Chapter 22: Fierce Battle

Xiao Ning’s expression was cold and grim. After sensing the surrounding environment, she said frostily, "Kill him. That boy’s temperament is extraordinary; he has already escaped!"

At the order, the man in black let his steel blade slide down, pressing it against Old Hei’s throat with a bloodthirsty sneer.

Suddenly, the mountain wind roared, and the ancient pines and cypresses swayed violently. A gust of wind and sand swept in from below. Xiao Ning’s pupils contracted as she saw a figure riding the wind toward them, moving with a speed comparable to a cultivator of the Profound Entry Realm.

The figure, wielding the Chi Yue Imperial Shadow sword, struck as he arrived. Before the assassins could react, several bloody heads rolled onto the ground.

Boom!

With an explosion, Old Hei fell from the ancient tree, the restrictions on his body broken.

"Take your black iron battle-axe and get out of here!"

Old Hei hesitated for a few seconds before saying firmly, "I want to fight alongside you!"

Li Xuan said solemnly, "Go first. That leading woman is not easy to deal with. Don’t get in my way here; leave while there is chaos! I have my own way of handling this."

Having seen Li Xuan perform miracles in battle several times, Old Hei held him in high esteem, but facing a Profound Entry Realm expert, he could not bring himself to leave.

Li Xuan seized the moment to heave Old Hei away, roaring, "Get out!"

The mountain wind lasted only a short while before dissipating within a quarter of an hour.

"Indeed, you have some tricks up your sleeve. No wonder the employer offered such a high bounty!" Xiao Ning’s eyes were cold as she watched Li Xuan like a predator eyeing its prey.

The surrounding assassins surrounded Li Xuan, their blades shimmering with cold light. Eager to complete their mission, they lunged at him. The whistling of their sword and blade energy tore through the air, surging like a tide.

Li Xuan moved his feet and swung the Chi Yue Imperial Shadow with a roar. Sword energy whistled out, followed by the ignition of source runes. The shining source light fused with the sword energy, and a sword strike as massive as an ancient tree descended from the sky.

In an instant, the airflow was torn open like a waterfall, and the stunning sword energy cut down like a rainbow piercing the sun. Source power sprayed, hissing as it went.

Boom!

Caught off guard, the assassins were thrown into disarray. The ground was littered with severed limbs, and the killers lay on the ground, wailing in pain. Li Xuan stepped forward slowly, driving his sword through an assassin lying on the ground.

Covered in blood, Li Xuan raised the Chi Yue Imperial Shadow and locked eyes with Xiao Ning. She remained indifferent; the lives of her subordinates were expendable, and if they died, it was only because their skills were inferior. Such were the rules of the world—the strong prey upon the weak.

"Very good. You did not disappoint me. A mere peak-stage Spirit Initiation Realm cultivator, yet you managed to slaughter a group of God-Slaying Realm experts!"

Xiao Ning rarely felt inclined to speak so much. Were it not for her employer, she might have even spared him. Intelligence reports had stated that Li Xuan was only at the early stage of the Spirit Initiation Realm. To have reached the peak in just a few days made him a rare opponent.

"Surprised? A mere ant at the Spirit Initiation Realm daring to look a Profound Entry Realm expert in the eye. Aren't you afraid of what cards I might have up my sleeve?"

Li Xuan’s preemptive strike had seized the initiative, and his blood-soaked appearance intimidated the remaining assassins.

Xiao Ning’s eyes turned cold, her murderous aura surging. "Attack him at once!"

The assassins hesitated for a moment, then unleashed waves of dense source power, bombarding Li Xuan’s position with swords and blades. Feeling immense pressure, Li Xuan immediately activated the "God-Walking Burning Shadow Technique," weaving between the blades and narrowly avoiding fatal strikes. The Chi Yue Imperial Shadow burst with a crisp radiance, each strike perfectly deflecting the attackers' blows before he countered, spraying blood wherever the sword light touched.

Seizing a moment, Li Xuan struck a palm against an ancient tree. Using the conversion of source power, thunderous cracks erupted, shattering the wood into splinters that embedded themselves deep into the flesh of the assassins.

Watching this, Xiao Ning finally understood why her employer had hired her. The man before her was not only handsome but also cunning, and that deceptive mouth of his was the most hateful thing of all. The assassins, who had previously been arrogant and dismissive of a Spirit Initiation Realm cultivator, were now being cut down, wailing in misery—a true humiliation.

Suddenly, Xiao Ning flicked her jade hand, a powerful current of air blasting the assassins away. "Get out of here, you’re embarrassing me!"

Her hawk-like eyes narrowed, the pressure of a peak Profound Entry Realm expert radiating outward as she thrust her sword at Li Xuan. He felt a chill run through him and raised the Chi Yue Imperial Shadow to meet her.

Clang!

As the blades met, a tidal wave of immense force surged forward, shaking Li Xuan’s internal organs and forcing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

Li Xuan staggered to his feet and sneered, "So this is the power of the Profound Entry Realm. Nothing special."

