In truth, the rebel force numbered only seven hundred; in headcount alone they were already at a disadvantage.What's more, the rebels' main strength lay in martial artists, and the highest cultivation among them was Zheng Jian at early Fifth Realm—he was also the only Fifth-Realm expert on the martial path.If they fought head-on, they would be outmatched both in cultivation and in numbers, so they adopted Ji Wushi's plan.
Ji Wushi split the rebels into three detachments. The first and second teams were composed of martial artists skilled in hidden weapons, about sixty people in total. They swung out to the left and right to envelop the enemy and launched hidden-weapon volleys from a distance.One purpose of this arrangement was to thin the enemy line as much as possible, but sixty men alone could not annihilate large numbers.
Because they were lying in ambush in the woods, the enemy could not tell how many they faced. To cope with threats on both flanks, the Zhongzhou troops could only split up to counterattack—precisely the outcome Ji Wushi sought.With a small force drawing attention, once the Zhongzhou troops divided their formation, the two teams would immediately withdraw in opposite directions, completely severing contact between the two enemy groups.
Once that was achieved, it would be time for the rebels' third detachment to move. The third force had more than six hundred men—the rest of the rebels' total strength.As soon as the Zhongzhou troops split off to chase the first and second teams, the third detachment would strike one of the separated enemy groups first, concentrating superior numbers to crush the smaller force.
Blindsided by these sudden attackers, the Zhongzhou troops fell into confusion.In single combat they might have coped, but the rebels had lived in this forest for some time and were at home in this terrain. Now that the rebels also held the numerical edge, how could the Zhongzhou troops hope to withstand them?
Seeing the scene, Zhang Jie knew he had blundered into an ambush. He glanced around and could not see any trace of Zhang Shun and the others. If he didn't find a way out, he risked total annihilation.
Cultivators from the Zhongzhou side went down one after another—especially wherever Zheng Jian passed.His steps were swift as he threaded through the crowd; sword-light flashed with his agile figure, and people fell wherever he went.Zhang Jie's instincts told him he had to stop that man, or the consequences would be dire.
Amid the chaos, Zheng Jian killed quickly, as if chopping vegetables—until a blade of ice darted in to block the point of his sword.
Zheng Jian looked up to see Zhang Jie before him.Locking eyes, Zhang Jie said, "As long as I'm here, you won't have your way."Zheng Jian replied coolly, "You?"
Words ended; steel moved. Their weapons traced arcs through the air.After a dozen exchanges, Zheng Jian thrust straight for Zhang Jie's chest. Seeing this, Zhang Jie jumped back several steps; his left hand flicked forward, sending several ice needles hurtling toward the pursuing Zheng Jian.
The attack was meant to keep Zheng Jian from closing again. After that brief clash, Zhang Jie knew that while his cultivation was higher, the other man's swordsmanship was far superior. If he kept tangling at close quarters, the next one to die under Zheng Jian's blade would be himself.Seizing the moment, Zhang Jie actively opened the distance—but Zheng Jian would not let him.With a single flourish, Zheng Jian knocked aside the oncoming ice needles and again closed in front of Zhang Jie.
Seeing his opponent press so fiercely, Zhang Jie did not dare fight at close range. He kept retreating while firing ice needles. But this was a forest: there were not only other fighters around them—there were trees everywhere.Zhang Jie failed to notice a large tree behind him; as he backed up, he slammed into it with his back. Startled, he glanced at the trunk—just as Zheng Jian's sword swept down toward his head.He reacted in time, ducking to avoid it.
That stroke carried inner force; the blade sliced through the trunk as smoothly as cutting tofu.
In this world there are two cultivation systems. For cultivators of the immortal path, the power produced through breath is called spiritual power; for practitioners of the martial path, the power refined through breath is called inner force.Both inner force and spiritual power enhance the user's strength; that was why Zheng Jian's sword could shear through the tree. But spiritual power has broader uses than inner force, for it can be channeled through a cultivator's spiritual root to manifest elemental attacks—and, crucially, it allows cultivators to fly.
Zhang Jie knew that if this continued, he would be at a complete disadvantage.He suddenly thought: If I can take to the air and fire from above at range, Zheng Jian will be helpless. He immediately gathered spiritual power and shot upward.
But Zheng Jian had long since anticipated that—indeed, any martial artist fighting a cultivator keeps one rule in mind: never let the opponent take to the sky.Zheng Jian concentrated inner force into his feet and sprang from trunk to trunk, his body ricocheting between trees like a steel marble at blistering speed.Just as Zhang Jie was about to clear the canopy, his expression froze—Zheng Jian's figure appeared even higher above him.
Zhang Jie could hardly believe his eyes, but what followed left no room for doubt.Twisting in midair, Zheng Jian spun and lashed out with a kick, smashing Zhang Jie back down to the ground.Though Zhang Jie managed to block with his forearms, the impact was great. He lost control of his body, crashed to the side, and got his clothes covered in dirt.
Humiliated and incensed, he looked up to see Zheng Jian, inverted above him, driving a sword-thrust straight down.The strike came so fast that before Zhang Jie could even stand, the blade was already upon him.In panic, Zhang Jie rolled aside to evade—and looked all the more bedraggled for it.
He scrambled up. The string of embarrassments had thoroughly enraged him.Seeing his opponent reset his stance and sweep in again, hatred surged in Zhang Jie's chest. The man had made a fool of him again and again—he would have to kill him.Hot-headed and no longer calm, Zhang Jie abandoned the idea of fleeing and chose to fight it out.
Zhang Jie's swordsmanship was not poor—among peers at his realm he was outstanding. Unfortunately, his opponent was Zheng Jian.Though Zheng Jian's cultivation realm was lower, his mastery of the sword put him among the best at that level. For Zhang Jie to challenge him in swordcraft was like striking a stone with an egg.He soon regretted his impulsive decision.
After barely twenty exchanges, Zhang Jie could no longer keep up.His left shoulder had been pierced; his right thigh was slashed; even the right arm that held his ice blade was injured.He wanted to use healing arts to treat his wounds, but Zheng Jian gave him no chance.Forced into full defense, Zhang Jie just barely kept from exposing a fatal opening; for a moment Zheng Jian could not finish him.
As their blades locked, Zheng Jian suddenly changed tactics. Instead of pulling back to strike again, he pressed his sword flat against Zhang Jie's weapon.He rolled his wrist, turning his longsword. The two blades seemed to stick together and would not separate. Zhang Jie, unwillingly, found his own ice blade dragged along by Zheng Jian's rhythm.He knew Zheng Jian's aim, and had to channel spiritual power to counter the other's inner force and keep his balance—otherwise his weapon would be stripped away.
But Zheng Jian's blade spun faster and faster. Zhang Jie was falling behind. With a sudden upward flick, Zheng Jian sent Zhang Jie's weapon flying. Zhang Jie's right arm was pulled high behind him, leaving his body full of openings.Seeing the point of Zheng Jian's sword racing toward his heart, Zhang Jie knew death was close—when a figure suddenly flashed between them and blocked the thrust with a single arm.
Startled, Zheng Jian looked at the man who had stopped his sword one-handed.It was none other than Zhang Shun.