The man on the left had already closed in, slapping a palm toward his shoulder.
Lin Taichu turned sideways. The palm brushed past his shoulder, but the wind from it swept across him, burning hot with pain.
He pressed Iron Sword downward, forcing back the man on the left, then turned and thrust at the man at the bow. The man raised a hand to block, and the sword tip stabbed into a spiritual energy barrier with a muffled thud.
The three of them wasted no words, and there was no excess motion in their attacks. Every move greeted his vital points. Lin Taichu held off all three alone; his swordplay was still fluid, but his spiritual energy drained quickly. Their seventh-level Half-Saint cultivation was a cut above his. If he clashed head-on with spiritual energy, he would not last long.
After three exchanges, the man on the left struck out with another palm. This time, Lin Taichu failed to dodge. The palm landed on his left ribs, and he retreated two steps, stopping with his back against a large reef. A faint taste of blood rose at the corner of his mouth.
The three had no intention of stopping. The man at the bow gathered another mass of spiritual light and was just about to hurl it out when footsteps came from afar. Not just one person—a whole group. The footsteps were dense and urgent, pounding over broken stones and sand as they ran this way.
The three turned their heads at the same time. The man at the bow gave a low shout.
"Go."
The three turned and ran into the water, stepping across it onto the boat. The hull whipped around and charged out toward the sea. The boat had a shallow draft and great speed; in