Chapter 171 - 131: A Counter to Arrogance

Chapter 171: Chapter 131: A Counter to ArroganceThe swordsmen immediately encircled. Ji Xinghuo’s figure flashed, and in a blink, he was out of the encirclement, appearing right in front of Yan Xiao, only three steps away, within arm’s reach. "Captain Yan, under what crime am I to be arrested?" Ji Xinghuo asked coldly. Yan Xiao looked at Ji Xinghuo, who was close at hand, and his eyelids twitched slightly. Of course, he recognized the Flash Step, but Ji Xinghuo’s Flash Step had actually covered such a long distance, more than eight meters! His green pupils went back to being cold and cruel, "This is Director Zhou’s order." "It doesn’t matter whose order it is, I just want to know, under what crime am I being arrested? Do you have an arrest warrant?" Ji Xinghuo didn’t fall for that trick. Even though he had signed a contract with the Sword Bureau and hadn’t shown up for work for a single day, at most it could be considered non-fulfillment of duty. It hadn’t caused any loss to the nation, nor had he taken any benefits from the Sword Bureau. It was far from reaching the point of violating the law, let alone being arrested. The most severe penalty would be for the Sword Bureau to fire him and reclaim the salary that was deposited into his account each month. If that were the case, he couldn’t ask for more. However, from his conversation with Min Chongwu just now, Ji Xinghuo could tell that Zhou Yishang evidently didn’t mean to do that; he still insisted on Ji Xinghuo staying in the Sword Bureau. This created a contradiction. They wanted him to stay, but also to make him lose face. Wasn’t that just a show of power? And Yan Xiao was the man to enforce this power play. At the same time, he was also the one sent to test Ji Xinghuo’s strength. If Ji Xinghuo lost, accepted this show of power, he would have to keep his head down at the Sword Bureau from now on; if he won, stepping on Yan Xiao to officially join the Sword Bureau, it would settle a grudge caused by the Rotating Magnetic Field from the year before last, adding a strong warrior to Zhou Yishang’s ranks. No matter the result, Zhou Yishang wouldn’t lose out. Having figured out the cause and effect, Ji Xinghuo waited for Yan Xiao’s response, wondering if Yan Xiao had understood Zhou Yishang’s intention. Yan Xiao couldn’t produce an arrest warrant, "This is Director Zhou’s order." He didn’t get it. Or rather, he knew Zhou Yishang’s intentions but pretended not to understand. After all, no one liked being used as a stepping stone, and he still regretted losing the Rotating Magnetic Field to this day. "Director Zhou only told me to report back, not to take me down, right?" Ji Xinghuo asked back. Yan Xiao had been sizing up Ji Xinghuo all this time. He suddenly said, "You’ve fled into the Star Realm for more than a year, now you dare to come back, do you think your strength is strong enough, that you’ve climbed the ladder, so now you dare to confront the Sword Bureau?" "I never intended to confront the Sword Bureau," Ji Xinghuo retorted. "Don’t pin labels on me." "Your actions are confrontational," Yan Xiao snorted coldly. "Being just the last of the ladder, and you’re so arrogant. Today, I must let you know, the Sword Bureau isn’t a place you come and go as you please. I will escort you to the interrogation room myself." Ji Xinghuo suddenly laughed, "If you want to make a move, you really don’t need so many excuses." "Foolish." As soon as Yan Xiao spoke, his body retreated abruptly by more than ten meters, surrounded by circulating air, while he threw a punch towards Ji Xinghuo. Boom! Numerous violent air streams swept in from all directions, first forming a vacuum cavity, then imploding. Qi Burst Fist! Like a bomb exploding, white waves of shock spread all around, yet constrained within a radius of only a dozen meters, with sharp Wind Blades cutting furiously. But in the midst of the turbulent air currents and Wind Blades, there was no sign of Ji Xinghuo. Yan Xiao released his attack only to discover he had struck at air. Air currents within hundreds of meters around were under his control; he caught Ji Xinghuo’s position