Seeing the other three charging at him, Evan Cross darted toward an open space at the foot of the mountain. If he got surrounded by all three, even his speed wouldn’t save him.
When Goldwing rushed within three meters of Flynn Yun, his body flashed with golden light and instantly transformed into his true form—a massive golden vulture, both wings outstretched and spanning over ten meters, appearing before everyone.
Back in his true form, Goldwing immediately unleashed a storm of feather-arrows at Flynn Yun. At such close range, even a powerhouse would find it nearly impossible to avoid injury from the countless arrows.
Evan Cross hadn’t expected Goldwing to have this kind of attack. He’d only ever seen Goldwing fire feather-arrows from the sky at targets below, but now he was launching a direct, face-to-face barrage—totally unexpected and dangerous.
Flynn Yun moved with astonishing speed. The instant Goldwing transformed, Flynn halted—because at that moment, a hail of golden feather-arrows was already coming straight at him.
He frantically spun his sword in front of him, weaving several sword-flowers—a defensive technique—to block the storm. With so little time, his defense looked almost frantic.
The sword-flowers, powered by *Heaven Martial Realm* *stellar energy*, were extraordinarily resilient—most of Goldwing’s feather-arrows were blocked, but a few still managed to strike Flynn’s body.
His lower body took the worst of it—a few feather-arrows drove straight into his thighs, the agony making him break out in a cold sweat.
Goldwing’s other feather-arrows also threatened the other three *Heaven Martial* experts, forcing them to halt abruptly and defend themselves.
Evan Cross was delighted to see Goldwing block all four opponents with a single move. With a thought, he instantly fired a *Heart-Sword* attack—he didn’t dare use the Frostbane Sword this time, having already paid the price once for using it recklessly, and he wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
Naturally, Evan Cross’s *Heart-Sword* targeted Flynn Yun. It was a rare chance to strike a fallen enemy while he was vulnerable, and Evan wasn’t about to let it slip by.
After firing off another feather-arrow, Goldwing soared into the air. His massive talons immediately lunged for Flynn Yun—Goldwing’s greatest offensive and defensive assets were his enormous talons and razor-sharp beak.
If Flynn Yun got caught, he would be instantly ripped to shreds. That was Goldwing’s signature, brutally direct fighting style.
Flynn Yun saw the giant bird coming for him and exploded with rage: “You damn beast, courting death!” His longsword flared, unleashing a slash of fiery red sword-qi straight at Goldwing’s talons.
Goldwing was fierce, but that sword-qi slash packed serious power. Even with his tough talons, he could get hurt, so he darted aside. Right then, Evan Cross’s invisible *Heart-Sword* attack arrived at Flynn Yun’s side.
As a *Heaven Martial Realm* expert, Flynn Yun had some grasp of spatial principles. Sensing the ripple in the air, he reacted instantly, twisting sharply to evade a lethal blow—Evan Cross’s *Heart-Sword* struck his waist instead, punching a bloody hole right through.
To be injured so quickly by Evan Cross and Goldwing was a bitter humiliation for Flynn Yun. Luckily, none of the injuries were life-threatening, but maybe his anger clouded his judgment—because he made a decision he’d regret for the rest of his life.
“You three, go kill that feathered beast—leave the brat to me!”
Evan Cross heard him and couldn’t help but laugh to himself. “Old dog, you’re digging your own grave. You really think I’m still that weakling from before? Today, I’ll show you what I’m made of!”
He quickly used *Shadow Step* to dart off into the distance. Goldwing, hearing Flynn Yun’s command, knew that with Evan Cross’s current strength, defeating Flynn Yun was entirely possible. All Goldwing had to do was keep the other three busy.
Goldwing loosed another volley of feather-arrows and flew in the opposite direction—not too fast, because he worried the three wouldn’t follow. If they all turned to attack Evan Cross, things would get messy.
Goldwing’s worries were probably unnecessary. After two volleys of feather-arrows, the three Heaven Martial experts were already feeling suffocated and nursing plenty of wounds. Now that Flynn Yun had given the order, they were itching to tear Goldwing apart.
Soon, the three Heaven Martial experts took to the air, flying quickly toward Goldwing’s direction, still angling to encircle him.
Evan Cross kept chaining *Shadow Step*, and after breaking through to ninth-layer *Earth Martial Realm*, each burst now covered nearly thirty meters.
Flynn Yun chased hard from behind. He hadn’t expected Evan Cross’s speed to increase so much in just a few days, and he was genuinely astonished.
Evan Cross soon spotted a huge grassland up ahead and headed straight for it, coming to a halt.
Flynn Yun saw Evan Cross stop and couldn’t help taunting, “Why aren’t you running, kid? Go on, run! Wasn’t your speed amazing? Or have you used up all your *stellar energy*?”
Evan Cross had sprinted nearly ten li, so it was no wonder Flynn Yun assumed he’d exhausted his *stellar energy*.
Evan Cross just smiled at Flynn Yun, who was covered in blood. “Old dog, I thought the scenery here was nice, so I waited for you on purpose. What do you think—is this place suitable for your final resting place?”
“You’ve got a big mouth for someone about to die. Today I’ll use your head to avenge my nephew—prepare to die!” Flynn Yun snarled, swinging his longsword at Evan Cross.
Now, facing Flynn Yun alone, Evan Cross wasn’t afraid at all. Seeing Flynn attack, he lowered his Frostbane Sword and instantly unleashed the ninth form of the *Windchaser Sword Art*—*Wrathful Wind Annihilation Slash*.
When Evan Cross stopped, he’d been frantically gathering wind elements. What he wanted now was to be utterly focused, with no stray thoughts. At this moment, the *Chaos Qi* in his body was every bit as powerful as the *stellar energy* of a second-layer *Heaven Martial Realm* expert.
As the sword struck, a raging wind erupted—Frostbane Sword crackled with lightning as its sword-light collided with Flynn Yun’s fiery red sword-light.
The sword-qi erupted with violent force. The stronger the attack, the less damage the user suffered. Right now, Evan Cross took the least damage, while Flynn Yun was blasted back dozens of steps before he could steady himself.
Evan Cross was forced back only five steps, but each step left deep imprints in the ground.
Flynn Yun stared at Evan Cross in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing. He’d just been forced back, his chest roiling with turbulent blood and qi, by a guy who hadn’t even broken into the *Heaven Martial Realm* yet. The humiliation was unbearable—if word got out, his reputation would be ruined.
“Kid, I’ll admit you’ve got some skill, but today I’ll show you the real difference between *Earth Martial* and *Heaven Martial*!” As soon as Flynn finished, his aura surged—a heavy, invisible pressure crashed down toward Evan Cross…