The young master of the island, ‘Gu Shiyou’, was practicing with a black spear in hand, but three sharp cries pierced the air, causing him to turn his head toward the sky.
"Execute them all?" Gu Shiyou frowned; he recognized that signal.
"Didn't Teng Qingshan's father just die?"
The previous decision to capture the hunter, 'Teng Yongfan', was purely Gu Shiyou’s personal initiative. Although Qinghu Island viewed Teng Qingshan as a threat, he was currently only at the Xiantian Void Core realm, an annoyance the high-ranking members of Qinghu Island had not truly regarded. The elders were unhurried, but Gu Shiyou felt a surge of indignation.
Teng Qingshan, a mere country boy, had shot to the top, claiming the number one spot on the Qianlong Ranking, overshadowing him. At that time, Gu Shiyou could still tolerate it; he had intended to strive harder in his cultivation to surpass Teng Qingshan.
But soon after, he learned that Teng Qingshan had reached the Xiantian realm!
Achieving Xiantian at seventeen was something the habitually successful Gu Shiyou could barely stomach. Driven by petty resentment, he had insisted on capturing Teng Yongfan. If this act could draw Teng Qingshan out, Qinghu Island might not hesitate to eliminate him.
"Teng Qingshan, your father is dead. This order wasn't mine," Gu Shiyou revealed a hint of sinister amusement. "Actually, your father was quite lucky; his death brings 179 hunters along as his funeral escort."
...
In a certain gorge in Da Yan Mountain, Teng Yongfan and the other eight hunters were gathered with the soldiers of the Silver Flood Dragon Army.
In the wild grasses of the gorge lay a bottomless pit, easily three zhang wide. Such deep chasms were not uncommon in Da Yan Mountain.
"Hey! You few!" one one-eyed soldier of the Silver Flood Dragon Army barked. "How long until the captain and the others climb out?"
Teng Qinghao shook his head helplessly. "Gentlemen, even we hunters dare not descend into this bottomless pit. Who knows how long it will take? However... given the strength of the twenty officers who went down, they will surely be fine." As the new captain of the Teng Family Village hunting party, Teng Qinghao had seen his share of important people—the head of the White Horse Gang, the Lord of Yicheng—so he wasn't easily intimidated.
"Hmph," the one-eyed man grunted.
Just then.
"Swoosh!" A sharp cry echoed across the sky.
"Hm? Rally call?" The thirty Silver Flood Dragon Army soldiers standing on the surface looked up.
"Looks like they found something," the one-eyed man sighed, walking over to the edge of the pit and shouting down. "Captain, rally call! Let's head back quickly." Only the echoes of "Go back," "Go back," returned, rebounding within the impregnable depths of the pit.
"Everyone, get ready to move out," the one-eyed soldier announced.
At that very moment—
"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!"
Three consecutive sharp cries rang out. The Silver Flood Dragon Army soldiers, who had been sitting down and preparing to rise, froze. They all knew precisely what that signal meant; they had been briefed before they arrived. Instantly, the thirty soldiers exchanged subtle glances!
"Guess we have to walk all the way back again," the hunters muttered, rising to their feet.
"Whoosh!" A sudden gust of wind whipped up.
"Thwack!" A swift blade, trailing a sliver of cold light, slashed across the throat of a young man, sending his head flying high. Blood immediately sprayed violently from the severed neck.
After this surprise assassination of one hunter, the one-eyed soldier roared, "Kill!"
Nearly simultaneously, the thirty Silver Flood Dragon Army soldiers lunged at the remaining eight hunters. The hunters were armed only with simple red-tasseled spears, while the Silver Flood Dragon Army soldiers were highly trained and numbered thirty strong. If thirty trained soldiers couldn't eliminate nine lightly armored hunters, it would be a genuine farce!
"Thump!" "Thump!"
Caught completely off guard, two more hunters fell. At the same time, the thirty soldiers executed a practiced maneuver, fanning out like dumplings being wrapped, intending to completely encircle the remaining six hunters.
"Run!" Teng Qinghao screamed hoarsely.
The surviving six hunters immediately bolted toward the north at top speed.
"Hustle!" Teng Yongfan roared urgently; the Silver Flood Dragon Army was rapidly closing the encirclement. If they slowed down any more, they were finished.
"Damn bastards," one middle-aged man, facing imminent danger, roared, thrusting his red-tasseled spear toward an advancing soldier.
"Clang!" The spear tip struck the heavy armor, leaving only a faint white mark.
"Whoosh!" But the soldier’s brutal saber strike went straight for the throat. Another hunter died!
Clearly, the three men from Teng Family Village were the strongest among the survivors and were fleeing the fastest.
"You won't escape," a sneer followed as the thirty Silver Flood Dragon Army soldiers finally completed the ring. The faces of Teng Yongfan, Teng Yongxiang, Teng Qinghao, and the other two hunters paled drastically. The thirty soldiers began to narrow their circle, compressing inward on the five survivors.
"Charge!" Teng Yongfan bellowed, his body exploding forward.
"Slash!" His iron spear, like a swimming dragon, smashed violently toward the soldiers ahead, accompanied by a piercing whistle. The sheer force made the faces of the three soldiers in front change drastically, forcing them to use their sabers to defend.
"Boom!" A series of impact sounds followed.
Teng Yongfan actually sent one soldier flying, while the other two crashed to the side. It was known that when Teng Qingshan was young, his father, Teng Yongfan, was the strongest man in the clan, his arm strength exceeding a thousand jin. After years of practicing the Tiger Fist, his physical power had surged to over two thousand jin.
