Traitor

Lin Xiao let out a soft shout, not caring if his weapon would break, and swung his saber horizontally. With a 'clang,' a resonant sound exploded, sparks flying between the saber and the anchor. Both men took a step back simultaneously.

The big man wielding the anchor had the advantage in strength and the anchor's weight, while Lin Xiao's advantage lay in his deep internal energy, superior to the big man's. The two cancelled each other out, resulting in a draw.

Unfortunately, the internal energy within him was Yang Sha and Yin Sha respectively, belonging to two different types that couldn't fully merge. When activated simultaneously, their power was discounted. If he could cultivate both techniques to mastery and then use a secret method from the Yang Sha Technique to refine the Yin Sha internal energy, merging the Yin and Yang internal energies into one, his cultivation would instantly skyrocket to an unimaginable level, possibly even allowing him to reach the peak of the second tier in one go.

Being besieged by two experts, especially with the Iron Boat Gang member on the ship eyeing him with a bow, ready to loose an arrow at any moment, posed a great threat to Lin Xiao. It forced him to hold back, unable to fight freely. Every time he gained a slight advantage with his superior cultivation and agile footwork, his rhythm would be broken by one or two sudden arrows, making him extremely uncomfortable.

He learned his lesson later and simply stopped trying to defeat his opponents. He decided to stall them, dragging out the fight until it ended.

Although he desperately wanted the Potential Points, his own life was the prerequisite. If it was too dangerous, he would just let it go.

With his change in strategy, the two opponents became anxious. The big man with the anchor launched a series of fierce attacks, his massive iron anchor sweeping wildly, smashing everything on deck into pieces. It even punched several holes through the thick deck, yet it couldn't touch Lin Xiao, who was solely focused on defense, not even a single hair.

"Kid, are you a mouse? How can you dodge so well?"

Lin Xiao didn't bother to answer. He simply parried the sweeping iron anchor with his saber, then slid his body low, an arrow whizzing over his head.

While the battle raged here, Shi Zhongyu, not far away, repelled his opponent with a palm strike. He glanced over, frowned, and thought:

"So strong?"

He recognized these two people: another protector of the Iron Boat Gang and another expert from the main headquarters. Even he would have difficulty dealing with them working together, yet this kid was fighting them both and seemed to be doing so with ease. A strong sense of crisis immediately arose within him.

"This kid must die!"

He clapped his palms forward, exchanging a blow with his opponent. He suddenly lowered his voice and reminded the person opposite him, flicking his eyebrows towards the ongoing fight. The other person immediately understood, and they began to fight while shifting their battlefield.

Both were experts, and walking on water was not a problem for them. Unknowingly, the battlefield moved closer. Both leaped into the air simultaneously, palms meeting with a 'snap.' They were sent flying backward, and Young Master Peng, Shi Zhongyu, happened to retreat to Lin Xiao's ship. In mid-air, he twisted his body and slapped the anchor-wielding big man.

But what greeted him was an arrow whistling through the air from another ship, forcing him to turn and save himself. He spun around and landed on the ship.

With his opponent also jumping back onto the ship of the archer, the three of them now surrounded the two.

Lin Xiao felt something was off about the main battlefield suddenly shifting here, but he couldn't pinpoint the problem.

The three of them didn't give him much time to think. The big man with the anchor roared and hammered down with his anchor. The other expert leaped onto the ship and engaged Shi Zhongyu again. Lin Xiao had no time for other thoughts and met the attack with his saber without hesitation.

Ever since he stopped worrying about damaging his weapon, the threat from the anchor-wielding big man had dropped significantly. The consequence was that the edge of this Hundred-Forged Fine Steel Saber now had dozens of nicks, making it look like a saw. It would definitely need to be reforged after the battle.

Of course, the opponent's anchor wasn't faring any better, covered in cuts. But the anchor was so thick, and it was a blunt weapon, so the nicks wouldn't affect its power.

The subsequent battle was no different from before. With no intention of taking the offensive but only aiming to avoid mistakes, the two experts from the Iron Boat Gang couldn't do anything to him. The fight between them was less intense than the one next door.

At the same time, reinforcements from the forward outpost water village had arrived. Simultaneously, a signal came from the direction of Song'an Water Village, and reinforcements were immediately on their way.

Under these circumstances, as long as the Iron Boat Gang and the Salt Gang didn't want a full-scale war, the conflict would basically end perfunctorily.

Lin Xiao thought so too, but what he didn't expect was that after skillfully dodging the anchor hammer strike for the umpteenth time and avoiding a hidden arrow, the other Iron Boat Gang expert fighting Shi Zhongyu suddenly retreated several steps, turned, and struck Lin Xiao, who had just avoided the anchor strike and hidden arrow, with a palm.

The sudden sneak attack caught him completely by surprise. At this moment, when his old strength had just faded and new strength had not yet arisen, he couldn't dodge at all. He could only hastily gather his energy and strike back with his left palm.

"Pa!"

With only twenty percent of his internal energy, how could it compare to a fully charged strike? Lin Xiao felt a powerful force surge towards him, and he could no longer maintain his stance, stumbling back several steps, a flush rising on his face.

But it wasn't over yet. The attacker, pressing his advantage, lunged forward and delivered several consecutive palm strikes to his chest, each one landing with a 'bang.' Lin Xiao staggered backward under the barrage, even losing his grip on the saber, which clattered to the ground.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of blood surged from his throat. Lin Xiao's mind stirred, and he gathered his meager internal energy to propel the blood outward. However, this expert, whose identity within the Iron Boat Gang was unknown, was also fierce and experienced. He didn't dodge at all, letting the blood spray onto him. But he hadn't expected the blood to contain internal energy. The blood drops shot out like arrows, hitting his face and eyes. He immediately cried out in pain, covering his eyes and wildly swinging his palms, retreating repeatedly.

Lin Xiao instinctively channeled his internal energy and threw a punch. A blur flashed in his peripheral vision, and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly fell backward as an arrow grazed his body.

Then, the big man with the anchor also strode onto the ship, aiming his anchor at him and smashing it down fiercely, intending to kill him.

Lin Xiao gritted his teeth and slapped the deck behind him with his palm, using the force to push his body backward, sliding along the deck. At this moment, he had already guessed that this was a premeditated ambush against him. The three of them had surrounded him, and Shi Zhongyu was standing by idly, not helping. Not to mention, the third expert was someone he had lured here.

Moreover, Shi Zhongyu, as one of the Great River Three Heroes, was only being dealt with by one Iron Boat Gang expert, while he, a newly arrived reinforcement, was immediately attacked by two experts, one close and one far. It was unbelievable to think this wasn't premeditated.

A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Since he had figured out the problem, staying here waiting to die would be foolish.

Sliding along the ground for two meters, the anchor smashed a pit into the deck with a 'boom.' But this time, the big man, contrary to his previous slow movements, instantly retracted his anchor and swung it back towards his waist.

Lin Xiao sneered, clapping his hands on the deck beneath him, using the force to leap backward. Behind him was the ship's railing. Once he flipped over, he would be in the river, and escaping into the water would be easy.

But just as he dodged the hammer strike and leaped into the air, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his waist. His energy dissipated, his body tilted rapidly, and he fell. Immediately after, a faint glow flashed before his eyes, and a sharp pain struck his chest as an arrow embedded itself in him.