Xing danced back, watching as six men charged toward him. He ignored them, keeping his eyes on Dai Li.
The leader of these wayward men began circling Zhao Xing, using his men as a shield. “Hiding behind your men won’t help Dai Li, but if that’s the path you choose, so be it!” Zhao Xing spat.
Two assailants waved their swords at Xing’s neck, trying to decapitate him. Xing sidestepped their blades with little effort, then weaved his hand, striking them in the chest four times.
A loud crunch echoed from each punch, drawing his attention. “You think covering your acupoints will help? Fine...let’s see how long you last against me.”
He feinted left dodging another sword slash, burying his fist into the assailant’s waist, which left him spitting blood. Three men skipped back, in fright. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HURRY UP AND KILL HIM!” Dai Li spat.
“Lad...they are condensing their Qi to make a Formation. You have to keep them separated before their Qi synchronizes.” Zixin said calmly.
Xing swirled the Qi within his Mind Dantian, then watched as waves of Qi began swirl and swarm together like mist on a dreary night.
The swirling Qi connected to each of the seven men, who were pushing themselves up from off the ground.
He charged at the one closest to him, which was to his left, but it was too late.
A surge of Qi exploded from all seven men, and a haunting aura began to exhume from each of them. In a flash, all seven of them pounced on Xing who could barely dodge their swords and daggers by mere centimeters.
As he barely dodged what seemed to be an eightieth attack. Xing noticed Susu picking up a pebble in the corner of his eye, which made him smile.
Xing danced and weaved through the Formation, allowing Dai Li’s men to expose their backs, but that was a mistake as two men had drifted to his left and took to the air.
Two pebbles shot through the air, hitting the men in the chest and wrist, forcing them to drop the sword and dagger with a ding.
Xing feinted left, and took to their air in flash, channelling his Qi in his hands, Iron Shredding Claws.
He watched as their eyes changed from frustration to fright in an instant. Xing buried his hand into one their chests and disappeared to the ground, using an instantaneous step.
Dai Li appeared in front of him, rusted sword in hand and weaved his blade at Xing side. “THEIR USING POISON BLADES XING!” Susu shouted.
Now she tells me, Xing mused bitterly, deflecting a wayward sword slash. He half-spun, then kicked the man in the chest sending him flying into the roof.
“Focus on breaking the formation. You must follow their Qi until you find who has the weakest connection. Once you’ve found that person. Kill them, that’s how you dismantle the Lion’s Pride Formation!”
“STOP THE OLD MAN BEFORE INTERJECTS” Dai Li roared, gnashing his teeth as he kicked himself up and charged towards Susu.
Xing estimated that he was of the Mind Awakening Realm, which wasn’t enough to trouble Su’er. The real challenge was her holding her own whilst protecting the child and Chief Zixin all at the same time.
Susu snapped her whip free and waved it incessantly, forcing Dai Li back. The turbulent force of her whip sent waves of explosion throughout the shrine which made the roof of the shrine shake.
Something's wrong Xing thought, I don’t sense any Qi in any of those attacks!
Xing spun, kicking another bastard in the leg. That same bastard jumped back up, only feeling the wrath of Xing’s Iron Shredding Claw.
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He sliced opened the assailant’s neck, forcing him to drop to his knees, blood seeping out like a waterfall.
“XIAO BEI IS DEAD!” Someone shouted behind him.
“No need to fear.” Xing said, “You’ll be joining him soon!
A sword slash nicked the side of Xing’s face, forcing him back. He expected it. No. He wanted it to happen.
Zhao Xing surged Qi into his hands forming, forming another Iron Shredding Claw, then ripped the sword hand from the assailants in one smooth motion.
He skipped back, feeling their hesitation and thrusted three quick kicks, into the side of a man and woman, he then swept his feet forward and shot up in the air. “So you were the weakest link. It was smart to disguise yourself as the point of the attack, but it was still foolish!”
Xing spun, kicking the bastard in the chest cracking the piece of wood once more, and darted towards him again, ignoring the rest.
He rocked his hand back, swirling his Qi around it and burying it into the bastard’s chest, leaving gore and matter on his hand.
