Chapter 132: A Warning Shot
Chapter 132: A Warning Shot
The surrounding swordsmen immediately closed in.
In a flash, Ji Xinghuo's figure disappeared from the encirclement and reappeared in front of Yan Xiao, just three steps away, within arm's reach.
"Captain Yan, what crime have I committed to warrant an arrest?" Ji Xinghuo asked coldly.
Yan Xiao, taken aback by Ji Xinghuo's sudden proximity, blinked. He recognized the flash step technique, but Ji Xinghuo's had taken him over 26 feet away!
His green irises turned cold, "This is Director Zhou's order."
"Regardless of whose order it is, I just want to know what crime I've committed. Do you have a warrant for my arrest?" Ji Xinghuo was unfazed by this tactic.
Although he had signed a contract with the Sharp Sword Bureau, he hadn't reported for a single day of work. At most, he could be accused of dereliction of duty, but he hadn't caused any losses to the country or taken any advantage of the Bureau. It was far from a criminal offense, let alone warranting an arrest.
The most severe punishment would be dismissal from the Sharp Sword Bureau and the retrieval of his monthly salary.
If that were the case, it would be a welcome relief.
However, from his conversation with Min Chongwu, Ji Xinghuo deduced that Director Zhou Yishang clearly didn't intend to let him off that easily. He still wanted Ji Xinghuo to remain with the Bureau.
This created a conflicting situation.
They wanted him to stay but also wanted to humiliate him. Wasn't this a warning shot?
And Yan Xiao was the one tasked with delivering it.
At the same time, he was also sent to assess Ji Xinghuo's strength.
If Ji Xinghuo lost and endured this humiliation, he would have to toe the line within the Sharp Sword Bureau. But if he won and overcame Yan Xiao, he would officially join the Bureau, resolving the enmity between them from the spinning magnetic field incident a year ago, and becoming a valuable asset under Director Zhou Yishang's command.
Either way, Director Zhou had nothing to lose.
Ji Xinghuo understood the underlying intentions and waited for Yan Xiao's response, curious if he had grasped Director Zhou's true meaning.
Yan Xiao couldn't produce a warrant, "This is Director Zhou's order."
He hadn't understood.
Or perhaps he knew Director Zhou's intentions but feigned ignorance. After all, no one wanted to be used as a stepping stone, and he still regretted losing the spinning magnetic field.
"Director Zhou only asked me to report back. He didn't say anything about arresting me, did he?" Ji Xinghuo countered.
Yan Xiao had been sizing up Ji Xinghuo.
Suddenly, he changed the subject, "You fled into the Starry Realm for over a year, and now you dare to return. Do you think your strength is sufficient to challenge the Sharp Sword Bureau just because you climbed the Heavenly Ladder?"
"I never intended to challenge the Bureau." Ji Xinghuo refuted, "Don't put words in my mouth."
"Your actions speak for themselves." Yan Xiao coldly huffed, "And you're acting so arrogantly despite being the last on the Heavenly Ladder. Today, you will learn that the Sharp Sword Bureau is not a place you can come and go as you please. I will personally escort you to the interrogation room."
Ji Xinghuo suddenly smiled, "You want to make a move, you don't need so many excuses."
"You're asking for it."
As Yan Xiao's words fell, his body suddenly retreated over 50 feet, surrounded by a swirling current of air. Simultaneously, he lifted his hand and unleashed a powerful punch at Ji Xinghuo.
A loud boom resounded.
Countless violent air currents swept in from all directions, forming a vacuum cavity before imploding.
Air Blast Fist!
Like a bomb detonating, the white air wave sent shockwaves in all directions, confined within a radius of just over 50 feet. Sharp blades of wind cut through the air frantically.
However, amidst the violent air waves and wind blades, Ji Xinghuo was nowhere to be seen.
Yan Xiao realized he had struck at thin air.
He instantly grasped the airflow changes within a radius of several hundred meters and pinpointed Ji Xinghuo's location—at his side.
Just three meters away.
A flash of lightning lit up, and Yan Xiao's skin revealed a layer of hard, green scales. His green irises stood erect, and his entire body resembled a towering snake, surrounded by a layer of high-speed airflow that served as a protective shield.
The Thunderclap Hand struck Yan Xiao, partially deflected by the airflow, with only a small portion of the electricity penetrating his green scales.
Yan Xiao's figure stuttered, and before the lightning could inflict further damage, he merged with the wind.
Wind Dive!
In the next instant, Yan Xiao reappeared from the wind a hundred meters away.
Having created some distance, he intended to attack Ji Xinghuo from afar. However, he saw that Ji Xinghuo already had the composite bow in hand and was firing three arrows in quick succession directly at him.
These three arrows were made of titanium-aluminum alloy, but when fired from the Invisible Sting, they became invisible.
The arrow speed was too fast, and Yan Xiao could barely make out their trajectories in the air, reacting just in time.
The first arrow pierced through the airflow shield and embedded itself in his chest.
The second struck his left thigh.
The third arrow penetrated his left shoulder, causing blood to gush out. However, his recovery ability was astonishing, and none of the arrows were fatal or even weakened his combat strength.
Yan Xiao realized he couldn't create distance from Ji Xinghuo; otherwise, he would only become a sitting duck.
Once again, he merged with the wind, closing in on Ji Xinghuo.
This time, when he reappeared, he was just a few steps away from Ji Xinghuo. Yan Xiao's hands transformed into a pair of "Poisonous Dragon Claws," his nails incredibly sharp and coated with corrosive poison. He struck like lightning, aiming for Ji Xinghuo's back heart. With his strength, even steel would shatter under his blow.
Simultaneously, streams of air currents bound Ji Xinghuo's limbs.
