Volume One: Youth Enters the World Chapter Thirty-Nine: Counterattack

At this moment, Qi Liang saw Fang Tian escaping with Zhou Yunshu and instantly sensed that things had taken a turn for the worse. If they managed to get away and uncover the truth of what had transpired tonight, the consequences would be dire for him. He might be punished or blamed by the City Lord. If the City Lord became enraged, he might even lose his life. He could not allow them to survive.

Without further hesitation, Qi Liang moved swiftly, giving chase.

Fang Tian glanced behind him and saw that the man in black was in pursuit. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued dashing toward the Spirit Pool with Zhou Yunshu. If the man hadn’t followed them, Fang Tian had planned to risk exposing the secret of the Heaven’s Bane Sword to go back and save Zhou Xiaodie and Zhou Quan.

Luckily, as he had anticipated, the man in black ignored the others and chased after him instead. But as the distance between them closed, Fang Tian grew anxious. With Zhou Yunshu devoid of spiritual power, Fang Tian had to carry him on his back, which slowed him down considerably—especially since the man in black was of a higher cultivation level.

After a while, Fang Tian took a deep breath and gathered all his remaining spiritual power into his legs. With a light tap on the ground, he pushed his speed to the utmost limit, widening the gap once more.

Behind him, Qi Liang noticed Fang Tian’s sudden burst of speed and frowned. He circulated his spiritual energy and hurried to keep up. As the two chased through the night, several other figures joined the pursuit behind Qi Liang. He looked back and smiled knowingly, recognizing who they were. With these reinforcements, he could eliminate Fang Tian and Zhou Yunshu without risk.

At the Spirit Pool, Fang Tian finally set Zhou Yunshu down after their frantic escape. He had deliberately taken a roundabout route through a grove, weaving in and out among the trees to buy himself time, disappearing and reappearing, circling several times before heading here once the man in black was distracted. This maneuver had bought him a precious few moments to inscribe the spirit array.

Yet he faced a daunting problem: how to complete the array in such a short time. Drawing such a formation was a meticulous task, and the time he’d gained was far from sufficient. He needed a way to inscribe it even faster.

Once the man in black realized he’d been fooled, his trick would be exposed, and the man would surely follow their trail here.

Fang Tian sighed. He had no choice but to take things one step at a time and start laying out the array. He walked toward the Spirit Pool.

Meanwhile, the guards who had been lazily dozing off were startled awake by the commotion. In shock, they stared at Fang Tian approaching in the dead of night. Instantly alert, they blocked his path.

One of them, recognizing Fang Tian after a moment’s thought, called out, "You again, boy? Did you lose your way in the middle of the night?"

Fang Tian ignored him and continued toward the pool. The guard, annoyed by the lack of response, reached out to stop him.

"Didn’t you hear me?"

In his urgency to finish the array, Fang Tian could not afford any delays. Irritated by their interference, he unleashed a surge of spiritual power, sending the guard stumbling backward.

"Don’t get in my way, or I won’t be so polite," he warned.

The guard, stunned by the sudden force, had no idea what was happening, nor did the others. They all stared at Fang Tian, dumbfounded.

While the guards stood frozen, Zhou Yunshu approached and said, "You should all leave now. If you stay here any longer, you may lose your lives."

One of the Zhou family guards, upon seeing Zhou Yunshu and hearing his warning, was bewildered. "Patriarch, why are you here? And what about that young man?"

The other guards, sent by the two great families, also spoke up. "Patriarch Zhou, has something happened? Why are you the only one here? Where is our patriarch?"

"There’s been a change," Zhou Yunshu replied. "No more questions. Just go. Do you understand?"

Though filled with confusion, the guards dared not argue after Zhou Yunshu’s stern command. They decided to find out more once they returned to their clans. Judging by Zhou Yunshu’s demeanor, something serious must have happened for him to urge them to leave.

With lingering doubts, the guards bowed to Zhou Yunshu and departed.

Once they were gone, Zhou Yunshu walked to Fang Tian and saw him inscribing something around the pool. After watching for a moment, his face filled with disbelief.

"Xiao Tian, are you drawing a spirit array?"

"Yes," Fang Tian replied. "I’ll use this array to deal with the man in black."

A spirit array! Not only did Fang Tian possess spiritual power, but he was also proficient in formation techniques. Zhou Yunshu had never imagined that someone so young could have such skills. He had heard of spirit arrays, though never seen one himself. If Fang Tian could draw arrays, perhaps he could inscribe runic patterns as well—was it possible that this young man was already a rune master?

Astonished, Zhou Yunshu wisely chose not to disturb Fang Tian further. He stood quietly to the side, watching in silence.

Stroke by stroke, Fang Tian continued the painstaking process of drawing the array, sweat beading on his forehead, exhaustion etched into his face as his soul force rapidly depleted. Though this formation was similar to the one interrupted previously, circumstances now were far more dire; his life was on the line.

Last time, he had been able to proceed slowly and preserve his strength, but now he had to race against time, pouring all his soul power into accelerating his work. The fatigue on his face deepened.

Soon, the sounds of pursuit grew near the valley. Fang Tian sensed the man in black’s approach, but he was so close to completion that to stop now would mean all his effort was wasted. Steeling his resolve, he worked even faster.

Elsewhere, Qi Liang realized he had been led in circles and hurried to pick up Fang Tian’s trail, which led him to the valley. He could sense Fang Tian’s presence within.

A cold smile played on Qi Liang’s lips. After all this effort and all these tricks, Fang Tian had cornered himself in a place with no escape. Wasn’t this courting his own doom? Qi Liang advanced into the valley, curious to see what Fang Tian planned to do.

At the Spirit Pool, Fang Tian finally completed the last line of the array. He rose slowly, gazing at the formation encircling the pool. Spiritual energy pulsed along the lines, casting a faint blue-green glow. The array began to circulate, but did not display any power. After a few breaths, the glow faded and the array fell still, as if the inscription had failed.

But Fang Tian was unruffled—this was his plan. He was waiting for the man in black to come closer before activating the array. If one looked carefully, a trace of spiritual energy remained within the formation, just enough to keep it ready. Unless examined closely, it would go unnoticed.

Once Fang Tian guided the pool’s water into the array, it would activate instantly, catching the man in black off guard, leaving no chance to escape.

Now, all that remained was to wait for their arrival.