Chapter 288: 297 Raising the Torch

The battle erupted suddenly.

Jiang Shenyi and Shi Chunqing struck almost simultaneously, one wielding a Thunder Spear, the other holding a Treasure Sword, beginning their fight right there on the stall paved with Phantoms.

Only then did Hua Qian realize that the strength of both sides was exceptionally outstanding.

While this Jiang Shenyi, who had turned the Great Marsh into a Thunder Marsh at the very start, was undeniably formidable, Shi Chunqing's martial arts were also extremely strong. Unlike the mediocre defector described in Hua Qian's intelligence, his moves, his Qi, and everything else were incredibly stable, refined, and orthodox.

That's right, Shi Chunqing's martial arts were indeed nothing flashy or fancy; they were simply exceptionally refined—a comprehensive martial art honed and polished over and over through thousands of trials. To possess such skills, he must not only have put in the effort himself but must also have had them polished bit by bit by a famous master.

Although Jiang Shenyi was gifted and possessed impressive martial arts, he was ultimately still young and could not break through such a defense. This was different from fighting a Heavenly Demon Bone or a Fierce Beast; this was a battle between humans. Large-scale Thunder Light and Wind Cut were instead unusable, so he relied primarily on Thunder Qi, parrying move for move.

The battle fell into a stalemate. He had fought experienced martial arts veterans before, but while those people were experienced, they were mostly self-taught. Although they had rounded out their own martial arts systems, their structures actually had flaws. Jiang Shenyi's Wind and Thunder Arts were best at mobility and breakthroughs; once he caught a flaw, he could sweep through like a falling tree. Shi Chunqing's martial arts, however, were seamless in their structure, and combined with years of arduous training, they had long since reached perfection.

Never mind Hua Qian, even Jiang Shenyi did not know Shi Chunqing possessed such strength. In fact, he had never known the extent of Shi Chunqing's strength; ever since Xue Xianyun went into seclusion, no one on the mountain could say for sure. Everyone merely speculated that he had defected to the Turtle Bandits and might have those strange Spirit Official methods, so they had prepared early. However, they had not expected to experience the opponent's martial arts before even seeing those methods.

At the thought that the opponent's martial arts were all taught by their mentor at the cost of his own heart's blood, Jiang Shenyi felt even more grief and anger.

Suddenly, Shi Chunqing's eyes widened, and he glared at him.

Jiang Shenyi met his gaze and immediately saw a light like a Phantom flash through those eyes, appearing to hesitate for an instant. Shi Chunqing was secretly delighted and took the opportunity to thrust his long sword.

Sss—

A streak of Thunder Light swept horizontally from Jiang Shenyi's hand, binding Shi Chunqing's long sword. This was the first time Jiang Shenyi had restrained the opponent's weapon. Once his Thunder rope entangled something, he would not let the opponent break free. If that massive Heavenly Demon Bone could not break free back then, Shi Chunqing could not now.

He sneered, "I was already guarding against you. You still want to use your Spirit to attack me?"

Over the past six months, Jiang Shenyi's greatest gain was that he had gradually begun to cultivate his own Soul. Although it had not sublimated, he had still built his Soul to be exceptionally stable. Spirit Official methods acting upon the Spirit only involved the superficial layer of the mind; how could they break through his defense? It could be said that the vast majority of Spirit Official attack methods were already ineffective against him.

Instead, he used this opportunity to feign a flaw, completing the stalemate between the two.

When it came to a head-on test of strength, the quality of Jiang Shenyi's Qi was superior, and with the advantage of Thunder Light, he would never lose to anyone.

Watching the lightning coil around the sword in rings, Jiang Shenyi pulled hard, and the Thunder rope gradually pulled taut.

"Give it here! This is the Treasure Sword our mentor gave you; what right do you have to hold it now?"

Following Jiang Shenyi's roar, Shi Chunqing shuddered slightly, seemingly unable to withstand the force. His hand loosened, and the "Treasure Sword" that had accompanied him for decades slipped from his grasp and was yanked away by Jiang Shenyi.