Xing kicked the bastard off, then opened his Mind Dantian, watching as the thin line of Qi began to dissipate from around them
“Senior...these fools shame your LION’S PRIDE FORMATION, give it to me and I will bring GLORY TO IT’S NAME!”
Xing didn’t turn to see Zhu Zixin’s expression, but he could feel the chief smiling in the background, and that was more than enough for him to continue his onslaught.
He spun haggardly, wailing his hands like a beast, then pounded two punches into another assailant’s chest. The first punch split the wooden guard whilst the second turned into powder.
Zhao Xing stepped in, making sure the bastard didn’t fly too far. He struck three acupoints in his chest and two more in his feed. In a blink of an eye Xing appeared behind him, kicking him in his upper back and forcing him to stand upright.
The three remaining enemies surrounded Xing, swords and daggers pointed at him, with nowhere else to go, he did what was required of him.
Xing hopped over his acupoints friend and then used him as a pole to counterattack. He struck the bastard on the left of his chest, then buried a knee into the one on the right. He swept the foot to the one who was behind him then spun, kicking him in the back, which sent him flying eight meters back.
Susu’ screamed in agony as Dai Li finally disarmed her of Scourge. As Xing’s turned left, watching as Susu caught the rusted blade with her hand, stopping it from being drilled into her chest.
Dai Li then kicked her in the stomach, forcing her to heave, which also forced her to her knees. Dai Li lurched his rusted sabre back, then thrust it forward, aimed directly at her heart.
No!
Xing weaved through the Lion Pride Formation in a fit of rage, surging his Qi through his meridians of his Soul, Core and Mind Dantian.
As he broke the Lion Pride Formation, he struck each assailant with such viciousness, that his meridians couldn’t handle it.
Xing felt his meridians collapsing, stalling the Qi that he was seeking from his dantians, but the only thing he received was half the power he required. Damn…my body can’t handle any more Qi, I have to regulate my Internal Arts.
He spat out a mouthful of blood from the overbalance of Qi but still turned to face Dai Li. The bastard was continually kicking Susu in the gut, hoping she would either drop the child or the sword, but she held firm, despite dropping to one knee.
“YOU BASTARD!” Xing roared as he leapt towards Dai Li, surging his Qi within like a thunderstorm. The collapse meridians didn’t allow him to leap as far as he would like, as he mitigated the correct amount so he wouldn’t damage his meridian pathways.
Susu tried to keep the blade from penetrating her chest, but with bloodshot eyes and determination are written across Dai Li’s face, the blade eventually slid further.
Xing watched as she tried to turn with the blade in her hand, but Dai Li’s was stronger than he’d expected. Su’er can’t channel any of her Internal Arts! WHY?!
Then, Xing saw the reason why blood was forming on her left side. She’s been poisoned.
Both of Susu’s knees dropped to the ground and Dai Li began forcing the blade further into her chest. She shrieked as she did so. If she’d dropped the child, she would’ve been able to stop the wound, but if she did, she would’ve hurt her head on the slab that was beneath her.
“It would seem, my time is at an end.” Zhu Zixin stood up from behind Susu, Qi exhuming from his body as if steam itself had come alive. He made one step forward and appeared between Susu and Dai Li.
He slid his fingers between Dai Li’s rusted blade and broke the sabre in two, leaving Dai Li with fright in his eyes.
Zhu Zixin slid the broken blade from Susu’s shoulder and spun it in his hand as he kicked Dai Li in the chest. He kicked off the ground following the bastard to the sky and buried his rusted sword into his chest, twisting as he did so. “That’s for Cao Song, you bastard!”
Dai Li hit the ground of the main hole and an explosion of wood and concrete reverberated through the room as he created a small crater. A geyser of blood flooded from Dai Li’s mouth as his life met its end.
Xing appeared in front of Susu, catching her before she fell backwards. He looked at her hand, seeing the blood pooling on the ground.
Zhu Zixin dropped to his knees, hair turning pale white compared to its grey-white. The chief of the Lion Cub Escort drew a haggard smile and looked at Xing and Susu and mouthed a word. “Sorry.”