The Wolf Bandit did not press its advantage. Instead, it leisurely licked its bloodstained claws, seemingly treating Jiang Che as a plaything.
Jiang Che cursed inwardly. The Wolf Bandit before him had a full thousand years of cultivation, and the others each had a hundred years or more.
Even facing this thousand-year Wolf Bandit alone would have given Jiang Che trouble, let alone with several hundred-year ones harassing him from the sidelines.
"Stay calm... stay calm..."
He had no chance of winning a head-on confrontation.
The Wolf Bandit finally tired of this game. Its hind legs kicked off hard, its muscles taut as bowstrings, and its entire body became a gray blur hurtling straight at Jiang Che.
Jiang Che instinctively dove sideways, sweeping his short blade low over the ground and aiming precisely for the Wolf Bandit's ankle.
The Wolf Bandit roared. Its movement faltered only slightly before its leg whipped sideways, carrying a fierce gust as it kicked toward Jiang Che's waist.
In that instant, Jiang Che felt as though a wild bull had rammed him head-on. He flew several yards, his back slamming into a tree so thick it would take two people to encircle it. The trunk snapped on impact.
The other Wolf Bandits showed no intention of helping, because they knew their leader alone was enough to deal with a weak human.
They eyed the women in the iron cage greedily, their mouths twisted in mocking grins, ready to unleash their bestial desires.
"Cough... pfft..." Jiang Che propped himself up and spat a mouthful of bloody foam into the mud.
The Wolf Bandit's footsteps were heavy and unhurried. One step, two steps. Its sharp claws gleamed like cold iron beneath the moonlight as it raised them high.
Just then, Jiang Che suddenly noticed an arrow hurtling in from afar, accompanied by a whistle through the air.
The arrow was not aimed at Jiang Che, but at the Wolf Bandit.
The Wolf Bandit also noticed the sharp whistle and twisted aside to evade the arrow.
Jiang Che seized the opportunity to put some distance between himself and the Wolf Bandit while looking toward the newcomer.
The newcomer was a handsome young man with wheat-colored skin. Three Soul Rings-yellow, yellow, and purple-appeared beneath his feet. He was a Soul Elder.
The young man said evenly, "Can you handle those beasts?"
Jiang Che wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at the Wolf Bandits, the strongest of which had only three hundred years of cultivation. He nodded. "No problem."
"Good." The young man said nothing more as he drew the string of his dark blue bow.
"First Soul Skill, Raging Shark Arrow!"
An arrow transformed into a shark and hurtled toward the Wolf Bandit.
"First Soul Skill, Profusion!"
Countless Blue Silver Emperors sprang from the ground.
Jiang Che's wounds began to heal, and his Soul Power began to recover.
At the same time, the Blue Silver Emperors began growing toward the four Wolf Bandits.
The Wolf Bandits were tearing at the iron cage's chains with their claws. Just as they were about to succeed, vines surged up beneath their feet and tangled around their hind legs.
They turned in shock and fury. One opened its jaws to bite the vines, but more Blue Silver Emperors surged from underground, coiling around their limbs like a swarm of snakes.
Blue Silver Vines quickly enveloped two of the Wolf Bandits.
Three breaths later, several chunks of flesh fell from the vines.
[Ding-!] [Killed a 211-year Wolf Bandit. Gained 5 Skill Points.] [Killed a 213-year Wolf Bandit. Gained 5 Skill Points.] [Current Skill Points: 761.]
Jiang Che leaped into the air, aiming his short blade at the third Wolf Bandit's throat.
The Wolf Bandit was struggling desperately in the coils of the vines. It looked up to see a figure descending, but before it could howl, the blade pierced through its lower jaw and out through its upper jaw.
The Wolf Bandit shuddered, its pupils dilated, and its entire body crashed to the ground.
[Killed a 199-year Wolf Bandit. Gained 5 Skill Points.]
The remaining Wolf Bandit turned and fled at the sight.
But Blue Silver Emperors already carpeted the surrounding ground, and vines snagged its ankles with every step it took.
A savage light flickered in the last Wolf Bandit's eyes, as though it intended to fight to the death.
