by Feng Yise
No matter what, as long as they entered his attack range, he would just send that Ye Yuan to see King Yama.
. . . . . .
"Young Master, what's wrong?" Lu-er did not understand why Ye Yuan would suddenly blurt out something like that and asked him in puzzlement.
Rather, it was Tang Yu whose vigilance was quite high. The moment Ye Yuan said those words, Tang Yu entire body went on alert.
"Hahaha. It's just a small thief. No big deal," Ye Yuan said without any care.
Lu-er, upon seeing Ye Yuan's casual attitude, took things even less seriously. "But Young Master, where is that bad guy hiding?"
"Oh. Right behind that big boulder. My guess is that he is waiting for us to go over before ambushing us." Ye Yuan gestured with his mouth and gave a smile.
Chou Ying's emotions which had just relaxed, once again tightened with Ye Yuan's words. Wasn't he behind a big boulder right now?
However, this place was filled with piles of rocks and stones; even gigantic boulders were everywhere. How would that guy know which boulder he was hiding behind?
Still trying to draw me out?
I, Chou Ying, am a professional killer. How could I possibly be goaded out using this super weak goading technique?
"Hey, the state of your heart is in disorder. That's not good." Ye Yuan's voice drifted over once again.
Chou Ying reacted with a violent shudder.
As an assassin, Chou Ying always felt that the state of his heart had already been trained to a realm where he was unaffected by any disturbances. However, those two sentences by Ye Yuan really disrupted the state of his heart.
How was this possible?! The other party is only a First Level Essence Qi Realm rookie!
Could it be that he really discovered me? He wasn't bluffing?
Right at this moment, Ye Yuan's demon-like voice drifted into his ears once again. "How about this? I will throw a rock over. If I hit the correct one, you come out; if I hit wrongly, then I will carry on walking. How's that?"
The moment the voice stopped, Chou Yin heard a whoosh, followed by the crisp sound of a small rock hitting a boulder. The boulder that he was leaning against . . .
Chou Ying realized that he was out of luck. Ye Yuan truly knew that he was hiding here and was not trying to trick him.
Revealing himself, Chou Ying discovered three youths staring right at him. Among them, one of the youths had a weird smile on his face, who also happened to be the target he was sent to assassinate: Ye Yuan.
"How did you discover me?" Chou Ying asked with a dark face.
He was unable to understand how a First Level Essence Qi Realm rookie could discover him. Right now, what he wanted to know the most was where his concealment went wrong, in order to make improvements after today's mission.
As for whether or not these three people in front of him posed a threat, that was something he had never even considered!
How was it possible for a Mosha's Bronze Rank assassin to be defeated by three rookies?
"Want to know how? Not going to tell you!" Ye Yuan looked as if he was not willing to, and it was also impossible for him to answer Chou Ying's question.
He could not possibly tell Chou Ying that this body contained a super amazing soul.
"Courting death!" Right when Chou Ying was about to strike, he suddenly stopped. "Yii? To think he's actually at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm? The information doesn't match!"
Chapter 22 - Instant Flash
Chou Ying spent the past two days observing Ye Yuan from afar, so he was not aware of Ye Yuan's transformation. Now that he was facing Ye Yuan, he realized that his assassination target was already at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm.
To Chou Ying, there was not much difference between the First Level Essence Qi Realm and the Third Level Essence Qi Realm. An opponent like this was basically an instant kill for him.
Every three levels in the Essence Qi Realm was considered as one stage. Even though there was only a difference of one stage between the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm and the Third Level Essence Qi Realm, one should not underestimate it, as the difference in strength was huge. It was not difficult for a person at the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm to face off against five or six people at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm.
As Chou Ying was two stages above Ye Yuan, he did not feel that Ye Yuan posed any threat to him.
What made Chou Ying uncertain was whether the employer's information was wrong, or it was this youth in front of him that was too monstrous?
