Sharman was indeed wary of depleting his vital energy reserves at this mont.
His remaining energy was already running low, and with Zhou Tong and Liang Yuan lurking nearby, he couldn't afford to fight recklessly. Fortunately, the two of them were also occupied with a ferocious beast attacking them, buying Sharman so ti before they could turn their full attention toward him.
Panting heavily, Sharman finally finished off the two wild wolves and imdiately gripped a spirit stone to replenish his energy. But just as he did, Zhou Tong and Liang Yuan had already wrapped up their own battle and were closing in on him.
"So, you two are dead set on crossing blades with ?" Sharman asked coldly, his voice sharp with defiance.
"Tch. You've always thrown your weight around in the army, and now you still have the nerve to act tough?" Liang Yuan didn't bother hiding his hostility, already poised to strike.
Zhou Tong, on the other hand, smirked slyly. "Or you could just hand over your storage rings, and we'll be on our way."
Sharman's jaw tightened. "Mine, maybe. But not my friend's."
"So that's a no, then?" Zhou Tong taunted, his grin widening.
He was only testing Sharman—seeing him yield even slightly only confird his suspicion that Sharman lacked the strength to resist them.
Sharman knew exactly what they were up to, but he still t their challenge head-on. "I'll admit, right now, I'm no match for the two of you together. But if I fight with everything I've got, I can at least take one of you down with ."
At those words, Zhou Tong's steps faltered slightly.
The thought of Sharman going all out, targeting just one of them—especially if that one turned out to be him—was enough to give him pause.
"What's there to fear? As long as we work together, nothing bad will happen!" Liang Yuan brushed off Sharman's threat with a dismissive wave.
"Oh really?" Sharman retorted coldly, his voice dripping with disdain. Without another word, he lunged forward, thrusting his spear straight at Liang Yuan.
Liang Yuan imdiately t the attack head-on. But Zhou Tong, ever the scher, hung back, offering only half-hearted support—careful not to draw Sharman's full wrath onto himself.
This left Liang Yuan shouldering most of the pressure. Sharman, noticing the rift, deliberately targeted Liang Yuan, hoping to take one of them down quickly.
"If you don't step up now, I'm out of here!" Liang Yuan snapped, shooting Zhou Tong an irritated glare.
Zhou Tong hesitated, weighing his options. Then, catching sight of Ye Liuyun in his peripheral vision, a sly grin spread across his face. Seizing the opportunity, he suddenly redirected his attack—not at Sharman, but at the protective barrier shielding Ye Liuyun.
Though the barrier was strong enough to shield Ye Liuyun, a direct hit would undoubtedly disrupt his ditative trance.
Instinctively, Sharman moved to intercept Zhou Tong's strike, giving Liang Yuan a much-needed breather.
"Zhou Tong, have you no sha? If you've got the guts, face directly! Resorting to cheap tricks—how pathetic!" Sharman roared, his voice thick with contempt.
"Hmph, worry about yourself first!" Zhou Tong shot back, unfazed. He and Liang Yuan pressed their assault, but Zhou Tong kept feinting attacks toward Ye Liuyun, forcing Sharman to split his focus.
Sharman cursed under his breath, his frustration mounting. Yet Zhou Tong remained relentless. Then, in a split second when Sharman turned to block yet another feint, Zhou Tong seized the opening—his blade flashing as it struck Sharman's armored torso.
The blow didn't pierce through, but the impact sent Sharman staggering backward, his balance faltering.
"Despicable! You disgrace the honor of a warrior!" Sharman spat, his eyes burning with fury.
"Winning is all that matters," Zhou Tong sneered, his smirk widening.
Faced with such shaless opponents, Sharman found himself powerless. Under these circumstances, normal combat was impossible—he kept having to rush back to protect Ye Liuyun at critical monts, which repeatedly left him vulnerable to ambushes by Liang Yuan and Zhou Tong.
Before long, his armor was completely shattered.
Yet he stubbornly persisted, standing guard over Ye Liuyun until the two assailants finally pumled him to the ground, leaving him sprawled helplessly before Ye Liuyun's protective barrier.
With the last of his strength, he weakly tapped on the shimring shield.
"You lucky brat… I've given it my all," Sharman muttered before closing his eyes, resigning himself to death.
Zhou Tong let out a cold chuckle. "Hmph!" Sword in hand, he strode forward.
As for Ye Liuyun, neither of them paid him much mind—his cultivation level was too low to pose any real threat.
But suddenly, Zhou Tong's heart clenched as a surge of danger prickled his instincts.
The next instant, a blinding white blade-light erupted from Ye Liuyun's consciousness, streaking straight toward Zhou Tong's forehead.
At the sa ti, the Demon-Slaying Saber humd ominously, shooting toward Liang Yuan with lightning speed.
Liang Yuan instinctively raised his armored shield to block, but the saber unleashed a sinister black energy that sliced clean through the barrier, cleaving diagonally from his shoulder down through his torso.
Zhou Tong's body split cleanly down the middle from his brow, collapsing in two halves.
The white blade-light carved a deep trench into the ground far into the distance before arcing back into Ye Liuyun's consciousness.
That radiant blade-shadow was none other than the seed of Ye Liuyun's saber intent.
Ye Liuyun was jolted awake by Sharman's warning and imdiately sensed the danger. His hand flew to his blade, but in that instant—still imrsed in comprehending the essence of sword intent—his ntal impulse triggered the dormant seed of blade energy, launching an autonomous attack.
anwhile, the Demon-Slaying Saber, now amplified by his awakened sword intent, acted on its own volition. When t with resistance, it unleashed another devastating wave of blade energy without hesitation.
Liang Yuan's body was cleaved diagonally in two, collapsing to the ground in a grueso heap.
Erging from the protective barrier, Ye Liuyun swiftly administered a drop of Life Spring Water to Sharman before carefully moving him inside the shimring shield for safety. He had heard every word of Sharman's final warning—now he understood. During his epiphany, it was Sharman who had shielded him at the risk of his own life.
"Rest now. It's my turn to protect you," Ye Liuyun reassured him gently.
"I'm... alive?" Sharman murmured, his body already nding at an astonishing rate. Monts ago, he had been on the brink of death, but now consciousness surged back.
"What, did you think we both kicked the bucket?" Ye Liuyun chuckled.
Sharman weakly extended his spiritual sense, scanning the area until he spotted Zhou Tong and Liang Yuan's lifeless forms. Only then did he exhale in relief.
"Guarding your reckless hide nearly cost everything! My barrier shattered, my armor's scrap tal—that was my whole damn fortune!" He managed a hoarse laugh despite the pain. "Consider your life debt repaid, kid."
"You risked your life for . If anything, I owe you," Ye Liuyun countered earnestly, gratitude thick in his voice.
"Enough sentintal drivel. Get out there and stand watch—let enjoy being the protected one for once." Sharman cut him off with a wave, shooing him away before thanks could linger.
Ye Liuyun chuckled, leaving him to recover on his own. With a casual flick of his wrist, he summoned the Demon-Slaying Blade back to his hand before tossing Zhou Tong and Liang Yuan's storage rings to Sharman.
He also grabbed a set of flexible inner armor crafted by Tong Xin and two defensive energy orbs seized from Xiao Mulin, tossing them all toward Sharman as well.
"What's this? A thank-you gift?" Sharman shot back, his tone sharp with pride.
"You're too weak—consider it a lifeline," Ye Liuyun teased with a grin.
He knew Sharman's stubborn pride would bristle at the idea of being repaid with material goods, so he deliberately needled him instead.
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