One Blade, One Kill

Ren Mian could not understand it.

Although Ji Xinghuo was a Magnetic Field Maniac, his Rank was too low. His strongest offensive method was still the bow, yet he had abandoned it and charged in for close combat.

He had simply lost his mind. It was even overestimating himself.

"Ren-jie, hold him back."

Ji Xinghuo's voice rang out in her mind. Although Ren Mian doubted his strength, she still cooperated with all her might.

She split her attention in two, controlling the few remaining Green Lock Dragons on the ground and bringing them back to life. They surged like a tide toward the Forest Patrol Leader's four legs, wildly winding around them. At the same time, she leaped high, light gathering around her fists as she smashed them heavily toward the Forest Patrol Leader's head.

Bang! Light erupted. The Forest Patrol Leader had long grown accustomed to this move. Even with his eyes closed, it did not stop his battle blade from striking Ren Mian's fists.

Ren Mian's body flew backward and crashed into a large tree.

She herself was completely unharmed, but the trunk snapped in two.

The Forest Patrol Leader raised his head. He had long noticed the archer hiding in the shadows, and now that Ji Xinghuo had revealed himself, his face showed disdain and coldness.

Ji Xinghuo was in midair, his posture relaxed.

He held the bow in his left hand. With his right hand gripping the Lei Chi Battle Blade, he drew the bowstring. A Capacitor Arrow had already been nocked on the compound bow. As he twisted in the air, the arrowhead aimed at the enemy below.

He could only fire one arrow. He had only one chance! Myriad Aspects of the Universe activated.

In an instant, it was as though someone had pressed pause on the world in Ji Xinghuo's eyes. Everything within several hundred meters was reflected in his mind.

He saw every flickering strand of Blood Flame on the enemy's body. He saw every Green Lock Dragon writhing, growing, and contracting across the ground, along with every thorn on the brambles. He saw every tree, every leaf, and every falling raindrop within several hundred meters. Everything was within his sight! At the same time, the world in Ji Xinghuo's eyes began to twist and shift. Countless streams of light flowed, layers upon layers of illusions overlapping as they showed him every possible future.

Just now, he had tried to find a way to kill the enemy, but he had failed.

This time, however, he succeeded!

In an instant, all the illusory lights vanished and froze. Ji Xinghuo saw a clear outcome—a way to kill the enemy.

The Rotating Magnetic Field had already been pushed to its limit, amplifying the Capacitor Arrow's destructive power by more than three times. The current dancing over the arrow was visible to the naked eye, even condensing into plasma and reaching the limit of what the arrow's material could withstand.

Ji Xinghuo fired the arrow.

A flash of lightning.

Like a thunderbolt striking down, a trace of wariness flashed through the Forest Patrol Leader's eyes. He wanted to dodge, but his four hooves were tangled by the Green Lock Dragons, and he could not break free in time.

He could only turn his head aside to avoid a vital spot.

But that dodge was exactly what Ji Xinghuo wanted. He had never intended to shoot his head. His true target was the arm.

Crack!

Thunder roared, and blood sprayed.

The Capacitor Arrow pierced through the Forest Patrol Leader's right arm, lodging in the muscle instead of passing through. The high-voltage current released from it numbed his entire arm. Though he did not drop the battle blade in his hand, he had lost his strongest means of counterattack.

The Forest Patrol Leader had never expected this outcome.

Ji Xinghuo threw aside the compound bow and gripped Lei Chi tightly with both hands. The Rotating Magnetic Field spun madly, lightning crackling across the silver-blue blade. As his body fell, it drew a dazzling streak of blade light through the pitch-black rainy night.

"Roar!"

The Forest Patrol Leader sensed danger and let out an angry roar. The Blood Flame around his body surged as he swung his intact left fist toward Ji Xinghuo above him.

At the critical moment, Ji Xinghuo's body suddenly flipped again, turning head-down and feet-up.

The Gale Boots kicked through the air, accelerating him once more.

The unexpected change caused the Forest Patrol Leader's punch to miss. Ji Xinghuo lightly pressed a hand against the arm the enemy had raised, borrowing the force to change direction. His body flipped upright again, narrowly avoiding the headbutt rushing at him. Yet strangely, Ji Xinghuo still did not slash with his blade.

Until the next instant.

Ji Xinghuo had already fallen to the Forest Patrol Leader's chest. The enemy's guard was wide open.

The Lei Chi Battle Blade finally struck, viciously plunging into the spot where his heart lay!

There was a wound there, caused by the Capacitor Arrow fired earlier. It had pierced the flesh without damaging the heart. The arrow had already been pulled out, but it had left behind a bloody hole.

Lei Chi's blade tip was geometric in shape and incomparably sharp.

As though he had practiced it thousands upon thousands of times, Ji Xinghuo inserted the blade with absolute Precision into the wound. Both hands erupted with all his strength. All three Arc Ring Cuts on the blade activated, layering with the sharp blade tip and finally piercing through the Forest Patrol Leader's chest and stabbing into his heart!

Ji Xinghuo did not look at the result. He immediately abandoned the blade, rolled down the hillside as soon as he landed, and caught the compound bow he had thrown down.

The Forest Patrol Leader froze in place, and the Blood Flame around his body went out.

He lowered his head to look at the battle blade embedded in his chest, disbelief in his eyes. Then he looked up at Ji Xinghuo below the hill and let out a furious roar.

A Capacitor Arrow answered him.

Crack! The arrow shot into his mouth like lightning, piercing through his oral cavity and emerging from the back of his head.

Without the protection of Blood Flame, he was no longer so terrifying.

The Forest Patrol Leader's body crashed to the ground. Only then did blood spurt from his chest like a crimson fountain, spraying several meters into the air.

Spirit Source Energy +313

"Finally..."

