Instantly, the charging soldiers faltered as if blocked by a wall, their steps stopped about five meters away from Yang Jiu.
The similarly surprised elderly man, who was leaping past them, also paused and barely stopped in time.
In the elderly man’s back, near his heart, blood dripped along the crossbow arrow. The fatigued, faux nine-leaf warrior could only look at Yang Jiu with a sense of shock and hope.
Using secret cultivation techniques to elevate oneself to nine-leaf level meant that, other than no flying ability, most of one’s sensations matched that of a real nine-leaf warrior. But even with enhanced sensations, he couldn’t tell there was someone hiding in the tree . . . Could this young man be a true nine-leaf warrior?
The elderly man felt desperate, but he now had a little bit of hope. Were there really twenty-something nine-leaf warriors in this world?
As he was thinking of all the pros and cons, the group of soldiers blocked by Yang Jiu had gotten over their surprise and were now raising their light swords and flying up toward the mystery man.
What was rare was how everyone attacking simultaneously didn’t collide or get in each other’s way; it was apparent they had fought in unison before.
Just this one move showed why the elderly man, the newly-minted nine-leaf warrior, who had to use his life energy for the upgrade, was running scared. Yang Jiu’s eyes were looking blacker than before, revealing a fervent excitement.
This was caused by a vibration from within his soul, which made all of his hairs stand at attention.
He huffed, and his long-stored killing energy spilled forth, with a speed faster than his opponents’.
The elderly warrior, aware of an imminent battle, leaned against a tree as he gulped air, hoping to recover as much as he could.
After running for a long time, bleeding all the while, as well as using secret techiniques to elevate his status, he felt extremely weak, as if he could faint at any moment. But he had to fight on for the sake of the young woman he guarded, so he used whatever breath he had to stay awake.
This black-haired man who materialized out of nowhere was mysterious; he couldn’t believe someone so young could be this close to being a nine-leaf warrior!
The more exceptional Yang Jiu seemed, the more the elderly warrior worried for him. The eleven seven-leaf warriors combined were so powerful that even a real nine-leaf warrior would shy away.
Musing that Yang Jiu was doomed, the elderly man sighed. “I, Ou Heng, owe you one. If I can save the princess this time, you can take my life.”
After announcing his intention, the elderly Ou Heng generated his internal energy again. He tapped the sword in his right hand and by using the energy from the sword’s crystal, he turned to run.
When he turned around halfway, the guilt and sense of resolution on his face changed to shock.
The black-haired young man had, without a weapon, leapt up like a flying ape. He twisted a few times in mid-air before flying into a seven-leaf warrior!
The encounter knocked the seven-leaf warrior with an irresistible force; before the warrior drew back his crystal sword, his whole body bounced back like a kite with its string severed. His chest bones sank in, and the sword he’d held was now in Yang Jiu’s possession.
Playing with the newly-acquired weapon, Yang Jiu’s eyes showed satisfaction. The thin object was worth quite a lot. It was known as the most elite among swords, a “tiger wing.” It was something people spent lifetimes saving for, and was exclusive to high-level warriors of the Luosheng Kingdom.
Watching their friend get killed, the remaining seven-leaf warriors charged ahead with their own crystal swords, their bright glares all pointing at the crucial spots on Yang Jiu’s body.
Since he used eighty percent of his Qisha energy on thet first hit, Yang Jiu could feel a sore numbness all over his body. He felt weaker, but when the warrior was killed, his killing energy was reenergized like a shark that had caught the scent of blood, quickly growing by thirty percent. This was the true reward for a Qisha cultivator facing an uneven battle.
With a light tap of his foot, his body flew up, and his crystal sword waved back and forth in elegant motions, bypa.s.sing his enemies’ battle layout, and allowing him to stab the seven-leaf warrior closest to him.
The smell of burnt flesh and the grunts of the injured emanated in the forest.Yang Jiu was still leisurely hovering in mid-air, clutching the tiger wing sword.
After years of life-and-death battles, Yang Jiu understood crystal swords better than the average warrior. When he held the sword, his mind could see all of its details and power. The tiger wing held three energy crystals, provided a high-temperature killing power, and even its grip had been handcrafted by artisans.
He looked so enamored with the weapon that the remaining nine warriors seemed all but forgotten.
A genius, definitely a genius. Even if he wasn’t a nine-leaf warrior yet, he was well-matched to Ou Heng, the eight-leaf warrior.
The nine warriors looked at each other. After losing two of their members so quickly, their eyes went from cold to surprised and angry. Looking up at the killing machine who appeared out of thin air, no one dared to make a move right away.
But their lack of initiative didn’t mean Yang Jiu would let any of them get away.
Yang Jiu circulated the air like a giant bird, quickly moving into a head-down position. Then, as his crystal sword heated up to almost 1,000 degrees, he flew toward the seven-leaf warrior closest to him.