"Are these scoundrels out of their minds over women?" the leader muttered, his face darkening.
He was locked in a fierce battle with the elder.
"She's only at the initial stage of Earth Yuan, and four of them rushed her at once?"
"They could have at least left one to deal with the caravan's guards!"
But, occupied with fighting the elder, he couldn't afford to be distracted.
Both were at the mid-stage of Earth Yuan. Though the elder was old and his strength was waning, his combat experience and skill were not inferior, and he couldn't be defeated quickly.
"I hope everything goes well," the leader sighed, focusing on his opponent.
"That girl is too fast!" one of the bandits cursed, breathing heavily.
Mu Lingsha skillfully glided between the trees, using a second-rank movement technique—Wandering Steps. Her four pursuers couldn't catch up to her.
One, his eyes flashing, roared: "Stop! If you keep running, we'll just go back!"
Lingsha's provocation was obvious, and the bandits immediately saw through her plan.
They were chasing her, only indulging their desires.
Hearing the threat, Lingsha sighed helplessly, stopped, and turned to face them.
Nocking an arrow, she said coldly: "One on one or all at once?"
The man whose cheek was sliced by the arrow glared at Mu Lingsha and said to his comrades: "Cover me, I'll make her pay!"
With those words, he charged at her, every blow filled with fury.
Mu Lingsha, with a serious face, maneuvered using the Wandering Steps. From time to time, she would release an arrow, not giving way to the opponent.
Although she had only recently broken through to Earth Yuan, her strength was not inferior to the enemy's. She was considered the Mu estate's first genius for a reason.
Seeing that their comrade couldn't defeat her, the three watching bandits were surprised.
"This girl is a tough nut to crack," one muttered.
Another, losing patience, roared: "We can't delay, let's all go at once!"
He rushed towards Mu Lingsha.
Her face tensed. In a one-on-one fight, she was confident of victory, but against all of them at once, she had no chance.
But in the next moment, a thin hum sliced through the air. A bright beam of energy, like a meteor, streaked forward.
The man who had rushed towards Lingsha didn't have time to react—the beam pierced his head.
"Who is it?!" the remaining two cried out.
Seeing their comrade die before their eyes, they were paralyzed with horror.
A figure jumped down from a tree, looking at them coldly.
At the sight of the mysterious enemy, the bandits flinched, preparing for a fight. But, after seeing his cultivation level, they felt a ridiculous sensation.
"Body Tempering?" the bandits exclaimed in astonishment.
But there was no time for surprise. Mu Zi used the Spiritual Sword Finger technique and, stepping on Wave Steps, spun around the two Earth Yuan masters.
She flickered up and down, right and left. The energy of the Spiritual Sword Finger, like a quivering net, tightly entangled the enemies.
The bandits, in horror, summoned their defensive Yuan energy with all their might, but they were not sure they could withstand Mu Zi's impenetrable onslaught. In that moment of life and death, they focused on defending their vital points.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
After the fierce attack, bleeding wounds appeared on their bodies. Fortunately, they had covered their vulnerable spots, and the wounds were not fatal.
"Ah!" they roared.
Their severe injuries ignited their fury. The bandits rushed at Mu Zi from two sides.
But she, gliding smoothly like a fallen leaf, appeared behind them and again released several energy beams.
Disbelieving what was happening, they continued to attack. But Mu Zi, like a butterfly flitting among flowers, easily evaded them, and their blows didn't even touch the edge of her clothes.
As time passed, the wounds grew more numerous. If not for their superior cultivation, they would have collapsed long ago.
"This girl is a true demon!" one of them shouted, cold sweat trickling down his forehead, stunned by her ghostly technique.
The other suggested: "We can't play by her rules! Let's force her into a head-on fight!"
"How?"
The first one's eyes flashed: "Hit where she can't help but defend!"
They exchanged glances, instantly understanding the plan. They stopped wasting energy on her elusive attacks and focused on defending their vulnerable spots.
And then they unleashed a furious attack on Mu Lingsha, who was standing aside. Their eyes burned with malice, as if all their power had merged into this assault.
Mu Lingsha was fighting fiercely with her opponent when two powerful surges of energy roared towards her, causing her heart to pound wildly.
But at the moment the bandits rushed at her, Mu Zi, surrounded by a light scent, appeared before them, shielding her sister.
"Haha! Where can you run now?" the bandits burst into laughter.
From the very beginning, their target was Mu Zi. The attack on Lingsha was just a feint to force her into a direct confrontation.
But their glee was short-lived. Mu Zi opened her palm, and a dazzling glowing symbol, like a white lotus, appeared in it, silently hovering above her hand.
Boom!
A deafening impact sounded. Two figures flew backward, smashing into trees, and collapsed to the ground, bleeding.
"This..."
Seeing the unexpected outcome, Lingsha and her opponent froze, as if bound by an invisible force, and involuntarily stopped fighting.
From Mu Zi's sudden attack to the death of one and the severe injuries of two Earth Yuan masters, everything happened in the blink of an eye.
"Little sister... she's so strong!" Lingsha thought, shaken.
Defeating three Earth Yuan masters in such a short time—such power far surpassed her own.
A fourteen-year-old girl defeated Earth Yuan masters—an achievement that surpassed even Lin Dong from Qingyang by two years.
Lingsha was stunned for a long time.
But, coming to her senses, she felt a strange feeling.
If she had known her little sister was so strong, why was she so desperate?
"I worried for nothing!" Mu Lingsha looked at Mu Zi with a slight hint of resentment.
Under her gaze, Mu Zi froze in the pose she had been in when she released the glowing symbol, not moving.
"What's wrong?" Lingsha asked, worried.
Suddenly, a powerful attractive force gushed from Mu Zi's body. The energy of heaven and earth around her swirled in a vortex, rushing towards her dantian.
This sight stunned Lingsha. But then she felt a faint cold flow in the vortex of energy surrounding Mu Zi.
Realizing this, Lingsha froze, her eyes wide.
"This is... Earth Yuan?"