But Pei Ye had no intention of trading blows with him. Now he alone possessed astonishing agility underwater. He caught the man's shoulder with a backhand grip, braced his other hand against the elbow, and wrenched his entire arm into a lock. Then he tipped his chin back to dodge a skyward kick and whispered, "Silk-Tether."
The Eighth Growth fighter reacted like lightning. A seasoned Jianghu veteran was far cleverer than the Merfolk, too; in an instant, he twisted to defend himself, sparing none of his abundant True Qi.
Yet the Water-Splitting Daggers he had just discarded had already become a fatal seed. Even without his sword in hand, the youth wielded it as though he held it-especially now that he had switched to Jade Tiger. He hooked two fingers, and Jade Tiger drifted through the water, striking the pair of Emei daggers with two crisp clinks. The weapons ten feet away abruptly became three uncanny streaks of light.
One pierced the left leg, another pinned the right arm, and then vermilion jade light washed over Jade Tiger's blade. It cut into the soft, rotten True Qi and severed his neck in an instant.
Pei Ye caught his sword and released his grip, letting the still-twitching corpse sink. He raised his arm to inspect it. In that single exchange, the palm strike had already left a broad purple bruise on his arm, and a small part of the old wound on his shoulder had split open.
As he tended his injuries, Black Cat said, "Now do you know what they've been doing for nine years?"
Their infiltration here was indeed deeper than Pei Ye had expected, and they had more means at their disposal than he had anticipated. He could imagine them beginning their hunt as soon as he and