The Twelve Elders

"Third Brother!"

Someone screamed in the air, eyes nearly bursting with rage. Then twelve figures descended from the sky at once.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Twelve flying swords plunged into the ground in unison, surrounding Hanyu.

The first figure stepped forward. His hair and beard were snow-white, and his face was already lined with wrinkles. He was Second Elder Qin of the Qin Family, a milk brother of Third Elder Qin. His face pale, he ran over and seized Third Elder Qin in his arms, howling hoarsely, "Third Brother!"

The remaining eleven glared at Hanyu, murder in their eyes.

"Nine Half-step Divine Peeking Realm cultivators and three Peeping God Realm cultivators!"

Little Glazed hurriedly said in his mind.

Run!

Without a second thought, Hanyu stomped hard and sprang high into the air, leaping a full three zhang and shooting more than ten zhang forward. After landing, he didn't dare stop for even a moment, but took off running.

Nine Half-step Divine Peeking Realm cultivators and three Peeping God Realm cultivators. So it wasn't just a few young ones who'd come after him—it was the whole nest of old monsters.

The Qin Family's entire council of elders must have come!

If he didn't run now, he'd lose his life any moment!

Second Elder Qin's hysterical roar came from behind. "I'll chop him into mincemeat!"

Twelve flying swords lifted from the ground and chased after Hanyu, while another twelve figures shot into the air and pursued him from above.

Hanyu took advantage of the surrounding terrain, weaving left and right to shake off the flying swords, but the twelve figures in the sky were even more nimble than he was.

Wind, fire, and lightning—three different elemental attacks blasted toward his back. Hanyu was so frightened that his soul nearly fled his body.

"Three supernatural ability users?"

"No. They've cultivated techniques suited to their own attributes, and are merely converting their True Essence into those elements." Little Glazed's voice rapidly added in his mind.

"They can't change their attacks as freely as supernatural abilities. Dodge carefully—jump!"

Hanyu hurriedly pushed off the ground and leaped. The three attacks narrowly missed him and blasted a deep crater into the earth. Just then, the twelve flying swords caught up with him again.

"This place won't work. You can only use the terrain to shake off the flying swords, but you can't evade those twelve people above you."

Little Glazed shouted in his mind, "Run outside the city. There's a lot of forest over there, and they won't be able to fly."

At his words, Hanyu hurriedly changed direction at the next street corner. The figures and flying swords behind him pressed close in pursuit.

"Careful! The lightning cultivator is blocking your way ahead. The wind and lightning cultivators are preparing to attack from both sides."

Little Glazed's voice raced through his mind with the warning.

Hanyu immediately held his breath and leaped. After two bounds, a tremendous explosion sounded behind him, followed by a shock wave sweeping in every direction.

The houses along Hanyu's route collapsed one after another, as flimsy as bubbles.

In the twelve pursuers' eyes, Hanyu seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, always reacting with perfect accuracy at the most critical moment.

"This boy is something else!"

Their killing intent only grew stronger. They couldn't let him live!

The city gate was almost within reach. Hanyu sprinted toward it, his speed as swift as wind and thunder, a faint whistle of breaking air trailing behind him.

Several bored city guards had been yawning incessantly when they suddenly saw someone sprinting toward them at full speed, deep craters blasting open behind him. They rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

When they saw the twelve Qin Family elders behind him, they panicked and hurriedly dodged to the side.

Hanyu charged out through the city gate. Little Glazed kept urging him on. "There's no terrain advantage here. The flying swords will catch up soon. You need to go faster—run faster!"

His feet were already flying, but at those words, he gritted his teeth and burst into another surge of speed. In an instant, he was even faster, racing like a bolt of lightning, like an arrow loosed from its bow.

"Damn it, is there no way to kill these bastards?"

Hanyu was furious at being chased around so helplessly.

"There is. Someday, when the energy in your Sea of Consciousness is enough to fuel your supernatural abilities, you won't even need to unleash the Hungry Ghost Path. You could roast them to death with a skyful of Fire Lotus." Little Glazed's voice rang out, teasing him.

