Hidden Assassin 195

“I want to go back,” a cold voice rang out in the training hall, carrying a touch of strangeness. The figure of Tian Yu Zhengze in front bowed his head, a hint of amusement playing on his lips. When had Yue Chi Zheng Kong ever been so defied by his own daughter? He slammed his palm down on the straw mat beside him: “This is where you belong!”

Perhaps sensing the inappropriateness of his words, Xun hesitated for a moment before speaking again, each syllable measured: “I’m going to Jiang Hai City.”

It seemed there was no need to continue the conversation, if it were any other time. Yue Chi Zheng Kong would have had the urge to cut his daughter’s heart out, but with Tian Yu Zhengze present, he couldn’t be rash. Furthermore, with so many people around, he couldn’t turn his head to see Tian Yu Zhengze’s reaction. Naturally, he didn’t see the sly smile on the other man’s face. Taking a deep breath, he waved his hand towards the side: “Grab her. Lock her in the room and don’t let her leave!”

Although the training hall was mostly filled with students, there were also several guards standing by to handle emergencies. Most of these guards were those who had not excelled in their studies and couldn’t rise to higher positions, so they became simple thugs. As Yue Chi Zheng Kong waved his hand, two men with long swords strapped to their waists stepped into the training hall, approaching the kneeling Xun.

Around the training hall, some looked on with pity, some with disdain, and some with gleeful anticipation. They quietly watched this unfold. However, when the two men were about three meters away from Xun, they saw her push off from her knees with both hands, silently standing up.

The two men paused, the surrounding area filled with astonishment, followed by whispers. When receiving teachings from the head of the family, one should kneel in reverence. When receiving punishment, one should also be respectful. But she had directly stood up, essentially defying this disciplinary decision. If anyone else had done this, it would be tantamount to rebellion. Even though Xun was Yue Chi Zheng Kong’s biological daughter, the repercussions would still be significant. Indeed, they heard Yue Chi Zheng Kong roar, “What are you doing?!” The two men had approached from left and right, reaching out to grab Xun’s shoulders: “Miss Xun, please don’t make things difficult for us.”

“I’m sorry…”

Her voice remained cold and indifferent. As the two men quickly reached out to grab her, she retreated with a deceptive swiftness. Then, without warning, she struck out, her movements as simple as shaking someone’s hand. With a gentle flick, two “crack” sounds were heard, and the arms of the two men were dislocated. They covered their shoulders, their faces turning pale as they retreated.

The frozen atmosphere only lasted for a moment, followed by Yue Chi Zheng Kong’s measured voice: “Grab her!”

The next moment, the two men flew out in different directions. Xun turned and walked towards the nearby gate. The students around her gradually stood up.

Although Xun’s usual skills were not top-notch, they could be considered above average. Defeating these two men, even though it exceeded her previous achievements, didn’t raise too much suspicion among the others. Wentaro gave his companions a signal, and the first man charged forward, followed by the second. Some brandished short or long wooden swords, others attacked with their bare hands, surrounding Xun.

Tian Yu Zhengze raised his head, looking innocently at the ceiling.

The figures intertwined.

The first man was sent tumbling backward before he even touched the ground. The wooden sword in his hand had already fallen into Xun’s grasp. With a sudden duck, she dodged two wooden swords that swept past her flying ponytail. Her sword had already crashed down on the shin of the man in front of her. A scream echoed through the air as she darted forward, dodging the people blocking her path.

The scene descended into chaos. More than a dozen figures clashed in front of her, Xun relying on her agility to weave in and out. Over ten men working together couldn’t contain her. Instead, three or four of them were struck by her counterattacks, hitting vital points or joints. They rolled to the ground, unable to fight anymore.

Seeing this, the onlookers widened their eyes, Tian Yu Zhengze maintaining an innocent expression of “This has nothing to do with me.” Longtang Wei stared with wide eyes and slightly parted lips, clearly never having imagined that the woman who was his husband’s nominal fiancee could be so fierce. Murumura Hiroki was still rubbing the dislocated shoulder, his face expressing sudden realization: “Wow, no wonder she could beat me… She’s so amazing. Is that move Dragon Twister? Did Xun learn the Flying Sword Style…?”

