His smile abruptly dropped when he sensed a killing-intent coming from behind him and quickly jumped to the side. Yet he still felt a gash on his back and he smiled coldly. "Who is it?!" He turned around in anger, with three daggers shining in his hand.
There was a quick flash and a woman in dark purple robes appeared in front of him. His eyes widened at witnessing such beauty... her perfect skin was smooth and pale, with pink lips and a long sharp nose as her dark bangs brushed delicately against her straight eyebrows. Her dark robes fluttered, giving him hints of her thin and toned body.
He's witnessed women containing such magnificence, but it was her eyes that captured him. They were icy cold and dark as they stared right through him. It seems as if not even a speck of dust could be reflected in her eyes if she didn't allow it. His heart raced and he touched his chest.
He suddenly chuckled and those chuckles turned into laughs. "Ah, what luck!" He smiled and stared at her. "I've changed my mind. You." He pointed at Wu LiJing. "You will be my first..."
Wu LiJing swung her sword before he could say anything else and he dodged by a hair's breadth.
"Hey! Let me speak first!"
Wu LiJing looked at him unemotionally as she kept her sword moving. This man was not weak. In fact, he is probably stronger than her. So, she didn't let him take a breath.
One Hundred Rhythmic Strikes. She activated the technique using her full power compared to before. A hundred moves came to life and it looked like a dance as she moved her feet and her wrist twisted and turned.
"Who?" Lin YaWen observed the woman in purple robes. She put pressure on her bleeding arm and hissed from the pain as she watched both cultivators exchange multiple moves.
Kong Guang dodged over and over as he tried to find an opening. He clenched his teeth. It seems this disciple was a special one - he had underestimated her. What was her cultivation level?
"Pretty lady, what is your name? I don't recognize your uniform..." His eyes widened as he realized who he was fighting when he took a closer look at her robes and was able to see her level. Just then, he felt a cut on his arms. "Fuck!" he swore.
Wu LiJing showed a small smile that did not reflect in her eyes. "I apologize but repulsive insects like you will be some number that I've killed in this life. I don't really keep track since it's not as important but be thankful you'll die by my blade." She didn't like talking to others if it was unnecessary but when it comes to taunting such people, she didn't mind.
"Hey, don't copy me! Ah!" He felt another slash on his leg. When the hundredth move was made, he felt another slash on his left cheek. Now both of his cheeks had a cut. He gritted his teeth. "You! I'll make you pay!" He threw a few hundred knives towards Wu LiJing as fast as he could in return, but she quickly deflected them and skillfully dodged the rest as if they were air. There were only three cuts he managed to make, and all were on her left arm.
"Hey, this is unfair! How old are you, anyway?!" Kong Guang's calm attitude was completely crushed. He had worked hard to look cool, but now it was of no use.
"My age does not matter. What matters is my talent," she bragged with a dispassionate tone, making him extremely irritated.
"Ugh! I hate haughty disciples the most!"
She smiled as she evaded his knives that were slowly increasing in speed and let out a chi slash from her sword. His knives now were attacking in two as he increased his chi input into them, yet she still managed to dodge them somehow, with only parts of her robes actually getting ripped.
His eyes narrowed; he could tell she was an experienced fighter. Her sword blows were direct, and she was fast on her feet. He would enjoy defeating such a skilled cultivator and trample on her pride. However...
Lin YaWen's eyes were wide as she watched. The rumors were not kidding. The Moon Sect's second direct disciple was incredibly talented and unmatched within her age group. Many have heard of her after she defeated an infamous demon in the past. Now, she was fighting with Kong Guang equally. Lin YaWen quickly noticed that Kong Guang looked at her and she had a bad feeling in her gut as she tried to run. But he easily caught her and grabbed her neck.
"Ah!"
"Let me go," he demanded with a small as he kept his eyes on Wu LiJing. "You're lucky I'm not in the mood to fight."
Wu LiJing smiled. "You mean you need to escape because you're currently poisoned?"
His expression froze. "What? What do you mean?" he asked in a quiet voice.
She just stared at him coldly and took a step forward. "You have trouble circulating your chi, so you have been mainly attacking with pure technique. That's why you need to escape. Fighting longer will only bring you to a disadvantage." He had a higher cultivation than her, so why was he holding back? Unless, it wasn’t that he was holding back, but because for some reason, he couldn’t use his full power.
Then he quickly said, "And I know you injured your left shoulder. That was why I was able to injure your arm. If we fight, we would be on equal terms and the fight won't be pretty. Why don't you let me go, and all will be well?"
Wu LiJing's sword vibrated slightly as she concentrated a good amount of chi into it. She didn't need to say anything she didn't want to. She flew towards him. "Kill her if you want to. I don't even know her."
"Then why are you saving her?!" He dodged but kept his hold on Lin YaWen, using her as his shield.
"I am not saving her. I am simply killing you." She stabbed her sword towards him, bypassing his hostage and he let go of Lin YaWen to escape. He threw two daggers and she deflected them without blinking.
