Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Flustered and Exasperated
The black-clothed man’s eyes were sharp. He sneered, "Ridiculous. How could a mere Martial Artist like you control a true Fifth-level Array? It’s just a simplified Array Disc. The Array is powered only by the Profound Stones inside. I refuse to believe it can block me once or twice, but not ten or even a hundred times."
After speaking, the black-clothed man relentlessly hammered his fists against the shield of light in front of Zhao Wei. Amidst the deafening ROARS, the light shield rippled, enduring the immense assault.
Sima Xuanyu and the others grew anxious when they heard this. Although they didn’t understand the principles of the Array Disc, they knew the black-clothed man was right. After a quick adjustment, they didn’t attack the man in black. Instead, they rushed toward Sha Jiu, who was trying to assassinate Ye Xuan, shouting, "Master Ye Xuan, get back to the royal palace and call for reinforcements!"
But before they could reach him, the sound of tearing air came from behind. The remaining black-clothed assassins had caught up from the rear, instantly surrounding the two of them.
Sima Xuanyu and the commander of the Imperial Guard looked back and saw the ground littered with the bodies of the Imperial Guard. In such a short time, not a single one had been left alive. Their faces paled in shock.
With a single move, Sha Jiu appeared in front of Ye Xuan. He thrust a palm down at him and sneered, "A mere Earth Martial Artist thinks he can escape from me? Is that even possible?"
As Sha Jiu’s palm descended, Zhao Wei and the others were horrified. ’It’s over for Ye Xuan,’ they thought.
But Ye Xuan’s expression remained unchanged. He actually let out a cold laugh. "You idiot, which one of your eyes saw me trying to run?"
The moment his words fell, his body moved. Like a slippery loach, he twisted a few times and broke free from the force of Sha Jiu’s palm strike. With a CLANG, he drew the Dragon Pattern Sword from his waist. Dragon cries echoed as it transformed into several points of light, stabbing toward his opponent.
Sha Jiu was shocked that Ye Xuan had managed to escape his palm’s force. Without thinking, he ignored the sword glints stabbing at him and struck out with his palm again. Amidst a rumbling ROAR, his Profound Power surged toward Ye Xuan like a tidal wave.
But before his palm’s power could land, a series of hisses rang out. Something happened that horrified him: the sword glints from Ye Xuan’s attack easily tore through his Third Heaven Celestial Martial Artist-level defense. Like specks of starlight, they stabbed toward vital points all over his body, forcing him to hastily withdraw his palm strike and defend himself.
Sword and palm collided with the sound of clashing metal. The sharp Sword Qi nearly sliced his hand open.
Sha Jiu’s expression first changed in horror, then twisted into wild joy. He burst out laughing, "Good kid! No wonder your attacks are so terrifying. This sword is actually a Tier Four Profound Soldier, and a top-grade one at that! HAHAHA, the heavens are truly helping me! A mere Earth Martial Artist like you is worthy of using a Tier Four Profound Soldier? You probably don’t even have the ability to unseal it. Hand it over!"
At a moment of life and death, Sha Jiu actually developed the idea of snatching the sword.
"Oh, you want it? Should’ve said so earlier. Here, take it!"
A smile played on Ye Xuan’s lips as he offered the longsword forward. The instant the sword touched his opponent, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "Unseal!"
The Dragon Pattern Sword suddenly released a terrifying aura. The profound patterns on the blade seemed to come alive, shimmering with radiant light that filled the sky. Streams of sharp Sword Qi erupted from the Dragon Pattern Sword, engulfing Sha Jiu like a tidal wave.
With a wretched scream, Sha Jiu’s robes were shredded to pieces by the crisscrossing Sword Qi. His body was covered in a dense network of fine cuts, dripping with blood. He looked like a man made of blood.
