Chapter Eighty-Two: A Woman of Heroic Spirit

Not a single person dared hold anything back. Jiang Xiaotian poured out every ounce of his strength and ignited seven flames around his body.

Each flame was powerful enough to withstand the attacks of a martial artist in the early stage of inner force. This was already the limit of Jiang Xiaotian’s limits, and even that only because the spiritual energy here was so abundant.

Ouyang Zijing also noticed the strange figure. She stood beside Jiang Xiaotian, while all of her men moved in front of her. No matter what, they could not allow their young lady to suffer the slightest harm.

The two sides faced off, and the air instantly froze.

If she could still joke when confronted by the combined forces of the Zhao and Li families, then against the person before her, she no longer had any such mood.

Because she could not see through his strength at all.

“Who are you? Do you know this is private property of the Ouyang family?” After a brief silence, Ouyang Zijing spoke.

She was a little panicked, but still bore herself with unyielding spirit.

The man tilted his head to glance at her, then turned back again and stared at Jiang Xiaotian, as though he were far more interested in him.

Yet despite the hostility from both sides, he showed no change whatsoever and still stood there.

Seeing that threats were useless, Ouyang Zijing took a deep breath. If the other side forced the issue, then they would fight to the bitter end.

But Jiang Xiaotian suddenly said, “You all go. It seems he’s here for me.”

Ouyang Zijing looked at him in surprise, but she was stubborn by nature and immediately shook her head. “Hah! Stop acting tough! If I leave, can you beat him? What are you afraid of? There are more of us! You just saved me, and now you expect me to stand by and watch you die? Sorry, impossible! Everyone listen up. If he wants to fight, then we fight!”

Though the Ouyang family was ruled by women, there had never been a single coward among them. Even knowing full well that the man before them was unimaginably powerful, none of them retreated.

Jiang Xiaotian glanced at Ouyang Zijing, who snorted at him and lifted her nose high in the air.

In truth, she was very curious about the flames swirling around Jiang Xiaotian and what kind of martial path it was. But she had no time to worry about that now. The harsh words had already left her mouth, yet when it truly came to facing the man in black, she had no confidence in her heart.

The other side did not strike, and they naturally dared not attack rashly. In this stalemate, one’s will was consumed at an alarming rate.

No one knew whether he would suddenly move, or whether they could truly evade it if he did.

Jiang Xiaotian knew that continuing to stand off like this was not an option, so he seized the moment and turned to flee.

In this city park, he could fully use the advantage of spiritual energy to push his speed to the limit. Running away was far more reliable than sitting still and waiting for death.

Besides, if that stubborn woman refused to leave, he could not really drag her down with him, could he?

Jiang Xiaotian’s senses were far keener than those of ordinary people, and he realized that the masked man had already locked onto him from every direction.

So in truth, he was not certain he could escape.

But he had to try.

With that thought, he launched a feint, throwing a flame in front of himself to form a wall of fire.

In an instant, he spun and ran!

But the moment he turned back, Jiang Xiaotian froze.

Because the masked man had somehow already appeared behind him.

“You... uh...” Before Jiang Xiaotian could finish speaking, he felt his throat tighten. The man had seized his carotid artery with a single grasp.

The terror of death drove Jiang Xiaotian’s will to survive to its peak. He hurriedly controlled every flame to crash into the masked man, hoping to force him back.

Yet the Dragon’s Fury, which could easily dissolve the attacks of martial artists with inner force, merely made the masked man draw his hand back slightly.

The latter gave the flames a faint, surprised glance, then casually reached out and pinched them out.

“Hand over your martial path...” A chilling voice seeped from beneath the mask, like a fiend from the depths of hell. Merely hearing it was enough to make one’s scalp go numb.

Only then did Ouyang Zijing and the others react. They immediately rushed to attack, trying to save Jiang Xiaotian. But the masked man did not even turn his head. With a mere sweep of his hand, everyone seemed to be struck by an invisible force and was sent flying in all directions. The situation was dire.

Apart from Ouyang Zijing, the others could scarcely even rise to their feet. They lay on the ground groaning in agony.

Her condition was no better. Not only had her face gone pale, even her lips were bloodless, clearly revealing a serious internal injury.

“Hand over the martial path... or die!” As he spoke, the masked man tightened his grip further. Jiang Xiaotian’s face had already turned crimson from lack of air.

Yet at that very moment, three figures descended from the sky and surrounded the masked man at once.

They were three women, all appearing to be in their thirties or forties, with delicate features and plain clothing, yet their auras were astonishingly deep and imposing.

Their arrival alone, through sheer pressure, was enough to make an ordinary martial artist struggle to breathe.

Though the three did not know Jiang Xiaotian, they could see that their own people had been beaten to a state of complete disarray, and Ouyang Zijing was grievously injured.

“Zijing!”

Their faces all showed pain and concern as they rushed forward to help her.

But Ouyang Zijing waved them off. “Don’t mind me! I’m fine! Hurry and save him! He’s not going to last much longer!”

The three experts all froze, then looked toward the masked man. With his gloomy, sinister bearing, how could he possibly seem like a good person?

They did not need to think twice to know who had beaten the two of them into such a state.

They exchanged a glance and struck at once.

Perhaps because he had not yet obtained Jiang Xiaotian’s martial path, the masked man did not go for the kill. Faced with their joint assault, he had no choice but to defend, and in doing so he loosened his hold on Jiang Xiaotian and instinctively retreated.

But the coordination among the three was flawless.

They showed none of the weakness often associated with women. Instead, they specialized in offense: one engaged in close combat, another followed to support and defend, and the third sealed off the escape routes. Their attack flowed like water, driving the masked man into utter disorder.

Yet this apparent advantage soon showed signs of fatigue.

It was obvious that although these three were strong, they were still no match for the masked man. Only by joining forces could they force him back step by step, but they still could not truly defeat him.

As for the masked man, though he appeared to be at a disadvantage, he had not suffered a single injury.

In the end, he was driven to the far bank of the river, while the three women stood atop the crowns of three trees, shielding the others behind them.

“I’ve heard that a rat has recently appeared in Dragon City, killing many gifted experts just to seize their martial paths. I think this has something to do with you, doesn’t it?” the woman in the center asked coldly.

The masked man said nothing and once again looked at Jiang Xiaotian.

He seemed furious at his own failure.

“My Ouyang family is one of Dragon City’s own. You will not harm people before our eyes! Either get out, or fight!”

The woman shouted again, fearless and sharp as a blade.