We Resist, We Flee

Liang Shixian stared dumbfounded as Ji Ruo wielded his longsword, while Zhang Quan and Liu Neng had already fled far away.

A sword technique capable of intercepting hidden weapons or other flying projectiles—Liang Shixian had heard of such things before.

But the lowest cultivation requirement to practice those sword techniques was the Qi Pulse Realm!

There were simply no such sword techniques available for Martial Apprentices to cultivate.

Because every one of those techniques required powerful eyesight as an aid.

Martial Apprentice, to put it nicely, was a Martial Artist Reserve, but in reality, in this world where martial arts were revered by all, even an ordinary person whose physique was completely unsuited for martial training could, after long-term exercise, attain the strength of a Martial Apprentice.

So theoretically, the Martial Apprentice rank was still within the realm of ordinary people.

A martial artist at the Qi Pulse Realm could open their qi channels and truly possess what was called 'Blood Qi.'

So-called Blood Qi meant qi and blood, quite literally.

Blood Qi was the fundamental source of a martial artist's transcendence. Only by truly possessing Blood Qi Power could one further excavate the treasures of the human body and embark on the evolutionary path known as the Martial Dao.

At that point, all aspects of a person's physique would surge at a terrifying rate—defense, strength, speed, reaction, dynamic vision, and so on—all greatly enhanced.

To practice a sword technique capable of blocking arrows or other flying projectiles, one had to possess powerful dynamic vision. After all, if you couldn't even see the incoming arrow clearly, how could you block it?

But the sword technique Ji Ruo was executing now was different. To Liang Shixian, it felt completely unlike any of the flying-projectile-blocking techniques he knew.

Those techniques had extremely fast sword strokes, while Ji Ruo's sword technique wasn't fast—in fact, it was a bit slow.

Of course, 'slow' here was relative; in reality, Ji Ruo's sword strokes weren't that slow either.

Moreover, compared to those proactive blocking techniques, Ji Ruo's swordplay had no Sword Qi and wasn't fast, but it seemed more exquisite.

He would always swing his longsword to a certain position first, and then the venomous stinger would collide with it.

It felt as if those Tail-Stinger Demon Bees were actively ramming their stingers into Ji Ruo's blade.

Absurd!

Clang!

As the last venomous stinger was sliced down by Ji Ruo, this first volley of stingers—sixteen in total—was completely cut down by Ji Ruo!

"Ji—"

Just as Liang Shixian was about to say something, he saw the second wave of stingers already loaded and shooting toward them.

"Whatever it is, talk later. Run first!"

Ji Ruo bent down, scooped up seven or eight venomous stingers, and stuffed them into his chest. Then he activated Arrow Breaking Form again, and the clanging sounds rang out without end.

A single Tail-Stinger Demon Bee's stinger sac could store six to nine venomous stingers. Ji Ruo could rely on his First Glimpse of the Path level Nine Swords of Dugu: Arrow Breaking Form to block them, but once the main swarm of Tail-Stinger Demon Bees realized those corpses wouldn't run and decided to deal with these moving food sources first, they'd be in danger.

After all, Arrow Breaking Form didn't rely on powerful dynamic vision to block flying projectiles; it relied on prediction.

By listening to the wind and discerning position, it judged the direction and sequence of the flying projectiles, calculated and predicted the order of strikes, and then neutralized them with exquisite swordplay.

Ji Ruo could barely handle a dozen or so Tail-Stinger Demon Bees, but if those several hundred all charged at once, he wouldn't even be able to hear clearly, let alone calculate and predict the order.

Unable to see the flight trajectory or predict it, once the main swarm realized they should kill the moving targets first, Ji Ruo and the others would still die here.

Liang Shixian realized this too. He wasn't one to be overly dramatic, so he didn't insist on covering the retreat. He only left one sentence: "Take care of yourself."

Then he turned and sprinted away.

Earlier, Liang Shixian had seemed ready to face death, but in the end, he was just a teenager. Faced with actual death, he was still afraid.

Moreover, Ji Ruo's sword technique showed who was more suited to cover the retreat in this situation, so Liang Shixian ran.

Seeing Liang Shixian leave, Ji Ruo used Arrow Breaking Form to block the stingers while rapidly backing away.

Fighting while retreating.

Second wave, third wave, fourth wave.

When the Tail-Stinger Demon Bees fired their stingers, their bodies paused for a moment.

And with each stinger fired, they grew weaker, their flight speed slowing down.

Normally, with fewer stingers, their load would be lighter, and they should fly faster.

But in reality, these demonic beasts weren't machines. Biological limitations meant that as their weight decreased, their stamina was heavily consumed, and so their flight speed dropped as well.

Ji Ruo and the others ran farther and farther away.

During this process, Ji Ruo even used his free hand to grab the severed stingers and stuff them into his pocket—these things were highly toxic and could be used to make special arrows, which could be sold for money.

As long as the venom on the stingers didn't touch a wound, it was harmless.

The sixteen Tail-Stinger Demon Bees flew slower and slower, while Ji Ruo and the others ran farther and farther.

At this point, the main swarm finally realized which targets to kill first. Aside from some Tail-Stinger Demon Bees still transporting blood food, a large number of them took flight and headed in the direction Ji Ruo and the others had fled.

The noisy drone rose again, but by the time they caught up to those sixteen Tail-Stinger Demon Bees, Ji Ruo and the others were already out of sight.

Because the Martial Exam was approaching, martial arts instruction in high school, besides some combat techniques, also focused heavily on escape skills.

A martial artist should press forward fearlessly, but life was equally important. Only by surviving could one talk about anything else.

Ten Thousand Beast Mountain, the summit.

This is the very center of the secret realm, a place humans have never explored.

Extremely powerful monster beasts and demonic beasts dwell here, each claiming territory and ruling their own mountains, with frequent friction between them—neighborly relations are far from harmonious.

But today, a rare gathering of great demons convened, discussing something with another group of equally formidable demonic beasts that also reside atop the mountain peaks.

Every single entity here is as massive as a giant peak, radiating terrifying waves of power.

"Still haven't found that damned cat?!"

A colossal toad asked in a deep voice, a bright moon resting on its back, its phases slowly shifting with time.

"No."

A cyclops of equal size shook its head slightly; the enormous single eye occupying two-thirds of its face seemed to contain a blazing sun.

"That damned cat! It killed the sleeping Earth-Turning Dragon, stole its power, and has been constantly altering the terrain of Ten Thousand Beast Mountain. It's hard for us to track it."

"No matter. It's already gravely wounded, and because it fears being caught by us, it keeps using its stolen power to reshape the terrain without rest. It won't last long! We can wait until it exhausts itself, then find it."

Hearing this, the giant toad carrying the moon snorted coldly: "Easy for you to say! You haven't had your treasure stolen, so of course you're not worried!

My Moonlight Mirror has already been taken by it. What if it uses the Moonlight Mirror to escape Ten Thousand Beast Mountain?"

The cyclops pondered for a moment, then said: "It shouldn't have the spare power to activate the Moonlight Mirror. Forcibly altering all the terrain of Ten Thousand Beast Mountain except the peaks, hiding its aura, and being severely wounded..."

"Hmph, let's hope so!"

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