First Battle

Having grown up in a modern city, Wang Yu had never faced danger like this. Shock and fear filled him. His right hand gripped the Iron Sword tightly, but his eyes remained fixed on the compact Iron Crossbow in the lead masked man's hands. There was still an unfired Crossbow Bolt loaded in it.

Of the other three masked men, two held long sabers, while one carried a spear.

To his slight relief, although his left shoulder was badly wounded and bleeding freely, it did not hurt as much as he had imagined. The wound probably had not damaged his tendons or bones-a stroke of luck amid misfortune.

The question now was how someone who had practiced swordsmanship for only a few days could preserve his life against these vicious men.

Fortunately, this body was not his own. Even if he suffered a fatal wound, his real body on Blue Star would not actually die.

At that thought, Wang Yu's courage swelled considerably, and he desperately began recalling every move of the Wind-Splitting Sword Technique.

"Be careful. With how fast this brat can run, he might not be an ordinary Daoist acolyte." The masked man holding the Iron Crossbow stared at Wang Yu, who stood far taller than others his age. After that cold warning, he aimed the crossbow forward and fired the last Crossbow Bolt straight at Wang Yu's face.

At the same time, the two saber-wielding masked men beside him charged with their weapons raised. Only the man carrying the spear held back, retreating a dozen or so steps to block the path down the mountain.

Clang!

Wang Yu swept the Iron Sword across his face, knocking the incoming Crossbow Bolt aside. Then he hunched forward and charged at the lead masked man, ignoring the two saber-wielding attackers rushing toward him.

"You have a death wish!"

The lead masked man froze, then flew into a rage. With no time to load another Crossbow Bolt, he could only toss aside the Iron Crossbow and draw a Short Blade from each side of his waist to meet the charging youth.

"First form!"

Wang Yu shouted to bolster his courage. He drove off with both legs and thrust the Iron Sword forward, his speed multiplying in an instant as he swept before his opponent like a raging wind.

He knew perfectly well that his survival depended on catching this man off guard and taking him down. Naturally, he poured every ounce of his strength into the move.

The lead masked man felt a fierce gust sweep toward him, and the sword was already before his eyes. His face blanched in terror. All he could do was hastily cross his Short Blades before him.

Bang!

A searing sensation struck the webs of the lead masked man's hands. Both Short Blades flew from his grip as though hit by an iron hammer. Then heat flared in his chest as the Iron Sword plunged into him without the slightest resistance, driving him five or six steps backward and pinning him alive to the trunk of a large tree.

"You..."

The lead masked man still could not believe what had happened to him. He barely managed that single word before Wang Yu forcefully pulled the Iron Sword from his body and swept it across his throat.

Blood gushed from the lead masked man's neck and chest, and he slumped beneath the tree.

Wang Yu took a deep breath, then turned to face the two charging saber-wielding men, sword in one hand.

His first killing left his heart pounding and his face pale, yet a trace of eager excitement stirred inside him, banishing his fear without a trace.

"You little bastard! What did you do?"

"Is Brother Li all right? Don't tell me he went down just like that!"

Shocked and furious at the sight, the two saber-wielding masked men cursed wildly without slowing their steps, attacking from either side. One gripped his saber in both hands and hacked viciously at the youth's head; the other flicked his arm and slashed horizontally at Wang Yu's waist. Their coordination was flawless.

"Fourth form."

Facing this deadly assault, Wang Yu's mind instead grew even clearer. Murmuring the words, he abruptly stepped sideways to evade the saber descending toward his head, then swept his sword horizontally forward to block the blade aimed at his waist.

Clang!

The saber and half the Iron Sword flew into the air together. One masked man was left empty-handed and staggered back two steps from the impact, while only half of Wang Yu's Iron Sword remained in his hand.

Wang Yu froze. Before he could think further, the other saber-wielding masked man seized the chance and unleashed three rapid cuts-swish, swish, swish! The gleaming blade flashed into a continuous curtain of light that descended from above, almost blinding him.

Wang Yu could not distinguish the feints from the real strikes. He could only steel his heart, hunch slightly again, and sweep his broken Iron Sword haphazardly upward as he hurled himself and his blade at the attacking masked man.

Thunk!

The three streaks of saber light merged into one and abruptly changed direction, avoiding the broken Iron Sword before flashing down viciously onto Wang Yu's sword arm.

Wang Yu grimaced without even looking at the wound on his arm. Instead, he tilted his body and slammed his uninjured shoulder into his opponent's chest like a raging gale.

Crack! Bones shattered.

The saber-wielding masked man screamed as Wang Yu sent him flying like a sack. He hit the ground heavily and made no further sound.

"Brother Qian, help!"

