Chapter 144: Could he really defeat me with a single sword strike?

Dozens of miles away, a group of teachers and students from the academy were gathered around a petite young woman. As she slowly opened her eyes, a cheer immediately erupted from the crowd.

"Xiao Xi, you're finally awake," Bai Susu said, patting her chest with a greatly relieved expression.

Ji Xiao Xi hazily opened her eyes as memories slowly returned to her. In the valley, Brother Zu'an had led the zombies away to save her, but she couldn't help because her knowledge and skills were useless against them.

Keeping his parting instructions firmly in mind, she could only force back her tears and watch Zu'an lead a large group of zombies away. She then hurriedly ran out of the valley to find help.

Unfortunately, by nightfall, the grassland had become much more dangerous. For some unknown reason, the dragon dung she carried seemed to have greatly diminished in effectiveness. Although many ferocious beasts dared not approach her, they also didn't flee far away in advance as they would outside.

Many ferocious beasts prowled nearby. After realizing she was just a small girl, some even began to cautiously test her. Later, she encountered a pack of wolves and was pursued relentlessly, with nowhere to run or hide. In desperation, she fired the signal flare Bai Susu had given her earlier.

Bai Susu and her group happened to be not too far away, and they rushed to her rescue upon hearing the signal. However, due to her exhausting escape, she had collapsed from exhaustion and fainted, only just now regaining consciousness.

"Xiao Xi, how are you feeling?" Bai Susu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Principal Jiang would surely go mad if anything had happened to her.

"I... I'm fine. Quickly, go save Brother Zu'an," Ji Xiao Xi said hurriedly. She felt truly useless for having fainted at such a crucial moment.

"Zu'an?" Only then did the people around remember that she had been with Zu'an. Everyone's attention had been focused solely on her, and someone like Zu'an had been completely overlooked.

"What happened to him? What exactly happened to you two?" Bai Susu asked patiently.

"First, we encountered a group of golden-furred monstrous rats. To evade them, we accidentally ran into a mysterious valley, and who knew that would be the beginning of a nightmare..." Ji Xiao Xi quickly recounted what had happened.

"Zombies everywhere!" Bai Susu's expression changed. Such a situation had never occurred before. Although the school had previously emphasized the dangers, it was mainly to ensure students didn't lower their guard. The Yaoguang Secret Realm had generally been very safe, a fact proven over hundreds of years.

As for so many strange and bizarre zombies, she had never heard of them before.

However, she didn't doubt Ji Xiao Xi's words. Not only was she a well-known good girl who never lied, but based on her own observations since entering the secret realm, she had also noticed something unusual: both the number and aggressiveness of the ferocious beasts were far greater than before.

"Quickly, go save him!" Ji Xiao Xi hurriedly tugged at Bai Susu's sleeve, while also pleading with the surrounding students.

The others exchanged glances. Someone said, "If there are really so many zombies, going there would be suicide."

"Exactly. Besides, it's been so long. Even if we go now, he's probably already been..."

"Nonsense! Brother Zu'an will be fine!" Ji Xiao Xi was usually gentle and kind, and had never been angry with anyone in years. But upon hearing these words, she couldn't help but stand up, unprecedentedly furious.

Bai Susu fell into thought. In truth, what these students said was not without reason; they weren't necessarily cowards, but based on common sense, Zu'an was most likely already...

If she sent these people to save him and they happened to encounter the zombie horde, who knew how many would lose their lives. As the teacher responsible for protecting these students, she also had a duty to them.

"If you won't save him, I'll go myself!" Ji Xiao Xi immediately stood up and turned to leave. However, she had twisted her ankle during her escape earlier, and the pain was so intense that she almost lost her balance and fell to the ground.

"How can you save anyone when you're like this?" Bai Susu said, a headache coming on. "Alright, you all stay here. I'll go take a look by myself."

Although leaving this group of students here was somewhat dangerous, their numbers were not small, and even if some ferocious beasts appeared, they should be able to handle them. Moreover, this was the periphery of the secret realm, so there shouldn't be too much danger.

"Let me go." Just then, a clear, cold voice sounded.

Everyone turned to look. They saw an elegant and ethereal woman in white standing gracefully nearby. Who else could it be but Chu Chuyan?

"Miss Chu, what are you doing here?"

"Miss Chu, you haven't encountered any trouble, have you?"

The group was filled with pleasant surprises, and many of the men rushed over to express their concern.

Unfortunately, Chu Chuyan didn't even spare them a glance. She walked directly to Ji Xiao Xi and asked, "Where is the valley where you separated? Describe it to me in detail."

It turned out that she had felt uneasy since entering the secret realm this time. Additionally, she worried that Zu'an's sudden prominence in the family grand competition had ruined too many people's interests, and someone might seize the opportunity to retaliate against him.

So after walking a distance into the secret realm, she turned back. She happened to spot Ji Xiao Xi's distress signal from afar and rushed over, hearing her words just now.

Ji Xiao Xi looked at the beautiful woman before her with some surprise. It wasn't until the other person asked again that she snapped back to reality and hurriedly drew the layout of the valley on the ground.

