Shi Kun was dumbfounded. 

Is he committing suicide because he can’t win? Well, that works in my favor as well.

The two fourth rank cultivators under him also heaved a sigh of relief. To be honest, they weren’t eager to face Zu An if they had a choice. Even though he was a third rank cultivator, he was incredibly tough to deal with, not to mention those bizarre skills he could pull out of his arse. 

Laying in Zu An’s lap, Chu Chuyan felt droplets of blood splattering her. With disbelief reflected in her eyes, she muttered anxiously, “W-what are you doing?”

Why is he trying to kill himself instead? Is he trying to commit a lovers’ suicide because he was unable to save me?

Perhaps because of the bond that they had shared as master and servant over the years, Chu Chuyan actually shared the same thoughts as Qiao Xueying.

A tinge of red surfaced on Chu Chuyan’s pale face. “You need not do this. We’re not…”

Before she could finish, Zu An cut her off. “We can whisper sweet nothings later. For now, let me kill these hateful fellows first.”

Using one hand to hold Chu Chuyan close to him, Zu An brandished the sword in his other hand and bellowed furiously, “Have a taste of my forbidden art—Return of the Myriad Swords!”

Everyone around Zu An was still trying to make sense of his bizarre behavior, and his sudden yell caused them all to recoil in fear. They had just witnessed how Chu Chuyan’s forbidden art had destroyed the Devouring Kun in a single strike, so they were particularly sensitive towards the words ‘forbidden art’.

Considering Zu An’s earlier bizarre behavior and the sudden oppressive aura he was now giving off, even Shi Kun instinctively backed down for the time being, taking the time to assess the situation before deciding on his next move.

While everyone was on guard against Zu An, he unexpectedly tossed his sword aside, picked up Chu Chuyan, and fled.

Shi Kun’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Qiao Xueying’s mouth fell agape, and the two fourth rank lackeys blinked in disbelief.

All of them were stunned for a brief moment before it finally dawned on them that they had fallen for Zu An’s feint. The latter had only been trying to intimidate them so as to buy time for his escape! Knowing that they had fallen for such a cheap trick made them all quiver with fury.

You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for 666 Rage points!

You have successfully trolled Fourth Rank Lackey A for 233 Rage points!

You have successfully trolled Fourth Rank Lackey B for 233 Rage points!

Qiao Xueying watched as Zu An’s silhouette fled into the distance, a complicated look on her face. She couldn’t have cared less whether Zu An lived or died, but she was immensely worried for Chu Chuyan. On the one hand, she was relieved that the young miss had managed to get away, but on the other hand, she was worried that Zu An didn’t have the ability to treat her injuries. The two opposing feelings warred with each other, causing turmoil within her.

“After them!”

The infuriated Shi Kun roared out his order before darting forward nimbly. As a wind element cultivator, his speed was significantly enhanced compared to his peers. Given the disparity in their cultivation ranks, as well as the fact that Zu An was holding onto another person, it should have been easy enough for him to catch up with Zu An in just a few seconds. Yet, to his bewilderment, it took him a considerable amount of time just to close the gap on them slightly.

Chu Chuyan had initially been perplexed by Zu An’s act of self-harm, but when he fled with her in his arms, she immediately understood what was going on. For a moment, she found herself admiring his sharp wits. However, no matter what kind of ingenious plan he came up with, the disparity in their cultivation ranks made it impossible for him to turn the tables on Shi Kun.

“Put me down. You might still be able to get away if you flee on your own.”

“Shut up! How can I abandon you?” replied Zu An grimly.

One of the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was that, as long as he suffered a certain amount of damage, his ki would go berserk, significantly enhancing his strength and speed.

He had managed to subdue both Pei Mianman and Qiao Xueying previously while relying on this trump card, although he understood that those two women had gone easy on him because of their own considerations. They had probably been afraid of alerting the experts within the Chu clan, which made them opt to go for a physical brawl instead, which allowed him to stand his own against them.

If they had used their elemental powers, they would surely have been able to defeat a low level cultivator like him with ease.

Now that they were in this dungeon, there was no reason for Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying to hold back against him. Even though Zu An was strengthened by the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he knew that he still wouldn’t be a match for them.

He chose to harm himself and trigger the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra not to raise his fighting prowess, but to enhance his speed in order to escape. This was also why Shi Kun had not been able to catch up to him thus far.

