C25 Counterattack

"Xue Yaner?" Ye Xiao murmured, envisioning the striking young girl in purple. "Has she left?"

"Yeah, she's probably gone. I can't fathom what kind of background this girl has to wield such formidable flames," the Qian Yuan Sword remarked.

For some reason, Ye Xiao felt a pang of reluctance at her departure, but he quickly chided himself and shook his head. It was just a chance encounter; why should he feel this way?

He rose to his feet, stretching his stiff limbs. Swinging his fist, he was filled with an overwhelming sense of power. It was as if a surge of Essence Qi was ready to explode through his meridians.

Examining the meridians within his body, what was once a mere trickle now resembled a mighty river, teeming with vitality. All he needed was the right catalyst to break through to the Yuan Master realm.

"I wonder if the Wang Family has ceased their pursuit. If not, hmph! They'll regret it," Ye Xiao thought, his eyes flashing with a deadly glint.

With his potent vitality, Ye Xiao could easily overpower anyone below the Yuan Master level. Even against an early-stage Yuan Master, a direct confrontation could go either way.

He picked up his mask from the ground and exited the cave. Orienting himself, he swiftly made his way through the forest.

The dense woods, with their verdant canopy, obscured the sky above. Occasionally, sounds of wild beasts rustling through the underbrush reached his ears.

As Ye Xiao navigated the forest, he suddenly detected the sound of someone moving swiftly through the trees nearby. He halted and cautiously approached.

Sure enough, a figure was threading through the thicket, seemingly in search of something. Ye Xiao's eyes gleamed with lethal intent, and without concealing his presence, he lunged at the shadow.

The figure, hearing the disturbance, reacted with lightning speed, rolling on the ground and pleading in a hushed tone, "Mercy, it's me!"

Ye Xiao hesitated at the plea, but his hand was already in motion, bringing the broken sword down towards the man. The man, terrified, was about to shout when he realized the sword was pressed against his throat, yet it hadn't struck.

The man cautiously turned his head to look at Ye Xiao, and upon recognizing him, he let out a sigh of relief. "Please, Yama Hero, sheathe your sword! I work for Boss He. We've crossed paths before."

Ye Xiao's brow furrowed; this man was indeed one of He Qing's men he had encountered earlier. A flicker of murderous intent passed through his eyes. "What brings you here?" he questioned, wondering if He Qing had already turned traitor. Such unreliability!

The man trembled at the sight of Ye Xiao's lethal gaze, remembering how he had helplessly watched a brother-in-arms and a Royal Guard named Wang Hai fall to this masked figure.

"Your Excellency, it's like this," the man began, his voice shaky. "Our boss, He Qing, saw Wang Jiang of the Wang Family leading guards to pursue you and was concerned. He sent us to offer you covert assistance." He glanced nervously at the dark, broken Qian Yuan sword still hovering at his neck.

Ye Xiao felt a stir of respect. "He Qing does have some brains," he mused, withdrawing the sword.

With the sword finally away from his throat, the man visibly relaxed. "Your Excellency, our boss sent me to warn you that Wang Jiang is one of the Wang Family's three guard captains, and he's Wang Hai's older brother. His cultivation has recently advanced to the Master Level 3, commanding twenty-two men, with the least skilled among them at the Origin Level 6, and three who have reached Origin Level 9. Please be cautious."

Ye Xiao nodded, impressed with He Qing's diligence. "Understood. Carry on as if you haven't seen me. And don't venture further in; it's teeming with dangerous Origin Beasts." He offered the warning out of genuine concern; the man's life would be at risk if he encountered any Origin Beasts.

Grateful, the man thanked Ye Xiao and vanished into the dense forest.

Alone with his thoughts, Ye Xiao considered his options. As long as he avoided Wang Jiang, the others, even those at Origin Level 9, posed no threat. And even if he did face Wang Jiang, with his cultivation now, he wasn't entirely without a chance. Victory might be uncertain, but survival was something he felt confident about.

After all, his strength had nearly decupled from the seventh to the peak of the ninth level. Even if he faced the golden giant wolf again, Ye Xiao was confident he could hold his own in battle.

Three Royal Guards huddled together in the dense forest, munching on their rations. One sat slightly apart, his long knife within easy reach, as his gaze periodically swept the surroundings.

One of the men by the fire addressed their leader, "Boss, do we really need to be this vigilant? You're at the ninth level of the Primitive. Unless that kid is a Yuan Master, he wouldn't dare mess with us. And even if he did get lucky, the three of us could hold him off for a while, right?" Handing over some heated rations, he waited for a response.

The leader shot him a withering look. "Shut up! I brought you out here to make sure you stay alive. Have you forgotten how Zhang Lao Er and the others met their end?"

Another guard chimed in, "Let's just follow the Boss's orders. But Boss, we've been searching all night and haven't spotted a soul. Have some rations and rest a bit. We'll keep watch for a while."

Despite his stern demeanor, the leader nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, a swift gust of wind, rustling leaves and snapping branches, broke the silence. The man they called 'Leader' quickly grabbed his long knife, his eyes darting toward the source of the noise, ready for action. The other two guards, weapons drawn, flanked him protectively. Tense but composed, they prepared for what was to come.

A slender figure wearing a fearsome mask, wielding a dark, broken blade, emerged before them.

The leader's face tensed. "Masked Man?" He turned to his comrade and barked, "Send up the signal, notify the captain!"

The man stepped back, retrieving a cylindrical device from his belt, twisted it hard, and with a loud pop, a burst of purple light shot into the sky before scattering in a brilliant display.

Ye Xiao watched the trio before him with an icy gaze, making no move to interrupt. The guards stood their ground, not advancing, knowing reinforcements would arrive in a mere fifteen minutes.

But Ye Xiao wasn't about to grant them that time. With a swift motion, he brandished his Long Sword and charged, his silhouette flashing through the twenty-meter gap in an instant, positioning himself right before the guards, ready to strike.

"Kill!" A chilling cry erupted from Ye Xiao, his powerful Qi bursting forth, whipping up a gust of wind that swept the leaves from the ground clean.

In the wake of his explosive shout, a streak of white light zipped towards the man to the side. Caught off guard, the man barely managed to hoist his long knife in defense.

But there was no resounding clash—only the brief glimmer of white light before the knife snapped in two with a clang. A deep gash appeared across the man's chest; his eyes widened in disbelief before he collapsed with a thud.

The remaining two had no time to react. In the blink of an eye, their comrade lay dead. Huddled together, their faces ghostly pale, they fixed their gaze on the fleeting shadow that had just passed by.