Chapter 17

Not only the white-haired man leading them, but also the Southern Barbarian rebels who had traveled thousands of miles to reach Shangyang City were filled with hostility toward the black-clad swordsman before them.

After all, they had come here to disguise themselves and infiltrate Shangyang City to carry out the next step of their plan, but before arriving they received news that Zhang Erhe, the one responsible for the disguise, had been killed.

This time they came to the Jade Stele Forest to gather and also to discuss the next move.

So upon learning that the person before them had killed Zhang Erhe, they naturally flared with anger, all reaching for their waists to draw hidden weapons.

The Southern Barbarian rebels were most skilled at using poison and hidden weapons; more than ten experts leapt onto the stelae, and their hidden weapons all flew toward the black-clad swordsman atop the central stone tower.

Whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!

Under the cover of night and moonlight, silver specks like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers shot toward the paper man Jiang Yunzhou.

Seeing the opponent's fierce approach, the paper man Jiang Yunzhou leapt backward, and as he spoke, the black-sheathed paper sword he had been charging for a long time was already grasped in his hand.

Almost as the opponent struck, the black-sheathed long sword swept horizontally across in front of him.

The sword's body, already extremely light and agile, was not hindered in its slashing speed even without being drawn from its sheath.

Clang!

With a deep, resonant sword hum, the formidable pure yang energy flowed along the sword sheath and unleashed a black blade of light.

Clang clang clang!

It scattered all the hidden weapons that had not yet reached his person.

Startled by this formidable and fierce sword qi, the Southern Barbarian rebels swiftly leapt to dodge.

Those in front who could dodge managed to barely avoid it, but the two behind who were just about to jump onto the stelae couldn't react in time because their view was blocked.

Thud! thud!

The sword qi sliced cleanly through their necks; before they could react, they cried out and were beheaded.

Their heads flew off, blood spurted, and the corpses collapsed to the ground.

The lingering might of the sword qi swept past, leaving deep sword marks on the surrounding stelae, stained with blood.

With just that one move, all three parties were startled.

The people of the Southern Pacification Office who had not emerged from behind the stele forest were waiting for the black-clad swordsman to turn and flee, luring the Southern Barbarian rebels into the trap within the stele forest, but they never expected this fellow not to retreat a step; instead, he cut off their advance with a single sword.

While puzzling over his actions, everyone marveled even more at his strength.

We don't know his overall strength, but just from the momentum of that sword, he is certainly no ordinary fighter.

"This person's strength must be at least seventh rank, not even inferior to Commander Yang."

"I think it's definitely more than that; his sword hasn't even left the sheath, clearly he hasn't shown his true strength."

And the Southern Barbarian rebels were also startled by that sword, having thought the black-clad swordsman was just bluffing, but he turned out to be a true master.

The third one startled was Jiang Yunzhou himself.

This was the first sword he unleashed after completing his cultivation and venturing into the martial world; he hadn't gone all out to guard against a follow‑up, but he hadn't expected it to have this much power—his foundation was actually this strong!

Originally, the pure yang energy infused from his abundant qi sea was already ample; the paper man lacks the meridians and physical limits of a real body, so performing the same technique naturally yields even greater power.

However, Jiang Yunzhou's sword also aroused the killing intent of the white‑haired man.

If the black‑clad swordsman before them were really a bait, he would not be fighting so desperately here; his decisive attack instead shows he has no backup.

Thinking of this, the white‑haired man leading them tapped his toe, leapt over the crowd, and flung his hands outward; a pair of iron tiger claws bearing fine chains shot straight out.

His motion was agile, his strike vicious; the pair of iron claws, carrying a fiery force, came straight at him with overwhelming momentum.

Jiang Yunzhou placed his black‑sheathed paper sword horizontally before him to block the incoming twin claws.

Clang!

Beforehand, Jiang Yunzhou had already tested it; the wuxiang ming paper, once infused with energy, has extraordinary hardness, definitely stronger than ordinary ironware, which is why he dared to meet the attack head‑on without hesitation.

However, since I am here just to gain experience, there's no need to take unnecessary risks; so after dispersing the flames and using the force of the flying claws, Jiang Yunzhou stepped on the stele and leapt backward.

His whole body seemed weightless, like a startled swan gliding backward in the moonlight.

