Crossing Blades I (Thanks, Alliance Leader AuroraLin)

Before long, as time passed.

Lin Hui heard the sounds drifting back from the fog ahead gradually grow quieter, until the barbarians' roars vanished.

He let out a soft breath.

"They've got some skills... They can take out three mutated Four-Armed Barbarians so easily."

He lightly leaped down from the branch, turned, and headed into the distance.

"Since you can take such a beating..."

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"Then take a few more beatings..."

With a hiss, his figure silently vanished into the fog.

Even for him now, taking on a mutated Four-Armed Barbarian alone without activating his special-effect ability would take quite some time to kill it. Yet those two had dealt with three of them so easily. They truly were formidable foes.

And his only advantage lay in his speed.

So.

Clang!

Wan'er gripped her blade in both hands and flashed past the Four-Armed Barbarian's waist, carving open an enormous gash.

Blood sprayed everywhere. The wound burst open like an exploding flower, clearly from some special force invading its body.

Bang.

The last Four-Armed Barbarian let out a final wail and crashed to the ground. It no longer stirred.

Panting heavily, Wan'er sheathed her blade, shook off the blood, and looked toward Grandma.

Over there, another Four-Armed Barbarian had long since fallen dead. Grandma, in the Inner Strength Realm, wore a grim expression as she scanned their surroundings.

"Grandma?"

"Three mutated barbarians appearing at once—either we ran into a small tribe, or someone is causing trouble in the shadows!" Grandma said coldly.

"You mean that kid from earlier?" Wan'er frowned tightly.

"Qingfeng Temple's movement technique is quite good. It's possible for him to lure these barbarians over, but in theory, even though Qingfeng Temple is fast, dealing with Four-Armed Barbarians wouldn't be easy for them. They may be fast, but not this fast. Luring so many here in such a short time... that's unrealistic..."

Grandma calculated inwardly. That kid was so young; no matter how strong his movement technique was, he couldn't possibly have reached the Inner Strength Realm. Below the Inner Strength Realm, there was a limit to movement techniques. That Chen Sui, supposedly the strongest, had fought disciples of the Black Dragon Gate a few days ago, and she had gone to watch. He was nothing special.

"Maybe we really did run into a small tribe. Stay alert," Grandma said in a low voice. "If—"

Roar!

Before she could finish, another two Four-Armed Barbarians charged out, swinging their massive clubs at the pair.

After fighting continuously, the two women had expended no small amount of strength. They wanted to shake them off, but Wan'er's movement technique wasn't fast enough to leave the barbarians' sight in a short time.

"This won't do! We have to retreat first!" White light lit up in Grandma's palms as she fiercely struck one barbarian down. Turning her head, she saw another two Thousand-Foot Eyeballs pouncing toward them.

These monsters were the most troublesome. If one's movement speed wasn't sufficient, the instant it was killed, its self-destruction would catch them in the blast.

She could protect herself with inner strength, but Wan'er could not.

"Damn it!" Such abnormally dense monster attacks made her clearly realize that someone was pulling strings. Since it didn't seem to be that young kid, it was most likely another Inner Strength Realm expert causing trouble.

"Don't let me find out who it is! Retreat!"

Grandma carried the bag of gathered materials and gave a sharp shout, swiftly heading back toward Tuyue's No Fog Zone.

The two raced one after the other, quickly leaving the Thousand-Foot Eyeballs behind. Their movement techniques were decent. Though inferior to Qingfeng Temple's, they were still somewhat stronger than ordinary external martial arts. As they flew forward, flower-like footprints blossomed beneath their feet.

It was clearly another special movement technique.

But they had not gone far.

Three more One-Horned Spiders, each three meters tall, scuttled out of the fog on eight legs and lunged at them.

These One-Horned Spiders were enormous. More importantly, their movement speed was the fastest among the surrounding monsters, nearly matching the two women's movement techniques. They could also spit silk from afar.

This time, the two had no choice but to slow down and fight, intending to deal with two of the monsters first.

