Kill!

Kill!

"Leave no one alive—kill them all!"

Hundred-household Ye Baili drew his saber and hacked a bandit to death, roaring his order.

Bai Yan gripped his Spring Embroidered Saber and galloped wildly forward.

The Spring Embroidered Saber tore through the sky, sending heads flying one after another.

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight bandits had died beneath Bai Yan's blade.

"Was he actually this strong all along?"

"That's at least the strength of a First-rate Martial Artist!"

Ren Hong and Li Kaiyao were utterly stunned by the way Bai Yan was slaughtering his way through the enemy.

They had been dissatisfied with Bai Yan precisely because he was young and they assumed his strength was poor.

They had never expected Bai Yan to already possess the strength of a First-rate Martial Artist—and his saber techniques were even faster and fiercer than theirs.

At that moment, the two of them were completely convinced.

Everyone knew how to read the wind.

Bai Yan was only eighteen, yet his strength already surpassed theirs. It was easy to imagine how far he could go in the future.

This was a massive thigh. If they did not hug it now, they might never get the chance again.

"Brigade Leader, be careful! I'll help you!"

"I'll help too!"

Ren Hong and Li Kaiyao exchanged a glance before charging toward Bai Yan at the same time.

Nearby, Ye Zhiji was so enraged that he gnashed his teeth.

This damned little bastard actually has the strength of a First-rate Martial Artist!

How did things turn out like this?!

Ye Zhiji was furious, his teeth grinding loudly.

Just as both sides were locked in the heat of battle, a burly man broke through with several bandits clustered around him.

He wielded a Nine-Ring Steel Saber that appeared to weigh thirty or forty jin.

The big man swung the saber with the force of a tiger and wind, sending sprays of blood flying.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen Imperial Guard warriors had died beneath his saber. Not one had been able to withstand a single move.

"Since you've come today, don't even think about leaving alive!"

The big man roared before leaping into the air and bringing down a Forcefully Split Mount Hua.

The saber's momentum was as mighty as a mountain. True Essence exploded outward, forming a howling Blade Qi that tore through the air.

Several Imperial Guard warriors had no time to react before the Blade Qi swept past them. Their bodies burst apart on the spot, blood and flesh flying everywhere.

This was the external release of True Essence—something only an Innate Master, at the very least, could accomplish.

The newcomer's identity was already obvious. He was none other than Black Wind Stronghold's chieftain, Liu Hu.

"Liu Hu, today you will die without a doubt!"

When Hundred-household Ye Baili saw Liu Hu appear, he leaped from his horse and flew toward him, gripping his saber with both hands as he hacked at Liu Hu's head.

Liu Hu raised his saber to block. A clang rang out.

The two sabers collided, sparks flying in all directions as a powerful burst of force spread outward.

Ye Baili was also an Innate Master. He and Liu Hu traded blows, clashing more than a dozen times in the blink of an eye.

"The Imperial Guard has already laid a Heavenly Net. You have nowhere to run, so surrender obediently!"

Ye Baili attacked while using his words to disrupt Liu Hu's state of mind.

Liu Hu gave a ferocious laugh before using Sweep Through a Thousand Armies to send Ye Baili flying. He threw back his head and roared with laughter.

"A Heavenly Net? Watch me hack your net to pieces with one stroke!"

"You're a hundred-household too, aren't you?"

"Last time, I split a hundred-household in half with one stroke. I hope you can last a few more moves!"

The moment he finished speaking, Liu Hu's saber grew suddenly faster.

With a series of linked attacks that both deflected and struck, he forced Ye Baili back again and again.

Liu Hu's saber techniques were powerful and imposing, and each stroke of the thirty- or forty-jin Nine-Ring Steel Saber contained immense force.

In a head-on clash of strength, Ye Baili was completely outmatched.

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Ye Baili immediately changed tactics.

Ye Baili's foot slid, and his entire body instantly retreated three zhang. After dodging Liu Hu's attack, he whipped his saber back in a diagonal sweep.

The stroke came both fast and fierce. Caught off guard, Liu Hu's chest was torn open by the Blade Qi, a gaping wound splitting across it as blood gushed forth.

Ye Baili pressed his advantage without mercy. He advanced with his saber and struck three times in rapid succession, each stroke locking onto a vital point.

Bladelight flashed, and force erupted.

