The Eternal Way-Chapter 120: Resistance

"Is the captain out?" a person dressed in black combat gear asked.

"Yes, we need to retreat quickly. The captain is already intercepting them. He's an Alpha-type modified human, and ordinary 'Immortals' aren't his match, but we can't afford to be a burden," another woman in black combat gear said as she jumped into an off-road vehicle and started the engine.

The group, about seven or eight strong, men and women alike, each agile and skilled, swiftly dismantled the original artillery setup, loaded everything back into the vehicles, and sped away.

"Qing, these Immortals seem different this time. Our cannon fire didn't cause any harm; they all dodged or blocked it," someone with binoculars observed the battlefield nearby.

"In the intelligence we received from above, among the Immortals who came this time, there are two 'Young Masters.' Could it be that we've run into one of the Young Masters?" another speculated.

"I don't know what a Young Master is, but judging by the captain's situation, it seems... oh no, the captain is in danger! She's at a disadvantage!" the observer exclaimed in alarm.

"Turn around! We need to save the captain!" another figure, seemingly in charge, ordered.

Three off-road jeeps immediately turned around and headed straight towards Li Qi and Bai Di.

At this moment, Li Qi and Bai Di were jointly attacking the 'captain.'

However, Bai Di seemed somewhat hesitant.

Mainly because it was a woman, and Bai Di, with his gentlemanly demeanor, found it difficult to strike hard.

As for Li Qi, he had no such qualms. He didn't care about the opponent's gender; if they wanted to kill him, he would retaliate in kind.

And now was no exception.

Besides, honestly speaking, just looking at her appearance, it was really hard to see her as a woman.

Her entire body was covered in scars, as if she had undergone countless surgeries. Her muscles bulged, standing almost two and a half meters tall, resembling a humanoid tyrannosaurus rex. She was hairless, bald, without eyebrows, her skin appearing grafted on, losing its ability to grow hair.

Apart from still having breasts, which indicated her gender, she had no other feminine features.

In fact, even the characteristics of being 'human' were scarce.

For example, she had enormous canine teeth, far from what a human should have. Her ferocious muscles and vertical pupils made her look more like a raging lioness.

"Young Master, she seems to lack internal energy; she's fighting purely on physical strength..." Bai Di suddenly remarked.

As he spoke, he easily twisted the lioness's punch and used the spine of his sword to strike her knee.

With a bang, the woman was forced to kneel, scraping a trench into the ground.

If Bai Di wanted to, he could have severed her leg with that single strike.

Although the lioness could keep up with their speed and engage them in battle, facing Bai Di, who was only a step away from the eighth rank, she was outmatched.

"I know, so can we finish this quickly?" Li Qi sighed. "Someone's coming over there."

Saying this, he unleashed his Carp Stream Intent, punching the lioness squarely.

The force of tens of thousands of pounds sent her flying, the sound of bones cracking audible.

"I'll handle that side," Bai Di said, his body moving forward gracefully toward the approaching jeeps.

But at this moment, the lioness, who had been knocked down by Li Qi's punch, struggled to her feet despite her bleeding injuries and charged at Bai Di!

"They must have a strong bond; even in such dire straits, they want to rescue each other," Li Qi thought upon seeing this.

He immediately acted on it, rushing forward.

Though Li Qi's own fighting style was also quite poor, relying mostly on timing and progress bars, the lioness's technique was even worse.

It was basically brute force, lacking internal energy, making her increase her size to enhance her strength, resulting in her towering two and a half meters tall with muscles as large as basketballs.

Given the same speed and power output, a larger volume meant greater clumsiness.

Additionally, with both of them attacking, even though Bai Di held back, she was severely injured.

Li Qi went in, delivering two consecutive punches, intending to capture her alive.

However—

"Roar!" The lioness roared, her already formidable physical abilities reaching their limit. This was true extremity, completely disregarding self-damage, allowing her muscles and bones to bear supercharged forces, tearing and breaking apart as she threw a straight punch at Li Qi.

Continuous forward motion, devoid of any distinctive features—this might be the most monotonous form of attack, requiring no technique or tricks, something even a beginner could execute, simply releasing energy straightforwardly.

One force overwhelms ten techniques, indeed.

Unfortunately, when the disparity in strength isn't drastic, skill becomes useful.

Li Qi caught the punch, twisting his body like water.

Carp Stream Intent excelled in navigating against currents, adept at neutralizing direct force.

This lioness was too weak.

She merely reached the ninth rank level, but without internal energy or technique, she was absurdly weak.

After twisting, he locked her arm joint, unleashing Carp Stream Intent to snap it.

With a crack, her entire arm twisted backward.

Then, with a kick to her abdomen and a hand pressing down on her head, he slammed her into the ground.

The ground cracked, trembling incessantly.

Now, Li Qi was considered quite strong within the ninth rank, and up until now, he hadn't used any of Zhu Ren's powers, keeping them as his trump card.

Seeing this from afar, the jeeps immediately turned around.

"Run! Run quickly! Even the captain couldn't handle them; we must have encountered the Young Masters!" someone shouted.

"What do we do? Shouldn't we save the captain!?" another man clenched his fists, knuckles white.

"How long could you hold off the captain? If she couldn't withstand it, going to save her means sacrificing everyone here. Have you forgotten why we gathered together?!"

"The Immortals control our world. To liberate it, we must preserve our forces, sacrificing where necessary," another authoritative voice made the final decision.

With the leader speaking, the others didn't argue, quickly turning the vehicles around.

However, it was too late.

Bai Di's speed far exceeded the jeeps.

Seeing this, the previously authoritative man frowned, "I'll go back to intercept him. You guys run, don't come to save us."

Others wanted to say something, but he sternly commanded, "This is an order!"

