Mercenaries in Two Worlds

The three searched cautiously for a long time but found no trace of Wang Er. Zhang Qian subdued a guard from the Wang family mercenary group on the outskirts. According to him, they had not gone out to capture anyone that night.

As dawn broke, having accomplished nothing in the previous night, the three had no choice but to retreat and make further plans.

Just as Zhang Qian and his group had left the Three Swords Mercenary Group, their path was blocked by someone.

"What, you want to leave after just one stroll? Why don't you come in and sit for a while?" Suddenly, a man dressed in a Three Swords Corps uniform with gold trim appeared on the tree, looking down at the three of them.

"Hurry up." Zhang Qian glanced at him and recognized him as one of the three people in the circle of a hundred, though he didn't know exactly who it was.

"Stay here." Seeing Zhang Qian and the others turn and flee without a word, the man sneered, then leaped lightly and swiftly chased after them across the jungle as if walking on flat ground.

"Giant Tree Technique!" Zhang Qian shouted, and a giant pillar rose from the ground behind him, blocking the way for the approaching person.

The man sneered, "You dare to show off such martial arts skills and embarrass yourself?" Without dodging, he stretched out a palm and shattered the giant tree, his speed showing no sign of slowing down.

This was one of the many Yellow-rank martial arts techniques that Zhang Qian had learned. It was better than nothing, and he hadn't originally intended to injure the opponent; he only hoped to slow them down a little.

"The opponent's cultivation level is estimated to be at the Yuan Dan realm. Could he be Ci Yan?" Zhang Qian felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Although the Yellow-rank high-level martial skill was low-level, it shouldn't be so bad that it was broken by the opponent with a single palm strike.

"No, I've seen Ci Yan before." Ye Mei had seen Ci Yan once at the mercenary center before, so she recognized him.

"Haha, I'm not the leader of the Thorn Flame Guild, I'm the Left Protector Xuan Feng. You should know who killed you." Xuan Feng chased after him at a leisurely pace, casually unleashing a wind blade that grazed Zhang Qian's head and knocked down a swarm of trees.

Zhang Qian broke out in a cold sweat. If he had hesitated even slightly, his head would have been chopped off. The difference between the Yuan Dan realm and the Qi Refining realm was indeed too great.

He still wouldn't let it go easily, saying, "Uncle, let's start protecting the trees from now on, don't be so violent."

"Hmph, what's the big deal? At most, I'll slaughter you and use you as fertilizer to plant a few more seeds." Another wind blade flew towards Ye Mei.

"Watch out!" Zhang Qian shouted hurriedly.

In his haste, he forgot that Ye Mei had already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, far surpassing Zhang Qian in cultivation, and that her martial arts techniques were all above the Earth Rank.

At this moment, Ye Mei drew a jade sword hanging from her waist, and with a gentle breeze, skillfully pierced through the wind blade.

Ye Mei sensed that although her opponent had reached the Yuan Dan realm, his foundation seemed quite unstable, and she still had the strength to fight him. If she simply ran away, it would be easier for something unexpected to happen, so she stood still, gripped her sword, and prepared to fight.

"It's also a wind-attribute technique. Come on, little girl, let me show you how powerful your brother is. I guarantee you'll be blown away." Xuan Feng had a noble air about him, but his language was a bit vulgar. He looked at Ye Mei with a lewd smile, his gaze lingering on her bulging breasts and full red lips.

He broke through to the Yuan Dan realm in less than ten days of cultivating the Divine Blood Refinement, and his confidence soared. Dealing with a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator and two Qi Refining cultivators would be a piece of cake. He was already imagining the scene of making love with the beautiful woman in front of him.

Zhang Qian also drew his sword and stood aside, while Xia Yun retreated rapidly and gradually disappeared into the woods, leaving no trace.

Based on Zhang Qian's understanding of him, he was not the kind of person who would be afraid of death, so he did not think too much about it, but instead looked at the enemy with a serious expression.

