Murong Yuhao

After failing to land a successful blow, the young man quickly changed his position, transforming into a black streak of light that crazily circled Brother Luo, delivering one slash after another.

However, while the young man's footwork was fast, Brother Luo wasn't far behind, and his defensive stance was more than sufficient.

The overall strength of the two was quite similar, with one having slightly greater explosive power and the other having faster agility.

The orange blade radiance continued to flash, periodically flying out of their battle area and cutting large trees in half, causing them to crash to the ground.

Before long, both of them suddenly perked up their ears.

They immediately realized that the noise generated from their battle had attracted the attention of others. People were already on their way to their location.

The sinister-faced young man's expression changed slightly. He swiftly left the battlefield, carrying the body of the fallen Dalu Sect disciple and sped away. He knew that even if they continued to fight, he couldn't be certain of victory, so it was better to withdraw before others arrived and took advantage of the situation.

In pursuit, Brother Luo swung his long blade while he watched the enemy, but the young man easily evaded the strikes and then swiftly departed.

"So fast!"

"Definitely a celestial-level footwork at the level of mastery."

"It seems the intelligence reports were too incomplete. There must be plenty of unknown top-tier experts like this one!"

Brother Luo's face became serious, and he quickly left the battlefield.

...

In another location,

Next to a large lake with rippling waves, a young man with white hair, carrying a long blade on his back, slowly approached. He looked at the crystal-clear lake, calmly sitting down cross-legged.

Not long after, three young men wearing matching uniforms from the same sect arrived near the lake. They hid in the nearby forest and carefully observed.

When they saw no ambush, the three exchanged glances and suddenly moved, like three streaks of light, darting towards the back of the white-haired young man by the lake.

The white-haired young man, facing the lake, abruptly opened his eyes. His gaze was sharp, exuding a compelling murderous aura.

Suddenly, he disappeared from his original spot.

As if he had instantly teleported, he appeared next to one of the approaching figures.

"What!"

The terrifying speed of his movements left the three men in shock.

"Clang!"

The white-haired young man had unsheathed his blade long before, and now it made a sound as the blade met the hilt of the sword.

His strike was as fierce as a bolt of heavenly lightning.

The young man who faced it didn't have time to dodge and could only use his mastery-level celestial sword technique to confront the incoming blade.

Fast footwork didn't necessarily mean strong blade technique.

The young man thought this way, but the reality greatly exceeded his expectations.

Not only was the opponent's footwork fast, but his blade technique was even faster and more ferocious!

"Shh!"

In the instant of their clash, the young man's longsword slipped from his grasp, and he felt a sharp pain in his waist.

When he lowered his head, he saw a rush of blood pouring from his waist, and his vision began to blur.

He suddenly understood that he had been sliced at the waist.

The young man had been struck so quickly that he only felt the excruciating pain and the fear of impending death now. He began to scream madly.

The white-haired young man, who had instantly killed him, turned his body and charged towards another person.

"Run!"

The other two saw their comrade killed in an instant and immediately realized that they were no match for this person. Even if they joined forces, it would undoubtedly end in defeat.

So, escaping even one would be a blessing.

As for who the opponent would chase, it was all up to fate.

"Too terrifying!"

"Wang junior brother, with his eighth level of cultivation and mastery over a heavenly technique, was considered average among the true disciples participating in the competition. Yet, he was killed in just a single encounter. Who is this person?"

As one of them fled, he hastily glanced back and noticed the silver-haired youth was now chasing another junior brother. While feeling sorrow for his fallen comrade, he couldn't help but feel a bit relieved.

Thinking of the silver-haired youth's terrifying strength, a name suddenly popped into his mind.

"Murong Yuhao!"

"The information provided by the sect mentioned that one of the top contenders for the championship, Murong Yuhao, had silver hair and used a blade technique. His strength was also terrifying."

"Now it seems his strength is even more terrifying than what was recorded. His movement technique is definitely at the pinnacle!"

Suddenly.

He felt a strong wind approaching from behind. Swiftly, he dodged and looked back.

He saw a sharp sword light flying past where he just was, and the silver-haired figure was rapidly closing in.

The youth's face turned pale instantly.

"Did Zhang junior brother die so quickly?!"

At this moment, he got a clear look at the opponent's face. It was indeed the Murong Yuhao described in the intelligence.

Seeing Murong Yuhao's emotionless face, the youth felt a chill run down his spine.

He knew that with Murong Yuhao's speed, escape was impossible.

With this thought, the youth quickly threw away the message talisman he had and continued to flee, taking out a distress signal and holding it in his palm, waiting for Murong Yuhao's reaction.

If Murong Yuhao stopped after getting the message talisman, he would continue to flee.

If Murong Yuhao continued to chase relentlessly, he would immediately call for help.

As he ran, he kept glancing back.

He saw that when Murong Yuhao passed the location of the message talisman, he didn't pause at all and continued to chase him.

"Damn it!"

The youth's face changed drastically, and without hesitation, he crushed the distress signal in his hand.

A tiny spark flew into the sky, exploding into a brilliant red light.

The spark left a red trail in the sky, lingering for a long time.

Outside the mountain range, a Saint Envoy immediately flew up on his sword, heading in the direction indicated by the light trail.

In the woods.

The youth who crushed the distress signal kept running desperately, occasionally looking back at the approaching Murong Yuhao and sometimes looking up at the sky.

The youth looked anxious.

He knew that crushing the distress signal didn't guarantee his rescue. He had to wait for the Saint Envoy to arrive and truly save him.

At this moment, the pursuing Murong Yuhao was getting closer, and he was facing imminent death.

But there was still no sign of the rescuing Saint Envoy.

Behind the youth.

Murong Yuhao frowned and looked up at the sky.

From his perspective, he could faintly see a blurry figure in the distance, approaching like lightning.

He roughly estimated the distance between them and realized he might not have enough time to kill the youth. So, he simply stopped and turned back.

In the sky.

Following the light trail, the Saint Envoy, due to the proximity, had already located the position of the crushed distress signal and found the fleeing youth, taking him away from the mountain range.

"Phew! I survived!"

The youth, being carried by the Saint Envoy in the sky, finally let out a sigh of relief. He then looked back in the direction of Murong Yuhao and thought:

"With Murong Yuhao's strength, even stronger than what was reported, he's probably the top contender for the championship this time!"