Hanyu had only just heard the first half and felt a glimmer of hope, but now he rolled his eyes. That was no different from saying nothing.

He couldn't even cultivate, so how was he supposed to expand the energy in his Sea of Consciousness?

The little Artifact Spirit indignantly said, "What do you think let you kill a Half-step Divine Peeking Realm cultivator with just a few punches? The energy I've been feeding back to you from the bottle all this time has gone toward constantly strengthening your body."

That was something Hanyu hadn't expected. If the little Artifact Spirit hadn't mentioned it, he would've continued thinking his opponent was just too weak.

"From now on, the bottle and I need to start strengthening your Sea of Consciousness. If I weren't afraid you'd die too quickly, why would I have to keep strengthening your body?" The little Artifact Spirit kept chattering on.

"Watch out for the flying swords!"

Unlike inside the city, the open ground outside was the perfect setting for the flying swords. The twelve swords quickly caught up with him, and at the little Artifact Spirit's warning, Hanyu immediately went on guard.

The first sword shot straight for the back of Hanyu's head. Already prepared, he twisted aside and reached back to grab it, catching the blade in his bare hand.

Hanyu tried to snap it, but the flying sword was so hard he couldn't break it. With a furious flick, he hurled it at someone in the air.

The other eleven flying swords kept stabbing toward him. Hanyu grew enraged. As he ran, he grabbed the first few swords that came within reach.

Several sharp whistles cut through the air. The elders pursuing him stared in disbelief as their flying swords suddenly veered toward them, and hurriedly dodged.

"What kind of freak is this? He's catching flying swords with his bare hands!"

Hanyu's barehanded catch had certainly stunned everyone. Even the three Peeping God Realm experts, who prided themselves on having seen it all, had to give him credit.

They were astounded by Hanyu.

Meanwhile, Hanyu was equally frustrated that they were chasing him from the sky.

"Can I learn to spread my fire supernatural ability across the sky like Black Robe did?"

The thought suddenly occurred to Hanyu.

The little Artifact Spirit snapped, "He sent his supernatural ability up there by combining it with True Essence. Do you have True Essence?"

Hanyu had no answer and kept running.

A dense forest came into view. Straight-trunked trees stood packed together, and Hanyu charged straight into it.

Inside the forest, taking to the air became difficult, and even the flying swords were blocked by the thick tangle of trees.

The twelve elders had no choice but to land and give chase on foot, recalling their flying swords to their hands.

"Set it on fire!"

Little Glazed suddenly spoke up.

Huh?

Hanyu thought he'd misheard, but the little Artifact Spirit repeated itself.

"You think I'm tired of living?"

Little Glazed was exasperated. "Your body is strong, and you have a Fire Element Supernatural Power. If you turn this place into a sea of flames, it'll become your home ground. Then you'll have a chance to stay alive."

At his words, Hanyu formed a fireball in each hand and, as he ran, hurled them in every direction.

The twelve pursuers kept after him, gradually realizing something was wrong.

"It's on fire."

One of the elders exclaimed in shock.

The fire spread rapidly—or rather, the flames from Hanyu's supernatural ability spread with extraordinary speed.

Soon, the twelve men were surrounded by fire on all sides. The trees crackled like a swelling tide, and before long, the entire forest was filled with that sound.

"Bad news! He wants to use the fire to boost the power of his supernatural ability!"

One of the Peeping God Realm experts quickly realized Hanyu's intentions. Another Peeping God Realm expert sneered and stepped forward.

"Then I'll destroy the forest. Let's see how he boosts the fire."

With his long sword in hand, True Essence surged skyward, and a whirlwind burst from the blade.

"Don't..."

The elder who'd spoken first turned pale and tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

The whirlwind tore forward, ripping tree after tree out by the roots and clearing a huge patch of ground in an instant.

But it also fanned the flames on the outskirts to their utmost fury in a single moment...

"Idiot! What good does it do to clear the center? We're surrounded now. How are you going to clear the outside?"

That elder couldn't help but berate him.