when he is focused on himself and within a certain range in front of him.

Once he goes beyond that range, or if the rhythm of the battle is disrupted by a large number of third-party factors, his "future vision" will show flaws!

Once the weakness was found, the balance of power began to tilt.

Baili Jing stopped pursuing and instead began to actively rush into the areas where the Blackwater Hall disciples were most concentrated.

He grabbed those who tried to hold him with both hands, yelling as he hurled them wildly toward Ning Ji's location!

In an instant, the sound of something cutting through the air filled the warehouse, and black-clad figures with bared teeth and screams of terror flew through the sky.

Under this intense barrage of human flesh, Ning Ji completely lost his previous composure.

Although he managed to dodge each time with his reflexes, his once graceful movements were starting to become increasingly clumsy.

The situation began to tilt in Baili Jing's favor.

But on the high platform, Baili Jie's eyes were not relaxed.

"This is only the first expert at the fifth level of the Forging Realm, and it's already taken my brother so long..."

He muttered to himself, "How much more energy will those next two take?"

Just then, his pupils suddenly contracted. Behind an abandoned wooden crate at the edge of the battlefield, a withered and hunched figure stood up silently, like a ghost.

It was an old man.

His hair was dry and white, his face was withered, and he looked like he was about to die.

He didn't look much different from the other steam cultivators, but the strangest thing was that his entire body, including his old face, was covered with blood-red runes!

The talismans clung to his skin like living things, wriggling slowly, which was quite eerie.

Baili Jie's heart leaped into his throat!

This is the second expert at the fifth level of the Forging Realm sent by Ding Yan!

He was about to open his mouth and shout to remind his brother when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

Bailijie suddenly turned around.

Hua Xiangrong was staring intently at what was below when she gently shook her head:

"Little brother, you can't do that. This is a bet your brother chose himself. If you remind him, you'll break the rules of this life-or-death wager, and he'll only suffer a worse fate."

Baili Jie opened his mouth, then swallowed the words that were in his mouth.

He clenched his fist and slowly turned his head away.

He stopped trying to call for help and silently prayed that the last trick he had secretly taught his brother before the hunt began would really help him get through the crisis.

"Get out of here!!"

On the battlefield, Baili Jing roared and hurled the last Blackwater Hall disciple beside him at Ning Ji. Ning Ji hurriedly dodged, and the disciple crashed heavily onto the shelf, shattering the wooden frame.

At this moment, there were very few Blackwater Hall disciples left standing within a radius of several feet.

At least twenty people were hit by the slinging tactic, suffering broken bones and groaning in pain on the ground, completely incapacitated.

Some Blackwater Hall disciples remained around, no longer as fierce as before. They hesitated to step forward, somewhat timid.

As for Ning Ji... his condition was also clearly starting to deteriorate.

Although he dodged all the human projectiles thrown by Baili Jing, he was now kneeling on the ground, panting heavily, as if he had been injured.

The steam pistons on his body began to spew out plumes of black exhaust fumes, and his muscles were convulsing violently.

Ning Ji struggled to stand up, but after only managing to get halfway up, he fell heavily back to his knees.

Baili Jing tilted his head, picked up a fairly intact steel knife from the ground, strode over to Ning Ji, and looked down at him.

"Boss Ning! Get up!"

The Blackwater Hall disciples around screamed in terror.

But Ningji just hung his head in pain, and large amounts of black blood were seeping out of the white cloth.

On the high platform, a sharp glint flashed in Hua Xiangrong's eyes:

"Ning Ji... has been harmed by the backlash of the talisman. He's ruined."

Baili Jie suddenly turned his head: "It's useless now?!"

"Hmph, a mere fifth-level Forging Realm cultivator, forcibly activating talismans—how could he not be crippled?"

A mocking smile appeared on Hua Xiangrong's lips:

"If he could have taken down your brother as quickly as possible, he might have survived; but not only did he fail, he was dragged into a war of attrition by your brother, and from that moment on, his fate was sealed."

Below the warehouse.

Baili Jing frowned as he looked at Ning Ji's miserable appearance.

Although he didn't understand the principle of talisman backlash, looking at the white cloth that was constantly seeping blood, he could roughly guess what was going on.

"So your special ability has not only a distance limit, but also a time limit. Consuming so much energy is just overestimating yourself..."

Before Baili Jing could finish speaking, he suddenly felt an ominous wind behind him!

A violent and powerful shockwave suddenly attacked from behind without warning!

Alarm bells rang in Baili Jing's mind. He didn't even have time to turn around before he slashed his sword behind him!

Click!

His slash did indeed hit something.

But what was struck was a heavy solid wooden crate that had been thrown through the air.

Splinters of wood exploded everywhere, and a large amount of white flour burst out of the box, instantly enveloping the surrounding space within a radius of several feet.

The next instant, a figure burst out from the white dust!

It was a withered fist, covered with blood-red runes!

That punch was incredibly fast and incredibly ruthless, carrying a terrifying force that could shatter one's courage, and it came straight at Baili Jing's face!

Baili Jing's pupils contracted violently!

The speed and power of this punch were not much different from Miao Han's punch last night!

Is this the second expert at the fifth level of the Forging Realm?

How could a monster of this level possibly appear in the Fifth Realm of the Forging Furnace?!

We have to stop it even if we can't!

Baili Jing roared and held his steel sword horizontally in front of his chest, trying to take the blow with the blade.

clang!!

When the iron fist clashed with the steel blade, the long blade broke into several pieces as easily as fragile glass!

Baili Jing was startled and took a few steps back, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

However, the withered fist continued its momentum without diminishing in the slightest, slamming forward and smashing into his arms!

"Hmm!"

An unimaginable, immense force surged forth, and Baili Jing felt as if he had been hit by a large truck. His body was thrown uncontrollably into the air, then fell back down in a sorry state, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ground.

He didn't stop until his back hit a large wooden pillar.

“Cough… cough…”

Baili Jing couldn't help but cough violently twice. Looking down, he saw that the two sleeves had been blown to shreds by the violent force of that punch.

His arms were swollen and red, and a burning pain shot up his bones.

Even worse, the wound he sustained from the explosion last night was now throbbing with pain from the impact, and large patches of crimson blood seeped through the bandage.

This punch nearly knocked Baili Jing to the ground.

He gritted his teeth, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and slowly raised his head to look at the thin, hunched figure.

The gaunt old man slowly emerged from the flour smoke.

His old face, covered in blood-red runes, showed no expression.

He simply cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Baili Jing, his voice hoarse and aged:

"Blackwater Hall, Wei Zhaowu, Brother Baili, this old man... has been entrusted by someone to come and seek your guidance."