Battle Xu Hao

"Let go of my daughter!"

Seeing her daughter about to suffer harm, the woman's expression turned savage. Forgetting her fear, she picked up a stone from the ground and prepared to fight for her life.

The man raised his blade and slashed at her. "Stupid bitch! Go die!"

Pfft!

Blood sprayed.

A blade pierced through the man's heart, and the sword in his hand froze in midair.

The woman, who had been about to fight desperately, froze.

The man mechanically turned his head around and saw a youth standing behind him.

He had seen this youth before.

On a Wanted Poster.

He was the youth who had killed Middle Captain Cui Xiao.

"Damn it! Who are you? How dare you lay hands on us Bandits of Great King Mountain!"

A bandit with a black headband saw his brother being killed and roared in furious rage.

Pfft!

Jiang Ping An pulled out the Black Blade and stared coldly at the bandit cursing him.

Seeing Jiang Ping An's icy gaze, the bandit with the black headband felt an inexplicable fear.

But he could not show weakness now. Besides, the other side was just a kid. What the hell was there to fear?

"What are you looking at, you bastard? Damn it, you dare kill our men? Brothers, kill him—"

Just as he was about to call for his brothers to attack together, he discovered that they had all suddenly shuddered and fled for their lives.

"What are you doing? Why are you running? He's just a kid! Gang up and kill him!"

The bandit with the black headband could not understand why these brothers, who had bragged about how capable they were, had become as cowardly as dogs.

What a bunch of trash.

"He's the youth who killed Cavalry Captain Cui Xiao!"

One of the fleeing bandits kindly reminded him, his voice trembling.

Upon hearing that, the bandit with the bandage around his head stiffened.

By now, there were few people in all of Flat Water County who did not know this youth.

Whether commoners or Bandits, everyone had been delighted when he killed the Cavalry Captain. Whenever they had nothing to do, they would discuss why this youth was so formidable.

Recently, they had heard that the youth had entered the Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range.

They never could have imagined they would run into him here!

The bandit with the bandage around his head turned deathly pale. He swallowed hard, and all his former arrogance vanished.

"Bro... brother, I'll give you money..."

Pfft!

Before he could finish, a sharp pain erupted from his heart.

So this was what it felt like to have one's heart pierced through?

Jiang Ping An ignored him, pulled out his blade, and swiftly charged at the other bandits.

These people were merely ordinary Bandits, utterly incapable of resisting. They were cut down like cucumbers beneath a knife.

Watching Jiang Ping An approach, the remaining dozen or so women stood rooted to the spot, too afraid to move.

Jiang Ping An cut apart the ropes on them with his blade, then gave them the money he had taken from the Bandits.

"Go."

"Thank you, benefactor! Thank you, benefactor!"

The women knelt on the ground in gratitude, tears streaming down their faces.

If Jiang Ping An had not saved them, then once they were taken to the bandits' den, they would suffer inhuman torment until they died.

Jiang Ping An was just about to help them up when he suddenly sensed something. His expression changed drastically.

"I found him! That brat is over there! Hurry and fire the Signal Flare!"

An excited roar sounded from nearby as a group of Soldiers came into view.

Someone lit something and sent it flying into the sky. It exploded in midair, dazzling and conspicuous.

Jiang Ping An immediately fled.

He had still been discovered!

"Chase him! Don't let him get away! That's a thousand taels of silver!"

The Soldiers' eyes turned red as they gave chase at top speed.

After the Soldiers had passed, the rescued little girl suddenly raised her head and looked at her mother in confusion.

"Mother, that big brother is a good person. He saved us. Why aren't the Soldiers catching the Bandits? Why are they trying to catch big brother instead?"

The woman opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she did not know how to explain it.

The Soldiers searching for Jiang Ping An throughout the Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range saw the signal in the sky and converged toward it as though they had gone mad.

At the same time, a Giant Eagle with a body four meters long appeared in the sky. Astonishingly, someone stood atop its back.

"The cultivation method is mine, Xu Hao's! With this opportunity, I'll definitely become a Great Captain!"

Xu Hao was one of Flat Water County's Middle Captains.

Unlike the other Soldiers, he rode not a horse, but an eagle.

This eagle was a demonic beast. His father had captured it for him and expended enormous effort to tame it.

The name Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range meant that even eagles would sigh at the sight of it, though that was merely an exaggeration.

With this eagle, he did not need to worry about the complicated terrain below and could reach his target's location at incredible speed.

Not long after the signal had been fired, Xu Hao arrived at its location. Standing atop the eagle, he looked down and searched for his target's tracks.

"Found you!"

Xu Hao spotted the rapidly fleeing figure.

"Dive!"

Xu Hao controlled the Giant Eagle and sent it diving down.

As Jiang Ping An fled, he suddenly saw a shadow appear on the ground. An instinctive reaction made him roll swiftly aside.

At that very moment, two sharp eagle talons descended.

The nearby trees were instantly pierced through by the eagle's claws.

A long-haired man in his twenties leaped down from atop the Giant Eagle.

The man raised his blade and slashed at Jiang Ping An.

Jiang Ping An's heart shook violently. This man could actually control such a massive eagle!

This eagle had to be a demonic beast!

Jiang Ping An's understanding of the world gained another piece of knowledge: demonic beasts could be tamed.

But there was no time to think about that. The opponent's attack had already reached him.

Jiang Ping An raised his blade to strike back.

Clang! Clang!

Two crisp collisions rang out.

Xu Hao's eyes widened as he watched his Phantom Blade get blocked.

"You know the Phantom Blade too!"

The two had simultaneously unleashed the Phantom Blade. Their swords collided in midair, sparks scattering everywhere.

Xu Hao knew very well how difficult the Phantom Blade was to master. Among the Soldiers of Flat Water County, those capable of wielding it were all Middle Captains or Great Captains.

The other party must have obtained the blade technique only after killing Cui Xiao, yet how many days had it been? He had actually learned it already!

A blade technique that others needed years to learn—he had acquired it less than a month ago, hadn't he?

Even as Xu Hao was shocked, jealousy rose in his eyes.

Under his father's guidance, he had spent six months mastering the First Floor. Even his father had called him a genius.

Yet this person had learned it in less than a month.

And no one had guided him. He was alone, and far younger than Xu Hao.

Flat Water County only needed one genius—Xu Hao. There was no need for a second!

Filled with jealousy, Xu Hao swung his blade again, slashing toward Jiang Ping An.

Jiang Ping An swung his blade again to block, striking the opponent's true blade hidden beneath the illusion.

At that moment, the talisman at his waist lit up rapidly, transforming into a green light that blocked the attack.

It had not stopped the opponent's attack!

Jiang Ping An's expression changed drastically.

He had clearly blocked the Phantom Blade, so how could it still...

The Second Floor of the Phantom Blade! Two phantoms!

"Haha! Are you shocked? Surprised?"

Seeing the shock and fear on Jiang Ping An's face, Xu Hao was delighted and launched another attack.

Just as before, the opponent's blade struck the Protective Barrier.

The opponent's attack was extremely powerful. After only two strikes, two-tenths of the Protective Barrier's energy had been depleted.

Eight more strikes, and the Protective Barrier would surely break!