Seeing this, the white‑haired man grew more confident in his judgment, stepped on the stele and rushed forward first, ordering:

"Surround him from both sides and take him down."

Even though that sword just now was astonishing, after all the Southern Barbarian rebels have the numerical advantage here, feeling the upper hand is ours, so they fearlessly moved in to flank.

After witnessing the black‑clad swordsman's strength, the people of the Southern Pacification Office lying in ambush around the area became much calmer.

Several commandants around Yang Hanlu also began to whisper among themselves.

"This person is undoubtedly one of our own Southern Pacification Office, and he surely knows about the trap in the Jade Stele Forest; at this moment, acting alone is likely meant to lure the enemy deeper."

"I think the same, Commander Yang; what do you think?"

Yang Hanlu furrowed his sword‑brows and said:

"Everyone stay on alert; wait until he lures all the Southern Barbarian rebels into the trap, then we move."

Jiang Yunzhou naturally had no idea of any trap; seeing the Southern Barbarian rebels flanking from left and right, with his long sword temporarily held by the white‑haired man, he immediately executed the Flowing Cloud Step he had just learned.

The Southern Barbarian rebels on either side held slender poisoned needles in their palms, several of them thrusting simultaneously at the black‑clad swordsman.

However, as they watched the poisoned needles about to strike, the black‑clad swordsman's figure suddenly turned illusory; then his whole body slipped away like a loach, nimbly dodging the attacks and weaving among the stelae.

Indeed, there are many wonderful movement techniques in the martial world; combined with supreme lightness skill, one can move freely within a confined space.

But the black‑clad swordsman before them possesses another kind of agility—his movements are astonishingly fast, not to mention, and his body is so light it's practically like a ghost.

Especially under the night's moonlight, the Southern Barbarian rebels could not keep up with that black shadow's movements, and they could hardly tell whether there was only one person atop the stelae.

In the blink of an eye, the paper man Jiang Yunzhou's black‑sheathed long sword was already drawn.

Clang!

A sound like a breeze stirring paper, an odd sword hum.

The white‑haired man shouted a warning:

"Be careful!"

However, it was already too late; Jiang Yunzhou, holding a virtually weightless white paper sword, had already unleashed the Ghostly Blade Sword Technique.

The two Southern Wu rebels standing near the top of the edge stone monument only saw a black shadow flash past them closely; before they could react, they felt as if a leaf had sliced across their necks.

Then blood spurted from their necks, and the two fell from the stone monument, their faces filled with shock and bewilderment.

The paper person's body paired with the Ghost Shadow Sword and Flowing Cloud Step is a perfect match, but given the limited moves, constantly using it risks exposing flaws; to keep the mystery, the paper person Jiang Yunzhou flies away again.

Seeing the black-clad swordsman on the stone tower glance back at them provocatively and then head straight for the depths of the Jade Monument Forest without looking back, the Southern Wu rebels felt a sudden surge of nameless anger.

Especially the white-haired man leading them, a mere junior dared to show off in front of him.

He kicked the stone monument beneath him apart with one foot, his whole body shooting straight out like a missile while gripping the Iron Tiger Claw.

"Don't run!"

In his paper person state, Jiang Yunzhou has more than enough blade with the Ghost Shadow Sword, but he does not want to linger in battle in this wild countryside.

Instead, he fights while retreating toward Shangyang City, but the way back would have to pass through the trap set by the Southern Pacification Office in the Stone Monument Forest.

On the Southern Wu rebels' side, this strange hero caused their plan to fail and, right before their eyes, killed four of their subordinates; the white-haired man flew into a rage.

As he lunged forward using momentum, he simultaneously slashed downward with both iron claws.

"Whoosh!"

But he saw six fiery red claw marks, wrapped in hot wind, swooping down to grab.

Jiang Yunzhou did not meet it head-on, instead drifting away like a ghost.

"Boom!"

The stone monument where he had just stood was instantly cut into several pieces by the claw-shaped blazing blade.

Seeing both sides chasing each other, having reached the trap area, Yang Hanlu seized the moment and, the instant the black-clad swordsman leapt out of the trap, raised his hand to ignite the talisman he held.

As the talisman ignited, the ground beneath the center of the Stone Monument Forest lit up with golden talisman patterns.