With an earth-shaking boom, Mo Jingchen blocked an attack with his sword and retreated at full speed. Unexpectedly, Wu Yuan refrained from exploiting this opening. Instead, he remained where he was amidst the ruins.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Two streaks of light tore through the air, echoing throughout the grand hall.
“Stealth weapons!”
“Not good.” The countenances of the white-haired youth and purple-robed obese man underwent a drastic transformation. The throwing knives were so swift and vicious that even these two first-rate Adepts could only watch on helplessly, unable to intervene.
Clang~ A burst of sword light barely managed to strike one of the throwing knives, causing it to shatter and veer off to the side. It was Mo Jingchen! After his hasty retreat, he succeeded in intercepting one of the throwing knives.
In an instant, the scattered knife fragments, still containing more than 100,000 catties of force, sliced through a stout pillar and severed it into two. The entire grand hall began to tremble slightly. The other unobstructed throwing knife hurtled forth, covering dozens of meters in an instant.
Squelch~ It instantly penetrated Xu Shouyi’s cranium, splattering flesh and bone everywhere like a smashed watermelon.
Xu Shouyi was dead!
Everything happened too quickly. In that split second, Wu Yuan had unleashed the Thousand Mountains technique, forcing Mo Jingchen to retreat, then killed Xu Shouyi with a throwing knife.
“Hahaha! Senior Mo, pardon my intrusion,” Wu Yuan’s voice rang out, full of satisfaction after achieving revenge. “I bid you farewell.” He had no desire to linger now that his mission was accomplished.
Whoosh! With a leap, he dashed towards the doorway.
Though the fight with Mo Jingchen was exhilarating, Wu Yuan understood the unpredictable nature of life-and-death battles and had no desire to stay longer than necessary. Furthermore, even though their skirmish had lasted less than ten breaths’ time from the moment Wu Yuan entered the room until now, he could faintly hear the urgent cries of “assassin!” and “hurry!” coming from outside.
As Wu Yuan arrived at the central courtyard, he surveyed his surroundings. Numerous pinpricks of flickering flames were heading for the pavilion. It seemed the Southdream Army and the city guards had received the news and were rushing to the scene.
“Still too slow,” Wu Yuan smiled.
Pushing off the ground, he soared seven meters high, reaching the eaves on the second floor. In a few flashes, he quickly made his escape.
“Stop, thief!” A thunderous voice echoed through the air, “Leave the Chu-Jiang Token.”
Two phantom-like figures leaped from the ground onto the eaves, moving with equally incredible speed. They jumped over buildings and alleys as if strolling on flat ground, charging right for Wu Yuan. It was none other than Mo Jingchen and Lu Yuming! Despite Wu Yuan’s astounding strength, the death of Xu Shouyi, coupled with the likelihood that he had the Chu-Jiang Token, made them reluctant to give up.
“Senior Mo! I killed Xu Shouyi because of a grudge from fifteen years ago. I have no desire to make the Cloudstride Sect my enemy.” Wu Yuan’s cold voice echoed back, “But if you do not cease your pursuit, do not blame me for my discourtesy.”
These words were both a threat and a reflection of Wu Yuan’s sentiments. While he was hesitant to kill the Cloudstride Sect’s experts, he would not hesitate to do so if pushed into a corner.
Yet, Mo Jingchen and Lu Yuming turned a deaf ear to his warning.
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three formidable experts, one leading and two chasing, frantically sprinted through Li City at speeds of 60 to 70 meters per second. Putting all their focus on speed, they failed to control their strength well. 200,000 catties of force were exerted with each stomp, causing roofs to explode, walls to crumble, and debris to fly. This was the destructive power of martial arts experts. In many ancient texts and legends, a battle between Heavenly Rankers could easily destroy half a county city.
“The assassin is over there!”
“Kill him!”
“Give chase!”
Soldiers from the city guard and Southdream Army swarmed out from every district, converging on Wu Yuan’s location. Some armed themselves with powerful crossbows, others shooting arrows.