"So? Do you still want it?" Ye Xuan’s sword trembled, his Swordsmanship profound and dazzling to Sha Jiu. Sha Jiu’s body retreated involuntarily as he cried out in terror, "You’re an Earth Martial Artist, yet you can unseal a Tier Four Profound Soldier!"
How could he have known? The Profound Qi of a Tier Three Earth Martial Artist was indeed insufficient to unseal a top-grade Tier Four Profound Soldier like the Dragon Pattern Sword. However, as an Artifact Refining Master, Ye Xuan didn’t need to use Profound Qi to brute-force the unsealing. He only needed to use his unique techniques to activate the profound patterns on the Dragon Pattern Sword.
The confrontation between Ye Xuan and Sha Jiu instantly drew everyone’s attention.
Seeing this, the leader of the black-clothed men flew into a rage. "Sha Jiu, what’s going on?! Kill him already! You’re a Third Heaven Celestial Martial Artist and you can’t even deal with an Earth Martial Artist? Did a donkey kick you in the head? Why are you messing with his Profound Soldier? This person is also on the Shadow Killing Sect’s kill list. Just kill him!"
Seeing Sha Jiu being played like a fiddle by a mere Earth Martial Artist, the leader of the black-clothed men was so angry he almost coughed up blood. He was utterly exasperated.
Sha Jiu was also furious out of shame. His opponent’s level wasn’t high, but his Swordsmanship and Body Technique were unlike anything he’d ever seen. Every thrust was aimed at a tricky angle, striking directly for his vital points. The man’s ability to predict the flow of battle was also superior to his own. It was as if his opponent knew how he was going to attack before he even made a move.
If it were an ordinary Earth Martial Artist, he could have just ignored everything and suppressed him with pure power. But the Profound Soldier in his opponent’s hands was extremely powerful, and a single careless moment could result in his own injury. This left him flustered and in a sorry state.
Zhao Wei and the others were overjoyed to see this. "Brother Ye Xuan, hurry and get reinforcements!"
Sha Jiu’s face was grim. Although he couldn’t do anything to Ye Xuan, he was determined not to give him the slightest chance to escape. He said coldly, "Do you really think you can escape?"
A ghost-faced martial soul appeared above his head, its black tentacles spreading out to completely surround Ye Xuan.
"Is this all you assassins from the paltry Shadow Killing Sect are capable of?"
The moment his opponent revealed the ghost-faced martial soul, Ye Xuan knew his identity.
"You brat, don’t be so arrogant! Watch how I kill you!"
The martial soul floated above Sha Jiu’s head as dense Evil Qi gathered on the surface of his body. He let out a low shout, and a massive amount of Profound Power converged into a surging ocean, pressing down on Ye Xuan.
He had come to a realization. Since he couldn’t capture his opponent by competing in skill and Body Technique, he would use the principle of overwhelming skill with brute force. He would launch a large-scale attack. His opponent was just a Tier Three Earth Martial Artist; as long as he was within the attack’s range, how could he possibly survive?
BOOM!
How terrifying was the strike of a Third Heaven Celestial Martial Artist? As the attack descended, the area within a ten-meter radius was engulfed by a raging Gale. Before the palm even arrived, the force of the strike had already locked down the surrounding space.
Ye Xuan smiled faintly and tossed out an Array Disc. A hazy light enveloped him, meeting Sha Jiu’s palm head-on. With a CRACK, the light shattered. The Array Disc couldn’t withstand the force and broke apart. An invisible shockwave of Profound Power continued onward, washing over Ye Xuan’s body like a torrent.
"You’re just an Earth Martial Artist. Even if the Array Disc blocked some of the attack, you will definitely die from the remaining impact."
A cold sneer formed on Sha Jiu’s lips, but before it could fully set, his expression suddenly froze. He saw that under the impact of the Profound Power, Ye Xuan was completely unscathed, standing proud and straight like a pine tree.
"Impossible!" Sha Jiu cried out in shock.
