The night was deep, and Li Muzhan could clearly see the six faces pale with shock. One of the men stabbed clutched his chest, sitting heavily on the ground, utterly spent.

The remaining five lunged like a tempest, their blows manifesting as solid phantom fists rushing toward Li Muzhan, cresting like massive, terrifying waves shattering the air.

Li Muzhan swept his sword in a circle, wrapping himself in a corona of shimmering light.

“Clang, clang, clang, clang…” The circle of sword light pulsed, expanding and contracting like a beating heart, seemingly on the verge of being swallowed by the oncoming fists.

Yet, each impact was endured; the sword light remained, the five men’s strikes unable to breach the luminous barrier.

“Fifth Brother, Second Brother, go after them!”

“Right!”

The two elders broke away, attempting to slip into the woods, but a flash of cold light intercepted them instantly at the chest. One elder had no choice but to meet it head-on.

“Ugh…” The elder’s fist was pierced, and the blade continued into his sternum.

All his cultivation resided in his fist, providing enough brute force to momentarily halt the sword’s momentum. The tip did not penetrate deep, but Li Muzhan instantly retracted it.

“Fifth Brother!” the other four roared in fury.

They hadn't expected Li Muzhan’s movement technique to be so bizarre, escaping the three sets of phantom punches in a blink to deliver a lightning-fast strike behind the fifth elder.

If it had been them, they inwardly admitted they wouldn't have been able to block that sword thrust. A mixture of awe and indignation churned within them, a raging fury that made them want to smash Li Muzhan into dust with a single blow.

Another man withdrew. The remaining four ceased pursuing Bai Mingqiu and the others, instead encircling Li Muzhan, resolved to kill him first before resuming the chase.

Li Muzhan chuckled, his sword light flickering, and a faint dragon’s roar echoed.

“Hmph, the Twelve Heavenly Abyss Swords!” an elder sneered. “It seems he is a secret disciple of the Heavenly Abyss Pavilion. We must slay him regardless!”

The other four elders remained silent, tightening their offensive.

“Heavenly Dragon Fist!” another elder bellowed.

The five men suddenly flickered and retreated, grouping behind the lead elder, their backs pressed against one another, forming a single, serpentine unit like a giant centipede.

The leading elder unleashed a punch, and a fist imprint instantly materialized against Li Muzhan’s chest—it was almost a real fist, forcing all surrounding spiritual energy aside with astonishing force.

Li Muzhan vanished from his spot, but to his surprise, another fist imprint appeared immediately, moving with unbelievable speed, as if the strike had materialized the instant the thought formed.

The lead elder’s face was grim, meeting Li Muzhan’s gaze with icy arrogance, a hint of mockery playing around his brow, as if Li Muzhan were foolishly pitting an egg against a boulder.

Li Muzhan inwardly tensed, vanishing again, narrowly evading the blow only to find the fist imprint waiting for him the moment he reappeared in the woods.

He frowned. Could they see through his movement technique?

While he hadn't used instantaneous movement or unleashed the Sword Intent of Void Shattering, his speed was nearly comparable to teleportation. They shouldn’t have been able to react fast enough for the imprint to arrive so directly.

This fist technique must be peculiar!

—

The lead elder sneered, “It’s useless for you to flee to the ends of the earth!”

Their movements were also swift, and they plunged into the forest. Li Muzhan barely dodged an imprint that slammed into a nearby pine tree as thick as a man’s arm, blasting it cleanly in two.

The tree provided Li Muzhan a crucial moment to catch his breath. He drifted back cautiously, yet he couldn't retreat entirely for fear they would catch Bai Mingqiu.

But the fist imprint was instantly upon him again. Li Muzhan offered a wry smile, finally understanding: it wasn't their reaction speed that was terrifying, but the bizarre nature of the fist imprint—it possessed autonomous tracking.

He couldn't help but smile bitterly; it was akin to his own Sword Control technique, moving exactly as commanded. He glanced at the lead elder, whose eyes were bloodshot, fixed unblinkingly on the advancing strike.

Li Muzhan shook his head and smiled, pointing a finger. With a sharp hiss, a beam of white light shot from his fingertip and struck the fist imprint.

Pop! It sounded like a pebble dropping into a deep well.

