Two ruthless blue eyes stared in their direction, the same blue eyes that Xiao Wu had come to recognize as those of the elder brother that would kindly help her whenever she would find herself in trouble. Yet now, those eyes had such a scary expression that she couldn't believe that they were the same!
Fu Yin kicked off the ground and charged towards the group: Xiao Wu was in front of them all and she would also be the first victim! She knew she could not dodge the blow from Fu Yin's spears now, it was too late to summon her Martial Ways too!
She could not bear to look at the tip of the spear getting closer and closer so she shut her eyes and waited...
Suddenly, she heard a voice in her head. It probably was just her imagination but she still listened to it.
Why? Why did you close your eyes?
She answered dejectedly 'I am waiting...'
For what?
She bit her lips and answered 'For pain'
What pain?
'The one that I am feeling right now'
What are you feeling right now?
'...'
Xiao Wu's eyes snapped open: she was fine! She turned just in time to see Fu Yin's fierce expression as she passed by her. She was confused: he did not attack neither her, nor her companions, why would he do that?
'He's heading straight for Fai Lan! Does he want to kill him first?' Xiao Wu noticed and was about to yell "Stop, don't do it" when...
*Clang*
Fu Yin's spears changed directions and headed straight towards Salomon's head and torso, before getting blocked by his large blade. Fu Yin turned in mid air and put himself in between Salomon and the group, his eyes once again turning lifeless from its previous fierce expression.
Fai Lan felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck and when he checked he found a small cut. The cut was made by a sharp object with an edge, yet Fu Yin didn't have any weapons such as that...
"Leader, watch out, this guy is not Salomon! That guy also wasn't our eleventh comrade, they are both imposters!" Fu Yin yelled and once again kicked off the ground to chase after Salomon.
Hearing his words, the tall red haired burly man grinned as he peeled off the fake skin covering his face: the fake Solomon was actually a thirty-something years old man. He had the same brown hair as Fan Lai did and his facial features were also similar.
"Very smart of you, Fu Yin, it seems like you really do have a bit of ability to stop my blade with so little time... I am impressed" the man burst out laughing and blocked another blow from Fu Yin's spears.
"Fan Zai! What are you doing here!" Fan Lai's expression turned fiercer as he gritted his teeth "Where is Solomon?"
Fan Zai smiled "Oh, your dog? Right now he is in the clan's basement, scheduled to be executed soon! It seems to me that you care more about your little pet than your elder brother! Now..."
Fan Zai's smile disappeared and his cocky attitude turned into a ruthless gaze as he lifted the blade in his hands "Prepare to die, my junior brother! I will be the heir of the clan, not a snot faced brat like you!"
Fan Lai exhaled to calm himself down and analyze the situation with a bird eye's view. Finally, he slowly spoke.
"We both know that you have no chances right now to fight me directly. You are still in the low level Advanced stage. You are hiding your cultivation but I remember clearly the strength of any potential enemies in the clan! You don't have enough strength to get past Fu Yin!"
Fu Yin grinned and rubbed his nose "I see you place great value in my skill! You can count on me then, boss! You forgave and placed your faith in me so I will repay your effort! This piece of trash should not even dream of laying his filthy hands on you a second time!"
Xiao Wu recovered from the shock and smiled: yes, this was the Fu Yin he knew, the young teen that would put his life on the line and do his best to protect his brothers and sisters.
Fan Zai grinned and snapped his fingers "Of course that would be the case... If I were alone!"
When he said that, more than a hundred figures wearing robes appeared: they didn't conceal their cultivation and they were all either peak Basic stage or low level Advanced stage cultivators!
They slowly approached them and when Xiao Wu tried to back away, she realized that she didn't have anymore space to do that: they had been cornered! Seeing the dozens of black figures in front of her she realized that there was little to no chance of her being able to escape...
"Fu Yin! How many do you think you can take on all at once?" Fan Lai's voice wasn't trembling, however it was clear that even he didn't see much of a chance of survival in this situation.
"Is this a bad moment to show off saying that I can take on twenty of them all at once? I'm a genius after all" Fu Yin joked but tightened his grip on the two spears "Everybody, get behind me! If you are too scattered I will have no chance to help you!"
Xiao Wu looked at the situation she got herself in and realized that there was virtually no way that Fu Yin would be able to protect the lot of them alone, especially if the opponents decided to attack all at once.
"Brother Fu Yin! Let me help you!" Xiao Wu stepped forward and summoned the sword and shield made out of Aura "Leave those below the Basic stage for me to deal with, but don't let anybody stronger pass through!"
At first, Fu Yin was taken aback but then smiled and nodded "An Aura Scholar at that age... You are talented sis! What a surprise!"
Xiao Wu pouted "Speaks an Aura Grandmaster that most powerful families dream of engaging..."