’How could an Earth Martial Artist possibly block an attack from me, a Third Heaven Celestial Martial Artist? Even a First Heaven Celestial Martial Artist would probably be severely injured and coughing up blood from the aftershock.’
’Could it be that his Array Disc absorbed most of my attack? But even so, he couldn’t possibly be completely unharmed, right?’
Sha Jiu could only attribute it to the defense of the Array Disc. Though shocked, he didn’t stop moving. He fully activated his martial soul and launched another vicious attack.
"Let’s see how you block this one!"
As Sha Jiu let out a ferocious roar, he saw Ye Xuan casually toss out another Array Disc. The disc shattered, and yet again, he was completely unharmed.
Taking advantage of the lull, he even let out a yawn. His leisurely appearance made Sha Jiu so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood, smoke practically fuming from his orifices.
"ARGH! I refuse to believe you have that many Array Discs to block me!"
Sha Jiu stamped his feet in a rage. He recklessly activated the Profound Qi in his body and attacked madly.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The thunderous power of his palms, like a flash flood or a coming tsunami, rained down relentlessly.
But Ye Xuan was seen tossing out one Array Disc after another, as if he had an endless supply.
Sha Jiu was about to go insane. He had never seen anyone carry so many defensive Array Discs.
If this continued, he would die from exhausting his Profound Power long before Ye Xuan ran out of Array Discs.
SQUEAK! SQUEAK!
On Ye Xuan’s shoulder, the Little Purple Mink suddenly appeared. It gave Sha Jiu a look of contempt and mockery, as if laughing at him for overestimating his own abilities.
"I’m so mad! Even a mere beast dares to mock me."
Veins bulged on Sha Jiu’s forehead. He was beside himself with rage, and his head throbbed with pain.
"Protect His Highness, the Eighth Prince!"
Just then, a series of angry roars came from the distance. It was several nearby City Guard patrol units that had received the news and were rushing over.
"Useless! Absolutely useless!"
Even angrier, however, was the leader of the black-clothed men. Seeing that Sha Jiu hadn’t finished off Ye Xuan after all this time, he knew time was short. His body suddenly shot forward, pouncing toward Ye Xuan.
"Sha Jiu, you go take care of that City Guard unit, then go support Thirteenth and the others. I’ll kill this brat myself."
Before he arrived, his voice already echoed through the air. The Profound Power of a Martial Sect expert rose up, its oppressive might rushing straight toward them.
"Yes, Leader Zhang Kui!"
Sha Jiu felt a wave of relief wash over him. The Ye Xuan before him was just too bizarre. He didn’t want to face him for even another second. He turned to leave.
’Trying to run?’
This Sha Jiu had bombarded him for so long, and now he thought he could just walk away? Things weren’t that simple.
A cold light suddenly flashed in Ye Xuan’s eyes. With a wave of his right hand—SHOO! SHOO! SHOO!—three Profound-Annihilating Flying Daggers transformed into three streaks of light, shooting like falling stars toward the back of Sha Jiu’s heart.
"You’re courting death!"
The black-clothed leader, Zhang Kui, saw Ye Xuan dare to attack Sha Jiu even as he himself was closing in. This blatant disregard for his presence sent him into a fury. The might of his palm, like a descending prison, bore down on Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan paid him no mind, focusing on controlling the Profound-Annihilating Flying Daggers.
’Insignificant tricks.’
Sha Jiu’s keen perception had already detected Ye Xuan’s move. He sneered internally, coated his palm with Profound Power, and without even turning his head, slapped backward. DING! DING! DING! All three flying daggers were sent flying.
CHIII!
But at that very moment, a streak of purple lightning shot across the sky. Like a rainbow piercing the sun, or an eagle striking through a long hall, it appeared behind Sha Jiu’s heart with a speed that left no time to cover one’s ears.
Sha Jiu cried out ’Oh no!’ in his mind. He only had time to gather all the Profound Power in his body to the spot behind his heart before the lightning struck him.