In reality, the power of Xiao Ning’s strike was like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves; the massive force had already inflicted severe internal injuries. Li Xuan had relied on his initial momentum to hold his own, but his true strength was far inferior.

He deliberately stalled for time, and after gathering his source power again, he smiled, retreated rapidly, and used his unique movement technique to vanish from Xiao Ning's sight.

Having a three-realm gap, Xiao Ning caught up quickly. She looked around but could sense no trace of him. However, relying on her intuition, she was certain he was nearby.

A rare smile touched Xiao Ning’s lips as her pressure expanded to cover a radius of several hundred meters. Yet, Li Xuan seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Suddenly, the source runes on the ground lit up in circles. The power of the mountain and marsh gathered like a stampeding beast. Wind roared, thunder rumbled, and suddenly, the sky was covered in dense, water-like source runes.

A stunning, brilliant sword energy burst forth, the sound of the blade ringing like a dragon’s roar. The atmosphere was heavy, like dark clouds pressing down on a city.

Li Xuan roared, "One Sword Across the Heavens!"

With a shout, the Chi Yue Imperial Shadow glowed with a simple, unadorned light. The powerful sword energy traced a rainbow in the sky and descended upon Xiao Ning.

She narrowed her eyes, her immense power surging upward as she switched from offense to defense, bracing herself to take the blow.

Clang!

The swords collided and sparks flew, but the sword energy pushed forward, tearing through Xiao Ning’s night-garb, exposing her fair skin and cutting a corner off her red bodice.

"You are courting death!"

Xiao Ning flew into a rage and punched Li Xuan in the chest. The massive source power sent him flying, snapping dozens of ancient cypresses before he hit the ground, coughing up blood.

She had endured his finishing move, and while her own blood was still churning, Li Xuan lunged again. He slammed his palm into the ground and roared, "Dead Wood Meets Spring!"

Source runes flashed rapidly, spreading like ripples. Suddenly, vines erupted from the rock layer, binding Xiao Ning tightly. Above, Source Sky Thunder began to fall. Under Li Xuan’s control, the fist-sized thunderbolts exploded in mid-air, their power even greater than before.

This was Li Xuan’s true trump card; without such measures, one could not face a peak Profound Entry Realm expert.

After a barrage of explosions, Li Xuan raised the Chi Yue Imperial Shadow and charged again. Targeting the center of the blast, he unleashed "One Sword Across the Heavens" once more. The intersecting sword energy hung in the center of the blast, and the surging source power sent Li Xuan flying backward.

"You damn brat, you are the first to push me to such a state. Since you’ve seen my body, either become my man, or I will cast you into the eighteenth layer of hell!"

Xiao Ning emerged from the center of the blast. Her snow-white, jade-like skin, long, rounded legs, and full, tempting breasts were tightly wrapped in silver armor. The armor shimmered, shielding only the vital points of her beautiful body, and her waterfall of black hair reached her willow-thin waist.

She walked toward him, her hawk-like eyes filled with murder and rage. She lifted his chin with the tip of her sword and said, "Are you a descendant of the Source Master lineage?"

Li Xuan, severely injured and exhausted, licked his lips. "I’m about to die at your hands anyway, so whether I am a descendant of the Source Master lineage or not makes no difference to you!"

Xiao Ning’s hand trembled slightly, the sword energy cutting a bloody gash on his chin. Cold as frost, she said, "Shall I sever your limbs, gouge out your eyes, and cut out your tongue to make you a human swine, or shall I roast you alive?"

This battle would be recorded in history; a peak Spirit Initiation Realm cultivator fighting a peak Profound Entry Realm expert and pushing her to such a desperate state was a model of an underdog’s counterattack. If he survived, he would surely be celebrated for generations.

Li Xuan coughed and said, "Kill or carve me up as you please! If I survive, I’ll strip you bare and let the world see the ugly side of the cold-faced killer Xiao Ning..."

Pfft!

Xiao Ning kicked Li Xuan in the stomach, her eyes full of murderous intent. "Aren't you afraid that after I kill you, I will go to the Li family, kill your second sister, or cripple her cultivation and sell her to a brothel?"

Li Xuan’s neck flushed red, his veins bulging as he roared, "You dare?"

Xiao Ning sneered, "Whether I dare or not is just a word. Do you think that old emperor or the self-righteous Eldest Princess can protect the Li family? You are dreaming!"

She leaned down and said, "Answer my question, yes or no? Say one more word, and see how I deal with the Li family!"

Li Xuan spat a mouthful of blood onto her fair, creamy chest. After a brutal beating, just as she was about to strike and sever his limbs, Li Xuan burst into laughter.

A sense of foreboding washed over Xiao Ning. She stared at him with wide, terrified eyes and leaped backward as if she had seen a demon.

Li Xuan, his mouth full of blood, laughed wildly. "It’s too late! Today, I shall rid the world of a scourge like you. Even with your high-grade source-artifact armor, you cannot escape death! Break!"

With his shout, the heavens and earth shifted. Dark clouds rolled across the sky, accompanied by thunder and lightning.