Chapter 22: The Pursuit

Upon discovering Xu Panyue, Qin Jue made an immediate decision to close the distance. Most of the nearby enemies had already been eliminated; rather than risking a deep pursuit, it was better to secure the victory points right in front of him. Moreover, Lieutenant Wu had stated that capturing this man would be a premier achievement.

Qin Jue approached the enemy, his knees slightly bent, toes tapping the ground as he lunged forward. He swept the thicket aside with his heavy blade and charged. Xu Panyue, however, seemed to have anticipated this. The moment Qin Jue moved, he dove into the nearby bushes and vanished in an instant.

Qin Jue arrived at the scene, frowning slightly.

"Swish!"

A cold arrow struck suddenly. Qin Jue raised his heavy blade, holding it horizontally before him. With a metallic clang, the black arrow slammed into the blade, the immense force driving Qin Jue back step after step. His expression turned icy, and he sprinted in the direction from which the arrow had come.

As he leapt, he spotted Xu Panyue once more. The moment their eyes met, Xu Panyue already had his longbow raised high, the lethal arrowhead locked onto him. They stared at each other from across the distance. Xu Panyue’s gaze was indifferent, as if looking at a dead man, before he relaxed his right hand.

"Shoo!"

The black arrow tore through the air, whistling sharply. Qin Jue’s expression shifted, and he forcibly twisted his waist in mid-air. The black arrow, carrying a biting gale, grazed his neck and pierced straight through the trunk of a nearby tree. Qin Jue landed steadily.

Suddenly, another arrow struck! This one came with such speed that it arrived in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, Qin Jue's reflexes were far superior to an average person's, and he immediately tilted his head back, narrowly avoiding the ambush.

Having missed two consecutive shots, a flicker of surprise crossed Xu Panyue’s eyes. "Interesting," he muttered to himself, then flashed away and vanished once more.

Realizing he could not easily finish off his opponent, Xu Panyue chose to abandon the engagement. To him, entangling with Qin Jue was a waste of time; with that energy, he could kill more enemies and relieve the pressure on his men.

Recovering his focus, Qin Jue scanned his surroundings, but the enemy had disappeared again. He tightened his grip on his blade, his state of mind shifting slightly with each ambush. At this moment, Qin Jue had only one goal: to capture him.

Without hesitation, he chose to allocate points to his cultivation technique. Since his current physical fitness couldn't keep up, he would elevate it to the next level. Twenty victory points were consumed instantly. In a flash, a robust and pure force surged through Qin Jue’s body like a rising tide.

His meridians widened and expanded, his muscles becoming tighter and tougher. The surging blood and qi roared through his system, nourishing his internal organs before returning to his dantian to fortify his physical form. The Tendon-Changing stage was complete!

Feeling the transformation in his body, Qin Jue pursued him without hesitation. The breakthrough in his realm had significantly increased his speed. In an instant, he discovered Xu Panyue again. The man had just finished off one of their own warriors and was preparing to retreat.

Seeing this, Qin Jue charged at him without delay, his cold, sharp eyes locked firmly onto Xu Panyue.

"Hmm?" Xu Panyue let out a faint sound of surprise upon seeing Qin Jue. The speed at which his opponent had caught up was faster than he had anticipated. But that didn't matter. In the next second, a brilliant light flashed in Xu Panyue’s eyes; his blood and qi surged like an enraged dragon, pouring into his legs. A burst of energy rose from the soles of his feet, stirring up the fallen leaves. With a kick of his right foot, his body glided over a zhang away, rushing into the mountain forest and widening the gap once more.

Qin Jue’s pupils constricted. A word flashed through his mind: "Martial Skill!" What the opponent was using was definitely a martial skill; otherwise, such unfathomable speed would be impossible.

As he pondered, Xu Panyue’s arrow arrived right on cue. Qin Jue, having prepared for it, dodged aside again.

"You are too slow!" Xu Panyue called out coldly from a tree in the distance. He wanted the man to realize the gap between them and give up. With that, he departed with graceful ease.

Qin Jue stared at his retreating back, his face darkening as a layer of fury welled up in his eyes. If he still wasn't fast enough, he would keep adding points. He looked at his personal panel. If he couldn't add points to his technique, he would add them to Agility. Driven by his obsession, Qin Jue immediately assigned two points to Agility.

The moment the numbers changed, he felt a strange and powerful force spread rapidly throughout his body. He felt as if he had broken free from some heavy shackle, his body becoming lighter than ever before. Qin Jue set off at once, sprinting through the mountain forest in search of Xu Panyue. Fortunately, the man had no intention of leaving, so he continued to linger in the nearby area.

Soon, Qin Jue caught sight of Xu Panyue again. Just as the man raised his bow and arrow, Qin Jue sprinted forward, arriving in the blink of an eye. His heavy blade sliced through the air, slashing directly toward the man’s face. Xu Panyue abandoned his attack and retreated hurriedly, narrowly avoiding the strike.

Looking at Qin Jue before him, Xu Panyue was struck with shock. It seemed he had truly underestimated this fellow!

Immediately following this, Xu Panyue utilized his movement technique again. His figure flickered, his speed suddenly surging, his feet turning into a blur of wind as he pulled away once more. This time, however, Xu Panyue did not simply vanish. He stared at Qin Jue not far away, his expression finally turning serious.

Previously, he hadn't even considered Qin Jue an opponent, intending only to shake him off. But seeing Qin Jue catch up time and again made him realize that if he continued to ignore this guy, the consequences would be dire if the man shifted his target to his subordinates. Therefore, he had to kill him here!

With this thought, Xu Panyue notched his bow and drew the string, firing an arrow. Qin Jue, thinking the man would fire once and run as before, habitually gave chase after dodging the shot.

However, the moment he fired the first, Xu Panyue drew two more arrows and loosed them simultaneously. By the time Qin Jue saw the two arrows, his expression shifted, and he dodged in a panic. Even with his rapid reflexes, one of the arrows grazed his arm, drawing a line of blood.

The sharp pain of the wound brought Qin Jue to his senses! At the start, he hadn't known Xu Panyue’s true strength, and because the man’s arrows hadn't hit him once, he had been dismissive. Only now did he realize that with such superb movement techniques, how could the man's strength be weak?

Thinking of this, Qin Jue broke into a cold sweat and couldn't help but consider retreating. At that moment, Xu Panyue, his murderous intent absolute, stopped firing arrows altogether. He utilized his movement technique and closed in on Qin Jue rapidly. He could not let this tiger return to the mountain!

Qin Jue turned and ran. He had been too arrogant! But Xu Panyue’s speed had been far superior from the start, and now that he was serious, he reached Qin Jue’s back in no time. Feeling the whistling wind behind him, Qin Jue looked at his remaining 27 victory points and, gritting his teeth, prepared to dump them all into Agility. Escaping with his life was the priority!

Just then, a figure suddenly lunged from the shadows, completely unexpected. Xu Panyue, still in mid-air, had his expression change; he had never imagined there was someone else nearby. The figure arrived in the center of the fray in the blink of an eye, extending a right hand to grab Xu Panyue.

Xu Panyue tried to struggle, but he saw that the person before him was radiating a crimson glow, and a surging, scorching heat rushed toward him.

The furnace fire was manifest! A second-realm warrior!

Xu Panyue’s face showed terror; he no longer had the courage to resist. He was grabbed by the collar by that great hand and smashed fiercely into the ground.