“This’ll work. Senior Sister Yi Xue will hold off one of the martial masters, I’ll take the other, but the remaining martial artists will be up to you two.”
Ling Xiao laid out his plan.
“It’s doable, but the odds aren’t great,” Yin Ran said, frowning.
“Brother Yin, trust me on this. These twenty martial artists are split across three spots in the factory. If we plan it right, we’ll never face more than ten at once. We might even take out the rest before those two masters catch on,” Ling Xiao explained.
Yin Ran calmed down at that.
True, the four of them hadn’t been spotted yet, and it was night—perfect for picking them off one by one.
Even if something went wrong, swift action would keep it from turning into a four-against-twenty mess.
This fight was winnable.
Just then, voices drifted from the factory.
“Boss, something’s off. The shift change guys haven’t come back—could something have happened?” a tall, burly martial artist with emerald-green eyes said.
He was likely from the Bi-Eye Clan.
Their people all had those vivid green eyes and towering builds.
The Ninja Clan had their ninja spirits, akin to martial souls.
The Bi-Eye Clan had their heroic spirits, much the same.
Both stemmed from similar roots, though the Ninja and Bi-Eye Clans far outpaced humans in the number of martial artists with such spirits.
Not everyone had them, of course—ninja and heroic spirits weren’t easy to awaken or acquire.
This Bi-Eye speaker was one of the martial masters, probably with a heroic spirit or a fragment of one.
The “boss,” the factory’s head honcho, was the other master, also Bi-Eye, likely with a spirit or fragment too.
“Meng, you’re right to worry. Lately, that Lin Ze’s been hell-bent on wiping out Dream Pill ops in Baiyun Province and nabbing dealers. We can’t be too careful,” the boss said.
Bi-Eye names were typically single syllables, no family names.
“What do we do, Boss?”
“Take a few guys and check it out. Be cautious—if you spot trouble, don’t engage rashly.”
“Got it, Boss!”
Meng nodded, picking five men to scout with him.
Ling Xiao’s group saw and heard it all.
“Let’s go—take out those five first!” Ling Xiao decided.
One was a master, but the other four were just Martial Vein Sixth Layer fighters—not even peak ones—making them manageable.
No one objected; it was the smart play.
The other three nodded, trailing Ling Xiao cautiously.
The place was sprawling and cluttered—great for the Dream Pill crooks to hide, but just as good for outsiders to stay unseen.
All four were above Martial Vein Sixth Layer; even a Fourth Layer fighter could avoid detection here with care.
“Meng Bro, something’s up!” one of the dealers soon called out.
They’d found traces of the killed shift changers.
Though Ling Xiao had handled the bodies, these guys weren’t dumb—they sniffed out clues with sharp eyes.
“No time to wait. Yin Ran, Leng Mei, you two strike first! Avoid the master, just handle the Sixth Layer fighters!” Ling Xiao ordered, seeing the window closing.
“Understood!”
Yin Ran and Leng Mei nodded.
Doubts about Ling Xiao’s call couldn’t spark infighting now—disunity could doom them all.
Leng Mei wouldn’t question him; he’d faced off against Murong Shao for her and bent Qianlong Camp rules to protect her.
Yin Ran hesitated but was sharp enough to know what mattered now.
“Senior Sister, you tie up that Meng guy. We’ll team up to drop him fast—dragging this out screws us,” Ling Xiao said.
“Got it!” Ling Yi Xue nodded.
Tasks assigned.
Yin Ran and Leng Mei leapt in first.
The surprise attack paid off—they took out two Sixth Layer fighters instantly.
Five became three: one master, two Sixth Layers.
Yin Ran and Leng Mei each pinned a Sixth Layer.
“Signal, quick!” Meng barked.
Big and brawny, he wasn’t slow-witted, recognizing an ambush and aiming to call for help.
With his two men tied up, they couldn’t signal.
Ling Xiao wouldn’t let that happen—reinforcements would spell trouble.
Meng, seeing the bind, moved to signal himself.
But a white shadow shot from the dark.
He felt a surge of danger.
He aborted the signal—if he pressed on, he’d be dead before it went out.
He wasn’t that reckless, not even on instinct.
Meng threw both fists up, blocking the shadow’s palm.
A reactive block against a proactive strike—he took a hit.
Ice crystals bloomed on his fists.
“Who’s there? Name yourself!”
Ling Yi Xue didn’t answer, pressing her attack to maintain the edge over this Bi-Eye foe.
“Damn it, no name? Fine, I’ll guess—you’re Lin Ze’s people! If I survive this, that old bastard’s done!”
His strength didn’t match Lin Ze’s, but the Bi-Eye Clan had long lorded over human turf, with lackeys in the Human Sacred Dynasty and Beihan Kingdom’s ranks.
When Lin Ze targeted Dream Pills, they’d leveraged those ties to try killing him—unsuccessfully.
His rant was just venting; Lin Ze wasn’t that easy to take down.
Boom!
A loud crash—behind Meng, a figure emerged.
Clad in black steel armor, wielding a massive two-handed sword, it stood four meters tall, its helmet nearly fully enclosing its head.
Only through slits could you see glowing green eyes.
“Greatsword Heroic Spirit! Hm? Looks like a fragmented one, but it’s at fifty percent soul strength.”
Bi-Eye heroic spirits often overlapped—nameless ones like this were low-tier.
But training could elevate them, even to named spirits.
With the Greatsword Spirit out, Meng’s aura surged, and Ling Yi Xue started losing ground.
Without a martial soul, as an early Martial Vein Seventh Layer master, she was at a disadvantage against him.
