The charming widow of the Marquis's mansion: The stable boy carries the flag and raises the dra

The bushes at the edge of the valley suddenly shook violently.

A dark purple figure suddenly appeared from the side, moving with ghostly speed, a slender, dark dagger in its hand aimed straight at Wang Long's back!

The man had clearly been lying in ambush for a long time, waiting for Wang Long and Ye Niannu to peek out from their hiding place.

A thick layer of shadow gathered at the tip of the dagger, making its trail almost invisible in the midday light.

Wang Long seemed to have anticipated this. He didn't even turn his head, but simply turned slightly to avoid the deadly blade. At the same time, he grabbed the man's wrist with his backhand, his five fingers precisely gripping it.

"puff!"

With a muffled thud, the man's wrist was crushed by Wang Long, the dagger slipped from his hand, fell to the ground, and embedded itself in the soil.

The man let out a suppressed cry of pain, trying to pull back, but found that his wrists were locked in an iron clamp, and he could not break free no matter what he did.

Ye Niannu peeked out from behind him, looked him up and down, and spoke with a mixture of curiosity and mockery.

"Hey, aren't these people from the Kunyin Sect? How dare you come up here all by yourself?"

The man gritted his teeth, his face deathly pale, but he did not answer.

Wang Long released his grip, and the man staggered back a few steps, clutching his severed wrist, his eyes filled with fear and resentment.

Without uttering another word, he turned and dashed out of the valley at an astonishing speed, clearly an assassin-type cultivator known for his speed.

Wang Long watched his figure disappear quickly into the bushes, but did not chase after him. He simply patted non-existent dust off his hands.

"It seems they've got their eyes on us."

Ye Niannu stood beside him, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding eyes that were secretly observing, her tone carrying a hint of relaxed laughter.

"So what if they're keeping an eye on us? It saves us the trouble of going after them one by one."

Wang Long withdrew his gaze and looked at the chaotic battlefield in the center of the valley, and said in a deep voice.

"But we really should go somewhere else; there are too many people here, and we're likely to get surrounded."

"Then let's go."

Ye Niannu didn't ask any more questions and immediately retreated into the depths of the bushes with Wang Long.

Their figures darted swiftly through the dense forest, quickly leaving the noisy valley far behind.

"That person just now was probably a spy sent by the Kunyin Sect to track us."

Ye Niannu spoke as she ran, her tone carrying a hint of speculation.

"Yin Jiuyou looks treacherous, but he's actually quite cautious. He sent spies to find out our location before deciding how to make his move."

Wang Long nodded but did not reply.

While maintaining a steady pace of movement, he silently spread out strands of mental energy in all directions, sensing every movement around him.

The two moved downstream along the stream for about half an hour, passing through a patch of low bushes, and came to an abandoned stone platform covered with vines. The platform was not large, but it was large enough to accommodate a few people.

Wang Long stopped at the edge of the stone platform, and only after confirming that there was no unusual aura around him did he sit down on the edge of the platform.

Ye Niannu sat down beside him and casually plucked a blade of grass and put it in her mouth.

"My lord, how long do you think they'll keep chasing us?"

Wang Long laughed.

"They won't give up easily. Right now, the people watching us aren't just the four major sects, but also the holy sons and daughters of the other major domains. As long as we still hold the flag, they will keep watching us."

"Then let them keep an eye on it."

Ye Niannu's tone carried a hint of eager anticipation.

"The tighter they press, the more likely they are to make mistakes, which is perfect for us to defeat them one by one."

Just as Wang Long was about to reply, his mental energy threads suddenly detected a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy rapidly approaching from the direction they had come from. There was more than one person, and they were moving very fast, clearly indicating that they had come prepared.

"They're here."

Wang Long stood up, his gaze falling towards the dense forest, his tone calm.

Ye Niannu also stood up, patted the grass clippings on her skirt, gripped the hilt of the sword at her waist, and smiled.

