LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 22: Ambush
"Master?" Xu Ming and Wu Xiaopang froze at Zhang Yun's sudden shout. Following his gaze, they tensed and raised their weapons toward the shadowed treeline.
"Not bad, for a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator," a cold voice drifted from the darkness.
Zhang Yun's pupils contracted. "Move!" he roared, activating Qingyuan Steps in a burst of green light. He lunged toward Wu Xiaopang—
Splurch!
Blood sprayed. The plump disciple gaped as Zhang Yun's palm intercepted a razor-edged sword thrust meant for his heart. Crimson droplets pattered onto leaves.
"Master!" Wu Xiaopang cried, face blanching.
"Fall back!" Zhang Yun snarled, glaring at the black-robed assailant whose blade still impaled his hand. This was no sneak attack—the strike had aimed to kill.
The cloaked figure tilted his head. "Impressive reflexes. Pity they'll die with you."
"Who sent you?" Zhang Yun demanded, spiritual energy coiling around his uninjured fist.
"Irrelevant." The attacker smirked—then his eyes flickered toward Xu Ming.
Zhang Yun's blood ran cold. "Ming'er, dodge—!"
Too late. A second blade materialized, piercing Xu Ming's left shoulder. The youth crumpled with a choked cry as a gaunt, hooded figure withdrew his bloodied sword.
"You dare—!" Rage ignited Zhang Yun's core. Spiritual pressure erupted, flattening nearby shrubs.
"Foundation Establishment… Peak?" both assailants blurted, recoiling. Their intel had claimed Third Level at best.
The first attacker yanked his sword free, but Zhang Yun's retaliatory punch arrived faster.
Crack!
The blade shattered. The robed man barely registered the fist before it obliterated his ribcage. He flew backward like a ragdoll, smashing through an ancient oak in a spray of splinters and gore.
"Impossible…" The gaunt assassin gaped at his twitching comrade. That strike had felled a Golden Core cultivator!
Death's chill seized him as Zhang Yun pivoted, eyes glacial. The Qingyuan Steps flared—
Boom!
A thunderclap intercepted Zhang Yun's charge. A hulking third assailant materialized, crackling purple lightning wreathing his arms as he blocked the killing blow.
"A Foundation Establishment brat with Core-Shatterer strength?" The newcomer chuckled, muscles straining against Zhang Yun's press. "You're full of surprises."
**[Thunderborn Enforcer]**
**Realm:** Golden Core Peak
**Weakness:** Incomplete Thunderbody Art—legs unrefined.
Zhang Yun's Immortal Eye pulsed with intel. Three Golden Core experts—for him? Only one faction had such resources…
"Run!" he bellowed, hurling Xu Ming toward Wu Xiaopang. The disciples hesitated—until Zhang Yun's roar brooked no argument. "NOW!"
As they fled, Zhang Yun became a hurricane. His fists blurred, driving both assassins back through sheer ferocity. Each strike exploited weaknesses—targeting the giant's legs, forcing the gaunt one to guard his throat.
"Enough!" The thunder-wreathed leader finally recovered, aura erupting. "You want death? Have it!"
Lightning arced toward Zhang Yun's heart—
Clang!
A sword materialized in Zhang Yun's grip, its edge humming with untested power. "New technique," he said coldly. "You'll be its first test subjects."
The assassins attacked in unison—one a storm of lightning, the other a whirlwind of blades.
Zhang Yun smiled.
The forest erupted in chaos.