Chapter 2856: The Dark Face Man Tried To Run Away

Chapter 2856: Chapter 2856: The Dark Face Man Tried To Run Away

Now, however, that advantage was evaporating like mist under the morning sun. Every time another of their comrades collapsed in a pool of blood, the surviving villains sank deeper into panicked despair.

The engagement had completely diverged from their expectations.

The dark-faced man watched the slaughter unfold with a progressively darker and more twisted expression. He had initially been convinced that his eighty-plus dark cultivators would easily overwhelm and tear apart Yu Qi’s small vanguard. Even if these intruders were elite righteous cultivators, surely eighty-to-one odds should have guaranteed a swift victory.

Yet, the reality unfolding before his eyes was an absolute nightmare. His men were being slaughtered like livestock, and control over the situation had completely slipped through his fingers.

The dark-faced man tightly clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. He could not afford to linger here a second longer.

If he remained in this mansion, his life would undoubtedly be forfeited. He had spent decades climbing the ranks, building his dark network, and cultivating his power. He was not about to lose it all over a single compromised safehouse. While everyone’s attention was fully consumed by the frantic melee, he began slinking backwards toward the hidden rear exit.

He kept his movements minimal and calculating, taking small steps to avoid attracting prying eyes. Whenever a stray gaze drifted in his direction, he would freeze, put on a show of watching the fight intensely, and then resume his subtle retreat the moment their attention shifted.

Finally, he spotted an opening.

With Yu Qi and her companions fully engaged with his remaining men, the dark-faced man turned on his heel and sprinted silently toward the shadows of the hallway. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten that a pair of sharp eyes had been monitoring the entire field from above.

Shino, perching near the ceiling beams, had been keeping a hawk-like watch over the dark-faced man’s movements. The little ferret’s eyes narrowed dangerously. There was no way he was going to let their primary target slip out under their noses!

Utilising their telepathic bond, Shino immediately projected his voice straight into Yu Qi’s mind.

"Master, master! That dark-faced guy is running away!" Shino alerted her urgently.

Upon receiving Shino’s mental transmission, Yu Qi snapped her head toward the rear hallway. Sure enough, she caught sight of the dark-faced man’s dark figure darting into the corridor.

"Tsk. Where do you think you are going?" Yu Qi muttered under her breath.

She forcefully slammed the hilt of her sword into the chest of the cultivator currently engaging her, sending him tumbling backwards. Before the man even hit the ground, Yu Qi had already pivoted and blurred toward the hallway.

Her movement was as swift and fluid as a ghost. She gracefully stepped over fallen bodies and effortlessly veered around an incoming blade without losing a fraction of her momentum.

The dark-faced man heard the light, fast footsteps closing in behind him and instinctively stole a glance over his shoulder. For a brief, naive second, he had genuinely believed he had made a clean getaway.

However, that desperate hope was instantly crushed when Yu Qi materialised directly in front of him, blocking the narrow corridor entirely.

His face turned deathly pale. "You—!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Yu Qi had already raised her blade, the cold steel reflecting the dim ambient light as she unleashed a lightning-fast strike.

The dark-faced man reacted out of pure survival instinct, twisting his torso violently to the side just as Yu Qi’s sword came whistling downward. The sharp edge sliced dangerously close to his robes, cutting through the air with an audible, sharp hiss. He managed to dodge the initial slash by the narrowest of margins.

However, Yu Qi did not pause her momentum for a single frame. She instantly flicked her wrist, reversing the blade’s arc and sweeping it directly toward his shoulder.

The dark-faced man desperately raised his fortified forearm to block while leaping backwards to create separation.

CLANG!

Their clash sparked a sharp metallic ring that echoed down the enclosed hallway.

The dark-faced man gritted his yellowed teeth as the heavy, reverberating force of the blow travelled straight up his arm. He could tell within a single exchange that this woman’s raw strength far surpassed his own.

Even so, he refused to go down without a desperate struggle. He immediately launched a vicious counterattack, channelling his dark energy into his palm before thrusting it violently toward Yu Qi’s sternum.

Yu Qi fluidly stepped aside, allowing his dark palm to strike empty air. Simultaneously, she swept the flat of her blade toward his ribs, forcing him to leap back once again.

In the span of a few seconds, the two exchanged dozens of rapid-fire moves.

Yu Qi’s sword work was terrifyingly precise and swift. Every strike was calculated to pressure his weak points, leaving the dark-faced man virtually no room to breathe, let alone counter.

Yet, despite his obvious inferiority in raw power, he managed to evade a fatal blow time and again through sheer, slippery combat experience. He had not survived decades in the dog-eat-dog underworld of evil cultivators by accident. He knew how to fight dirty, how to read an opponent’s subtle muscle twitches, and how to exploit the slightest lapse in concentration.

As their blades continued to clash, however, the dark-faced man gradually picked up on something peculiar.

Even though Yu Qi possessed the power to utterly overwhelm him, she seemed to be deliberately holding back her lethal edge. Her strikes carried immense force, yet she repeatedly adjusted her trajectory at the very last second. Instead of plunging her blade into his heart or throat, she seemed to be intentionally avoiding his vital points.

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