Yan Xiao, himself a master of long-range attacks, initially planned to take down Ji Xinghuo from a distance. However, upon realizing he couldn't dodge Ji Xinghuo's shots, he swiftly changed his strategy and opted for close-quarters combat.
The Devil Wind user was extremely confident in his melee abilities. Yan Xiao often sparred with Min Chongwu, holding his own against the Halo Warrior. His close-quarters combat skills were nothing to scoff at.
After all, he was a ninth-level martial artist!
As if he had eyes at the back of his head, Ji Xinghuo spun around, his right hand already drawing the Thunderclap Blade, and slashed backwards.
Sparks flew.
Yan Xiao felt a searing pain in his hand as one of his True Dragon Claws shattered, akin to a drill piercing his heart.
Ignoring the pain, he lunged with his intact left hand, aiming for Ji Xinghuo's throat. However, Ji Xinghuo took half a step back with a flash step, narrowly avoiding the lethal claw.
Yan Xiao pushed past Ji Xinghuo and immediately merged with the wind.
Crack!
Ji Xinghuo's blade erupted with lightning, transforming into countless electric arcs. A pulse of electricity spread out, revealing Yan Xiao, who had been hidden within the wind. The currents flickered across Yan Xiao's green-scaled skin, paralyzing him and slowing him down.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Yan Xiao balled his hand into a fist and threw a punch at Ji Xinghuo.
Boom!
Another Air Blast Fist, accompanied by countless sharp wind blades, struck with greater range and power.
An invisible arrow shot out from the wind, aiming straight for Yan Xiao's face.
Having anticipated this, Yan Xiao swiftly erected layers of air walls in front of him. He watched as a straight hole appeared in his defenses, created by the unseen arrow, but it was blocked and couldn't harm him.
However, before Yan Xiao could breathe a sigh of relief, his expression suddenly changed.
Ji Xinghuo, who had been caught in the Air Blast Fist, had disappeared.
"He's on your left!"
Just as Yan Xiao located Ji Xinghuo's flash step landing point, Ji Xinghuo's Thunderclap Blade slashed through the air. Slowed by the pulse of electricity, Yan Xiao couldn't dodge in time.
There was no avoiding this strike.
Yan Xiao could only raise his intact left hand to block. Pu! The Thunderclap Blade sliced through his hand, severing it halfway and causing blood to spurt out.
The blade carried a collapsing force.
Yan Xiao's entire left arm shattered, the bones breaking into over a dozen pieces. Unable to exert any strength, his arm hung limply by his side.
He could no longer withstand the onslaught and let out a pained cry.
Ji Xinghuo stepped forward and swept his leg, knocking Yan Xiao to the ground. He then struck Yan Xiao's abdomen with the flat of his blade, sending him crashing to the ground. Yan Xiao lay there, racked with pain and completely devoid of any fighting ability.
The violent air currents that had enveloped the area suddenly dissipated.
Yan Xiao was on the verge of passing out.
Ji Xinghuo sniffed and said, "If you were hoping to take me down with your poison, you're in for a disappointment."
From the start of the battle, Yan Xiao had been releasing the "Green Mamba Poison," a colorless and odorless neurotoxin—a subtle yet deadly technique of the Devil Wind user.
Having fought and killed several Grandmasters' Devil Wind users in the Starry Realm, Ji Xinghuo was well aware of this tactic.
He had held his breath throughout the entire fight.
Even if he had inhaled a bit, the recovery ability of his Level 3 spinning magnetic field would quickly expel the small amount of nerve poison.
Yan Xiao, lying on the ground, glared up at Ji Xinghuo, wishing he could pass out to avoid further humiliation.
Pu, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Ji Xinghuo glanced at him, satisfied that he had struck with just the right amount of force. These injuries, while severe, were not fatal to a super mutant like Yan Xiao.
The surrounding swordsmen, Yan Xiao's subordinates, stood there in shock.
Most of them remembered the events from over a year ago. In their wildest dreams, they never imagined that Ji Xinghuo, who had only recently become a mutant back then, could now defeat their captain, a Pure Jun Swordsman, in less than half a minute.
The swordsmen exchanged uncertain glances, hesitating about whether they should step in to aid their captain.
However, Ji Xinghuo paid them no heed. He boarded the sky-vessel, found a random seat, and sat down.
Soon, the swordsmen carried Yan Xiao into the vessel as well.
The sky-vessel took off.
The distance from Chaka City to Chang'an was only about 500 miles, and in less than half an hour, Ji Xinghuo caught sight of Chang'an through the porthole, a place he hadn't seen in over a year.
The sky-vessel flew into the Qinling Mountains south of Chang'an and landed in a hidden valley where a Sharp Sword Bureau subdivision base was located.
Bang.
A gate opened on the ground, and the vessel descended into the underground space along with the platform.
As soon as the cabin door opened, Ji Xinghuo was the first to walk out. His eyes immediately landed on Zhou Yishang, with Min Chongwu by his side.
Zhou Yishang's expression was unreadable.
At that moment, the swordsmen carried Yan Xiao out. Zhou Yishang stepped forward to examine him and turned back with a solemn expression. "I was the one who ordered Yan Xiao to bring you back to the Sharp Sword Bureau..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Ji Xinghuo handed him a letter.
Ji Xinghuo didn't want to play mind games with Zhou Yishang, whether his intentions towards his subordinates were well-meaning or malicious.
So, he presented Ren Jie's letter.
"Who is this letter from?" Zhou Yishang asked, a furrow forming on his brow.
"You'll know once you read it, Director Zhou," Ji Xinghuo replied, though he himself was unaware of the contents.
Zhou Yishang's confusion deepened as he took the letter and opened it. There was only a single sheet of paper inside. He scanned the contents, and his pupils contracted as his expression froze.
(End of Chapter)
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