Shi Chunqing retreated violently without hesitation, saying, "It's nothing good; if you want it, take it." He gestured slightly and said, "Attack him."

The people behind him were startled. Just now, as the leaders fought fiercely, they had actually stood by and watched. This did not fit the situation where the enemy was few and they were many. Now that they received the order, everyone drew their blades and charged forward.

Jiang Shenyi's face darkened, and he said, "Bullying the few with the many? Do you think you're the only ones with numbers? Everyone, come out!"

On the beach, several rays of light lit up at once.

Several young people walked over one by one holding Torches: Xue Yeyu, Fu Qinghuan, Qin Haizhou, Deng Chong, and including Jiang Shenyi. Everyone who had attended Shi Chunqing's birthday banquet that day had come, except for Tang Zhao. The firelight shone on their faces; faces that were once full of youthful vitality were now like statues.

Shi Chunqing was also momentarily stunned, his feet faltering as if he wanted to retreat for a moment, but immediately after, he steadied his footing and said easily, "Just you few? Where are those powerful outside reinforcements you hired? Those Sword Guests and Sword Heroes? Do you think you few little brats can defend the Sword Furnace?"

The opposite side was quiet for a moment, with only the sound of the lamps burning.

Then, Xue Yeyu said loudly, "Shi Chunqing!"

After that one shout, she did not continue; it seemed that calling that name had exhausted all her strength.

Following her desperate cry, Fu Qinghuan beside her also shouted loudly, "Shi Chunqing!"

"Shi Chunqing!"

"Shi Chunqing!"

Everyone shouted his name loudly. The voices were not in unison, nor were they shocking; they even became thin and ridiculous because they were hoarse. They didn't even know what they were calling him for, as if a companion had fallen into an abyss and they could not pull him up or attempt to save him, so they could only stand on the edge of the cliff and call the other's name over and over.

At the same time, they stood on the shore, firmly forming a barrier, blocking the manor behind them.

Their words were powerless, but their actions showed an incomparably firm determination.

Amidst the cries of "Shi Chunqing," Shi Chunqing's lips pursed into a line. His gaze swept over everyone's face, and he suddenly laughed, also saying loudly, "What are you ghosts screaming about? Do you think I'll have a change of heart? If you want to beg for mercy, calling my name is useless; you must call my official title. Call me 'Minister Shi'! Attack! Drag that old man out of the Sword Furnace! Kill anyone who blocks you!"

At the order, the team behind him finally charged.

Among the group, Spirit Officials were the most numerous. Some immediately released their Spirit Image, while others released Fierce Beasts. Their own Spirit Images merged into the Fierce Beasts, and the beasts instantly swelled—these were Beast Spirit Officials. Others had their Spirit Images merge into their own bodies, making their movements ten times more agile, their muscles knotted, and their strength infinite—these were Combat Spirit Officials. Still others took out puppet dolls, manipulating them with their Spirit Images suspended in the air—these were Puppet Spirit Officials.

The number and types of Spirit Officials were varied, and a mere dozen or so could not show them all. Only one person was not a Spirit Official of any kind, and he felt rather awkward charging. Fortunately, everyone was charging at once and didn't notice him; he remained calm, not ashamed of standing out like a chicken among cranes, and just buried his head and followed the charge.

The True Jade Disciples guarded the beach, and only Xue Yeyu gestured. A rustling sound of wings flapping was heard, and countless black shadows flew out into the night sky, with dots of greenish light in the shadows like stars.

Owls, a huge flock of owls!

Compared to Fierce Beasts, although owls were known as birds of prey, they were actually just ordinary birds and were not much to look at, but there were too many of them. Xue Yeyu had always liked raising owls, and over the years, she had raised them even more extensively for her shop's logistics. Furthermore, she had trained them in various directions, not only to obey orders but to complete more technical and tactical maneuvers.

