The Great Battle

(Wangyou)

Huang Xiang and his group briefly took cover, letting Chu Xiaotian pass them. Then they quietly followed him, fanning out to surround him.

Chu Xiaotian had no idea. He kept striding along boldly. About ten minutes later, he arrived in front of the valley where he had left Huang Nian and the others' corpses. Seeing the spotless valley and the tree that had clearly just been snapped in two, his heart gave a sudden jolt. Without hesitation, he flung the bundle of clothes from his spearhead into the valley, turned around, and sprinted away.

Up ahead, four burly men with grim faces appeared and blocked his path. Then two more burly men emerged from each of the other three directions, surrounding him in the middle.

"Good, very good, excellent! You dared to kill members of my Huang Family. Today, if I don't flay you alive with three thousand cuts, I'll stop being a Huang!" Of the four men standing in front of Chu Xiaotian, the black-clad burly man with the highest cultivation gnashed his teeth, as if he wanted to swallow him whole.

"I didn't kill them. I just saw their corpses and took a few Qiankun Bags from them. They were already dead before I got there!" Chu Xiaotian looked at the black-clad man with an aggrieved expression, putting on an act of sheer innocence.

"Hmph, brat, don't take us for three-year-olds. If you dared to kill them, you should be ready to be killed in turn. The Huang Family isn't someone just anyone can provoke. Today, I'll flay you alive in this valley to comfort my nephew's spirit in heaven!" The black-clad man snorted, making no effort to hide the killing intent in his eyes. A tremendous aura burst from him and bore down on Chu Xiaotian like a landslide.

"Oh, so you're not three-year-olds after all. My mistake. But the odds of you flaying me alive aren't very high, so you'd better prepare yourself mentally." The aura of someone at the peak of the Sea-Opening Realm had no effect on Chu Xiaotian. He stopped pretending, looked at Huang Xiang and his group, and spoke with a faint smile. These eleven men were far stronger than the five from before, but after mastering the Electric Dragon Spear, he had great confidence in his own strength. He wasn't afraid of them in the least and even had the nerve to joke around.

"Good, good, good! I'd like to see just how capable you are, brat who's only just entered the Sea-Opening Realm, to dare run your mouth like that!" Huang Xiang laughed in fury, repeating "good" three times. The instant he finished speaking, his body turned into a streak of black light and lunged at Chu Xiaotian. Chu Xiaotian's cultivation was different from that of the cultivators on Lianyue Continent. He was currently at the mid-stage of the Purple Corpse realm, and his body was far tougher than the standards of the Tenth-Stage Body Refining. His meridians were open and his dantian unlocked, so to outsiders, he looked like a cultivator in the Sea-Opening Realm. Of course, appearances were one thing; his actual strength was something else entirely.

Ever since he had spotted Huang Xiang and his group, Chu Xiaotian had been on full alert. The moment Huang Xiang moved, he did too. Instead of charging at Huang Xiang, he lunged at the weakest of the ten guards, thrusting his spear straight at him without any flourish. Picking on the softest persimmon was Chu Xiaotian's usual style. The unlucky fellow stood to his right.

The guard had probably assumed Chu Xiaotian couldn't possibly escape Huang Xiang's grasp, so he had made no preparations. Only when Chu Xiaotian charged at him did he panic and raise his saber to fight. He was at the initial stage of the Sea-Opening Realm. All the spiritual essence in his body surged into his saber, making its blade glow with a faint yellow light. He swung it at full strength to knock Chu Xiaotian's spearpoint aside, while retreating in the same instant, hoping to dodge the thrust. As long as he could avoid it, Huang Xiang would arrive in time to kill the brat.

His reasoning made sense, but reality was cruel. Chu Xiaotian hadn't used the Electric Dragon Spear; he was saving it as a trump card for the strongest opponent. Yet even this casual thrust carried a hint of the Electric Dragon Spear, and it was blindingly fast. The guard's saber struck the spear with a metallic clang, sending sparks flying. But the spear didn't veer off course. Its tip had already pierced his chest, skewering him through.

Even after Chu Xiaotian pulled back his spear and leaped away, the guard still couldn't understand how he had been hit. Chu Xiaotian had moved too fast. The guard beside him hadn't even had time to help and could only watch helplessly as he fell. By then, Chu Xiaotian had already turned and charged at another guard.

"Brat, I'll flay you alive!" Eleven men had surrounded one person and hadn't even touched a hair on his head, yet one of their own had already died. Huang Xiang was beside himself with rage. His speed surged, and he went after Chu Xiaotian, intent on cutting him down. The other guards drew their weapons and charged as well.

But Chu Xiaotian was much faster than they were, and he had the advantage of a long spear. These opponents, whose strength was roughly equal to his or even inferior, couldn't get near him at all. As the saying went, an inch longer meant an inch stronger, while an inch shorter meant an inch more dangerous. Against Chu Xiaotian's ten-foot weapon, the Huang Family guards' three-foot weapons left them at a complete disadvantage. Without techniques to make up for that weakness, they had almost no chance of turning the tables.

Huang Xiang was strong enough to get close, but he could only chase after Chu Xiaotian. Chu Xiaotian gave him no opening.

Chu Xiaotian's figure darted and whirled. His spear swept from side to side in broad, powerful arcs, then flicked and swayed like a venomous snake striking out.