A vast power surged out, pushing him back two steps like a tidal wave. Dust and stones flew, branches snapped, and massive trees swayed violently, showering leaves that were immediately whipped away by the swirling wind.

As Li Muzhan retreated, he launched a second finger strike; the elder responded with another punch. Pop! The gale surged anew, lifting the fallen leaves into the air, swirling them into a dizzying vortex.

Li Muzhan was shoved back another step by the wind. He countered with another point; the elder did the same. Neither ceased, their finger strikes and punches meeting relentlessly.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

After three impacts, they separated by over a dozen feet. The force generated by the collision of finger energy and the fist imprint was now significantly reduced, no longer capable of forcing them backward.

“Go, chase those two!” the elder commanded sharply.

Li Muzhan vanished from his spot and reappeared before the elder, raising both his left and right hands, pressing his thumbs forward. Two crisp sounds, like silk tearing, erupted: Chii and Chii.

The elder roared, unleashing both fists simultaneously to meet the incoming finger energies.

Bang! Both the elder and Li Muzhan were forced back two steps.

“Not bad, kid, your cultivation is considerable!” the elder said flatly, his face cold.

Li Muzhan smiled. “You aren't so bad yourselves!”

The elder shook his head, a hint of derision in his tone. “It’s useless trying to tie us up here; there are others handling them over there.”

Li Muzhan frowned, sensing the truth in his words, and stated gravely, “Then I will settle you lot first!”

The elder shook his head. “You settle us, and then you can go collect the corpses of those two little girls. Besides, you don’t have the skill. Come on!”

Li Muzhan’s expression darkened, and he slowly drew his sword.

“Kid, your finger arts are decent, but your swordsmanship…” The elder shook his head dismissively. “The Twelve Heavenly Abyss Swords are nothing more than this!”

Li Muzhan remained expressionless, lightly stroking the blade. The sword’s surface suddenly brightened, as if infused with a clear spring, circulating continuously.

“Oh, there’s something to this,” the elder said, turning to the three behind him with a laugh. “Let’s see what the Heavenly Abyss Pavilion can truly do with their famous swordsmanship.”

His tone was brimming with contempt as he cast a scornful glance at Li Muzhan. The other three chuckled as well, looking relaxed. If Li Muzhan had stuck to his finger arts, they would have been wary. Abandoning his strength for a perceived weakness—it was truly like bringing a knife to a gunfight, the little fool!

A streak of flowing light swept out, instantly enveloping the four men, followed by a sharp shout, cries of alarm, and the devastating might of Li Muzhan’s Flowing Water sword move.

He was originally a disciple of the Vast Sea Sword Sect; enlightenment struck when observing the great ocean, leading him to devise the Vast Sea Art. Coupled with practicing the Scripture of Heaven and Man Illumination while seated in a lotus blossom atop a lake, his understanding of water dynamics deepened profoundly. Moreover, stemming from his Buddhist background, his Zen meditation was extremely deep, allowing him to grasp the inherent emptiness of the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind.

Since arriving in this world and merging his understanding with the Flowing Water Sword, he instantly achieved true comprehension of the Flowing Water Sword Intent, even surpassing the Submerged Dragon Stance, yielding an extraordinary power.

The Twelve Heavenly Abyss Swords were exquisitely complex. The same technique yields greater power with deeper comprehension of its underlying intent; it favors intent over rigid form, but the intent must be channeled through the sword forms for maximum effect.

After the light faded, when the four men reappeared, two were clutching their chests, one lay sprawled on the ground, and the fourth had his right fist pierced, blood gushing forth.

Li Muzhan sheathed his sword, watched them for a moment, shook his head, and turned to leave.

The power of this single Flowing Water Sword Intent was indeed considerable. If he had fought them head-on in a true melee, he could have only managed a draw, finding it difficult to gain the upper hand. Their combined formation was seamless, their internal energies perfectly synchronized, giving them astonishing momentum.

Following his instinct, he turned into a fleeting shadow, darting through the forest. After roughly the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, he caught up to Bai Mingqiu and the other girl.

They were currently trapped in a heavy siege. Two middle-aged men were pressing the attack on Bai Mingqiu, while Zhu Ling lay motionless on the ground. Li Muzhan’s heart instantly sank. (To be continued)