Ambush

Everyone was resting inside the manor. The righteous and unorthodox factions sat apart, clearly divided.

Just then, the unorthodox master known as Divine Ear twitched his ears. Startled, he sprang to his feet and shouted, "A large group is approaching! Many of them have synchronized footsteps. It's a well-trained army!"

"What? Soldiers? Have we been discovered?"

Everyone was alarmed. The unorthodox masters were ready to go out and investigate, but the righteous masters were skeptical. "Is that true? Why can't we hear them?"

"Run! If we wait any longer, we won't get the chance."

Divine Ear had no time to deal with the righteous masters. He immediately tried to flee the manor, but then he seemed to hear something and dropped flat to the ground in fright.

The next moment, amid a series of violent whistles, more than a dozen crossbow bolts—much thicker than ordinary arrows—punched through the wooden walls and shot inside. Several masters who couldn't dodge in time were pierced through and killed on the spot!

"Siege crossbows!"

The masters were horrified and hurried to the ground. Only siege crossbows could fire bolts with such force. They were the Imperial Court's ultimate weapon against martial artists!

But why were there siege crossbows outside the manor?

The siege crossbow's greatest weakness was that it was difficult to move. In other words, these crossbows had been stationed nearby from the start. This was a trap!

Everyone's heart sank. After several volleys, the siege crossbows fell silent, and a flurry of hurried footsteps took their place.

The masters looked up and saw a group of soldiers with shields appearing in front of the hall. Behind them, a row of archers nimbly drew their bows and fired. Arrows whistled down in a relentless shower.

The masters scrambled to their feet and dodged, snatching up tables and chairs to use as shields or hurl at the soldiers. Many others used their lightness skills to charge the soldiers!

A great battle—or rather, a bloodbath—erupted in an instant!

Against ordinary bandits, a martial arts master could take on dozens without a problem. But well-trained soldiers were another matter. Just ten of them, working together in formation, could be difficult even for a master to kill. They knew how to cooperate!

Besides, no matter how formidable a martial arts master was, most of their body was still vulnerable. Even an ordinary person could stab them to death with a blade!

So even though the masters were skilled and numerous, facing so many elite soldiers put them under tremendous pressure. A few with superior lightness skills saw that things were going badly and tried to escape.

But when they reached the manor's outer grounds, they were overcome with despair. Soldiers filled the area in every direction, and many masters recruited by Cao Dan were waiting there as well!

"No..."

Even Zhang Yunhao and the others on the opposite hillside could hear the masters' desperate cries. Zhang Yunhao sighed. If he hadn't come, Tian Ming would be among them now. How could he be sitting here so peacefully?

"These men won't escape Director-General Cao's grasp."

Zhang Yunhao turned toward Great Hero of Southern Mountain and smiled. "We have our Great Hero Dragon to thank for this. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been easy to wipe out all these masters. Great Hero Dragon is truly a role model for me. I have much to learn from him."

Great Hero of Southern Mountain kept a blank expression, while Director-General laughed heartily. "Exactly. We have our Great Hero Dragon to thank. Long Yuan, come over and tell me which masters those are. I don't recognize all of them."

"Yes, Director-General!"

At those words, Great Hero of Southern Mountain was delighted rather than angry. He pretended to hesitate, then strode over to Cao Dan and began explaining. "The ones who just escaped are masters with particularly good lightness skills. There's Grass on Flying, Treading Snow Without Trace..."

Seeing Great Hero of Southern Mountain standing with Cao Dan, Zhang Yunhao frowned slightly. Though he had managed to get close to Cao Dan, and his own side had plenty of people, Great Hero of Southern Mountain stood too close to Cao Dan. If Zhang Yunhao attacked, the two of them could easily gang up on him.

And Cao Dan's thirteen sworn sons were also nearby!

This is troublesome. I'll watch and see. Come to think of it, there's something strange about Great Hero of Southern Mountain and the others.

Zhang Yunhao narrowed his eyes slightly. He had been watching Huang Lei and the others closely, and noticed they showed little guilt. Instead, they seemed delighted, excited, and nervous!

Under normal circumstances, even the most cold-blooded person would feel some guilt after causing so many deaths, wouldn't they? And while their delight was understandable right now, why were they excited? What were they nervous about?

There was another suspicious point: they still hadn't knocked Fierce Arhat unconscious or seriously injured him. They had only sealed his acupoints!

After doing something so despicable, they should have wanted to kill Fierce Arhat as quickly as possible. At the very least, they should have knocked him unconscious!

The idea that Great Hero of Southern Mountain would side with Eunuch Cao was already unbelievable. Could it be...

Zhang Yunhao had a few suspicions, but that only made him angrier. He gave a cold snort and decided to wait and see.

Time passed, and more and more soldiers died on the opposite hillside. Plenty of masters had fallen too. Some had spotted Cao Dan and Great Hero of Southern Mountain on this side and were furious, but there was nothing they could do.

Just then, Iron Vajra—the most powerful fighter among the masters—used a secret technique. His body swelled, his skin became impervious to blades and spears, and he swept his iron staff through the ranks, mowing down swathes of soldiers. Ordinary troops couldn't get near him. Seeing this, a group of martial arts masters from the Imperial Court rushed in together, and a fierce battle broke out.

"I don't know what kind of martial art that is, but it's nothing more than external training. It's not worth mentioning."

Cao Dan spoke with disdain. Great Hero of Southern Mountain chimed in beside him. "Of course. Compared to the Director-General's Pure Yang Virgin Boy Skill, Iron Vajra is nothing."

"Indeed! The Pure Yang Virgin Boy Skill is the strongest martial art. It has no weaknesses!"

Cao Dan roared with laughter as he watched the battle in the distance with interest.

Iron Vajra might not amount to much in Cao Dan's eyes, but he was still formidable to everyone else. Even five or six masters couldn't bring him down, and Cao Dan's attention was gradually drawn to their fight.

"Now! Swimming Dragon Sword Slash!"

Great Hero of Southern Mountain had been waiting for this chance. The moment it came, he acted without hesitation. His hand flashed to his sword hilt, and the scabbard suddenly split open. A streak of pitch-black sword light, bright as a bolt of silk, swept toward Cao Dan's waist, aiming to cut him in half.

"Hmm?"

No one had expected Great Hero of Southern Mountain, who had already defected, to suddenly launch a vicious attack. But Cao Dan was no easy target. He reacted at once with a cold snort, and his right hand appeared in front of the sword light as if by magic. Infused with true qi, it gleamed like white jade.

With a clang, Cao Dan blocked Great Hero of Southern Mountain's ambush. His palm bore not a single mark, though his body trembled slightly.

The ambush had failed, but Great Hero of Southern Mountain wasn't discouraged. He exerted force, and another small sword slid out from inside the long one. It was just as pitch-black, and he thrust it toward Cao Dan's waist.