Fighter jets roared, circling over Cyan Creek Valley. After a few maneuvers to slow down, Jiao Yu and his men leaped from the cabin, clad in wingsuits. They descended at extreme speed. Though they couldn’t truly fly, the physical prowess of Martial Artists at the Inner Qi level and above was enhanced to the point of rivaling exotic beasts.

Jiao Yu was the first to land. The others, along with the supplies, were still in mid-air.

He was quite pleased with himself. ’We covered over three hundred kilometers in less than ten minutes. Once we set up our sniper positions, the prodigies on Guye Ridge will be picked off one by one.’

"Slow down. The target is in the Gang Qi Realm. Wait for my command, then we focus fire and take him out instantly!"

Luo Mengfei’s voice rang out in the mental network.

"Roger!"

"No problem."

...

The team members replied one after another.

Luo Mengfei carefully maintained their formation, concealing the group’s movements as the distance between them and their target closed.

Jiao Yu caught the ammunition boxes as they fell from the sky, completely unaware of the danger closing in.

When they were nearly 100 meters away, Luo Mengfei judged that getting any closer would risk discovery. She decisively gave the command in the mental network.

"Attack!"

Her Finger Skill shifted, and a gust of Qi Jin swirled around everyone’s legs, making them move even faster.

"Watch out!" A comrade still in the air spotted the prodigies and shouted a warning.

They had jumped at slightly different times, and with varying realms and levels of proficiency, their landing times differed. Furthermore, their landing points were scattered over a one-kilometer radius; it would take time for the team to regroup.

’Watch out for what?’ Jiao Yu’s reaction was a split second slow. Deep down, he had never really taken these prodigies seriously. Meng Jun had been right about one thing—without training in modern Martial Artist warfare, their understanding of combat was far too shallow. He had grown careless.

Immediately, his battle-honed instincts took over. Without a second thought, he hurled the ammunition box behind him, spun around, and slashed with his saber.

Luo Mengfei raised a hand, shattering the ammunition box with a blast of Qi Jin. The others maintained their formation and charged Jiao Yu in sequence.

Zhuge Zhigang brought his staff crashing down with a great shout, revealing that he had also cultivated a Sound Wave Martial Skill.

From the flank, Li Jueyin’s spear shot out like a sea serpent striking from the depths.

Ren Feng’s long saber flashed, and a sliver of an intent powerful enough to split mountains shook Jiao Yu’s spirit.

Zhang Xunyi’s Sword Intent flared, but he held it in reserve, clearly planning to deliver the finishing blow!

’An expert... Did he just throw a silver dagger? It looked unremarkable, as if he were just trying to get an assist, but Jiao Yu felt this inconspicuous dagger posed the greatest threat!’

For a moment, he felt as if he were back on a perilous battlefield. Although these six prodigies were of lower realms, the power of their techniques was no less than that of ordinary fifth-realm masters.

He seemed to be trapped in a desperate plight, with his nearest comrades over a hundred meters away.

"I wield Gang Qi!"

Jiao Yu’s hair stood on end in a flash of rage, his eyes turning crimson. He had clearly activated an explosive Secret Technique.

A fifty-foot-long crimson blade of Gang Qi slashed out, colliding first with the silver dagger. The Gang Qi blade paused for a microsecond as the dagger let out a mournful whine and shattered.

Then, though launched later, Li Jueyin’s spear and Ren Feng’s saber light arrived, churning and shattering the crimson Gang Qi. From within the dust, a Tiger Head Staff emerged, carrying an unstoppable force as it smashed down hard on Jiao Yu’s head!

CLANG~

Although the skull of a Gang Qi Martial Artist was incredibly durable, the blow still made his vision go black.

"What a hard head!" Zhuge Zhigang exclaimed in surprise. A single strike from his staff could shatter steel, yet Jiao Yu was merely dazed.

Luo Mengfei and the others quickly sped past Jiao Yu. Not far away, a number of Inner Qi Warriors had already landed and were rushing toward them.

Zhang Xunyi followed close behind. As he passed the dazed Jiao Yu, he couldn’t resist the urge to raise his sword and slash at him.

’This is a Gang Qi Martial Artist! I’ll land one hit and run!’

Among the group, he was the only one who hadn’t been able to attack because of his position at the rear, and he felt a bit disgruntled. He was especially itching for a chance to prove himself after discovering that both Ren Feng and The Expert possessed a form of divine will.

Luo Mengfei frowned. She pushed off her feet, accelerating as she sprinted toward Firefly Forest.

Zhang Xunyi casually thrust his sword toward Jiao Yu’s kidneys, his Sword Intent sharp and biting.

Suddenly, Jiao Yu’s eyes flew wide with fury as he snapped back to his senses.

"Die, you little whelp!"

His furious roar echoed through the valley. It was clearly some kind of Sound Wave Skill, even more powerful than Zhuge Zhigang’s!

Jiao Yu focused the power of the skill almost entirely on Zhang Xunyi. The skin on Zhang Xunyi’s face was visibly blasted into ripples. He saw stars, his head spinning, and under the high-frequency vibrations, he could only lean on his sword and dry-heave.

"Pushing your luck, you little bastard!"

Jiao Yu sent Zhang Xunyi flying with a kick, embedding him in the stone wall. He looked up, but the other five had already vanished without a trace.

At that moment, his subordinates began to gather around.

"Commander, aren’t we going after them?"

Jiao Yu rubbed his head. "We can’t catch them. Those brats are as fast as fifth-realm Martial Artists. Besides, once they’re out of the valley, it’s the Firefly Forest. Forget it. From here on, we’ll see if their luck holds out."

"Men! Seize the high ground and set up sniper positions! Five of them already got away. We can’t let anyone else escape, understand?"

Jiao Yu immediately sprang into action. ’We were already fast enough,’ he thought, ’but I can’t believe those kids ran three hundred kilometers in under forty minutes. Their Inner Qi reserves are almost on par with my own.’

"Also, get a tall pole and hang this kid on it! Dammit, trying to stab me in the kidneys... He’s asking for a lesson!"

Luo Mengfei and her group raced on without stopping. The Expert asked cautiously, "Are we just leaving that kid?"

Ren Feng immediately cut in, "Zhang Xunyi brought that on himself; you can’t blame anyone else. He would have been fine if he’d just run, but he had to get greedy. Nothing to be done."