instantly, right beside him. Only about three meters away. Crack! A streak of electric light flared up in front of him, a layer of hard green Scale Armor appeared underneath Yan Xiao’s skin, his green pupils turned vertical, his whole body resembling a standing serpent, with a layer of fast-circulating air surrounding him like a Shield. The Thunderbolt Hand struck Yan Xiao, its force partly deflected by the air current. Only a small amount of electricity penetrated through, striking his green scales. Yan Xiao’s figure hesitated slightly, and before more damage could be done by the lightning, he merged with the wind. Wind Diving! The very next instant, Yan Xiao emerged from the wind a hundred meters away. Just as he pulled away, intending to attack Ji Xinghuo from afar, he saw Ji Xinghuo already lifting a Composite Bow, shooting three arrows in his direction. All three were ordinary Titanium Aluminum Alloy Arrows, but shot by the Invisible Stab, they turned into Invisible Arrows. The arrows were too fast; Yan Xiao barely captured their trajectory from the air but was slightly slow to react. The first arrow penetrated the air shield and embedded into his chest. The second struck his left thigh. And the third went through his left shoulder, causing blood to flow, but his Recovery Power was extremely astonishing; none of the three arrows were fatal, nor did they diminish his combat strength. Yan Xiao realized he couldn’t distance himself from Ji Xinghuo; otherwise, he would only become a target. He dove into the wind once more, closing in on Ji Xinghuo. This time when he emerged, he was only a few steps away from Ji Xinghuo. Yan Xiao’s hands transformed into a pair of "Poison Dragon Claws," his nails exceedingly sharp and carrying corrosive venom. He clawed towards Ji Xinghuo’s back with lightning speed. With his strength, even steel could be torn asunder. At the same time, streams of air sought to bind Ji Xinghuo’s limbs. Yan Xiao was one of the first to know Ji Xinghuo’s abilities, aware that Ji Xinghuo excelled at archery. The Sword Bureau had been gathering information about Ji Xinghuo’s actions in the Star Realm, piecing together the image of a sharpshooter with Superior Archery Skill. There were no outstanding records of him in Melee combat. Yan Xiao also specialized in ranged attacks, so at first, he tried to kill Ji Xinghuo with a long-range attack. Finding himself unable to avoid Ji Xinghuo’s shots, he decisively switched to close combat. The melee combat of Evil Wind Guest was very powerful. Yan Xiao was extremely confident in this regard. He usually did not get along with Min Chongwu, often engaging in sparring under the guise of comparing notes. When facing a Halo Fighter, his melee combat was not at all inferior. Because he was a Ninth Dan in martial arts! Ji Xinghuo turned around on the spot as if he had eyes on the back of his head, his right hand already drawing the Thunderbolt Battle Blade with a backhand slash. Sparks flew. Yan Xiao felt a piercing pain in his hand, akin to the claws of a True Dragon, as his sharp claws broke. Ignoring the pain, his intact left hand reached forward to grab Ji Xinghuo’s throat. However, Ji Xinghuo took a half step back with a Flash Step, barely dodging the claws. Yan Xiao forced Ji Xinghuo back and immediately dived into the wind. Crack! Lightning burst from Ji Xinghuo’s blade, instantly turning into countless electric arcs. A ring of pulse arcs spread out, forcing the Yan Xiao, who had merged with the wind, to reveal his form. Electricity flickered over his green-scaled skin, paralyzing his entire body and slowing his movements. He endured the pain and numbness and threw a punch at Ji Xinghuo. Boom! Another Qi Burst Fist, accompanied by numerous sharp Wind Blades, had a larger range and greater power. An Invisible Arrow shot out from within the wind, aimed straight at Yan Xiao’s face. Anticipating the attack, Yan Xiao quickly gathered layers of air in front of him. He saw a straight hole appear in his air shield, made by the unseen arrow, but it was blocked and did not harm him. However, before Yan Xiao could even breathe a sigh of relief, his expression changed