“We won’t be able to get away,” Chu Chuyan pointed out, sighing deeply. 

She didn’t know what kind of secret art Zu An had used in order to increase his speed, but Shi Kun was a fifth rank wind element cultivator. The difference in fundamental speed between them was as clear as day. It was only a matter of time before Zu An got caught.

“I know of a place where there might still be a glimmer of hope,” said Zu An, his gaze fixed upon the small hill not too far away.

He hadn’t just been running away blindly while hoping for the best. All this while, he had been thinking about what he could do in order to get out of this quandary, but none of his skills and trump cards seemed up to the task. Furthermore, it didn’t seem like reinforcements were on the way, since nobody had turned up even with the massive commotion earlier on. He postulated that the terrifying emergence of the Devouring Kun had driven everyone to keep their distance.

Given all that, there was only one way out—to run headlong into danger in order to fashion an opportunity.

He had witnessed with his own eyes the terrifying zombies marching into the hill, but Shi Kun’s group lacked that information. If he lured them there, he might just be able to find a way out of this mess.

Of course, he understood how frightening the zombie army was. It was highly likely that he and Chu Chuyan would die at their hands as well, but doing nothing guaranteed certain death too. At least there was a glimmer of hope if they mixed it up with the zombies. Besides, dragging his enemies down into the grave together with him didn’t sound like too bad of a deal.

Well, I guess that’s why human beings purchase lottery tickets. As long as their luck holds out, everything would be smooth sailing. I mean, what’s a life without dreams?

By this time, the pursuers behind them were already hot on his heels. Shi Kun’s teasing voice cut through the air behind him. “Hah! Run as fast as you can. I sure would like to see where you intend to run to! The moment you run out of ki is the moment you die!”

He had made sure to keep tabs of the whereabouts of the academy’s teachers before confronting Zu An and Chu Chuyan, so he knew that everyone else was a fair distance away from them. Nobody would be able to get here any time soon, whereas all he needed was five minutes in order to catch up with Zu An.

“Snow, stop him!” Shi Kun bellowed, noticing a cluster of trees ahead.

Qiao Xueying hesitated, but she eventually still twirled her wrists, and the trees in front of Zu An immediately seemed to come to life. All manner of vines began darting toward his legs, attempting to trip him up.

Zu An had fallen for this trick once before, and had learned from his previous lesson. He immediately executed Sunflower Phantasm, pushing the skill to its limits to dodge everything coming his way.

For some reason, he sensed that there were more openings in the vine assault this time around.

Shi Kun’s face darkened. It was easy enough for him to tell that Qiao Xueying was intentionally going easy on the two of them, but at this juncture, he chose not to say anything about it.

“Wind God Dash!”

Shi Kun’s legs began moving so quickly that they turned into a blur, increasing his movement speed by a great deal. This movement skill depleted his ki extremely quickly, so he avoided using it unless the situation necessitated it.

Hearing the ‘whoosh’ behind him, Zu An knew right away that Shi Kun was attempting something. He sidestepped in an attempt to dodge the attack, but it was too late. Shi Kun’s sword had already struck his back.

“Hm?”

Shi Kun expected his sword to plunge right through Zu An’s chest, but instead, he felt a huge force pushing back against the tip of his sword. It was then that he realized that Zu An was wearing armor underneath!

He never expected this poor bloke to actually have armor powerful enough to deflect his blow. In the end, his attack, which should have been strong enough to pierce Zu An right through the chest, barely sunk an inch into him. By the time Shi Kun attempted to increase the force he was applying, Zu An had already given him the slip.

Shi Kun snorted coldly. 

I’ve already caught up with you. Where else do you think you can escape to?

The Wind God Dash afforded him a significant movement speed buff, and he was now moving at least twenty percent faster than Zu An. On top of that, his quarry was carrying another person, and didn’t even have a sword. If he couldn’t even take down Zu An while possessing such an overwhelming advantage, he deserved to be called utterly inept!

Shi Kun slashed his sword at Zu An’s legs, trying to sever his tendons and cripple him. That would make the fight immensely easier. 

However, Zu An abruptly flung his sleeve behind him, and a dark shadow suddenly shot out from his wrist.

