Urban Martial Saint

There was nothing out of the ordinary during the night, and early the next morning, Ye Qing and Du Canglang continued their journey, moving forward.

Just as Du Canglang had mentioned, he didn’t know where the Gate of the Dead was located. So, each time they encountered a mountain, they had to search the middle of the mountain thoroughly to find the Gate of the Dead. Plus, the path led southward, which naturally caused them to move very slowly on the mountains. It wasn’t until noon that they climbed over the first mountain peak and reached the foot of the second mountain.

The second mountain was noticeably taller than the previous one, surrounded by cliffs and steep landscapes, appearing very precipitous. The mountain was densely forested without any discernible paths, and the rotting leaves were quite slippery, making it genuinely treacherous to ascend.

Du Canglang moved effortlessly on the terrain and tied a rope around Ye Qing’s waist to prevent him from slipping. This way, even if Ye Qing rolled all the way down, Du Canglang could pull him back up, ensuring Ye Qing wouldn’t fall completely.

While walking on the mountain, Ye Qing was contemplating another matter. The mountain was steep and the ground slippery; if the rope suddenly snapped, and he rolled down, even if Du Canglang were extraordinarily powerful, catching up to him wouldn’t be easy. This way, he could flee in the dense forest, and with such a thick forest, Du Canglang would struggle to locate him.

Of course, doing so comes with a significant risk. Ye Qing had to slide down from a sufficiently low altitude; otherwise, whether or not he could escape Du Canglang is uncertain, he might not survive the fall. Yet, he couldn’t choose a spot too low, as that wouldn’t create enough distance from Du Canglang, leaving him unable to escape. Thus, deciding on the right spot to slide down is quite a dilemma.

Du Canglang walked ahead while various animal sounds echoed through the forest. He paid little attention to Ye Qing’s heartbeat, ignorant of Ye Qing’s scheming. His focus was merely on searching for any signs left behind by the Gate of the Dead. However, the forest resembled itself everywhere, making it difficult to see far, let alone spot traces of this elusive door.

Ye Qing followed Du Canglang from behind, but his greater concern was observing his surroundings and calculating the altitude suited for a slide down, silently considering if the spot was suitable for his plan. Would he suffer injuries from the fall or get caught by Du Canglang?

Both men harbored thoughts of their own, hiking for about an hour until they finally reached the mountainside. Based on his past experience, Du Canglang intended to scour the area for signs of the Gate of the Dead from the midpoint of the mountain. This spot happened to be Ye Qing’s planned position for descent. Sliding from this height provided an unobstructed path, creating adequate distance from Du Canglang, making it an ideal spot for fleeing.

Having resolved his mind, Ye Qing covertly retrieved the Metamorphic Iron Dagger and severed the rope bound to him. At that moment, Du Canglang was engrossed in searching for signs of the Gate of the Dead ahead, paying no mind to Ye Qing’s situation behind him. To Du Canglang, as long as Ye Qing remained nearby, he had nothing to worry about, nor did he concern himself with Ye Qing trying any tricks. Little did he dream that Ye Qing would risk everything to escape.

After cutting the rope, Ye Qing hastily reattached the Metamorphic Iron Dagger to his leg and stepped back, pretending to misstep, and began rolling on the ground.

”Ah!” Ye Qing theatrically exclaimed in shock, starting to slide downward the instant he fell. The mountain was steep, and the decayed leaves quite slick, accelerating his downward slide.

”What happened?” Du Canglang shouted, turning quickly only to see Ye Qing had slid over ten meters away. His expression changed, and he immediately grabbed the rope at his waist, pulling forcefully, shouting, ”Come back to me!”

However, he caught nothing but air, pulling the rope back to his face, but Ye Qing was nowhere to be found as he accelerated his descent.

Du Canglang hadn’t anticipated this event, grasping the severed rope end; his face turned decidedly grim. There was no time for idle talk now; springing forward, he dashed toward Ye Qing, who was sliding below. Despite his competent skills and speed, the steep and slick mountain, coupled with the decayed leaves, made running swiftly unfeasible—falling here posed great dangers, with lots of cliffs around.

