A group of five emerged from the dense forest, and Lu Zhao immediately noticed Xia Yunjing, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Senior Brother, who is this person?"

A disciple from the Sky Sword Pavilion sensed Lu Zhao’s unusual expression and also looked at Xia Yunjing, asking in a low voice.

A small-eyed martial artist nearby snorted coldly and said, "This person is Xia Yunjing from Linglong Hall, ranked thirty-ninth in the last New Dragon List."

"Thirty-ninth? Isn’t that just ahead of Senior Brother?"

The Sky Sword Pavilion disciple was taken aback and, seeing Lu Zhao’s grim expression, immediately stopped talking.

Lu Zhao’s brow furrowed slightly, recalling how he had been defeated by Xia Yunjing in the last New Dragon List tournament, nearly missing a spot in the top forty.

His gaze swept across, and Lu Zhao noticed the corpses of Demon Sect disciples scattered around the forest. When he saw the corpse of an Asura, his gaze flickered as he approached Xia Yunjing, smiling:

"Xia Yunjing, it’s been half a year, I hope you’ve been well."

Xia Yunjing’s deep gaze harbored a hint of caution, "Lu Zhao, why are you here?"

Lu Zhao stopped five steps in front of Xia Yunjing, smiled and said, "No need to doubt me. We just happened to be passing by, heard a commotion, and came to check. Didn’t expect you to be here. Being able to slay an Asura, it seems your strength has improved quite a bit in these six months."

"Same to you." Xia Yunjing replied expressionlessly.

Lu Zhao’s gaze fell on Luo Feng, "Are you the Luo Feng who challenged Senior Brother Lu Xiao Yun?"

"Yes."

Luo Feng nodded, also assessing the other party. Lu Zhao’s aura was comparable to Xia Yunjing’s, also at the peak of the sixth level of the Spiritual Rotation Realm. The small-eyed martial artist behind him, with a slightly weaker aura, seemed to have just broken through the peak of the sixth level of the Spiritual Rotation Realm. The remaining three, two were at the fourth level, and one at the third level of the Spiritual Rotation Realm.

Seeing Luo Feng admit it, Lu Zhao’s smile remained unchanged, and he said:

"With a cultivation of the sixth level in the Spiritual Rotation Realm, daring to challenge Senior Brother Lu Xiao Yun, you’re quite brave. However, I still want to remind you, there are always others above you, and the sky beyond the sky. Acting overly arrogant, you’ll eventually trip someday."

He consistently carried a hint of smile, speaking in a gentle tone, as if genuinely concerned for Luo Feng.

Luo Feng slightly squinted his eyes and said indifferently, "You don’t need to worry about my affairs."

"Senior Brother Lu Zhao is advising you, what’s with your attitude! Don’t assume that just because you’re in the Golden Palace, you’re someone important. Although Linglong Hall is one of the Twelve Golden Palaces, it’s nothing in front of our Sky Sword Pavilion!" Upon hearing Luo Feng’s words, the small-eyed martial artist’s expression immediately chilled.

Nanxuan, hearing the other’s insult to Linglong Hall, showed a furious expression and coldly said:

"How ridiculous, didn’t your Senior Brother Lu Zhao lose to Senior Sister Xia in the last New Dragon tournament. Aren’t you ashamed to speak like this?"

"Little girl, what did you say..."

The small-eyed martial artist was enraged, knowing Lu Zhao had always been brooding over his loss to Xia Yunjing. He had deliberately mocked Linglong Hall trying to please Lu Zhao, but it backfired.

"Junior Brother Yuan, let it be. What she said is factual."

Lu Zhao interrupted the small-eyed martial artist, cupped his hands and smiled, "My junior brother can’t speak eloquently, hope you won’t take it to heart."

