Chapter 1 War in the Canyon of Souls

The battle in the Canyon of Souls took many twists and turns.

Initially, the people of the valley held the advantage, forming an encirclement against the heroes of the martial world. Then, Yuan Qi, single-handedly, turned the tide, reversing the situation. Next, Du Ying's appearance seemed to steady the scene, but… Alliance Master Yuan quickly turned the tables again.

Just when the valley people thought all was lost, four beautiful women in Xue Ying (Blood Cherry) white robes descended from the sky, launching a brutal massacre on the martial world forces with bizarre hidden weapons, and successfully suppressed Yuan Qi.

It could be said that the people of the valley, as well as the martial artists, felt like they were on a bungee jump in the past half hour...

And when Feng Bujue appeared, their roller coaster of emotions reached its climax...

"Alliance Master Yuan, I'll deal with Xu Huaisang and that one in the sky. You take care of the two on the ground." Before Feng Bujue landed, he had already decided on the strategy. He didn't waste time and directly shouted an instruction to Yuan Qi.

Yuan Qi didn't know who Feng Bujue was or where he came from, but he had seen the previous [Lan Jiao] (Tempest Kick) attacks.

At that moment, Alliance Master Yuan thought, "Since this kid is also an expert and intends to help me, there's no reason for me to refuse. Anyway, I'm at a disadvantage now, so I might as well let him try..."

"Alright!" Two seconds later, Yuan Qi responded loudly, "Young hero, please be careful!" Before disengaging, he specifically reminded Jue-Ge, because he genuinely felt that Xu Huaisang was a very tricky opponent, and it would be too embarrassing if that "young hero" got instantly killed upon arrival.

"Alliance Master Yuan, please rest assured, dealing with her… I have my ways…" As Feng Bujue responded, he also launched a series of Lan Jiao combos at Du Ying in the distance, startling the old man into urging his inner energy, retreating and blocking. "By the way, please also inform the heroes… to suppress Du Ying and those valley people."

Jue-Ge was well aware that his words might not be effective… those martial artists might just ignore him. Therefore, he had to use Yuan Qi's authority to direct them.

When Yuan Qi heard this, he immediately did some mental calculations and came to a conclusion—it was a good idea.

In that instant, Feng Bujue had already entered diagonally from mid-air, picking up his kitchen knife and military shovel and slashing towards Xu Huaisang.

Xu Huaisang turned her dual blades, using one move with three variations, creating a sky full of blade shadows, not only blocking Jue-Ge's attack but also forcing Yuan Qi back ten feet.

Between this exchange, Yuan Qi successfully disengaged. Then, without another word, he followed Feng Bujue's instructions and issued commands to everyone, rushing towards Hyacinth and Iron Begonia without stopping.

With Yuan Qi's cultivation, he naturally wouldn't be injured by bullets when prepared (he already had a protective energy shield), which was why Feng Bujue arranged for him to deal with the two from Red Cherry.

When Alliance Master Yuan got close, Hyacinth and Iron Begonia had to change their tactics to deal with this super-powered NPC; this freed up the martial artists who were being ravaged by gunfire.

The martial artists who were still alive were basically experts at or near the level of sect leaders. Asking them to deal with players… might be a bit difficult, but asking them to deal with a Du Ying whose Qi gate had been broken and thirty-odd valley people was at least an even match.

Therefore, less than two minutes after Feng Bujue arrived at the Canyon of Souls...

The battle situation once again tilted towards the martial world forces, and a new round of fierce fighting began...

"Where are your teammates?" Xu Huaisang asked immediately after exchanging a few blows with Jue-Ge.

Although she herself was very much looking forward to a one-on-one fight with Jue-Ge, this was, after all, a team match… As the captain of Red Cherry, Xu Huaisang had a duty to consider other factors in the battlefield, in case they fell for the opponent's scheme.

"Hmph…" Feng Bujue replied with a cold snort, "What's wrong? Not seeing them… makes you even more uneasy, doesn't it?"

He didn't give a clear answer, but instead used an ambiguous attitude to ask back, creating even greater psychological pressure.

"Very well…" Xu Huaisang's expression turned stern, "I didn't think you would say anyway…"

With that, Xu Huaisang moved swiftly, using the [Ta Yan Fei Du] (Swallow Soaring Across the Waters) technique, soaring into the air.

