Li Yi, or rather the previous "Li Yi," was quite fortunate among the multitude on the Martial Deity Continent. He was born into the legendary Wan Chao Li family. It was said that an ancestor of the Li family had once reached the level of a Martial Emperor, but preferring solitude over power, he left a decent legacy for his descendants and disappeared without a trace. The descendants of the Li family, leveraging the various techniques and skills left behind, established a powerful foothold in Wan Chao City.
The former "Li Yi" could have easily embarked on the path of a powerful warrior given his family background. However, Li Yi could tell from his memories that the previous Li Yi was nothing but a wastrel. He was utterly debauched, abusing his status to harm numerous innocent women.
One day, this playboy set his sights on the young mistress of another prominent family in Wan Chao City, the Mo family. He managed to lure her into a valley and drugged her. However, it seemed that the young mistress was a practitioner of Martial Energy. Even though drugged, she managed to land a heavy blow on "Li Yi" before collapsing. If Li Yi's guess was correct, that blow had killed the previous Li Yi, and by a twist of fate, he had taken over this identity.
But the deceased had left a huge mess for Li Yi to clean up...
As a former assassin, Li Yi was adept at staying rational under any circumstance. He sighed and accepted his new reality, even starting to think about how to survive in this world where strength reigned supreme. His only frustration was the weakness of his new body, vastly inferior to his former one, and the absence of the sophisticated tools he used to rely on. It seemed that the best course of action now was to assume the role of the previous "Li Yi" and try to cultivate this so-called Martial Energy.
Shaking his head, Li Yi slowly opened his eyes to an ancient, elegantly furnished room. Everything in the room was wooden but exquisitely crafted. In a corner, an incense burner was emitting a faint fragrance. Though soothing and mind-clearing, Li Yi noted the potential toxicity of such incense, which might explain the frailty of his current body.
The surroundings were quiet, likely due to the previous Li Yi's notoriety, leaving him undisturbed. But Li Yi preferred solitude. He stood up, feeling the weakness in his body, and couldn't help but smile bitterly. He extinguished the incense burner and just then, faint footsteps approached from outside the room.
Sensing the impending danger, Li Yi quickly lay back on the bed, feigning unconsciousness. Moments later, the door creaked open.
"Master Li Yi..."
The caller's voice, though respectful, couldn't hide the underlying murderous intent. Despite being accustomed to life-and-death situations, Li Yi felt an unprecedented sense of vulnerability. In his former life, he would have already dispatched any assailant before they could touch him. But in this world, there were no 'ifs.'
Li Yi only grumbled inwardly as he rolled off the bed and grabbed a chair to throw at the attacker. The assailant, clad in black with a masked face, laughed coldly as his sword shattered the chair with a surge of brilliant Martial Energy. Li Yi managed to stand, finally getting a good look at his attacker. The man in black, his sword gleaming and eyes filled with killing intent, laughed coldly and lunged again.
The sword, brimming with bright Martial Energy, was a clear sign of a Martial Warrior. In this world, being able to infuse Martial Energy into a weapon was the hallmark of a true warrior.
Li Yi, still new to this world, wasn't fully aware of how formidable a Warrior could be. However, recalling the battle between Li Yuan and Mo Qing in the small valley, he knew that a Warrior was not an opponent to be taken lightly. Fortunately, it seemed that the assassin was cautious about causing a disturbance and thus refrained from using powerful Martial Skills. Otherwise, even ten Li Yis wouldn't have been enough to escape unscathed.
What struck Li Yi the most was that the assassin, despite being a killer, lacked professionalism. In Li Yi's eyes, the assailant might have been strong, but he was certainly no expert. If it were an equal match, Li Yi was confident he could have taken the assassin down without the latter realizing it. Such clumsiness hardly qualified one as a true assassin.
As the assassin lunged again, Li Yi's calmness returned. He kicked a table in front of him to block the attack momentarily, then grabbed a nearby Zen incense burner and hurled it at the assassin's face. The assassin sneered, his sword bursting with Martial Energy. With two loud blasts, the table and incense burner were shattered into pieces, filling the room with dense dust and obscuring their vision.
Hearing people approaching from outside, the assassin, after several more sword strikes, which thankfully didn't hit Li Yi, had to stomp his foot in frustration and escape through the door.
After a while, the dust settled. Li Yi lay half on the bed, lamenting internally about the assassin's lack of professionalism. How could such an unskilled person be an assassin? They had even failed to consider that Li Yi might have returned to the bed in such chaos.
Soon after, several figures in black burst into the room. The first among them was Li Yuan, who looked around with a displeased expression. He noticed Li Yi's injuries and said somberly, "I failed to protect you, Young Master. Please punish me as you see fit."
Li Yi shook his head, acting in a manner befitting his current identity. He yelled, "What good are you all? How could you let someone just walk into our Li family's estate? If I had died, would you all have had to be buried alongside me? Go after him now! Don't come back unless you've killed him!"
A slight coldness seemed to flicker in Li Yuan's eyes, but he quickly nodded and ordered two of the black-clad men to escort Li Yi to the main hall, while the rest followed him out of the room.
Li Yi chuckled coldly to himself. He had noticed Li Yuan's expression – if the man hadn't known about the assassination attempt in advance, it would be a real surprise. Linking this to the previous incident in the valley, it seemed the life of the former Li Yi wasn't as easy as he had imagined. And the reason behind all this turmoil was likely due to his status as the heir apparent of the family.