Chapter 1: Being Chased
'Tud, tud, tud!'
The sound of the horse's hoofs hitting the ground could be heard in a grassy land.
The figure on top of the horse wore a black cloak over her body and her face was covered by a black shiny fox mask that somehow looked ferocious and cold.
One couldn't distinguish whether the figure was a male or a female but the slightly petite body and the slender waist could make one guess that it was a girl of at least 13-15 years old. But the cold and blood thirsty light flashing inside the deep black eyes couldn't match her age at all.
"Hya! Give chase! Give chase! Don't let her run away!!" Behind the girl, many men dressed in same white robe of a cult were chasing after her on their horses with whips, swords or arrows in their hands.
They all looked ferocious and looked strong. Especially the man at the middle who looked like the leader of the group gave out a strong feeling from him.
The gallop of the horses rang out very loud in the quiet night and the shouts of the assassins sounded very eerie and ferocious.
The horses galloped from the grassy lands to the nearby forest as the girl dodged the arrows shot at her and shot back poison darts from her sleeves that hit 3 men in an instant.
"Ahhh!!" The men cried out in great pain and died in a terrible way.
The poison was so lethal that the men's bodies turned blue and purple and bled from all their orifices.
A man in his thirties aimed his arrow on the horse's leg and shot it down which made the horse neigh painfully and raised its front legs up high.
The girl quickly reacted and got off the horse then shot out the remaining poison darts on the man and other 4 men.
The girl then ran away from there taking advantage of the dark in the forest to hide.
They were now deep inside the forest and it was very dark so it was difficult to see which direction they came or which one to go to.
But the assassins and the girl didn't panic at all as if they were used to such situations. The assassins unmounted their horses and unsheathed their swords.
The girl was hidden behind a large tree that could even hide 5 more men easily and looked at the assassins with her cold eyes. The assassins were coming near her location with their swords pointed towards her.
Her big black eyes sparkled in the dark with coldness and intelligence.
Just when the assassins charged towards her hidden place, they found that she was already gone.
The captain made a sign to the men and they nodded after understanding his commands.
They then separated into two groups of 5 men. Only 10 were remaining after all the chase and many other assassins were engaged with the girl's subordinates when they separated before.
One group went towards the other place to search while the remaining stayed there in case she appeared again.
They looked around cautiously and came towards the point where she hid just now.
They were too focused around their surroundings and it was too dark so they didn't notice the black figure hidden on top of a branch of that same tree, looking at the 5 men as if looking at her prey.
She unsheathed her silvery blue sword that gave out a feeling of ice cold sharpness which seemed to be able to cut anyone with just a look at its sharp edges.
Just when the 5 men reached the point she hid before, she jumped at them silently and stabbed at the neck of a man.
"Ugh!" The man could only let out a muffled groan and died under her sword.
The others were startled and immediately charged at her. She dodged the sword slashing towards her neck as she ducked and kicked the man on the stomach.
"Argh!" The man clutched on his stomach and groaned when his back hit the tree.
The next moment, his head rolled down from his body after being cut by the girl's sharp sword.
"Don't panic! She is only one little bitch! We can kill her easily!" One man shouted at the 2 men who were scared by her overwhelming power and glared at the girl with his vicious eyes.
"Yeah, she is only one girl! The captain and others might have already heard the noise and must be coming towards us. We can kill her easily!" Another echoed after they thought about it.
The girl continued looking at them indifferently as if they were just some pigs about to get slaughtered.
The 3 men then charged at her again, one at the right, one at the left and the other at her back. A normal person might be in a great danger when being attacked like this but the girl didn't show any signs of panic nor fear.
Just as the three got nearer, she lifted her sword vertically and said in a low voice,
"Blooming lotus"
Then suddenly the surrounding seemed to have slowed down and the three men looked like running in slow motion. The girl grabbed her sword that was now glowing in white light tightly and twisted her body as it cut through the three men, the sword making a circular arc.
Right after she finished the arc and stood still, the 3 men suddenly turned stiff and their head rolled from their shoulders and blood spurted out of their neck like lotuses blooming in the water.