Then, she twisted her slender waist and followed up with the [Bei Tian Shi Zi Huang] (Northern Sky Cross Phoenix).

In that instant, the phoenix's cry shattered the sky, and the cutting wave landed.

The cold red flames struck from several meters away, engulfing Feng Bujue from head to toe.

However...

"I've already seen through this kind of combo…" Jue-Ge calmly commented, while迎刀而起, rushing against the trajectory of the cross-shaped blade.

In the next second, his entire being was like an octopus accelerating in the water… extending his head forward, dragging his entire body, while his body remained relaxed, naturally stretched, and slightly rotating...

Feng Bujue used this extremely strange and limit breaking action to "drill" out from the angle on one side of the cross-shaped blade, passing by the cutting wave.

In this world, probably no one else could have come up with such a way to break the move… Only someone with zero time difference calculation and bizarre thinking could think of it and do it.

"Hahahaha…" After successfully breaking the move, Jue-Ge rushed to Xu Huaisang, who was still recovering from her move, and laughed arrogantly, "Cross-shaped slashes are so hard to dodge! I'm so sorry for counter-killing like this!"

Ping—clang—

In an instant, two sounds of metal clashing rang out.

The first sound was Xu Huaisang using her left blade to block the [Blade of Necessary Break]; the second sound was Xu Huaisang using her right blade to block the [WJQ-308 Military Shovel].

"Oh? That's a bit unexpected…" Half a second later, Feng Bujue's expression turned cold, and he said in a deep voice, "I struck right as you were recovering, and you still managed to defend?"

"Heh… you're putting on quite an act…" A hint of anger flashed between Xu Huaisang's eyebrows, and she retorted sharply, "Didn't you say you had 'already seen through' our 'kind of combo'?"

As her voice fell, a giant shadow rushed down from the sky.

That shadow was undoubtedly the giant eagle ridden by Xue Qiangwei. And this impact was one of the skills that came with this summon—[Silent Strike].

As the name suggests, the characteristic of this move is that it doesn't make any noise when launched, not even the vibration of the air or wind pressure. The target often doesn't notice the attack until the giant eagle is incredibly close.

In actual combat, as long as she coordinates with her teammates, Xue Qiangwei can often take down an enemy with this move.

Of course, Feng Bujue wouldn't be taken down. As he had said before… he had already seen through this kind of combo.

When Xu Huaisang's [Northern Sky Cross Phoenix] was condensing but not yet released, Jue-Ge had already noticed the other party's intentions, because he had always been paying attention to Xue Qiangwei's movements in the air…

After drilling out of the gap in the slash, Feng Bujue also deliberately used expressions and language to lure the other party, trying to create the illusion that "I was careless."

However, Goddess Xu was not simple either… Based on her many encounters with Jue-Ge, she had been careful when releasing the cross-shaped blade and didn't use her full strength.

As expected, the other party used a very extreme method to break through the attack and seize the opportunity to counterattack.

At this time, the effect of Xu Huaisang's reserve strength came into play. Because she hadn't used her full strength, she was able to react before the other party's surprise attack arrived.

Unfortunately, the moment she received Feng Bujue's knife and shovel, Xu Huaisang realized… the other party still hadn't revealed any weaknesses.

For an expert of Xu Huaisang's level, the impact from the weapon could tell her a lot of information. So after blocking Feng Bujue's two attacks, she understood… the purpose of these two attacks wasn't "damage," but to use the reaction force of the block to "push" herself.

In other words… Feng Bujue's series of actions were all made after seeing through the opponent's coordination. His every response, seemingly dangerous, was actually effortless…

Whether he was using this method to test the opponent's bottom line or to tease the opponent, it was an unpleasant combat experience for Xu Huaisang.

"Not bad…" Feng Bujue bounced back ten feet, barely dodging the giant eagle's impact, "No matter how I lure you, you don't reveal any weaknesses."

As he spoke, the giant eagle had already "charged" into the ground, disappearing silently into the earth like a ghost that could pass through walls.

Summoned creatures can pass through walls, but Xue Qiangwei can't. Therefore, when [Silent Strike] was launched, she had already left the giant eagle's back. At this moment, Xue Qiangwei was still in the sky, but what she was riding was no longer a giant eagle, but a...

"That one in the sky has summoned the [Fossil Pterosaur]. Are they planning to turn around and attack those NPCs..." Feng Bujue said, looking up at the dragon shadow circling in the sky, "Speaking of which… are you guys doing a side quest right now? What's the quest about? To clear out the invaders for King Yama?"

