Lin Xiao was heading towards the higher grounds with Princess Lan Yi Hua. They knew that if they were at higher grounds, there would only be few beasts who would follow them because most of them headed down.

The grass and trees were lesser as they headed up while more rocks popped out as if they were already waiting for their appearance in this place. Well, it was not that weird that there were lesser trees as they got up, though.

"We're separated from others."

"Ah…"

Princess Lan Yi Hua suddenly stopped and drew her blade in front of her. At the next moment, a streak of Qi head to her direction, clashing onto the small swords in her hand. Her eyes narrowed as she looked in the other direction.

Three men were looking in their direction and from the undulation of Qi around their body, it was clear that they were at Foundation Establishment. However, there was faint pressure on their body that seemed to give threat to them.

"So, you're Lin Xiao?" one of them asked.

Lin Xiao's face changed as he glanced around. The others were running in different direction because of the beast horde. It might take them some time before they could reach this place. 

"Who are you?" Princess Lan Yi Hua asked in sharp tone.

"There's no need for you to know. It's enough for you to know that you'll die in our hands today."

Swish!

As they moved, Lin Xiao clearly noticed that these three were all similar to Prince Lin Xian. The three of them were already close to break through to Golden Core Stage. What they needed was the chance to make their breakthrough.

Clang!

Lin Xiao raised his sword and blocked the attack. He gritted his teeth when he saw another person coming and quickly initiated Moon Evasion as he evaded. Inside his body, he was using the Nourishing Lake Technique to quickly replenish his Qi but it was a slow progress. His attainment in the technique was not high enough to make his Qi reservoir always full.

Princess Lan Yi Hua wanted to help, but another person blocked her. His movement was as fast as her and when the strike landed on her twin blades, she was pushed back and nearly fell down.

'His strength is much higher than me.'

Twins' Horns.

With using her Qi, Princess Lan Yi Hua attacked the man in front of her. To her surprise, he could block it with ease and even looking in her direction with amusement. "I thought that the rumor was wrong, but it's actually half true. You're still too weak to fight against me, Little Princess."

Gritting her teeth, Princess Lan Yi Hua sped up even faster and tried to catch up with the man before her. Her eyes shone dangerously as her twin blades moved around, trying to find the gap in the man's stance.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal clashing against metal reverberated in the mountain area. Lin Xiao was already struggling to hold on as he realized that his Qi was depleting faster and faster. The two men were very fast and it looked as if they both specialized in both speed and attacking.

Their attacks were so ruthless that it almost hit him if not for his strong body.

Lin Xiao's eyes grew colder as he watched them got closer. He had to be the one attacking. Noticing the rock formation not far from them, he silently used Moon Evasion then his sword moved as the Qi undulated around it.

Chilling Lake Sword, Fourth Stance.

After the third stance, all stances were for Foundation Establishment. Lin Xiao had been honing his skill for the fourth to sixth stance. While they were still imperfect, they were much better than nothing.

Slash!

The sword barely grazed the first man, who was alarmed. He could feel that the coldness seemed to permeate deep into his bone and when he looked at his hand again, he couldn't move it at all.

The second man also narrowed his eyes and moved forward, launching his strike.

Bang!

Pushed to the back, Lin Xiao grimaced. His back had hit some sharp rocks and might be bleeding. However, he had no time to care about it as he raised his sword to block the attack from the first man. The first man might not be able to use one of his hand, but he still had the other hand.

"Don't think that you can go like this."

Lin Xiao pursed his lips and then initiated Moon Evasion. "Yi Hua! Go up!"

With that order, Lin Xiao began to run up. Princess Lan Yi Hua, who was engaging in a stalemate with the third man, swiftly released a large attack before rushing towards Lin Xiao.

They have to find a way out.

"Why not heading to the forest?" Princess Lan Yi Hua asked while chasing after Lin Xiao. Behind them, the three men were chasing after them. The first man was a bit slower, though, as he was trying to thaw his freezing hand that couldn't move in the slightest bit.

"The beast horde is coming."

"Ah."

Looking back, Princess Lan Yi Hua jumped to the side and the attack hit the rocks there. Her eyes grew icy. "They're not letting us go."

"We should just head deeper into the rocks formation…"

Lin Xiao was about to continue when he saw a slightly different colored rock. He instantly realized that it was a lake. After spending so much time in the past playing in the mountain and so on, how could he not realize it?

"Yi Hua, follow me."

"Ok."

Not asking any question, Princess Lan Yi Hua followed Lin Xiao as he entered the cave. The cave looked ordinary and there was no presence of anyone else, so Lin Xiao didn't care. The moment Princess Lan Yi Hua entered, Lin Xiao raised his sword.

Mountain Sword, Fourth Stance!

A large explosion was heard along with the fallen rocks that looked like a landslide.