"Not good." With a cold sweat breaking out, Ji Lianfengyu spun 360 degrees in mid-air, narrowly evading Ying Bu's blade. However, when he landed, he staggered noticeably. At that moment, the surrounding low-ranking soldiers surged forward, intending to capture him, but they were instantly dismembered, hands and feet severed by the sweeping arc of his trident.

"Take him down!" Xiang Yu roared, rejoining the fray himself. Any previous injuries meant nothing to him now.

Ji Lianfengyu’s cause was lost, and with no will left to fight, he executed a sharp counter-stab, impaling two soldiers and throwing them into the crowd, while he used the distraction to unleash his ultimate technique, Yan Hui Shan (Swallow's Retreat Flash), soaring out of the Western Chu encampment at high speed.

"Do not pursue a cornered enemy!" Xiang Yu raised his greatsword, halting his officers and men.

"Is Yu'er alright?" Xiang Liang was naturally concerned for his nephew, especially as Xiang Yu had rendered meritorious service by saving the master.

"No matter," Xiang Yu dusted himself off and approached Ying Bu. "General Ying, what is the status of the assassination attempt?"

Ying Bu lowered his head, speaking slowly. "Not a single one of the death-sworn brothers survived. While we failed to slay Zhang Han instantly, he is surely incapacitated by now."

"Excellent! Prepare the troops immediately; the time to shatter the Qin army is upon us." Xiang Yu, ignoring his own wounds, strode onto the command platform. "Brothers, today we must strike down the Qin forces! Everyone give me everything you’ve got—kill!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The Western Chu warriors, awed by Xiang Yu’s fiercely elevated fighting spirit, were brimming with resolve.

"Uncle, please issue the command," Xiang Yu bowed slightly to Xiang Liang.

Xiang Liang nodded, raising his sword high, and proclaimed in a deep voice, "Soldiers of Western Chu, advance! Target: The Tyrant Qin!"

With a resounding whoosh, the unified footsteps moved with the grace of flowing water, and the fierce whinny of Xiaotian’s horse resolved to shatter the tumultuous dawn.

Hiding on the barren slope, Ji Lianfengyu had abandoned the assassination mission. However, he suddenly felt an uneasy presence behind him. Turning around, he saw a sword-wielding youth grinning widely while watching him—unfortunately, that youth was Ye Xiu.

"Heh heh, light on your feet, aren't you? When did you start trailing me?" As Ji Lianfengyu spoke, he raised his trident, which instantly transformed; the three prongs merged tightly into the form of a long spear.

Ye Xiu swung his sword loosely in front of him, appearing utterly bored. "That’s a rather special weapon you have. Are you also an assassin from Gui Zong Island (Ghost Trance Island)?"

"Oh? You are too?" Ji Lianfengyu asked coldly. "Don't you know the Gate Master dislikes any private communication between assassins?"

Ye Xiu moved closer to him, whispering near his ear, "Tell me your Gate Master's name, and how does one get to Gui Zong Island?"

"Words are unnecessary when we don't agree!" Ji Lianfengyu intensely disliked Ye Xiu’s overconfident demeanor. He immediately swung his long spear, driving it straight through Ye Xiu’s chest.

"Heh heh, where is your speed?" Ye Xiu stood unharmed behind Ji Lianfengyu, laughing smugly. He saw that his Zi Feng Lian (Purple Wind Chain) bracelet was emitting mist again. This damned magic tool always chose the worst moments to activate, fizzling out precisely when needed most. "Your Qinggong (Lightness Skill) was impressive when you escaped earlier; why is it so lacking now?"

"Ji • Shan Yan Hui (Trident • Flashing Swallow Retreat)," Ji Lianfengyu, infuriated, shouted, leaping onto a nearby sapling, then soaring to another tree, and tumbling toward a nearby wooden stake. His speed and maneuvers were perfectly set up.

"So slow!" Ye Xiu yawned widely, tilting his head left and right. Indeed, no matter how much the man thrashed in the air, to Ye Xiu under the effect of the Zi Feng Lian, it looked like slow-motion playback, lacking any sense of true speed.

"Ji • Ji Luo (Trident • Urgent Descent)," Ji Lianfengyu finally lost patience and lunged downward toward Ye Xiu. This move, when combined with the setup of Shan Yan Hui, should have left the opponent disoriented and unable to track his direction. Yet, the current situation was the exact opposite.

Ye Xiu didn't even raise his sword. He leisurely stretched, scratched an itch near his groin, and fussed with a lock of his soft, fine hair.

"Die!" Ji Lianfengyu could not tolerate Ye Xiu’s arrogant expression, intending this single thrust to grant him the exquisite sensation of being torn apart by five horses.

Clang! In a turn of events Ji Lianfengyu could never have dreamed of, just as he was about to pierce Ye Xiu, his trident was effortlessly clamped between Ye Xiu’s two fingers. That wasn't even the worst part; the young man in front of him instantly snatched the trident from his grasp, tossed it to the ground, and delivered two sharp slaps across his face. How could one person move so fast?

"Alright, now you can tell me," Ye Xiu stood squarely before Ji Lianfengyu. This confidence stemmed from the Zi Feng Lian, which had conveniently stopped working just then. Even Ye Xiu himself thought he looked incredibly cool.

Ji Lianfengyu had never encountered an opponent with such commanding presence. He was momentarily stunned, large beads of sweat already seeping from his brow and tracing straight lines onto the ground.

"How can an outsider enter the Ghost Valley?" Ye Xiu half-closed his eyes. The Guan Xin Zhi Shu (Mind Observation Art) seemed useless against these assassins; their minds were far simpler than ordinary people’s. An assassin's thought process had only two states: life or death.

"The Ghost Valley can only be exited, not entered! I hear only Hall Masters can move freely." Ji Lianfengyu said these words to Ye Xiu not out of fear of death, but out of respect for Ye Xiu's overwhelming might. He felt that his lifetime of studying Yan Hui had been wasted, surpassed by a mere youth.

Ye Xiu nodded with his hands behind his back. "A truly rigorous organization. Very well, you may leave."

"You aren't killing me?" Ji Lianfengyu was greatly surprised. But then, it made sense; facing such a supreme master, the question of killing held little weight. This person could take his life whenever he wished.

Whoosh... A piercing gale tore through the woods, and through Ji Lianfengyu's body. By the time Ye Xiu reacted, the only things remaining were a corpse and a single, deep crimson leaf.

"Another assassination to silence witnesses?" Ye Xiu found himself growing increasingly intrigued by the Ghost Valley.

When Ye Xiu finally woke from his nap and slowly wandered back to the camp, it was already noon. To his surprise, the camp was filled with an atmosphere of sheer jubilation. Upon asking around, he learned that the night's operation had been a massive success: the Western Chu army had completely flattened the Qin encampment overnight, forcing the Qin forces to retreat to the capital, and the renowned general Zhang Han was rumored to be gravely wounded.

"Today there is wine and meat! Lord Xiang Liang is rewarding the entire army!" The soldier delivering the message dumped huge chunks of meat and large jars of wine in front of Ye Xiu and the other patrol soldiers. After a scramble, nothing was left.