Captain Lin and Vice-Captain Feng, veterans of countless skirmishes, instantly recognized the golden opportunity Xiao Yu had just created.
"Lightning Flash Cross!"
"Gale Execution!"
Lin and Feng surged forward with their remaining strength. A blinding cross of silver lightning and a condensed spear of wind slammed simultaneously into the disrupted Da Dou Shi. The sheer concussive force shattered their ribs and ruptured their hearts. The two men were thrown backward into the bamboo, dead before they hit the ground.
Lin and Feng collapsed onto their knees, panting heavily, their weapons lowering as Xiao Yu ran over to support them.
Yoriichi did not relax. His crimson eyes slowly scanned the dark perimeter.
Clap... Clap... Clap...
The sound of slow, mocking applause echoed from the edge of the clearing.
A new man slowly walked out from the whispering bamboo. He wore an immaculate, pristine version of the Demon Flame Valley robes. He wasn't burly or scarred; he looked like a refined scholar, but the aura rolling off him was suffocatingly heavy. As he stepped forward, the misty fog of the bamboo forest was physically pushed away by the sheer density of his natural pressure.
"The Law Enforcement Unit of Jia Nan Academy truly lives up to its name," the man said smoothly, his eyes sweeping over the dead bodies of his subordinates with complete indifference. "To kill two high-tier Da Dou Shis while at a realm disadvantage... impressive."
He then directed his gaze to Xiao Yu, who was panting hard, her whip drooping. "And that girl... generating an ice like domain that can freeze the blood of seasoned killers. Monstrous."
The one-armed assassin emerged from the shadows behind the man, pointing his remaining finger directly at Yoriichi, who was still slumped near the birds.
"Senior," the assassin hissed, his eyes gleaming with malicious triumph. "I told you about that boy. His sword technique is incredible, but there are other secrets you may like to know. His physical strength and elemental purity are not one bit less monstrous than his sister's."
The man laughed, a rich, chilling sound. "Okay... that will be very good. You will get the rewards as promised for this information. A mutated bloodline and physique... the Valley Master will be exceptionally pleased with these test subjects."
"No hurry, Senior," the assassin gloated, stepping back into the safety of the man's shadow. "Their Dou Qi is spent. They wouldn't be able to face your great power with their puny, exhausted strengths."
The man smiled. He did not bother hiding his cultivation. A massive, towering aura erupted from his body, solidifying into a thick, dark-red armor of pure energy across his skin that radiated a scorching, suffocating heat. The bamboo stalks within a ten-foot radius of him instantly withered and turned to ash simply from his ambient temperature.
A One-Star Dou Ling.
Captain Lin gritted her teeth, her heart sinking into her stomach. A Da Dou Shi could fight a group of Dou Shi. But a Dou Ling could slaughter a dozen of Da Dou Shi without breaking a sweat. The realm gap was an insurmountable canyon.
"You will regret this," Lin spat, forcing herself to stand, raising her trembling saber. "If you touch us, the Academy will hunt your Valley to the ends of the continent."
The Dou Ling paused, feigning contemplation. "Perhaps. So, let me offer you a choice. If you two Enforcers drop your weapons and officially join our faction right now... I will spare your lives. I will even reward you with high-tier cultivation pills. I only need the two siblings."
"No!" the Enforcers shouted simultaneously.
Without a shred of hesitation, Lin, Feng, and Xiao Yu dashed forward, launching a desperate, three-pronged assault against the Dou Ling.
Yoriichi was now standing, leaning heavily on a bamboo stalk. His eyes were wide open, observing the hopeless clash.
His Dou Qi had somewhat recovered, the milky-white liquid in his Dantian stabilizing, but his physical vessel was completely shot. His muscles were torn, his bones aching. He knew, with absolute certainty, that he could not run, nor could he match a Dou Ling in a contest of kinetic speed or brute force.
'If I clash with him directly, my blade will instantly shatter, and my arms will be ripped from their sockets,' Yoriichi analyzed with terrifying coldness.
He noticed the Dou Ling had cleared the mist around him using his dense aura, maintaining perfect visibility to toy with the Enforcers.
'Visibility is his advantage. Speed is his weapon. I must strip him of both. If I can somehow recreate the dense, foggy landscape of the wetlands... I will have a single chance. A fatal strike, delivered completely blind, relying entirely on my Transparent World instincts.'
Yoriichi closed his eyes.
He blocked out the sounds of the frantic battle, the screams of the falcons, and the mocking laughter of the man. He retreated entirely into his own ancient mind. He pictured the humid, suffocating thermal vents of the Blistering Haze Wetlands. He analyzed the humidity of the bamboo sea surrounding them.
'Water and Fire. Yin and Yang. Do not clash them perfectly. Let the heat boil the water. Let the steam rise.'
Twenty yards away, the battle was reaching its inevitable conclusion. The realm gap was simply too massive.
Captain Lin unleashed her most desperate attack, a blinding spear of compressed lightning, aiming directly for the Dou Ling's heart. The man didn't even attempt to dodge. He simply let the lightning strike his dark-red energy armor, where it grounded out and shattered into harmless sparks with a dull thud.
Vice-Captain Feng tried to flank him, his wind blades slicing toward the man's neck, but the Dou Ling casually raised a single hand. He grabbed Feng by the throat mid-air, lifting the Peak Dou Shi off the ground as if he weighed nothing, and violently slammed him into a thick bamboo trunk, shattering the wood and knocking Feng completely unconscious.
Xiao Yu screamed, lashing her icy whip toward his eyes. The extreme Yin cold of her attack evaporated into steam before the leather even touched his skin, entirely neutralized by the Dou Ling's oppressive, fiery domain.
The Dou Ling, having enjoyed playing with the prestigious students of a rival faction, casually backhanded the exhausted Lin to the ground, and easily shattered the remaining frozen tip of Xiao Yu's whip with a flick of his wrist, sending her crashing into the dirt beside her seniors.