Facing an ambush from three experts at the Martial Arts Fifth Stage, Jiang Chen, who had only recovered half his True Qi, felt immense pressure.
The palm of his hand gripping his longsword was slightly sweaty, but his eyes showed no fear. Instead, they surged with a powerful fighting spirit. "You want to kill me? The three of you are far from enough!"
"Perfect. My Thunderbolt Technique is on the verge of breaking through to the Perfection Realm, and it needs immense pressure to do so. I'll just use you as my whetstones!"
A cold glint flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes, and the sword in his hand flew from its sheath once more!
The Aurora Sword Technique had three moves in total. The first was Flowing Light, and the second was Thunderbolt, which emphasized drawing the sword with a speed so great it was like a sudden clap of thunder.
Stomping hard on the ground, his body shot forward, hugging the earth. A wind seemed to rise at his feet, uprooting grass and plants as he passed. His first target was the sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked man at the Martial Arts Fifth Stage.
"You're courting death!"
The middle-aged man was clever enough not to clash with Jiang Chen head-on. He chose to retreat, and at the same time, he waved his hand, scattering a dark cloud of hidden flying knives. A dozen or so daggers shot toward Jiang Chen at once.
"Petty tricks!"
Jiang Chen sneered dismissively. With a flick of his sword, a continuous series of SWISHES cut through the air. Streaks of silver Sword Aura shot out, forming an illusory screen that knocked down the flying knives one by one.
"How is that possible?" The middle-aged man's face changed drastically. Seeing Jiang Chen charging at him, he quickly roared, "Seventh Brother, help me, quickly!"
"Take this arrow!"
Seventh Brother drew his bow and nocked an arrow. His movements were as smooth as flowing water, executed in a single, fluid motion.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Nine arrows shot out in quick succession, sealing off all of Jiang Chen's escape routes.
"Kid, you're dead meat!" Seeing this, the middle-aged man's expression turned savage as a smug grin spread across his face.
Jiang Chen remained perfectly calm. "Sorry to disappoint you!"
With a sudden flicker of his body, he vanished from the middle-aged man's line of sight. The next time the man saw Jiang Chen, his vision was already spinning in the air, growing blurrier and blurrier.
Jiang Chen's disappearance had been a trick. He had used the impact from the incoming arrows, striking them with the tip of his sword and using the rebound force to accelerate. In that split second, he had evaded the volley of arrows and simultaneously struck out to kill the middle-aged man.
After killing the middle-aged man with a single strike, Jiang Chen didn't pause for a moment. Crouching low, he kicked off the ground and reversed his direction, charging toward Seventh Brother!
'Not good!'
Although Seventh Brother's cultivation was also at the Martial Arts Fifth Stage, he didn't excel at close combat. His expertise was in long-range attacks and sneak shots. Seeing Jiang Chen charge at him, his face fell. He quickly drew his bow and nocked arrows, firing a series of sharp, precise shots to block Jiang Chen while roaring to Third Brother, "Third Brother, quick, stop him!"
"Don't worry, he won't get past me!" Third Brother said, full of confidence.
He slashed his Battle Blade through the air, striking more than ten times in a single instant. The attacks formed a dense net of blade light that descended upon Jiang Chen.
This was the Yellow-Tier Middle-Level Martial Skill, the Heaven and Earth Net Blade Technique.
It was said that when this Blade Technique was cultivated to its peak, a single strike could form a true Heaven and Earth Net, killing enemies unseen!
Seventh Brother continued to fire sneak shots.
Jiang Chen was exhausted from fending them off. His face had lost a touch of color, and a gash on his shoulder bled endlessly. 'So close. The Thunderbolt Technique is just a little bit away from Perfection. Damn it, I'll go all out!'
Gritting his teeth, Jiang Chen charged forward once more.
Facing the tight coordination of Seventh Brother and Third Brother again, Jiang Chen no longer dodged. Instead, he executed the Thunderbolt Technique again and again.
PFFT!
A moment of carelessness led to an arrow piercing his abdomen. Third Brother seized the opportunity and struck again, a sharp blade aura streaking like a bolt of lightning straight for Jiang Chen's head.
At that critical moment, a flash of insight struck Jiang Chen's mind, and his eyes lit up.
'So that's how it is... To achieve Perfection with the Thunderbolt Technique, you have to strike with the unstoppable force of a thunderbolt. Thunder is an incredibly focused power; it can't be dispersed. I understand now!'
A sharp glint suddenly flashed in his eyes. He glanced at the wounds on his shoulder and abdomen, his gaze turning frigid with killing intent. "Since my Thunderbolt Technique has now reached Perfection, I won't waste any more time playing with you."
Kill!
Jiang Chen roared and violently unleashed the Thunderbolt Technique.
His sword and body merged into one. A sonic boom, like a sharp SWISH, exploded from the blade's edge. Jiang Chen shot forward. This strike carried the momentum of a thunderbolt—swift and ferocious. It tore the net of blades before him to shreds. The sword's light continued unabated, descending from the air and, with a SQUELCH, split Third Brother's large, bald head in two.
