Fierce Battle

Mu Chen drew back his right hand. The hand holding the sword shifted into a palm, then slammed fiercely against the hilt. In an instant, a yellow meteor tore through the air, stabbing straight at Rob's face.

"Hmph, just a cheap trick!" Rob snorted coldly and raised his blade, striking Mu Chen's thrown Ink Shadow Sword with precision and sending it spinning away.

The sword's edge gleamed brilliantly. Rob grinned greedily. "What a fine treasure. Kid, you brought this right to my doorstep, so I'll gladly take it."

Just as Rob reached for the Ink Shadow Sword about to fall to the ground, his pupils contracted. Mu Chen had transformed into a sword-shadow, lunging straight for his face—or, more accurately, for the neck exposed beyond his Dou Qi Armor.

Mu Chen knew that his inability to use Dou Qi Projection was his weakness. Throwing the Ink Shadow Sword had only been meant to draw Rob's attention so he could close in and engage him in close combat.

Chilled by the icy sword aura, goosebumps rose along Rob's neck. He snarled, "What a vicious move. You really show no mercy. If you don't die today, you'll definitely become someone formidable in the future.

"But I, Rob, love nothing more than strangling geniuses like you in the cradle. Meeting me is your misfortune."

Forced back by Mu Chen's strike, Rob retreated two steps, gripped his blade with both hands, and brought it down in a crushing overhead slash. Powerful Dou Qi coiled around the blade, amplifying its might as it vowed to split Mu Chen apart.

Mu Chen touched down with the tips of his toes and caught the Ink Shadow Sword before it hit the ground. He then planted his left-hand sword against the ground and pushed off its tip, spinning half a circle counterclockwise through the air and deftly evading Rob's descending blade.

Still airborne and just about to land, Mu Chen's Ink Shadow Sword burst with dazzling sword light. He swept out seven consecutive strikes at Rob, every one aimed at the vital point of his neck. The black-silver sword radiance made Rob's spine run cold, and he hurriedly raised his blade to block, not daring to lower his guard in the slightest.

The moment his feet hit the ground, Mu Chen charged forward like a cheetah exploding into a full sprint. His twin swords moved one before and one behind, one attacking and one defending, like venomous serpents flicking their tongues. His assault came like a relentless storm, forcing sweat to bead on Rob's forehead as he could only defend passively.

The battle before them nearly made everyone's eyes pop and jaws drop. One mercenary viciously smacked his companion across the face, immediately drawing an angry curse.

"Hiss, that hurts! So my eyes weren't playing tricks on me—the captain is actually at a disadvantage."

"Damn it, why did you hit my face when you were the one hurting?"

The battle continued. Though Mu Chen's attacks were as fierce as a gale, he was growing frustrated. He seemed to hold the upper hand, yet Rob had not suffered the slightest injury. His opponent truly was an old hand with decades of experience. Rob merely protected his vital points and refused to clash head-on with Mu Chen, clearly intending to exhaust Mu Chen's Dou Qi.

After more than ten minutes of fighting, Mu Chen brought both swords down in a combined slash. Veins bulged along his arms as his overwhelming strength sent Rob flying more than ten meters away, crashing through a roadside stall. Seizing the chance, Mu Chen tossed several Qi-Replenishing Pills into his mouth and pressed them with his tongue, sending them rolling down into his stomach.

Mu Chen's extravagant pill-chugging made Rob's eyes widen. Those expensive medicinal pills were being swallowed like candy. Did he really have to be this lavish?

Mu Chen's fierce combat strength had far exceeded Rob's expectations. Decades of scraping through life as a mercenary also led Rob to start filling in the blanks himself, guessing at Mu Chen's identity.

"He possesses such rare divine weapons and luxurious medicinal pills. At such a young age, he already has combat strength comparable to a Da Dou Shi. Could this kid be a genius from one of Jia Ma Empire's great noble clans?

"This is troublesome. The power of those great clans isn't something a mere Da Dou Shi like me can afford to provoke."

Rob's expression shifted uncertainly, but when he saw Qing Lin peeking out in the distance, watching nervously, a ruthless look returned to his face.

"The buyer offered such a high price. That mixed-blood girl must be taken away.

"I've already offended this kid. I absolutely cannot let him leave, or I'll be the one ending up dead in the streets someday.

"Since I've started, I might as well finish it! Kill this kid, take his treasures, then flee far away and leave the Jia Ma Empire to live freely and happily."