But after fighting for so long, even Grandma, an Inner Strength Realm expert, was panting heavily and beginning to tire.

Much less Wan'er, who had yet to enter the Inner Strength Realm.

"Wan'er, go first. I'll hold these two monsters back. Once I've dealt with them, I'll find you up ahead!" Grandma had no choice but to let her granddaughter leave the No Fog Zone first and escape danger.

They were already not far from the No Fog Zone. They only needed to dash forward a few hundred meters.

"Grandma, be careful of that person in the shadows!" Wan'er knew that staying would only hold her back. Both of them were exhausted now, and they had to make a choice. At once, she picked up the materials bag and ran.

"Hmph!" Grandma leaped forward and struck a One-Horned Spider on the back as it tried to give chase, making it stagger violently. Its carapace cracked, and milky-white blood seeped out.

Hiss!

The One-Horned Spider turned its head in fury. Its hatred drawn to her, it continued pouncing toward her.

Its enormous body charged like a small ox cart.

"Four Seasons Bloom!" White radiance flared in Grandma's hands as she abruptly lowered herself and slid beneath the One-Horned Spider.

In an instant, a vast swath of white, petal-like phantoms flew from her palms and struck the charging One-Horned Spider.

Bang!!

The large and small figures both froze as they collided.

Then, with a thunderous boom, the One-Horned Spider was smashed by an enormous force. Its eight legs snapped all at once with a crack, and it dropped to its knees. Its body burst apart, and its breath was extinguished.

Huff... huff...

Granny had consumed too much inner strength. After catching her breath briefly, she turned and slipped past another One-Horned Spider's charge, leaping into the air. Flipping over, she drove another palm down with the same lethal move onto the One-Horned Spider's back.

Bang!

A burst of white, petal-like phantoms exploded outward. The second One-Horned Spider likewise collapsed and died, its black carapace seeming to have gained a wide spread of fine petal marks.

Meanwhile, Wan'er, who had already run some distance ahead, warily stopped in place and stared fixedly at a figure blocking the narrow mountain path before her.

"You finally dare show yourself! You despicable bastard!!" Wan'er's gaze turned icy. She set down the bag of materials in her hand and flexed her palms, which wore special gloves.

The figure remained hidden in the mist, still too indistinct to make out clearly.

But anyone capable of precisely seizing the moment to intercept her had to be connected to whoever had lured the monsters over earlier.

So...

"Do you really think we were exhausted and had no choice but to split up and flee?" As Wan'er spoke, her panting body rapidly steadied, as though she had merely finished warming up.

"Sadly, you'll be disappointed. Perhaps you still don't know what our Hundred Flowers Sect is strongest at. It's... endurance!!"

Wan'er suddenly charged forward, viciously striking a palm toward the figure in the mist.

The mist ahead swiftly dispersed, and the figure's form quickly became clear.

Whoosh!

A fierce wind howled as the figure was rapidly revealed.

A fitted gray-white Daoist robe, a black longsword at the waist, long hair tied high, and a cold, detached face.

It was unmistakably that Qingfeng Temple brat they had encountered earlier!

"So it's you!! Damn it! You're finished! Qingfeng Temple is finished too!!" Intense fury flashed through Wan'er's eyes, and the force behind her palm suddenly increased.

The Hundred Flowers Palm was known for endurance and armor-piercing power. It was exceptionally formidable at breaking through defenses. Once it got close enough to fight, even Black Dragon Gate elites with formidable defenses would not dare take two of her palms head-on!

As the fourth-ranked core disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect, Wan'er had absolute confidence that, once she closed in, she could end the battle in an instant.

Qingfeng Temple's movement technique was fast, but once within a certain range, the Hundred Flowers Palm had plenty of ways to restrain that speed.

As a powerful palm technique that had fought its way through countless external martial arts in a savage melee and risen above the rest, it had to possess methods and experience for dealing with every kind of martial art. Otherwise, if its weaknesses were too obvious, it would inevitably be drowned out and eliminated amid the competition of countless martial halls, vanishing completely.

