After the resurrection.
Xu Gaoyuan glanced at the map, where his teammates' markers were moving rapidly.
They clearly thought it was pointless to drag him along as a burden and had already left the area to scavenge in more fertile places.
Good, it's quiet now...
Xu Gaoyuan looked around, confirmed it was temporarily safe, and ducked into a cramped corner nearby, half-hidden by a huge weathered stone pillar.
Scattered in the corner were a few low-quality, dilapidated weapons: a longsword with a chipped blade and a broadsword with a cracked wooden hilt, likely unwanted items.
He bent down and picked up the broken broadsword; it felt heavy in his hand, the rough cracks in the wooden hilt digging into his palm.
Parry...
Parry!
The few dry explanations and tutorial steps from the Beginner's Tutorial churned wildly in Xu Gaoyuan's mind.
He tried to recall the eerie red glow that erupted from his opponent's body when he was instantly killed earlier, and the immense force that vibrated back along his blade.
"Is it when the attack is about to hit? Equivalent to a Parry..." He murmured to himself, gripping the broadsword's hilt tightly with both hands, clumsily adopting the ready stance the system had prompted: center of gravity lowered, knees slightly bent.
He imagined an invisible enemy standing before him, swinging a blade to strike.
"Hmph!" Xu Gaoyuan let out a low growl.
"No, that doesn't feel right..." He took a breath, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
He adjusted his breathing and focused again.
Again and again.
The dilapidated broadsword swung, lifted, and parried heavily in his hands, the dull thud of cutting through air echoing monotonously in the corner enclosed by stone pillars.
Xu Gaoyuan took advantage of this time to train himself, gradually regaining his lost feel.
The days of sweating profusely in the kendo dojo seemed to return a little.
At this moment, a sudden drastic change occurred on the minimap, interrupting his focused practice.
At the edge of his map's vision, two blue markers representing his teammates suddenly flashed with dazzling red light—a signal of severe threat to their lives.
Immediately after, the soul link exploded.
"Damn it! We're surrounded, at least two teams! Aodachi Girl, go quickly, don't worry about me..." It was Yue Shan Adventurer's characteristic rough voice, full of anxiety, with the faint, grating noise of weapons clashing wildly and the roar of exploding energy audible in the background.
"I can't go, they've blocked the way! Yue Shan, watch your right..." Aodachi Girl Adventurer's voice also lost its previous arrogance, speaking urgently.
In this critical situation, Yue Shan Adventurer seemed to remember Xu Gaoyuan and shouted anxiously: "Useless! Are you revived? If you're revived, hurry up and get over here! Coordinates (XX, YY), we're trapped in the stone cave by two teams, if you don't come now, you'll be collecting our corpses!"
"Heh heh..."
Xu Gaoyuan let out a cold laugh.
What teammates.
Right now, he only wanted to prove his sword path.
And this opportunity couldn't be more perfect...
Xu Gaoyuan's fingers, gripping the broken broadsword, were unusually steady.
Rage? Yes, but at this moment, it had been replaced by something purer...
That was the focus and killing intent of a swordsman.
"Coordinates (XX, YY)..."
He glanced at the minimap, observing the flashing red dots.
His teammates' cries for help, the clashing of weapons, and the explosive roars of energy were clearly audible even through the soul link, indicating the fierce battle within the stone cave.
Xu Gaoyuan did not respond to Yue Shan's curses; he simply took a deep breath, infusing his entire body with the hint of "heaviness" he had just rediscovered.
The next second, he moved.
Not a wild dash, but a flick of his wrist, and the grappling hook shot out with a "whoosh," accurately embedding itself in a towering rock face in the distance.
Immediately after, his entire body was violently yanked off the ground by a powerful pull, soaring through the air.
The wind howled in his ears, and the rugged, grotesque rocks of Bailian Cave rapidly swept past beneath his feet.
Xu Gaoyuan quickly arrived in front of a natural stone cave, half-enclosed by massive stone pillars and collapsed structures.
At the entrance.
Figures flickered, and sword and blade gleamed.
"Good heavens, they really are surrounded..."
Xu Gaoyuan's thoughts raced, but his body was rapidly approaching, pulled by the grappling hook.
He pinpointed a protruding rock platform above the stone cave entrance, and just as the grappling hook's momentum was about to expire, he abruptly cut it, using the force to execute a front flip, landing steadily on the edge of the platform, looking down from above.
The battle below was clear at a glance.
His teammates, Yue Shan and Aodachi Girl, were backed against a giant rock; Yue Shan was swinging his long spear, desperately parrying, already bearing wounds, his golden "Thousand Armies Repelled" ultimate ability seemingly having just been interrupted, his strength failing.
Aodachi Girl's movements were still agile, her katana flashing as she tried to break through the encirclement, but she was tightly entangled by two longswords and a long spear, constantly in peril.
There were six attackers in total: two wielding longswords moved nimbly, one with a long spear provided support, a broadsword-wielding strongman blocked the front and attacked fiercely, and two others at a slightly greater distance continuously harassed and suppressed with bows and repeating crossbows.
Just as the broadsword-wielding strongman blocking the front roared again, his body glowing with a brilliant blue light, clearly fully charged and ready to deliver a fatal blow to the low-health Yue Shan.
"Idiot!" Xu Gaoyuan sneered inwardly.
This scene was eerily similar to how he had died just moments ago, only the roles were reversed.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Gaoyuan leaped.
Mid-air, his hands were already gripping the dilapidated broadsword, not charging power, but crossing his arms in front of his chest, and with an incredibly precise angle, his wrists suddenly vibrated outwards.
"Clang!"
A metallic explosion, clearer and more shocking than before, like a great bell tolling, instantly drowned out all the sounds of battle within the stone cave.
A blinding, crimson light circle erupted with Xu Gaoyuan's parrying arms as its center.
Carrying the power to shatter any charged attack, it slammed violently into the broadsword-wielding strongman below, who was attacking with full force.
"What the heck?!"
The broadsword-wielding strongman's eyes almost popped out; his accumulated power was instantly disintegrated and caused a backlash.
His massive body flew backward, crashing heavily against the stone wall with a dull thud, his health bar visibly plummeting a large chunk.
This sudden turn of events caused the entire stone cave to pause for a moment.
Everyone, including Xu Gaoyuan's teammates, froze.
Their gazes collectively focused on the figure who had repelled the enemy with a single Parry.
The Ning Hongye Adventurer whom they had just been calling "useless" and saying "if you're bad, practice more."
Yue Shan's mouth hung open.
Aodachi Girl's blade was suspended mid-air, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.
The attackers were even more utterly shocked.
The timing of this Parry, the angle...
This person before them was likely a hidden master!
