The nine guards exerted all their strength to quickly defeat two of the creatures, but the other three managed to escape into the alleys. Facing an emergency, they decided to split into teams of two to hunt them down before they could cause a massacre.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the town, in the areas rich in medicinal herbs, Shen Shinyu ran desperately searching for Li Yi. The fluctuations of the battle could already be felt from afar, and the thunderous crashes of energy only increased her anguish at not being able to find him.
In his hidden refuge, Li Yi had finally achieved exceptional mastery over his new base. In the final minutes, he managed to create the spiritual channels and conduits that transported the energy accumulated in the vortex throughout his entire body. With his current strength, he felt he could crush a cultivator at the peak of the Base Forging Realm, or even one from the Martial Realm—like that fox from the plains—despite never having seen a being of that level in actual combat.
The time came for the third and final step, the most dangerous one: slightly releasing the confinement of the vortex so that external energy could enter and attempt to crush the vacuum sphere.
Li Yi focused his mind on the shattered base surrounding the sphere. He allowed his Sacred Body to purify his internal energy and began to greedily absorb the Qi from the environment. He urged his own base to expand in an internal explosion, like a hammer striking the vortex. This generated an overwhelming pressure on the surface of the vacuum sphere, which began to spin with renewed fury.
In that instant, it seemed as though all the energy of heaven and earth was concentrating on entering his body. Li Yi permitted it, letting his sacred constitution filter every drop of power. His tasks were critical: controlling the inflow into the vortex and maintaining the rotation of the sphere to counteract the compression.
Due to the spiritual friction between the sphere and the vortex, Li Yi's body began to emit a blinding light; he looked like a small sun born on the horizon. With every passing second, his strength increased exponentially until it reached a critical point where the rotation was nearly uncontrollable. At that limit, he solidified the isolation of the vortex, allowing only what was strictly necessary to enter.
When he opened his eyes, the world had changed. His gaze seemed to pierce through matter, allowing him to directly see the flow of energy. Looking up, he spotted several power cores in the distance; four of them glowed with the intensity of stars. He understood that he had awakened an innate ability thanks to his unique technique.
Suddenly, he remembered the danger the town was in. He tried to stand up quickly, but as he pressed his hand down to push off, the ground collapsed. As if a meteorite had struck the spot, the earth sank into an immense crater.
Li Yi suddenly found himself two hundred and twenty meters in the air, suspended by the inertia of his leap. As he fell, he tensed his muscles to avoid bouncing and landed firmly at the bottom of a second crater. Dazed, he began to move with extreme caution, adapting to his new and terrifying strength. He noticed that after the initial impulse, his arm had emptied of energy for a millisecond before recharging again. His bones and muscles, tempered by the process, were now more resistant than steel.
After several minutes of concentration, he managed to contain his aura so as not to release it all at once. He fixed his gaze in the direction of the town and crouched into a starting position, like an athlete about to begin a race. But Li Yi did not plan to run.
With a direct leap, he intended to cross the distance in a single blink of an eye.
After performing a quick calculation, Li Yi propelled himself, releasing a fraction of power smaller than before. Even so, he streaked through the air like a cannonball toward the town. From the heights, he surveyed the scale of the conflict: a tide of cultivators and beasts locked in a deadly struggle.
"After securing the town, I'll have to go there and try to give my all. Perhaps I'll find an opportunity in the midst of the chaos," he thought.
However, he soon realized he had underestimated his own strength; he was on track to overshoot and land far beyond the settlement. At that moment, he knew he had used too much force and would land slightly past the town.
As he descended, he spotted a familiar figure at the edge of the forest: his sister, Shen Shinyu, fleeing desperately from a beast. Li Yi instantly recognized the Plains Fox, the one from whom he had snatched the spiritual herb.
Perplexed, he watched as his sister activated a magical object that launched a devastating attack, gravely wounding the fox. But the artifact shattered instantly, and the beast, enraged, climbed back to its feet. The fox understood the human no longer had any defenses, but before it could strike, a seismic impact shook the earth several dozen meters away, leaving a smoldering crater.
From the dust emerged a young man walking with a firm step. Catching the scent in the air, the fox recognized the aroma of the thief who had stolen its treasure; hatred clouded its judgment, ignoring the stifling aura that seemed to leak from the human's body, and it lunged with a claw attack that severed the trees in its path.
"Li Yi, run! It's too strong!" Shen Shinyu screamed, believing the impact had destroyed her brother's hiding spot and left him exposed.
But in a blink, a sonic boom occurred. Li Yi appeared in front of the beast and, with a backhand flick, made a casual gesture, as if brushing away a mere nuisance.
Absolute pressure accumulated in front of his palm. The fox tried to dodge, but space itself seemed to compress around it, anchoring it to the ground. Before Li Yi's hand even touched its fur, the compressed air was released all at once. The body of the Martial Realm beast disintegrated, scattering across the field as mere fertilizer.
Shen Shinyu stood stunned. What kind of power did her brother possess to pulverize a creature of that caliber with a single gesture? Even for elite students, defeating such a beast would be a life-or-death feat; for Li Yi, it was a one-second formality.
"Brother... when did you become so strong?" she asked, emerging from her stupor. In her mind, she remembered the Li Yi of a few days ago: wounded, humiliated, and with a shattered cultivation base. The man before her looked like a different deity altogether.
"Don't worry, sister. Now we must return to the town and ensure everyone is safe," he replied calmly.
Li Yi took her in his arms, wrapping her in a cocoon of spiritual energy, and leaped with precision toward the town borders. Shen Shinyu blushed as she felt her brother's protection while they "flew" through the sky—a sight she never thought she would witness.
As he landed at the town limits, Li Yi encountered the formation barrier. The guards from the inside shouted at him that they couldn't open it at the moment due to the siege. Li Yi didn't wait. He gripped his sister by the waist, intensified his aura, and stepped forward.
Upon contact, the two forces clashed, but the town's array was suppressed by the density of Li Yi's energy. With a fluid movement, he extended his hand and tore through the formation as if it were paper, ripping a rift through which both of them entered the interior of the town.