Living Isn't Good Enough?

After succeeding in one strike atop the cliff, Lu Chuan's eyes immediately lit up, and joy surged in his heart. Though he had not directly shot Chen Chan dead, destroying one of his arms would inevitably slash his combat power.

The greatest threat was gone.

Unfortunately, the Honest Man's reaction had been far too quick. The moment Chen Chan was severely wounded, he had immediately led the young man toward the Valley entrance.

Even Lu Chuan had to admire such swift reactions.

But admiration aside, Lu Chuan's hands did not rest. His bow was drawn like a full moon, his arrows like flowing light.

Whoosh, whoosh...

Sharp arrows streaked through the air, shooting toward the other six Martial Artists like meteors chasing the moon.

The young man and the Honest Man had already retreated, and now that they were on guard, it was impossible to kill them with a single arrow.

More importantly, after reacting, the other six Martial Artists had actually formed three layers of shields, voluntarily blocking the way before the young man and the Honest Man.

They formed a straight line.

That meant that to kill the young man, he would have to get past those six Martial Artists.

The difficulty had skyrocketed by more than tenfold.

"Damn it, how much do you get paid a month to risk your lives like this..."

Seeing this, Lu Chuan cursed inwardly. He had never expected these people to use their lives to protect the young man.

Were they all really this loyal?

Would they swear to protect their master unto death?

Lu Chuan did not believe it. He thought there had to be some other reason.

In just a breath, six arrows shot through the sky. The arrows, faster than sound, tore through the air; before the sound arrived, the arrows had already reached their targets.

The six Martial Artists were only at Ninth Rank Mid Stage or early Ninth Rank. How could they possibly block his arrows?

In a single exchange, the sharp arrows pierced straight through all six of their throats.

Yet in that instant of delay, the Honest Man had already taken the young man out of the Valley. They raced through the forest, fleeing toward the outskirts of Python Mountain.

"Trying to run? You'll all die..."

Lu Chuan's gaze was cold as frost. With one leap, he jumped down from the hundred-meter cliff. After a few rises and falls, he charged straight toward the Valley entrance.

Clang...

Just then, a streak of Blade Light flashed out, carrying a piercing howl through the air as it slashed straight toward him.

It was Chen Chan.

Though he had lost an arm and his strength had been greatly diminished,

he was still at Ninth Rank Perfection, and his combat power remained formidable. Seeing Lu Chuan kill six companions with six arrows and then move to chase the young man and the Honest Man, he knew that if he did not stop him now, those two would never escape.

Thus, gritting his teeth with the resolve to face death, he swung this blade at Lu Chuan.

His body flickered as he blocked Lu Chuan's path.

"Is living not good enough?"

With a flash, Lu Chuan easily evaded the strike.

His voice was low, his gaze icy as water as he looked at Chen Chan blocking his way. Killing intent filled the air.

"If the Young Master dies, not only will I die, but my family will die too..."

Chen Chan held his War Blade horizontally, his face deathly pale and his breath unsteady. Yet his severed arm was no longer bleeding; he had sealed the wound with Internal Strength.

This was the strength of Martial Artists. Once they cultivated Internal Strength, both their healing ability and vitality far surpassed those of ordinary people.

With injuries this severe, an ordinary person would have long since passed out from the pain.

Yet Chen Chan could still use Internal Strength to seal his wound and stop the bleeding, holding his War Blade with enough strength left for one last fight.

"So that's how it is. I was wondering why every last one of you was so loyal. So this is how a Great Faction keeps its subordinates in line!"

Lu Chuan sneered. "I truly pity you..."

"We have no choice!"

Chen Chan gritted his teeth and roared, "Come on! If you want to kill the Young Master, step over my corpse first."

Before his words had even faded, Chen Chan attacked. Blade Light swept fiercely,

and this strike was actually thirty percent faster than the previous one. With a low whistle through the air, it came straight for Lu Chuan.

"As you wish!"

Lu Chuan's eyes turned cold. Though he admired Chen Chan's courage, he did not feel the slightest sympathy.

Showing mercy to an enemy was being cruel to oneself.

He was no fool. Why would he do something so foolish?

The bow was already slung across his back. His War Blade left its sheath and came crashing down like a Fierce Tiger descending the mountain.

Boom... Bang...

In an instant, the two blades collided, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Under the eruption of that tremendous impact, Chen Chan's blood churned. He felt as though all five of his viscera and six bowels had been shifted out of place. His body was forcibly shoved back more than ten meters.

Scorching pain swept through his entire body, and he could barely suppress the urge to vomit blood.

In a single clash, he had been utterly disadvantaged.

His expression immediately grew even uglier. Although his left arm had exploded and his injuries had severely reduced his strength, that strike just now had erupted with his strongest Martial Skill. The force of that blow had likely reached ten thousand jin.

He had thought temporarily suppressing Lu Chuan would be no problem.

Who could have expected that after one collision, he would be blasted back more than ten meters, while Lu Chuan remained completely unmoved.

What kind of monster was this kid? The force behind that strike just now had probably exceeded twenty thousand jin.

Chen Chan thought to himself.

His eyes bloodshot, he gritted his teeth and let out a low roar. "Kill!"

His voice was like a tiger's roar. His War Blade trembled as he charged toward Lu Chuan once more.

"Stubbornly refusing to repent!"

Lu Chuan snorted. That strike had already allowed him to gauge the man's approximate strength. Relying on Martial Skills, Chen Chan could erupt with ten thousand jin of force.

Such strength was enough to crush an ordinary Ninth Rank Perfection cultivator who practiced the Low-grade Skin Refining Method.

Unfortunately, Lu Chuan was different.

With the dual enhancement of Fierce Tiger Intent and Rapid Speed, coupled with his conversion of Five Elements Stance Training into blade techniques,

the force of a single slash had reached thirty thousand jin.

How could a severely wounded Chen Chan possibly withstand it?

Watching Chen Chan charge at him, Lu Chuan shook his War Blade. As both hands lifted, his feet suddenly accelerated; he moved like a Spirit Deer weaving through the woods, and like a Fierce Tiger descending the mountain.

In a single charge, no more than 0.1 seconds, he crossed more than ten meters and met Chen Chan head-on.

Clang...

The War Blade trembled, and he attacked almost simultaneously with Chen Chan.

Blade Light flashed. Chen Chan's War Blade swept horizontally toward him, but Lu Chuan twisted his body, shifting half an inch to the left and evading Chen Chan's strike.

Then, with an upward flick of his War Blade, he pierced Chen Chan's chest like lightning.

Splurt!

The Blade Edge swept across, cutting through him like tofu and instantly dismembering Chen Chan completely.

One slash—Chen Chan died!

"Why bother?"

Lu Chuan sneered. With a flash, he charged toward the Valley entrance.

His speed was extraordinary. As he unleashed the Forest Penetrating Deer Movement Technique from Five Elements Stance Training, together with the enhancement of Rapid Speed, he was slower than an arrow but still reached fifty meters per second.

In an instant, he had rushed out of the Valley.

However, the young man and the Honest Man were nowhere to be seen outside the Valley.

Beyond the Valley lay a forest thick with shrubs, heavily obscuring one's vision. Once someone slipped into the undergrowth, it was usually very difficult to find any trace of them.

But Lu Chuan refused to give up. Drawing on the tracking skills he had developed while hunting,

Lu Chuan carefully scanned the surroundings. He soon discovered clear signs that someone had passed through a patch of shrubs. Overjoyed, he immediately chased in that direction.