Shi Kun could tell right away that it was a hidden crossbow, as he remembered one of his lackeys having such a weapon. However, he didn’t think much of it, as such crossbows only posed a threat toward low level cultivators. For a high level cultivator like him, the bolts wouldn’t even penetrate his ki armor.

He continued to press the attack with his sword, completely disregarding the crossbow bolt flying in his direction.

Just as his sword was about to pierce Zu An’s leg, however, he felt a sudden jolt. To his bewilderment, the bolt—it was actually a more conventional arrow—had actually pierced through his ki armor and sunk into his shoulder. While the soft armor he was wearing had mostly cushioned the impact, limiting the severity of his injury, he could feel a bizarre chill seeping into his wound and spreading all over his body, causing him to shudder uncontrollably.

“What is this? Is the arrow laced with poison?” Shi Kun was shocked. He hurriedly circulated his ki in order to drive off the chill.

At the same time, Zu An abruptly turned around and attacked Shi Kun. He held a pitch-black dagger in his grasp.

“Young master, be careful!” Qiao Xueying had experienced the prowess of the dagger herself, and she immediately shouted out a warning.

Shi Kun had suffered by complacently thinking that he could use his ki armor to block his opponent’s arrow, so he wisely chose to face Zu An’s dagger directly this time around. He tossed aside his sword decisively and generated several wind blades to strike Zu An.

The sudden wind blades struck Zu An squarely, inflicting severe injuries and causing him to spurt out blood. On top of that, the sudden appearance of the wind blades obstructed Zu An’s path and closed up the temporary opening that Shi Kun had revealed, giving him more than enough time to dodge his incoming attack. 

Seeing this, Zu An could only sigh helplessly and back away.

The hidden crossbow was a weapon he had obtained from Jia Zhengjing’s group, but he had replaced the regular crossbow bolts with the armor-piercing arrows he had obtained from the zombie army.

It was fortunate that the mechanism of the hidden crossbow was rather simple. All Zu An had to do was to trim down the shafts of the armor-piercing arrows and slot them into the crossbow. Thanks to that, he had managed to catch Shi Kun off guard for a moment there.

It was just a pity that he hadn’t managed to follow up with a killing blow.

Zu An noticed that Qiao Xueying and the other two fourth rank cultivators were about to catch up, so he quickly turned around and continued fleeing.

Meanwhile, Shi Kun stopped momentarily, consuming some restorative medicine and using his ki to expel the chilling aura that had seeped into his body. Pulling the arrowhead out of his shoulder, he examined it with a frown. “Just what kind of arrow is this? How could it be this formidable?”

However, he realized that wasn’t the time for him to be brooding over this matter. Zu An had already built up a lead over him, so he quickly ordered his lackeys to continue the chase.

Eventually, Zu An arrived in front of the stone doors at the foot of the mysterious hill. Seeing that Shi Kun and the others were still hot on his heels, he gritted his teeth and approached the stone doors.

Throughout this entire chase, Chu Chuyan had remained tightly pressed against his chest. From where she was, she could clearly see his blood-soaked clothes and hear his furiously-thumping heart and his erratic breathing. Slowly, the despair that had clouded her eyes began to be replaced by a different light.

As someone who had been born with great talent, she had always been the tall and proud figure who sheltered others under her wing. Yet, in a twist of fate, she now found herself being carried helplessly in the arms of a man who was desperately doing everything he could to save her. He could have run off by himself, but he refused to let go of her, a mere piece of baggage that was dragging him down.

“Fool…”

Chu Chuyan silently murmured her evaluation of him before slowly closing his eyes.

Zu An was oblivious to the thoughts of the beauty in his arms. He ran over to the stone doors worriedly, afraid that he would be unable to open them. However, perhaps because of his enhanced strength granted to him by the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra he was actually able to open them ever so slightly this time, making just enough of a gap for a single person to slip in.

The pitch-black cavern that lay before him spoke loudly of untold dangers. Clenching his fists tightly, Zu An headed into the darkness.

… 

In moments, Shi Kun and the others arrived in front of the stone doors as well. They could feel the chill air coming from within, blowing through the crack in the doors. Their eyes flickered with uncertainty and trepidation. “What is this place?”

“Hmph! If even Zu An can enter this place, is there any reason why we can’t? After him!” With a grand wave of his hand, he took the lead and charged right in. 

He had lost far too much today, and there was no way he could give up right now.