The servant was not weak of hand, but Xiao Chen had struck with the swiftness of thunder, leaving no room for recovery. From the brief exchange, he judged that the force behind these men was not to be taken lightly.
Without hesitation, Xiao Chen flew toward the third target, five hundred meters away. He crept close, then struck with cold ruthlessness. This time, it went smoothly—one blow, one death.
The blue sea surged, waves crashed, and the coconut grove seemed as though nothing had happened.
Xiao Chen returned along the same path to the vicinity of the bamboo hut. Still no sign of Zhao Lin'er. He did not know where she had gone.
The brown-haired man with the sullen gaze had entered the bamboo hut. The male and female servants stood guard at the door, while three others lurked in the forest shadows, protecting the perimeter.
Xiao Chen did not act rashly. He waited in stillness for his chance.
Before long, an opportunity presented itself. The male and female servants were ordered to scout the seashore. Xiao Chen followed at a measured pace, keeping his distance until they were far from the bamboo hut. Then he quickened his step and closed in.
Once they entered the coconut grove along the beach, he struck. Two sharp bamboo spears shot like green lightning toward the servants' backs. But both were skilled—they heard the sound of splitting air and dodged nimbly aside. The spears thudded into the sand.
The real killing move came after. As the spears missed, Xiao Chen charged forward, unleashing a flurry of lethal strikes. His palm blade, radiant with divine light, slashed at the man's chest and abdomen, while his foot kicked toward the woman's ribs.
The servants reacted swiftly, raising their arms to block. Xiao Chen's palm and foot met their fists and palms. Both servants reeled as if struck by lightning. The woman stumbled back involuntarily, but the man's arm was caught in Xiao Chen's grip.
A crack!
The sound of breaking bone rang out. Xiao Chen shattered the man's arms, then drove his fist into the man's chest, caving it in. Without pause, he pivoted and swept his leg toward the woman.
The entire sequence flowed in one breath, happening in the space of a spark striking flint.
The woman was no ordinary fighter. Quick-witted, she avoided the sweeping kick and retreated swiftly. As she moved, a scroll appeared in her hand. She unfurled it like a painting and hurled it forward.
Xiao Chen's heart tightened. He remembered such objects well. The last time, Prince Feng had opened a scroll, unleashing a terrifying wave of energy that forced Xiao Chen to leap from a hundred-meter cliff. Seeing a similar killing artifact again, he instinctively recoiled.
But this scroll's energy output was far weaker than the previous one. Xiao Chen judged he could withstand it. Yet he would not take that risk. He left several afterimages in the grove and evaded the attack with speed.
The scroll erupted. In a blaze of dazzling light, a three-meter-long horned serpent shot forth like a peerless spear, aimed at Xiao Chen's chest and belly. Around the serpent, numerous ice spears flew in formation, all hurtling toward him.
Xiao Chen was surprised. He could sense that the horned serpent was a construct of pure energy, carrying a fearsome power, while the ice spears were solid—no illusion. A single scroll releasing so many killing implements struck him as bizarre.
He shifted his position, his body glowing faintly. Leaving an afterimage behind, he dodged with incredible speed. The horned serpent and ice spears struck empty air, slamming into the ground. The two-meter-long ice spears plunged deep into the sand, while the energy serpent blasted a pit over two meters deep.
"Help!" the female servant screamed. But the crashing waves of the sea drowned out her voice.
There was nothing more to say. Xiao Chen advanced on her directly. She turned and fled, but he ran her through with a bamboo spear, pinning her to the beach. Blood stained the sand.
Cruel, yes. But such was the brutal reality: to kill the enemy was to preserve oneself. All for survival. He would become a demon if he must.
He did not pause for even a moment. He charged back toward the bamboo hut.
Inside, the brown-haired man remained. Three hidden guardians lurked nearby in close protection. Xiao Chen crept forward in the shadows, planning to eliminate them one by one, saving the brown-haired youth for last.
He reached one hidden man silently. But at the last instant, the lurker seemed to sense the danger. He uttered a rapid string of strange syllables, and a blade of flame appeared in his right hand. He slashed backward.
It was an eerie sight—the long blade formed entirely of leaping fire, blazing hot, yet it did not burn the hand that held it.
Clearly, these three hidden guardians were far stronger than the ordinary servants. That was why they had been assigned as protectors. The man with the flame blade exchanged two blows with Xiao Chen and did not lose ground.
Xiao Chen sighed inwardly. He retreated swiftly. He could kill this opponent, but not with a single blow, and he had no time for a prolonged fight. The other two were already rushing toward him. At the same time, the brown-haired man inside the bamboo hut pushed open the door and stepped out.
Xiao Chen had no intention of forcing a confrontation. He could not afford another injury.
"Hmph. You must be that Xiao Chen, then? I haven't gone to hunt you down, yet you dare come to me. Truly, you walk the road to heaven but refuse it, and barge into the gates of hell instead. If these mountains weren't so vast and thick, and I needed enough hands to find you, I'd have killed you long ago!" The brown-haired man smiled coldly, utterly composed, as though Xiao Chen were already in his grasp.
Xiao Chen said nothing. He had no interest in who this man was. The ambush had failed, and he withdrew decisively.
The three hidden guardians, all around thirty years old and indeed formidable, gave chase.
Boom!
Several powerful waves of energy surged through the grove. Eight scrolls unfurled from eight enormous trees, encircling the bamboo hut from all directions. They did not explode, but they blocked Xiao Chen's retreat.
"I didn't expect you to come and strike back, but did you think my dwelling was so easy to enter and leave? Hmph!" The brown-haired man's gaze was dark and cold.
The eight scrolls hung like dark portals to another world, shrouded in heavy black mist that made them impossible to see through.
Xiao Chen did not rashly attempt a breakthrough. He knew well the danger of unknown scrolls. He kicked a dry branch from the ground, sending it shooting toward one of the scrolls.
The brown-haired man seemed able to control them. He chanted strange syllables and traced arcane patterns in the air with his hands. The unfurled scroll evaded the branch and swept toward Xiao Chen.
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