They both chuckled and then focused on the task of holding back the army of hundreds of black robed people. In her mind, Xiao Wu was secretly calculating.
'I can take care of those below Advanced stage with my two Aura projections just fine, even ten at once shouldn't be a problem. If I go full power, then thirty of them should be my limit, but I would have to blow up my Pseudo-Core to do that so that's a no-no. Let's keep the Martial Ways hidden for now...'
"What are you brats laughing for?" Suddenly, the voice of a middle aged man sounded out and a particularly bulky black robed person stepped out of the crowd.
He removed his hood and a pressure superior to that of the Advanced stage emanated. At that moment, Xiao Wu knew that she would not be able to defeat such an existence, no matter how much she tried!
"Superior stage!" Xiao Wu shouted out loud. Her voice trembled and her tightened fists began to sweat. The two Aura weapons also began to tremble as the flow of Qi got distorted and their owner's emotions grew unsteady.
Fu Yin gritted his teeth and cursed "Damn, why is such an expert here! I could have fought evenly with him if he were an high level or even peak Advanced stage cultivator, but now even if I use all of my strength I would barely be able to resist for a few breaths!"
The tall man laughed out loud and mocked "Now, now... Children should just go to sleep... You shouldn't be left alive... You shouldn't even think of leaving here alive! After all, you have threatened my disciple..."
The man smiled fiercely: he only had one eye and had short black hair, his appearance was quite ugly, but few would have the guts to tell him that.
All in all, he was pretty buff and his scary face together with his frightening expression gave off the feeling of a being that shouldn't be angered.
Fan Lai's eyes widened and he almost yelled from the surprise when he saw what the man looked like "Fan Zu, Second Uncle, you are here as well! Second Uncle why are you doing this?" Fan Lai couldn't hold it anymore and yelled "Aren't we family? Why must we kill one another?"
The young Fan Zai smirked and swung Solomon's sword around. He then pointed the weapon's tip at Fan Lai's chest "Family? What family? We stopped being part of your family when the elders decided to make you the heir! Second Uncle is the same as me, he was refused to become the sect head by the foolish elders!"
"Now, I will show them who the true heir of the esteemed Fai clan is! How, you ask?" Fan Zai grinned "By making you disappear!"
Fai Zai then pointed at Fu Yin "Uncle, I suggest taking him out first, otherwise it will be a lot more difficult to kill them all. He is the strongest person in their group and wields quite a few dangerous abilities which even I have not seen yet..."
The tall Fan Zu put his big hand on Fan Zai's shoulder "Don't worry Zai' Er. They won't live this place alive as long as I live!"
Fu Yin smiled grimly "Sister Wu, I may have a method to hold him down for a while, during that time, please slaughter your way through with the others and escape! As soon as we can notify the elders they will kick out these people as they are not from the Sect. I will stay alive until then so don't look back and use all your abilities"
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He stabbed the two Aura Spears in the ground and inhaled deeply before letting out a loud yell "G-Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
His surroundings changed and dark smoke appeared behind Fu Yin, blocking the view. In that darkness, one bright red eye appeared and gazed murderously at the robed men.
The black mist covered Fu Yin's back and it morphed constantly, sometimes turning into weapons, monsters and sometimes into scenes of humans crying in pain.
The smoke looked like a flame burning from Fu Yin's body and it was slowly corroding even the stone below him. At the same time though, Fu Yin was not even slightly harmed!
The boy lifted his head and the white space surrounding the irises had turned black with black gases fuming out from the pupils. The mist finally morphed into a monster that had no legs as it was attached to Fu Yin's body, was completely black, had no face and only had a gigantic mouth with no teeth and a red eye in the middle of its face.
The monster was truly terrifying and whoever looked into the red eye's pupil would unconsciously back away in fear.
Fu Yin turned and the monster that looked like a demon from the depths of hell followed Fu Yin's gaze "Dear sister, this is my power, my sensed Qi is called The Legacy, I am able to form contracts with ancient beings to acquire their power! The only downside" he smiled "Is that I have to let them eat part of my soul in exchange!"
Xiao Wu stared blankly as she thought 'Soul? Eat a part of the soul? But wouldn't that shorten the lifespan!?!'
Fu Yin shook his hands "But you needn't worry, master prepared a cure for me! He also said that he has another method to summon beings without the need of a contract! This guy, I called him Faceless, is such a being: my master summoned him and gave him something else instead of my soul! So, I'm really strong with no backlash, you can go, we will be alright! Trust your big brother!" the white haired teen grinned "I will see you then!"
Fu Yin turned back to face Fan Zu. Xiao Wu looked at his back which looked like it was burning from black flames and her mind trembled as the face of her brother, her blood brother, appeared.
...