Jiang Che gave it no chance and swooped down.
The last Wolf Bandit lunged, its claws aimed straight at his chest.
Jiang Che twisted aside, avoiding the claws, and drove his short blade into its flank. At the same time, he thrust his knee upward, slamming it hard into its upper jaw.
The sequence was as swift as lightning. The Wolf Bandit died before it could even scream.
[Killed a 156-year Wolf Bandit. Gained 5 Skill Points.] [Current Skill Points: 771]
The sounds of the young man battling the Wolf Bandit came from the distance.
"Third Soul Skill: Sea Moon Pierces the Sun!"
The attack exploded beneath the Wolf Bandit's claws, blasting its left claw into a bloody mess, but it also fully unleashed the creature's ferocity.
Its eyes turned blood-red, its fur bristled, and its Soul Power surged as violently as the tide. Every lunge carried the imposing force of a mountain.
Jiang Che seized an opening, winding vines around the Wolf Bandit's ankles while applying his first Soul Skill to the young man.
The young man panted heavily. Several shallow claw marks had appeared on his body, but the Blue Silver Emperor's healing power was rapidly repairing the wounds while restoring his Soul Power and removing negative effects.
Startled and puzzled, the young man glanced at Jiang Che.
Jiang Che's Soul Skill had actually healed most of his injuries in such a short time.
The Blue Silver Vines did not hold the Wolf Bandit back for long. Under its attacks, the young man kept retreating and dodging backward.
Rip-!
A wolf claw grazed the young man's shoulder, tearing open a long, bloody gash.
The young man grunted and staggered backward, barely managing to steady himself.
Seeing this, Jiang Che closed in, unleashing his Qi Condensation Shield at full strength. At the same time, the Blue Silver Vines on the ground surged wildly, winding toward the Wolf Bandit's limbs and waist from every direction.
The vines were torn apart by brute force the instant they made contact, but their overlapping coils still drained away a considerable amount of its strength.
With his Qi Condensation Shield, Jiang Che barely withstood the Wolf Bandit's full-force strike.
At that very instant, the young man had somehow already moved behind the Wolf Bandit.
"First Soul Skill, Raging Shark Arrow!"
Sensing danger behind it, the Wolf Bandit leader roared and twisted around, slashing with its claws.
Jiang Che seized the opening and drove his short blade hard into its lower abdomen, then planted a foot against its chest and used the force to spring backward.
Caught between attacks from the front and rear, the Wolf Bandit's movements slowed for a split second.
Jiang Che's short blade had already descended.
Rip-!
The short blade broke through its fur and cut into the back of its neck.
But the Wolf Bandit tilted its head at the last moment. The short blade failed to sever its spine, leaving only a deep, long wound from which blood gushed like a spring.
Seeing that things had turned against it, the Wolf Bandit spread its wings and prepared to flee.
"Trying to run?!" The young man sneered as Blue Silver Vines bound it tightly.
Although the vines could not hold the Wolf Bandit, they could buy the young man time to unleash his Soul Skill.
"Third Soul Skill, Sea Moon Pierces the Sun!"
The powerful, heavy arrow struck the Wolf Bandit's wings like a roaming dragon.
"First Soul Skill, Raging Shark Arrow!"
The final arrow whistled forth. The arrow, like Mad Shark, was poised to strike the Wolf Bandit's chest, drawing out a spray of bloody mist.
The Wolf Bandit's massive body swayed twice in midair before finally crashing heavily to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust.
Seeing the young man prepare to deliver the final blow to the dying Wolf Bandit, Jiang Che hurriedly called out to stop him. "Wait!"
The young man looked at Jiang Che in puzzlement.
Jiang Che explained, "Let me kill this beast. It hit me so hard earlier. I need to vent my anger."
The young man glanced at the Wolf Bandit, which had only a thread of life left, and nodded.
Jiang Che hurled his short blade hard at the Wolf Bandit's forehead, striking it squarely between the brows.
[Ding-!] [Killed a 1214-year Wolf Bandit. Gained 15 Skill Points] [Current Skill Points: 786]
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