“You idiot!” Longtang Wei sneered at him. “That move was obviously Nine-Headed Dragon Flash!”

“But Nine-Headed Dragon Flash has nine strikes.”

“The last strike is the key… Hey, Zhengze, that move does look like Nine-Headed Dragon Flash, right?”

Unable to bear the humiliation from these two comic book enthusiasts, Tian Yu Zhengze turned his head away, refusing to answer.

“Look… he’s acknowledging it!”

“…”

The wooden sword moved with the agility of a serpent, fiercely striking the wrists of the two men lunging forward. She dodged a violent kick from the left with a sideways step, and at the same time, another attack came at her with lightning speed. She raised the front end of the wooden sword in her left hand, bracing herself, but what came down at her wasn’t a single strike. Three wooden swords descended like thunder. Xun’s whole body was thrown back two meters, landing on the ground with a clumsy roll. She could only barely manage to stay in a half-kneeling position, supporting herself on her left hand. The wooden sword in her right hand, as if guided by destiny, swung back, the wooden sword made of thin, tough bamboo strips striking the wrist of the man holding the weapon. With a “snap,” a bone-deep pain sent the man reeling back, unable to hold the weapon anymore. He clutched his wrist, staggered back, his face contorted in agony. Xun didn’t even glance at him, she charged towards another direction as the others closed in on her.

The summer night, with the heat slightly abated, the ancient training hall, the intertwined figures, the wooden swords swinging down with force, the shouts and screams, the graceful girl running, fighting, dodging amidst it all, her face cold as ice, her hair, disheveled from the constant movement, brushing past her lips and cheeks, repelling enemies or being struck in the process, it was all like a tranquil yet intense and beautiful painting.

Over a hundred people against a girl who should have been on their side. It wasn’t a case of rushing in together. Some people were knocked down, while others joined in. If Jia Ming were here, the wooden swords wielded by these ninjas would probably be no more dangerous than straw stalks. However, Xun wasn’t yet at that level of overwhelming power. These ninjas, who had undergone specialized training, were different from the bunch of amateurs in Sacred Heart Academy’s martial arts club. Even though the line of defense consisted of only ten to twenty people using solely physical techniques, with more people constantly taking their places, it was difficult for Xun to break through with a single burst of effort and charge out the gate. All she could do was keep pushing forward, seizing opportunities to attack, preventing the others from completely surrounding her. In a short time, over a dozen people had been incapacitated and carried off the field.

However, if Ye Lian or Yuan Lai Chao Chuang were present, they might be surprised to discover that the chilling aura emanating from Xun during her fight was similar to Jian Suyan when she moved.

The number of people carried off the field within twenty minutes due to loss of combat ability delivered a shock to everyone. Xun seemed to have taken a few blows, some even landing on vital points like her joints, but it seemed to have no effect on her movements, her body still agile as she continued to deal with the constant attacks, running, breaking through. Some people’s eyes turned towards Wentaro, who stood on the edge of the field, subconsciously comparing the two. However, the conclusion was obvious. Even in a purely physical confrontation, he couldn’t achieve such results. Unless it were one of the elders seated in the hall, or Tian Yu Zhengze, perhaps they might be able to easily handle ten to twenty people attacking at once.

Taking a deep breath, Wentaro drew two short sticks, each about sixty centimeters long, from behind him. He silently stepped into the circle, using the bodies of his comrades as cover as he moved forward. As a ninja known for their secrecy, sneaking around wasn’t an embarrassment, even in this situation. However, after taking only two steps, Xun’s indifferent gaze swept over him from within the intertwined figures. In that moment, he suddenly understood that even after fighting for so long, she could still grasp the overall situation.

He paused slightly, then charged towards Xun with his utmost speed.

……………

She dodged two attacks, her upper body instinctively ducking. A wooden sword grazed past her from behind, even she couldn’t understand how she had avoided that attack, but her body had already instinctively rolled to the ground, lunging forward. She darted through the weakest point in the encirclement, her wooden sword cutting through the chest of one of the men in the midst of the chaos.

Since fighting Joseph on her birthday, this was the first time she felt like she was “somehow dodging all the attacks” and “somehow hitting people.” Because after that time, her only sparring partner was Jia Ming. But against Jia Ming, she still didn’t have much ability to fight back.

