"Eve, no! I will avenge you even if I get killed for it!"
To everyone's distress, the one shouting was none other than the Nascent Soul disciple. He was at the low phase of the stage, but still a powerful cultivator one major stage above them.
"Who did it? Come out!"
He released his nascent soul, sensing everything around him. The three remained silent and didn't dare leak a tiny bit of Qi. However, he'd eventually find them since they were trapped in the tunnel.
They exchanged looks, nodded in understanding, and looked toward the exit. Ken raised 3 fingers and started lowering them one by one, acting as a countdown.
'0!'
The three of them turned around and dashed to the exit at full speed. Upon exiting, they split up and ran in three different directions, doing their best to shake off the chaser.
"After them! I want them alive so I can kill them myself!"
The leader screamed in rage when he saw them running away and chased after them. As soon as he saw them splitting up, he chose to chase Diana since she carried a bow. Of the remaining three, 2 chased after Jane while the third went after Ken, seeing him as the weakest of the group.
'Should I save them? Or is it my chance to get rid of them?'
Ken struggled with his inner thoughts when he stopped running after a kilometer. He didn't run too fast on purpose when he noticed the fifth-stage cultivator didn't come after him. He didn't want his chaser to lose track of him.
"Idiots, you killed Senior Brother Aiden's little sister, he will kill you even if it's against the war rules. You better-"
The female disciple said with a frown on her face when she caught up with Ken. But Ken wasn't interested in listening to her recommendation.
'Slash, 81 in 1.'
The woman hurriedly defended with a shield formed by a technique of Metal Qi, one of the best defensive Qi types. However, the huge slash cut through her shield instantly and went through her body from her head to her crotch, splitting her into two.
·?θm 'Sheathed Man.'
Ken concealed himself and rushed in the direction where Jane headed. He soon found her surrounded by two disciples wearing black robes, fighting feisty without giving up.
As a core disciple, she managed to fight back well, and it was evident from their strength that those disciples weren't true disciples of Four Seasons Sect. Like Ken, they came from a weaker sect and tried to earn some benefits.
'I can save her easily.'
Ken thought as he watched Jane's talismans save her from injuries while she fought back. She was stronger than each of them separately, but the two worked well together and their teamwork placed a lot of pressure on the short-haired girl.
"You won't get away with killing Junior Sister Eve next to her brother. Just give up and die painlessly!"
One of the two men fighting her tried to break her fighting spirit, but Jane didn't give up.
"Hmph, since my little brother didn't come here yet to help me, it must mean he has a plan and he went to help Diana."
They didn't know Jane's little brother and Diana, but it wasn't hard to understand since they were only three.
"Hmph, what makes you so sure your little brother didn't die in our friend's hands?"
"Because he is stronger than me!"
Ken's emotions surged when he heard Jane's belief in him. She didn't even consider the option he just abandoned them. His guilt ate him from inside; they gave him their trust, but he was still considering whether to let them die.
'They know too much about me! they're a danger! Just like Sol did, they will betray me for benefits or just for the sect!'
Ken tried to calm himself down and think rationally. He knew they valued the sect above their friendship with him. As long as the sect didn't actively try to kill him, they'd never support him.
On the other hand, he remembered their time together. Their journey in the mountains, the time they spent together while waiting for enemies to enter their trap.
In his mind, he could easily see Diana's irritated pout every time he demanded she pays for the pills for feeding her pup, and Jane's excited smile every time the conversation touched upon swords or fighting.
'One Step.'
'Flash Unwind.'
In the Big Success mastery realm of One Step, he could move his body in his dash, allowing him to attack while in movement. The full potential of this mastery would only show when he reaches the next stage and can perform a few attacks simultaneously.
He appeared between the two men when Jane managed to get out of their encirclement, and with a stroke of his sword, two heads separated from their former bodies and rolled on the ground.
"Ken, you're here! Let's go help Diana!"
Jane shouted as soon as he appeared. She was surprised it took him so long to arrive to help her, but without overthinking it she just jumped and sprinted toward the area Diana ran away to.
"Do you sense their presence?"
She asked Ken nervously, but the latter just shook his head.
"Diana is faster than us, we will need some luck to run into them."
----------
"Damn!"
Diana cursed out loud when she noticed the strongest enemy chose to chase after her.
'Carried by the Wind.'
It was her movement technique, and it allowed her to use wind currents to run at extreme speeds. The main disadvantage was that the technique's power relied on the wind available, but there was plenty of disgusting hot wind in the region.
"Don't think you can run away from me!"
Aiden shouted furiously as he ran after her. His strengths were Earth Qi and Metal Qi, and speed wasn't his forte. Thus, he couldn't catch Diana, but she also couldn't get rid of his tail.
'I must find a way to shake him off my trails, or else I will run out of Qi first.'
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