Volume One, Chapter 11: What Is This? This Is Tai Chi!
When Ye Xuan’s cold and indifferent words, “Now it’s your turn,” rang out, the remaining four assassins in black exchanged glances.
“Playing tricks!”
“Attack together! Cut him down!”
After a brief, chilling silence, one of the assassins roared fiercely, attempting to dispel the cold dread within him with his voice.
He spoke to his comrades but also to bolster his own courage.
Failure meant death upon return!
A desperate fight might still hold a sliver of hope!
“Kill!”
The other three immediately reacted, their eyes blazing with murderous intent.
Four figures, four directions, like arrows released from a bow, with lethal resolve, lunged simultaneously at the figure in shackles standing in the center of the courtyard.
Blades flashed, sword shadows intertwined under the moonlight, weaving a dense net of death, enveloping Ye Xuan.
They had learned from their leader’s defeat and no longer underestimated him. Their attacks were the sharpest and deadliest.
Yet, facing this fatal trap, Ye Xuan’s expression remained as calm and unruffled as a still, ancient well.
He didn’t even move a step.
Because he knew that with his hands and feet bound, any wide evasive movement would be foolish.
His eyes, like a finely tuned instrument running at top speed, instantly calculated the speed, angles, weapon lengths, and even every subtle muscle twitch on the faces of the four opponents.
Here it comes!
The longsword of the assassin to his left-front struck first!
The blade tore through the air with a bloody wind, slashing straight at his face!
Ye Xuan neither dodged nor evaded; just as the blade reached him, he shifted his body slightly to the right.
At the same time, his shackled hands rose like a butterfly flitting through flowers; with a wrist flip, at an incredible angle, he gently “tapped” the back of the attacker’s blade.
Just a gentle tap.
The assassin felt as if his mighty strike had sliced into a cotton cloud, and the force was instantly reduced by seventy to eighty percent.
Immediately, a soft yet strangely guiding force radiated from the back of the blade.
He couldn’t resist it!
Wide-eyed, he helplessly watched his longsword uncontrollably change direction, tracing a smooth arc.
“Thud!”
A muffled sound of blade piercing flesh.
But not from Ye Xuan’s body.
It came from his right side!
The assassin turned in horror to see that his sure-kill strike had accurately impaled a comrade attacking from the right in the chest!
“You…”
The pierced companion stared at him in disbelief, mouth agape as blood mixed with shattered entrails gushed out, his life fading rapidly.
How could this happen?!
The attacker’s mind went blank.
He couldn’t comprehend the impossible scene.
This bewildering spectacle caused the other two assassins who had closed in to falter.
Their eyes filled with doubt and terror.
What kind of sorcery was this?!
Yet Ye Xuan did not give them time to think.
For him, once a top-tier actuary in a past life, combat was a mathematical problem.
And he always chose the optimal solution.
While the two stood stunned, Ye Xuan made his move.
His body still barely shifted; just a sharp twist of his waist, his upper body coiled like a wound spring, spinning suddenly.
“Shhhhh—”
The iron chains on his wrists snapped taut, slicing through the air with a sharp whistle like a steel whip, lashing out fiercely!
His target: the left-rear assassin’s ankle!
That assassin, just recovering from shock over his comrade’s accidental death, suddenly felt a tremendous force strike his foot!
“Ah!”
He screamed, his stance lost, and he toppled uncontrollably forward.
His fall was directly into the path of the last assassin’s swinging sword!
The final assassin’s pupils contracted sharply.
He tried to pull back his sword, but it was too late!
He could only watch helplessly as his companion’s back slammed heavily against the blade he held!
“Pfft—”
The longsword pierced through the heart.
Another one down.
In an instant, among the four highly skilled and synchronized assassins, two fell beneath their own comrades’ weapons.
The whole process flowed like clouds and water, blindingly fast.
Ye Xuan had not even struck once!
He simply gave a slight “push,” and this intricate killing formation completely collapsed, turning into a ridiculous farce of fratricide!
“Demon…”
“You’re a demon!!”
The remaining two assassins completely broke down!
Such unheard-of, unseen, eerie footwork and combat style had utterly shattered their understanding!
They wanted to flee.
But dared not.
They knew well that turning their backs to such an enemy meant a quicker death.
“Let’s fight to the death!”
“Kill him! Or we all die!”
Desperation bred a final madness.
The two glanced at each other, seeing the same resolve in the other’s eyes.
They no longer tried to win with skill, for their proud assassinations were mere child’s play before him.
Their only option was to crush him utterly with pure, savage force!
“Kill!”
They roared like beasts, discarding any finesse, using all their strength to wildly hack at Ye Xuan’s body, especially the shackles binding his hands and feet!
Their thinking was simple.
Since your limbs can perform such strange moves, we’ll sever your limbs and shackles all at once!
“Clang!”
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
The clash of metal rang ceaselessly.
Sparks flew everywhere!
This time, Ye Xuan did not use Tai Chi’s yielding technique.
He merely lifted his shackled arms, crossed them in front of his chest, and bore the storm of blows head-on.
Each strike carried enough power to split stone and break monuments.
Yet, striking Ye Xuan’s shackles only produced sharp clangs and bursts of sparks; he did not budge an inch!
The Sovereign Emperor’s Body!
Bones reforged, impervious to all methods!
Such impact was merely a tickle to him.
Instead, the two assassins were shaken by fierce counter-recoil, their thumbs cracked and bleeding, their arms numb.
“How is this possible?!”
“Are his bones made of iron?!”
The more they struck, the more terrified and hopeless they became.
What kind of monster was this useless prince?!
A cold smile slowly curved Ye Xuan’s lips.
He felt the heavy iron shackles on his wrist beginning to form fine cracks under the relentless blows.
Just a little more force.
Almost done.
“Is that all the strength you have?”
Ye Xuan’s indifferent voice whispered in their ears.
“Not even enough to tickle me.”
“Ahhh! I’ll kill you!”
Those words were the final straw.
The two assassins lost all reason, their eyes bloodshot and mad, pouring every ounce of strength into their weapons, delivering the strongest strike of their lives at Ye Xuan’s hands.
“Break for me!!!”
“Crack—”
This time, the sound was no longer the dull clang of metal on metal.
It was a crisp, teeth-grating snap!
In the two assassins’ ecstatic eyes, the iron shackle on Ye Xuan’s right wrist shattered with a clear response!
Success!