The Hundred Flowers Palm was the same. Once someone entered within two meters of her, the Falling Flowers and Leaves Movement Technique would unfold, and they would have no chance of escaping the palm technique's restraints unscathed.

What was more, Granny and she had deliberately split up to draw out whoever was stirring up trouble in the shadows, so...

At that moment, she still had a devastating weapon tucked in her robes as her trump card. So long as she got close, even someone in the Inner Strength Realm would...

In an instant, the distance between them rapidly shrank—from ten meters, to eight, five, four, three!!

Clang!

At last, a sword rang out.

The figure before Wan'er abruptly drew his sword. Its shadow trailed layer upon layer of afterimages as it thrust continuously toward her chest.

"You're courting death!" Wan'er's eyes lit up. Clearly, he did not know that the gloves on her hands were as light as cicada wings yet incomparably tough. They could crush gold and snap iron without harming her in the slightest. Once they truly exchanged blows, if she touched his blade, she could disarm him and seize his sword in a single move!

In Xingdao, the Hundred Flowers Palm had been one of the renowned martial arts for taking a blade barehanded. Against a mere Qingfeng Temple brat like this, so long as she touched him...

As the distance closed.

The longsword and palm sped toward each other, about to collide fiercely—

Pff.

Wan'er's hand suddenly grasped at empty air!

The sword had been on the verge of touching her hand, yet in the blink of an eye, it had actually withdrawn!?

Withdrawn!??

Having grabbed at nothing, Wan'er made a split-second decision and unleashed a Hundred Flowers Palm move designed to restrict movement techniques.

"Shadowless Flower!"

She shouted inwardly, her hands suddenly shaking. Two tough steel wires shot from mechanisms at her wrists, flying toward the figure ahead.

These steel wires were crafted by mechanisms, and their firing speed far surpassed anything ordinary. Within three meters, no matter how fast Qingfeng Temple's movement technique was, it would be impossible to evade them!

But...

After two whistling sounds tore through the air, both steel wires missed.

"Impossible!!" Wan'er's expression changed drastically. "Qingfeng Temple can't possibly be this fast!! Who exactly are you!?"

"I am a man of Qingfeng Temple. Shall I prove it to you?" Lin Hui slowly emerged from an empty spot to the side, while the figure from before turned into an afterimage and vanished.

His heart stirred slightly. The more she doubted him, the more firmly he had to insist that he was one of them. That would surely produce the opposite effect.

After Body Tempering, his movement speed, combined with the perfect Nine Section Fast Sword, had become unnaturally fast.

Judging from her reaction, he should not be weak at this point. As for exactly what level he had reached, he would need more comparisons.

"Again!" Wanting to test it out, he immediately unleashed the Nine Section Fast Sword once more.

His figure instantly pulled out a trail of afterimages, the sword tip stabbing toward her lower abdomen.

Sshhk!

But when the sword tip was still half a meter from her, it suddenly drew back.

It had been withdrawn again.

Pfft!

Wan'er's palm missed again. Her face turned pale; too many missed palm strikes had strained her shoulder.

Before she could recover, a fresh sword shadow pounced during the instant her shoulder was strained, stabbing toward her neck.

This strike was vicious and ruthless, its timing pinpoint-perfect. There was simply no time to block.

The sword shadow was almost at her neck, barely a dozen centimeters away. Her skin could even feel the icy chill radiating from its tip.

"Ah!"

Wan'er suddenly flung something outward with her right hand.

The instant it left her hand, the object exploded, bursting open into a vast net of incomparably tough white threads that spread ahead to cover the area.

But at that very moment, Lin Hui's figure retracted again!

And he had actively pulled back even before the object had been thrown.

Clearly, that sword strike just now had been another feint!!!

Boom!!

The white thread net exploded and covered the space ahead, catching nothing but air.

Under Lin Hui's probing, this trump card had once again gone off with a hollow bang.

"F*ck!!" Wan'er's mentality shattered. She lunged forward through the air, both hands unleashing the killing move of the Hundred Flowers Palm.

But Lin Hui was still probing.