Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

The weakest among them, Lin Cheng, was already struggling to keep up, facing one perilous moment after another. The faces of the others grew grim.

Lin Zhen’s Long Sword danced wildly as she desperately tried to move closer to her brother. Pei Yu and Huang Zifeng’s brows were tightly furrowed. One reached into his lapel, while the other tightened his grip on his Long Sword, both preparing to fight to the death.

At the critical moment, Lin Cheng let out a great shout. His Long Sword suddenly accelerated, sweeping around in a circle and cutting down all the enemies closing in on him. Amidst a string of pained cries, the area around him was cleared!

He had actually had a breakthrough on the brink of life and death!

Their faces lit up with joy. However, after that one move, the surrounding bandits swarmed in again, and the group was once more locked in a bitter struggle. Although Lin Cheng had gained an epiphany in his Swordsmanship mid-battle, his cultivation was the lowest, after all. His Blood Qi and internal breath were nearly depleted. Now, he was truly just barely holding on, on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

Just then, they suddenly noticed a commotion on the outskirts of the encirclement. It seemed someone was breaking through.

Lin Zhen’s Long Sword slashed out, sending a spray of blood into the air. After cutting down the bandit in front of her, she subconsciously glanced over and her eyes lit up.

Whether it was wishful thinking or something else, she thought she saw the figure of Xie Yuan!

"Seniors, I’ve come to join you!"

The voice of Zhang Shan rang out from that direction.

Lin Zhen’s hope was instantly dashed, but this was immediately followed by a pleasant surprise. She shouted:

"Junior Brother Zhang? You’re alright!"

Wielding his sword, Xie Yuan quickly cut his way closer. His Swordsmanship was sharp and fierce, and with the momentum of a reinforcement, he tore through the now much thinner encirclement of bandits. In an instant, he rushed into their formation, helping them deal with their opponents and joining up with them.

Huang Zifeng and the others finally formed their Sword Array, now with the addition of Xie Yuan. With five people holding their ground, their defense was suddenly impregnable.

They were all both shocked and overjoyed as they looked at him:

"Junior Brother Zhang, you’re actually alive!"

"Yeah, after being captured by the bandits, and then with all this commotion..."

"How did your Swordsmanship get so sharp?"

They all asked at once.

"Zhang Shan" gave a simple, honest smile and replied:

"I was saved by that Master Xie..."

"Master Xie!"

They all exclaimed in unison. They never expected Master Xie to have saved Junior Brother Zhang as well!

No wonder he was able to escape. Master Xie’s Divine Powers were vast; it was only natural for him to save him along the way!

A soft look appeared in Lin Zhen’s eyes as she murmured:

"He saved Junior Brother Zhang, too... We must thank him properly next time we see him."

The others nodded. Huang Zifeng also sighed.

"Even though he’s gone down the wrong path... we have to give credit where it’s due. We must thank him for this. Besides, his strength..."

He thought for a moment, then sighed again.

"It’s incredible."

Hearing them talk about thanking him, Xie Yuan gave a dry laugh and thought to himself, ’No need. I just saved myself.’

He then added:

"I escaped during the chaos and rushed over when I saw you all. There were too many bandits, so I was just swinging my sword wildly. I feel like my Swordsmanship has improved a lot these past few days."

Hearing this, Huang Zifeng shook his head.

"You two roommates... truly, birds of a feather flock together."

"Alright, we’ve finally regrouped. Let’s take advantage of the chaos and fight our way out of here!"

Everyone’s spirits lifted, but Lin Zhen still asked in a low voice:

"What about Master Xie...?"

"His fight isn’t something we can interfere in. Heaven protects the worthy. With Master Xie’s strength, escaping will definitely be no problem for him!"

Lin Cheng comforted his sister.

Xie Yuan listened from the side, realizing the Lin family siblings were quite concerned about him.

’Don’t worry, I’ve already retreated safely.’

He thought to himself.

