Chapter 169 [Bang~!]

"Boom!" "Boom~"
The car exploded, breaking apart into pieces of scrap metal even before hitting the ground, scattering all over the mountain road.

Swish! Swish! Swish!
In the air, the pursuing crowd rapidly descended, plunging into the mountain forest.

"Liu Jufen! You can't run!"
Han Zong's angry voice rang out once again, echoing across the sky and earth.

"Principal Liu, stop and hand over the *Introduction to True Qi*, and I can pretend none of this ever happened," Ma Shifeng's voice resonated through the woods.

"Principal Liu, what is the use of taking the *Introduction to True Qi*?"
Liang Yiqing's voice chimed in. "The other three ancient texts have all disappeared. What good is taking the *Introduction to True Qi*? Besides, it hasn't even been deciphered yet, and whether the map to the 'Mausoleum of King Qin' is truly hidden within the ancient text remains a complete unknown."

"Let it go, it's not too late to let go now," Gu Shiyang's voice echoed last through the forest.

Among the four Rank Four martial artists of Xuantian, except for the one left behind to guard Jiang City school, the other three had all pursued him.

However, facing the threats and persuasion, the fleeing Liu Jufen acted as if he heard nothing. He just kept his head down and sprinted, pushing his speed to the absolute limit, flashing like lightning through the forest.

Han Zong, Ma Shifeng, and the others pursued him—half in the low air, half on the ground.
Whether in the air or on the ground, they tightly locked onto Liu Jufen's figure.

Su Jingxing, trailing at the very back, maintained a slow and steady distance.
Suddenly, he saw several figures pursuing Han Zong and Ma Shifeng suddenly burst into a sprint, darting forward and disappearing from view.

When they reappeared, two figures had already blocked Liu Jufen's path ahead.

"Swish!" "Whoosh~"
Blade aura and hidden weapons erupted simultaneously, attacking Liu Jufen from above and below.

The sprinting Liu Jufen shifted his body, altering his direction to charge into the forest on the right.
Unexpectedly—

"Whoosh!" "Swish~"
From the forest on the right, frigid sword auras also flew out, crisscrossing into a net-like formation and rapidly closing in on Liu Jufen.

Not only that, but from the forest to Liu Jufen's left, a scorching wave of energy surged forth, cutting off his escape route.

Front, back, left, and right—all paths were blocked.
With no other choice, Liu Jufen soared into the sky.

"Boom~!"
A deafening explosion echoed through the air.

Han Zong, operating at full power with blazing true qi wrapped around his body like a deity of raging flames, plummeted from the sky, charging down to crush Liu Jufen.

"Ah, ah, ah!"

Liu Jufen, who had been running blindly with his head down, finally broke down and let out a roar of frustration.
True qi burst forth from around his body, instantly transforming into numerous palm prints carrying howling, freezing winds that fiercely struck upward and in all directions.

He was actually attempting to fight ten people all by himself!

"Boom, boom, boom~"
Dull, explosive impacts instantly resounded through the forest.

A terrifying shockwave swept across the sky and earth, leaving behind broken trees, shattered rocks, and flying dirt in its wake.
The violent kinetic energy, akin to a carpet-bombing of explosions, plowed a hundred-meter radius outward from the center.
Within this range, not a single large tree remained intact.

Located at the dead center, Liu Jufen bore the brunt of the force. However, he did not die; his face merely turned pale, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
He stood at the bottom of a crater, surrounded by swirling energy.
Azure-ice true qi covered his entire body, limiting his injuries to a manageable extent.

Swish, swish, swish~
Several figures descended from the air.
People also emerged from the forests ahead, behind, to the left, and to the right.
The group surrounded Liu Jufen tightly in the center.

"Principal Liu, can you stop now?" Liang Yiqing asked in a deep, solemn voice, his face grim.

"Liu Jufen, this is your last chance. Hand over the *Introduction to True Qi*!" Han Zong barked coldly.

"Principal Liu, why must you do this?" Ma Shifeng sighed. "You want the map, and we want it too. Wouldn't it be better if we all sat down and unraveled the secrets of the ancient texts together? Why insist on taking the *Introduction to True Qi* all by yourself?"

Liu Jufen said nothing, his face taut, madness flashing in his eyes.

"Liu Jufen, I asked you a question. Are you mute?" Han Zong snapped, his fiery temper getting the better of him.

"Principal Ma, there's no need to waste words with him. Let's just take him down," a Rank Four martial artist who had helped block the path said in a deep voice.

"This..."

"Hahaha..."
At this moment, Liu Jufen suddenly burst into laughter. "You want the *Introduction to True Qi*? Do you really think I would carry such an ancient text on my person?"

"What do you mean?" Han Zong's expression turned ugly.

"What do you mean? Didn't you already guess?" Liu Jufen sneered. "You've chased me all this way—did you ever stop to think that the *Introduction to True Qi* might already be far away, carried off by someone else?"

A decoy tactic?
The group surrounding Liu Jufen's expressions changed drastically.

Su Jingxing's heart also skipped a beat, but he quickly regained his composure. Carefully sensing what Liu Jufen had said, he realized that some of his words didn't ring entirely true.
In other words, it wasn't all the truth. Part of it was real, but another part had been concealed.

"Liu Jufen, do you think we're that easily fooled?"
A Rank Four martial artist shouted coldly, lunging straight at him without another word.

"Whether the *Introduction to True Qi* is on you or not, a search will tell!"

Boom, boom!
Palm prints materialized in the air, hurtling toward Liu Jufen.

Swish, swish, swish~
Seeing this, the others unleashed their ultimate techniques as well, launching a coordinated attack on Liu Jufen.

Protected by their own defensive true qi, they weren't afraid of accidentally destroying the *Introduction to True Qi* ancient text.
Of course, even if it were destroyed, it didn't matter.
Since two volumes were already missing and the third, *Introduction to Array Formations*, was nowhere to be found, whether Liu Jufen's copy of the *Introduction to True Qi* was intact no longer held much significance.
If it survived, great. But if it was lost or destroyed, they would accept their fate.

The "Mausoleum of King Qin" had been sitting there for hundreds of years, and no one had ever managed to enter. If they lacked the fortune to do so, it was no great loss either.
Therefore, when launching their attacks on Liu Jufen, no one held back.

Liu Jufen did not hold back his counterattacks either.
Sword auras, blade auras, palm prints, and fist imprints erupted and danced across the ruined battlefield, crashing and colliding with one another.
The surrounding ground, already littered with splintered wood, was plowed over and over again.
Countless clouds of dust danced wildly in the air.

Ma Shifeng, Han Zong, Liang Yiqing, and the others watched with tense focus, preparing to intervene at the last moment.
And who were they preparing to save?
Naturally, Liu Jufen!
This fellow couldn't be allowed to die just yet; until the *Introduction to True Qi* was located, he had to stay alive.
Though they didn't understand why Liu Jufen had taken the *Introduction to True Qi*, what was done was done, and being cornered by a mob now was entirely his own fault.
Had he cooperated and handed over the ancient text, none of this trouble would have happened.

Thinking thus, Ma Shifeng, Han Zong, and their companions didn't rush to strike, choosing instead to watch from the sidelines.

As a result—

"Bang~!"
An explosive blast suddenly erupted.

The cornered Liu Jufen abruptly unleashed his entire aura, and for reasons unknown, triggered a secret technique to detonate himself!