"You're welcome!" Lei was completely drenched in the opponent's blood, standing in a familiar sauna lounge room.
"I can't believe his meridians exploded! Was that blood path?" Murong Zhan took a blood restoring pill. There were several dead disciples around him, and a lone blood path master, wielding a massive saber. Luckily, Lei arrived on time, atop of his flying sword.
"Who cares! Keep fighting!" Lei quickly rushed outside. Wish I could use that sauna to wash the blood off, but it's not the time!
Several of Xin's ribs were broken, his armour dented by the impact. He was trying to hold the urge to cough up blood. With the opponent holding his chest, probably preparing some sort of a throw, Xin only had a moment to save his life.
Just as planned.
Steel Sting dao shard! Xin's Resonance Palm grew a metal point that looked like a bee sting, and pierced into the opponent's shoulder. It tore through the muscle and the tendons, leaving a gaping wound. The old master grunted in pain.
Nice, keep going! Xin understood that his next attack was crucial, otherwise the enemy would recompose himself and finish him off. Xin dispelled the Resonance Palm on his right hand and used it to pull the snakevine still entangled around the opponent's right wrist.
Punch! Xin was hit in the forehead by the opponent's other arm. It was a strong hit, but Xin somehow endured it. Without his armour, he'd probably faint twice by now. That's a window of opportunity! Xin raised his left arm and pulled the opponent's right arm towards himself.
Woodcutter's Downswing!
Splash. A gush of blood covered Xin's face. The opponent was stunned, clearly surprised and overwhelmed by Xin's sudden display of force.
Woodcutter's Downswing! He slashed at the stunned opponent again, and tore his arm off.
"Agh!" The enemy hooked his ribs with the other arm, but Xin blocked it with his knee, leaving his kneecap dented. "Die!" The enraged master delivered a short range front kick at Xin, but he pushed him away and jumped back, his head spinning. This old fart, still fighting!
Xin wasn't expecting a rank one strength physical cultivator to drop down just from having his arm chopped off. They are known to have an amazing pain tolerance, after all. Still, his resolve to keep advancing was rather surprising. The enemy master prepared to leap once again, his eyes bloodshot.
"Xin!" Lei called him out from behind, flying on his sword. He didn't care about the duel, he'd break any rule to save his friend.
"Shit!" The granpa monk noticed Lei, turned away and started running, each leap getting him further and further away. Xin quickly grabbed his crossbow and tried aiming at him.
Reloading technique! Failure. His wrist was hurting too much, and he didn't have enough strength, mental and physical, to pull this move off.
"Follow me! We'll restore your limb, I have a dao shard!" Xin heard a female voice shout from behind the inn.
Lei landed near Xin. His arrival made the Fist sect mortals jump back in fear. He stood in front of Xin, his sword raised, intending to protect his friend at all costs. It looked much more important than chasing that monk.
"Fuck!" Cried out the master Rui Ming was dueling as several of his fingers were sliced off."I give up! Give up!"
"Spit your shards out! Drop your weapon! On your knees!" Rui Ming commanded. He quickly obliged. Xin felt a sense of relief at having someone like Ming at his side. Absurd talent.
Lei looked at Xin, trying to gauge the situation properly.
"Let's kill all the mortals that don't give up! There's no one to stop us!" He shouted loudly for everyone to hear, hoping they'll get intimidated enough to drop their weapons.
"Lei, they have a limb restoration method! Let's take it away!" Xin had a different idea.
"The fuck?"
"I heard, it's our chance! Let's go! Ming will deal with these retards!" Xin took a blood stopping pill, then cracked a spirit stone to recharge his greaves.
"Grab the hilt!" Lei took off into the air on his sword, and offered it as transport for Xin. "You got strength in arms left?"
Xin grabbed the sword without responding. His ribs were broken in several places, and he was absolutely battered. But I promised Lei I'll help him grow his arm back, I have to endure! Can this sword handle us two, though?
Yes, albeit slower, it seems. Lei carried them above the in. Xin could see the whole battlefield from here. On the central flank, there was a stalemate. On the right flank, FETS forces were winning decisively, and on the left flank, Ming and Zhan would soon make the mortals surrender. The fight is over. Xin noticed several monks jump from the stockade and attempt to flee.
"Where to?" Lei asked. He was quite confused with his friend's plan, and was anxious about Xin, who looked quite beaten.
Xin sniffed the air. The tiger totem was going crazy. It was filling Xin with so many emotions that weren't his, but such was the price to pay. Still, it was as determined as Xin to catch their prey, and tried helping him to the best of his ability.
"Uncle Luli's hut! There!" Xin smelled a blood trail leading to the old alchemist's shack.
Ten breaths later, Xin dropped on the ground. Lei also dismounted, and held his flying sword as a regular weapon. Xin noticed that his wooden arm was injured, and that several parts of his armour were battered. He looked around, and noticed that none of the mortals were shooting at them. They entered the opponents' rear, and a few people that were here weren't too eager to antagonise a warrior drenched in blood, mounted on a flying sword.
"There!" Xin pointed at the hut's door while quickly scanning the surroundings will all of his senses, looking for possible threats. "Two people inside, I think! Maybe more!"
Lei infused his leg with fire qi and knocked the door away in one kick. He saw an old woman with a bleeding eye hold something in her arm, while the grandpa who had his arm chopped off by Xin was lying near her, unconscious.
She quickly reacted to Lei's appearance, jumping up and putting her palms together in some unusual martial arts stance.
Propulsion dao shard! Lei lunged forward. Qi infusion! He sliced her wrists off in one hit of his enchanted blade.
"Aaaagh!" She stared at her stubs for just a breath, before Lei sliced her head in half. He then lunged his sword into an unconscious master.
Xin quickly ran up to her body. Another bag of holding! He opened it. So many healing herbs. Drugs. Sedatives. There it is!
He procured a dao shard, it looked like a black ladybug with red dots, each dot filled with blood. It was the size of Xin's middle finger. Xin's totem was attracted to this smell as soon as he opened the bag.
"What's that?" Lei was confused. "How do we use it?"
"It's a one use dao shard, quite expensive. Blood path."
"Shit! Can you activate it?"
"It activates itself, it just needs a stub to connect onto."
"Xin, Lei!" They heard an enhanced voice call out from behind them. It was master Xiaodan's.
"Shit!" Xin's instincts overtook him. "Trust me!" He grabbed Lei's wooden arm.
"Don't you dare, disciple!" Master Xiaodan shouted out in rage.
Woodcutter's Downswing! Xin sliced the wooden arm off. Lei groaned in pain.
"What the fuck?"
Fuck, it's not enough. Need a better stub!
"Trust me! Don't resist! I beg you, Lei!"
"Stop!" Master Xiaodan demanded again. Xin felt something pull him underground, just in one motion he was knee deep in the earth, as if the flooring was never there.
"Lei, endure!" Xin was resolute, and pulled Lei down by the collar, forcing him on his knees.
Woodcutter's Downswing! Xin sliced a chunk of flesh off Lei's shoulder. He then squashed the bug in his hand and stuck it where the blood was gushing from.
Lei cried out in pain.