The two brother and sister of the Xiao family had just come back from a long trip and they had decided to rest in a close-by inn instead of continuing on the road at night. It turned out to be a big mistake...
They were surrounded by the assassins and the two of them were the only ones left alive out of the original group of a hundred people.
"Wu' Er, run! I will hold them back! Don't worry, I won't die, we will regroup at the clan mansion!" The young man had the same green eyes and purple-blue hair as Xiao Wu. He was slightly taller and was in his late teens.
The man grinned and then said "Trust your big brother Dan! I will see you then!"
Xiao Wu had followed her brother's orders and escaped to find some help. When she got back with her clan's soldiers, she had seen her brother laying on the ground, his body cleanly sliced in two at the waist. Surrounding him there were tens of corpses, each covering their faces with a black hood...
...
The two scenes imposed each other, she saw her brother's incomplete corpse and it soon turned into Fu Yin's then back into her brother's and so on. She found herself in a world of blood where everything was dyed crimson.
She heard someone cough behind her and she saw Fu Yon struggling to keep standing as his body was full of wounds.
""Trust your big brother!"" Although he was forcing himself to smile happily, Fu Yin's eyes were crying tears of blood, two large streams also began to fall from his mouth's sides.
The mouth opened and black blood splurged out ""I will see you then!"" Fu Yin's body fell on the ground and turned into her brother's corpse, the two halves of his body sinking in a pool of blood...
...
"NO!!!" Xiao Wu's loud shout startled Fu Yin who looked back to see an enraged and crying Xiao Wu.
"I will not let my brother die on me again!" She threw caution at the wind and called out the two Martial Ways. The two object started to orbit around her giving off enormous pressure: she had never used both of their true bodies in battle before, as she always kept at least one in her Pseudo-Core to keep it stable, now, the true might of these symbiotic Martial Ways would finally be shown to the world!
The Black Dragon blade and White Tree Shield also appeared and they hovered behind her together with the two copies made out of Aura.
Her eyes turned purple from their previous emerald green color and Xiao Wu's five senses were enhanced as the power from the Purple Moonlight Senses Enhancing Scripture kicked in: at that moment, Xiao Wu was at her optimal condition!
The two Martial Ways' true bodies slowly began to let off light and, as soon as that happened, the black robed people began to feel great pressure coming from the two treasures.
"What are those! How are they giving off such powerful pressure!" Someone in the middle of the group of the black robed people shouted "Are they some kind of heavenly treasures?"
Fai Zu's eyes widened "Martial Way! And two of them at that!" Hearing that, many people from the crowd were bewildered. Although they might not have seen one before and didn't know the details, they knew that a Martial Way was a priceless treasure!
"Ahaha, it seems like this little sister of mine really isn't someone to underestimate! Alright sis! Together we can do this!" Fu Yin had long forgotten to hide the fact that Xiao Wu was a girl but she didn't care. Fu Yin grabbed the two spears that he had stabbed on the ground and they were soon also covered in the black mist.
Countless black snakes formed from the black gas also wrapped around the Aura Spears, which would definitely enhance the attack with their corrosive bites!
'If I use the Martial Way's true body I should be able to just barely match that guy's strength for a while. Unfortunately, that would also mean that my Pseudo-Core will collapse... I just hope that I will be able to defeat him before that happens!' Xiao Wu's purple eyes had been looking for weak spots on Fan Zu's body when her eyes widened: there were none!
But that was impossible, anybody within the range of her abilities has weak points, so she should be able to see them effortlessly... That is, within the range of her abilities...
"Ahaha, these kids are truly exceptional! One has the power of a mysterious beast inside him while the other has two Martial Ways of the top tier! Truly, a pair of geniuses. If it were a few days ago I would probably have to shed a drop of sweat or two on you... But now!"
Fan Zu's muscles contracted as his burly figure became even buffer and his cultivation rose: first it was low level Superior stage, then it became peak low level Superior stage and, suddenly, the bottleneck was broken through as Fan Zu got into mid level Superior stage! The man smiled smugly as the two children's faces fell.
After seeing that, even Fu Yin couldn't help but curse "Damn! He hid his strength! I can't hold him even for the space of a breath now! He is simply too strong!"
The young teen turned and hurriedly spoke to Xiao Wu "Sister, don't think about us, run! Run and survive! If you can survive, you will be able to get revenge!" Fu Yin's voice was loud so everyone could hear it. The black robed men busted out laughing when they heard it.
That was until, somebody stood up from the people of the Fan family's ranks.
"Mph, Fu Yin, you never change. Always thinking of others, trying to make amend to that one error by sacrificing yourself... But tell me now, my dear apprentice, what would you need revenge for?"
The powerful voice rose from the ranks of the black robed men. It was the voice of a middle aged man but it held great power. The people hiding their features in the black hoods were startled so they quickly made some space and soon, a person appeared.
