Chapter Forty-Five: Breaking Through the Encirclement

The explosion was deafening, its shockwaves spreading for dozens of miles—a testament to its immense power. Yan Chen gazed at the billowing dust shooting skyward, swallowed hard, and finally said, “Such force would require at least the strength of a Four Symbols master, wouldn’t it?”

Ye Zihan nodded in agreement, still unsettled. “It seems those three must have been lucky. They didn’t die so easily.”

“Disciples of noble families are bound to carry one or two life-saving trinkets,” Yan Chen replied.

“Even if they survived, they must be in a sorry state—no doubt panicked and shaken. Come, let’s put the fear into these startled birds,” Ye Zihan suggested.

“Alright!” Yan Chen agreed, taking off after Ye Zihan, who was already dashing ahead.

Back in the bamboo grove where Ye Xiang and his companions had been, the swirling dust began to settle. Within a radius of thirty feet, every stalk of bamboo had been blasted to powder. Countless Crimson Flame Serpents had been blown apart, their remains scattered; a few still clung to life, half their bodies left, blood pouring out in streams.

As for Ye Xiang and his comrades, they were nowhere to be seen—not so much as a footprint remained.

“What a pity—they managed to escape,” Yan Chen said, gazing at the empty bamboo grove with some regret.

“That doesn’t make sense… If they left, there should be at least some trace in the soil,” Ye Zihan frowned, feeling something was off.

Because of the chaos, all the Crimson Flame Serpents that had rushed to the commotion had fled in terror. Though they were creatures that usually moved in packs, in the face of overwhelming power, they scattered and hid.

“We’re in trouble. Let’s move—now!” Ye Zihan suddenly cried out. As soon as he turned, he caught sight of Zhang Chu, with his shifty eyes and furtive expression, hiding behind a clump of bamboo. Zhang Chu’s hands moved rapidly, forming seals, as strange lines spread from him along the ground, encircling Ye Zihan and Yan Chen in a binding web.

“Just as Young Master Ye predicted—the attackers heard the explosion and doubled back to see if we’d survived,” Xiang Kuang emerged from the bamboo, a huge broadsword—nearly three feet long—in his grip, anger blazing in his eyes.

“Who would’ve thought it’d be you two scoundrels!” Zhang Chu spat through gritted teeth, seething with hatred. Last night, these two had treated him like a fool, making his group run in circles for hours, leaving them drained till morning. Now, after nearly dying here, old grudges mixed with new, and rage boiled over inside him.

After a flurry of hand seals, Zhang Chu finished his spell. A four-sided prison of earth erupted from the ground, trapping Ye Zihan and Yan Chen inside. Zhang Chu was brimming with confidence—inside this “Fourfold Confinement,” the pair wouldn’t be escaping anytime soon.

The spell had cost him much of his source energy, a true feat of his abilities. Without the power of the Four Symbols, breaking out was out of the question!

Panting from exertion, Zhang Chu spat, “Hmph! You almost got us killed—today you’ll learn what it means to provoke your elders, you reckless dogs!”

Ye Xiang stepped forward, his face a storm of rage. His eyes narrowed to slits, each word squeezed out through clenched teeth: “You. Will. Die.”

Those three words were simple, but they burned with unrestrained fury and showed the ruthlessness of his heart.

Inside the earthen cell, starved of sunlight, darkness pressed in from all sides. Ye Zihan’s voice echoed from within, “The weakness of this earth prison is above us. Ye Xiang is a wood summoner—he may well have a flying beast lurking overhead. That scarred man will probably attack head-on, while the other keeps casting earth spells to pin us down. This combination… it won’t be easy to handle.”

As he spoke, Ye Zihan showed not a hint of discouragement. On the contrary, a wild gleam flashed in his eyes. He licked his parched lips and thought to himself, “The closer one is to death, the more potential can be unleashed. After this life-and-death struggle, perhaps my cultivation will advance yet again with some meditation.”

Yan Chen, meanwhile, was filled with a different kind of emotion. Listening to Ye Zihan calmly analyze their predicament and seeing his composed demeanor in the face of danger, he couldn’t help but feel admiration.

“Careful now—don’t let us trip at the finish line, eh?” Yan Chen chuckled, not wanting to die before achieving his ambitions. To perish so early would be a monumental regret.

“I’ll leap for the sky soon. When the flying beast shows itself to block me, you jump up right after and break free from this earthen cage,” Ye Zihan said calmly.

“No! I can’t let you take the risk alone,” Yan Chen protested at once.

“This is our only chance to break out.”

“But…”

“No buts. Ye Xiang is still no match for me. There’s no time to lose—I’ll go first. You act when you see your moment. Whether we escape depends on our teamwork now,” Ye Zihan said resolutely.