The blood immediately soaked the girl's petite body but she seemed to not notice it at all. She quickly left from the spot and stealthily searched for the remaining assassins.
She found 2 men behind a tree and silently went behind them, killing them without a sound like a phantom.
She dealt with two more but the fight immediately attracted the attention of the captain.
"Hah! So you finally decide to show yourself! Xue Ling! Don't you ever think that you will get out of here alive tonight!" The man who was also the captain and the strongest person among assassins shouted at the girl.
The girl who was called Xue Ling by the man looked at him with cold eyes.
" Fu Zhang, you must be dreaming. If I, Xue Ling want to get out of here alive then even the gods can't stop me so who are you to talk?" The girl's sweet but cold voice rang in the forest.
"Hmph! Just because you are the youngest genius and the leader of one of the strongest cult doesn't mean that you can talk to your elders like this. You are just an ignorant little lass who doesn't know much about the world. You should just give up and give me the godly artifact! I might consider to leave your body intact." Fu Zhang said in a voice that seemed to indicate that he was doing her a favour instead.
" Keep on dreaming!" Xue Ling shouted and charge towards him with her sword. Fu Zhang saw that and waved his sword to block the attack but was pushed back 2 steps.
This made his face become more serious and murderous intent flashed through his eyes.
'This lass is indeed worthy of being called the youngest genius! She should only be 12-14 years old but she already achieved such great heights in martial arts that even I was pushed back. No, I shouldn't let her live!'
Fu Zhang thought and his attacks became more ferocious and lethal. Xue Ling noticed that and her eyes darkened.
' To think that the news about me having a godly artifact would somehow be leaked and chased like this. This Fu Zhang isn't some small figure like those I killed before. I can sense that he is at 2nd stage of Martial King . I am at the 4th stage of Martial King but because of the long chase, my internal energy is almost depleted. I should finish this fight quickly or else it will be dangerous for me.'
Xue Ling thought to herself and her attacks became more quicker and stronger.
The two engaged in a life and death match in which one could die immediately if he/she lost their concentration even a bit.
After a long fight between them, the sword in Fu Zhang's hand cut Xue Ling's arm, leaving behind a ghastly wound.
"Ah!" Xue Ling clutched her left arm where a deep wound was cut by Fu Zhang. Her figure was disheveled as her black cloak was torn and there were many wounds on her body that were bleeding so much. Her eyes under the black mask were becoming blurry because of the exhaustion from the fight and she was standing unsteadily.
But Fu Zhang wasn't in any better condition either. His left eye was blinded and there were more fatal and serious wounds on his body. He was standing with the support of his sword. His eyes glaring at her.
Fu Zhang already knew that he would die tonight after the fight but he was unwilling to die so easily. He would at least take her down to hell together with him!
He decided right there and his inner energy began to rush inside his body which inflated his body slightly.
"Xue Ling! You must think that this is over now? Heh! I will drag you to hell with me! Let's die together!!"
Sensing the chaotic rise of inner energy inside his body, Xue Ling opened her eyes wide.
"Not good!" She gritted her teeth and ran far from him but he chased after her, unwilling to let her off.
She grabbed her sword tightly and swung it at his leg and cut off his right leg.
"Ahhh!!" He wailed in pain and dropped to the ground, his body still inflating like a balloon.
Xue Ling took this chance to run away but suddenly!
"BOOM!!"
Fu Zhang's body exploded, the inner energy from his body rushing out with great force of a Martial King. All the nearby trees and rocks were smashed and uprooted.
Xue Ling was also hit by the inner force and was flung far away in the air and hit a tree. She spat out mouthful of blood, her body feeling like it was torn apart, her inner force becoming weak. She bit her bloody lips, trying hard to keep her consciousness.
If she didn't do anything quickly, she will die at this rate!
She then pressed on some accupoints on her body and finally the inner energy was sealed up temporarily.
She finally couldn't fight against the dizziness and collapsed on the ground.
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