He also wore black robes, but he hid his features behind a strange mask, was over two meters tall and had long flowing black hair.
The boy with pale blue skin barely looked at him before an electric-like current went through his body as he was almost literally shocked
"Master! You are here!" Fu Yin knelt on the ground and his expression couldn't be any happier. He finally felt that they had some hope. After all that person was...
"Senior! Please help us!" Fan Lai's voice also rose up as he bowed to the new arrival. His voice that previously didn't have a trace of hope sounded as if he had been blessed by fortune.
"Senior? Is he the eleventh comrade you were talking about?" Xiao Wu questioned.
Fu Yin nodded "Yes. Although right now he is hiding his true features, I can indeed say it is him as his aura is undistinguishable! Master, I would like to present our new companion. She is called-" "No need."
The man nonchalantly waved his hand to block the boy's explanation and turned his head towards the girl "Xiao Wu, right?" the man finished for him and chuckled.
Fu Yin lifted his head and was bewildered "Master... How do you know her name?" The man smiled and with a flick of his wrist, two pieces of wood and plastic fell on the ground and his height turned from its previous two meters tall frame into the height of a child.
Other pieces of wood and plastic fell down and his wide frame turned into that of a really young boy. The man then lifted his head at the burly man standing next to Fan Zai.
"Fan Zu, right?" Everyone but Fu Yin and Fan Lai was startled: the voice was not that of a middle aged man anymore, it was now that of a young child! "You said that you will kill them because they have threatened your disciple, am I right?"
The child removed his hood and long black hair fell down his back.
Fan Zu was confused and frightened: although the boy looked pretty young, he felt that this junior's strength was probably not any lower than his own! Such a talented and powerful person should not be offended!
"Fellow cultivator, that is indeed it. I apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused but I didn't know that they were associated with someone as great as you, fellow expert! You have no bad feelings towards us, so I hope you can give me face and let the matter slide?"
"Oh?" The child put his hands on his mask and slowly removed it. At that moment, the people could only see two perfectly sim metrical lips arranged into a fierce grin...
"But according to you, I do have enough reason to kill you!"
A straight nose appeared and the boy stuck out his tongue and gave him the middle finger "You see you didn't only threaten my own disciple..."
The mask fell on the ground with a thud. At that moment, almost every person in the room was shocked by what they saw.
Killing intent swirled like a storm and at its very core, two golden fiery eyes appeared! The boy lifted his right hand and a glowing tower appeared floating over his palm. The tower had fifteen floors and the first two floors' gates were opened.
Seeing the familiar object, Xiao Wu's eyes widened and she gaped in shock. She recovered before anybody else and burst out in laughter. Everybody turned towards her confused.
Xiao Wu simply put her hands on her hips, smiled and chuckled.
"I see, so it was you..." Xiao Wu said and smiled and the young boy also stepped forward smiling.
"You were Fu Yin's master! You were our eleventh comrade!" The people wearing black cloaks heard her and turned to look towards the boy with black hair and golden eyes, a bad feeling swelling up in their hearts...
The boy smiled and his smile became as warm as it could get when he saw Xiao Wu was smiling at him. The youth smiled and walked towards the group of ten, of course, nobody blocked him. "Sis..." He stepped forward and hugged the young child in front of him. Xiao Wu's eyes filled with tears as she spoke "Brother! I was so scared!"
His complexion suddenly twisted as unseen before anger appeared. Winds battered everywhere in the room and the black robed Fan clan members found it hard to remain standing.
"No, you did not only almost attack my disciple" the golden eyes burned with the flames of rage and everybody who looked into those globes filled with anger and hate felt weak in their knees. One man in particular began crying "It's the end! A Demon has come to bring us to Hell!"
"YOU ALSO THREATENED MY LITTLE SISTER!!!" Cheng Hao's shout was so full of with fury and rage that the people wearing the black robes couldn't help but step back.
"Brother Cheng Hao, I've missed you!" Xiao Wu hugged the boy even tighter and cried her heart out as he held her close and stroked her hair.
Fu Yin's already shocked face became even more beautiful as he understood what was going on here. He finally sighed and rubbed his nose 'I guess it is no surprise then that sister Wu is such a genius... To have a person like Master Cheng Hao at her side, she is truly lucky!"
Fan Zu's voice suddenly rose "Who are you? Do you know whom you are talking to?"
Cheng Hao ignored him, smiled and looked at Xiao Wu by his side "Sorry I am always late, sis! This one time, though, I seem to have come at the right time..." His smile turned fierce. Bloodlust emerged as the child looked venomously at Fai Zu "Cheng Hao kicks some ugly bastards' ugly asses Time!"
Chapter 29 - You Were Our Eleventh Comrade!