"Quick, quick, keep up! Don't forget what the lord told us. We must find that brat—preferably kill him."
In the darkness, a group of people leaped across the rooftops, using everything under heaven and earth as footholds!
Their bodies transformed into afterimages. They ignored the suppression of the laws of heaven and earth, covering several meters in a single leap.
"Big brother, don't worry. We came fully prepared this time. Besides, the place he lives is extremely remote—a bamboo forest. It's the perfect place for us to set up an ambush and kill him."
In the blink of an eye, one of the Black-Clad Men was already standing on one foot atop a bamboo stalk more than ten meters high, looking down over everything.
"Don't be careless. He's shown such overwhelming strength—do you really think he has no powerful opportunity? Impossible." His gaze was as sharp as a torch, as if he were inspecting prey. At that moment, he took out a map and finally confirmed their direction.
"As expected. Who would have thought he'd hidden himself so well? If we hadn't searched carefully, we really might have overlooked this place."
The man leading them understood one principle: having taken someone's money, he had to eliminate their troubles. Since the other party had already paid them generously, they naturally had to get the job done.
"How is it? What's the situation? Is he in the room? Is he asleep?"
The group, all dressed in black, arrived at the designated location in perfect formation.
"Big brother, we searched everywhere. There isn't the slightest sign of life."
They split into more than a dozen groups, each person carefully inspecting the area. Yet they still found nothing and detected no abnormalities, which made them suspicious.
"Could it be that this brat cultivates a Tortoise-Breathing Method, preventing even the slightest aura from leaking out?"
One of them thought of something. If that was truly the case, things might become troublesome.
"Are you idiots? Or are you just stupid? How could that be? We must have overlooked something!"
He wished he could rush over and knock some sense into them. Why didn't they use their brains when doing things? Did they think they could simply stop searching because they hadn't found anything?
"Look! What's that?"
When one reached the mountain and found no road ahead, a willow grove opened into a bright village. This place had been empty just moments ago, yet in an instant, a small bamboo-built house had appeared.
"Wait! Don't be careless. Who knows if this is his trick? Don't fall for it."
The man wore an extremely cautious expression. Obtaining the thing was one matter; whether they could leave alive was another.
"A bunch of clowns. I made myself perfectly clear, yet you truly refused to give up. You even came to serve as their helpers—to become their executioners. Since you've developed killing intent toward me, then stay here."
Ye Yang had already set up a formation here—the Eight Trigrams Formation—which could conceal everything and deceive them.
But he had not done so. Instead, he wanted to see exactly who wanted to kill him before he participated in the Heaven's Pride Tournament.
While he was cultivating, everything within a radius of fifty kilometers lay within his senses. Not a flower, blade of grass, twig, or leaf could escape his eyes.
"Wait. Something's wrong. Bring me my Sun-Shooting Bow."
Everyone gathered there, waiting for the man's decision. Just as they were preparing to act, he instead stopped their impulsive behavior.
"Big brother, your Sun-Shooting Bow!"
One of them took out a bundle. The man reached out and pulled, and a large bow with flowing golden patterns appeared in his hand.
The entire bow was engraved with special patterns, and spiritual energy flowed through it. It was clearly an extraordinary magical treasure.
"Whether there's anyone inside or not, whether it's you or someone else, let me test the way first."
With a gentle pull, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth gathered at his fingertips, forming an arrow!
"Whoosh!"
It transformed into a streak of flowing light and shot toward the small house in the bamboo forest.
"It's over."
Everyone slowly turned around, not daring to watch this cruel scene.
"Brat, don't blame us. Blame yourself for offending someone you shouldn't have." If that brat was still asleep, being killed outright would be far too stifling.
One thought gave birth to life, another brought death. In this lightning-fast instant, just as the arrow was about to hit the small house, the situation suddenly changed.
With a hum, a seemingly weak barrier of light shot into the sky, appearing exceptionally conspicuous in the night.
Crack!
The arrow formed from spiritual energy snapped in response!
"Big brother, what's going on? Could this place be a Blessed Grotto-Heaven, with an immortal living here?"
Seeing this scene, everyone was stunned. That had clearly been an attack from a peak Martial King, Ninth Heaven expert!
Though it had seemed casual and he had not used his full strength, it was still not something a little Martial Apprentice could withstand.
"Oh? This is interesting. I wonder if you can withstand my Nine-Arrow Chain?"
Seeing this, he could not help but grow puzzled, and his curiosity was stirred even further.
"Big brother, stop wasting words with him. Let me do it. I'll tear it apart by force. Who cares whether he's inside or not?"
One of them had clearly grown impatient and no longer wanted to wait. He wanted to use force directly to accomplish their goal.
"That's enough. Stop talking. Can't you see? He's giving us a warning."
The man leading them understood perfectly. The reason the other party had done this was to tell them to stop while they could and not push him any further. Otherwise, the consequences would be severe—far beyond what they could bear.
"What? Is it really that serious?" One of them refused to believe it and wanted to ram the barrier with his body, but the man stopped him.
"You fool! Are you trying to get me killed? Do you think you could have casually withstood my attack just now?"
His voice was not loud, but every person heard him clearly. Their earlier impulse immediately subsided. Fortunately, they had not done anything foolish; otherwise, one reckless move would have alerted the enemy and dragged everyone into trouble.
"Nine Stars in a Line—break for me!" One arrow followed another, their heads and tails joining, each link interlocking with the next. They might withstand the first few, but could they withstand the ones that followed?
Each move was faster than the last, each stronger than the last. When the nine attacks became one, they possessed an unstoppable might.
"What is that?"
Just as he confidently believed his killing move could easily obliterate the other party, a strand of Sword Qi came at them like a Flying Immortal Sword descending from beyond the heavens.
"Big brother, watch out!"
At this critical moment, one of his subordinates stepped forward and shielded him. But to Ye Yang, this was nothing more than a cup of water trying to put out a cartload of burning fire—an overestimation of his own ability.
The Sword Qi pierced straight through his body without the slightest hesitation!
"Flying Immortal Sword... could you be an expert beyond the mortal world?"
Immediately afterward, a crack rang out. Dense fissures spread across his entire body as he stared in disbelief!
With a bang, Sword Qi swept in every direction, extinguishing all flesh and vitality. His body ignited in an instant, becoming ashes that scattered into the heavens and earth.
"Why aren't you leaving? If you come back again, things won't be this simple." Ye Yang had merely been teaching them a lesson. If they still didn't know when to stop or appreciate mercy, they had better watch out—or their lives might not be spared.
Before you continue