Chapter 146: Sudden Surge of Mutation

Even after dispatching two enemies, Zu'an felt no sense of relief. His recent encounter with Shi Zhenxiang made him keenly aware that while he had previously defeated fifth-rank and killed fourth-rank cultivators, those victories had relied on various unexpected circumstances. In a direct, no-holds-barred fight, defeating even a single fourth-rank opponent was far from easy for him.

Fortunately, he possessed the Dagger of Inevitable Death and the armor-piercing arrows he had just acquired; otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to breach their defenses. The two remaining adversaries were even more powerful, making it considerably harder to eliminate them.

It was clear he couldn't overpower them; he would have to outsmart them. Gazing at Shi Zhenxiang's corpse, Zu'an suddenly had an idea.

Meanwhile, the other two assassins had searched for a long time without finding any trace. They hadn't even found any signs of human activity in the woods, and it quickly dawned on them that they must have been pursuing the wrong person. So, they rushed back as agreed, encountering each other along the way.

The swordsman asked, "Brother Jia, did you find anything on your end?"

"Nothing," replied the spearman. "What about you, Brother Zhen?"

The swordsman was Zhen Liumang, and the spearman was Jia Zhengjing. Both had been trained as loyal assassins by the Shi clan since childhood. In the past two years, they had joined Brightmoon Academy for a mission. Despite their frequent interactions, their relationship had become quite amicable.

"I couldn't find any signs of anyone either," Zhen Liumang said in a deep voice. "Could that guy have gone north, towards Shi Zhenxiang's location? Should we go check the northern area?"

Jia Zhengjing shook his head. "Let's go back and rendezvous with Liao Zhongyou first. If Shi Zhenxiang hasn't returned, we can search north together; it won't be too late."

"Alright!"

With mutual assurance, they no longer proceeded cautiously but sprinted straight towards Liao Zhongyou's position.

"Since neither of us found him, do you think Zu'an might have circled back towards Brother Liao's location?" Jia Zhengjing murmured.

Zhen Liumang chuckled. "If Brother Liao had really found Zu'an, he would have likely shot him dead by now. With his archery skills, as long as he's not cornered, even we would have difficulty dealing with him."

"That's true," Jia Zhengjing smiled faintly, then suddenly noticed a figure ahead. "Huh, it seems Brother Shi has already returned..."

He felt a strange unease. Seeing Shi Zhenxiang from such a distance, he wondered if the man was standing unusually high. As they drew closer, both their expressions changed dramatically. They saw clearly that Shi Zhenxiang wasn't standing high up; instead, he was hanging by a rope around his neck from a tree, suspended in mid-air.

"Brother Shi!" Zhen Liumang cried out in alarm. Having spent years together undercover at Brightmoon Academy, they had developed a certain bond. Seeing his companion hanged from the tree, he was both shocked and enraged. Instinctively, he flew over, embracing the body while simultaneously slashing the rope around its neck with his sword to lower it.

"Be careful!" Jia Zhengjing quickly warned, but it was too late. The moment the rope was severed, a dark streak of light shot forth.

Zhen Liumang had no leverage in mid-air to dodge, but he wasn't entirely unprepared. He swung his sword, deflecting the incoming arrow. Before he could even feel pleased, something on Shi Zhenxiang's body suddenly exploded. Zhen Liumang screamed, quickly throwing the corpse away from him. Fortunately, he had already activated his protective aura. The explosion inflicted numerous injuries, but none were fatal.

The force of the explosion sent Zhen Liumang tumbling to the ground. Just as he was about to curse the treacherous culprit, the earth beneath him suddenly collapsed, and he involuntarily fell into a pit.

"Ah!"

A cry of pain echoed from below, indicating the presence of a trap.

All this happened in a flash. Jia Zhengjing, however, did not rush over to investigate. Instead, he concentrated his energy, raising his guard to the highest level. Sure enough, a dark figure shot out from the side, a black dagger in its hand, emitting no gleam.

"Excellent timing!" Jia Zhengjing's spear, like a silver dragon emerging from the sea, thrust fiercely towards his opponent. The force and momentum of his strike far surpassed that of the dagger in his adversary's hand. Yet, an alarm blared in his mind. He suddenly roared, recoiled his body, and looked down at his chest. His chest armor had been sliced open, revealing the lining of his clothes. If the opponent's blade had advanced just one more inch, he would likely have been disemboweled.

"What kind of dagger is that?!" Jia Zhengjing was deeply shocked. He had maintained his protective aura, which usually rendered him impervious to ordinary attacks. Yet, this single strike not only pierced his aura but also sliced through the expensive soft armor he wore underneath. How could he not be alarmed?

Zu'an, however, inwardly lamented. That surprise attack was meant to be a sure kill, but the dagger was too short, and his opponent reacted too quickly. Otherwise, he could have boasted about instantly killing a peak fourth-rank cultivator. This thought made him admire Dongfang Bubai even more. While he found a dagger too short, Dongfang Bubai could become unrivaled in the world with just an embroidery needle.

On the other side, Jia Zhengjing, having been trained as an assassin since childhood and learned much at Brightmoon Academy, possessed extensive combat experience. He instantly recovered from his shock, letting out a roar as his elemental energy surged throughout his body, thrusting his spear rapidly towards Zu'an. Learning from his previous mistake, his movements were slightly slower this time, but the power behind his strike was undiminished. The air around the spearhead seemed to rip apart.

Zu'an's body flickered, dodging the attack. Just as he was about to seize the opportunity to get close, he suddenly felt a strong gust of wind from his side. He quickly retracted his dagger, blocking the incoming sweep of the spear shaft. A strange force emanated from the spear shaft. Zu'an employed his Sunflower Phantasm, retreating several steps before completely neutralizing the force from the spear.

