The Qinghai-Tibet Highway, on the edge of Qing Province, a half-ruined highway tavern.
Ye Ling stood outside the tavern, calmly gazing at its riddled facade, his eyes serene.
"It seems he still didn't heed my advice."
Ye Ling shook his head, pushed open the door, and was hit by a strong smell of blood.
Inside the tavern lay the corpses of numerous men in black, with sword marks everywhere. Wu Shuyi knelt in the center, a broken sword beside him.
A gaping hole was in his chest, his heart gone.
"This was a crushing defeat..."
Ye Ling scanned the interior. Though sword marks crisscrossed the surroundings, suggesting a fierce battle, they were merely the result of the sword energy unleashed by Wu Shuyi during his outburst.
Wu Shuyi had likely been killed by Bai Xiaosheng before he could even unleash a single move.
The men in black had only died from Wu Shuyi's berserk sword energy.
Walking up to Wu Shuyi, Ye Ling picked up the game token in front of him, his eyes narrowing slightly. "He even deliberately left a coin, trying to provoke me?"
A playful smile touched Ye Ling's lips, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "This Emperor would like to see what tricks you can play."
Ye Ling stood up and walked out of the tavern. Wu Shuyi's body ignited with black flames.
Soon, the entire tavern was engulfed in fire, and nothing remained.
Ye Ling stood at the intersection, stretching lazily, and looked up at the bright moon in the sky.
He had known from the start that Bai Xiaosheng would find Wu Shuyi after Wu Shuyi left.
Therefore, after settling Feng Ke and Ji Xue, Ye Ling immediately followed the mark he had placed on Wu Shuyi to this location.
If Wu Shuyi had attacked the moment Bai Xiaosheng appeared, he might have had a chance to survive.
Unfortunately, Wu Shuyi had been overconfident.
Regardless of the reason Wu Shuyi hesitated to attack immediately, his indecision was the fundamental cause of his death.
"Be more careful in your next life. It's not easy to cultivate to such a high realm."
Ye Ling toyed with the blood-stained game token in his hand, which then dissipated in the wind.
The mark he had placed on Wu Shuyi would also attach itself to anyone who had attacked Wu Shuyi.
In other words, he had already found Bai Xiaosheng.
...
Qing Province, Petroleum Town, an arcade.
It was late at night, and the entire town was dark, its residents fast asleep. However, this arcade was brightly lit, with the sounds of games constantly emanating from within.
Bai Xiaosheng sat in front of an arcade machine, engrossed in playing King of Fighters. A line of expressionless men in black stood behind him.
"You certainly have a good mood, sir."
At this moment, Ye Ling's voice echoed around them. The men in black's expressions changed drastically, and they quickly turned, drawing their pistols and aiming at Ye Ling.
Bai Xiaosheng, who was enthusiastically playing the game, paused for a moment. After his game character lost a small portion of its health to the computer, he continued to play.
"I'm quite surprised you could find your way here, sir..."
Bai Xiaosheng said to Ye Ling without looking back, while continuing to defeat the computer.
Ye Ling stood at the entrance of the arcade, smiling at the group of men in black aiming their guns at him, and stepped forward.
A man in black shouted sternly, "Stop!"
"Move aside if you don't want to die."
Bai Xiaosheng said. The men in black were taken aback but quickly reacted, lowering their guns and stepping aside.
"Thank you."
Ye Ling walked past the men in black, sat beside Bai Xiaosheng, and directly took the blood-stained game token from his pocket, inserting it into the machine. "King of Fighters '97... I used to be the king of the arcade in my childhood."
Bai Xiaosheng looked at Ye Ling. "Childhood? It seems you're not very old... I thought you, like me, considered these arcade games a novelty."
"Age is meaningless to me." Ye Ling entered the character selection screen, casually picked three characters, and began a match with Bai Xiaosheng.
Bai Xiaosheng chuckled. "It seems you take everything lightly, including your own life."
Ye Ling: "I cherish my life more than anyone."
"Oh? Then you mean to say you came prepared this time?"
Bai Xiaosheng said to Ye Ling while controlling his Mai Shiranui.
However, just ten seconds into the game, his character was hit by a combo from Ye Ling's Iori Yagami and was killed outright!
Looking at his defeated game character, Bai Xiaosheng's brow furrowed slightly.
"I wouldn't say I came prepared, but these games are indeed new to you. Shall I let you have a few moves?" Ye Ling smiled.
"No need, I still have two characters left."
Bai Xiaosheng's smile vanished, his expression turning serious. However, his second character, Kyo Kusanagi, was also effortlessly defeated by Ye Ling.
This game required not only skill but also reaction speed. Losing two matches in a row indicated that he was completely outmatched by Ye Ling in both experience and reaction.
The visitor was no ordinary person!
"It seems you are a formidable character... Why were there no rumors of you in the martial world before? You only rose to prominence in the last month or two."
"Perhaps it's because I've only recently returned. Otherwise, some ants wouldn't be able to hop around so merrily."
Ye Ling watched Bai Xiaosheng's final character, Iori Yagami, appear and said, "How about we make a deal?"
"What deal?"
"I'll spare your last life, and you tell me Ye Feng's whereabouts."
"Your tone is a bit too arrogant. Do you think my Hongchen Pavilion is easy to bully?" Bai Xiaosheng seriously controlled his character and attacked Ye Ling's Iori Yagami, but only managed to chip off a little health, not even breaking Ye Ling's guard.
"It seems you don't intend to make this deal with me." Ye Ling chuckled lightly, and his Iori Yagami began its offense, easily grabbing Bai Xiaosheng's character and finishing it off.
"This game is no fun!"
Bai Xiaosheng abruptly stood up and pulled the power plug of the arcade machine. The surrounding men in black raised their guns again, aiming at Ye Ling.
"It seems you're not much of a sportsman either, pulling the plug when you can't win?" Ye Ling ignored the men in black behind him, still smiling at Bai Xiaosheng, a hint of coldness in his eyes.
"Shall we switch to another game?" Bai Xiaosheng asked Ye Ling coldly.
Ye Ling chuckled. "You say."
Bai Xiaosheng glanced at the extremely weak black dragon cub on Ye Ling's shoulder, then turned and walked deeper into the arcade, retrieving a Bagua disk.
A Qimen formation spread from beneath his feet, instantly engulfing Ye Ling.
The black dragon cub, lying on Ye Ling's shoulder, was immediately snatched into the air by an unknown force.
Bai Xiaosheng drew the black dragon cub towards him and looked at Ye Ling. "Before the game begins, if you kneel and beg for mercy, I will give it an extra life. What do you think?"
Ye Ling smiled at Bai Xiaosheng, unfazed by the black dragon cub being snatched away.
"It seems you're tired of living."