Chou Ying would rather choose to believe the former. After all, only two to three days had passed since the mission was issued. To train from the First Level Essence Qi Realm to the Third Level Essence Qi Realm in two to three days?
Was this a joke?
"Brother Ye, this person is very troublesome to deal with. In a while, I will delay him; you and Lu-er quickly rush off! The academy is only around ten miles from here. The two of you quickly go and get help!" Wielding his sword, Tang Yu positioned himself in front of Ye Yuan and Lu-er.
He could feel the killing intent emanating out of Chou Ying, yet he could not see through Chou Ying's abilities. He knew that this time around, they had met a tough character. Not only did Ye Yuan save Tang Zonghuai's life, but he also gave him a high-level medicinal pill. It could be said that Tang Yu owed Ye Yuan a great debt of gratitude. What Tang Yu was doing now was risking his life to repay the debt.
Although Tang Yu was also a genius student from the Dan Wu Academy, when compared to Chou Yin who had been through hundreds of battles, regardless whether it was strength or experience, he was too lacking. Staying behind naturally meant certain death.
Among the three of them, Tang Yu's strength was the greatest. Hence, he did not hesitate at all to stand out.
Seeing Tang Yu's appearance as if he was about to face a great enemy, Lu-er also started to become nervous. "Young Master, run away first! Big Brother Tang and I will cover your retreat!"
When Ye Yuan saw Lu-er standing in front of him, he could not help but to laugh. "Silly girl, what can you do by staying behind. Move away."
"No way! I'm not moving!" Lu-er said stubbornly.
Looking at Tang Yu's and Lu-er's actions, Ye Yuan found it hilarious, yet he was extremely touched in his heart.
One can only see true feelings during a crisis. Lu-er's actions were within Ye Yuan's expectations. However, he had only just met Tang Yu a few days ago. Even if he had saved Tang Yu's father and gave him an Exploding Yuan Pill, someone who lacked resolution would have long fled for his life.
One had to know, with Chou Ying's strength, without any accident, the three of them would undoubtedly die.
"Hahaha. What a touching scene! Ye Yuan, it is fine if you don't say anything. But this young lady looks rather ravishing, in a while . . ." Chou Ying started laughing wildly.
At this point, Chou Ying was confident that this Ye Yuan definitely cultivated some technique, or he had some treasure on him, which was how Ye Yuan found his location.
Such a technique or even a treasure like that was tremendously useful to him. Hence, he felt that no matter what, he had to force an answer out.
Furthermore, Lu-er was indeed tempting. Why would he let go of this chance?
"You guys, make way!" Ye Yuan pushed Lu-er and Tang Yu aside and stood in front. He still had a smile on his face, except now, that smile became ice-cold.
An inexplicable chill suddenly filled his heart. It made Chou Ying shuddered.
What's going on?
Chou Ying had killed at least a hundred, if not eighty people. He initially already had an ice-cold air around his body. Even if a Spirit Condensation Realm martial artist were to stand in front of him right now, it would be impossible to make him shudder. Yet when he was facing this Third Level Essence Qi Realm brat, he actually felt a chill?
Chou Ying felt that everything that had happened today was too abnormal. This was supposedly a mission that was simple without a doubt. Why did things be
come so bizarre?
"You and I originally had no grudges. Initially, I only wanted to try things out with you seeing as you are helping others avert disaster by taking their money. But since you dare to have ideas about Lu-er, then don't blame me for taking your life."
Ye Yuan's words revealed a bone-piercing chill.
At this point, Ye Yuan swallowed a medicinal pill; something that he refined before setting off.
Since he knew that this journey would be dangerous, Ye Yuan naturally would not be unprepared.
This medicinal pill was named Five Elements Spirit Link Pill; it was refined using medicinal herbs having five different attributes being metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. An Essence Qi Realm martial artist, after consuming it, could directly raise their strength by an entire stage for a period of time!
