Chen Ping shook his head, his brows tightly knitted. “I do not know either, but this place feels strange everywhere. We must proceed with utmost caution.”
The two rose to their feet and were about to scout their surroundings when a series of shrill, desperate cries suddenly rang out from the distance.
They exchanged a glance and immediately raced towards the source of the sound.
When they reached a valley, the scene before them made their hearts clench.
A band of brigands was madly pursuing a family of three. The parents wore faces full of terror as they shielded their child behind them, while the brigands brandished sharp weapons and let out vicious laughter.
“Stop!”
Chen Ping roared in fury and was about to intervene when he suddenly felt an invisible force seize control of his body.
His limbs turned impossibly heavy; every movement became as slow as a snail’s crawl.
Liu Xue suffered the same affliction. Her eyes widened in alarm as she tried to charge forward, yet she could only watch helplessly as the family fell into mortal peril.
“No!”
Liu Xue let out a despairing scream.
Under their horrified gaze, the brigands quickly overtook the parents.
One brigand swung a broadsword and hacked viciously at the child’s father.
The father fought desperately to parry, but the difference in strength was too great. The blade bit deep into his shoulder, and blood sprayed forth.
“Father!”
The child let out a heart-rending wail.
Immediately after, another brigand thrust his sword towards the child’s mother.
To protect her child, the mother threw herself in front of the blade. The point pierced straight through her body. She slowly collapsed, her eyes filled with reluctance and lingering love.
“Mother!”
The child threw herself beside her mother, tears streaming down her face.
Burning rage surged through Chen Ping. He struggled frantically against the invisible restraint.
At last, amid searing pain, the binding force suddenly vanished.
“You animals!”
Chen Ping bellowed like an enraged beast and charged at the brigands.
His Dragon-Slaying Sword blazed with dazzling light; every swing carried devastating power.
Liu Xue also regained her mobility. She flourished her long sword and unleashed a flurry of deadly techniques, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Chen Ping.
The brigands had not expected two such formidable opponents to appear out of nowhere and fell into momentary disarray.
Yet under their leader’s barked orders they quickly steadied themselves and swung their weapons towards Chen Ping and Liu Xue.
Chen Ping’s gaze was ice-cold. He circulated his spiritual energy and unleashed his ultimate techniques.
Golden sword gleams shot from his body towards the brigands. Wherever they passed, screams erupted; those struck were instantly cut down.
Liu Xue refused to be outdone. She executed the Earth Fiend Alliance’s supreme art, “Earth Fiend Sword Shadows”. Countless razor-sharp sword shadows rained down upon the brigands like a storm.
Unable to dodge, they were struck one after another, blood spraying in all directions.
After a fierce battle, Chen Ping and Liu Xue finally annihilated every last brigand.
Breathing heavily, they walked over to the child.
The child knelt beside her parents’ corpses, tears flowing without end.
She raised her head and glared at Chen Ping with eyes full of hatred. “Why didn’t you act sooner? If you had moved earlier, my parents wouldn’t have died!”
Pain stabbed Chen Ping’s heart. He explained, “Child, just now an invisible force restrained me. My movements were slowed to a crawl. I only managed to break free moments ago.”
Yet the child refused to listen. She continued sobbing and shouting, “You killed my parents! If you had acted sooner, they would still be alive!”
Seeing this, anger also rose in Chen Ping.
He spoke coldly. “Child, I understand your grief, but you cannot blame the innocent without reason. I truly was restrained, and I already did everything I could.”
