While the fierce battle between Yun Ji and the Blood Mist Assassins raged on, Jian had already foreseen this exact scenario—him staying at a safe distance while Yun Ji dealt with the enemies. Still, he hadn't expected Yun Ji to show even the slightest struggle against anyone.
But as the twins began burning their life essence to forcibly boost their cultivation, Jian's eyes sharpened. Without hesitation, he retrieved the bow and quiver of arrows he had purchased earlier from Old Man Lee.
Of course, anything Jian Yu bought from Old Man Lee was never ordinary.
These arrows, in particular, were no mere shafts of wood and steel—they could absorb and hold spiritual energy, transforming into deadly conduits of power.
ForJian swiftly passed them to Mo Heng and his other guard, instructing them to pour their own spiritual energy into each arrow. The ongoing clash was so fierce, the assassins were too focused on Yun Ji to notice the quiet, deadly preparation happening just behind them.
Yun Ji's gaze flicked toward Jian and caught sight of the bow now in his hands. His eyes narrowed, then a faint smile curved his lips.
He could feel it—the dense, concentrated spiritual energy building within the arrows. Ordinary arrows could never pierce the defenses of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator… but these? These would carve straight through flesh and bone.
The next moment—swoosh!—a black-fletched arrow ripped through the air and buried itself in the chest of one of the Nascent Soul realm cultivators maintaining the barrier. His eyes went wide in disbelief before his body collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
For a heartbeat, the assassins froze, their formation faltering in confusion. That instant was all Yun Ji needed. With a sharp exhale, he poured his gathered energy into a single, savage strike—his blade sweeping in a vicious diagonal arc toward the weakest point of the barrier.
Crack!
A web of fractures raced across the shimmering wall before it shattered like brittle glass, the fragments of spiritual energy dissolving into the wind.
Yun Ji was already moving. Slipping through the breach, his expression hardened; the playful gleam in his eyes vanished.
No more testing their strength, no more savoring the fight. Now, each step was deliberate, each swing of his blade honed to lethal precision.
Seeing the barrier shattered and Yun Ji now wreaking havoc among the Nascent Soul realm cultivators who had erected it, Bao Ren and Jin Wuye's fury ignited.
Their eyes snapped toward Jian—just in time to see him loose another arrow. It whistled through the air, unerringly finding the heart of another Nascent Soul cultivator, who crumpled lifeless to the ground.
With no more viable targets for their fully charged strike, the twins redirected their attack toward Jian.
"Enough!" Yun Ji's voice thundered, reverberating through the battlefield.
In that moment, he unclasped the retraction bracelet on his wrist—a device given to all cultivators above the Eternal Evolution Realm. Beyond that lay the Saintly Realm, a stage of power so immense that even a casual misstep could level a village of commoners and low-ranked cultivators in an instant.
The bracelet was a mandatory safeguard, sealing away the majority of one's power to prevent accidental devastation.
But as Yun Ji removed it, the suppression shattered. A vast, oppressive energy erupted from his body, making the very air feel heavy.
Appearing directly before the incoming twin strike, he raised a bare hand. The deadly attack, brimming with sinister force, slammed into his palm—only to shrink, compress, and vanish into nothingness.
His gaze swept over the remaining assassins. Slowly, deliberately, he clenched his fist. Instantly, every Nascent Soul realm cultivator dropped where they stood, blood seeping from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Yun Ji had seized control of their spiritual energy from within, bypassing the body's natural defenses and turning their own power against them.
Bao Ren and Jin Wuye, with their much higher cultivation, managed to survive—but their faces were pale, their breathing ragged. The strain of their life-burning technique had left them dangerously weakened.
They exchanged a brief, grim glance. Retreat was the only option now.
Seeing the look they exchanged, Yun Ji's lips curled into a predatory grin.
"If you think you're walking out of here alive with that measly sneeze of life you've got left… you're sorely mistaken."
Before the twins could respond, figures in gleaming armor began appearing around the battlefield, their formation swiftly sealing off every possible escape route. Royal Guards. Their sudden arrival sent a subtle ripple of tension through the air.
In the capital, the removal of a retraction bracelet without a dire, justified reason was a serious offense—especially here, where nobles lived. Many nobles weren't cultivators, but they were vital figures who kept the kingdom's machinery turning. Any reckless show of excessive power risked upsetting the delicate balance.
Commander Lang Fang himself stepped forward, his presence pressing down like a mountain. His eyes swept over the carnage—fallen bodies, the air thick with the copper tang of blood—and his sharp gaze quickly caught the distinctive attire of the slain.
"Blood Mist Assassins," he muttered with a sigh, already recognizing the infamous uniforms. His eyes flicked around until they landed on Jian, standing with his guards in the distance.
Observing the sudden shift in the battlefield, Bao Ren and Jin Wuye's hearts sank. With the Royal Guard here—many of whom were experts in their own right—any hope of escape dissolved into nothingness.
What is that brat doing here? I knew he was trouble… Commander Lang Fang's thoughts darkened as his gaze lingered on Jian.
"Yun Ji!" Lang Fang barked, his voice laced with cold authority. "Because of a few Eternal Evolution Realm cultivators, you removed your retraction bracelet—shaking the entire capital. Even if they are Blood Mist Assassins, I expected more restraint from you." There was mockery threaded through his tone, sharp enough to cut.
Without another word, he blurred forward, appearing directly before the twins. His hands clamped around their throats like iron, and a sinister, refined technique surged from his palms. Bao Ren and Jin Wuye's bodies convulsed as their spiritual defenses crumbled—every scrap of information, every hidden memory, being forcefully torn from their minds.
Realizing what was happening, the twins couldn't risk exposing too much information. With the last shred of willpower they had left, they unleashed a final surge of spiritual energy, ending their own lives on the spot.
Commander Lang Fang caught their lifeless bodies before they hit the ground. His face twisted in disgust as he sifted through the fragments of memory they had left behind. In those few moments, he had seen horrors—inhumane, diabolical acts the Blood Mist Assassins committed in their pursuit of strength and physique.
With a faint scoff, he let their bodies fall to the earth.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished—reappearing right in front of Jian, hand already reaching for him.
But before he could take another step, Yun Ji stepped forward, blocking his view of Jian entirely.
"Lang Fang," Yun Ji's voice was low and cold. "You can do whatever
you want. I don't care. But you won't lay a single hand on my client."