The small-eyed martial artist was somewhat surprised, looking at Lu Zhao in disbelief. In his impression, his Senior Brother wasn’t one to be so easygoing. Moreover, they had rushed over upon hearing commotion, initially intending to see if other Golden Palace disciples were battling Demon Sect disciples to reap the spoils...

Luo Feng glanced at Lu Zhao, said indifferently, "Don’t worry, I won’t stoop to his level."

This remark, however, nearly made the small-eyed martial artist beside him explode in anger. He dared not defy Lu Zhao, only swallowing his breath forcefully.

"That’s good."

Lu Zhao kept his smile, though in Luo Feng’s eyes, the smile seemed sinister.

Turning his head, Lu Zhao said to Xia Yunjing, "Xia Yunjing, this Misty Swamp isn’t just home to Demon Sect disciples, but underground demons as well, making it quite dangerous. Why not join us on our way to Black Blood City? Plus, we can rely on each other, distributing hunted Demon Sect disciples according to effort."

As he spoke, Lu Zhao’s gaze shifted between Xia Yunjing and Luo Feng, a faint and imperceptible cold gleam flickered deeply in his pupils.

He knew the strength of his team made entering the top twenty assemblies slim, so he decided if they encountered other teams, to intervene if there’s opportunity for gains.

Upon seeing Xia Yunjing, he immediately planned to kill and loot — one, to increase his contributions in the hunting tournament; second, to resolve the grudge from the previous New Dragon tournament.

If successful, his cultivation might advance further to the seventh level of the Spiritual Rotation Realm, achieving a triple advantage!

However, he didn’t anticipate Luo Feng’s cultivation being at the latter stages of the Spiritual Rotation Realm, Xia Yunjing’s Cold Chi Vigor also made him hesitant — attacking directly would likely lead to mutual destruction unless resolving one of them first.

Facing Lu Zhao’s inquiry, Xia Yunjing’s gaze responded, saying, "I’m not the team leader, he is."

As she spoke, she glanced at Luo Feng.

Lu Zhao’s eyes showed a hint of surprise — in his opinion, considering seniority and cultivation, the leader should definitely be Xia Yunjing; unexpectedly, it was Luo Feng.

"No need, you go ahead." Luo Feng directly refused.

"You!" The small-eyed martial artist’s face darkened.

Lu Zhao exhaled and smiled, "Since you’re so confident, we won’t disturb you then. We’ll see you at Blackwater Lake. Let’s go."

Lu Zhao turned to leave, the other four Sky Sword Pavilion disciples, though puzzled, followed suit.

Watching Lu Zhao’s departing figure, Xia Yunjing breathed a sigh of relief. When they appeared, she was worried about their hostile intentions — Lu Zhao’s strength comparable to hers, the small-eyed martial artist was also a peak martial artist of the sixth level of the Spiritual Rotation Realm, ranking forty-fourth in last year’s New Dragon tournament. If a fight broke out, the outcome remained uncertain.

Lu Zhao and others’ pace was neither fast nor slow, now four or five meters away from the group.

"Let’s go as well."

Xia Yunjing turned back to Luo Feng.

At that moment.

Lu Zhao’s entire center of gravity suddenly shifted slightly to the left, his pair of sharp eyes shooting directly at Xia Yunjing, filled with murderous intent.

Oh no!

Xia Yunjing’s heart trembled, a sense of extreme danger making her palms icy cold.

Whoosh!

Just as the thought emerged, a flash of green light suddenly appeared in the dense forest, piercing through the air, ignoring the five-meter distance, and instantly appearing in front of Xia Yunjing.

"Careless..."

A bitter smile flashed in Xia Yunjing’s heart, aware that this time, she was certain to die.

Lu Zhao’s Bloodless Sword, within ten steps, among martial artists of the same level, few could withstand his Sword-Drawing Technique. If given the chance, he even had the ability to kill beyond his level.

The sword light was silent, unbelievably fast, even Lin Yue’er and Nanxuan beside her could not keep up with their eyes, nor their thoughts, as they could only watch the sword light stab toward Xia Yunjing, pupils gradually enlarging.

