In the bamboo forest, shadows swirled in chaos and sword light flashed on every side. The force of heaven and earth hung heavily over the air like dense black clouds churning without restraint.
With the aid of the Unrivaled Palace woman who had stepped in when she saw injustice, Ximen Daguanren escaped danger. He seemed to know the woman and stubbornly refused to leave, needing to be dragged away by his two fiercely loyal guards after a prolonged tug-of-war.
Just then, Xiang Yuan leaped out and shouted that he had come to help. Dressed in black and indistinguishable from an assassin, he was judged by the two guards to be another ambusher nearby. Ignoring Ximen Daguanren's cries, they forcibly took him away.
Though Xiang Yuan had not unleashed the force of heaven and earth and seemed to possess only ordinary skills, like a Foundation Establishment Realm martial artist, he leaked not the slightest trace of his aura. He was far more formidable than the dozen-plus Stellar Palace assassins—how could he possibly be merely in the Foundation Establishment Realm?
There must still be an ambush here. Leave at once!
The female swordfighter of the Unrivaled Palace had also been startled by Xiang Yuan. Only when she saw him draw his saber to relieve the pressure did the heart hanging in her throat slowly settle.
Looking again, Ximen Daguanren had yet to flee far. With a sweep of his longsword, the force of heaven and earth spread into rolling waves of heat, sweeping several nearby killers into the radiance of a blazing sun and refusing to let them leave.
Judging solely by strength and methods, she was far inferior to Expert Bro, and even further beneath Xiao Lingyue. Xiang Yuan lowered his assessment of her—from Xiao Lingyue's senior sister to junior sister.