"Hahaha. This is hilarious! I want to see how a Third Level Essence Qi Realm brat like you can take my life!"
Chou Ying's emotion was nowhere as calm as what he was showing on his face currently. In reality, he only used these words to encourage himself, to chase away the shadow that was shrouding his heart.
At this moment, schwing! Chou Ying's sword left its scabbard.
As a killer, Chou Ying would stoop to anything to kill his opponent. Nobody said that you could not do a sneak attack during a frontal battle. A moment ago, Chou Ying was still talking and laughing, and the next moment, his sword already reached in front of Ye Yuan.
"Brother Ye (Young Master), be careful!" Tang Yu and Lu-er shouted in unison.
However, their cries were not faster than Chou Ying's sword. By the time they reacted, Chou Ying's sword had already stabbed through Ye Yuan's body.
"Young Master!"
"Brother Ye!"
Looking at this scene, Tang Yu and Lu-er gave a heart-piercing cry.
Chou Ying felt that something was wrong. His sword obviously passed through Ye Yuan's body, but why his hand did not feel anything?
The reason why Chou Ying drew his sword so quickly was not only because he was cautious, but also because the uneasiness in his heart had become increasingly stronger.
He watched as Ye Yuan swallowed that medicinal pill. Although he did not believe that Ye Yuan could threaten him just by eating some pills, as a person who had always been cautious, he did not hesitate at all before drawing his sword.
Only a dead person could make one rest easy.
However, he clearly had killed Ye Yuan. But why was this ominous feeling in his heart still there?
At this moment, Ye Yuan who was stabbed by Chou Ying gradually dissipated and then turned into nothingness.
What Chou Ying stabbed was actually just an afterimage!
"Hey, it's very dangerous for you to show your back to the enemy."
Ye Yuan's voice made Chou Ying went stiff.
How is this possible?! I already stabbed him!
"Instant Flash! It's actually Instant Flash!" Tang Yu exclaimed.
"Young Master! It's great that you are fine!" Lu-er shouted, pleasantly surprised.
"Hahaha. Of course I'm fine. How can your young master die so easily?" Ye Yuan said with a smile.
"Brother Ye actually managed to master such difficult footwork. Furthermore, your use of it was absolutely superb. What a genius!" Tang Yu marveled at this show of ability.
"Just a trifling skill."
To other people, Instant Flash was an incredibly profound footwork which was exceedingly hard to comprehend. However, to Ye Yuan, this level of footwork did not possess any challenge.
Instant Flash might look impressive, but it was actually only a footwork technique that allowed the user to move freely in a small radius. It was merely a Tier 1 Martial Technique, something that was not very profound.
However, this footwork encompassed Heavenly Dao, making it easy to learn but challenging to master. An ordinary person who wanted to master it would find it incredibly difficult. Even within the Dan Wu Academy, Instant Flash was a highly challenging technique with hardly anyone able to master it.
However, this level of Heavenly Dao was not worth mentioning to Ye Yuan who once had possessed an incredibly high cultivation level.
Chapter 23 - I Will Only Use One Finger
As a matter of fact, there were still some advantages in Ye Hang sending Ye Yuan to the Dan Wu Academy. That fellow at the very least will attend a few classes and pick up some stuff.
Although these things were not worth mentioning to the current Ye Yuan, it was still a pretty decent option for fooling people.
With Ye Yuan's current strength, Instant Flash was a practical martial technique, yet not overly conspicuous.
Even though this martial technique faintly encompassed Heavenly Dao, in reality, it just barely touched a corner of it; it did not even count as crossing the threshold.
Ye Yuan spent the past few days reorganizing his predecessor's memories. By relying on these vague impressions from his predecessor's classes, he managed to fumble out several basic martial techniques with Instant Flash being one of it.
In reality, while the Instant Flash that Ye Yuan executed seemed right, it was actually different. But by executing it with Ye Yuan's comprehension, it was only stronger and not weaker than those demonstrated by the teachers in the academy.
