In an instant, she vanished from where she stood and reappeared in front of him, dagger flashing. The moment she attacked, there was no hesitation, no testing.
It was a killing strike.
The middle-aged man snorted coldly, contempt flashing across his face. Mysterious energy surged into his sword, the blade humming sharply as it slashed forward to meet her.
"Clang!"
Metal collided with a deafening crash.
Almost immediately, both weapons shifted, striking again and again in rapid succession. The exchange was fierce and relentless. The man's swordsmanship was sharp and domineering, every strike carrying lethal force.
After several moves, his blade suddenly changed direction, stabbing straight toward Aurora's chest with a terrifying speed
There was no room to dodge.
From a distance, Shen Yu watched from the shadows of the trees. His brows tightened slightly. Just as concern flickered through his eyes, he saw Aurora move.
And in that instant, his gaze changed completely.
Surprise flashed through his eyes as he saw her dagger flashed.
The counterattack came so fast it was almost impossible to defend against.
The middle-aged man's pupils shrank. He had not expected her to evade a killing sword with nothing but bodily control. Before he could launch a second attack, the cold gleam of the dagger was already upon him. He abandoned offense and retreated in haste, but even so, he was a step too slow.
"Hiss—"
A sharp intake of breath escaped him.
Blood burst from his arm as the dagger sliced deep, the wound cutting down to the bone. The sleeve was instantly soaked red, and his arm dropped slightly, fingers trembling as pain surged through him.
"Second Uncle!" the girl cried out in alarm and rushed forward to support him.
The middle-aged man's face darkened with fury and pain. "Kill him!" he shouted hoarsely.
The guards responded instantly, weapons rising, but before they could move, a hand shot up.
"Stand down."
The young man stepped forward.
His expression was grim, his eyes filled with a cold, venomous glare as he stared at Aurora, the air around him thick with killing intent. "This one is mine," he said slowly.
Aurora glanced at the wounded middle-aged man being supported by the girl, then shifted her gaze back to the young man. Her chin lifted slightly, her tone lazy and disdainful.
"You?" she said lightly. "You're not my opponent."
The words were not arrogance for show. Compared to the middle-aged man, whose cultivation and experience were deep and steady, this young man was clearly a level lower. Killing the former would take effort and time. Killing the latter would not.
Not far away, concealed among the trees, Shen Yu watched her raise her chin with that casual scorn and shook his head faintly.
Still a child at heart.
Yet he could not deny what he had seen. From her exchange with the middle-aged man alone, it was clear that this woman was far more dangerous than she appeared. Facing this group by herself, she would not suffer easily. In Fengyue's inner regions, someone like her, cautious yet bold, would not die without reason.
After one last look at her figure, Shen Yu turned away silently and disappeared deeper into the forest.
"Not my opponent?" the young man sneered. "Then let me show you what power really is!"
His aura exploded outward.
Orange mysterious energy surged around his body, thick and aggressive. With each step forward, the ground seemed to tremble faintly. He drew his fist back and then shot forward, his punch tearing through the air with a roar.
"Fivefold Fist!"
Aurora's brows lifted slightly when she saw the orange glow.
Interesting.
Earlier, the middle-aged man's sword had also carried traces of the same orange hue. She had not expected this young man's cultivation to be so close to his Brother-in-law's.
She retreated swiftly.
The fist slammed down where she had just stood, smashing into a thick tree trunk. With a deafening crack, the tree split, wood splintering and collapsing under the force.
Her eyes narrowed.
So this was pure power.
This kind of cultivation relied on overwhelming strength, each strike was fierce and domineering. Hard against hard would be foolish. She was not here to trade blows.
Then she smiled.
If he were hard, she would be soft.
As she retreated again, her hand flicked, and the dagger vanished back into her sleeve.
The girl, having just finished helping her Uncle bind his wound, noticed this and burst into laughter. "Second Uncle, look at her! Is she stupid? She even put away her dagger. Does she really think she can beat my brother with her bare hands?"
The middle-aged man, however, did not laugh.
His eyes stayed fixed on Aurora, dark and heavy. The unease in his chest grew stronger instead of fading. He could not explain it, but instinct screamed that something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Only when the next scene unfolded did the middle-aged man finally understand where the unease in his heart had come from.
The young girl before him changed.
Aurora lowered her stance, knees slightly bent, her posture relaxed to the point of looking careless. Her shoulders sank, her arms loosened, and her entire body seemed to lose all strength, as if she had turned soft and boneless. One hand lifted slowly at her side, light and unguarded, almost lazy.
When the young man roared and threw his punch forward with all his might, she moved.
She shifted left, her body folding inward, drawing close instead of retreating. Her palm brushed past his fist, and in that seemingly gentle motion, her fingers closed with terrifying precision around the tiger's mouth of his hand.
The moment contact was made, everything changed.
Power surged from her feet, through her waist, and into her hands. She twisted sideways, her body turning like flowing water, locking his arm in place.
A sharp scream ripped through the forest.
"Ah—!"
The young man's face turned deathly pale as pain exploded through his arm. He tried to pull back, but his arm was trapped, immovable.
Panic flooded his eyes. He swung his free hand wildly, but before it could strike, it too was seized, twisted, and locked.
There was no escape.
The onlookers froze.
"He—!"
"What is this—"
"Brother!"
"Young Master!"
The guards and the girl cried out in shock, their voices trembling. None of them could believe what they were seeing. Those soft-looking hands, those movements that seemed to carry no force at all, had completely dismantled a cultivator head-on.
And then, her hand moved.
Her fingers slid up and closed around his throat.
"No… don't…" The young man's voice broke at last. True fear finally surfaced. Death loomed so close that his entire body began to shake uncontrollably.
"Don't kill him!" the middle-aged man shouted urgently, his face changing drastically as he stepped forward.