Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Failed Operation

At midnight on this day, a figure as elusive as a ghost flashed silently through the darkness, moving with astonishing speed and leaving no sound upon the ground. Cloaked by the night, he merged completely with the shadows, slipping wordlessly into the Yi Tribe, vanishing as if into thin air. Even when passing within mere yards of seasoned warriors, none detected his presence.

Agent Ten of the Dark Demon Sect cast a sweeping glance over the Yi Tribe before steadily making his way toward the grand structure at the mountaintop. He skillfully avoided the patrols and buildings, choosing instead to move through the most secluded paths.

As he darted past the rear of a certain house, Yi Tian, who was cultivating within, suddenly opened his eyes, while Little Black instantly sprang up, growling low in warning toward a direction outside.

“Stay here and protect Xiao Long and the others!” Yi Tian instructed Little Black, then rushed out of the room to confront the intruder.

His eyes seemed to ignite with fire, shining like gemstones in the night, illuminating the darkness in his sight. At that moment, he saw a black silhouette stealthily making its way to the summit, utterly silent.

This was an ability Yi Tian had gradually awakened after cultivating the Great Sun Divine Art. The technique tempered his body in every aspect, particularly his eyes, making them like divine lanterns, granting him vision in the night as if it were day.

Yi Tian immediately utilized his Feathered Flight technique, gliding across the earth in leaps of several dozen yards, quickly closing the gap with the shadowy figure. He was now just over thirty yards away—one more step and he would be upon his quarry.

Suddenly, the shadow halted, and a dagger flashed—a streak of darkness flying with deadly force toward Yi Tian, slicing the air with an audible hiss, arriving before his eyes in the blink of an eye.

What decisiveness in that strike! Yi Tian could not help but silently praise his foe. Had he been but an ordinary high-level warrior, he would have had no time to dodge such a swift and silent attack, especially in the dark when the direction of the blow could not be discerned.

But for Yi Tian, who was prepared, the attack posed no threat. With a swift movement, his Golden Scaled Sword blocked the dagger, producing a crisp metallic ring that pierced the night.

“An intruder!” Instantly, distant tribal warriors reacted, raising the alarm and hurrying toward the scene.

Yi Tian parried the strike and countered with a sweeping blow from his sword. The scorching, destructive force of his blade stretched several yards, tearing open a gash more than ten yards long in the earth, briefly turning the darkness as bright as day.

Agent Ten narrowly dodged the lethal strike, but even so, the searing sword energy scorched his skin, burning holes through his black robe and leaving him in a sorry state.

Realizing his infiltration had been exposed, Agent Ten unleashed a wave of ashen true energy, sinister as a serpent, lunging at Yi Tian. His dagger traced a bizarre arc, aiming directly for Yi Tian’s throat.

“Kill!” Yi Tian roared, clashing blades with his foe.

Their battle raged within the narrow confines of a few yards, short sword and Golden Scaled Sword colliding in a flurry of sparks, dazzling in the night. Yi Tian’s body radiated blazing true energy, illuminating dozens of yards around him.

Yet this intruder’s attacks were both eerie and ruthless, every strike with his short sword aimed to kill, each laced with a corrosive energy that silently clashed with Yi Tian’s blazing force. Though not as powerful or overwhelming, the enemy’s true energy barely held its own against Yi Tian’s.

For this reason, Yi Tian found himself somewhat on the back foot, caught off guard by the assassin’s cunning techniques. Though his true energy was stronger, his opponent was an experienced killer, adept in the shadows, each move disrupting Yi Tian’s rhythm.

The intruder, however, fared no better. Yi Tian’s blazing true energy was fierce and domineering, constantly corroding and dissolving the assassin’s ashen force with a constant hiss. The collision of their powers left the earth around them scarred and ravaged, deep trenches gouged into the ground.

Such was the might of a battle between two warriors of the ninth tier—devastatingly destructive.

As the two fought, tribal warriors arrived from afar.

The black-clad intruder grew anxious. “Sevenfold Death!” he rasped, his true energy surging, unleashing a formidable aura. His short sword erupted with a dark brilliance, like a wheel of night, slashing at Yi Tian with terrifying force.

A combat technique! Yi Tian immediately sensed the danger. This strike carried more than double the opponent’s usual power—easily enough to cripple a peer of the ninth tier and secure victory.

Yi Tian summoned the full might of the Great Sun Divine Art, pouring waves of blazing true energy into his Golden Scaled Sword until it shone with unparalleled brilliance. His slash blazed like the rising sun, colliding with the incoming darkness.

Boom!

It was as if the Golden Crow fell from the sky—the earth within a radius of ten yards vanished, replaced by a massive crater.

Yi Tian, using his Feathered Flight, retreated dozens of yards, escaping the brunt of the blast. At the same time, he saw the black-clad assassin also thrown back by the force, fleeing at top speed toward the edge of the tribe, vanishing like a wraith into the night.

It had all happened in an instant.

His foe quickly disappeared beyond the reach of his vision, and even with night vision, Yi Tian could not track him further.

Soon, a tribal captain arrived—an eighth-tier warrior who had only recently advanced and was on duty with his team that night. Surveying the scene of devastation, his expression grew grave.

“Yi Tian, how many were there? Which way did they flee?” he asked.

By now, Yi Tian’s strength was among the foremost in the tribe, having slain several ninth-tier warriors. This reputation was well known, so even the captain, despite his rank, addressed Yi Tian with respect.

“Just one—a ninth-tier warrior,” Yi Tian replied. “Judging by his energy, he was from the Dark Demon Sect. Only their members cultivate such corrosive, ashen true energy.”

“The Dark Demon Sect!” The captain was visibly shocked.

The Dark Demon Sect was a mysterious organization in Black Dragon City’s domain. Its membership was unknown, but every one of them was a fearsome assassin, notorious for slaying masters of every major power. Every faction longed to eradicate them.

The captain abandoned all thoughts of pursuit. A ninth-tier member of the Dark Demon Sect was at least a senior assassin; even ninth-tier warriors could fall to such killers in the night, let alone a mere early eighth-tier like himself.

He could only report the incident to the elders and strengthen the patrols.

The infiltration by the Dark Demon Sect alarmed the tribal chief and elders. Yet the black-clad intruder had already escaped, so all they could do was increase their vigilance to prevent another such incident.

Had Yi Tian not detected the threat in advance, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Meanwhile, Agent Ten fled back to the headquarters of the Dark Demon Sect in haste.

The sect leader, shrouded in a black robe, was surprised to see Agent Ten’s disheveled state. “Ten, how did you end up like this? Was it Yi Du or the great elder who wounded you?”

His brows furrowed beneath his hood. Given Agent Ten’s skill and stealth, even most ninth-tier warriors could not detect him, except perhaps for those two in the Yi Tribe.

“Reporting, my lord—I was intercepted by a young man before I even reached the mountain. My mission was compromised, the warriors were alerted, and I had no choice but to break out,” Agent Ten replied helplessly.