Chu Chuyan said to Bai Susu, "Teacher Bai, please continue to ensure their safety. I'll go." With a slight push of her toes, she drifted gracefully into the distance.

Watching her gradually disappearing figure, Ji Xiao Xi couldn't help but murmur, "After observing her up close just now, Sister Chu is truly unbelievably beautiful..."

Bai Susu secretly nodded. It was for the best that Chu Chuyan went. Her cultivation was already comparable to that of the academy's teachers, making her more than capable of protecting herself. Moreover, she usually acted alone, so she wouldn't need to worry about the safety of other students as Bai Susu did.

Meanwhile, Zu'an desperately fled, hiding in a patch of woodland he had passed earlier. All those special forces movies he'd watched weren't for nothing; although it was theoretical knowledge, he had no choice but to try it now.

The four people pursuing him were all Fourth Grade cultivators. He had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation; his only chance was to separate them and defeat them one by one. The complex terrain and obstructed visibility in the forest should make for the best battlefield.

Seeing him flee into the woodland, the four people behind him frowned. However, each of them had higher cultivation than him, so they naturally weren't afraid and continued to pursue him directly into the woods.

Zu'an darted back and forth through the dense forest, utilizing his agility and the numerous trees. He finally managed to put some distance between himself and the four. At this point, if he had continued to run, he might have completely escaped them, but he couldn't be on the run forever.

With these people constantly pursuing him from the shadows, he might not be so lucky to escape next time.

So he found a large, dense tree, jumped directly onto it, and hid himself in the canopy, using the thick branches and leaves to conceal his body.

After a while, the four people had already caught up to the vicinity:

"What's going on? Did we lose him?"

"Don't panic. He must be hiding nearby."

"Everyone be careful, especially check the trees."

Zu'an's heart sank. These people were clearly academy students, yet each of them was so experienced, completely unlike students.

As for their origins, he didn't need to guess; they were clearly sent by that guy Shi Kun.

The beautiful principal really deserved a spanking; she had no idea so many spies had infiltrated the school. Once he returned this time, he would definitely have a good talk with her.

The four searched below for a while, but this forest wasn't small, so how could they find him so easily:

"This won't do. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Let's split up and search. That'll be more efficient."

"But won't it be dangerous to split up? Young Master said his combat power is a bit strange."

"Hmph, no matter how strange, he's still only a Third Grade. Could he really kill me in one sword stroke?"

"Exactly. We're not like that useless Yuan Wendong, who even stopped to chat with him at a crucial moment."

"Alright then, let's spread out and search. Remember not to get into a prolonged fight. Once you find him, primarily focus on holding him off until the rest of us arrive for support."

Each of the four took a direction, moving slowly with wary expressions. The one heading towards Zu'an's direction was the archer.

Zu'an couldn't help but feel a little eager to try. These people had both ranged and melee fighters, making their cooperation quite tricky. Relatively speaking, the archer posed the greatest threat to him.

Because when he was escaping, he had to dodge the archer's arrows, which significantly affected his speed, causing the distance between him and his pursuers to narrow. This forced him to rely on the dense forest to maneuver.

If he eliminated the archer, it would be much more convenient whether he chose to fight or flee later.

Especially since this guy had just boasted that Zu'an couldn't kill him in one sword stroke. With such a clear "flag" set, it would be a disservice not to fulfill his wish.

However, seeing the three faint figures in the distance, Zu'an still abandoned this tempting plan. At this distance, they could reach him quite quickly, and the archer below was at least a Fourth Grade. If he accidentally got surrounded, it would be dangerous.

The four gradually moved further away, and their figures disappeared from sight.

Zu'an didn't move. After another while, the four collectively ran back, looked around, and immediately became disappointed:

"Hmph, it seems that guy really isn't here."

Zu'an secretly sneered. Did they think such an overused trick from TV dramas could fool him?

The one with the spear seemed to be the leader of the four. He said to the archer, "Liao Zhongyou, you ambush here and provide central support, preventing Zu'an from circling back to avoid our search."

Zu'an was pleasantly surprised. He had just been disappointed about missing an opportunity, and now they had delivered themselves. "First one was named 'Flying on Poop,' and this one is 'Swimming in Urine.' What a 'flavorful' team," he mused. "What kind of subordinates does that Shi family hire?"

At this, Liao Zhongyou laughed heartily and raised the bow and arrow in his hand. "Good! If he dares to come back, I'll take his life with one arrow."

The others nodded, then moved many times faster than before to search in the other three directions, clearly worried he might have run far away.

Liao Zhongyou looked around and murmured to himself, "Hmm, I'll find a high point to ambush from. That way, I can get a good overview of the whole situation. Oh, this tree looks good."

He looked at the large tree before him and nodded in satisfaction. Then, with a light push of his toes, he nimbly climbed up.

He headed straight for the densest branches. However, he was met by a sharp glint of cold light. This sword strike was swift, accurate, and sudden. Moreover, as he was in mid-air with nothing to brace himself against, he couldn't dodge it.

Pierced through the throat by this lightning-fast sword glint, his terrified scream turned into a low gurgling gasp.

"Killed in one sword strike by me, surprised? Unexpected?" The leaves were pushed aside, revealing Zu'an's grinning face.