That fight with Joseph told her that she had indeed grown stronger, but she still couldn’t gauge the extent of her improvement. However, through this fight with these familiar comrades, she had a general understanding of what she was like a year ago and what she was like now.

Their speed had slowed, their moves had become childish. Both their attacks and defenses were riddled with flaws. She could easily dodge one or two of their moves, even in moments where she had no room to avoid, she could still rely on instinct to evade. So, when she was helpless against Jia Ming, having her arm joints repeatedly dislocated, getting punched and kicked until she was in excruciating pain, all those reactions and sensations had become ingrained in her. Even though they had no significance against Jia Ming, when facing these people, she was already far beyond them.

Of course, there were times when she couldn’t avoid the attacks. She had been hit hard by the wooden swords. It was painful, but compared to when she sparred with Jia Ming, it was nothing. Jia Ming’s seemingly simple punches and kicks, even if she blocked them with the most orthodox methods, the hit areas still would ache to the bone. Every time, she feared that her bones would simply fracture. But under Jia Ming’s control, that never happened. Jia Ming didn’t like to break any of her bones, to destroy her ability to fight, he simply dislocated her shoulder joints.

Sparring practice with Jia Ming was like that, occasionally getting beaten. Of course, she could fight back, although it rarely had any effect. He would beat her until she had little strength to fight back, then stop. A while later, he would beat her again. He didn’t hit her to cause any serious injury, it was just painful. It was even more painful than the first time she met Jia Ming and got beaten. But she usually recovered most of her strength by the next day. Once, Jia Ming jokingly said she was a Japanese girl, she had a penchant for masochism. She had to get beaten over and over again to remember things deeply. Although she was pretty enough now, maybe getting beaten a few more times would make her even prettier… She knew Jia Ming was just joking, but she was happy when he called her pretty.

Now it seemed that he was right. In the process of getting beaten, she really remembered a lot more than she imagined. She even felt like maybe she had really remembered these things because she got beaten. But…

She repelled the attack from the front, and with a forceful move, she blocked Wentaro’s sneak attack from behind. The force of the blow sent her flying into the crowd behind her, images of her countless duels with Jia Ming flashing through her mind. He’s been shot now, she had to go back, no matter what!

Attacks came at her from all sides. She slashed with her wooden sword, forcing back most of them, but two wooden swords still landed on her. The next moment, it wasn’t clear who noticed first, but the wooden sword in Xun’s hand was gone.

Good opportunity…

Wentaro, undoubtedly the best among them, had finally managed to push Xun into the circle. The next moment, they all pounced forward, sparks flying in the air, shadows dancing across the training hall.

The wooden sword Xun had thrown directly hit the two fluorescent lights on the ceiling of the training hall. With the sound of electric sparks, everyone’s vision was momentarily disrupted. Surrounded by the crowd, Xun’s body abruptly transformed into a illusion.

From darkness to light.

Two wooden swords snapped in two, the first to charge forward flew back, blocking those behind them. Standing before them, Xun’s body soared into the air, meeting Wentaro, who was charging forward but couldn’t stop in time. He hastily crossed his wooden sticks in front of him.

The next moment, the two wooden sticks snapped into four pieces and flew apart. Using the momentum of her charge, Xun’s fist broke through his defenses, landing squarely on his face. Wentaro’s body flew backward, crashing to the ground. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth, he wouldn’t be able to stand for a while.

Witnessing this moment, Yue Chi Zheng Kong stood up from the cushion, his expression filled with shock, astonishment, and a mixture of other emotions. The people behind them temporarily ceased their attack. Murumura Hiroki and Longtang Wei gaped, then exchanged glances: “Dragon Hammer Flash?” Even though Xun hadn’t used a sword, it was clear that they had reached a consensus. Tian Yu Zhengze also stood up, clapping softly: “Such a beautiful Cherry Blossom Illusion…”

Xun’s wounds were numerous. Her right leg was in an awkward position after breaking the two wooden swords, and her right hand was injured after delivering that powerful punch, like a god—or rather, a goddess descending from heaven. It was slightly trembling, bleeding, but her expression was still calm. She turned with some difficulty, preparing to deal with the next attack.

Even if it was because she got beaten that she remembered all this, only he could… compared to him, you guys…

… are nothing.

………….

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