Blood flew everywhere.
'Fuck, how did this kid's power increase again? Even Third Brother is dead! I'm no match for him. I have to run!' Seventh Brother's face filled with horror.
His face was deathly pale.
He no longer bothered with firing sneak shots, instead shouldering his bow and turning to flee.
Unfortunately...
His speed was no match for Jiang Chen's. He was quickly overtaken. Jiang Chen slashed out twice in succession. Seventh Brother, still in mid-sprint, suddenly shuddered as both his legs were severed below the knee.
"Ahhh—!"
Seventh Brother let out a wretched scream and fell to the ground. He scrambled backward in a panic, his eyes filled with terror as he faced the steadily approaching Jiang Chen. "Don't kill me... I know I was wrong! I'm begging you, please don't kill me!"
Jiang Chen planted a foot on Seventh Brother's chest, leaned down slightly, and studied him with narrowed eyes. He said in a low voice, "Tell me, why was your Tiger Fang Squad looking for me? And why did you try to kill me on sight? Don't try to pull any tricks on me. If I find you're lying, I'll make you understand the meaning of a fate worse than death!"
"I... I can't say! If the boss finds out I betrayed him, I'll die a horrible death..." Before Seventh Brother could finish speaking, a sharp pain shot through his arm.
Jiang Chen had severed his right hand with his sword.
Stomping on the severed wrist, Jiang Chen said coldly, "I don't want to hear any more nonsense!"
"I-I-I'll talk..."
In agony, his face utterly devoid of color, Seventh Brother looked at Jiang Chen with deep shock and terror. He quickly said, "Our Tiger Fang Squad is a team of Demon Hunters, and our leader is named Jiang Hu."
"Jiang Hu?"
Jiang Chen was stunned. An image of a figure he had seen a few times during his childhood surfaced in his mind.
This Jiang Hu was also a disciple of the Jiang Family, known for being ruthless and incredibly greedy.
Back then...
When Jiang Taixu learned that he had been abducting young women, he had flown into a rage, cut off one of Jiang Hu's arms, and decreed that Jiang Hu was forbidden from ever setting foot in the Jiang Family home again.
More importantly—Jiang Hu was also the father of Jiang Rui and Jiang Zhi!
'My father crippled one of Jiang Hu's arms and exiled him from the family. I, in turn, crippled his two sons. It's understandable that Jiang Hu would want to kill me.'
After learning that the leader of the Tiger Fang Squad was Jiang Hu, most of Jiang Chen's confusion vanished. He narrowed his eyes at Seventh Brother. "Jiang Hu was exiled from the Jiang Family long ago. How could he possibly know I was in the Bluestone Mountain Range?"
"Well..."
Seventh Brother hesitated for a moment, but when he saw the longsword in Jiang Chen's hand twitch, he hastily continued, "It was Jiang Ming! The Jiang Family's Ninth Elder, Jiang Ming! About half a month ago, he found our captain. He told the captain that you crippled Jiang Rui and Jiang Zhi and gave him a Sword Compass. He said you were carrying a sword that had been tampered with, and that he could use the Sword Compass to find your approximate location."
"We've been searching for you for the past half a month. The Sword Compass could only determine your general vicinity, though, so the captain had us split into several small groups to search for your whereabouts..."
Seventh Brother looked at Jiang Chen with a pleading gaze, saying pitifully, "I... I've told you everything I know. C-can you let me go now?"
Jiang Chen sneered. "Let you go? Have you never heard the saying that letting a tiger return to its mountain will only lead to future disaster?"
"What? You promised you wouldn't kill me! You can't go back on your word..." Seventh Brother roared in terror.
Jiang Chen said flatly, "I only said that if you confessed honestly, I'd give you a quick and painless death!"
SHING!
A single strike slit his throat.
Blood poured from Seventh Brother's seven orifices. He stared at Jiang Chen with a venomous gaze, unable to die in peace. "You... you won't have a good death..."
"You won't be around to see whether I die or not!"
Jiang Chen sneered, his eyes narrowed as he gazed at the blood-stained longsword in his hand. 'No wonder I always felt that Jiang Ming was being overly friendly, pointing me to the Spiritual Monkey Valley for the Blazing Flame Vermilion Fruit and even giving me a weapon. It was all a conspiracy to have me killed. Hmph, Jiang Ming and I have no history of animosity. There's only one possible reason he would do this...'
A beautiful silhouette appeared in his mind...
'Jiang Ziyou, so you want to eliminate me completely? Too bad for you, I won't let you have your way. Anyone who wants to kill me, I, Jiang Chen, will not allow them to remain in this world!'
Jiang Chen's icy gaze swept over the four bodies lying in pools of blood. He spoke coldly, 'Jiang Ziyou must die. And Jiang Ming, since you dared to plot against me, you will die too. But before either of you, I'll annihilate that Tiger Fang Squad. If you want to kill me, Jiang Chen, you will all pay the price in blood!'