Chapter Thirty-Two: The Dark Skull Legion

The Black Dragon Auction had finally come to an end. In the end, Yi Tian won the ancient egg for a price of eighteen thousand lower-grade spirit stones. This time, the Black Dragon Auction could be considered a great success. Although there were few show-stopping items, to be precise, anything truly worthy of being a grand finale would never be placed in a small city like Black Dragon City.

Yi Tian calculated briefly; for this auction, the Treasure Pavilion would earn at least a million lower-grade spirit stones. In fact, this figure might even double. No wonder the Treasure Pavilion had dispatched a Human-tier powerhouse to oversee the event—otherwise, such enormous wealth would drive many to madness and murder. Even with Ninth-tier martial artists as guards, safety could not be guaranteed.

Yi Tian and his companions had gained much from this auction, obtaining the items they desired. However, they had nearly exhausted all their spirit stones in the process.

After dining at the inn, the next morning they did not rendezvous with Yi Ke and the others, but set out alone. Less than ten miles outside Black Dragon City, two martial artists blocked their path, emanating a cold, deadly aura. Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and the others felt the oppressive force.

These were two high-level martial artists, possibly even at the eighth tier.

“Kill!” Without a word, the two unleashed their true energy, wielding spirit weapons, moving like phantoms as they attacked Yi Tian’s group. They had noticed Yi Tian and his companions at the auction yesterday and had been following them ever since, waiting for an opportunity to strike once they left the city.

Yi Feng, Yi Shan, Yi Li, Yi Hong, and Yi Kuang retrieved their great bows from their storage pouches.

Thrum! Thrum! Thrum!

In an instant, five armor-piercing arrows shot forth like lightning, traversing dozens of yards toward the two eighth-tier martial artists.

Clang, clang, clang...

The two martial artists were startled, brandishing their spirit weapons to deflect the deadly arrows, their swift figures coming to an abrupt halt. Yet the force of each arrow was immense—even for eighth-tier martial artists, blocking them was difficult. They nearly lost hold of their spirit weapons, and for a moment were thrown into chaos.

Splat! Splat!

Blood holes pierced the chests of the two high-level martial artists. With faces full of unwillingness, they fell to the ground and died.

“That’s all they had, and yet they dared to ambush us!” Yi Feng scoffed.

Yi Li poured cold water on his boast, saying, “Your strength only matches that of an eighth-tier martial artist; if one got close, you’d likely be defeated.”

The five members of the Reincarnation Squad—Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and the others—were at the pinnacle of the sixth tier. When unleashing their Divine Arrow Technique, they could even threaten the lives of eighth-tier martial artists.

However, once the enemy closed in, they lost their greatest advantage. This time, the five attacked together, leaving the two ambushers unable to defend perfectly and killed by the elusive arrows. These bows and arrows were lethally dangerous—a moment’s carelessness meant death, with life and death decided in an instant.

Of course, if Yi Feng and the others fully mastered the ninth level of the Wave Stacking Secret Art, they would possess the power to annihilate ordinary eighth-tier martial artists.

“Don’t rely too much on your bows. Only when your own strength is formidable are you truly strong,” Yi Tian reminded them, emphasizing that close combat was equally crucial.

Having dealt with one wave of ambushers, Yi Tian and his group pressed onward. The reason they had not traveled with Chief Yi Ke was precisely so Yi Tian could use the opportunity to temper Yi Feng and his companions—and he himself longed for an exhilarating battle.

Only after a hundred battles could one be called a true warrior.

Shortly after they slew the two ambushers, the ground suddenly began to tremble.

“What’s happening?” Yi Tian and his group looked up to see a force charging from the horizon, each rider mounted on a tall, muscular Fire Dragon Horse. Clad in various garb and brandishing all manner of weapons, they exuded murderous intent. A banner fluttered in the sky, bearing the image of a black skull.

“The Dark Skull Band!” Yi Kuang exclaimed.

At the utterance of that name, Yi Tian and his companions felt a jolt in their hearts. The Dark Skull Band was infamous and notorious—a marauding group near Black Dragon City, one of the largest, known for slaughtering countless small and medium factions.

Their target this time was clearly Yi Tian and his group.

This time, the Dark Skull Band had dispatched just over two hundred men, yet their presence was overwhelming, like an army of thousands.

“It seems there were Dark Skull Band members at the Black Dragon Auction, and we’ve been marked,” Yi Li remarked calmly.

Yi Hong frowned, surveying the two hundred-plus adversaries. Their party numbered only six—such a disparity. After all, they were not ninth-tier martial artists who could face hundreds or thousands alone.

“Perhaps we should retreat,” Yi Hong suggested, glancing at Yi Tian.

Though the Dark Skull Band had sent only two hundred, their ranks were nearly all mid-level martial artists, and among them were two or three dozen high-level ones. Most concerning of all, their leader radiated an intense, condensed killing aura, as if he had emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

The man was at least a ninth-tier expert.

“No,” Yi Tian firmly refused.

With their mastery of the Feather Flight Technique, their speed outpaced even Fire Dragon Horses. Ordinary ninth-tier martial artists could not catch them—this was their advantage, allowing them to leave danger behind at any moment.

“This is Reincarnation Squad’s first battle. Let the Dark Skull Band witness our strength,” Yi Tian declared resolutely.

Yi Feng, Yi Shan, Yi Kuang, and the others felt their blood boiling, eager for an epic fight to make the Reincarnation Squad’s name known across the land.

Yi Li and Yi Hong grew resolute as well.

When the Dark Skull Band saw Yi Tian and his companions standing their ground instead of fleeing, many were puzzled—had they never heard of the Band’s fearsome reputation?

“Kill them! They’re a fat prize!” some members began to shout.

With the Black Dragon Auction attracting attention, marauder groups like the Dark Skull Band were prowling everywhere, seeking to snatch auction items.

Yi Tian’s group was merely one of their targets.

As the Dark Skull Band approached within two hundred yards, Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and the rest unleashed deadly arrows, streaking like lightning across hundreds of yards into the enemy ranks.

Splat, splat, splat...

In an instant, unlucky Dark Skull Band members were shot dead, tumbling from the backs of their Fire Dragon Horses, only to be trampled into pulp by those behind—gruesome and tragic.

Yi Tian brought out his Blood Pattern Bow, unleashing arrows that tore through the air, felling one Band member after another.

All six members of Reincarnation Squad attacked with full force, and every moment an arrow claimed a life. Only eighth-tier martial artists could withstand their onslaught; even seventh-tier martial artists, if able to block the attack, were still knocked from their mounts by the tremendous force.

When the Dark Skull Band closed to thirty yards, their numbers had dropped to one hundred fifty-three, half their ranks dead or wounded.

Yet such carnage could not intimidate the ruthless Band members; instead, it made them fiercer, more bloodthirsty, and crazed.

“Kill!” A dozen figures leapt from their Fire Dragon Horses, true energy surging as they unleashed blades and sword energy that spanned dozens of yards.

Facing the barrage, Yi Tian wielded his Golden Scale Sword, pure Yang energy surging. Suddenly, a beam of pure Yang sword energy slashed across dozens of yards, colliding with the blades and sword energy.

Boom, boom, boom...

The pure Yang sword energy was solid and sharp, slicing through the attacks, exploding them.

However, in the end, the pure Yang sword energy collapsed with a thunderous crash.