Scapegoat! (Seeking daily reads)

In an instant, cold sweat drenched his entire body—he knew full well that he had narrowly escaped death by a hair's breadth.

"It's him!" Wang Lin watched as Zhao An slowly rose from the stone bench, then glanced at the several long blades laid out on the stone table, and dared not show any trace of arrogance from then on.

Zhao An said nothing, lifting his blade and striding toward the leader.

His posture was tall and straight, his gaze blazing; with each dragon-like step and tiger-like stride, he exuded a chilling aura.

This was the deterrent force he had forged by killing Red Names!

"Think I'm scared of you?" Wang Lin gritted his teeth, hoisting his wolf-tooth club like a wild boar charging headlong into the small courtyard, meeting Zhao An head-on.

He had brought his brothers here; if he backed down now, he might as well give up his post as Banner Leader!

With a bellow like an ox, Wang Lin's arm muscles bulged as he swung the wolf-tooth club viciously, aiming straight for Zhao An's head.

Since childhood, he had possessed great strength, better at farm work than others, and even more so after training in martial arts!

His Internal Breath cultivation was slow, but in the stronghold, few could match his raw power.

Zhao An saw the man's astonishing strength, sidestepped, twisted his long blade, and struck the club with the flat of the sword. Relying on his exquisite blade skill, he managed to deflect the wolf-tooth club off course.

Thud!

The club smashed into the ground, cracking the floor tiles and sending gravel flying in all directions.

Zhao An then exerted force, sliding his blade along the club's shaft, forcing Wang Lin to hastily abandon his weapon.

A fierce look flashed across Wang Lin's face as he yanked a short blade from his waist and struck back.

But when it came to blade skill, how could he match Zhao An?

After just a few exchanges, Zhao An lopped off the man's head with a single stroke!

"Plenty of strength, but his martial skill is mediocre, and his Internal Breath is pitifully weak..."

After every battle, Zhao An would assess each opponent he faced.

This process of review was also how he absorbed combat experience.

The remaining bandits, seeing their leader so easily slain, trembled in terror and scrambled to flee.

"You came, and now you think you can leave?"

Zhao An had no intention of letting these Red Names go. He channeled Internal Breath into his feet, suddenly burst into motion, and shot forward like an arrow from a bowstring.

The bandits watched in despair as Zhao An overtook them all.

That courtyard gate was so close, yet they could not reach it.

The long blade reaped its harvest. After a few screams, the courtyard door swung shut once more.

"As expected of Brother Zhao!" Throughout the whole ordeal, Li Gou'er had only managed to fire two bolts from his crossbow, killing one and wounding another.

The rest were all handled by Zhao An. Zhao Chunzi could only brandish his blade for show, unable to even rush forward before the slaughter ended.

Soul Slave count increased by ten, including one Martial Master Soul Slave.

Inside the house, Meng Wanyi was about to push the door open when Zhao An said in a low voice.

"Go back."

Meng Wanyi was startled but retreated.

Through the crack in the door, she saw two blood-soaked ruffians vault over the courtyard wall.

Tonight was indeed troublesome; it would not be easy for any of the city's common folk to survive.

Li Gou'er, standing nearby, immediately raised his crossbow again, aiming at the two men.

Just then, Zhao An reached out and yanked Li Gou'er aside.

A silver flying knife streaked past, grazing Li Gou'er's arm.

If Zhao An had been a fraction slower, that knife would have surely lodged itself in Li Gou'er's chest.

"Not slow on the draw. You've got some skill. Wasting yourself in a little courtyard like this is a shame. How about coming with me to Black Wind Stronghold? I'll give you a hundred men and make you a Banner Leader!" said a burly man covered in blood, smirking at Zhao An.

Zhao An looked over and saw a vivid red name above the man's head.

Guo Fenglin.

This man's aura was thick and heavy, his hands and feet large, his build broad. Though his face was hard to make out clearly, Zhao An already sensed that this was no ordinary opponent.

"He killed Wang Lin and our brothers." The man still holding a flying knife glanced at the corpses on the ground and said in a low voice.

"Hmph. What a pity. Since that's the case, you can't be allowed to live." Guo Fenglin said indifferently.

The moment he finished speaking, the man beside him struck, hurling a flying knife that in the blink of an eye was nearly at Zhao An's brow.

The refracted cold light seemed to make his forehead ache.

Without a doubt, the man had held back earlier; now he was fighting for real.

In a flash, Zhao An tilted his head to dodge.

But the man moved his hands in rapid succession, sending several more flying knives his way.

Zhao An shoved Li Gou'er aside, leaping and twisting continuously, parrying with his blade, yet still ended up with several cuts on his body.

Earlier, when he had cut through the Tiger Head Gang and the Python Gang, he hadn't suffered a single wound.

Yet now, facing this man, he was injured at the very first exchange.

This Flying Dagger Art was truly a life-reaping technique!

Compared to it, the likes of Xu Donglai and Zhou Hu combined didn't put as much pressure on him as this man did.

Ignoring the minor cuts on his body, Zhao An swiftly closed the distance and drew his blade to strike.

He had no idea how many flying daggers the other party had in hand; he couldn't just stand there as a living target.

As long as his blade could land on the opponent, there was still a chance to turn the tables!

Seeing this, the man named Cui Ting also pulled out a short blade and actively met him head-on.

Zhao An immediately unleashed his Fierce Tiger Blade Art, the blade faintly resonating with the might of a tiger roaring through the mountains.

His exquisite blade technique quickly reversed Zhao An's disadvantage.

But soon, Zhao An discovered that the four-realm Fierce Tiger Blade Art, which had been unstoppable in the past, only managed a stalemate against this man.

In fact, after a few exchanges, he even fell into the inferior position.

The opponent's blade was as swift as thunder, his movements like a raging gale—one lapse in focus and he could hack the enemy to pieces.

"Young as he is, to match Cui Ting in blade skill, he truly has potential." Guo Fenglin leaned against the wall, swallowing a Healing Pill to calm the surging blood and injuries within him, while also watching the fight from the sidelines.

"Killing him just like that... what a pity..."

Clang!

Another clash of blades, their strength colliding, and each retreated a few steps.

Zhao An's stance was somewhat unsteady.

His arm strength was not weak, but the opponent's Internal Breath was far stronger—in a direct confrontation, he held no advantage.

Suddenly, Zhao An flicked his hand, and a flying dagger he had concealed shot out like a flash of silver at a cunningly chosen moment.

This dagger had come from the opponent; he had hidden one in his hand, waiting for just such an opportunity to return the favor.

Flying Dagger Art—who couldn't use it!

Cui Ting clearly hadn't expected Zhao An to have this trick up his sleeve. At close range, the dagger pierced into his chest.

Unfortunately, it was slightly off from the heart, so it didn't kill him on the spot.

Seeing this, Zhao An took a step forward and swung his blade again.

"How dare you!" Guo Fenglin shouted, eyes wide, as he raised an Iron Spear and thrust it toward Zhao An.

He too hadn't expected that a moment of carelessness would let Zhao An succeed.

This spear was meant to save Cui Ting.

But to his surprise, Zhao An didn't even glance at it, nor did he dodge!

"Sacrificial Substitute!"

Zhao An had long prepared for this. An ordinary Soul Slave, bound to serve for only a year, had been waiting in the wings.

The moment the Iron Spear's tip struck his spine, a faint, invisible shadow materialized on his body, taking the blow in his place!