Liu Hu was sent flying by a single stroke.

"These bastards!"

Liu Hu cursed through clenched teeth. In midair, he forcibly gathered his inner power, steadied himself, turned over, and landed.

The instant he touched down, he did not hesitate. He pushed off with his foot and fled toward the rear mountains behind the village.

"Bai Yan, bring your men and pursue him!"

Hearing Ye Baili's shout, Bai Yan's eyes turned cold. He likewise used his Lightness Skill and chased after Liu Hu.

At the same time, Ren Hong, Li Kaiyao, and Ye Zhiji followed close behind.

Watching Bai Yan's back, a cold smile curled at the corners of Ye Zhiji's lips.

This was precisely what he and Ye Baili had planned beforehand: eliminate Bai Yan during this mission, then let him take Bai Yan's position afterward.

Pursuing Liu Hu, they arrived at a bamboo forest.

Behind the bamboo forest stood a bottomless cliff.

"Liu Hu, you have nowhere left to run. Surrender!"

Ye Baili shouted furiously.

Liu Hu clutched his chest and pointed his saber straight at Ye Baili with a ferocious smile. "Anyone who isn't afraid of death, come on up. Even if I die, I can still drag a few of you down with me."

"Hmph! You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!"

Ye Baili snorted coldly and ordered:

"Bai Yan, this beast is gravely wounded and has less than thirty percent of his strength at his peak."

"Go kill him. It will count as your first great achievement after joining the Imperial Guard."

Killing with a borrowed blade!

The chill in Bai Yan's eyes deepened.

If he refused, it would be disobeying an order in the middle of battle. As a hundred-household, Ye Baili had the authority to execute Bai Yan on the spot.

If Bai Yan still possessed only the strength of a Third-rate Martial Artist as before, encountering the heavily wounded Liu Hu would still mean certain death.

Even a tiger would make a final counterattack when cornered, let alone an Innate Master like Liu Hu.

But things were different now.

Whoosh!

Bai Yan vanished from where he stood. A fading afterimage slowly dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At that moment, Bai Yan displayed a speed at least ten times faster than either Ye Baili or Liu Hu.

"What?"

Ye Baili's expression changed drastically.

Just then, a palm landed against his chest.

The palm appeared utterly ordinary, soft and powerless.

Yet that seemingly feeble palm erupted with terrifying palm force.

With one palm strike, not even his corpse remained!

Vast inner power pierced through Ye Baili's body and blasted him into a cloud of blood on the spot.

Before the others could react, Bai Yan's figure blurred, and he had already appeared behind Liu Hu.

A streak of cold light flashed.

Bai Yan's right hand was holding a head.

Fresh blood dripped slowly, staining the bamboo leaves on the ground red.

Liu Hu's eyes were still open, but he felt as if he had grown shorter. Everything around him seemed to have grown so tall.

In the final moment before his consciousness faded, he saw his own headless corpse.

Thud!

Liu Hu's corpse crashed to the ground, finally jolting Ren Hong and the other two awake.

The three of them stared wide-eyed before dropping onto the ground in terror.

Ye Zhiji was the worst of them all. Sweat poured from his entire body, his courage and soul shattered, and a large patch of his trousers was soaked.

"Bai Yan... you... you... you actually killed Hundred-household Ye!"

"How dare you! You're finished! You're dead!"

"The Imperial Guard won't let you off!"

Ye Zhiji screamed himself hoarse as he cursed wildly, looking completely deranged.

"I'll give the two of you a chance to live."

Bai Yan looked at Ren Hong and Li Kaiyao, his voice cold.

"Kill Ye Zhiji, and you'll live."

"You have three breaths."

Hearing this, Ye Zhiji immediately begged for mercy. "Don't... I..."

Pfft!!

Before Ye Zhiji could finish, two Spring Embroidered Sabers had already pierced through his chest.

Ren Hong and Li Kaiyao did not hesitate in the slightest. They struck to kill.

They both understood that this was their only chance to survive.

Killing a fellow officer was a capital crime. If the Imperial Guard discovered it, not only would they die, their families would also be implicated and exiled.

But if they offended Bai Yan, the two of them would not survive either—and they would die immediately.

The former still offered a chance to hide the truth from Heaven and cross the sea. The latter meant certain death.

The choice was crystal clear.