"Oh, you know me?" he asked with a squint, narrowing his eyes. The young man was somewhat curious about this; he rarely showed his face in public, so how could this person possibly know who he was?
"Hmph, could it be that Xuanjie Mountain intends to meddle in this as well? I wonder, Wang Qu, do you speak for Xuanjie Mountain, or is this entirely your own personal endeavor?" The old monk stared unblinkingly at Wang Qu, his piercing gaze seeming as though it wanted to see right through him.
"What business is it of yours? Since when do I, Wang Qu, need to report to you about what I choose to do? Who do you think you are?"
Stung by Wang Qu's sharp retort, the old monk's face flushed a mottled green and white as he glared venomously at the young man. Wang Qu's own strength was not exceptionally high—he was only at Tier 6 Peak as a Martial Artist—so what the old monk truly feared was Wang Qu's master, Daoist Qinghua. As the Grand Elder of Xuanjie Mountain and a Tier 8 Peak expert, Daoist Qinghua had virtually no rivals save for a few reclusive old monsters who rarely stepped out into the world. Naturally, the old monk felt an immense sense of dread; even the leader of the Wanfo Sect would show Daoist Qinghua a measure of respect.
Yet given the current situation, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and offend Xuanjie Mountain. If he failed, death awaited him upon his return—an ultimatum issued personally by the man pulling the strings behind the scenes, one that even the sect leader dared not defy.
Moreover, these two were hardly a match for him. He was a Tier 7 (Early Stage) practitioner, separated from them by a major boundary tier. Two Tier 6 martial artists could not possibly hope to block him.
Although both were at Tier 6, it was not as simple as one plus one equaling two. A single Tier 7 expert could easily take on dozens of Tier 6 Peak cultivators single-handedly—unless they were monstrous anomalies capable of fighting opponents above their rank. Unfortunately, while both Wu Jiahui and Wang Qu were top-tier geniuses, in the absence of true generational monsters, they were virtually invincible within their own rank.
"Fine, very well! Since you are courting death, this old monk will grant your wish and send the lot of you straight to hell, so you can have some company on the Yellow Springs road."
With that, the old monk lunged forward swiftly toward Wang Qu. Facing the renowned top genius of Xuanjie Mountain, even an old monk with Tier 7 Buddhist cultivation dared not be careless. Besides, Wu Jiahui was still standing right beside him. To kill me, he had to get past the two of them first; otherwise, the others could never defeat the five Fifth-tier Cultivators at his side, let alone kill him.
The old monk leaped into the air, grasping his broadsword with both hands, and brought it down in a vicious slash toward Wang Qu.
He had to finish this quickly and kill one of them first. Otherwise, once the two joined forces, even if they could not kill him, they would inflict immense pressure. If this dragged on until reinforcements arrived, he would undoubtedly be the one to die.
He was not a fool; he refused to believe that Wu Jiahui would take such a reckless gamble by bringing only two Tier 6 martial artists to assassinate him. There had to be someone else waiting in the wings, which meant he had to end this swiftly.
Wang Qu refused to show weakness. Spinning his spear into a dazzling display, his body bent at an unnatural angle to narrowly dodge the old monk's strike. Facing the full-strength blow of a Tier 7 Buddhist cultivator, Wang Qu wore a grave expression and dared not lower his guard.
The moment the old monk moved, Wu Jiahui sprang into action as well. The old monk's blade sliced through empty air, leaving him no time to recover before Wu Jiahui's desperate, all-out strike was already upon him.
The old monk raised his broadsword to forcefully deflect the incoming sword thrust, immediately following up with a slash directed at Wu Jiahui.
Alarmed, Wu Jiahui threw herself backward into a roll, narrowly evading the monk's fatal blade. Even so, the edge of the weapon managed to slice open her arm.
Wu Jiahui let out a muffled groan, retreating out of the old monk's attack range. Seizing the opportunity while the old monk was preoccupied with Wu Jiahui, Wang Qu tightened his grip on his spear, let out a sharp shout, and thrust the weapon forward at a fiendishly tricky angle.
Sensing the danger, the old monk scrambled to evade the spear in a panic. Before he could recover, Wu Jiahui re-entered the fray.
Having finally caught his breath, the old monk began to press the attack, driving Wu Jiahui and Wang Qu back step by step. Both of them soon bore numerous wounds on their bodies.
The reason he had been suppressed at the start was simply because he had wanted to finish things quickly by killing one before moving on to the other. He had not anticipated how seamlessly synchronized and fiercely tenacious the pair would be.