With that, he jumped out of the window, rolling nimbly on the ground, pulling out a grenade launcher and firing at Bai Di.

Bai Di had to dodge backward.

At this moment, the advantage of firearms became evident. Since the energy was stored within the weapon itself, it required no personal effort, merely pulling the trigger to unleash immense destructive power.

Much like pre-made talismans.

The grenade blast forced Bai Di to retreat.

The man in black combat gear immediately reloaded.

Clearly, he wasn't ordinary either, stabilizing himself instantly after jumping from a speeding vehicle without even flinching.

Bai Di frowned, weaving snake-like to avoid being targeted.

A grenade launcher could only fire one shot before reloading, and the opponent was merely unranked, making him easier to deal with.

However, it needed to be done quickly, then pursue the others.

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Just then, Li Qi's voice came from behind, "No need to chase them. Let them go; capturing these two is enough."

"Yes, Young Master," Bai Di nodded.

Young Master!

Indeed, it was the 'Young Master!'

The man felt a tightening in his chest; they had indeed encountered formidable opponents!

He saw the man in flowing white robes stop.

Was he planning to capture him alive?

Impossible!

He...

Was...

Before he could complete his thought, he felt a daze.

Stars danced before his eyes, his mind blank.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself restrained, hands and feet bound, weapons removed, dragged along by the white-robed man, leaving a trail behind.

"What... What was that?" he asked in terrified confusion.

Unexpectedly, the white-robed man replied.

Serious, he explained, "A curse technique from Wu Dao. It doesn't work well on groups and requires preparation, but it's effective against individuals."

"Wu Dao... what's that?"

"It's complicated to explain in a short time. Don't ask; let's see how Young Master deals with you." The white-robed man shook his head, finding it cumbersome to explain.

Only Li Qi understood.

As the nephew of the governor of White Snake State, his future path naturally led to Wu Dao, with martial arts as a secondary focus.

However, the entry barrier for Wu Dao was exceedingly high, so despite nearing the eighth rank in martial arts, he hadn't achieved a rank in witchcraft.

Thus, he genuinely admired Li Qi's talent.

"Young Master, I brought him back," Bai Di dragged the man to Li Qi.

"Good, thank you. Go call Miss Shen for me!" Li Qi gritted his teeth in reply.

He was using all his strength to pin the massive, two-and-a-half-meter-tall woman to the ground.

Despite her severe injuries, she continued struggling, forcing Li Qi to maintain his grip.

"I'll call Miss Shen," Bai Di immediately offered.

Binding was better handled by Daoist techniques.

Soon, one man and one woman—barely recognizable as female—were restrained.

In the desert, beside the wrecked convoy,

"You two weren't supposed to bring everyone back? Just these two won't do much," Shen Shuibei inscribed talismans while asking the two men behind her.

Her talismans glowed blue, fine threads wrapping around the lioness and the man in black combat gear, immobilizing them.

"Young Master said these two are enough; no need to chase the others," Bai Di honestly replied.

Li Qi smiled, "Right, these two are enough."

Then, Li Qi looked at the cautious, shrinking man in ancient robes, the one who had greeted them, "How do you address yourself?"

"S-Small one, Zhang Deming. Please just call my name, Young Master," the man responded fearfully.

"Alright, Brother Zhang, you should know who these people are, right? Tell me about them?" Li Qi smiled.

"No hiding from Young Master, these people are rebels, committing violent acts under evil intentions, disrupting public order, sabotaging production, often leaving civilians destitute. They're heinous criminals," Zhang Deming pointed at the lioness.

"And they kidnap children, brainwash and modify them. Look at her; does she even look human anymore? Not a patch of good skin left!"

But the man in black combat gear loudly refuted, "Nonsense! It's you who grovel and surrender this world to those Immortals, letting them plunder freely!"

The lioness pulled him, signaling him to stop, and he reluctantly did so, still fuming.

Bai Di was puzzled; what was Young Master planning?

Li Qi, however, was intrigued, "You are resistance fighters? Who commands your resistance?"

Neither the lioness nor the man in black combat gear spoke.

"I've been suspicious since hearing about the journey. According to the descriptions, the Great Deer Kingdom and these industrial companies have absolute control over this world, from education to knowledge channels."

"How could anyone develop a resistance organization unless some of the company's upper echelons harbor rebellious thoughts? Only they could cultivate such individuals. Look, she has ninth-rank combat power," Li Qi pointed at the lioness.

"Young Master! Our company has no rebellious thoughts whatsoever!" Zhang Deming panicked, kneeling and bowing repeatedly, defending himself.

"I know, and I believe you have no rebellious thoughts. This world can only produce eighth-rank experts, indicating backing from stronger entities. A world limited to eighth-rank experts, continuously mined, wouldn't harbor rebellious thoughts. As someone familiar with experts, I know they can easily discern thoughts with a glance."

"Why would there be a resistance organization under such circumstances? Aren't you curious?" Li Qi asked those around him.

Bai Di pondered, his thoughts tangled like a ball of yarn, unable to unravel them.

Shen Shuibei quickly interjected, "Li Qi, stop teasing. Tell us directly. What did the Grand Diviner give you?"

She was fifth rank, knowing many things, thus guessing the answer.

At this moment, Li Qi smiled, "Yes, I sensed it."

"The four strands of divine energy Teacher bestowed upon me—Sun, Moon, Star, and Sky—all trembled mysteriously when facing them."

"Sun, Moon, Stars, and Sky energies vibrating? Does that mean this world is doomed?" Shen Shuibei was shocked.

"Yes, I felt it. This world's Heavenly Dao is in pain, its blood being drained, its flesh gnawed. This world is crying out in agony, heading towards death, yet its nurtured children aid outsiders in plundering its remaining essence," Li Qi stated firmly.