Chapter 1252: One Mistake After Another

Since the appearance of the four black-robed figures, only a single exchange had occurred.

And Jiang Wang, who manifested the appearance of a sword immortal and unleashed the peak strike from the Observer Platform, was already injured after just one encounter!

These were four cultivators in the Outer Tower realm, seasoned veterans of the military.

Though Jiang Wang had enjoyed a few rare days of peace, he had not let down his guard and reacted in his optimal state.

However, in this ambush specifically targeting him, the planner had clearly studied his strength in detail.

The four executioners were also very focused in their combat.

After one exchange, his long sword achieved nothing, and he bore three wounds!

Had these four not aimed to capture him alive, the injuries would likely have been even more severe.

"As expected of the number one Inner Palace cultivator in the world, to be able to force me back in this situation is enough for you to be proud. But..." The leader of the black-robed figures' gaze was chilling as he charged forward with his saber. "Even your strongest sword strike was futile, Jiang Wang! Why not surrender!?"

At this moment, Jiang Wang was completely surrounded.

The leader's charge was a horn call; the other three black-robed figures also drew their sabers in immediate response, attacking from front, back, left, and right, sealing off the space. This maximally restricted Jiang Wang's Soaring Above the Clouds movement technique, preventing him from displaying his agile adaptability.

They were truly targeting him from all sides!

Facing the saber edges coming from these four directions, Jiang Wang suddenly accelerated, directly charging forward with his sword.

Ignoring the enemies to his left, right, and behind him, he exuded a spirit of wanting to share life and death with the black-robed leader in front of him. "Let you kill my body, I shall kill only one of you!"

The frost cloak formed by the Unweek Wind billowed behind him, and the True Fire of Samadhi made him appear so dazzling.

"I fear, I have the heart to surrender, but you lack the fate to capture me!"

His voice was as clear and sharp as a sword's cry, his sword light illuminated his eyes, and his sword aura lifted his eyebrows. His long sword swept left and pressed right, unleashing the 'Ren' (人, human) character sword strike directly!

This one sword was a human's life!

Whether noble, valiant, down-and-out, or sorrowful.

A lifetime forms one sword, and it must see life and death.

"Nothing more than this!" The black-robed leader had no intention of retreating, channeling the power of his five palaces and four towers, wielding the straight saber in his hand.

He only needed to block for an instant, and his three comrades would be able to hack Jiang Wang into a human pig.

Anyway, capturing him alive was the goal; whether his body was intact or not was not important!

But just as sword and saber were about to collide.

Black and white Yin-Yang fish swam in Jiang Wang's serene eyes.

At this moment, a thought suddenly arose in the black-robed leader's heart: *Is this sword truly Jiang Wang's intended strike? Since the previous sword was ineffective, what can this one do? The number one Inner Palace cultivator in the world, how could his combat talent be so poor? Is this sword just a feint? Does he intend to take this opportunity to initiate a soul battle?*

Every battle Jiang Wang fought at the Yellow River Meeting had been repeatedly studied.

The black-robed leader was very aware of this number one Inner Palace cultivator's terrifying soul battle power, and they had long prepared for it.

Since this ambush was a comprehensive targeting of Jiang Wang, there was absolutely no possibility of failure. It was best for him to be cautious, so that the fish did not bite his hand after taking the bait.

Thus, the saber momentum slowed temporarily, and he secretly employed a secret technique, deploying it within his Heaven-Penetrating Palace.

Once Jiang Wang forcefully initiated a soul battle, he would show this person what a soul-level combined attack was!

People's thoughts often occur in an instant.

Reflected in battle, there are infinite variations.

As the black-robed leader temporarily slowed his saber momentum and devoted more preparation to the soul level.

Jiang Wang rapidly opened his secret藏.

The second Inner Palace, Chasing Wind!

The fourth Inner Palace, Cutting Edge!

Increasing attack speed, increasing weapon sharpness.

The blazing fire bone lotus totem shone, instantly shaking the starlight. The starlight that had just been fully accumulated in the Star-Moon Plain was added to the long sword all at once.

With the blessing of millions of stars, this 'Ren' character sword strike by Jiang Wang at this moment possessed its most peak brilliance!

At the same time, the two facing each other head-on had made completely different choices.

The black-robed leader's heart was greatly alarmed, and he immediately knew something was wrong. The opponent actually intended to decide the battle with a sword strike, rather than the soul battle he had assumed would be the main battlefield!

