That morning, two swift horses galloped out of True Martial Academy together.
Their riders were none other than Wei Yi and Uncle Wu.
Jinling City, where the Wei Clan resided, was not too far from True Martial Academy. Riding fast, half a day would suffice.
With something like this happening in the Wei Clan, Wei Yi naturally had to return as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if he waited until the dust had settled, he would be too late.
Although his father, Wei Tianyang, was the head of the Wei Clan and wielded immense authority within the Lineage, the clan's three elders also held considerable power.
As Wei Yi saw it, the three elders had joined forces to strip him of his position as the Wei Clan's young master.
Naturally, Wei Yi would not give them that chance.
Although deep down he did not care much about that status, what belonged to him was his to give away willingly. Trying to seize it from his hands by force was another matter!
Hmph, let's see what right those fellows have to snatch the young master's position from me.
If they still think I'm the old Wei Yi, they're in for a bitter disappointment.
Wei Yi sneered inwardly.
He kept cracking his whip, urging the fine horse beneath him to run faster.
Uncle Wu rode close behind Wei Yi.
His heart, on the other hand, was filled with joy.
After more than a year apart, he found that his young master had become a very different person. Not only had his cultivation and strength increased, but his entire disposition had grown confident and resolute. In his eyes, Wei Yi already showed faint traces of his master's bearing.
Perhaps the young master truly has grown up.
He murmured to himself inwardly, filled with gratification.
Each occupied with his own thoughts, the two urged their horses onward.
More than two hours later, they passed through a stretch of wild hills when dozens of wild birds suddenly burst from the mountain woods in alarm.
Wei Yi's heart abruptly began to race.
Not good!
"Uncle Wu, watch out!"
Just as the words left Wei Yi's mouth, six men in black suddenly sprang from the bushes on either side of the road. Each held a longsword, and all leaped toward him at once. Ignoring Uncle Wu behind him, they all swung their swords at Wei Yi.
"Young master..."
At this point, even a fool would have realized that they had been ambushed-and that the ambush had been planned in advance.
Seeing Wei Yi fall into danger, Uncle Wu's expression instantly changed.
"Die!"
But the six men in black cared nothing for his thoughts. Every one of them was a Martial Master. Stirring the internal Qi in their dantians, they poured it into their swords and struck together. Six terrifying streams of Sword Qi enveloped Wei Yi like a great net, leaving him no chance to escape.
Moreover, Wei Yi was still on horseback, his movements restricted, leaving him no way to dodge.
"You're courting death!"
A cold gleam flashed in Wei Yi's eyes, his gaze filled with chilling killing intent.
The Qinggang Sword appeared in his hand in an instant. Without hesitation, he unleashed a powerful move from the Storm Sword Technique. With his cultivation as a sixth-rank Martial Master and his maxed-out LV10 martial technique, he conjured a dazzling curtain of swords in the blink of an eye. Light flashed, and he actually withstood all six terrifying streams of Sword Qi head-on.
Boom!
Although Wei Yi could withstand it, the fine horse beneath him could not.
It had already galloped hard for more than two hours. Now, subjected to such immense pressure, it collapsed straight to the ground, and Wei Yi tumbled from its back.
At that very moment, dust churned across the ground, and more than a dozen burly men charged out of the mountain woods with furious roars. Every one of them wore a savage expression, powerful killing auras surging around their bodies. One look was enough to tell they were vicious desperadoes. They all rushed madly at him, surrounding Wei Yi once again.
At this point, however, Wei Yi instead breathed a sigh of relief.
On horseback, he had been unable to maneuver freely and could only withstand their attacks head-on. Now that his feet were on solid ground, he had room to advance or retreat.
Unleashing the Blackwater Movement Technique, he became like a stream of water and slipped through their layers of obstruction in the blink of an eye. At the same time, he grabbed Uncle Wu, who had just jumped off his horse. The two instantly retreated more than a dozen zhang, putting distance between themselves and the assassins.
"Who are you?"
Wei Yi set Uncle Wu down and questioned them coldly.
There were more than twenty of them, and every single one was a Martial Master.
In particular, if Wei Yi was not mistaken, the six men in black who had attacked first were all eighth- or ninth-rank Martial Masters, comparable to instructors for the first and second years at True Martial Academy. Such a force was no small investment. It was more than enough to deal with an ordinary Great Martial Master.
Yet it had been sent against a mere Martial Master like him. Clearly, whoever was behind this did not intend to leave him any chance of survival.
"Boy, how do you know the Blackwater Movement Technique?"
The man in black at their head suddenly demanded coldly in a hoarse voice.
There was even a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
Something stirred in Wei Yi's mind. Connecting this to where his Blackwater Movement Technique had come from, he instantly formed a guess and sneered. "Looks like you're all Blackwater Bandits..."
The moment he said this, the expression of the man in black who had just questioned him changed drastically.
The man in black had never expected that a casual question would let his opponent deduce their origins.
"So you really are Blackwater Bandits."
"From the looks of it, you must know who I am, too. Aren't you afraid of retaliation from my father and the Wei Clan?"
"Tell me, who sent you? I can pay you double..."
Wei Yi made the generous promise without hesitation.
Although he had killed a few lowly Blackwater Bandits, he did not believe they would send such a force to ambush him over a few small fry. Someone else must have directed and arranged this from behind the scenes.
"Stop wasting words with him. Attack together!"
"Once we kill them both, our mission is complete!"
Another man in black, brimming with killing intent, immediately spoke before anyone else could.
As soon as his words fell, he took the lead and charged straight at Wei Yi.
Seeing this, the others no longer hesitated. They all rushed at Wei Yi, roaring and cursing.
"Young master, I'll hold them off. Run!"
Before Wei Yi could speak, Uncle Wu stepped in front of him.
Although Uncle Wu was also a ninth-rank Martial Master, he was old and frail and could not possibly handle a situation like this. Clearly, he had resolved to hold them back at the cost of his life, buying Wei Yi a chance to escape, however slim that chance might be...
Wei Yi was moved.
"Uncle Wu, step back. Leave everything to me."
As he spoke, Wei Yi immediately activated his bloodline power. Facing so many Martial Master assassins, he had no other choice.
As his bloodline power erupted, Wei Yi's strength instantly soared. He had originally been only a sixth-rank Martial Master, but in the blink of an eye, he climbed to the peak of the Martial Master realm, even faintly surpassing that level.
Wind rose beneath his feet. With an instantaneous turn, Wei Yi instead placed himself in front of Uncle Wu. The Qinggang Sword in his hand slashed repeatedly, sending a curtain of swords sweeping outward with utterly terrifying power.
The five or six men at the front were sent flying back before they could even attack.
And that was not the end.
Wei Yi immediately took three steps forward.
The Storm Sword Technique truly became a raging tempest. Blinding, violent sword light blazed, impossible to look at directly. Before those at the very front could react, they felt a chill at their throats. Involuntarily clutching their necks, they fell one after another.
At this sight, even though everyone present was a ruthless desperado, they could not help widening their eyes, unable to conceal their terror.
Wei Yi advanced with an indifferent expression, while they retreated step by step in fear.