A Notorious Name 4

A blade at his waist shot straight at the other man's magic artifact. After slicing a gash into it, it curved back down and lunged for his head.

The second dagger, strapped to his back, had gone unseen.

In truth, when he swung the first dagger, he had simultaneously controlled the second, sending it skimming along the ground. Concealed by the night and moving swiftly without a sound, it quickly lurked behind the spot where his opponent would land.

Then, as his opponent was enraged by the damage to his magic artifact and happened to touch down, the second dagger pierced through his chest.

Immediately afterward, the first dagger completed the fatal decapitation.

For cultivators, a destroyed heart and a hole through the chest would not kill them at once. They could still make a desperate final stand, even detonate their magic artifacts.

Han Yi was not foolish enough to give his opponent a chance to act.

Only an enemy with his head cut off was a good enemy.

The two daggers completed the decapitation.

The third dagger, strapped to his trouser leg, had already begun to tremble and was about to be activated, but it settled in an instant.

His opponent's head had already been severed. There was no need for the third dagger to move.

"Low-grade Magic Artifacts are still lacking somewhat in material quality."

Of the two daggers floating before him, one had a small crack in its blade. This was the first dagger, the one that had just cut through the opponent's strange long banner.

Even though a Low-grade Magic Artifact had merely brushed past a Mid-grade Magic Artifact rather than clashing head-on, it had still been damaged. This showed just how important a magic artifact's grade was.

Of course, in such a dangerous situation, Han Yi could only set that thought aside for now.

That was something to consider only if he survived.

He hid the daggers back at his waist and behind his back, then quickly rushed forward. He stored the Blood-colored Long Banner that had fallen to the ground into his storage bag, removed the storage bag from the headless corpse, and was about to determine his bearings and flee this place to find somewhere else to hide.

Suddenly, a figure crashed through the mostly collapsed wall, rolled more than a dozen times, and came to a stop over ten meters from Han Yi.

Han Yi was startled.

To be continued.

Then.

Three more figures charged in from outside.

Seeing someone still standing, the three were startled. But when they saw Han Yi's clothes, their expressions eased.

"Han Yi?"

"Junior Brother Han, why are you here?"

"Quick, escape with us!"

Han Yi's expression changed slightly.

Han Yi did not recognize the first person, who had crashed through the wall and rolled in, his life or death unknown. But he wore the robes of a Mystic Pill Sect inner disciple, so he was presumably from another team.

However, Han Yi recognized the three who had rushed in afterward.

Two of them were at Qi Refining Layer 7. One clutched his chest, injured. It was Cui Xingchen, who had been struck by the Golden Light Shuttle.

Han Yi gave Cui Xingchen another look. He had been blasted away head-on by a Top-grade Magic Artifact and had merely been injured. Moreover, the injury had not even robbed him of his ability to move. It seemed Cui Xingchen possessed a defensive magic artifact or close-fitting protective robe, and its grade was not low.

The other Qi Refining Layer 7 cultivator was Luo Yunzhou, the Qi Refining Layer 7 inner disciple whose voice Han Yi had heard earlier.

The third was Tao Shouhua, whom Han Yi had given a slight pull to before fleeing.

"Oh, there are people in here too. Perfect, we'll harvest them all in one go."

"Not a single one gets away."

"Just kill them all."

With a flash, three Blood God Sect Cultivators appeared atop the more-than-half-collapsed wall, positioned in a triangle.

"Hm?"

One of them caught the strong scent of blood. Turning his head, he saw a headless corpse nearby, its blood soaking through the robe and making the originally blood-colored garment appear even darker red.

His gaze shifted, and when he saw a head with eyes still open in death, his eyes narrowed.

"Liu Dazui?"

"Be careful, all of you. Dazui was no weaker than us. Looks like we've run into a tough one—don't capsize in the gutter."