"No wonder you dare to not bring along followers. To think that your Instant Flash already reached such a level. Very impressive! Looks like the appraisal of you in the report was fairly misleading."
Chou Ying naturally knew that Instant Flash was not a unique martial technique. However, as Instant Flash was a footwork technique with only a small range of motion, it was not very useful for assassination. This was why he did not study it much.
Mastery of a martial technique could be classified into several categories. From low to high respectively: entry stage, small success stage, large success stage, great circle stage, and the legendary breaking illusion stage.
Even so, Chou Ying knew that for Instant Flash to leave behind an afterimage, it had to reach at least the great circle stage. To be able to train such an amazing movement technique to the great circle stage, as long as he did not meet any martial artists specializing in movement technique and the opponent was at the Essence Qi Realm and below, he basically had the ability to self-preserve.
No wonder this brat dared to be so arrogant, he really had some capabilities.
As an assassin, Chou Ying naturally had a movement technique that he specialized in. However, his movement technique was only trained till the large success stage. There was still quite a bit of distance away from the great circle stage.
It would be wrong to think that there was only a small difference of one realm between the large success stage and the great circle stage. For mastery of a martial technique, it was as far apart as heaven and earth.
The great circle stage would mean training the martial technique to the pinnacle, without any further room for improvements. Except for those monsters who possessed incredible comprehension, it would be very difficult to train a martial technique to the great circle stage.
As for the legendary breaking illusion stage, it would mean to break out of the great circle stage and create an alternate possibility; a sort of evolution from the original martial technique.
The requirements needed to train a martial technique to the breaking illusion stage were so harsh that it made one's hair stand on its end. That was why it was considered a legendary stage. Generally speaking, training a martial technique to the great circle stage represented attaining the highest stage.
Chou Yin had always been somewhat confident of his movements, but he did not want to lose to a silkpants.
"You flattered me. But there are no bonus marks. You still have to die," Ye Yuan said lightly.
"Hahaha!" As if he just heard a hilarious joke, Chou Yin laughed wildly before saying, "To not know the immensity of heaven and earth! I admit that my movements are inferior when compared to you. But I don't think those two people beside you also have move
ment techniques at the great circle stage, do they? I'd like to see how a weak silkpants at the Third Level Essence Qi Realm like you going to receive my blow directly!"
Chou Ying was a veteran in battles. After missing that one strike, he immediately looked for another way. Obviously, the two people beside Ye Yuan were his biggest weakness.
Tang Yu was still fine, but Lu-er was a lamb waiting to be slaughtered in Chou Ying's eyes.
Your movement technique is fast? What's the use of you being fast if I force you to fight me head-on?
Yet at this moment, that wild smile froze on his face; what replaced it was bafflement.
Because at this moment, Ye Yuan's aura started to increase explosively under everyone's perception.
Peak Third Level Essence Qi Realm!
Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm!
Fifth Level Essence Qi Realm!
Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm!
Ye Yuan's cultivation realm broke through its bottleneck from the Third Level Essence Qi Realm to the Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm and continued rising rapidly; all the way until it passed the Sixth Level Essence Qi Realm before stopping.
Looking at this scene, Chou Ying was dumbstruck and forgot to make his move for a moment.
"H-how is this possible?" Chou Ying s.u.c.k.e.d in a cold breath.
He suddenly recalled the scene where Ye Yuan swallowed the medicinal pill and thought to himself; could this possibly be the effects of that medicinal pill?
Even though he had heard that some medicinal pills were able to increase strength temporarily, this was his first time seeing a medicinal pill which could increase three small cultivation realms in a row.
Chou Ying could not help but think that if he had a medicinal pill like this, wouldn't completing missions be as simple as cutting up vegetables?
Yet the reality was that a rookie who had a difference of four small cultivation realms from him, in a blink of an eye, created a gap by only one small cultivation realm than him . . .