The other, empty-handed masked man had only just regained his footing. Horrified at the sight, he abandoned any thought of retrieving his fallen weapon and turned to run toward the spearman, shouting for help.

Turning around, Wang Yu swung his arm with all his strength without a second thought. The broken Iron Sword flew from his hand, becoming a black streak that buried itself in the fleeing masked man's back.

The running man's body shuddered, and he fell face-first before the spearman. A large, mangled hole had opened in his back, blood gushing from it like spring water.

Only then did Wang Yu feel the excruciating pain in his arm. He hurriedly glanced down and saw a long wound of unknown depth. Blood had already soaked half his arm.

But he had no time to tend to the injury. Enduring the agonizing pain in his arm and shoulder, he picked up a fallen saber and looked toward the last masked man, who still held his spear.

The spearman was dazed. He felt as though he were trapped in a nightmare!

Four trained fighters had come to hunt down a mere Daoist acolyte. How had he become the only one left in the blink of an eye, without even having time to help the others?

Seeing Wang Yu glaring fiercely at him, his mouth went dry and his legs weakened.

This little Daoist acolyte was such a monster that he surely could not be an ordinary mortal.

After a swift moment of thought, the spearman said nothing more. Dragging his spear behind him, he took to his heels and raced down the mountain.

Wang Yu blinked, then breathed a deep sigh of relief.

But just then, a Silver Wheel came whistling out of the nearby woods. It whirled around the spearman before spiraling back into the trees.

The masked man screamed as his body split in two at the waist, collapsing into a pool of blood.

"Who's there?"

Wang Yu stared toward the nearby woods as though facing a formidable enemy.

"Hmph. You dared flee in the face of battle? Did you think I fed you all these years for nothing?" A cold voice came from the woods. Then a White-Clad Youth emerged, holding a bloodstained Silver Folding Fan. The Silver Wheel that had flown out moments earlier had actually been this fan.

"Do you really intend to slaughter us to the last?" Wang Yu tightened his grip on the saber, his heart sinking.

"Hand over Old Daoist Chongyun's treasure, and I can spare your life. I've already searched that old bastard's residence and found nothing. With such skill at your young age, you're most likely Old Chongyun's newest disciple. You must know something. If you tell me honestly, sparing your life isn't out of the question." The White-Clad Youth studied Wang Yu as he questioned him grimly.

"I don't know anything." Wang Yu did not believe a word the White-Clad Youth said and rejected him without hesitation.

"Heh, so you're not afraid of death either. That fellow Qingfeng said much the same before he died. Let's see whether you'll still be so defiant after I cut off your head." Hearing his answer, the White-Clad Youth laughed in fury.

"You killed Senior Brother Qingfeng!"

Wang Yu's expression shifted slightly at the White-Clad Youth's words. He held the saber across his body, ready to fight him to the death.

After killing three men in succession, he had gained considerable confidence in his Wind-Splitting Sword Technique following his bloodline awakening.

But in the next instant, his vision abruptly went black, and the world spun around him. With a thud, he dropped to one knee, propping himself up with the saber as blood dripped from his arm onto the ground.

This is bad. I've lost too much blood!

Wang Yu cried out inwardly, but his whole body felt limp, and he could not stand at all. His heart sank further.

The White-Clad Youth paused at the sight, then immediately burst into laughter. Holding out one hand, he sent the silver fan spinning rapidly in his palm. With another swing of his arm, it became a silver wheel that whirled toward Wang Yu.

Unable to rise, Wang Yu felt his heart crumble into ashes, despair filling him. Yet at that critical moment, a flat, mechanical voice sounded in his mind.

"Beep, beep... severe fluctuations detected in host's mental activity... signs of life slipping away... grave danger detected... Taiyuan Auxiliary System passively activated..."

In the next instant, Wang Yu, who had been unable to move, suddenly rolled across the ground, easily avoiding the descending silver wheel. It traced a long arc before flying back into the White-Clad Youth's hand.

The White-Clad Youth paused, clutching the returning silver fan as his eyes narrowed.

"...System incomplete... unknown energy detected... repairing system using unknown energy... abnormal system changes occurring... repairs complete... beginning scan of host's body... blood loss exceeds safety threshold; noncritical body regions injured; host has lost control of body... auxiliary system assuming control of host's body; activating automatic protection mechanism... system entering overclocked synchronization mode... suppressing host's neural pain perception; suppression level: 99.8 percent... muscles at damaged sites automatically contracting; bleeding reduced by 84 percent... automatically stimulating adrenaline; heart rate beginning to double... predicted maximum duration of strenuous physical activity for host's body: three minutes and thirty-six seconds...

Wang Yu stood motionless, feeling as though he were dreaming.