The other two Blood God Sect Cultivators also noticed their dead fellow sect member. They put away their contempt, their gazes passing over Cui Xingchen, Tao Shouhua, and Luo Yunzhou before settling on Han Yi.

An invisible yet heavy pressure, mixed with blood-soaked killing intent, surged toward him.

Han Yi felt as though the air around him had thickened, while his body seemed to have gained resistance out of thin air beneath that killing intent.

His expression could not help turning grave.

"Three Qi Refining Layer 7 cultivators."

"This is troublesome."

"We can't let them tie us down. We can only end this quickly."

Seeing this, Han Yi immediately made his decision and shouted in a low voice.

"Senior Brother Cui, Senior Brother Luo, Senior Brother Tao, help me hold back the one on the far left."

The moment Han Yi finished speaking, he stepped forward and vanished from where he stood.

"Junior Brother Han, don't!"

"Don't go up there to die!"

"This is bad."

Cui Xingchen's expression changed drastically. There were already very few surviving Mystic Pill Sect disciples left. Trying to play the hero now would only get him killed faster.

Even Cui Xingchen himself had been injured, and he had only survived thanks to a High-grade Body Armor he had obtained by chance. That magic artifact had already shattered beneath a single strike from the Top-grade Magic Artifact Golden Light Shuttle.

This junior brother, only at Qi Refining Layer 6, actually dared to charge forward alone and face two Blood God Sect disciples at Qi Refining Layer 7. Was he really throwing his life away?

In truth.

He had also seen the corpse in Blood God Sect robes not far from Han Yi.

But he did not know that corpse's strength. His most likely guess was that, like Han Yi, its owner had been at Qi Refining Layer 6.

And even if Han Yi had killed him, it might only have been amid the chaos, or because the other man had let down his guard.

He knew Han Yi's cultivation level, and a fixed impression had already formed in his heart. He did not believe Han Yi was particularly strong.

Tao Shouhua was equally shocked, but it was already too late to stop him. He could only watch helplessly as Han Yi charged forward.

Among the three, Luo Yunzhou was one of only two people in their original team, aside from Lu Su, who had entered the Demon Cave. His combat experience was far richer than that of the other two.

The instant Han Yi finished speaking and charged forward, Luo Yunzhou made the best possible response.

"We're going all in."

"We'll take this chance to break out from the left."

He was not choosing to trust Han Yi. He, too, felt that Han Yi's reckless action was nothing more than a suicidal charge.

Mystic Pill Sect disciples were already much weaker in individual combat strength than Blood God Sect disciples.

On top of that, Han Yi was merely at Qi Refining Layer 6. The difference between Layer 6 and Layer 7 was the gap between the Qi Refining Middle Stage and Qi Refining Late Stage. It was not something that could be bridged so easily.

And he even wanted to fight one against two. If that was not courting death, what was?

But his extensive battle experience made him understand that this sect junior brother's "suicidal charge" could briefly buy them time to break out.

If they seized this fleeting opportunity, perhaps the three of them really could escape.

As for Han Yi, who had rashly charged forward, and the other fellow disciple lying on the ground with his life or death unknown, they could only pray for their own fortunes.

Without even looking at the men on the right and in the middle, Luo Yunzhou took the lead and charged toward the left.

Behind him, Cui Xingchen gritted his teeth and followed closely, holding a Low-grade Blade Artifact.

His Sword Pellet had been severely damaged by the Golden Light Shuttle. He had stored it in his dantian, and it could not be used for a short time. He could only take out a blade artifact from his storage bag, one he had used years ago when he was still in the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

Tao Shouhua did not hesitate either. The pursuit just now had made him understand that if he hesitated for even a breath, his life would be left here today.

Between life and death lay great terror.

Yet battles to the death also made cultivators grow rapidly.

He followed close behind. Though only at Qi Refining Layer 6, he also wielded a Low-grade Magic Artifact, striving to break through the left side and flee as quickly as possible.

(End of chapter)