An Jiu slowly exhaled and bent down to pick up the Tang Sword, wiping it clean on the clothes of a nearby corpse.
If she had a sniper rifle or a silencer, sniping would be far easier for her than it was now. Although the arrows shot from the Dragon Subduing Bow were faster and more powerful than those from an ordinary bow, sixth or seventh-order martial arts masters still had a chance to dodge them—unless she infused them with her mental strength.
When An Jiu slowly expanded her mental strength, the impact on her meridians was minimal. However, the concentrated force of an attack was dozens of times more intense. Now, she could control her mental strength better, but she couldn’t guarantee absolute safety. Thus, she decided not to use it for killing unless absolutely necessary.
The other group also consisted of three people—one eighth-order, one fifth-order, and one fourth-order.
An Jiu flicked out the Rope Crossbow and leaped lightly onto a ginkgo tree.
The rainy night was pitch black, and An Jiu’s figure seemed to dissolve into the darkness like ink in an inkstone, making her almost indistinguishable.
Even with her sharp vision, An Jiu couldn’t clearly see her targets under such conditions. So, she simply closed her eyes.
Without visual distractions, her mental perception suddenly became clearer. Gradually, An Jiu felt as if she had sunk into the depths of the ocean—surrounded by utter silence, devoid of sound or light, to the point where she couldn’t even sense herself.
The three figures to her left front drew closer. Their intrusion was like a pebble dropped into this dead sea, sending ripples outward in circles.
An Jiu’s grip on the Tang Sword tightened slowly.
At this moment, nothing existed in An Jiu’s world except those three intruders encroaching on her territory!
She crouched, every muscle in her body tensed.
They were here!
The three men walking beneath the tree were on high alert. The eighth-order master among them heard a faint rustle above his head and instinctively raised his sword to block. But the darkness was too thick—he could barely see anything. When they tried to use their mental strength, they realized they couldn’t sense anything at all!
In the midst of their hesitation, two muffled groans sounded beside them.
The eighth-order martial artist was shocked. Without time to think, he swung his sword purely on instinct. As an experienced assassin who had survived countless life-or-death situations, he still managed to barely withstand An Jiu’s fierce assault.
Clang! The blades clashed, and the two locked in a momentary stalemate before separating.
In that brief instant, the eighth-order master caught a glimpse of cold, ruthless black eyes reflected in the dim glint of the sword. A chill ran down his spine—it felt as though the Death God stood behind him, ready to crush him to pieces with a mere flick of its fingers.
Driven by his keen sense of danger, the eighth-order master immediately retreated.
Yet An Jiu’s blade pursued him like a persistent shadow—and it was faster than his retreat!
A faint glimmer of steel flashed, illuminating the curtain of rain before him. The eighth-order master knew escape was impossible. With gritted teeth, he raised his sword to parry with one hand while grabbing the signal flare at his waist with the other.
An Jiu suddenly swung her umbrella. Sharp blades sprang from its ribs, spinning and shredding through the rain.
The eighth-order master only sensed a gust of fierce wind rushing toward him. Unable to see what it was, he guessed from instinct alone that it wasn’t something a single sword strike could block. He hastily retreated.
Just as the object opposite him slowed down—now almost incapable of catching up—a sudden chill pierced his back. A sharp blade penetrated his chest, and something cold and wet wrapped around his neck. The eighth-order master heard the sickening crack of his own neck before realizing—it was a hand!
With the last of his consciousness and strength, he completed his final action—pulling the plug from the signal flare.With a sharp screech, a bright orb of light grazed past the eighth-rank Martial Arts Master, instantly charring half his body black. The orb exploded above the forest, blooming into a crimson flare. (To be continued...)
PS: Just a small update for now. The remaining two thousand words will be posted at an undetermined time, but no later than before tomorrow's update.
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