Sealing the Exits

Jiang Shuo looked back and saw that Chen Xian had called out to him.

Standing beside Chen Xian was a group of Mad Saber Sect disciples, all of whom guarded the Forbidden Ground.

Jiang Shuo furrowed his brows, puzzled. Though this place wasn't part of the Forbidden Ground, it was still within the Back Mountain. Beyond the treacherous mountain path ahead lay the Mad Saber Sect's secret grounds. Surely the sect had rules against trespassing, so how had Chen Xian dared to bring people here on his own? And Jiang Shuo had run into them the moment he came out. They looked as if they'd been waiting here for him, which left him utterly baffled.

Just then, Jiang Shuo spotted a familiar figure behind Chen Xian.

"Sun Daoming, you actually sold me out!" The moment he saw him, Jiang Shuo understood. Sun Daoming must have been caught by Chen Xian while trying to escape. To save his own skin, he had revealed Jiang Shuo's whereabouts. Chen Xian had led his men here, but hadn't dared to charge in recklessly, so they'd waited outside—and ended up catching Jiang Shuo just as he emerged.

Six men had gone after Jiang Shuo at the time, and Sun Daoming had thought he was as good as dead. Now that he saw Jiang Shuo alive and kicking, he couldn't help avoiding his gaze, guilt written on his face. He stammered, "I... I wasn't going to tell them, but they tortured me until I—"

"Enough." Jiang Shuo gave a cold snort. Sun Daoming was still fair and plump, without a single visible scar. Did he look like someone who'd been tortured?

"Does any of this bickering matter now?" Chen Xian cut them off, fixing Jiang Shuo with a cold stare. This was the man who'd escaped into the Forbidden Ground right under his nose—a humiliation Chen Xian could never live down. "Take him down!"

At his command, the Mad Saber Sect disciples surged forward.

Jiang Shuo turned and made to dive back into the piles of rocks. But as soon as he turned, more than ten Mad Saber Sect disciples emerged from the rocks behind him, blocking his retreat.

Chen Xian had anticipated Jiang Shuo's alertness. While Jiang Shuo was speaking with Sun Daoming, he'd arranged for men to seal off his escape route.

Jiang Shuo furrowed his brows into a deep frown. He was still thinking of a way out when the enemy charged.

If Jiang Shuo fell into Chen Xian's hands, he'd be as good as dead. His eyes narrowed, and without another moment's hesitation, he used the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill.

One disciple reached him first. Jiang Shuo slapped a palm against the man's chest. An unseen force welled up in his palm, devouring the man's Inner Force. But after only a moment, another disciple arrived and slashed at Jiang Shuo. With no choice, Jiang Shuo let go. The two sides plunged into a chaotic melee. Relying on his Movement Technique, Jiang Shuo kept circling his enemies, looking for chances to drain their Inner Force. Though there were many of them, they all used the Slaying Saber Technique, one of the Mad Saber Four Techniques. Neither their speed nor their ferocity came close to Shen Biao's, and Jiang Shuo was already getting the hang of handling them. The Mad Saber Sect disciples, meanwhile, grew more awkward with every exchange. Jiang Shuo not only countered each of their attacks; whenever one let his guard down, Jiang Shuo caught him, and the True Qi inside him inexplicably poured away. This only deepened their doubts. With Chen Xian supervising nearby, they were too uneasy to retreat, but most simply circled Jiang Shuo without attacking, going through the motions rather than putting in any effort. To anyone watching, it looked as though Jiang Shuo was facing dozens of men alone and still had everything under control.

The more Chen Xian watched, the angrier he grew, a storm cloud gathering over his face. He could tell Jiang Shuo had changed, but in just seven days, how much could he possibly have improved?

"A bunch of useless trash! Get out of my way!" Chen Xian roared. The Mad Saber Sect disciples scattered, relieved.

Quite a few of them had lost some Inner Force to Jiang Shuo and looked rather battered. Their condition only made Chen Xian angrier.

Chen Xian strode toward Jiang Shuo, gripping his saber. "You tricked your way out of my grasp last time. This time, I won't let you get away!"

Jiang Shuo stared at Chen Xian's furious face, a shadow falling over his eyes.

As the Mad Saber Sect's Second Senior Brother, Chen Xian's strength was beyond question. His Inner Force and techniques were both far superior to Shen Biao's.

When Jiang Shuo had fought Rong Yan earlier, his Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill wouldn't have been able to shake Rong Yan's foundation at all if Rong Yan hadn't let his guard down. How could it work against Chen Xian, whose cultivation was deeper and more stable?

Jiang Shuo had beaten Shen Biao because he had Rong Yan's Inner Force stored inside him. During the fight just now, he'd drained a little Inner Force from each of the Mad Saber Sect disciples, but it had come from different people and was all mixed together. To keep it from becoming a burden, he'd had to use it as he absorbed it, and now it was completely spent. Even if he'd stored it inside himself, he lacked the strength to fuse it together. Used bit by bit, it would be no more than an itch to Chen Xian.

Jiang Shuo had little chance of beating Chen Xian.

The tension between them was so thick it seemed ready to squeeze water from the air. Just then, a disciple suddenly noticed something. "Huh? Where did that person go?"

As he spoke, he pointed in one direction. Chen Xian and Sun Daoming had been standing there. Chen Xian had stepped forward to face Jiang Shuo, but Sun Daoming had vanished.