Captured

Jiang Ping An had never encountered such a powerful opponent before. Unable to defeat him, he decisively fled.

But the Giant Eagle swooped down from the sky, blocking his path and beating its wings to send him flying back.

Xu Hao launched a frenzied assault on Jiang Ping An.

"This blade technique was brought back by my father when he studied abroad. What right does a lowly commoner like you have to learn it?!"

Slash after slash struck Jiang Ping An's Protective Barrier, making it grow dimmer and dimmer.

"Without that Protective Barrier, you're trash!"

Xu Hao attacked while belittling his opponent, using it to elevate himself.

"Without your father, you're trash."

Though he was nearly incapable of fighting back, Jiang Ping An continued resisting. Until the very end, he would never give up.

Xu Hao's fragile heart suffered a tremendous blow upon hearing the mockery.

"You're courting death!"

He had always wanted to prove that his excellence did not rely on his father, yet he could never escape his father's protection.

To someone who considered himself outstanding, that was a disgrace.

Having someone point it out was an even greater disgrace.

Bang!

Xu Hao attacked with all his strength. His blade struck the Protective Barrier, and with a crack, it shattered.

"Haha—die! Your lucky opportunity is mine!"

Xu Hao's expression twisted savagely as he brought down his final slash.

"Then we'll die together!"

Jiang Ping An's expression turned crazed. The blade in his hand suddenly changed direction, abandoning the attack before him and slashing to the left.

The Phantom Blade did not truly make the blade illusory.

It was a deception of the eye. As the afterimage formed, the blade itself passed around the opponent's attack through a blind spot.

As long as one knew the Phantom Blade's trajectory and had sufficient speed, it could be blocked.

But Jiang Ping An had no intention of blocking it. He bypassed the opponent's attack and struck from the left, trading one life for another!

Pfft—

Blood splashed.

Jiang Ping An's chest was struck, the wound so deep that bone could be seen.

But Xu Hao was unharmed.

A golden light erupted from Xu Hao's body and knocked his blade away.

A bead of sweat slid down Xu Hao's forehead.

He had been that close.

That close—if not for the Life-Preserving Talisman, he would have died!

Xu Hao was terrified in hindsight. Then his expression twisted with malice. He had nearly been killed in return by someone younger than himself; he could not endure such humiliation.

"You wasted one of This Old Man's precious Life-Preserving Talismans! Did you think you were the only one with a trump card? Let's see what other tricks you have!"

Xu Hao swung his blade furiously, preparing to finish him for good. He deeply disliked this brat, whose talent surpassed his own.

Xu Hao's blade descended toward Jiang Ping An's neck.

Once that blade fell, his head would surely roll!

At the same time, Jiang Ping An kicked at his opponent.

Seeing Jiang Ping An's action, Xu Hao looked utterly disdainful. What an idiot. Even a blade could not hurt me—does a cultivator who has never learned any arts think he can injure me with a kick?

Xu Hao's blade and Jiang Ping An's foot fell at the same time.

Bang!

Xu Hao was kicked flying. He dropped to his knees in agony, clutching his vital spot as his body shook violently.

Jiang Ping An had gone all out with that strike. He did not care whether such an attack was despicable or not. When death was at hand, who cared about being despicable?

"No... impossible."

The pain nearly made Xu Hao pass out.

He struggled to raise his head. Seeing the green light on Jiang Ping An's body, he was overcome with shock and disbelief.

His opponent's Protective Amulet had clearly run out of energy.

Why was it still protecting him?

Then Xu Hao caught sight of Jiang Ping An's waist.

He was actually wearing two Protective Amulets!!

What kind of lucky opportunity had this brat encountered to possess so many treasures?

Even someone of his father's lofty status had only given him one Protective Talisman!

Yet this opponent had two Protective Amulets that could last so long!

Two?

No, ten.

Faced with pursuit, Jiang Ping An had felt extremely insecure. He had deliberately spent a day copying ten Protective Amulets.

Only then did Jiang Ping An learn that such hidden things were called trump cards.

The reason he had let his opponent cut him once earlier was to make him lower his guard, so that he would have a chance to kill him in return.

Otherwise, even if he had dozens of Protective Amulets, his opponent could still break through them.

If that kick had failed to kill Xu Hao, he would have truly fled.

Jiang Ping An did not hesitate. Taking advantage of Xu Hao's inability to rise, he picked up the blade from the ground and rushed over.

