Chapter 144: Could he really defeat me with a single sword strike?

Dozens of miles away, a group of faculty and students from the academy were gathered around a petite young woman. When they saw her slowly open her eyes, a cheer immediately erupted from the crowd.

"Xiao Xi, you're finally awake," Bai Susu said, patting her chest with an overly startled expression.

Ji Xiao Xi groggily opened her eyes, her memories slowly returning to her mind. In the valley, Brother Zu'an had lured the zombies away to save her. She had wanted to help, but her knowledge and skills were useless against these zombies.

Remembering his instructions before he left, she could only force back her tears as she watched Zu'an lead the large group of zombies away. Then she hurriedly ran out of the valley to find help.

Unfortunately, by nightfall, the dangers on the grassland had increased significantly. For some unknown reason, the dragon dung she carried seemed to have greatly diminished in effectiveness. Although many fierce beasts still dared not approach her, they no longer avoided her from a distance as they did outside.

Many fierce beasts roamed nearby. After realizing she was just a young girl, some even began to cautiously approach. Later, she encountered a pack of wolves who chased her relentlessly, leaving her with no escape. In desperation, she fired the signal flare Bai Susu had given her earlier.

Coincidentally, Bai Susu and her group were not far away. They rushed over upon hearing the signal and rescued her. However, she had collapsed from exhaustion after fleeing for so long and had only just regained consciousness.

"Xiao Xi, how are you feeling now?" Bai Susu asked, secretly breathing a sigh of relief. If anything had happened to her, Principal Jiang would surely go mad.

"I... I'm fine. Please, go save Brother Zu'an!" Ji Xiao Xi urged, feeling useless for having fainted at such a critical moment.

"Zu'an?" Only then did the surrounding people remember that she had been with Zu'an. Everyone's attention had been focused solely on her, and someone like Zu'an had been completely overlooked.

"What happened to him? What exactly occurred?" Bai Susu asked patiently.

"First, we encountered a group of golden-furred monstrous rats," Ji Xiao Xi began, "To escape them, we accidentally ran into a mysterious valley. Who knew that would be the beginning of a nightmare..." She quickly recounted what had happened.

"Zombies everywhere!" Bai Susu's expression changed. Such a situation had never occurred before. Although the school had warned them gravely before, it was mainly to keep students vigilant. Overall, the Yaoguang Secret Realm had always been very safe, a fact proven over hundreds of years.

As for so many strange and bizarre zombies, she had never heard of them before.

However, Bai Susu did not doubt Ji Xiao Xi's words. Not only was she a well-known good girl who never lied, but Bai Susu had also observed unusual occurrences in the secret realm since entering it. Both the number and aggressiveness of the fierce beasts were far greater than before.

"Please, hurry and save him!" Ji Xiao Xi urged, urgently tugging at Bai Susu's sleeve while also pleading with her classmates.

The others exchanged glances. Someone said, "If there are really that many zombies, going there would just be suicide."

"Exactly. And it's been so long," another added. "Even if we went there now, he's probably already been... by the zombies."

"That's nonsense! Brother Zu'an will be fine!" Ji Xiao Xi, who was usually gentle and kind-hearted and had never argued with anyone in all her life, couldn't help but stand up when she heard this, angrily for the first time ever.

Bai Susu fell into thought. Actually, what her classmates were saying made sense. It wasn't necessarily that they were afraid of death; rather, based on common sense, Zu'an was probably already...

If she were to let these people go save him, and they happened to encounter a zombie horde, who knew how many would lose their lives? As a teacher responsible for protecting these students, she also had to consider their safety.

"If you won't save him, I'll go myself!" Ji Xiao Xi stood up abruptly and turned to leave. Unfortunately, she had twisted her ankle while escaping earlier, and the pain made her stumble, almost falling to the ground.

"How are you going to save anyone in your condition?" Bai Susu said, a headache coming on. "Alright, listen. All of you stay here. I'll go check it out alone."

Although leaving this group of students here posed some risk, their numbers weren't small. Even if fierce beasts appeared, they should be able to handle them. Furthermore, this was the outer area of the secret realm, so there shouldn't be too much danger.

"Let me go." Just then, a clear, cold voice spoke.

Everyone turned to look and saw an elegant, ethereal woman in white standing gracefully nearby. Who else could it be but Chu Chuyan?

"Miss Chu, what are you doing here?"

"Miss Chu, you haven't run into any trouble, have you?"

A group of people expressed their surprise and delight, and many young men rushed forward to inquire about her well-being.

However, Chu Chuyan didn't even glance at them. She walked directly to Ji Xiao Xi's side. "Where is the valley where you separated?" she asked. "Please describe it to me in detail."

It turned out that ever since she entered the secret realm, she had felt a sense of unease. Additionally, she was worried that Zu'an's sudden emergence at the family competition had damaged the interests of too many people, and that someone might take the opportunity to retaliate against him.

So after walking a distance into the secret realm, she had turned back. She had just happened to see Ji Xiao Xi's distress signal from afar, and rushed over immediately, overhearing her recent conversation.

Ji Xiao Xi looked at the beautiful woman before her with some surprise. It wasn't until the other person asked again that she snapped out of her daze. She quickly sketched the valley on the ground.