Ye Qing, however, continued his slide downwards, gaining more speed continuously with no means to halt. Thus, the distance between Du Canglang and Ye Qing dramatically widened. At this rate, catching up seemed impossible for Du Canglang.

Ye Qing noticed Du Canglang falling increasingly behind him, feeling quite elated. Although he couldn’t control his sliding speed, descending in this direction avoided any cliffs. At this rate, he wouldn’t sustain injuries, plus the distance from Du Canglang had widened. Soon he could swiftly rise and dash into the primal forest where Du Canglang would struggle to locate him. Regardless, he’d have freed himself from Du Canglang’s clutches!

The ascent took over an hour, yet Ye Qing had already covered half the descent within less than two minutes. Du Canglang had fallen noticeably behind, initially within sight but soon out of view and inaudible; their separation was complete.

Ye Qing’s heart raced with excitement, finally escaping Du Canglang’s control. As long as he fled Mount Du Wang, safety awaited.

Yet, as Ye Qing planned his post-slide escape route, behind him, a sudden long cry erupted, shocking him into a shudder. Glancing back, he saw Du Canglang within ten meters. Only, Du Canglang traversed not the ground but coasted upon treetops, leaping hurriedly from one to another in pursuit.

This sight almost made Ye Qing spit blood. Du Canglang’s Qinggong was exceptionally powerful; though the slick, steep ground precluded running, he was adept on the branches. His pursuit was atrociously rapid, even surpassing Ye Qing’s sliding speed, catching up imminently.

Du Canglang was invigorated upon seeing Ye Qing, and with a loud howl, he flung his rope toward Ye Qing, shouting, ”Grab the rope; I’ll pull you up!”

This man had no knowledge of Ye Qing’s self-inflicted severance of the rope, still intent on saving him.

Watching the rope approach, Ye Qing was disinclined to grab it. However, he refrained from obvious avoidance, feigning a missed grab reminding himself of its apparent elusiveness.

Missing once, Du Canglang swiftly flung the rope twice more, but Ye Qing failed to grasp it each time, inciting Du Canglang’s frustration, ”Have you trained or not? Can’t even seize a rope; what accuracy is that?”

Ye Qing muttered under his breath, ”Grandpa deliberately misses!” Those words dared not leave his mouth.

”Forget it, don’t grab!” Du Canglang abruptly shouted, waving the rope to ensnare Ye Qing. Clearly, he aimed to wrap Ye Qing and hoist him back.

Seeing the situation, Ye Qing turned pale; getting ensnared meant capture. As the rope descended, Ye Qing wanted to evade, yet dodging would reveal his intent to Du Canglang. Amid his hesitation, a small tree abruptly emerged before him.

His mind devised a plan seeing this small tree. Instead of dodging the rope, he pretended to grab the tree trying to slow his slide, then abruptly released it, feigning unstable grip.

Having bent under Ye Qing’s clutch, the tree rebounded upon release, colliding squarely with Du Canglang’s incoming rope, tangling it thoroughly. Even retrieving the rope over the tree became impossible for Du Canglang.

”Why’d you grab that tree?” Du Canglang seethed internally, watching as the tree thwarted his effort to bind Ye Qing. Moreover, the rope tightened around the tree, making retrieving it unattainable.

”I didn’t want that either,” Ye Qing replied, yet inwardly chuckling.

Finding the rope unreachable, Du Canglang abandoned it and sprung forward after Ye Qing. His lightning quick actions would have indeed caught Ye Qing effortlessly. However, prohibited by the slick, steep earth from bypassing ground, his reliance was solely on the trees, which complicated his pursuit. Despite proximity to Ye Qing, capturing him remained consistently challenging.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing faced another major predicament. His prior direction ensured an inclined glide path to the mountain’s foot. But grabbing the tree slightly altered his course. At high speed, alterations proved terrifying, propelling him alarmingly toward a nearby cliff.

This development flustered Ye Qing; he merely sought escape, not death. Plummeting from the cliff brought no promise of survival.