Three Iron Lotus Seeds slammed into his face, sinking deep. Blood and flesh splattered instantly.
Zhao Zixuan’s pupils constricted. He had never imagined they would suddenly strike to kill.
Unlike Qian Wanli, however, he hadn’t bowed. His eyes had remained fixed on his opponent, allowing him to react half a beat faster. He twisted aside, dodging two of the Iron Lotus Seeds, but the third slammed into his shoulder. A grunt escaped his lips from the excruciating pain of his shattering shoulder blade, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
Meanwhile, the three men behind Zhao Zixuan had been spared from the surprise attack. They initially held their own in a clash of blades against two other opponents, but the moment the man who had thrown the Iron Lotus Seeds joined the fray, they were instantly overwhelmed.
Blades flashed and swords glinted, followed by a series of agonized cries.
In just a few moments, all three were on the ground, their breathing faint and shallow.
"Sir, you dare attack us? Aren’t you afraid of retribution from Master Yuan of the Third Branch?"
Zhao Zixuan knew that mentioning the Third Branch in front of a member of the Fourth would only provoke them, but at this point, he had no other choice.
’Qian Wanli is dead, and I’m crippled. The three behind me are no match for their opponents. And most importantly, their leader—the strongest of them—hasn’t even made a move yet.’
Lin Chengji raised his hand. His three subordinates ceased their attack and retreated several yards, but they maintained their encirclement.
The three men who had fallen struggled back to their feet and gathered at Zhao Zixuan’s side. Their faces were pale, their breathing ragged, and their bodies were covered in wounds.
Zhao Zixuan glanced at the three of them, his expression turning grim.
’There were five of us. One was killed instantly, and the other three are all seriously wounded, myself included. Our combat strength is a fraction of what it was.’
"Master Yuan of the Third Branch?"
Lin Chengji scoffed and took two steps forward, looking down at Zhao Zixuan. "Did you really think I wouldn’t know that the three men behind you aren’t the Martial Artists assigned to guard the mountain pass?"
Zhao Zixuan’s expression darkened. He hadn’t expected his opponent to know.
"I’ll let you in on it so you can die knowing why. Ever since Young Master Yu’s death, our Fourth Branch has had you in our sights. We saw you sneak people into the mountains last time. We just hadn’t finalized our plans yet, so we let you walk out of the Yantian Mountain Range alive. That won’t be happening this time."
They had been notified the moment Zhao Zixuan led his men into the mountains.
Brother Chuan had immediately dispatched several teams into the mountains to hunt down and capture Zhao Zixuan’s party.
"As a Guardian, you should know the consequences of allowing unauthorized entry into the Yantian Mountain Range. Forget about me just killing you—even if I were to slaughter your entire Zhao Family, the Third Branch would have no choice but to accept it. And for his negligence, that Master Yuan you mentioned has already been punished by the clan."
Zhao Zixuan’s face went deathly pale, not only from his injuries, but from the terror the man’s words inspired.
’I’m only in my early twenties. I don’t want to die. I have to save myself.’
’Fight back?’
’In my current condition, I couldn’t even beat one of his subordinates.’
Zhao Zixuan’s eyes darted back and forth as his mind raced, thoughts flashing like lightning.
His gaze gradually turned ice-cold.
SWISH!
Without any warning, Zhao Zixuan suddenly drew his Longsword. The blade flashed like a viper’s tongue as he swung it in a backhand arc toward his three heavily wounded companions.
The three men never imagined that Zhao Zixuan would turn on his own comrades.
They were struggling just to stay on their feet, their gazes still fixed on Lin Chengji and his men. None of them could have predicted that their own companion, Zhao Zixuan, would be the one to strike them down.
The blade flashed across their throats—one, two, three. It was clean and efficient, without a moment’s hesitation.
The men didn’t even have time to let out a full scream. With three soft hisses, lines of red appeared on their necks, and then blood erupted forth.
One of them managed to turn his head, staring at Zhao Zixuan in utter disbelief. His lips moved as if trying to speak, but as blood gurgled from his throat, he collapsed, his face a mask of fury.
Zhao Zixuan didn’t spare them a single glance, allowing the blood to drip from his Longsword onto the withered leaves below.
He raised his head to look Lin Chengji directly in the eye. His gaze held not a shred of guilt, only the raw, naked desire to survive.
"We came into the mountains to find a Black Cicada. We’ve already discovered its hiding place and even laid a trap. We’re just waiting for it to appear. If you let me live, I’ll tell you where it is."
Lin Chengji’s eyes narrowed.
He said nothing, simply watching Zhao Zixuan. His gaze shifted to the three twitching corpses on the ground, to the blood still gurgling from their throats.
’This Zhao Zixuan... He’s utterly ruthless.’
’Killing your own companions is one thing to talk about, but another thing entirely to do.’
’I never actually planned to kill Zhao Zixuan. Killing his man was just to intimidate him, to make him an obedient witness.’
’But I never expected this pleasant surprise.’
A Black Cicada!
A sharp glint flashed in the depths of Lin Chengji’s eyes.
Some fools in the past had been lucky enough to find a Black Cicada, but thinking it only enhanced one’s Perception without offering a significant boost to their combat strength, they’d simply sold it off.
Those idiots had no idea how incredible the boost to Perception from a Black Cicada truly was. Any Martial Artist who consumed a Heart of the Black Cicada would become nearly immune to surprise attacks for the rest of their life. Their enhanced Perception would even actively warn them of impending danger.
’When Zhao Zixuan first turned on his companions, I was actually startled. I thought he was trying to protect the Third Branch and the Zhao Family by killing his men before taking his own life. Without a living witness, as long as Lin Mingyuan refused to confess, Brother Chuan’s plan would fail.’
’But now I see. He did kill his companions to silence them, but only so he could hold the secret of the Black Cicada in his own hands—a bargaining chip to save his own life.’

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