Wu LiJing let out a large amount of chi and swung her sword twice, consecutively.
"Ah!" he screamed when he felt another large gash on his back and fell on the ground, sliding past a few trees. He coughed out blood and tried to crawl away. But Wu LiJing was already behind him and stabbed through his back, causing him to scream out in agony. He looked up at her with red eyes as he struggled to speak.
"I just guessed earlier, but it seems you were really poisoned." Her cold eyes stared at him with an expressionless face. "What a loser."
Kong Guang felt his chest ache in suffocating pain. Loser was one of the words he hated the most. He raised his trembling finger at her but no words escaped and he died in anger.
Wu LiJing sheathed her sword. She looked at Lin YaWen, who was on the ground and staring at her in surprise.
Lin YaWen snapped out of it and quickly stood up. She bowed deeply towards her with a salute. "I am Lin YaWen, a direct disciple of the Calming Wave Sect! I would like to thank you for saving me! May I ask for my savior's name?"
"No need to thank me," Wu LiJing said as she walked away. She just killed him because he could be a great threat to them in the forest. He also had a higher cultivation than her so if she let him go now, she may not necessarily be able to defeat him later. She wondered if any of their disciples had already encountered him? She frowned.
"Please wait, savior! Tell me your name first!" Lin YaWen chased after her.
Wu LiJing stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Wu LiJing."
Lin YaWen nodded with a smile. "I see! So it is Miss Wu!"
A cold aura emitted from Wu LiJing's body. "Now tell me. Why did the Calming Wave Sect not inform the Moon Sect of this murderer who entered our region?"
All major sects took care of their own region and solved problems that emerged depending on where they were. So if something happened to breach into another region, it was only proper to inform the sect leader in charge there should there be a risk of major casualties. This man was clearly a dangerous murderer who targeted sect disciples.
Lin YaWen was silent and lowered her head. "I... I apologize. It's my fault. I thought we would be able to defeat him before he became a problem."
"The Moon Sect is holding a test within the forest right now. If anything happened to our disciples, your sect will be held responsible."
Lin YaWen's eyes widened.
"Senior Sister Lin!" Song Niu ran over to her. He sighed in relief when he found her still alive but then he saw the amount of blood on her arms and pulled her behind him.
"Who are you?!" He lifted his sword towards Wu LiJing. His inexpressive face had a hint of wariness.
Wu LiJing glanced at him. Then without answering, she walked away. She paused for a moment when she noticed the iris engraving on the blade of the dagger on the ground. She glanced at another dagger a distance away, and the same iris engraving was on there as well.
"Wait! Miss Wu! It's my fault! Please don't blame the sect!"
"We'll leave it up to my master." She flew off.
Song Niu frowned. "Who was she?"
Lin YaWen sighed and felt the adrenaline in her body decrease. "She's the direct disciple of the Moon Sect. They held a test within the Disappearing Forest..."
Song Niu nodded and let her lean on him. He then finally noticed the bloody man on the ground. His eyes widened. "He died?"
Lin YaWen nodded. "Mm. Miss Wu saved me."
"She's that good?"
Lin YaWen hesitated. "I think she mentioned that he was poisoned. But she still showed great skill and technique. I believe she is already in the mid to high-stages of the Body Enhancing Realm."
Song Niu nodded. "It seems the Moon Sect's rank may rise this year." He sat her down and then pulled out some medicine and water.
When Wu LiJing returned to Wu QiaoHua and her team safely, they all sighed in relief. They also noticed the slightly disheveled robes that had small cuts here and there.
"Are you alright, Eldest Senior Sister?" Wu QiaoHua asked, concerned.
"I need to go somewhere. You guys be careful when looking for more herbs to collect." Then she flew off.
When Wu LiJing flew up high enough, she sat on a tree and let out a breath. Her body felt drained since she used too much energy fighting that man. And her shoulder... it was bleeding again. She quickly treated her wound and sighed in relief when she saw that only her inner robe was sullied. She didn't have another robe to change into. The three wounds on her arm also weren't too bad, so if she had to fight some more, it would still be doable.
Wu LiJing took out the apple in her sleeves and took a bite, feeling a cool sensation spread through her body. Only now did she really feel the usefulness of the apples. Once she finished, she then circulated the chi within her core and meditated to stabilize and regain some of her power.
It was good that man was poisoned, or she wouldn't have been able to defeat him.
That red monkey who guarded the apple tree from before was probably the guardian of those apples. The beast looked harmless, but if it deemed the consumer unworthy, the apples probably shouldn't be consumed. She's heard of similar stories in the past, which was why she was respectful towards that monkey in the first place. She guessed that Kong Guang guy didn't have enough manners to ask for the apples before he stole them and maybe even tried to kill the monkey. If he wasn't poisoned from those apples, then probably from a similar kind of fruit guarded by a similar beast.
When she first entered the forest and previously saw the dagger on the ground by the apple tree, it looked like a fight had just occurred not too long ago. The same iris engraving was on that man's knives as the ones she saw.
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