Facing this sword strike that had suddenly amplified to the extreme, it was too late to strengthen his saber momentum, and even if he did, it might not be able to block it. The black-robed leader made a decisive choice, immediately mobilizing the combined attack power, using a secret technique to gather the soul power of the four of them, and directly launched an assault on Jiang Wang's Heaven-Penetrating Palace!

This was attacking the enemy where they must defend!

But...

He was wrong again!!

Over a thousand Hidden Serpents crashed out one after another, smashing before his soul power one by one. They delayed his soul offensive for an instant.

And Jiang Wang's incomparably splendid sword strike had already arrived!

The 'Ren' character sword strike slashed out, drawing a brilliant leftward sweep and a rightward press in the world, directly cutting the black-robed leader's entire body into three pieces!

Jiang Wang, both man and sword, rushed out from the divided corpse. His long hair flowed, his green robe rustled. He still bore blood, but there were no marks on his sword.

Facing Jiang Wang, who had once strongly defeated Xiang Bei, and anticipating a soul-level attack.

This could not be considered a mistake at all.

It should only be said to be a very cautious combat choice.

But with the choice already determined, this was a mistake!

The black-robed leader was dead, and that surging and terrifying soul offensive naturally collapsed midway.

And Jiang Wang, who had leaped over the corpse, suddenly turned around, sword drawn, facing the remaining three black-robed figures who were chasing him.

He had no intention of breaking through the encirclement and immediately escaping. Instead, his entire being pulsed with violent killing intent.

"What made you think..." As his long hair fluttered, he charged forward with his sword, "...that the me from the Yellow River Meeting was my limit?"

Seeing my unconventional path, can you still live?!

The first to bear the brunt was the slightly shorter black-robed figure. This person's saber was one with his being, its edge fully exposed. Earlier, he and the deceased black-robed leader stood diagonally opposite, their sabers aligned, showing the greatest tacit understanding.

The large gaping wound on Jiang Wang's left abdomen was left by him.

As Jiang Wang killed the black-robed leader and turned to counter-charge, the only female among this group of black-robed figures took over the command: "Spread out first, wait for his Sword Immortal state to end!"

However, this slightly shorter black-robed figure, who was facing Jiang Wang head-on, at this moment, glanced at the black-robed leader's corpse divided into three pieces, and suddenly felt an uncontrollable rage!

In this instant, he recalled many past events.

On the battlefield, when he was almost decapitated, the rough large hand that heavily pulled him away from the enemy's saber edge...

And the price was a saber in his back, almost severing his spine.

That time the general punished them, the entire team was silent with fear, and that figure who stepped forward to take all responsibility. Finally, he was publicly whipped, unable to get up for three months.

Scene after scene flashed quickly before his eyes.

They fought together, squandered together, practiced together.

For how many years... how many years!

That comrade who had provided him with countless support for so long, and saved him no less than ten times, died tragically before him at this moment, his body split apart!

How could he retreat? How could he let the murderer escape?

Moreover, he no longer wanted to capture the target alive but wanted to kill the target here, offering blood for blood.

So he counter-charged.

He gave up on avoidance and chose to counter with attack!

The female black-robed figure who had temporarily taken over the command was filled with anxious anger, but it was too late to shout any further!

"Charge!"

She only had time to issue a short command before drawing her saber and following up to cooperate.

After all, they were elites among elites. The slightly chubby black-robed figure had already retreated in a hurry earlier, and now quickly closed in again. In the transition, there was almost no pause.

But they had, after all, retreated.

The distance of the retreat required time to make up.

The formation of the three was unavoidably showing gaps. They had become separated in sequence!

No matter how tacitly they cooperated, they could not immediately mend it.

In Jiang Wang's perception with his Hearkening Immortal State, these three individuals could already be completely considered two battlefields.

The slightly shorter black-robed figure was one, and the other two black-robed figures were another.

He charged forward!

The starlight had dissipated, but the 'Ren' character sword strike still had a magnificent aura. The vast sea of humanity, the entanglement of millions of fates.

Everyone's life has love, hate, and enmity, and moments of grandeur.

A sword was already coming at him!

The shorter black-robed figure, trapped in hatred, rushed forward furiously with his saber, determined to fight to the death, and what he saw...

Was only a pair of serene eyes illuminated by sword light.

Calm as an ancient well, cold as frost.

Violent sword light exploded before him.

Chilling, sharp, powerful!

In a trance, he seemed to see the instant the black-robed leader died again.

He felt his clear hatred, he gripped his straight saber tightly, gripped it tightly!

At the critical moment of life and death, he finally slashed at the opponent's neck, cutting diagonally from upper right to lower left, about to cleave this young genius's body in two!

Revenge! Revenge!

His hatred roared in his heart.

But...

