I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

Chapter 660: Chapter 661: Snatching Away 7 People at Once
“`

“My inner strength is as vast as the sea of smoke, inexhaustible and unending. You are not enough to wear it down. Just come with me quietly, and you can avoid some unnecessary pain. At the very least, you can keep your dignity.”

Li Xiaobai said with a slight smile, maintaining a calm and collected demeanor.

He realized that having a lot of inner strength was truly wonderful. As long as you had enough inner strength, you wouldn’t even need to draw your sword; you could simply drown your opponent with it.

If he had known this earlier, why would he have bothered practicing sword techniques so strenuously? After all, the essence of Sword Intent is all about enlightenment and has nothing to do with one’s proficiency with a sword. It might have been better to spend more time harvesting leeks!

“Humph, sharp-tongued and eloquent for someone whose fur hasn’t even grown in fully yet!”

“I want to see just how long you can hold out!”

The lead government officer’s face turned angry, and he added a bit more force to his thrust, aiming at the protective inner strength around Li Xiaobai’s body. The others did the same, and for a time, the depletion of everyone’s inner strength accelerated.

However, for Li Xiaobai, these were merely tickles. Now, two-thirds of his Dantian was occupied by inner strength, and seven Essence Refining Realm martial artists couldn’t possibly deplete his inner strength, not even if they fought day and night.

Four breaths passed without incident.

Five breaths…

Six breaths…

The time it takes to drink a cup of tea…

Half the time it takes an incense stick to burn…

At this moment, the group finally started to sense that something was amiss. A quarter of an hour had passed, yet Li Xiaobai remained as comfortable as ever, his inner strength that resisted their weapons showing no sign of weakening.

On the contrary, the inner strength within their own Dantians was dwindling, nearing depletion.

What was going on?

Where did this demon head come from, to have such a vast amount of inner strength?

A sense of foreboding rose in their hearts. Could it be true as he said, that his inner strength was inexhaustible?

If that were the case, what was the point in continuing to fight?

“Boy, what exactly is your cultivation level?”

“How can you have so much inner strength in your body?”

Their expressions finally changed. Their inner strength was nearly exhausted, but this Li Xiaobai didn’t seem troubled at all and even had the energy to jest with them, showing no signs of inner strength depletion.

What was his Dantian made of?

How could it contain so much inner strength?

Forget about being in the Essence Refining Realm, even a cultivator in the Spirit Refining Realm wouldn’t have such an immense amount of inner strength. He had seen the masters of the main city and knew the strength of those at the Spirit Refining stage, which is marked by the ability to completely release inner strength from the body.

The more talented the individual, the more robust the inner strength they possessed, and the further they could extend it outward. But no matter how talented one is, the inner strength in their Dantian couldn’t possibly be as inexhaustible as the demon head before them, who seemingly had no end to his reserves, was able to oust the seven of them without breaking a sweat.

It was truly astonishing!

“I am the same as you, merely in the Essence Refining Realm.”

“I’ve already said that if you surrender, I can spare you the pain. Otherwise, you’re going to suffer.”

Li Xiaobai spoke indifferently. Competing in inner strength with the seven was causing him some distress, watching his vast inner strength vanish into thin air while being unable to absorb it, was quite uncomfortable.

If he could reach the Spirit Refining Realm and truly release his inner strength, or even achieve the initial phase of inner strength manifestation, then he wouldn’t have this problem. Even from a great distance, he could use his inner strength to absorb theirs, but all that was in the future.

“Nonsense, do you really think you can make us surrender that easily?”

“`

“You kidnapped my little brother, and I haven’t settled that score with you yet!”

“The authorities have already got a bead on your whereabouts, and they’ll soon send troops to surround and annihilate you. You can’t escape!”

“The rumors about you in the outside world are nothing but endless curses and boundless killing intent. Li Xiaobai, you probably don’t know that you’ve become a thorn in the side, a nail in the eye, of everyone in the martial world, do you?”

“It won’t be long before an endless stream of masters comes to take your head!”

The lead government officer shouted angrily, his form flickering before he rapidly retreated, with several leaps appearing a hundred meters away. The others did the same, escaping in all directions.

It seemed they were prepared to exhaust their last bit of inner strength to grasp at a sliver of a chance to live.

“How naive.”

Li Xiaobai chuckled softly, his figure instantly turning into afterimages, darting across the wilderness. Choosing such an open space was to easily net all the fleeing men in one fell swoop without much effort.

With the vast inner strength in his dantian, Li Xiaobai moved several times faster than the fleeing men, trailing afterimages as he closed in on the escaping officers. Without a second thought, he used the Spirit Realm Technique, sucking away the last bit of inner strength from their bodies, leaving nothing behind.

In a few breaths, Li Xiaobai dumped the limp bodies of the seven men on the ground, one after another, their hands bound tightly.

“How… how can you be so strong?”

“No wonder even the authorities want that cultivation technique. If it were in the hands of a master, unifying the martial world wouldn’t be a problem, would it?”

A look of terror flickered in the officers’ eyes.

“It’s thanks to your brother’s wholehearted assistance, you know. Speaking of which, I should thank him. Without his diligent daily practice, I wouldn’t have such rich nourishment,” said Li Xiaobai with a sinister smile. Yanking on the ropes in his hands, the officers lined up, one by one, dragged toward the deep mountains.

…

Half an hour later, in the forest, inside a certain cave.

Li Xiaobai brought seven figures into the cave.

“Xiao Qi, I’ve brought all your friends and family. With this, the atmosphere for cultivation should be much improved, right?” he announced.

“From now on, these people are under your care. Manage them well, and make sure the newbies learn some discipline.”

“Understood, my lord. Rest assured, I will complete the mission!”

Xiao Qi seemed very excited, and equally thrilled. He never imagined that after Li Xiaobai had left for a single trip, he would actually bring back his own older brothers!

But the thought that his brothers would soon become mere chives under someone else’s knife filled his heart with an unexplained sadness.

If he knew that Li Xiaobai had used him as bait to lure his brothers into a trap, he would probably be even more heartbroken.

“Xiao Qi!”

Seeing their past buddy was alive brought genuine joy from the depths of their hearts.

However, upon clearly seeing the scene inside the cave, all of them were stunned. There were three people inside the cave, currently engrossed in cultivation with red, bloodshot eyes.

The normally jovial Xiao Qi now had an extremely gaunt face, looking spiritless and severely lacking in vitality.

“Xiao Qi, what happened to you?”

“In just a few days, how did you end up in such a state?”

“And why are you all cultivating non-stop?”