Ji Xinghuo let out a long breath. Only then did he feel pain all over his body.

Although they had only made contact for one or two brief seconds, moving with the speed of a hare and falcon, touching as lightly as a dragonfly skimming water, without truly colliding bodies, the Blood-Drinking Wrathful Flame had still inflicted serious burns on him.

Myriad Aspects of the Universe had also shut down automatically after his Stellar Force was exhausted. His head swam with dizziness, and after staggering two steps, he dropped to his knees.

"Xinghuo!"

Ren Mian hurried over and asked worriedly, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Ji Xinghuo shook his head and forced himself to stand, giving her a smile. "I'm just a little exhausted. I'll be fine after resting."

"I'll treat you."

Ren Mian took out a Peach Blossom Petal and placed it on Ji Xinghuo's body.

In an instant, Ji Xinghuo felt surging life force flowing from the petal. The burns on his body healed at a visible rate. His spirits lifted, the pain in his head eased, his Stellar Force rose, and his physical strength recovered rapidly. Its restorative effect was many times better than Millennial Green! "This is..." Ji Xinghuo's face filled with surprise.

Earlier, Ren-jie had used this kind of Peach Blossom Petal on Jiangnan Caiyi and Chi Zhonglin. It could not only stop bleeding and heal wounds, but also restore Stellar Force and stamina, combining the effects of multiple plant samples.

He glanced at the Peach Blossom Mark between Ren Mian's brows.

"Evergreen Peach Blossom Spring," Ren Mian explained. "This is a Plant Witch ability unique to me, the only one of its kind in the world. No matter how severe the injury is, as long as someone still has a breath left, they can be saved."

Ji Xinghuo's eyes widened as he listened.

"Ugh..."

A pained groan came from below the hillside.

Chi Zhonglin climbed up unsteadily. A wound stretched from his shoulder to his abdomen, but it had already healed. His face was merely a little pale.

"Big sister."

"Cai Yi."

Ren Mian hurried over. The Green Lock Dragons protecting Jiangnan Caiyi's body scattered apart, revealing her. After quickly examining her, Ren Mian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Your physical injuries have mostly recovered. You only suffered some mental trauma. Rest for a few days and you'll be fine."

She took out a small white flower and placed it on Jiangnan Caiyi's forehead. "This is honeysuckle that can heal mental trauma. It will ease your headache."

The pain on Jiangnan Caiyi's face quickly faded, and color returned to her complexion.

She stood up and looked toward the Forest Patrol Leader's corpse.

Only then did everyone come back to their senses. Chi Zhonglin cried out in disbelief, "Xinghuo, you actually killed him! How did you do it?"

They had all witnessed the process, yet they could not make sense of it. They were utterly shaken.

Ji Xinghuo's few moves had seemed ordinary. They showed neither extraordinary archery nor a high Martial Dao Rank, yet they had produced astonishing results. Every change in movement, every shift in rhythm, had come at exactly the right moment. One stab had pierced the enemy's heart!

And that final arrow that blew through his mouth was even more inexplicable.

It was as though the Forest Patrol Leader had deliberately cooperated, allowing Ji Xinghuo to shoot him dead and ultimately losing his chance to launch a desperate counterattack before dying.

Ji Xinghuo laughed. "I just risked my life and gave it a try. I got lucky. I didn't expect to actually brute-force him to death."

"Can luck explain that?" Chi Zhonglin scratched his head, completely baffled.

Jiangnan Caiyi's eyes were also full of confusion.

Ren Mian seemed thoughtful, then suddenly smiled. "You don't need to find it so strange. Xinghuo's combat intuition is the best I've ever seen. No one can compare to him. Those moves may have looked plain, but every change carried deep intent. To grasp the best timing in a battle that changes by the instant—there might not even be one person with that talent among billions."

"That incredible!"

Chi Zhonglin looked envious and sighed. "An Elementary Esper killing a fourth-rank Forest Patrol Clan member, and a Blood Warrior at that—it's absurd. No one would believe it if you told them. Back on Earth, this achievement alone would get you onto the Sky Ladder!"

"Everyone contributed," Ji Xinghuo said modestly. "If Ren-jie hadn't held him back from the front, I wouldn't have had an opportunity."

He was telling the truth.

If he had faced the Forest Patrol Leader alone, there would have been only one outcome: death.

"This time, I was careless." Ren Mian was still frightened by the thought. "I didn't expect there to be another Blood Warrior. Luckily Xinghuo was here. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable."

"Ren-jie, don't blame yourself. We all agreed to make a move," Ji Xinghuo comforted her.

"Yeah."

"Without big sister saving us, we'd already be dead."

Ren Mian shook her head and stopped dwelling on it. She looked over the devastated hillside, covered in corpses, but there was hardly anything of value.

The Forest Patrol Clan's innate ability, Forest Whisper, was worth a little money.

It could serve as a Plant Witch's core ability, allowing them to control plants and make them grow rapidly. However, most Plant Witches preferred Azure Vine Heart Root, whose ability effect was somewhat better and whose fusion success rate was higher.

At that moment, the rain stopped.

Ji Xinghuo walked to the Forest Patrol Leader's corpse and pulled out Lei Chi and the Capacitor Arrow lodged in the arm. The earlier arrow had already been destroyed.

Myriad Stellar Eye displayed an information panel.

Race: Forest Patrol Clan

Level: Fourth Rank

Ability Seeds: Forest Whisper, Spirit Sniff, Bloody Rampage, Toughness*, Eagle Eye*, Intuitive Reflex*, Muscle Memory*

On the right side of the panel was a virtual image of the Forest Patrol Leader, showing the locations of the Ability Seeds in his body.

Ji Xinghuo's eyes lit up. He had struck it rich!