Killing them both would still require considerable effort. The situation elsewhere was no better; several of our men in black had already fallen, though the Wanfo Sect was faring poorly as well, having lost several casualties of their own.
On our side, Zhao Jingyou was fighting with the most ferocious momentum. Already six monks had fallen beneath his blade, including a Tier 5 Peak Buddhist cultivator who had not been spared. The sight sent a chill through everyone's hearts, and no one dared to challenge Zhao Jingyou again.
Without any Tier 6 cultivators remaining on the opposing side, no one was a match for Zhao Jingyou. Call it what you will, Zhao Jingyou was a rare talent; as the saying goes, when peers of monstrous caliber do not appear, who could possibly contend with him?
*Bang!* Wu Jiahui was the first to reach her limit, sent flying by a slash from the old monk. Fortunately, at the very last second, she managed to block the lethal edge with her longsword, or else she would have already perished.
Crash-landing on the ground, Wu Jiahui vomited a mouthful of dark blood, then forced herself back to her feet through sheer willpower.
With Wu Jiahui injured, Wang Qu's pressure multiplied instantly. Overwhelmed with anxiety, he blurted out:
"Senior Sister!"
"Junior Brother, don't get distracted!" Wu Jiahui warned.
Alas, it was already too late. In a momentary lapse of attention, Wang Qu was likewise slashed across by the old monk. Fortunately, his timely reflexes prevented him from meeting a gruesome end beneath the monk's blade.
I yelled out frantically, trying to draw the old monk's attention and buy the two of them a moment to breathe:
"Old baldy, if you've got any guts, come after me! What kind of honor is there in picking on women?"
The old monk smiled with a leering expression. "Don't rush, boy, you're next. Once I finish off these two, I'll come back and take that head of yours."
"Old baldy, keep dreaming! This young lady isn't dead yet. If you want to kill him, you'll have to step over my corpse first—otherwise, don't even dream of laying a finger on him! Zhao Jingyou, time's up. Take him away for me now, and the rest of you go with them. Head straight for the place I told you about."
"I'm not leaving! What are you going to do if I go?" I stubbornly protested.
Wu Jiahui offered a bitter, wretched smile. "Hurry up and go! We have a way out, don't stay here and drag us down."
Ignoring all my struggling, the men in black knocked me unconscious on the spot and hoisted me over a shoulder as they bolted. Several other black-clad operatives followed closely behind. Casting one lingering, reluctant look back at Wu Jiahui, Zhao Jingyou forced back two pursuing monks and broke into a fast run to catch up with the group.
The old monk had never expected Wu Jiahui to pull such a stunt. Without a moment's hesitation, he gave chase, but how could Wu Jiahui and Wang Qu allow him to have his way? Ignoring their wounds, they lunged forward to block his path.
Watching the figures fleeing further and further into the distance, anxiety gnawed at the old monk. Now trapped by the two once more, he had no choice but to drive them back before resuming the pursuit. With very few monks left in his retinue, trying to trap the pair was clearly unrealistic.
"Bastards, trying to block me? Go to hell!" Contorted with fury, the old monk lunged. The two of them instantly felt the chilling breath of death closing in and abandoned all thought of holding back their strength. Wu Jiahui unleashed three blinding sword Qi slashes that cut through the air with unstoppable momentum, closely followed by Wang Qu, whose spear moved so fast it left nothing but a blur of afterimages.
In an instant, Wu Jiahui's body went limp, and she nearly collapsed, forcing herself upright through sheer grit. The sword Qi technique consumed too much energy—which was precisely why she had saved it until the very end.
The old monk looked upon these attacks with utter disdain. Had they unleashed their ultimate techniques right at the start, he might have felt a measure of wariness, but both were now injured to varying degrees, their combat power severely depleted.
With a casual sweep of his hand, he easily shattered Wu Jiahui's sword Qi, immediately following up with five crescent blade beams aimed straight at her.
Faced with Wang Qu's desperate countermeasure, the old monk's expression remained unchanged. With a casual flick, he struck Wang Qu and sent him flying backward through the air, leaving a terrifying, bloody gash across his torso.
Wu Jiahui managed to shatter four of the blade beams in succession, but lamentably, she failed to block the final one and was once more severely battered, crashing helplessly to the ground.
Having incapacitated both of them, the old monk did not bother to finish them off, plunging forward without hesitation in pursuit of our escaping group.