The three tiger demons in a rage paid no heed to Yue Wen's attempt to shift blame and frame them. All they wanted was to tear this brat to pieces to avenge their brothers; they had no time for anything else.
But they would soon learn how to write the character for "regret."
"Hah—"
Zhao Xing'er, swept up in the martial spirit red glow filling the sky, raised a great blade over two meters long in her left hand—a green dragon coiling around the blade's shaft, its edge inlaid with a red moon—and in her right hand raised a spear over three meters long, its cold radiance brilliant as flowing water, its sharpness whirling like dragons and snakes.
Blade in her left hand, spear in her right, she moved like a whirlwind, exploding with tremendous might as she leapt through the air, making the three tiger demons suddenly feel a chill down their spines!
"Green Dragon Crescent Blade! Dragon Gall Bright Silver Spear?!"
Yue Wen, facing her directly, saw even more clearly. With a single flip of her hand, these divine weapons appeared in her palms, making him cry out in astonishment.
This was getting more and more over the top!
"I'll deal with her!" the Suited Tiger bellowed, turning to engage her.
The Headset Tiger and the Black Tiger continued to hunt Yue Wen. Pressure on him suddenly eased. With one man and one sword, he maneuvered between them, not only holding his own but seizing an opportunity to stab the Headset Tiger again.
Since they began fighting, the Headset Tiger had already been slashed many times by Yue Wen. Its tiger fur was covered in blood. Though none of the wounds were fatal, continuous bleeding left it increasingly weak.
The other Black Tiger, not yet having taken form, had ferocity but no technique—no different from fighting a wild beast—and couldn't even touch a corner of Yue Wen's clothes.
Without the Suited Tiger's overwhelming pressure, these two tiger demons alone could pose no threat to him.
Meanwhile, the Suited Tiger, who had turned to deal with Zhao Xing'er, was faring no better.
When Zhao Xing'er drew these two weapons, they were not merely sharp; each came with a matching martial cultivation method.
With her left hand she used an overbearing blade method, wielding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade to carve out arcs of moonlight, grand and sweeping—death at a touch! With her right hand she used a spear thrusting method, swift and tricky, silver light like a waterfall descending from above, death at a poke!
Because the Suited Tiger understood a thing or two about martial arts, it knew just how terrifying it was to use two martial cultivation methods simultaneously.
This young woman before them comprehended cultivation methods no less than some famous martial grandmasters!
Terrifying.
And the crimson radiance surrounding her contained immense power; even the tiger demon's enormous strength dared not clash with it head-on. It felt like the legendary martial spirit red glow, containing profound martial truth.
The strongest aspect of martial spirit red glow was not how much power it could add, but its ability to constantly absorb experience from battle, making the empowered one stronger and stronger.
Zhao Xing'er grew braver the longer she fought, while the tiger demon grew more afraid.
Compared to before, although she had only one more weapon, her combat strength had at least tripled!
How did she still have a second stage?
We are ugly demons waiting in the den; they are handsome humans knocking on our door. No matter how you look at it, I should be the BOSS, right?
If anyone should take form, it should be me?!
But Zhao Xing'er paid him no mind. The Dragon Gall Bright Silver Spear abruptly blocked half of his body, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade suddenly turned, sweeping a round moon from the side, leaving no blind spot. The Suited Tiger could only crouch and leap, dodging behind her, and the two shifted into a back-to-back formation.
Zhao Xing'er suddenly retracted her left-hand blade, gripped the spear with both hands, and without looking, turned and thrust in an instant!
A returning spear thrust!
This swift, fierce, and piercing thrust carried a whistling wind like a dragon's roar—completely a preemptive spear thrust predicting where the tiger demon would land. The previous change of moves had clearly been part of Zhao Xing'er's scheme.
The deadly traps she conjured effortlessly in battle were so cunning, as if she had a hundred years of martial experience. Considering the young girl's age, the tiger demon suspected she'd come out of the womb with fists full of old calluses from practicing boxing!
"Die!"
Driven into a dead end by this move, with nowhere to dodge, in desperation the Suited Tiger raised its long tail, suddenly wrapping it around the spear shaft.
Zhao Xing'er converted the thrust into a lift, then wrapped upward. With a rip, she severed the tough tiger tail!
Her wrap was also very skillful. Originally, the tiger tail was nearly two meters long; she had cut off over a meter, which could still be used. But this wrap nearly severed it at the root, leaving the Suited Tiger less than twenty centimeters.
It would be useless for anything afterward.
Blood spattered. The Suited Tiger leaped forward, not daring to look back, fleeing. It ran four or five meters before daring to turn and fight again.
Although his rear burned with pain, at least he had saved his life.
This was a move he had learned from his relative the gecko—severing the tail to escape. Though a tiger could only use it once in a lifetime, it certainly proved useful at a critical moment.