With that, he bent his knees and sprang upward like a coiled spring. As he went, he flicked his wrist—a crimson dagger appeared—and a slight smile played on his lips as he waited for the flying beast to reveal itself.

Their whole conversation had been wrapped in source energy, so Ye Xiang and his companions outside hadn’t heard a word.

“Hmph, I knew you’d try to break out this way. Let’s see how you handle this!” Ye Xiang sneered, his confidence unshaken. With a wave of his hands, he issued a command to the beast lurking in the bamboo. Instantly, a shrill cry split the air.

A piercing screech resounded as a tiger-eagle soared into view, beak wide and sharp, its head that of a tiger, its wings black as ink. With a single beat, it blotted out the sky overhead, casting a vast shadow.

The earthen prison was four-sided, with only the top offering a way out. As soon as the almost fourth-rank tiger-eagle appeared, it blocked the only escape!

Yan Chen’s heart tightened; his fists clenched in worry for Ye Zihan. But this was not the time for fear—breaking out was all that mattered now!

Ye Xiang smirked, issuing commands to his third-rank tiger-eagle. With another screech, the beast lunged, its talons—each as large as a human head—aimed to tear Ye Zihan’s skull from his shoulders.

At the same time, Zhang Chu kept weaving seals. The ground beneath Yan Chen’s feet suddenly heaved, and with three muffled thuds, three thick earth spikes erupted like spring bamboo shoots.

Meanwhile, Xiang Kuang’s massive blade gleamed as he swung, the blade slicing through the earthen wall, forcing Yan Chen to parry with his own Clearwind Sword.

Yan Chen leapt into the air, but was still within the cage. With a burst of strength, he kicked off one side of the wall and sprang again. Shortly after Ye Zihan, he managed to break free.

The earth spikes had missed their mark, and Xiang Kuang’s blade merely grazed Yan Chen’s left leg.

The tiger-eagle shrieked again, its razor talons slashing toward Ye Zihan, who responded by stabbing with his dagger.

“It’s useless! That beast’s talons are harder than steel—your little scrap of metal is no match for its defenses,” Ye Xiang called up confidently, dismissing the dull dagger in Ye Zihan’s hand.

But to his shock, the crimson blade pierced straight through the tiger-eagle’s talon, slicing through as if it were nothing but tofu, all the way to the hilt.

The beast howled in agony, one talon crippled. It lashed out with the other, aiming for Ye Zihan’s head, but its wounds threw it off—its claws raked his shoulder instead.

Four bloody gouges, each an inch deep, blossomed on Ye Zihan’s shoulder. Pain exploded through his body, but he gritted his teeth, yanked the dagger free, and fell, off-balance, from the sky.

Yan Chen had just escaped the cage. Seeing Ye Zihan falling, he rushed to catch him, but his own injured left leg buckled; the two landed in a heap, battered and covered in dust.

Ye Xiang and his companions stared in disbelief. They had planned every step for a flawless ambush. In their minds, everything would go perfectly—but reality slipped through their fingers at the last moment as their prey escaped.

All this had taken only seconds.

“How… how is this possible?” Ye Xiang was dumbfounded. The tiger-eagle was his strongest summon—a late third-rank beast, captured only with the help of clan elders. And yet Ye Zihan’s ordinary-looking dagger had crippled its talon? It was unthinkable.

The tiger-eagle gave a series of terrified shrieks; its eagle eyes wide with fear. Its wounded talon was burning—though the flames were invisible to others, the pain was real. The beast thrashed and screamed, black feathers raining down from the sky.

No matter how many seals Ye Xiang tried, the beast would not obey. It could only flail in pain, its cries echoing.

“What… what is happening?” Ye Xiang was at a loss. Then his eyes bulged in horror as he realized his beast’s talon was aflame.

Xiang Kuang seemed to understand, exclaiming, “That dagger is no ordinary blade—it must have fire attributes!” As a fire-element shadow warrior, he was sensitive to even the faintest heat.

Ye Zihan’s right shoulder was drenched in blood, as was Yan Chen’s left leg. Both men bit back the pain, weapons at the ready.

“Zihan, I truly admire you—how you saw through their plan in an instant and broke out of such a dangerous trap,” Yan Chen said, full of genuine respect.

Ye Zihan only smiled and shook his head, “The fight is just beginning. All three of them are formidable—this will be a battle worth our all.”

Yan Chen gave a hearty laugh, brimming with spirit. “Then let’s join forces again and give them everything we’ve got!” Not since their last battle together against the Old Demon of Black Mountain had they fought side by side. Now, reunited in this crisis, their bond deepened, and their blood surged with excitement.

“Zihan?” Ye Xiang heard Yan Chen’s use of the name and frowned, suddenly pointing at Ye Zihan in shock, his mouth agape. “Zihan? Ye Zihan?! You’re Ye Zihan?!”