Furthermore, due to cultivating the Tiger Fist, he possessed internal energy. This momentary burst of explosive power approached nearly four thousand jin!
If one generally reached two thousand jin of strength, they were considered a second-rate martial artist. Most 'Squad Leaders' were only second-rate martial artists. Moreover, Teng Yongfan practiced the 'Great Spear Stance,' making his spear techniques naturally formidable. Among these thirty soldiers, perhaps none could certainly defeat him in single combat. Alas... the enemy had superior numbers, and all of them wore heavy armor!
"Go," Teng Yongfan shouted, and Teng Yongxiang and Teng Qinghao followed closely.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The trio attempted to escape.
If escaping were that easy, the Silver Flood Dragon Army would not deserve the title of Qinghu Island's elite force. As the three soldiers fell, the others immediately converged, blocking the gap.
"Kill them all!"
A cold command cut through the air as weapons slashed toward them. Facing the mass of incoming blades, the Teng family trio grew desperate.
"Thud!" "Thud!" In one sweep of the coordinated attack, the remaining two hunters managed only unwilling cries before they died.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"...
All practitioners of the Tiger Fist and Great Spear Stance, the three from Teng Family Village possessed agile movements and fierce spear techniques, managing to block many incoming sabers through their combined effort.
"Qinghao," Teng Yongxiang kicked fiercely, sending the blade aimed at his son, 'Teng Qinghao', flying aside. While saving his son, his focus lapsed. Even though Teng Yongxiang managed to dodge quickly, a saber still managed to land with a "thwack" on his back, leaving a deep wound from which blood flowed.
"Father!" Teng Qinghao cried out in alarm.
In that single instant, the encirclement tightened again.
"Qinghao, go," Teng Yongxiang grabbed Teng Qinghao firmly by the waist and then exerted his right arm.
Whoosh!
Teng Qinghao’s body, weighing over a hundred jin, was thrown high, soaring clear of the encirclement.
"Splat!" The Silver Flood Dragon Army soldiers seized the opportunity, plunging a saber deep into Teng Yongxiang's chest.
...
Teng Qinghao, flung to the ground, turned back, his eyes widening in furious anguish, the corners nearly tearing. "Father!" A cry of piercing pain erupted.
"Damn it!" Teng Yongxiang, with a saber lodged in his chest, felt his head spinning. He roared, pouring every last remnant of his strength into the iron spear in his hand.
"Central Level Thrust!"
Teng Yongxiang roared the name!
Swish!
The spear techniques of the Teng Family Village consisted of the Central Level Thrust and the Rousing Great Spear. As the spear master, Teng Yongxiang had practiced the Central Level Thrust for over forty years. In this final moment of life, his explosive thrust was as fast as a bolt of lightning!
"Clang!"
The spear tip pierced directly through the visor, skewering a Silver Flood Dragon Army soldier’s head! This was the first soldier of the thirty to die.
With eyes wide open, having killed a soldier with the Central Level Thrust, Teng Yongxiang became utterly still.
"Chase that boy," the one-eyed soldier commanded.
"Father," Teng Qinghao wiped a tear, gritting his teeth and immediately sprinting away into the distance. No matter the pain or rage, he had to escape! His father had died for him. Otherwise, with his father’s master-level spear skills, he shouldn't have died so quickly.
...
"Arghh~~~" Teng Yongfan, bearing three wounds, raged like a wild tiger. With a Tiger Leap, he swung his iron spear violently! He smashed a soldier who was trying to pursue Teng Qinghao onto the ground, then shot out his left hand, grabbed the soldier’s ankle, and swung him like a whip! Dragging the ankle, he slammed the body onto the ground!
Boom!
This impact completely shattered the Silver Flood Dragon Army soldier’s head, even knocking his helmet loose.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
In his frenzy, Teng Yongfan swung the soldier’s corpse, batting away several others, then violently flung the body, tripping another soldier who was chasing Teng Qinghao into the distance.
"Kill him!" The soldiers were enraged.
To suffer casualties while killing mere hunters? It was an absolute disgrace.
...
Teng Qinghao's face was streaked with tears, but he ran like a leopard, darting swiftly through the mountain forest. The two soldiers who had been pursuing him shortly before quickly lost sight of him. Because... this was Da Yan Mountain! And Teng Qinghao was the captain of the hunting party!
Teng Qinghao knew Da Yan Mountain intimately.
Of course, the most crucial reason was that Teng Yongfan had drawn the attention of too many soldiers. Otherwise, with the full force of the soldiers using internal energy to converge and kill, Teng Qinghao would never have escaped.
In the woods, after running for a while, he occasionally spotted two or three soldiers, whom Teng Qinghao carefully avoided. These soldiers were all moving toward a central rendezvous point. After running a short distance, Teng Qinghao saw no more soldiers on his path.
"Father! Uncle Yongfan!"
Teng Qinghao gritted his teeth and glanced back.
His father had died for him!
And what of Teng Yongfan? Though he hadn't witnessed his death, he had seen Uncle Yongfan surrounded by a mass of Silver Flood Dragon Army soldiers. Teng Yongfan wore no heavy armor, while the enemy did. He likely couldn't kill more than two or three soldiers before being overwhelmed.
"Father, Uncle Yongfan, I will definitely take revenge! I swear I will avenge you!" Teng Qinghao hid in the undergrowth, his face contorted. "I must tell Qingshan about this!"
Facing the behemoth that was Qinghu Island...
He could not think of anyone else; only Teng Qingshan could handle this! Teng Qingshan had never disappointed them. Only Teng Qingshan could resolve this matter!
"This debt must be repaid!" Teng Qinghao quickly fled into the distance.
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