Zhao Mu had been waiting in the shadows, carefully observing the situation.
The moment Sun Jiliang and Tian Lizhen stepped into the alley, Zhao Mu immediately realized that they had already been exposed.
Although the two of them were seniors who had joined Qingfeng Camp years before him, their real combat experience was nowhere near Zhao Mu's. He had spent years fighting for survival on Blood Bone Mountain, where every battle was a life-or-death struggle.
Their disguise was simply too deliberate. The tension they unconsciously radiated while facing a dangerous enemy was obvious to anyone with genuine battlefield experience.
No matter how convincing they looked to ordinary people, they could never fool a veteran who had crawled out from mountains of corpses.
Because of that, the moment Zhang Yu used the pile of garbage as cover to escape, Zhao Mu had already predicted his escape route.
Without hesitation, Zhao Mu activated Light Spirit Steps.
Like a weasel darting through the night, he moved with astonishing speed while making almost no sound. It was as if the wind itself carried his feet as he sprinted forward.
---
Zhang Yu's expression was grim.
Right now, he had only one thought—escape.
Fortunately, the people chasing him weren't the infamous Wubei Army Execution Squad, but merely a group of Qingfeng Camp recruits.
He laughed bitterly to himself.
"Someone as insignificant as me... how could I possibly attract the Execution Squad?"
Just as he prepared to flee, a faint, mosquito-like sound suddenly came from the darkness.
Whoosh!
Zhang Yu's eyes narrowed.
A streak of blue Spiritual Energy flashed through the darkness.
"There's another one!"
A strand of tough silk shot toward him like a spirit serpent, twisting and weaving through the air.
Without hesitation, Zhang Yu raised his alloy cane to block it.
However, the moment the silk touched the cane, it twisted unexpectedly, almost as if it possessed a mind of its own.
Instead of being deflected, it wrapped itself around Zhang Yu's body.
The tough silk stretched nearly fifty meters in length.
Its greatest strength wasn't its offensive power—it was its incredible durability.
Very few people used such an unusual weapon, and controlling a fifty-meter strand of silk with Spiritual Energy required unbelievable precision.
Even Zhang Yu, a veteran soldier with years of battlefield experience, had never encountered such a bizarre fighting style.
For a brief moment...
He was completely bound.
Before he could react, the tightly wrapped silk suddenly contracted.
Zhao Mu yanked backward with all his strength.
His Innate Divine Strength, now at 354 proficiency, allowed him to lift over six hundred catties with both hands.
Combined with the explosive burst of Spiritual Energy, his surprise attack actually managed to affect a Combat Level 18 opponent.
Zhang Yu stumbled violently as his body was dragged toward Zhao Mu.
His face changed instantly.
With a furious roar, Spiritual Energy exploded from his body, and he forcefully tore the tough silk apart.
Although Zhao Mu had only delayed him for less than three seconds, it was more than enough.
Sun Jiliang and Tian Lizhen had already caught up.
A sharp burst of Spiritual Energy slashed toward Zhang Yu's head.
Unable to dodge, Zhang Yu raised his cane to block.
Clang!
The difference in both Combat Level and weapon quality immediately became obvious.
He was blasted backward over a dozen steps.
"Zhao Mu! Assist us in killing him!" Sun Jiliang shouted.
Without hesitation, Zhao Mu widened the distance between them, allowing the two seniors to engage Zhang Yu head-on while he continuously harassed him from afar with the tough silk.
The long, flexible weapon made Zhang Yu's situation increasingly difficult.
He not only had to defend against Sun Jiliang and Tian Lizhen's relentless attacks but also remain constantly alert for Zhao Mu's unpredictable silk.
The three surrounded him from all directions.
Even so, Zhang Yu continued fighting while retreating.
His strength wasn't exceptional, but he fought like a cornered beast, completely disregarding his own life.
Because of this suicidal fighting style, Sun Jiliang and Tian Lizhen hesitated to push too aggressively.
After all, risking serious injuries—or even death—to eliminate a single criminal simply wasn't worth it.
---
At that moment, Zhang Yu noticed Zhao Mu's Combat Rating.
Level 7.
Immediately, he identified Zhao Mu as the weakest point in their formation.
With a sudden burst of Spiritual Energy, he clashed head-on with Sun Jiliang.
Then, using the impact, he deliberately launched himself backward—straight toward Zhao Mu.
"Zhao Mu! Don't let him escape!" Sun Jiliang shouted anxiously.
Zhang Yu gripped his broken alloy cane.
Its shattered tip had become jagged and razor-sharp, making it every bit as deadly as a blade.
Meanwhile, seeing Zhang Yu charging directly toward him, Zhao Mu merely smiled faintly.
"So... you're treating me like the weakest link?"
Originally, Zhao Mu hadn't intended to reveal his true strength today.
After all, both Tian Lizhen and Sun Jiliang possessed much higher Combat Levels than he did.
Unfortunately...
He hadn't expected their actual combat ability to be so disappointing.
Despite holding overwhelming advantages in both strength and equipment, they still couldn't defeat someone weaker than themselves.
No wonder Qingfeng Camp forced its trainees to gain real combat experience through missions like these.
If they had been thrown directly onto the beast battlefield, many of them probably wouldn't have survived long.
"Dodge!"
Tian Lizhen shouted anxiously.
If something happened to Zhao Mu on his very first mission, how could they possibly explain it when they returned to Qingfeng Camp?
But Zhao Mu didn't move.
If he stepped aside, Zhang Yu would escape into the darkness.
Once that happened, a desperate outlaw like him might begin slaughtering innocent civilians.
Instead, Zhao Mu reeled in the tough silk.
The silver-blue bracelet on his wrist suddenly burst with dazzling light.
A massive weapon materialized in his hand.
The upgraded Ember Relic—
Extinguish Ember.
Standing in the middle of the narrow street, Zhao Mu gripped the two-meter-long halberd weighing nearly one hundred catties.
He stood there like an unshakable fortress—
One man guarding the pass against ten thousand enemies.
Seeing this, Zhang Yu sneered coldly.
He had never expected a mere Level 7 Ability User to actually stand his ground.
"Arrogant little brat!"
His Spiritual Energy erupted violently.
The alloy cane swept through the air, releasing a crescent-shaped blade of Spiritual Energy that sliced toward Zhao Mu.
Yet Zhao Mu remained perfectly calm.
"Combat Level 18..."
"Although he can release Spiritual Energy beyond his weapon..."
"Its effective range is no more than thirty meters."
"And the farther it travels..."
"The weaker it becomes."
He tightened both hands around Extinguish Ember.
"Then all I have to do..."
"Is smash it head-on."
The black ring tattoo on his fingers suddenly glowed.
Blue light spread across its intricate patterns.
The four Unrestrained Ember Relics activated simultaneously.
Each increased his Spiritual Energy by ten percent.
Together...
They boosted his power by forty percent.
A tremendous surge of strength exploded through Zhao Mu's body.
Without hesitation, he swung the enormous halberd with overwhelming force.
Clang!!
The crescent-shaped blade of Spiritual Energy shattered instantly upon colliding with the Ultimate-Grade Ember Relic.
Not even a fragment remained.
Behind him, Tian Lizhen and Sun Jiliang froze in disbelief.
Just moments ago, they had feared Zhao Mu would be seriously injured.
Instead...
They watched him destroy Zhang Yu's Spiritual Energy attack with a single strike.
________________________________________
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