Across from them, Zhao Xing'er frowned tightly, apparently displeased at letting him escape. She set up a spear stance in the distance, her presence becoming ever more complete and commanding. Behind her, the martial spirit red glow faintly revealed a long-haired general clad head to toe in armor, his divine might reaching the heavens.
Damn. What was the point of fighting anymore?
On our side, the more we fought, the fewer brothers remained; on the other side, the more they fought, the fiercer they became, and now they were even manifesting a martial true form!
Were they really treating us like bosses to grind levels for experience?
Just as it was growing hesitant on its side, a mournful howl came from the Black Tiger on the other side!
"Ow—"
...
On that side, the Black Tiger and the Headset Tiger had originally been pursuing Yue Wen. Yue Wen merely kept his flying sword in front of him, parrying left and right, counterattacking when he could, without achieving much.
But the Headset Tiger felt its own bleeding wouldn't stop, and it was growing weaker and weaker, wanting a quick battle.
So, taking advantage of the moment Yue Wen used his flying sword to drive it back, it suddenly lunged forward, clamping the flying sword between its tiger claws—a barehanded blade snatch!
"Xiao Hei, attack!"
While the Headset Tiger desperately suppressed the entangled flying sword, it shouted loudly, hoping to give its companion a chance to win.
The Black Tiger bravely pounced toward Yue Wen.
Unexpectedly, Yue Wen had no fear at all. Seeing the enormous dark shape coming at him, he likewise charged forward, immediately followed by a sliding tackle!
This slide dodged the Black Tiger's pounce, exchanged positions, and also closed the distance to the Headset Tiger. His control over the flying sword grew stronger. With a movement of his divine sense, the flying sword rotated in midair. With a rip, it tore open the flesh of the tiger claws.
The Headset Tiger cried out in pain and let go. In an instant, the flying sword pierced its throat!
Rip—
Another wisp of golden energy entered his body. Yue Wen collected another evil-suppressing coin.
The Black Tiger's strike missed. Turning around, it saw yet another brother die horribly. It let out a mournful howl and was about to rush forward to fight Yue Wen to the death.
But the Suited Tiger suddenly appeared behind it, grabbing it by the scruff of its neck, and shouted, "Xiao Hei, let's go!"
"Ow!" The Black Tiger seemed unwilling to leave, its tiger eyes full of fury.
"We're no match for them. We'll take revenge another day!" The Suited Tiger was the calmest. Even though it was equally grief-stricken and furious, it made the most rational choice.
They wanted to leave, but Zhao Xing'er didn't want to let them.
"Cowardly deserters, leave your heads behind!"
She truly resembled a valiant general, brandishing a glint of cold light, slashing out a sky full of silver snakes, and fiercely charging over.
The Suited Tiger looked on in fear. Immediately it grabbed the Black Tiger by the scruff of its neck. "Go!"
The Black Tiger roared in anger, unwilling. It turned, leaped into the air, and ran on all fours toward the depths of the basement, like a black whirlwind smashing into a wall.
Boom!
After smashing through the inner wall, it suddenly revealed a passage—apparently an escape route the tiger demons had left for themselves.
Zhao Xing'er couldn't catch up. Angrily she watched the tiger demons about to escape her sight ahead. She flipped her hand to put away the Dragon Gall Bright Silver Spear, then raised her hand again—already a rocket launcher was on her shoulder, aiming.
Fire!
Yue Wen pursued with the sword-control art but was blocked by the Suited Tiger. He had no time for a second sword and was withdrawing somewhat regretfully when he saw this scene. His eyes widened.
Huh?
Huh!
Huh—
What is this?
"RPG-107, huh!"
Although in this day and age, this thing's preciousness certainly couldn't compare to the three-pointed double-edged blade, Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and Dragon Gall Bright Silver Spear forged from immortal-grade materials—after all, those were divine weapons cultivators could use—wasn't it a bit too sudden to just pull this out?
Did you normally go out with military arms in your pocket?
Zhao Xing'er, a mobile arms depot, pulled the trigger. With a whoosh, a rocket shot out trailing a long flame tail and chased after them.
The power of a single shot from a firearm might not surpass their sorcery, but it certainly wasn't weak. Especially in the lower three realms, the casting distance of supernatural arts obviously couldn't compare to a rocket launcher. And especially for a warrior-type fighter like Zhao Xing'er who focused on martial arts, once distance was opened, it was easy to be unable to attack the enemy.
Melee cold weapons, ranged RPG—seriously, it was actually a reasonable tactic.
Whoosh—
Boom!
An explosion came from the end of the passage. A straight passage—the tiger demons had nowhere to hide; they should have been hit squarely. But the large explosion also collapsed and buried the entrance to the passage, so for the moment they couldn't check whether they had scored a kill.
Yue Wen nervously glanced at Zhao Xing'er. At this point, even if she suddenly pulled out a tank and drove over to crush them, he wouldn't be too surprised.
Who could have imagined that?
He had thought he was just casually finding an assistant, only to get a Weapon Master!",
Chapter 21