For a moment, the only response to Captain Lin's furious demand was the eerie, continuous rustling of the Sea of Whispering Bamboos.
Then, slowly, silently, three distinct silhouettes emerged from the misty fog hanging over the forest floor. They stepped into the dim starlight, their auras rolling off them in oppressive, heavy waves.
They wore identical, sleek black robes, but what immediately drew the eye was the intricate, dark-red embroidery of a twisting flame stitched over their left breasts.
Captain Lin's lightning Dou Qi hitched. Her severe expression hardened into a mask of pure, absolute hostility.
"Wait..." Lin breathed, her grip on her saber tightening until her knuckles popped. "I recognize that insignia. You are from the Demon Flame Valley? What is a premier dark faction from the Black-Corner Region doing so deep in Jia Nan territory? Do you want to start a full-scale war with the Academy?"
The man standing in the center, a burly brute with a jagged scar running down his jaw, chuckled darkly. He casually drew a wicked, curved hunting knife, lazily running his tongue flat across the flat of the steel.
"Ah, the beauty is sharp as well as fierce," the man sneered, his eyes roving over Lin's form. "War? No, no. We just came here for a little fun. No offense intended to the great academy."
The man to his right, slightly leaner but radiating the same foul, bloodthirsty aura, completely ignored the Law Enforcers. His greedy, predatory gaze was locked entirely onto Xiao Yu, tracing the curve of her long legs and her striking, frosty-silver hair.
"Hmm... that silver-haired girl looks exquisite," the leaner man licked his lips. "Why don't you ladies drop those heavy weapons and join us? We promise to show you a much better time than these rigid academy brats."
Before Captain Lin could unleash a torrent of lightning at the insult, the third figure stepped forward from the shadows.
He was still draped in a heavy, tattered cloak, but the right sleeve hung completely empty, pinned uselessly to his side. It was the assassin from the waterfall cave.
When the assassin's eyes swept over Xiao Yu and Yoriichi, his pupils violently contracted. The sheer, condensed density of their auras was impossible to ignore.
"Fools! Stop your mindless barking!" the assassin snapped at his two companions, his voice laced with genuine panic and residual hatred. "Can you not sense their foundations? They progressed far too quickly! They must have already consumed my natural treasure. If you do not focus your full strength right here, right now, you will end up with my fate!"
The burly man with the knife clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed. "Ah, okay, okay. You're so boring since you lost your arm. Let's see what these 'geniuses' can do."
The banter vanished instantly. The two Demon Flame Valley men erupted with dark-red Dou Qi, their High Da Dou Shi auras violently suppressing the clearing. They didn't hesitate; they charged forward like rabid wolves.
Captain Lin and Vice-Captain Feng roared in unison, stepping forward to intercept them.
CLANG! BOOM!
The clearing exploded into a chaotic melee of clashing elements. Lin's silver lightning whipped through the bamboo, clashing violently against the burly man's heavy, flame-coated knife strikes. Feng's Gale Pierce techniques deflected the leaner man's rapid martial arts.
However, the power disparity was immediately apparent. Lin and Feng was at 5 and 2-Star Da Dou Shi realms respectively. The two Demon Flame Valley thugs were seasoned, ruthless veterans sitting comfortably at the 7 and 8-Star Da Dou Shi levels. The Enforcers were instantly pushed onto the defensive, struggling desperately to hold the line.
Seeing the sheer pressure falling on her seniors, Xiao Yu's pink-red eyes flashed.
"Ning'er, stay still. Recover your strength," Xiao Yu commanded her exhausted brother.
She immediately dashed forward, her azure whip uncoiling with a sharp crack, targeting the one-armed assassin.
But the assassin, possessing a profound, instinctual fear of the siblings after his previous encounter, had no intention of fighting her head-on. As Xiao Yu's icy whip lashed out, he merely sneered, channeling his Dou Qi into his legs. He blurred into the bamboo stalks, using a high-tier movement technique to effortlessly dodge her strike.
Xiao Yu pursued him, lashing out continuously, freezing the bamboo stalks as she chased him into the forest.
Yet, even with only one arm, he was still a Da Dou Shi. His sheer kinetic speed outclassed hers. He continuously ran, dodging her strikes, leading her further and further away from the main group.
As the distance grew, Xiao Yu abruptly stopped her pursuit. Her boots dug into the dirt.
'He isn't attacking. He is just kiting me,' Xiao Yu's tactical mind rapidly assessed the situation. 'He is a distraction. He wants to separate us so his companions can butcher the Enforcers without interference.'
Realizing the trap, Xiao Yu immediately abandoned the assassin. She spun around and sprinted back toward the main clearing.
She arrived just as the battle reached a critical tipping point. Lin and Feng were bleeding, their Dou Qi reserves draining rapidly. The two Demon Flame Valley men leaped backward simultaneously, channeling a massive surge of dark-red energy into their weapons.
"Demon Flame Cleaver!" they roared in unison, preparing to unleash their signature, fight-ending techniques.
"Phantom Slide!"
A silent, frosty whisper pierced the air.
Xiao Yu didn't attack them directly. She slithered across the forest floor, violently lashing her whip across the ground beneath the two men. Unknowingly, as she executed the move, the absolute, primordial pressure of her bloodline leaked from her Dantian, washing over the clearing.
The two Da Dou Shi felt a sudden, terrifying chill pierce their meridians. Their Dou Qi circulation stuttered for a fraction of a second.
It was a microscopic disruption, but in high-level combat, it was fatal.
Before they could fully manifest their fiery cleavers, a barrage of jagged ice spikes erupted from the ground beneath their feet, slicing deep into their calves and disrupting their stances entirely.