If he hadn’t been worried about his companions, with his Celestial Concealment Skill and Cloud Dragon Step, he would have escaped long ago. The combination was ridiculously effective. As long as he wasn’t completely surrounded, he was practically invincible against anyone below the Grandmaster realm.

Just before, when Lu Xiaosan was chasing him from a distance, he had deliberately fled in the opposite direction, luring him and his numerous Second Training bandits far away. Only when they were about to catch up did he use his Celestial Concealment Skill at full power, change direction, and double back to regroup with his companions.

In truth, if his companions hadn’t come to his rescue, it would have been much easier for him to act alone. He could have fought or fled as he pleased.

But his fellow disciples had disregarded their own safety and taken a huge risk to save him. It was just bad luck that they stumbled into Lu the Third’s main bandit camp, which made things so troublesome. How could Xie Yuan possibly blame them? He felt nothing but gratitude.

Now that all was said and done, it was time for it to end. The five of them, including Xie Yuan, broke out of the encirclement of the outer-ring bandits and saw the yellow sands of the great desert before them, a welcome sight after so long. There were no longer seas of people blocking their way.

Their spirits soared. They immediately commandeered several fine horses and galloped away at full speed.

’I really screwed over Lu the Third this time. He’s probably going to be too angry to sleep.’

Xie Yuan felt a sense of satisfaction.

’Speaking of which, that earthquake... did I cause that? The power of this grenade is a bit much. A Thunder Bomb? More like a Tsar Bomba!

’I must have triggered some kind of mechanism in the ruins. It looks like the whole place has completely collapsed. I bet even when Lu the Third gets there, he won’t be able to fix it or get inside.

’Hmph, and he wanted to use this to increase his strength? Taking shortcuts is unacceptable! I hate cheaters more than anything. He should just cultivate honestly on his own!’

As Xie Yuan was enjoying his moment of self-satisfaction, he suddenly noticed a plume of dust rapidly approaching from the side and frowned.

’Why is a Second Training expert coming from this direction? He’s faster than a galloping horse!’

"This way!"

Huang Zifeng shouted in a low voice. The group slightly turned their horses, only to see someone else charging at them from the other side, looking determined to catch them.

Xie Yuan’s brow furrowed deeply. ’Have these Second Training experts been freed up to hunt us down with all their might? But we’re so far away. Why are they so obsessed with a few Sword Sect disciples?’

A thought flashed through his mind, and his heart sank slightly.

’They must be trying to cover up all news of what happened. They can’t even let Sword Sect disciples go... But haven’t the ruins already been destroyed?’

As Xie Yuan was pondering this, several more experts appeared ahead of them in an arc. The group’s expressions changed slightly, and they had no choice but to turn their horses again and charge out at an angle.

If one were to look down from high above, the bandits were pursuing them with a clear strategy. The group of five began to trace a large circle around the basin, unable to get far.

Thoughts raced through Xie Yuan’s mind as he tried to come up with a countermeasure. Suddenly, his heart trembled and he whipped his head around. He saw an exaggeratedly long dragon of dust appear in the distance. Staring intently, he saw a man with coarse features, a face as rough as sand, and a sinister expression—it was Lu Xiaosan.

’Did he spot me? Impossible! Or is he just determined to chase our group down?’

"Faster!"

Xie Yuan couldn’t help but shout, whipping his horse’s reins.

They spurred their horses and charged for several miles. Aided by their horses’ power and the desert terrain, they barely managed to maintain their distance from the bandits. Lu Xiaosan hadn’t closed the gap by much either.

Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, they suddenly saw another person appear ahead of them.

This time, the person’s speed was so great that the moment he appeared on the horizon, his features were already becoming clear as he approached at an incredible velocity!

Unbelievably fast!

Everyone was horrified. And when Xie Yuan saw the figure with a face as black as the bottom of a pot and a great saber slung over his shoulder, his heart sank along with the spirits of the other four.

Lu the Third had arrived.