With one step, he opened a black hole and vanished.
A flash of white light flickered, and he appeared atop a tall building.
Yi Chen pressed his left hand against the sheath of the long sword at his waist and said quietly, "Everything here is a false illusion. Someone is using this method against me."
As soon as he finished speaking, the air around Yi Chen twisted violently, and ripples spread through space.
The air seemed to boil. A ring of visible ripples spread out around Yi Chen, drawing in the wisps of soul power in the air. They condensed into a thin strand of gray mist that drifted before him and slowly slipped into his mind.
A shrill, agonized howl echoed throughout the Mountain Village. A figure wrapped in a thick cloak rushed out and stared at Yi Chen like a vicious wolf, screaming hoarsely, "You damned bastard! You killed them?"
Yi Chen casually drew his long sword and said with a faint smile, "They were just two pitiful little girls. Did you want to keep tormenting them? I freed them from their suffering."
The cloaked man roared, "I'll kill you!" He swept his cloak outward, raising a raging column of wind that hurtled toward Yi Chen. Its overwhelming force nearly knocked Yi Chen out of the tree.
The wind column slammed into the enormous tree beneath Yi Chen's feet. An unending roar filled the air as the trunk snapped in two. Yi Chen swayed slightly, then landed steadily on the grass and charged at the cloaked man with the Wooden Blade in hand.
The Wooden Blade caught the cloaked man's curved saber. Yi Chen nimbly flipped around him and followed through with a slash.
The cloaked man roared and wrenched his arm back, but an invisible force seemed