"They arrived quite quickly."

The shadows of the trees at the edge of the dense forest swayed slightly, and several figures emerged from the shadows.

The leader was handsome, wearing a dark gold robe. He walked with ease, and when his gaze fell on Wang Long, it was with a calm and focused look, as if he were examining his prey.

It was Zhao Heng, the holy son of Emperor Qianyuan.

Wang Qingyan followed behind him, her moon-white dress standing out in the afternoon light and shadow. She held a short sword that gleamed coldly in her hand, her gaze also fixed on Wang Long and Ye Niannu.

Wang Long raised his eyebrows slightly.

Zhao Heng stopped about ten feet in front of the stone platform, his gaze lingering on Wang Long for a moment before sweeping over Ye Niannu beside him, his tone calm.

"King Shengzi, we've finally met."

Wang Long did not answer immediately.

He could sense that Zhao Heng's aura was much calmer than when they fought in the Spirit Realm, which meant that he had also been improving his cultivation during this time.

Behind him, Wang Qingyan's aura was even more refined than in the Spirit Realm. Clearly, their previous elimination had not discouraged them; instead, it had made them even more focused.

"Since our parting in the Spirit Realm, Wang Shengzi's cultivation has improved considerably."

Zhao Heng's tone remained calm, carrying a serene ease like flowing water.

"I've been thinking about what would happen if we faced each other head-on on the battlefield."

Wang Long looked at him, and after a moment, said calmly, "Then you can try it yourself."

Zhao Heng's eyes lit up slightly, as if he had received the answer he wanted.

He did not act immediately, but slowly drew the dark gold longsword from his waist. The blade gleamed with a warm yet cold luster in the midday sun.

Behind him, Wang Qingyan also gripped her short sword tightly, her once arrogant eyes now filled with focused coldness.

"Then I'll have to offend you."

Ye Niannu stepped half a step away from Wang Long, the emerald sword in her hand gleaming with a cold, clear light in the sunlight. She tilted her head and beckoned to Wang Qingyan.

"Come on, let's have some fun."

The battle erupted in an instant.

Zhao Heng's figure was like a dark golden lightning bolt, carrying a sharp blade momentum, and he slashed straight down at Wang Long!

His swordsmanship was more profound and refined than in the spiritual realm, with each strike carrying an overwhelming composure, clearly indicating that he had diligently practiced his weaknesses during this period.

Wang Long did not take the blow head-on. Instead, he used his spiritual energy to condense a lightsaber to parry, deflect, sidestep, and counterattack. The two figures constantly clashed on the open ground in front of the stone platform, with dense and crisp flashes of swords and blades, constantly kicking up pebbles and grass clippings from the ground.

Wang Qingyan's offensive was equally fierce. She had clearly learned from her previous experience and no longer launched a rash attack. Instead, she used a more steady pace to maneuver around Ye Niannu, looking for an opening to strike.

The fight was more intense than they had anticipated.

Zhao Heng's swordsmanship was indeed much stronger than in the Spirit Realm. He no longer relied on the advantage of his realm, but truly honed his combat skills, and the offensive and defensive transitions between him and Wang Long became faster and faster.

Wang Long could sense that Zhao Heng was using all his strength, and could even feel that he was constantly adjusting his way of exerting force during the battle, trying to find his rhythm flaws.

However, Wang Long's Chaotic Dao Body was also rapidly adapting to the opponent's offensive. His defensive perimeter became more and more solid, and his counterattacks became more and more precise.

The two went back and forth, neither of them was pushed to the brink, but neither of them gained a clear advantage either.

After another collision, Zhao Heng used the momentum to retreat several steps, exhaled softly, and his eyes were even brighter than before.

"You are indeed more difficult to deal with than I imagined."

Wang Long didn't reply, but simply adjusted his breathing slightly and gripped the lightsaber in his hand.

This battle is clearly far from over.