Facing this old trick from the Martial Soul Hall again, Chu Qingyun couldn't help but feel irritated.
Out of frustration, his attacks grew heavier and faster. Protected by the ten vines of his Ten-Star Vine Martial Soul, his opponents' attacks couldn't harm him in the slightest.
The number of Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists dropped rapidly.
Within a minute, Chu Qingyun had easily slain more than a dozen of them. They were completely powerless before his Thundercloud Sword.
What's worse for them, as their numbers dwindled, their attacks put less and less pressure on Chu Qingyun.
This allowed Chu Qingyun to use so of his vines for offense, further increasing his killing efficiency.
For the Martial Soul Hall, it was a vicious cycle.
The expression on the face of the Level Nine Martial Artist from the Martial Soul Hall flickered. Finally, he steeled his resolve, gritted his teeth, pulled a Signal Flare from his robes, and fired it into the air.
The Signal Flare shrieked as it soared, exploding high in the sky into a conspicuous ball of red fire.
Upon seeing the fiery light, the faces of the present Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists paled slightly. This was the highest-level signal they possessed.
Using this signal was strictly forbidden under normal circumstances. They were not to use it to call for aid even if it ant being wiped out.
For them, there was only one situation that warranted its use: the discovery of the Vermilion Bird's trail!
The dazzling red signal appeared high in the sky. Within the valley and the surrounding area, almost everyone noticed it.
All the Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists turned to the Level Nine Martial Artists in their groups, waiting for them to make a decision.
Should they continue advancing according to the original plan, or head toward the signal?
So Level Nine Martial Artists didn't hesitate, imdiately leading their n to charge toward the source of the signal. Others paused for a mont before following suit. The longest hesitation was no more than three seconds before they too led their n over.
Capturing the Vermilion Bird was their highest priority!
If one could look down from above the thick fog at that mont, they would see that nearly an entire line of Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists was rapidly converging on Chu Qingyun's position.
On this particular Martial Soul Hall defensive line, besides Chu Qingyun, Xia He and Sun Daxiong's four-person team were also trying to break through.
Of course, there had been more than just these three breakthrough attempts initially, but the others had all been eliminated by the Martial Soul Hall.
Xia He possessed a Tier Four Flying Soul Technique and could have easily flown away to escape.
However, as a Prince of the Great Xia, he felt it would be too embarrassing to leave with a re fifty Military rits.
So, upon encountering mbers of the Martial Soul Hall, he took the initiative to attack them, hoping to rack up more Military rits—at least enough to secure second place.
Unexpectedly, more and more enemies gathered, and he couldn't kill them all.
Just as he was about to be overwheld and prepared to use his Flying Soul Technique to escape, the Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists suddenly froze. Then, they retreated like a tide, rushing madly in another direction.
A similar scene played out elsewhere, only Sun Daxiong and his team of four were in a worse state. Lacking any escape-type Soul Techniques, they could only fight desperately against the ever-increasing number of Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists.
After two of the four had fallen, the signal appeared. The mbers of the Martial Soul Hall imdiately abandoned the remaining two and sprinted off in Chu Qingyun's direction.
Sun Daxiong and the other surviving team leader stood back-to-back, warily watching the departing Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists. They were both utterly bewildered.
'What just happened? Why did they stop attacking?'
'One more attack and we would have been finished...'
Back with Chu Qingyun, just as he had whittled down the twenty-odd Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists to the last three, figures began to flicker in the dense fog. Reinforcents had arrived!
A look of joy crossed the Level Nine Martial Artist's face, but before he could shout, Chu Qingyun cut him down with a single strike. The remaining two were swiftly finished off by the Ten-Star Vine's Strangulation.
'Kill one wave, and another arrives.' Though a flicker of doubt crossed Chu Qingyun's mind, he didn't dwell on it and charged forward, sword in hand.
Since the opponents were all from the Martial Soul Hall, even though they were new arrivals, the Assessnt Token could still recognize their Martial Soul Power after death.
The previous group of more than twenty Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists had awarded him over nine hundred Military rits.
For now, these Military rits were just numbers on his Token, but once he joined the Great Xia Dragon Guard, they would beco future cultivation resources, exchangeable for many treasures.
This was an opportunity that, once missed, would never co again.
This ti, having learned his lesson, Chu Qingyun adopted a more flexible fighting style.
He kept moving constantly, preventing the enemies from surrounding him. This greatly reduced his exposed area and allowed him to focus more of his energy on killing them.
Alternating between the Ten-Star Vine's strangling coils, Gale Sword, Thunderbolt Flash, and Thunder Sword Montum, Chu Qingyun gradually entered a state of pure slaughter. His experience with large-scale battles grew rapidly.
But he soon realized sothing was wrong. There were more and more enemies around him.
At first, it was just the few dozen reinforcents fighting him. But after a while, he discovered that he was surrounded by enemies.
Even in the distance, countless blurry figures could be seen in the thick fog—all of them from the Martial Soul Hall!
'This... sothing's not right...'
Chu Qingyun forced back the person in front of him with his sword and took two wary steps back.
The n from the Martial Soul Hall didn't press the attack either.
They had surrounded Chu Qingyun completely, layer upon layer. The crowd then parted, and a few Level Nine Martial Artists walked through.
"Examiner for the Great Xia Dragon Guard, we have a question for you," one of the Level Nine Martial Artists said. "Give us a satisfactory answer, and we can let you leave."
Chu Qingyun sighed helplessly. "If you're going to ask where the Vermilion Bird is, then I'm afraid I can only apologize. I don't even know what a Vermilion Bird is."
Hearing this, the faces of the Level Nine Martial Artists changed slightly, and their brows furrowed.
They had seen the signal, let their other targets go, and rushed here to corner Chu Qingyun. If they ca up empty-handed, the consequences would be severe.
However, judging by Chu Qingyun's expression, he didn't seem to be lying.
The few of them huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.
Chu Qingyun wasn't worried. Though his opponents were nurous, it wouldn't be impossible for him to break out.
The essence of a human wave attack is attrition, but unfortunately for them, Chu Qingyun was not afraid of a battle of attrition.
"Examiner, perhaps you truly don't know what the Vermilion Bird is, but you definitely carry its aura. Of that, there is no mistake. Try to carefully recall if you've co into contact with anyone unusual. According to our intelligence, the Vermilion Bird arrived in Lianshan County City no more than four months ago."
They still hadn't given up and continued to press him.
Chu Qingyun pondered for a mont, a faint, barely perceptible smile touching the corners of his lips.
'If that's the case,' he thought, 'perhaps I can use this situation to find out a few things myself.'
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