"Your companions have all run away, yet you still kneel down and beg for mercy. For the sake of your alluring figure, I'll spare your life, hahaha, as long as you serve me well."

"Hmph, enough nonsense." With steps as light as the wind, Ye Mei used the Xiaoshan Sword Technique for the first time, agile and graceful yet every move concealing killing intent.

Xuan Feng was still careless; in a single exchange, he was almost injured by Ye Mei, and he was furious. "What powerful swordsmanship! Come, let me show you the true power of the Yuan Dan realm! Wind-Controlling Brush!"

Ye Mei secretly regretted that she hadn't managed to injure the opponent in one move when he was underestimating her; things would be even more difficult later on.

With Xuan Feng's loud shout, a three-foot-long giant brush suddenly appeared, flashing with an evil wind and carrying a trace of blood.

This is the biggest difference between the Yuan Dan realm and the Foundation Establishment realm. The Yuan Dan realm can already use magic weapons, while this giant brush is probably the opponent's natal magic weapon.

The biggest difference between a natal magic weapon and a magic weapon is that a magic weapon has a grade from the day it is forged, while a natal magic weapon can be upgraded as the owner's cultivation level improves and it is refined. Of course, its potential also depends on the materials used in its forging.

Another characteristic of a natal magic weapon is that it is connected to its master's mind and spirit. It is said that when a natal magic weapon reaches the highest level, it can even generate a spirit.

Xuan Feng wielded the giant brush and waved it in the air as if writing calligraphy. A red whirlwind suddenly appeared and rushed towards Ye Mei. In his anger, he actually used his strongest move.

"Ye Mei, the eye of the storm is your weak point," Zhang Qian quickly reminded her, seeing the critical situation.

Ye Mei's eyes narrowed, and like a soaring swan, she used her sword as a finger to break through a small opening in the whirlwind, then flew in sideways, choosing to unconditionally trust Zhang Qian.

"The Technique of Wind Rising." Ye Mei, at the center of the whirlwind, steadied herself, raised her jade sword with her delicate hand, and plunged it into the ground. A blue whirlwind appeared out of thin air, spreading wildly in all directions from the jade sword as its center.

This is also a move from the Xiaoshan Sword Technique; I never expected it to have such a wonderful use.

The massive red whirlwind, at its eye, was disrupted by the blue wind, grew smaller and smaller, and finally disappeared into the world.

Zhang Qian wasn't idle either. He unleashed a barrage of attacks, including the Torrent Blade and Blade Waves, at Xuan Feng. Although they weren't very powerful, they still managed to disrupt Xuan Feng quite a bit.

"Hmph, you actually broke my Crimson Whirlwind." Unable to bear the disturbance, the whirlwind made another sweeping stroke, sending a wind blade, much more powerful than before, flying towards Zhang Qian.

Unexpectedly, a strike from a Yuan Dan realm cultivator was easily dodged by a mere Qi Refining stage youth with a single step.

Enraged by his repeated failures, Xuan Feng was about to take down Zhang Qian, this annoying little flea, when Ye Mei got close, forcing him to stop dealing with Zhang Qian.

"You forced me to do this." Xuan Feng, with his Yuan Dan realm cultivation, couldn't gain an advantage against a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator. Moreover, he had a young man beside him who could easily see through his martial arts weaknesses, and he ended up with several wounds on his body.

"Sandstorm!" With his shout, a yellow gale carrying a hint of blood surged forth.

A trickle of blood flowed from Xuan Feng's mouth. He had forcibly advanced to the Yuan Dan realm by relying on the Divine Blood Refinement, but his foundation was extremely unstable. He could barely control this martial skill, and now it had backfired on him.

The Sandstorm is a wide-area damage skill. If one were of equal cultivation level, they could easily withstand it or resist it with a magic weapon. However, the difference in cultivation level was too great. Even though Zhang Qian saw the weakness, he couldn't dodge it. He thought to himself, "It's over, I've messed up."