Chu Chuyan said to Bai Susu, "Teacher Bai, please continue to ensure their safety. I'll go alone." With a light tap of her foot, she gracefully floated away into the distance.

Watching her gradually disappearing figure, Ji Xiao Xi couldn't help but murmur, "After observing her up close just now, Sister Chu is truly unbelievably beautiful..."

Bai Susu nodded subtly. It was certainly for the best that Chu Chuyan was going. Her cultivation level was already comparable to that of the academy's teachers, more than enough for self-preservation. Moreover, she was accustomed to acting alone and wouldn't need to worry about the safety of other students as she did.

Meanwhile, Zu'an was desperately fleeing. He had hidden in a patch of woodland he had passed earlier. All those special forces movies he watched weren't for nothing. Though it was just theory, now was the time to put it to the test.

The four people pursuing him were all at the Fourth Rank of cultivation. He had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation. His only chance was to separate them and defeat them one by one. The complex terrain of the forest, coupled with obstructed visibility, should be the best battlefield.

Seeing him escape into the woodland, the four pursuers frowned. However, each of them had a higher cultivation level than him, so they naturally weren't afraid. They continued to chase him directly into the trees.

Zu'an darted through the dense forest, using his agility and the numerous trees to his advantage. He finally managed to put some distance between himself and the four. At this point, if he kept running, he might have been able to completely shake them off, but he knew he couldn't keep running forever.

So he found a large, dense tree and directly leaped into its crown, using the thick foliage to conceal himself.

A moment later, the four pursuers had reached the vicinity:

"What's going on? Did we lose him?"

"Don't panic. He should be hiding nearby."

"Everyone, be careful. Especially check the trees."

Zu'an's heart sank. These people were clearly academy students, yet each of them acted with a cunning that was utterly uncharacteristic of students.

As for their origins, he didn't need to guess to know they were sent by Shi Kun.

That beautiful principal really deserved a spanking! She had no idea so many spies had infiltrated the academy. When he returned, he would definitely have a long talk with her about it.

The four searched below for a while, but the forest was not small, and they weren't going to find him so easily:

"This won't do. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Let's split up and search. It'll be more efficient."

"But won't it be dangerous if we split up? Our young master said his fighting style is a bit unusual."

"Pfft, no matter how unusual, he's still only a Third Rank. Can he really instantly kill me with one sword?"

"Exactly. We're not trash like Yuan Wendong, who would waste time chatting with him at a crucial moment."

"Alright then. Everyone, spread out and search. Remember not to get bogged down in a fight. If you find him, primarily hold him until the rest of us arrive as backup."

The four each took a direction, moving cautiously with wary expressions. The one heading towards Zu'an's location was the archer.

Zu'an felt a surge of eagerness. These people had both ranged and close-combat abilities, making them genuinely difficult to deal with when working together. Relatively, the archer posed the greatest threat to him.

When he was trying to escape, having to dodge the archer's arrows significantly affected his speed, causing the distance between him and his pursuers to shrink. He had been forced to rely on the dense forest to maneuver.

If he eliminated the archer, it would be much more convenient whether he chose to fight or flee later.

Especially since this guy had just been boasting that Zu'an couldn't instantly kill him with one sword. With such a clear challenge, it would be a shame not to grant him his wish.

However, seeing the three faint figures in the distance, Zu'an still abandoned this tempting idea. They could cover that distance quite quickly, and the archer below was at least a Fourth Rank. If he accidentally got surrounded, it would be dangerous.

The four gradually moved further away, and their figures disappeared from sight.

Zu'an didn't move. After another moment, the four all rushed back, looking around, then immediately showing disappointment:

"Hmph, it seems that guy really isn't here."

Zu'an chuckled inwardly. Such a hackneyed trick from TV shows, did they really think it would fool him?

The one with the spear seemed to be the leader of the four. He said to the archer, "Liao Zhongyou, you stay here in ambush, providing central support, to prevent Zu'an from circling back to evade our search."

Zu'an was pleasantly surprised. He had just been disappointed about missing an opportunity, and now they were practically delivering themselves to him. First, there was 'Shi Shangfei,' now 'Liao Zhongyou.' What a peculiar team, given the names. What kind of subordinates does that Shi fellow recruit anyway?

At that moment, Liao Zhongyou chuckled, raising the bow and arrow in his hand. "Alright!" he declared. "If he dares to come back, I'll take his little life with one arrow!"

The others nodded, then moved off at many times their previous speed to search in the other three directions, evidently worried that he had gotten too far away.

Liao Zhongyou looked around and murmured to himself, "Hmm, I'll find a high vantage point to ambush from. That way, I can get a full view of the situation. Oh, this tree looks good."

He looked at the large tree before him and nodded in satisfaction. Then, with a light tap of his foot, he nimbly climbed up.

He headed directly for the densest branches. However, he was met by a sharp glint of cold light. The sword strike was fast, precise, and sudden. Moreover, he was in mid-air with nothing to brace against, making it impossible to dodge.

As the lightning-fast sword light pierced his throat, his horrified cry turned into a gurgling, muffled gasp.

"Instantly killed by my sword. Surprised? Unexpected?" Zu'an's grinning face appeared as the leaves were parted.