Having sorted out his thoughts, Rob waved his hand and pointed at Qing Lin. "Sand Mercenary Group, go capture that mixed-blood girl! Do not harm her in the slightest. Whoever captures her will be promoted three ranks and rewarded fifty thousand gold coins!"

Gulp!

Dozens of mercenaries immediately fixed their green-eyed stares on Qing Lin, who cried out in alarm. The enormous reward consumed them with greed. One after another, they turned into savage wolves and charged toward Qing Lin.

"You're courting death!"

Seeing this, Mu Chen stomped hard, his body shooting forward at high speed. He rushed into the mercenaries like a tiger among sheep. His two Ink Shadow Swords dragged out a series of sword shadows and streaks of crimson blood, followed by mournful screams as lives withered away.

The bloody slaughter made some mercenaries too frightened to advance, but others were driven mad by the sight of blood. Several faster mercenaries even bypassed Mu Chen and charged toward the isolated, helpless Qing Lin.

"Get lost!"

Mu Chen rapidly poured Dou Qi into his sword, then hurled it out. After cutting through the air in an arc, it landed on the street before those mercenaries.

A powerful blast of air erupted, sending several mercenaries stumbling back while coughing blood. Then a flash of sword light arrived, cleaving them all in half at the waist. Bloody organs spilled across the ground, revealing Mu Chen behind the corpses, his face filled with killing intent.

Startled awake by Mu Chen's murderous aura, the remaining twenty-odd mercenaries looked at the bleeding corpses covering the ground, their scalps turning ice-cold. They fled in panic, terrified that if they ran too slowly, Mu Chen would chop them in half like watermelons.

Yellow Tier High-Grade Dou Technique, Mountain-Cleaving Slash!

"Kid, take my blade!"

A figure rushed in from the side with an angry roar. It was Rob, his face twisted with ferocity.

He was ruthless enough to trade his subordinates' lives for this chance at a sneak attack. His broadsword was only one or two meters from Mu Chen's body. He was extremely confident in his timing, convinced Mu Chen could not evade it.

"Kid, you're impressive. Unfortunately, it all ends here."

A crazed grin spread uncontrollably across Rob's face. Mu Chen's repeated suppression had utterly disgraced him, but as long as he killed Mu Chen and captured that mixed-blood girl, all damage to his reputation could be discarded.

"Ends? Not necessarily!"

As danger descended, Mu Chen did not turn around. Instead, he leaned forward and thrust both Ink Shadow Swords backward from beneath his arms, crossing them into an X and forcibly holding off Rob's descending blade for one second.

However, Rob's attack had activated a Dou Technique, leaving Mu Chen's wrists numb. The two Ink Shadow Swords were knocked from his hands and fell to the ground, but that one second of resistance was enough for Mu Chen to evade Rob's killing blow.

The missed blade split into the ground, instantly carving a terrifying crack. If such power had struck a human body, the result would undoubtedly have been being cleaved in two.

"Heh heh." Rob gave a sinister laugh. Though he had failed to kill Mu Chen, Mu Chen had lost his swords, and relief appeared on Rob's face. But just as he was about to give chase, his vision went dark as a large foot rapidly filled his sight.

Mu Chen flipped several times in rapid succession, gritted his teeth, and drove a heavy midair stomp into Rob's face. The forceful blow stomped Rob to his knees, though pain also flickered across Mu Chen's face. Even the foot that had struck Rob's face had gone numb.

"Damn it, a Da Dou Shi really is different. Your face is damn thick!" Mu Chen pointed at Rob and cursed loudly.

"Pfft!" Rob spat out two broken, bloodied teeth. His nose had been stomped crooked, and a black footprint was branded across his face, leaving him in a miserable state.

"Ahhh! Kid, I'll kill you!" With his front teeth missing, Rob's roar leaked air, making him so furious that steam seemed to rise from his head as his face flushed purple-red.

Yellow Sand Slash!

Enraged, Rob gripped his broadsword and unleashed a powerful low-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique, slashing out a huge crescent-shaped blade aura.

Mu Chen drew a deep breath. Flame patterns spread over his arms, and two crystalline Fire Seals immediately appeared in his palms. Xuan Huang Flame flowed into them, causing the Fire Seals to blaze fiercely.

Blazing Prairie Hundredfold Slashes!

With a low shout, Mu Chen thrust both hands forward. Two fire pythons burst from the Fire Seals, raised their heads, and silently hissed at Rob before charging rapidly toward him.