Path Of The Dragon (A Dark Fantasy Cultivation Wuxia Xianxia Progression Series)

Chapter 27 Chen Ai

Chen Ai smirked as though Jie's and Pan Tian's efforts to protect themselves were somehow amusing. And, Jie felt the older girl cycle some kind of technique though there was no outward sign of what exactly she was doing.

Chen Ai tucked a stray hair behind a dark pointed ear.

"Get them," Chen Ai said.

Chen Ai's minions rushed Jie and Pan Tian from every angle, but most of them were only at the first or second star of the Adept rank.

Perhaps her equal in rank, but not in reality.

The only real threat was Chen Ai who was at the fourth star of the Adept rank.

Immediately, Pan Tian began scything her claws at the air, sending out waves of radiant qi that kept more than half of Chen Ai's minions at bay.

Then, Chen Ai herself moved with a speed that surprised even Jie. Each step carried Chen Ai impossibly far and in strange directions as though she were being yanked by invisible puppet strings. She arrived at the same instant the others did, slashing at Jie with the edge of an utterly black hand that seemed to bend and distort the light around it.

Jie ignored the others' attacks and struck Chen Ai's hand with her dragonfist. Dragon lightning qi met Chen Ai's strange light-warping qi and exploded. Chen Ai leaped backward and seemed almost to glide away at an impossible speed with a grace that defied reality as the force of the explosion merely ruffled her clothes.

Her minions were not so fortunate, however, and the explosion sent those closest to Jie tumbling through the air to crash into the dirt and grass that surrounded them.

Then, Chen Ai yanked herself forward again with that impossible movement technique. Her movements made those of her minions look laughably slow by comparison. They lagged behind her like a sloth trying to outrun a cheetah.

Chen Ai slashed with the edge of her hand again and Jie side-stepped just in time. She struck out with a dragonfist at the older girl's chest. But Chen Ai glided away at an odd angle and Jie missed.

Chen Ai laughed as her lips curled into a sadistic smile. "You're out of your league," she said.

The other youths finally got back to their feet and a hail of attacks rained down upon Jie.

Jie evaded them as she would in a fistfight with a turtle. She kept her eyes and spirit sense focused almost entirely on Chen Ai as Jie lined up a young girl only slightly older than she was with another behind that girl.

Jie struck with a low-powered dragonfist directly at the girl's stomach. Her supernaturally tough flesh felt like taffy.

The girl's eyes bulged as all the air left her body in a whoosh and the force of the blow sent her smashing into the youth directly behind her, propelling the pair down to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Jie struck out at the others with similar, predictable results. She didn't want to kill anyone, and even her low-powered attacks did devastating damage to such low-tier cultivators.

The one with the metal sword lunged at Jie with some kind of charge skill. He'd lined it up so if Jie evaded, he'd strike Pan Tian who was still trying to fend off the weaker cultivators. Jie grabbed him mid-charge. The snarling yellow qi that surrounded him burned her fingers as she spun with his momentum and redirected his charge into another attacker that'd been trying to sneak up behind her.

The would-be sneak attacker yelped as his ally crashed into him like a comet.

Jie leaned back and a familiar, glowing, curved sword of bone qi stabbed through the air just in front of her nose. She grabbed Chen Wei's arm and yanked him into a low-powered dragonfist that she struck against his chest. His bone armor shattered like glass and Jie felt several of his ribs break beneath the force of the blow as he hurtled backward across the field.