Xu Huaisang didn't respond to Feng Bujue's question. In these few seconds, she was using her title skill, [Bullet Time], to observe the situation on the battlefield.

Although it was only a few seconds, it was enough for her to see every detail on the battlefield clearly…

"Qiangwei!" When Jue-Ge finished speaking, Xu Huaisang immediately shouted to her teammate in the sky, "Cover Hyacinth and Begonia… retreat!"

This sentence was the "captain's order," and therefore unquestionable.

Regardless of whether this decision was right or wrong, as professional players, the members of Red Cherry wouldn't question or argue during the match. What they had to do was execute it perfectly, and discuss any problems after the match.

So, in the next second, Xue Qiangwei controlled the fossil pterosaur and charged towards Yuan Qi.

The giant eagle that had previously disappeared into the ground also rose up, suddenly appearing between Yuan Qi and the two players from Red Cherry.

Boom—boom—

Before Yuan Qi could steady himself, two fireballs attacked from mid-air. Fortunately, Alliance Master Yuan's lightness skill was superb, and he used his movement to avoid the invisible pillars of fire, dodging to the side.

However, Hyacinth and Iron Begonia took this opportunity to jump onto the back of the giant eagle and fly away with it.

"What?" Seeing this, Feng Bujue knew that the other party had decided to retreat. It wasn't realistic for him to chase four people alone, so he simply stopped moving and just looked at Xu Huaisang and said, "Weren't you looking forward to fighting me? Are you leaving already?"

"We're here to do a side quest," Xu Huaisang replied, "Since we can't do it now, we should retreat as soon as possible to avoid suffering more losses…" She paused, turning her gentle face to the sky and glancing, "Your teammates are on the mountain over there, right?"

"So you found out…" Feng Bujue knew the effectiveness of [Bullet Time], so he didn't bother to deny it.

"Actually, I couldn't see very clearly. That distance… was too far for me," Xu Huaisang smiled, "But… hearing you confirm it, I feel relieved. It seems my decision was correct."

"Ha?" Feng Bujue was stunned when he heard this, "Ho~ you actually tricked me?" There was an unspoken subtext to this sentence, which was—"And you succeeded?"

"Heh…" Xu Huaisang smiled even more charmingly, but she didn't directly answer Jue-Ge's question, but continued, "This battle between you and me… has been waited for too long, and I'm not in a hurry for this moment. If you want to fight, come to 'Burial Heart Manor'."

With that, Xu Huaisang sheathed her blades, turned around, and leaped up. With the [Ta Yan Fei Du] skill, she easily climbed the cliff and jumped out of the mountain gorge.

Before her figure disappeared from the edge of the mountain, she turned back and glanced deeply at Jue-Ge. At that moment, her clothes fluttered in the wind, and her hair also danced lightly in the wind. From a distance, she looked like a celestial fairy and a heroic warrior. Even many NPCs were captivated.

"What are you looking at!" Three seconds later, Feng Bujue shouted loudly, "What are you here to do?" This time, he didn't wait for Yuan Qi to speak, but directly roared at the martial world heroes in the tone of a gang leader, "Kill! Clean up!"

His roar awakened many people from their daze. Although people still didn't know who this guy was, they had to admit… he was right.

…………

Five minutes later, the battle of the Canyon of Souls… came to an end.

Led by Alliance Master Yuan Qi, the martial world heroes suffered nearly two hundred casualties, with forty-eight survivors, thirteen of whom were slightly injured or worse.

The Burial Heart Valley side was completely annihilated, with only one survivor…

That person was undoubtedly Du Ying.

This old bastard was also very cunning. When he heard Xu Huaisang say the word "retreat," he ran… faster than the members of Red Cherry. Except for Yuan Qi, the other martial arts masters couldn't stop him.

However… Du Ying's mental state was now like a stray dog. At this time, the heavily hit man was running towards Burial Heart Manor in a daze, because he had many questions in his heart… and wanted to ask that "King Yama."

On the other hand, after everything had settled down, Yuan Qi finally came to Feng Bujue, respectfully bowed, and said, "Yuan Qi, on behalf of the heroes, thanks young hero for your help." His gaze fixed on Jue-Ge, "May I know the young hero's name and from what sect?"