Three sharp clangs rang out.
Yi Chen grunted, his right arm jolting violently, nearly wrenching it out of its socket. He staggered three or four steps backward against his will and slammed into an ancient tree as thick as his thigh.
A man in black swung his long saber down viciously, striking Yi Chen's left kneecap and shattering his entire knee.
"Aah!" Yi Chen screamed and dropped to his knees.
A man in black sneered savagely and raised his long saber, slashing toward Yi Chen's neck.
A mad gleam flickered in Yi Chen's eyes.
He abruptly drew a length of wooden rod from his waist and thrust it up to block the man's saber.
With a crack, the rod shattered, sending splinters flying.
Only a broken length of wood a little over a foot long remained in Yi Chen's hand, yet in his grip, it unleashed tremendous force, meeting the man's saber head-on and holding it back. It even bent the blade under its pressure, nearly snapping it.
Startled, the man in black yanked his saber free, only to discover that cracks already covered the blade.
Yi Chen, too, staggered several steps backward and fell seated on the ground.
Yi Chen panted, his eyes fixed fiercely on the three men in black.
All three froze. They had never imagined that Yi Chen's body could unleash such terrifying strength.
Just now, Yi Chen had actually jolted the saber with sheer brute force.
"Who are you? Why are you attacking me?" Breathing heavily, Yi Chen slowly straightened and demanded each word distinctly.
One of the black-robed men barked in a deep voice, "We were ordered to capture you!"
"Capture me? Heh. Who do you work for?" Yi Chen asked coldly.
"There's no need to tell you," the black-robed man replied icily. "I