A man wearing a Disciple Robe embroidered with the emblem of Chaoyang Peak soon entered his sight.
The man was in his thirties, with a hooked nose and triangular eyes. He looked vicious to begin with, and the slight curl of his lips made his face even more sinister.
His cultivation was not low either—Qi Refining Stage Five.
At that moment, he held a dark green longbow as he pursued the fleeing group ahead.
His gaze locked onto the remaining five people as True Yuan surged within him and flowed into the longbow in his hand.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
The longbow flashed, and another five Light Arrows condensed from True Yuan energy shot from the string.
Sensing the danger rushing up from behind, Zhu Hanwei reacted the fastest. He fiercely kicked off a large tree beside him and lunged forward.
With a whoosh, a light arrow grazed his calf and embedded itself in the nearby tree.
Zhu Hanwei bared his teeth in pain as he landed not far from Su Shi'er.
The others were not so fortunate. Before they could react, the Light Arrows pierced through them one by one, and they fell dead.
Seeing that only one person remained, the hooked-nosed man did not fire another arrow. Instead, he grinned viciously and slowly walked up to Zhu Hanwei.
"You brat reacted quickly enough, but prey should have the awareness of prey!"
"How should I kill you?"
The hooked-nosed man raised a hand to prop up his chin, his face full of amused mockery.
With his calf injured, Zhu Hanwei no longer had the strength to flee. When he turned and saw the hooked-nosed man approaching, his entire body trembled in terror.
"Martial... Martial Brother, I already gave you my Storage Pouch! We are both disciples of the Yun Ge Sect. Please... please spare me."
Forcing himself to pull himself together, Zhu Hanwei hurriedly begged.
"Oh? Spare you... You little fatty are quite clever, and very cooperative too. But with no talent to speak of, you still came to cultivate immortality. Isn't that simply courting death?"
"Yes, yes, Martial Brother is right. I'll go down the mountain as soon as I return. I'll never cultivate again!" Zhu Hanwei knelt on the ground and begged for mercy repeatedly.
The cruelty of the trial far exceeded his imagination, casting an extremely deep shadow over him.
Right now, he had only one thought: to stay alive.
"Go back? Hehe, unfortunately... I can find no reason to spare you!"
Seeing hope rise in Zhu Hanwei's eyes, the hooked-nosed man immediately sneered. Light bloomed from his longbow, and the arrowhead pointed straight at Zhu Hanwei, ruthlessly shattering his hope.
Before joining the Yun Ge Sect, he had been a ruthless bandit who killed as easily as eating and drinking. During one robbery, he encountered a severely injured cultivator and became a Rogue Cultivator from then on. Later, through a strange twist of fate, he entered the Yun Ge Sect and joined Chaoyang Peak.
Over the years on the peak, he appeared warm and friendly on the surface, but in secret, he had killed quite a few fellow disciples and amassed many treasures.
To him, the pleasure of killing lay in torture—watching others die in despair filled him with delight.
"You... you devil."
"One day, you'll suffer retribution for this!"
"What kind of bullshit immortal cultivation, what kind of bullshit trial is this? Fellow disciples slaughtering one another—is this immortality, or is it the work of devils?!"
Zhu Hanwei's heart plunged straight into an abyss. He collapsed onto the ground and screamed himself hoarse.
"Go on, scream! This is what prey should look like! Sadly, even if you scream your throat raw today, no one will come save you."
The hooked-nosed man bared his teeth, his smile growing ever brighter.
As he spoke, he forcefully drew the bowstring.
True Yuan transformed into a light arrow and shot straight toward Zhu Hanwei's forehead.
Zhu Hanwei sat limp on the ground. His voice abruptly cut off, his mouth hanging wide open, his face filled with
fear and despair.
Bang!
At the brink of life and death, a sword flash suddenly streaked across the air and blocked the light arrow.
"Stop!"
With that shout, Su Shi'er rushed out from the bushes.
The others had died too quickly. Su Shi'er had neither had the time nor the intention to save them.
But Zhu Hanwei was different. They came from the same place; they were fellow townsmen as well as fellow disciples. Moreover, if he had not traded for two martial arts manuals from Zhu Hanwei that day, Su Shi'er could not say for certain that he would have defeated that menial disciple and the Sword-Bearing Youth.
By both sentiment and reason, he had every reason to intervene.
The sudden turn of events startled both Zhu Hanwei and the hooked-nosed man.
Hearing that someone had come to help him, Zhu Hanwei was overjoyed and hurriedly turned toward the newcomer.
"Twelfth Martial Brother?!"
But when he saw it was Su Shi'er, his face instantly fell again. With a miserable expression, his eyes brimmed with indescribable disappointment.
In his eyes, Su Shi'er was merely at Qi Refining Stage Three. He could not imagine Su Shi'er having even the slightest chance against the hooked-nosed man.
The hope that had just risen was shattered once more. Zhu Hanwei was utterly despairing.
No, I... I definitely can't escape. But Twelfth Martial Brother came to save me out of kindness. I can't drag him down with me!
Gritting his teeth, he hurriedly shouted, "Twelfth Martial Brother, run! You're no match for him, hurry and run! When you return home someday, help me look after my father. He's the town chief!"
"Hehe, a mere Qi Refining Stage Three brat dares to stand up for someone else? And now you want to leave? Don't you think it's too late?"
"Since you're here, you can be my new prey!"
Seeing Su Shi'er's cultivation, the hooked-nosed man snickered. It was as though he had found a new toy, and an even fiercer light ignited in his eyes.
"Prey?" Su Shi'er gave a cold, indifferent smile.
As soon as the words left his mouth, his figure flickered and vanished from where he stood.
Using Illusory Step, he reappeared behind the hooked-nosed man.
With the White Mist Sword in hand, he slashed mercilessly at his opponent in a flash of sword light.
The Minor Heavenly Breath Concealment Technique he cultivated was something even Shen Miaoyin, the Peak Master of Tianyin Peak, could not see through, much less this fellow before him.
The reason he had shown himself as being at Qi Refining Stage Three was to make the other man lower his guard, all for this single strike.
"No! You're more than Qi Refining Stage Three. What a cunning brat!"
The danger behind him sent a jolt through his body, and he could not help shuddering.
In that critical instant, he flung out a Black Pearl.
The pearl spun round and round as a gust of chilling Yin Qi-filled black wind howled up, enveloping him.
Zhu Hanwei sat on the ground, astonished by Su Shi'er's speed and decisive attack. Then he saw the hooked-nosed man throw out the Black Pearl and hurriedly shouted a warning.
"Twelfth Martial Brother, be careful! That treasure can defile magical artifacts."
"An hour ago, he used that treasure to trap and kill a Martial Brother at Qi Refining Stage Six."
Defile magical artifacts?
Trap and kill someone at Qi Refining Stage Six?!
Su Shi'er's heart jolted. Before he could make sense of it, he felt the White Mist Sword in his hand suddenly grow heavy, as though it had struck a quagmire.
With his attack blocked, he knew it was impossible to kill his opponent by surprise.
Without the slightest hesitation, he flung out a fireball. He yanked back the White Mist Sword and, moving with the sudden rise of a hare and fall of a falcon, opened the distance between himself and the hooked-nosed man.
His gaze fell on the White Mist Sword, and only then did he understand what Zhu Hanwei meant by defiling magical artifacts.
After being swept by that Yin wind, the White Mist Sword had become mottled with rust and pitted with holes. The sword's glow was dim and murky; after another couple of blows, it would surely be ruined.
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