Puff!
The arrow returned along its original path, tearing through the mist, and struck an ancient warrior.
Yamiru dashed along the narrow stone path, which was littered with arrows, continuously pulling arrows from his body. He didn't even need to look; he tossed them in various directions around him.
Puff, puff, puff, puff...
His movements were too fast and precise. Each time he pulled an arrow and threw it into the mist, an ancient warrior would be hit.
The arrows always landed precisely on the warriors' foreheads, right between their eyebrows.
In the mist, the figures of ancient warriors continued to fall, crashing down into the spikes and abyss on either side of the narrow stone path.
But Yamiru's brow furrowed slightly, and he thought, "These guys' auras are very weak. Have they been hiding their auras all this time? No, their movements don't match that!"
Of course, he knew that masters who controlled ki could conceal or even completely hide their own ki.
Yamiru could do it himself.
But the ancient warriors' archery was explosive, and even Yamiru could have been pierced by a thousand arrows if he made a mistake. Yet their ki had remained relatively weak from start to finish.
Even someone like Yamiru, who was highly skilled in ki control, would have a slight surge in ki when unleashing an attack. It was a natural principle, like adding one plus one equals two. To cause greater destruction, stronger energy must be provided.
But the ancient warriors' weak ki had no fluctuations at all when they shot their arrows.
Either these people's cultivation level surpassed Yamiru's imagination, or these people... weren't even human.
"What are these damn things? Robots? Puppets? Or zombies?"
As he thought quickly, Yamiru continued to move forward, each step covering several meters as he sprinted along the narrow path, moving at an incredible speed.
At the same time, he didn't let his guard down and kept his sharp eyes scanning around.
The faint yellow mist around him seemed to weaken his vision, and Yamiru could only vaguely see one or two blurry figures on some of the spikes that had fallen.
However, the abnormal aura, weak and without fluctuation, became easier to sense after he adapted. It was like fireflies in the dark, more detectable.
As Yamiru sprinted along the narrow path, his heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, a vague shadow leapt from the abyss beside the stone path.
As it came closer, Yamiru saw more clearly. The ancient warrior was wearing extremely worn armor. The material, which seemed like a mix of leather and cloth, was weathered, obviously worn down by countless winds and rains, as well as years of wear. At the edge of the armor, especially on the rusted long sword in his hand, there were remnants of brown blood stains.
When Yamiru looked at the blood stains on the armor and rusted blade, he suddenly envisioned a terrifying scene of hundreds of ghosts marching, and a fearsome pressure hit him like a wave.
He paused in his breath, but quickly returned to normal.
Yamiru had trained for years, and his mind had already become as strong as steel, unshakable.
Even if a tide of evil ghosts were to come crashing toward him, he would remain unflinching.
Just as he shook off the illusion of blood stains, the ancient warrior who had leapt up from the abyss was already charging toward him with a raised sword.
The wind carried a foul, decaying odor as the blade came down.
Under the bloodstained blade, Yamiru lifted his calm golden eyes.
The blade slashed, and Yamiru remained motionless, seemingly cut in half from head to toe, but his figure subtly dispersed in the air.
Afterimage fist!
Boom! Yamiru's real body punched fiercely into the ancient warrior's abdomen, shattering the chest armor.
Armor fragments flew in all directions, quickly dissipating into the mist of the air, seemingly vaporizing, and the image was reflected in a pair of golden eyes, with a hint of surprise blossoming in them.
Yamiru quickly looked up and saw the face beneath the warrior's helmet. A dark golden aura swirled around the warrior's face, making the features blurry, but the pair of blood-red eyes were terrifying!
Demon transformation?
At close range, the ancient warrior could no longer swing his sword. His other hand opened like a claw, reaching for Yamiru.
However, Yamiru reacted even faster and more decisively!
As one of the highest-level martial artists on Earth, Yamiru could instantly hide his aura and, in the same instant, unleash all his power at close range.
Just as the warrior's claw and sword were about to slash across Yamiru's neck, tearing away a chunk of flesh, Yamiru leaned forward with explosive force.
His iron shoulder surged with immense power, crashing into the long-bladed warrior. The warrior's armor cracked in layers, eventually shattering completely, and even his decayed body split open! A burst of dark golden mist erupted from his back.
The armor fragments, dark golden blood mist, and the shattered body of the ancient warrior quickly vaporized, or rather, merged into the surrounding dark golden mist.
Before Yamiru could think further, his danger sense rang in his mind, and he quickly rolled through the air ahead.
Two ancient warriors flew up from the abyss, closely following him. One held a red-tassel spear, and the other a ringed steel sword, chasing him closely along the ground.
Yamiru nimbly retreated and flipped, with the rusted spear and ringed steel sword crashing down as they followed him along the narrow stone path.
Two ancient warriors shifted their stances and accelerated their pursuit, crossing long spears and steel blades in a sweeping motion, aiming to sever Yamiru's arms as he was flipping and about to land his palms.
Unexpectedly, Yamiru seemed to have sensed their movements in advance, or perhaps he had used his energy perception to catch and predict their rough actions. Using flight techniques, he abruptly stopped in midair, flipped, and stomped on the steel blade and spear, then leapt with force. The steel blade shattered, and the spearhead snapped.
Yamiru flew into the air with a sweeping kick, smashing the heads of the two armored ancient warriors one after another.
Boom! The two skulls turned into dark golden mist, and their collapsing bodies, along with the broken steel blade and spear, rapidly vaporized.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Yamiru lightly landed and wiped his sweat, feeling exhausted. A battle that tested one's explosive power, concentration, and judgment was still quite tiring.
With his back facing the direction he was about to move forward, Yamiru silently placed his palms at his waist. A buzzing sound filled the air, and bright white light began to gather in his palms.
Kame…hame…
The light in Yamiru's palms shot out, casting an alternating glow and shadow over his face.
Behind him, on the narrow stone path, ancient warriors in armor continued to leap forward, each with blood-red eyes and fangs like demons.
These ancient warriors, seemingly transformed by demonic energy and merging with the dark golden hellish aura of the environment, lined up in a curve along the winding stone path, marching uniformly toward him.
Ha—
Yamiru suddenly turned around, pushing his Ki wave forward.
Kamehameha!
Boom boom boom! The white, blue-tinged Ki light columns instantly shattered the first few ancient warriors charging ahead. But there was a small bend in the path, and just as Yamiru's Kamehameha was about to pass by the remaining demonic ancient warriors, he swung his arms, releasing more Ki energy. The Kamehameha unexpectedly and intelligently curved, continuing to strike down the remaining inhuman ancient warriors one by one, rapidly clearing them from his path.
"Roar!"
A dark shadow flew into the sky, a massive ancient warrior wielding a rusted warhammer, roaring as he swung the hammer toward Yamiru.
Boom!
The surrounding mist seemed to rumble like thunder, and Yamiru looked up at the incoming rusted warhammer, feeling as though he could see a scene of mass destruction from above.
He remained unmoved, pulling his hands back. The Kamehameha sped up, returning from behind, and pierced through the giant ancient warrior holding the warhammer.
Boom!
The ancient warrior dissolved into mist in midair.
Yamiru dispersed the Kamehameha, breathing more heavily.
Reflecting on the illusions he had seen while fighting those ancient warriors, he felt conflicted. Could these warriors have been those legendary soldiers who followerd Annin to end the chaotic era?
He continued forward.
But after a short distance, a dark shadow broke through the mist, covering the sky above him.
The shadow engulfed his position, and when Yamiru looked up, he was stunned to see an enormous flying dragon, flapping its wings with a massive mouth and two fangs like swords.