A guard at the middle stage of the Sea-Opening Realm tried to meet Chu Xiaotian head-on, winding his longsword toward the spear tip. The sword was a mid-grade Refined Artifact, exceptionally sharp. He meant to use it to snap Chu Xiaotian's spear, which looked like nothing more than a Mortal Artifact.

A series of crisp clangs rang out. All that remained in the guard's hand was the hilt of his sword. Chu Xiaotian's spear was completely unharmed, and it plunged straight into the guard's chest, tearing a gaping hole through him.

"Impossible! That's clearly a Mortal Artifact. How could it break my Refined Artifact?" he roared in disbelief, slowly collapsing.

"Whether it's a Mortal Artifact or a Refined Artifact, if it can kill you, it's a good weapon." Chu Xiaotian smiled faintly and swept his spear, forcing back a guard who was about to close in. He dodged Huang Xiang and lunged toward another guard.

"Brat, if you've got the guts, stop dodging and fight me one-on-one! Let's see how I flay you alive!" Another guard had died. Huang Xiang was so furious his head was practically smoking.

"Don't rush, don't rush. Once these annoying people are dead, we can have a proper spar." Chu Xiaotian replied calmly. His spear flashed, punching a hole through the throat of a guard in front of him.

Actual combat was the best way to improve one's strength. Chu Xiaotian's Soaring Dragon Spear had only one move, but as he fought on, the spear grew more and more nimble in his hands. He had no techniques, yet his attacks and defenses were perfectly balanced. His opponents couldn't get close, while he could catch them off guard with a thrust whenever he pleased.

The Huang Family guards grew more and more alarmed as the fight went on. The brat was too slippery, and with the advantage of his longer weapon, they couldn't hurt a hair on his head, while he kept killing one of them every so often.

"Ah! You bastard! I'll flay you alive! Whirlwind Slash!" Chu Xiaotian had infuriated Huang Xiang beyond measure. With a roar, he finally unleashed his ultimate technique. Just hearing the name Whirlwind Slash made it clear that it relied on speed. Huang Xiang was slower than Chu Xiaotian, so he could only make up for it with this technique, which consumed a great deal of spiritual essence. He hoped to kill the brat in the shortest time possible. As soon as Whirlwind Slash erupted, Huang Xiang's body vanished. All that remained was a whirlwind brimming with killing intent, hurtling toward Chu Xiaotian.

"You're just too impatient. I said I'd fight you later, so why rush to your death?" Whirlwind Slash was fast, but Chu Xiaotian wasn't worried. Huang Xiang's guards were slower than he was. I don't have to outrun you. I only have to outrun your guards. As Whirlwind Slash drew near, Chu Xiaotian appeared behind a guard, swept his spear, and sent the unlucky man flying into Huang Xiang's whirlwind.

"Ah!" A scream rang out, followed by the wet, rapid shhk-shhk-shhk-shhk of blades slicing into flesh. Half the guard's body was ground into bloody pulp. The instant he fell, two more screams rang out. Taking advantage of the brief opening, Chu Xiaotian had killed two more.

Huang Xiang couldn't say anything anymore. He could only drive Whirlwind Slash at full force, heedless of the cost, as he frantically chased Chu Xiaotian. Meanwhile, Chu Xiaotian frantically chased the guards.

The guards were out of luck. They had to watch out for Chu Xiaotian's spear while also evading Huang Xiang's Whirlwind Slash. They were already weaker than the two of them, and now they were caught between enemies. One moment of carelessness was all it took for Chu Xiaotian to skewer several more.

"You bunch of fools! Don't you know how to get out of the way?" Huang Xiang roared at the guards as he drove Whirlwind Slash after Chu Xiaotian.

The few remaining guards wanted to cry. They wanted to run, but the question was whether they could. That brat was much faster than them. If he ran and Huang Xiang chased him, they'd be caught in between and cut down by Huang Xiang in a few strikes. Otherwise, the brat would turn around and stab them. How were they supposed to escape?

In less than half a quarter of an hour, the forest had nearly fallen silent. Only Chu Xiaotian and Huang Xiang remained standing. Huang Xiang's eyes had turned blood red, and wisps of smoke really were rising from his head. Chu Xiaotian had driven him mad with rage. He wanted nothing more than to swallow him alive and tear him limb from limb.

"Now then, it's just the two of us. Let's have that spar." Chu Xiaotian paid no mind to Huang Xiang's fury. He gave him a faint smile, spun his spear, and attacked first.

"Spar with your mother! Die, you bastard! Gale Slash!" Huang Xiang was so enraged that he couldn't help cursing. He went all in, pouring all his spiritual essence into a single move and attacking Chu Xiaotian. It was as if a gale had truly swept through the forest. Fallen leaves on the ground shot into the air, surging toward Chu Xiaotian in a vast, overwhelming wave.

"I hate hearing you say that. Try my Electric Dragon Spear!" Chu Xiaotian spoke calmly. The purple Corpse Poison in his body split into two streams and flowed from both hands into the spear. The spear spun and thrust at a speed beyond any ordinary person's imagination. Its afterimages vanished, and a purple dragon seemed to appear in his hands, roaring as it plunged into the gale ahead.