Just because others couldn’t see, didn’t mean Luo Feng couldn’t. With soul power perception, the movements of the surrounding wind and grass were all within his grasp.

At the critical moment, Luo Feng grabbed Xia Yunjing’s right hand, pulling her slightly to the side.

A cold light flashed past, and a few strands of Xia Yunjing’s hair by her ear were cut.

Thump!

The sound of paper being cut echoed, and a few trees ten steps away split from the middle, the cuts smooth and flat. The impact of the sword Qi didn’t dissipate until a hundred meters away.

A cold sweat dripped from Xia Yunjing’s forehead; if that sword had struck her, there would have been no chance of survival.

"Brother Lu, what are you doing?"

Luo Feng pulled Xia Yunjing over, squinting at Lu Zhao, his gaze filled with killing intent.

"My Sword-Drawing Technique was actually dodged!"

Lu Zhao frowned, highly surprised in his heart. He had deliberately left just now to make the others let down their guard, hoping to launch a sneak attack.

Among the five, only Xia Yunjing posed a threat to him, so he planned to eliminate her quickly. He hadn’t expected that the well-prepared strike would be evaded.

His Sword-Drawing Technique was not from the Sky Sword Pavilion’s martial arts but from a remnant swordsmanship secret manual obtained during a ruin exploration, which held only this move, Sword Withdrawal Slash.

The manual itself was an elementary earth-level martial art. Despite being incomplete, its Sword Withdrawal Slash was equivalent in power to a profound-level top-grade martial art. Within ten steps, it was a killing sword that sealed throats with blood!

In encounters with martial artists of the same level, Lu Zhao had never failed. If the opponent was unprepared, even one level higher in cultivation could result in death or severe injury. It was his first time failing against someone with a lower cultivation level.

"Hmph, at this stage, there’s no need to hide. Let’s attack together and kill them!"

Since the ambush failed, the conflict was set. Lu Zhao knew that only one side could leave here alive today. However, he wasn’t worried, confident that with the strength of their five, they could surely kill Xia Yunjing and the others.

"Kill!"

The small-eyed martial artist chuckled darkly, shook his wrist, and a three-foot-long treasure sword appeared in his hand. With a flying step, he shot toward Luo Feng with lightning speed.

Whoosh!

Luo Feng’s figure was shattered by a sword and disappeared without a trace.

The small-eyed martial artist was stunned.

"Junior Brother Yuan!"

"Watch your back!"

Lu Zhao and the other three Sky Sword Pavilion disciples looked at the small-eyed martial artist’s back, faces aghast.

Boom!

In the dim forest, a burst of dazzling light flared, and a powerful punch, with a thunderbolt momentum, smashed into the small-eyed martial artist’s back.

Bang!

The sound of bones breaking echoed, and the small-eyed martial artist screamed miserably, spewing large mouthfuls of blood and flesh, his body soaring through the air, only stopping after crashing through several trees, his entire body bending ninety degrees backward, clearly beyond saving.

"Dare kill my junior brother, die for it!"

Lu Zhao roared angrily, and with a flash, his figure appeared before Luo Feng, an extremely stunning sword light stabbing forth. The light passed, and only then did the sound emerge.

"What a fast sword!"

The thought flickered through Luo Feng’s mind. Lu Zhao’s not only had a fast sword-drawing speed, but the sword light’s speed was also incredibly fast, surpassing sound, giving an unreal sensation. A moment of carelessness meant certain death by the sword, hence the name Bloodless Sword.

With a light tap on the ground, Luo Feng’s figure was like a drifting cloud, darting ten meters away in a blink.

"Dodged again!"

Lu Zhao’s gaze was shocked, faintly mixed with a hint of fear. If the first time dodging his Sword Withdrawal Slash was luck, such fortune wouldn’t strike twice!