An Jiu’s crossbow bolt embedded itself in the rock face. She lightly tapped her foot and leaped down from the tower.
Over ten black-clad figures pursued her closely.
Outside, heavy snow had begun to fall, mixing with dust and stone debris. Dozens of arrows chased An Jiu relentlessly.
The glowing powerful crossbow seemed to unleash its tremendous power only upon impact. An Jiu raised her hand and fired a bolt at a boulder two zhang away.
In an instant, a brilliant flash erupted. The surrounding arrows and pursuing black-clad figures were swept away by the massive shockwave. An Jiu tumbled into the snow, rolling to avoid falling debris.
Dust and snow swirled through the air. In the darkness, visibility was limited to less than two zhang. However, for martial artists, it was possible to sense others’ presence through spiritual energy.
Unfortunately, An Jiu’s advantage lay in her immense spiritual power. When it collided with the fifth and sixth-grade spiritual energies of her pursuers, it caused a momentary mental blank. Some lower-level martial artists fell from the sky.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, An Jiu released her grappling bolt and sprinted eastward. She too had been hit by the massive shockwave, leaving her chest numb and a metallic taste in her mouth.
A whistle pierced the air—someone had sounded a signal.
Ambushers lying in wait to the east immediately began pursuing An Jiu.
“Stop,” came a cold, familiar voice.
An Jiu halted abruptly, wary of the black-clad man not far ahead. Her gaze fell on the white crane embroidered on the corner of his robe. “The Crane Control Army,” she realized.
She remembered that voice now! It belonged to the officer from the Crane Control Army who had explained the rules in the forest earlier.
At first, An Jiu felt something odd about him. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that snowflakes seemed to freeze in mid-air around him!
She knew this was due to his pure and powerful inner energy, indicating his extremely high martial arts skills.
“Are you with those ambushers?” An Jiu asked.
“Some Crane Control Army members hidden in the temple were killed. I came to investigate personally,” the man said, eyeing her torn sleeve. “You’re Mei Fourteen?”
It wasn’t strange that he knew her identity, but how had he recognized her at a glance? Before An Jiu could ponder further, she sensed pursuers closing in behind her.
“Come here,” the man commanded.
“I don’t trust you,” An Jiu raised her dagger. “Unless you stop them.”
“How interesting,” the man’s form blurred as he brushed past An Jiu, sword raised to meet the five black-clad pursuers.
Seeing him dispatch fifth and sixth-grade martial artists as easily as chopping vegetables, An Jiu realized this man was likely at the legendary Transcendent State.
Having someone unexpectedly show up to help was fortuitous, but An Jiu wouldn’t choose to accompany him. The situation was too complex—who knew which side this Crane Control Army officer was truly on?
Trusting oneself over others was An Jiu’s life principle.
She dashed southward along the pagoda, intending to retreat temporarily.
In the past, once An Jiu set a goal, she would never easily change it. But now, everything was different. She no longer needed to carry out orders at all costs. In times of crisis, she now had the right to make her own choices.
She didn’t know what prompted her sudden change of mind.
In the snowy field, after easily dispatching the five pursuers, the Crane Control Army officer turned to find An Jiu gone. He searched with his spiritual energy but couldn’t detect her presence!
With his level of spiritual power, he could even sense the recently deceased. There was only one explanation—her spiritual energy surpassed his own.
“Commander,” Crane Control Army members converging from north and south bowed to him.
The Mei clan, Lou clan, and others soon arrived from the south.
“What’s the situation?” the Crane Control Army officer inquired.
Someone reported, “Over ninety percent of our hidden forces in the temple have been killed. The pagoda is now a bloodbath. With our intelligence network disrupted, we can’t confirm how many trial participants have survived.”
“What of the enemy’s strength?” the Commander asked.
“We estimate about a hundred enemies, over half of whom are only fourth-grade martial artists. Few have reached the sixth grade,” the subordinate continued. “However, they have one Transcendent State expert and a type of powerful crossbow comparable to Transcendent State strength.”
“Mobilize everyone to search for surviving trial participants. Bring them safely to nearby outposts,” the Commander ordered. He then turned slightly to address the Mei clan and others, “Mei Fourteen is skilled in archery?”
His cold, authoritative voice made them tremble. Combined with the subtle pressure he exerted, only Lou Mingyue managed to respond without fear, “Yes.”
“Excellent,” the Commander said. “You’ll join the Crane Control Army in searching for the remaining trial participants, then retreat together.”
“Yes, sir!” they saluted.
The Commander’s form flickered, vanishing into the snowfall.
Lou Mingyue and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least now they could prove the Crane Control Army wasn’t behind the assassinations, easing their minds somewhat.
Meanwhile, An Jiu had initially planned to flee outside, but realizing the Crane Control Army’s involvement, she figured the pagoda might now be the safest place. After some consideration, An Jiu decided to return inside.
Summoning all her inner energy to move as lightly as possible, she swiftly and stealthily ascended to the third floor.
A large hole had been blasted in the northern wall, allowing wind and snow to howl through.
An Jiu used her spiritual energy to sense her surroundings, finding no one nearby. She examined the scriptures on the ground before climbing directly to the fourth floor.
The fourth floor resembled a Buddhist hall. A Buddha statue faced south, with four rows of candles lit on the east and west sides, illuminating the entire room. The offering table before the statue was empty, but a square patch in the dust suggested something had recently been removed—An Jiu guessed it might have been the Ancient Text fragment.
With the item gone, there was no reason to linger.
As An Jiu stepped onto the stairs, she suddenly noticed an almost imperceptible flicker in the candlelight.
She sensed someone silently approaching from behind and quietly unsheathed her dagger.
“Come with me,” the person behind her spoke.
It was the Crane Control Army officer! An Jiu turned, eyeing him warily.
“I am the Shenwu Commander of the Crane Control Army,” the man introduced himself to allay An Jiu’s suspicions. “You engaged a Transcendent State archery expert from a mysterious organization and held your own. The Crane Control Army needs your abilities.”
The Crane Control Army was divided into four branches: Yulin, Shenwu, Shence, and Weiyue. The Shenwu Commander was the highest-ranking leader of the Shenwu branch, commonly referred to simply as “Commander.”
The Commander produced an intricately patterned token.
“I believe you,” An Jiu said coolly, “but I’m not interested.”
A flicker of surprise passed through the Commander’s dark eyes. In all his time with the Crane Control Army, no one had dared refuse an order when shown the token!
Sensing his annoyance, An Jiu explained, “First, I haven’t joined the Crane Control Army yet. Second, why should I risk my life for you without any benefit?”
The Commander’s stern voice carried an inexplicably intriguing tone: “Your spiritual energy is pure, but your inner power is too weak. If you agree, I’ll immediately order an eighth-grade or higher expert to transfer all their inner power to you. Even with some loss in the process, you’d still attain at least seventh grade.”
What a tempting offer! He believed no one could refuse such an opportunity!