39: Chapter 39 A Misunderstanding

"Hiss!"

This sudden attack caused Yang Bai to gasp in pain, but he had no time to dwell on it.

If he didn't neutralize the force of the baton, his entire arm would be ruined.

Seizing the moment, Yang Bai bent his right knee, knelt on the ground, and slammed his left hand—the one that had taken the hit—hard against the floor.

The ground immediately cracked.

The spear followed, sweeping across Yang Bai's lower body, while the baton whistled through the air, smashing toward his temple.

Using his left arm for support, Yang Bai performed a one-armed push-up maneuver, twisting his body to dodge both the high and low strikes, while simultaneously grabbing the spear shaft and using the momentum to vault away.

Flattened against the wall, Yang Bai reached out and unsheathed the long saber from behind one of the men in black.

Three dangerous auras locked onto Yang Bai's body.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Without hesitation, Yang Bai swung the long saber, batting away the incoming hidden weapons before flipping down to the ground.

The moment he landed, Yang Bai placed his left hand in front, held the saber over his head with his right hand, and assumed a defensive stance, performing the "wrapping the head and covering the brain" technique.

At this moment, Yang Bai finally saw the situation clearly.

One man stood before him holding a spear, a palm print still visible on his chest, looking quite furious.

The young man next to him, holding a baton in one hand, was all smiles; judging by his movements, he was an expert in close-quarters combat.

The woman who had brought Yang Bai here stood at the very back, her arms hanging naturally, with two throwing knives in her palms—she was the one who had thrown the hidden weapons earlier.

This battlefield was advantageous for Yang Bai; his opponents were all within his line of sight and aligned in a straight line, allowing him to defeat them one by one.

The four of them stared at each other for a few seconds.

The man with the baton gripped it in reverse, lunged forward, and swung diagonally. Yang Bai dodged to the side, and seeing the attack miss, the spear-wielding man quickly stepped forward to follow up.

Yang Bai turned and slashed, blocking the spear, then parried the baton with his saber.

The three of them entered into a fierce melee. The woman with the throwing knives in the distance aimed for Yang Bai's weak points, but he blocked every single one.

As the saying goes, "Master the 'wrapping the head and covering the brain' technique, and you have mastered half of all saber techniques."

This technique is the foundation of saber arts, balancing both offense and defense; even when surrounded by several people, one can hold their own.

The weapons Zhou Yanlie excelled at were the ring-pommel saber and the horse-chopping saber. His saber techniques could be considered the pinnacle in the mortal world, and his basic skills were terrifyingly solid.

Yang Bai did not use offensive saber techniques, relying only on "wrapping the head and covering the brain" and basic slashing and hacking moves to defend against their attacks.

Through the recent series of attacks, Yang Bai realized that even if he defeated these few, more would follow. It was better to conserve his energy and find the right moment to break through.

"Team Leader, that's enough, right? If we keep fighting, something bad will happen."

A man in black whispered to the middle-aged man on the sofa.

The middle-aged man made a shushing gesture and said, "Shh, listen carefully."

Yang Bai used the back of his blade to block the spear tip, but he was pushed back two steps, exposing a weakness.

The woman's eyes sharpened, and two throwing knives flew from her hands.

However, the next second, as if Yang Bai had anticipated it, he caught one throwing knife with one hand, took the other one with his abdomen, and simultaneously threw the long saber at the spear-wielding man.

Seeing the long saber flying toward him, the man with the spear instinctively deflected it.

Yang Bai threw the throwing knife at the man with the baton. The latter deflected it but noticed Yang Bai's fist was already following up. He had no choice but to hold the baton horizontally in front of him, assuming a defensive stance.

But as he blocked, a loud crane's cry reached the man's ears.

"Ha~" "Screech!"

Yang Bai channeled his internal strength through his mouth, the airflow vibrating in his throat to produce the sound of a crane's cry.

Yang Bai's physical strength instantly multiplied several times over, and he punched the black baton.

The baton twisted and deformed instantly, then snapped in the middle.

The massive impact caught the man off guard; all he knew was that after taking the hit, he went flying.

Seeing his companion sent flying, the man with the spear thrust his silver spear forward.

Yang Bai pulled the throwing knife from his abdomen, deflected the spearhead, and attacked toward the man's palm, sliding along the spear shaft.

The man released his grip on the spear, preparing to retreat, but before he could take a few steps, Yang Bai had already pressed the throwing knife against his neck.

Yang Bai pushed the knife forward, wedging it against the vein in the man's neck, and threatened the others present: "Nobody move! If anyone dares to move, I'll kill him!"

Yang Bai's maneuver left everyone present in silence.

"Everyone back off, give me..."

Seeing no reaction from those around him, Yang Bai became angry, but before he could finish speaking, he realized with horror that he couldn't move.

Yang Bai darted his eyes and saw the woman with the throwing knives; her eyes were glowing with a blue light.

It seemed she was the one who had immobilized Yang Bai.

Seeing Yang Bai stop speaking, the man with the spear took a few steps back, moving out of Yang Bai's attack range.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap!"

"Not bad, not bad, young comrade. Your fist technique is truly formidable. It's been a long time since I've seen such authentic ancient martial arts."

"Little Nineteen, release him."

The middle-aged man on the sofa clapped while looking at Yang Bai, his eyes full of appreciation, and then spoke to the woman with the throwing knives.

The latter nodded and lifted the restriction on Yang Bai.

Regaining control of his body, Yang Bai slumped to the floor, panting, and said, "You must be people from Chen Yuhao's side, right? I've already withdrawn from the God War Rookie Tournament. What else do you want?"

The middle-aged man recalled something, seemingly realizing what he meant. "Chen Yuhao? You're talking about the matter with Chen Qingsong, right? You've misunderstood; today's business has nothing to do with them."

Then, his expression changed, and a fierce killing intent radiated from his brow, causing the temperature in the room to drop by several degrees instantly.

"Though, it is true that Little Chen went a bit too far this time. Arbitrarily canceling a contestant's qualification? Do they really think the God War Tournament is run by their family?" the middle-aged man said coldly.

"This person is strong!"

Just by feeling his aura, Yang Bai understood that the middle-aged man before him was stronger than anyone he had ever met.

But in a brief moment.

That killing intent vanished instantly, replaced by a gentle warmth.

The middle-aged man patted the sofa next to him and said kindly, "Come sit, let's talk."

Facing the middle-aged man's invitation, Yang Bai had no right to refuse. He sat on the sofa uneasily, his eyes inadvertently drifting toward the holographic projection screen in front of him.

It was showing the third battle of the God War Rookie Tournament.

In the footage, hundreds of Divine Lords expanded their divine domains, letting their familiars fight against the Star Sea monsters released by the tournament officials within their domains.

The scene was truly spectacular.

The Team Leader pulled a cigarette with dark gold packaging from his pocket, tore off the gold seal, took one out, and handed it to Yang Bai, smiling. "Young comrade, have one. This is good stuff."

Yang Bai instinctively wanted to refuse, but remembering what Gu Sichao had said, he took it.

The Team Leader took out another cigarette, lit it, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said indifferently:

"Young comrade, I apologize for bringing you here at this time, but you may have some misunderstandings about us. Everything that just happened was just a standard test."

"What kind of test?" Yang Bai said irritably.

"A test to see if you can pass the semifinals of the God War Rookie Tournament."

The Team Leader smiled.