For any other first-rate Adept, this would be a somewhat troublesome situation. However, it posed no threat to Wu Yuan, who had achieved Environmental Mastery. With the grace of a butterfly, Wu Yuan effortlessly dodged each and every arrow, quickly escaping from the encirclement. The only threat worth his attention was the pair of experts pursuing him.
I can’t shake them off? Wu Yuan’s brows furrowed.
But soon, Wu Yuan understood why this was the case. While his superior martial skills allowed him to excel in close combat, speed was solely dependent on one’s physical constitution. Unfortunately, in terms of pure physical constitution, Wu Yuan fell short compared to Mo Jingchen and Lu Yuming. He was only able to maintain a distance between himself and them because the city’s complex environment affected their speed.
No rush! Once I get out of the city, I’ll use Ghostwalk and dive into the Southern Dragon River, that should be enough to shake them off. Wu Yuan came to a decision, deciding against using stealth weapons.
What would killing Mo Jingchen and Lu Yuming accomplish? Absolutely nothing.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The high-speed chase soon reached the southern region of the city, creating a commotion that swiftly roused the city’s inhabitants.
“There’s an epic battle going on!”
“It’s a duel between martial arts experts.”
“Such a ruckus?” Countless citizens were jolted awake.
“First-rate Adepts! It seems there are multiple first-rate Adepts.” A handful of Adepts instantly made accurate judgments. However, they could only observe, unable to interfere.
Not far now. Wu Yuan looked ahead at the towering walls of Li City. Just two more li and he could finally make his escape.
At that moment, several streaks of light shot toward Wu Yuan from a somewhat decrepit courtyard ahead. Stealth weapons!
Hmm? Wu Yuan’s expression turned frigid. His pace faltered slightly, and he slashed out with the Black Mountain Saber.
The clash of metal rang out as he deflected a throwing knife and nimbly avoided another. Such stealth weapons were not something an average expert could wield proficiently. Could there be a first-rate Adept present?
Just as this thought began to form in Wu Yuan’s mind, two figures burst out from the courtyard.
One of them was well-proportioned, clad in silver armor, and armed with a long spear. “Surrender the Chu-Jiang Token!” he bellowed.
With a swift and menacing whistle, his spear lunged straight for Wu Yuan’s skull.
Meanwhile, the other man, who was shorter and stouter, donned heavy armor and wielded a pair of massive iron hammers. Unleashing a devastating blow from the hammer, he roared, “Die!”
Their coordination was remarkably synchronized as they both charged at Wu Yuan simultaneously. Their intention was clear – to eliminate him on the spot.
“Chen Tangru and Wang Zhushan! They’re here in Li City too?” The shocked voice of Lu Yuming rang out from behind. He had recognized the two experts at a glance. They were Old Yuanhu’s two most trusted direct disciples, and also the strongest among them.
Under their master’s orders, they had come to Li City on a mission to locate the Chu-Jiang Token and had been staying in Li City for quite some time now. Initially, they had received news concerning Shadow Blade from the Starcom Consortium and planned to travel to Southdream City in the coming days to try their luck, but fate had other plans. By chance, they happened to come across Mo Jingchen and Lu Yuming pursuing Wu Yuan. The commotion was so loud that it caught their attention from afar.
Upon hearing Mo Jingchen’s cry and seeing Wu Yuan’s distinct silhouette and weapon, they immediately recognized him as Shadow Blade mentioned in the Starcom Consortium’s intel. This was the opening they had been waiting for and they couldn’t let it slip away. They made their decision at once: they would act, kill Wu Yuan, and seize the Chu-Jiang Token.
“Those who obstruct me shall die!” Killing intent flickered in Wu Yuan’s eyes. If surrounded, he would have to face the onslaught of four experts, putting him in immense danger. Any thoughts of mercy vanished from his mind.
Boom! Wu Yuan’s speed surged as he employed Ghostwalk. His saber flashed with blinding speed as he confronted Chen Tangru and Wang Zhushan head-on.