To Be Honest, It's a Bit Worse Than I Imagined

The clanging of metal on metal rang out continuously across the desolate snowy plain.

However, Ye Zhibai ultimately found that two fists were no match for four hands. Under the combined assault of the two men, her sword momentum was suppressed, forcing her into a steady retreat.

“Hehehe, your swordsmanship isn't bad, little lady, but it's all mere showmanship!”

The short, stout man gave a sinister laugh. He was about to mock her further when he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck.

Without him knowing when, a long spear had silently pressed against the nape of his neck.

The tip of the spear was ice-cold, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.

The short man's smile froze on his face.

“How is this possible!”

He hadn't even sensed when this person had approached.

The assassins of the Ghost Gate Chamber were renowned for their eerie movement and silent approach, often killing their enemies before they were even aware of a presence.

Yet now, someone had used that very same method to sneak up behind him.

Furthermore, the aura emanating from that spear tip was completely different from ordinary spear techniques.

It was a cold, fleeting, phantom-like aura.

It was just like... just like the Killing Arts of their Ghost Gate Chamber.

“What a sinister spear technique!”

Seeing this, the tall, thin man did not move to save his companion. Instead, he drifted several zhang away, maintaining a safe distance from Chen Zui.

Chen Zui ignored him as well, facing the figure shrouded in the dark cloak in the distance.

He could faintly sense that this person, who refused to reveal their true face, was extremely dangerous.

“Release him.”

The cloaked figure spoke.

The voice was low and raspy, like an echo coming from a dry well. It carried no emotion, yet it made one's skin crawl.

Chen Zui did not move. The spear tip remained pressed against the short assassin's neck.

“You tell me to release him and I just do it? Wouldn't that be quite embarrassing for me?”

The cloaked figure fell silent for a moment.

In that instant, Chen Zui's pupils suddenly constricted.

Immediately following that, the sound of wind breaking rang out from behind his head.

“Watch your back!” Ye Zhibai hurriedly warned.

Chen Zui did not turn around.

Instead, he leaned his entire body backward. A short dagger, pulled by a thin thread, sliced past the tip of his nose at high speed.

The short man took advantage of this opening to flee behind the cloaked figure.

Chen Zui did not pursue him. He stood up straight and looked toward the cloaked figure with a solemn expression.

At the same time, the cloaked figure also looked toward Chen Zui.

“To be able to dodge that move... you are not simple.”

A pale, nearly transparent hand emerged from the cloak, playing with the dagger.

The end of the dagger was connected to his index finger by an extremely difficult-to-detect silk thread.

“Hanging Silk Soul Pursuit.”

The cloaked figure suddenly spoke.

“That is the name I gave it. What do you think?”

“It's passable,” Chen Zui curled his lip. “The name is just a bit tacky.”

“Interesting.”

Before his voice had even faded, the cloaked figure's finger moved again.

This time, the short dagger did not loop around. Instead, it shot straight toward Chen Zui's face!

Chen Zui held his spear horizontally to block. The shaft and the dagger collided, sending out a shower of sparks.

But before the force of the impact could be fully dissipated, the short dagger used the rebound to spring into the air.

It then pivoted at a bizarre angle and lunged straight for Chen Zui's left ribs.

Chen Zui shifted his footing, deploying the Dragon Roam movement technique. He moved three feet to the side, dodging the strike with ease.

However, as soon as he landed, the dagger pursued him like a persistent shadow, attacking again under the guidance of the cloaked figure's fingertip!

One strike, a pivot, and a return.

There was no pause between the three strikes. The short dagger and the silk thread wove an ever-tightening net in the air.

Chen Zui's figure darted and dodged within it. The spear tip and the dagger blade clashed repeatedly, the sound of metal on metal echoing continuously.

In truth, the silk thread was far more dangerous than the short dagger.

It was not just a tool for controlling the dagger; it was an invisible weapon in its own right.

Wherever the silk thread passed, even the air was sliced, producing a faint hissing sound.

The snow was covered in a crisscross of fine gashes, each one several inches deep.

The cloaked figure stood in place, his ten fingers dancing like he was playing a zither.

Although his feet did not move an inch, his hands moved so fast it was dazzling.

Under his guidance, the silk thread was sometimes as taut as a string, sometimes as flexible as a whip, sometimes coiling into a loop, and sometimes rippling like a wave.

The short dagger darted through this ever-changing shadow of threads, its offensive coming in wave after wave without end.

“Brother Chen!”

Xiao Chengyan's heart hammered in his chest as he watched, unable to stop himself from shouting out.

As for Ye Zhibai, she was trembling slightly at the side.

It was not out of fear, but because of an emotion she was unwilling to admit to herself.

She realized she couldn't even find an opening to intervene.

Earlier, when she had fought two against one, she had been at a disadvantage, but at least she could see the logic behind their moves.

But in this battle, she could hardly even track the trajectory of that dagger.

However, what she failed to see was the faint, lingering smile on Chen Zui's face.

Though Chen Zui appeared to be on the defensive, not even the corner of his robe had been nicked.

He had actually been observing carefully the entire time.

Every pull from the cloaked figure, every change in technique, and every moment the silk was retracted or released was etched into his mind.

After all, this was the first time Chen Zui had encountered a combat style involving a silk-controlled blade.

But he quickly discovered a pattern.

The attack range of that dagger had a limit.

To be precise, the length of the silk thread determined how far the dagger could fly.

Once it exceeded a certain distance, the dagger had to be retracted to strike again.

Furthermore, when the dagger changed direction in mid-air, there was an extremely brief pause.

That was the moment the tension on the silk shifted to change direction, which was also the moment the cloaked figure's finger movements changed.

Where there is change, there is a pause.

Although this pause was so short it was almost negligible, Chen Zui had keenly captured it.

Not only that, but he had an even more important discovery.

From beginning to end, the cloaked figure had remained in place, never moving a single step.

It wasn't that he didn't want to move, but that he couldn't.

Controlling a blade with silk required immense focus and precise finger control; any extraneous movement would affect the dagger's trajectory.

This meant that as long as he was controlling the dagger, his main body was a relatively stationary target.

Having figured all this out, Chen Zui dodged another dangerously close attack from the short dagger, a curve suddenly appearing at the corner of his mouth.

“So this is the so-called Hanging Silk Soul Pursuit? To be honest, it's a bit worse than I imagined.”

“Oh?”

The cloaked figure's fingers paused for a fraction of a second.

In that very instant, Chen Zui's spear momentum also underwent a sudden change.

The long spear in his hand jerked violently, the shaft vibrating and emitting a low hum like a ghostly wail.

Thirteen Ghost Shadow Spears.

“This aura...”

The cloaked figure's fingers came to a complete stop.

The black short dagger also hung suspended in mid-air, a grim cold light trembling slightly on its edge.

“You were holding back this whole time?”

A hint of inexplicable interest was hidden in the cloaked figure's voice.

“I wouldn't say I was holding back.

I just felt that against a piece of string, there was no need to be too serious.

But since you're having so much fun, I'll play with you a bit longer.”

Before his voice had even faded, Chen Zui vanished from his spot with his spear in hand.