The owls flew like the wind, soared into the air, and dropped Thunderbolt Bombs and Art Tool Talismans like raindrops.

Boom—

For a time, there was thunder and lightning on the boardwalk. One must know that there was already lightning in the lake, and now with the addition of detonators like Thunderbolt Bombs, the momentum was truly grand. Although the Turtle Bandits' team had many powerful Spirit Officials, except for the Combat Spirit Officials, the main bodies of the Spirit Officials were mostly weak points. They were beaten into a panic by the lightning while still having to command their Spirit Images to fight.

Xue Yeyu and the others stood on the beach holding weapons, engaging the Fierce Beasts and Combat Spirit Officials who had broken through the encirclement. Xue Yeyu took the center, Jiang Shenyi acted as the vanguard, and Qin and Deng held swords on the left and right to face the enemy. Fu Qinghuan, however, held a pipa, using it as a weapon to fight while plucking the strings to create sounds to disturb the enemy. If any Spirit Image was hiding in the darkness to sneak an attack, it would immediately waver and reveal itself from its concealment as the pipa music sounded.

Hua Qian, wearing thick leather armor, shuttled through the lightning, in a sorry state. He was not a Spirit Official to begin with, and once the lightning surrounded him, he had no way to advance. Relying on his good movement technique, he dodged left and right through the lightning, truly at a loss. He had originally wanted to see if he could pick up some extra tasks, but once the formation fell into chaos, he was the one in danger first.

There was no help for it; it seemed his mission ended here, and he had to retreat. After all, there was a difference in importance between a mission and his life.

He was proficient in life-saving methods, and his movement and footwork were outstanding. As he retreated step by step to the edge, he suddenly shuddered, catching sight of a figure.

Hua Qian couldn't help but be stunned. He had reached the very edge; how could he see Shi Chunqing here?

Wasn't Shi Chunqing the leader of this team? Hadn't he just been charging at the front, fighting the lightning? How did he end up at the back of the team in the blink of an eye?

Seeing the situation was bad, was he going to run away? The soldiers were fighting for their lives, and the leader was running first?

If that was the case...

Hua Qian smiled slightly, his hand flicked downward, and a dagger fell into his sleeve, not showing a single bit of its blade. His figure suddenly flicked, appearing a zhang away like a wisp of green smoke.

Smoke Walking Step.

This was a footwork technique used exclusively by the Flower Yama lineage for assassination; moving like smoke, it truly came without a shadow and went without a trace.

After the Smoke Walking, his body slightly crouched, and then he exploded with force.

Throat-slitting—

Another assassination technique; in a square inch, speed was what mattered. There was no need to sneak an attack from behind; it was about being so fast that even if you were right in front, you couldn't react.

Seeing the lusterless dagger about to slit Shi Chunqing's throat, Shi Chunqing suddenly raised his eyes and smiled slightly.

One must know that Shi Chunqing had regular features and a gentle temperament; though not as handsome as Tang Zhao, he was full of upright energy, and even after his defection, he had not changed much, yet this smile alone was extremely eerie.

The moment that dagger brushed across his throat, the figure of Shi Chunqing underwent Disappearance, and the sure-hit strike only pierced the wind in the night sky.

Shi Chunqing had just left like that!

Hua Qian landed, still full of confusion, and looked back at the mudflat, where a chaotic battle was still raging; neither the enemy nor his own side had noticed that the most important figure of this mission had already vanished at the edge of the zone.

There was Chaos on this side, and there was Chaos on that side as well.

In the marsh, the Turtle Bandits, who had set a circle of fire, gradually sensed something was wrong once their excitement passed.

"What is going on? We set the fire and caused Chaos according to the agreement, so why hasn't the team on that side moved out yet? Are they still coming or not?"

After some shock and suspicion, someone grew angry and shouted, "Lord Protector, they didn't come! I knew that Shi Chunqing fellow couldn't be trusted. He missed the appointed time and ruined the task! Lord Protector, what should we do? Lord... Protector?"