dramatically. Ji Xinghuo had disappeared from within the Qi Burst Fist. "On the left!" No sooner had Yan Xiao located Ji Xinghuo’s landing point from the Flash Step than Ji Xinghuo’s Thunderbolt Battle Blade was already chopping down, with Yan Xiao unable to dodge due to being slowed down by the pulse arcs. S~eaʀᴄh the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This blade strike was unavoidable. Yan Xiao could only raise his intact left hand to block. With a thud, the Thunderbolt Battle Blade cut halfway through Yan Xiao’s left hand, blood spurting out. The blade was imbued with Beng Force. The bones in Yan Xiao’s entire left arm shattered into more than a dozen pieces, unable to exert any force and hanging limply. He finally could not hold on and let out a scream of pain. Ji Xinghuo stepped forward and swept Yan Xiao off his feet, knocking him onto his abdomen with the back of his blade, his body landing heavily on the ground. The intense pain overwhelmed him, rendering him completely incapacitated. The raging air flow that enveloped the surroundings dissipated in an instant. Yan Xiao nearly passed out. Ji Xinghuo sniffed and said, "If you expected the poison gas to knock me out, you’re going to be disappointed." From the beginning of the fight, Yan Xiao had released "Green Mamba Poison Gas," a neurotoxin that was colorless and odorless, extremely covert, and one of the most difficult tactics for Evil Wind Guests to defend against. Having killed several Evil Wind Guests from the Dagon people in the Star Realm, Ji Xinghuo was naturally well aware of this. He had been holding his breath throughout the battle. Even a few breaths wouldn’t matter; the recovery power of the Third Level Rotating Magnetic Field could quickly expel a little neurotoxin. Seeing Ji Xinghuo speaking to him from a position of superiority, Yan Xiao wished he could faint to avoid further humiliation. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Ji Xinghuo looked on for a moment, but he knew his own control; such injuries were not fatal to a Super Mutant and would surely not result in death. The surrounding swordsmen were all dumbfounded. They were all Yan Xiao’s subordinates, many of whom had experienced the events of over a year ago. In their wildest dreams, they didn’t expect that Ji Xinghuo, who had only recently become a Mutant, was now able to defeat their captain, Chunjun Swordsman Yan Xiao, so badly in less than half a minute. A few swordsmen exchanged glances, hesitating whether to help their captain. But Ji Xinghuo ignored them and boarded the cabin of the Sky Fighter, casually taking a seat. Soon, the swordsmen also carried Yan Xiao into the cabin. The Sky Fighter took off. The distance from Chaka City to Chang’an was just over eight hundred kilometers. In less than half an hour, Ji Xinghuo looked out the cabin’s window and saw Chang’an, from which he had been away for more than a year. The Sky Fighter flew into the Qinling Mountain Range south of Chang’an and landed in the concealed valley where the Sword Bureau’s branch base was located. Bang. A gate opened on the ground, and the fighter descended along with the platform into the underground space. When the cabin door opened, Ji Xinghuo was the first to step out, spotting Zhou Yishang and Min Chongwu standing nearby. Zhou Yishang’s expression revealed no discernible emotion. As the swordsmen carried Yan Xiao down, he stepped forward for a check, then turned with a serious face and said, "I was the one who ordered Yan Xiao to bring you to the Sword Bureau..." He stopped midway, catching sight of a letter being handed over by Ji Xinghuo. Ji Xinghuo wasn’t interested in matching wits with Zhou Yishang. Whether his manipulation of subordinates was well-intentioned or malicious, Ji Xinghuo wanted no part of it. So he directly produced the letter from Sister Ren. "Whose letter is this?" "Director Zhou will know once you read it," Ji Xinghuo replied, not knowing its contents himself and only able to say so. Zhou Yishang looked puzzled but still took the letter and opened it. It contained only a sheet of paper, and after only a glance, his pupils contracted and his expression froze.