A cold smirk had initially appeared on Jia Zhengjing's face. After immersing himself in spear techniques for so many years, he believed he wouldn't be easily approached. With his peak fourth-rank elemental cultivation, that sweeping strike should have been enough to shatter his opponent's aura. However, the smile on his face quickly froze. He felt as though his attack had struck a ball of cotton, producing none of the expected effects.

"That movement technique of yours..." With his keen eye, he could clearly see that his opponent had used that astonishing movement technique to dissipate the force from his spear. He had heard that Zu'an's peculiar movement technique had shone brilliantly at the Chu and Yuan family martial arts competition, but intelligence reports at the time suggested that while it appeared extraordinary at first, it had many weaknesses. Yet, the movement technique Zu'an displayed, whether attacking or evading, was nothing like what the intelligence reports described.

Zu'an pushed off the ground, charging directly at his opponent. He heard the other man groaning from the pit, realizing the trap hadn't killed him, so he needed to quickly deal with the current adversary. However, his rapid dagger thrusts were all deflected by the long spear with clanging sounds. Jia Zhengjing's cultivation was far superior to his, and his combat experience was incomparable, making him not so easily hit.

Zu'an's expression grew serious. His attack speed accelerated, and combined with the eerie "Sunflower Phantasm" footwork, his movements truly resembled a ghost or a phantom. Sweat dripped down Jia Zhengjing's face. He finally understood why Yuan Wendong, a dignified fifth-rank cultivator, had been injured by Zu'an. The world might laugh at Yuan Wendong for being careless and underestimating his foe, but only by facing Zu'an himself did he comprehend the terrifying nature of his swordplay. Although it was merely the thirteen basic sword forms taught at the academy, when wielded by Zu'an, they became unpredictable and elusive, each move imbued with an uncanny strangeness. This made Jia Zhengjing feel a chill run down his spine, even as he was sweating.

Initially, he tried to attack Zu'an with his spear, but after a few exchanges, he adopted an eighty percent defensive posture, only occasionally launching attacks with the remaining twenty percent. After ten moves, several near-misses made him too cautious to attack at all. He became entirely defensive, brandishing his spear in an impenetrable whirlwind, forming a steel-like shield around himself. He felt incredibly frustrated. Despite his much higher cultivation, he was forced to resort to such a passive, almost cowardly, fighting style.

Zu'an's dagger repeatedly struck his spear, sending a tingling numbness through his tiger's mouth (the web of skin between thumb and forefinger). Several times, he almost lost his grip, and the dagger was nearly flung away, clear evidence that his opponent's elemental power was far superior to his own. After a few such exchanges, Zu'an no longer dared to rush in. He circled around his opponent, waiting for an opening.

He knew that if the fight continued this way, he would maintain the absolute advantage. His opponent couldn't counterattack; any attempt to do so would expose an opening in his spear defense, allowing Zu'an to exploit it. Furthermore, his opponent couldn't maintain such a rigid defense indefinitely. Wielding the spear with full power to protect his entire body consumed elemental energy at an alarming rate. There would inevitably be a moment when his strength failed.

After a while longer, Zu'an noticed that the circle of the opponent's spear defense had shrunk slightly. Knowing that he must have also realized the issue, Zu'an subtly smiled, and his dagger movements intensified. Jia Zhengjing, at this point, felt like his lungs were about to explode from frustration. He had never fought such a stifling battle. Despite his opponent's cultivation and strength being far inferior to his own, Zu'an's elusive movement technique left him utterly helpless to retaliate. Initially, he felt some anger, but now his heart was chilling. As the saying went, "He who defends too long will lose." If the fight continued like this, he was bound to be defeated. But if he counterattacked now, he might die even faster. The dark dagger in his opponent's hand seemed as sinister as his movement technique. Every time it came close, it sent shivers down his spine.

Suddenly, a drastic change occurred in the arena. A dark figure leaped out from the pit trap, instantly grabbing Zu'an and shouting, "Brother Jia, kill him quickly!" It was Zhen Liumang, the one who had fallen into the trap earlier. An arrow was still impaled in his leg, and his body was covered in wounds.

Zu'an cursed himself for his carelessness. At first, he had heard groans from the pit, but as they faded, he had subconsciously assumed his opponent was gravely injured or dead. He had no idea the man had been lying in wait, biding his time. What a cunning old fox! He frantically tried to break free, but his opponent, a mid-fourth-rank cultivator, was a major realm higher than him, with considerably greater strength. There was no way he could escape.

"Die!" Zhen Liumang sneered. His opponent's movement technique was merely too strange; his actual cultivation was far inferior to theirs. Zhen Liumang exerted all his strength, intending to crush Zu'an's bones. He had sustained severe injuries today, but killing this guy would be worth it. The young master had promised a substantial reward to whoever eliminated him.

However, his body suddenly stiffened, and all his strength seemed to drain away. The last thing he saw before dying was his opponent stabbing him in the arm with the dagger, and then a cascade of intricate black runes spreading from the wound. "What kind of dagger is this, so powerful..."

Zu'an, however, felt no joy. Even though his opponent was dead, the man's hands were still clamped around him. While he wasn't completely immobilized as before, he couldn't break free immediately. No matter how miraculous his movement technique, being burdened with such a dead weight severely hampered his mobility.

Jia Zhengjing's spear, like a death warrant, rapidly thrust towards him. Without his movement advantage, Zu'an was merely a moving target in his eyes.