"Beast! Come protect me!" Xu Hao roared at the Giant Eagle, veins bulging across his forehead from the pain.

The Giant Eagle was about to move, but its eyes flickered twice. Then it suddenly spread its wings, soared into the sky, and fled.

It had always been oppressed and had never dared to run. Today was its chance.

Xu Hao froze.

He had not expected things to end this way.

Watching Jiang Ping An charge at him, Xu Hao's expression contorted as he shouted, "My father is the Pingshui County General! If you kill me, my father will definitely—"

Pfft—

Before Xu Hao could finish, his head fell to the ground.

Jiang Ping An did not hesitate in the slightest and struck directly.

He truly did not understand why someone so old could be so childish.

Was there any possibility of reconciliation between them? None at all.

Since that was the case, he might as well let that general experience the grief of losing a loved one.

After dealing with Xu Hao, a pained expression immediately appeared on Jiang Ping An's face.

He lowered his head to look at his chest. Blood was pouring out continuously, and even the stark white bone was visible.

He had been fighting the entire time and had barely felt anything. Now that he relaxed, the pain became unbearable.

He hurriedly took out that bottle of Trauma Medicine and poured it over his chest.

He had no idea how the medicine was made, but once it was poured onto the wound, the bleeding quickly stopped.

The pursuers would arrive soon. Before fleeing, Jiang Ping An expertly crouched down and began searching Xu Hao's corpse.

This man held such high status. He should have had plenty of treasures, right?

Suddenly, blue-green light burst from Jiang Ping An's body.

The Protective Barrier was automatically defending him!

Who was ambushing him?

Jiang Ping An abruptly turned around and saw a middle-aged man with a Goatee.

The middle-aged man held a small black flag covered in mysterious runes.

He poured spiritual energy into it and flung it fiercely at Jiang Ping An, uttering a single word.

"Break!"

At that instant, an opening suddenly split in Jiang Ping An's Protective Amulet, and the formation flag smashed heavily into his head.

Jiang Ping An's face changed drastically. The Protective Amulet had actually become useless!

He only felt pain surge through his consciousness. His vision went black, and he lost awareness.

After an unknown length of time, a basin of cold water was thrown over him, waking him up.

Jiang Ping An groggily opened his eyes.

The surroundings were extremely dim and filled with a heavy stench.

He was inside a cave—or perhaps calling it a prison cell would have been more fitting.

His body was tied to a strange iron stake and bound with iron chains. All around him were various torture instruments, and several corpses lay nearby.

The expressions on those corpses were twisted, as though they had suffered immense pain before death. Most had only one eye remaining; their other eyes had been gouged out.

Raising his head, he saw the Goatee man who had attacked him.

Jiang Ping An tried to circulate his spiritual energy, only to discover that he could not sense any spiritual energy within his body at all.

"Don't waste your strength. I gave you a Spirit Dispersal Pill. There's no spiritual energy left in your body, and there's a formation flag nearby absorbing spiritual energy, so you can't recover."

The Goatee man spoke lazily, idly playing with two emerald-green Protective Amulets in his hand.

Jiang Ping An's heart sank. A Spirit Dispersal Pill? He had never heard of it, but it was likely some kind of medicinal pill.

A formation flag?

Jiang Ping An lowered his head and looked at the small black flag planted in the ground nearby. Runes flickered across it as it drew away spiritual energy.

Since the man could break through the Protective Amulet and attack him, he had to be a cultivator too.

"Who are you?"

Smack—

The Goatee man lashed Jiang Ping An across the face with a whip. His youthful face immediately split open, blood flowing out.

"Do you have the right to question this old man?"

Pain made Jiang Ping An's body tremble.

The Goatee man said indifferently, "Where did you get your cultivation method and cultivation resources?"

"Someone gave them to me."

Enduring the pain, Jiang Ping An told him about meeting the cultivator that day.

"Oh, then you should thank me. If we people of Great King Mountain hadn't slaughtered your village, you would never have drawn a cultivator's attention, nor would you have received such resources."

The Goatee cultivator stroked his beard, his emotionless eyes fixed on Jiang Ping An.

Jiang Ping An's fists clenched tightly.

So they were the Bandits of Great King Mountain!

This man was one of the murderers too!

Smack—

Another whip landed on Jiang Ping An's face.

"You think you deserve to be angry?" Yuan Bin's voice was especially cold.