Terrifying sword aura exploded between his chest and abdomen, his five Inner Palaces collapsed one after another, and his Heaven-Penetrating Palace was directly shattered!

His saber entered the neck by half an inch, and finally could not advance further.

The Starry Holy Tower in the distant starry sky could no longer be contacted. In the final moments of his life, he only stared at the wound his long saber had opened...

Such regret!

In mid-air, two figures that collided with a roar separated after a single exchange.

Before and behind Jiang Wang, three more saber cuts appeared.

Two of them were left by the two black-robed figures who later caught up to the battle. One on his back, one on his left waist.

These two were not serious. The most severe was the cut on his neck, left by the deceased black-robed figure, which would have claimed his head if it had been a fraction faster or heavier.

And this black-robed figure had already become a corpse, falling down dejectedly.

Life and death are often a matter of just a moment.

Death is indeed fair, for everyone it is the same.

Before the corpse in front of him landed, Jiang Wang, covered in blood, turned around again.

He always faced the enemy!

For him at this moment, fighting for life and death was just an ordinary matter.

Even though he had just been walking on the edge of life and death, having survived, he didn't have the slightest trace of lingering fear.

"Who is next?" he asked!

His injuries seemed not his own, the blood flowing from him seemed to be unrelated to him.

His eyes were so calm, and his sword-holding hand was as steady as a rock.

After just two exchanges, two of the four incredibly powerful Outer Tower realm cultivators were already dead!

This was simply incomprehensible!

How could the combat power, which clearly held an absolute advantage on paper, be so fragile under the test of life and death?

The slightly chubby black-robed figure felt a huge fear arise in his heart.

Fear came from the unknown, fear came from not understanding.

His comrade had died clearly in front of him, and he could see how they were killed. He had to admit that Jiang Wang's sword was enough to kill, and Jiang Wang's swordsmanship was stunning enough.

But he still couldn't understand why his two comrades had died so easily!

It was as if... they had thrown themselves onto the sword edge.

After so many years of fighting side by side, he knew very well how reliable his comrades were, he knew their strength very well.

It was because he knew that it was so difficult to understand.

Why was a battle that should have been a certain victory so tragic?

This fear of "not understanding" made him almost unable to face this battle, wanting to turn around and flee.

However, years of training and responsibility had been deeply ingrained in his bones, making him steady himself.

And that genius known as the number one Inner Palace cultivator in the world was charging with his sword.

The man was covered in fresh blood, and his eyes were filled with killing intent!

The sound of a sword cry, almost piercing his eardrums, approached in an instant.

Following closely was the figure in the tattered green robe.

Were his injuries not injuries?

Did he not feel pain?

Did he have endless Dao Yuan to squander, did he truly not fear death?

The slightly chubby black-robed figure tried his best to steady himself,斩去恐惧 (cut away the fear), and faced the enemy with full concentration.

What was that sound?

It seemed to be the voice of his only remaining comrade, giving commands.

But this sound was immediately drowned out, he couldn't hear it clearly at all.

Jiang Wang actually had such unique control over sound, something that had not been shown on the Observer Platform and was previously unknown in intelligence!

This person was too terrifying, how many hidden methods did he have?

The suppressed fear was ignited at this moment.

So much so that he clearly saw his comrade's lip shape and read the words "Cut Jade" (切玉) - this was a command from their military secret, meaning to divide the battlefield and advance with mutual cover.

He clearly read these two words and returned a look of affirmation.

But the fear that suddenly exploded. Made him lose control of himself, twisted in mid-air, and fled outwards!

Let his comrade hold the line here for a while, he must return to report this battle completely, so that the higher-ups can re-examine Jiang Wang's strength and analyze the incomprehensible parts of this battle.

Next time...

Next time he would definitely personally avenge his comrades!

"I can escape!" he thought.

He knew very well the strength of this last comrade. To be able to take over the command after the leader's death meant he was the second strongest master in the team. As long as he could hold him off for a few rounds, he could escape far away.

Jiang Wang was already injured, so holding him off for a few rounds wouldn't be difficult!

He admitted that his choice was somewhat despicable, but until the critical moment of life and death, who could know what their true choice would be?

He turned around and flew rapidly.

But suddenly, his back ached, and his neck felt cold!

Why didn't he hear the sword cry?

This was the last question in his mind.

The answer was actually very obvious, sound was all within Jiang Wang's control. When he wanted him to hear, he could naturally hear; when he didn't want him to hear, he heard nothing.

But even with such a simple answer, he couldn't recall it.

Because he seemed to see a headless body, still rushing forward under the force of inertia.

That seemed... to be himself!