Treachery
"I-it's the bushes, they're…" The youth stuttered, all the while pointing at a small patch of green at the far right of the clearing.
Zhao Ming's eyes followed the finger point, and soon his gaze landed on a large, innocuous bush. It was then, that he saw it.
The bush… was moving?
Rustle Rustle
"What?!" Zhao Ming—taken aback by the strange happening—yelped.
'I set up prohibitive talismans in this part of the woods, so nothing that goes on here should leak into the outside world! Unless… No way... there shouldn't, there CAN'T be any beasts in these woods that are beyond the Body Tempering stage!'
Zhao Ming refused to believe it.
Unless a being was beyond the final ninth realm of the Body Tempering stage, then they shouldn't be able to trespass his barrier! But if that was the case, then…
Rustle Rustle
Why was the bush moving?!
Alarmed, Zhao Ming immediately ordered one of his lackeys to go check out the strange shrub, an order which he very reluctantly agreed to, understanding what the situation meant and all.
'It's probably just a rabbit or some other small animal, right? Damn it Du, check the damned plant already!' Zhao Ming lamented, tense.
Approaching slowly, the youth who was forced to assert the disturbance trembled with apprehension. He had a very bad feeling about all this.
When he was finally before it, he forced himself to trudge down waves upon waves of doubts.
'Huuuu, here goes nothing.' The lackey grit his teeth, and then shutting his eyes, he spread the bush wide open for the lot to see.
Truly there was something... Or more precisely, someone, hidden behind it.
Whoosh!
SLASH
"Hic!"
With eyes widened to the utmost limits, Du tried to voice his shock but instead, ended up coughing up a mouth full of... blood? Panic-stricken, he looked down.
And saw a massive gash at the base of his throat!
The cut was anything but clean or concise. Nevertheless, it was effective.
"Cough…coughs!" The youth fell to his knees, clutching his neck, as he coughed up blood—his own blood.
What's worse? He wasn't even allowed the privilege of screaming in agony as the crimson fluid blocked his airways. Now, it was only a matter of time before he died.
Enraged, he looked up at the perpetrator of his unfortunate state with bloodshot eyes. He wanted to at least know the face of his assailant!
Looking up, he saw a figure.
A figure of a young man who was not any older than him.
The young man had fair skin and a remorseless pair of dark black eyes. His long black hair coolly fluttered in the wind as he wielded an abnormally large great sword, the tip of which was still dyed in his own blood.
'Who are-kuk!'
Those were the youth's final thoughts, before the light faded from his eyes. He fell.
Thud!
"What?!"
Such was the unanimous question that flooded the minds of all who were present. Just who was this person?
What was he doing here? When did he get here? HOW did he get here? How long has he been here? And how did he kill such a powerful Cultivator so quickly?!
Everyone, every single one, was completely and utterly dumbfounded.
Seeing the turmoil he had caused, Ying smirked, 'Let's not waste this opportunity.' He thought as he dismissed the heavy weapon back into his inventory.
Pilfering the dead youth's short sword, he dashed towards the other lackey. His intent? Simple. A quick, seamless kill.
Whoosh!
In a matter of seconds, Ying had already arrived before his target. It seemed that she was still too stunned and confused to move— a fatal mistake!
Putting his lead foot forward, Ying converted his momentum to force before decisively driving the blade through her abdomen.
Stab!
Spurt!
The young female threw up blood as she felt the blade pierce right through her body. Her skin quickly lost all warmth whilst her life's blood seeped away. Soon afterwards, she found herself… Falling?
Thud!
Her lifeless body hit the floor and immediately went limp.
The perpetrator hadn't even spared her an additional second of his attention after murdering her—simply abandoned the short sword in her abdomen and switched his arsenal with her blade.
Whoosh!
The sound of wind being cut apart erupted once more as the ruthless reaper attacked his final target, this time wielding a slightly curved double-edged sword.
But it could never be that easy now, could it?
Clang!
Ying's attack was parried!
For a split second, Ying was actually shocked. He had always expected his final target to be the most difficult one yet, but still, this strength was…
"You bastard! How dare you attack my people, you will die here!" Zhao Ming roared in fury.
He was arrogant, true, but the real reason why he had thrived for so long in this world was because he actually had the strength to back his big mouth.
SLASH
Clang!
In an instant, Ying was thrown to the defensive. Forced to block and dodge a flurry of powerful strikes coming from Zhao Ming, Ying was forced to acknowledge the ever-changing nature of the battle.
Clang!
Bang!
'Curses!' Ying bit his lip.
Although he might not have seemed like much, the sheer force behind Zhao Ming's every attack was practically stifling. They were fast, too; Ying could barely keep up!
'Ugh, so this is the power of one who has training!' Ying could not help but curse at the disparity of his situation.
"I don't know how you got into this place but know this heathen... By my word, you will NOT be leaving here alive!" The young master hollered, accompanied by a series of overbearing attacks.
Bang!
Boom!
'Ugh, even his fighting style is arrogant!'
In any case, Zhao Ming had Ying beat in practically every stat, and he was also extremely skilled to boot! There was simply no way he could survive this fight, let alone prevail it.
Or so they thought.
'Ugh…I can still win!'
Of course, Ying had previously expected a situation like this, thus naturally including it in his plans.
And although he had slightly underestimated Zhao Ming's strength, it was not to the point where things were fatal.
Clang!
You see, Ying had never expected to down Zhao Ming on the first strike. He had some hope, but he wasn't so foolish as to actually put his faith in his useless luck.
Instead, he baited the arrogant youth's emotions by ruthlessly killing his lackeys first.
The idea was to make the main target get angry, and with his stuck-up personality, the likelihood of him making a mistake when enraged was so high it was practically guaranteed!
Zhao Ming's strikes came faster, each one forcing Ying closer to the edge. His arms burned, his breath came in ragged gasps, but his mind remained sharp. He just needed one opening…
"Raaaaaaaahhh!!"
As Ying heard Zhao Ming's fearsome battle cry, a smirk instantly found its way up his face.
'mission accomplished.'
He slanted his sword to meet the opponent's descending blade.
Bang!
The two swords clashed, and using his practical understanding of all things, Ying lowered his centre of gravity; forcing an interlocking of both their swords once again.
Only this time, Zhao Ming seemed to be the one dominating.
Ying's smile widened.
"Wipe that accursed grin off your face, you scoundrel! I'll kill you!!!" Zhao Ming exerted more force and pushed the bind further in his favour. At this time, it would seem that the young master had all but won this altercation, but…
'Ordinary sword.' Ying summoned his first weapon.
Then with a dexterous side step, he let go of his current blade and allowed Zhao Ming to crash to the floor as a result of his momentum.
Zhao Ming's eyes widened as he fell uncontrollably.
"Nani?!"
The simple-minded bully could not help but exclaim as he watched the ground inch closer to his face.
Not minding him in the slightest, Ying moved around Zhao Ming's falling figure while an elusive pillar of light materialized before him.
Then, using his feet, he pinned down Zhao Ming's frame to the bare ground. Leaving his backside wide open.
"Ugh! Release me at once!" Zhao Ming clicked his tongue in protest, but Ying wholeheartedly ignored him.
'They say a strike to the back is the trademark of a cowardly warrior—a treacherous bastard; a scoundrel, a cheat... Well, if that's the case, then let it be known across all the lands...'
By this time, the
Stab!
The entire exchange took less than two minutes. And just like that, the victor was decided.
'... That I am the most treacherous warrior of them all!'