A few minutes before Xiaoxia killed his second assailant, Gu Di’s battle was taking longer than expected.

“These two are not too bad,” Gu Di grinned while thinking to himself. It would appear as if he was enjoying this.

In the middle of his thought process, he quickly dodged a blow aimed for his upper torso, while applying his foot technique to counter position himself and attack.

However he was intercepted halfway by the other assailant, and made a sudden detour and appeared a dozen feet or so to his left. He weaved expertly through the undergrowth and obstructions, before pausing to re-assess the situation.

The two opponents did not follow suit, as the area he entered was even more cramp with dense overgrowth than where they have been before. It would not be easy to approach Gu Di, without extremely risky maneuvers.

While Gu Di was far superior in strength, his two opponents compensated with their ingenuity and flawless teamwork.

It was very obvious these two assailants operated very well as a team, and their synchronization spoke volumes of their partnership.

There was no signs of any means of communication, and it was a fact they couldn’t be doing so even if they had special abilities.

They were not communicating spatially, as the interference field in that area would have stunned their minds. This would leave them vulnerable, and opened to Gu Di’s attacks.

Moreover, their weapon is well suited for the environment they were in.

Both of them were equipped with some sort of Ki weapon, that bore a strong resemblance to a primitive no Ki weapon called a ‘dagger’. They were nearly a foot in total length with the blade making up half its length, and could be easily handled in the dense overgrowth of the jungle that surrounded them.

These were also not common everyday Ki weapons found in every blacksmith, and just by the feel of the oppressive aura emitted from the weapons, Gu Di surmise that they were made from parts harvested from either Mythical or Elemental creatures.

What was also little troublesome, is that both his opponents were ambidextrous, and wielded one in each hand. Their weapons were more effective than his own Ki weapon, which was a three feet long Ki rod with a diameter of an inch and a half.

The length of his weapon, somewhat limited his attacks. In the dense foliage, he could not wield it freely enough to cause much of a threat, but he was about to change that.

What the other two did not know, was Gu Di’s weapon had an alternate form. Since the body of his Ki weapon, much like Xiaoxia’s, was made purely from Ki, it can take on another form if the user knows how.

All other types of Ki weapons, are made from alloys or other materials. They have a physical body and shape, which is either imbued with Ki from Ki crystals, or the rarer ones that uses Ki from the user.

Having a weapon with no physical body, was literally beyond unique or even legendary. These weapons were very special, and there was more to it than meets the eye. He only gave a brief description of them to Xiaoxia, due the state of matters in hand.

It required more than just minutes or hours to make him understand the specialty of these Ki weapons, and some practitioners even take up to decades to fully train and utilize all their functions.

But he judged the weapon passed to Xiaoxia, a perfect fit for his abilities. It was not something done on an impulse, as Gu Di have initially thought of giving it to Xiaoxia after he have completed his training.

Besides this, the area where they first confronted, was within Gu Di's expectations. He have chose the paths that lead to more opened areas, so as to maximize the opportunity for Xiaoxia to defend himself with the Ki weapon.

If Xiaoxia was caught in a cramp area full of overgrowth, the weapon would practically be of no proper use.

On the other hand, Gu Di purposely led his opponents into the denser foliage, to restrict their movements. He did not underestimate them, and it proved wise.

While it may seem like he made a mistake, as his weapon was basically useless, that was not true. He is about to head up into the upper branches of the ancient trees, where the situation will drastically improve.

The trees rose over two thousand feet into the sky, and it became more suitable for combat the higher it went. Nearly three quarters of the way up, it is more open than where Jay and Xiaoxia had battled.

Much to the assailant’s irk, Gu Di was constantly grinning, and it made them extremely frustrated. They gave chase, just as he leapt into the branches.

As they climbed higher, it got brighter as well. The overhanging branches thinned, and sunlight became more abundant. It seemed the increasing space and clarity, made the assailant’s teamwork even more pronounced, as their fluid combination easily had Gu Di where they wanted.

However, their blows were either dodged or blocked without any effort.

Meanwhile, Gu Di was being able to use his weapon more frequently, and soon the assailant’s hands were beginning to go raw from the impacts of the exchanged blows of the weapons.

Eventually the spaciousness of their surroundings grew more, and finally reached a saturation point. This is when they decided to unleashed their trump card.

As they surrounded Gu Di about twenty feet away, they threw their Ki weapons at him. It was not a last ditch attempt to kill him, but it was a technique only unique to the both of them.

It was their special technique, that made them a force to be reckoned with amongst their own. It was also what placed them in the higher echelon of their organization, and it has been prearranged that they will be taking on the strongest, who obviously is Gu Di.

Applying this technique, the four Ki weapons flew at incredible speeds towards Gu Di. They were all aimed at vitals parts of his body, and it would mean instant death if any connected.

Unexpectedly, Gu Di disappeared from the spot and ended up beside one of them. He swung out with his own weapon, aiming a crushing blow towards the skull.

The swing was halfway through, before he noticed all four of the weapons changing direction in midair. They now flew directly where he is.

Stopping his attack immediately, he leapt back about two dozen feet.

Casting a glance towards the weapons, he now noticed red lines attached to them from the assailant’s hands.

They were rope weapons.

Each Ki weapon was connected to a thin wire attached to the assailants' hands, and Ki flowed through them, making them much tougher than usual. It also enabled the assailants to redirect their paths as and when necessary.

(AN: you can google for Chinese rope darts, these weapons are similar, albeit thin wires are used instead)

“Ooh, this is getting exciting!” Gu Di thought, his expression reflecting his feelings. A normal person would have thought him mad, if placed in a similar position.

As the assailants repeatedly tried to kill him using the rope weapons, Gu Di somehow avoid all of them, and even managed to counter attack.

The assailants barely managed to avoid these counter attacks, only because of their teamwork and weapon advantage. Each time Gu Di was about to deal a fatal blow, he was forced to back off by the well planned strategy of the duo.

It stretched on for a while, and Gu Di’s expression was becoming more ecstatic.

From the assailants point of view, they were more shocked than angry with Gu Di’s expression. It was their ultimate technique and they could not kill him even after so many tries.

In fact, they were beginning to panic. There was a clear indication now, that Gu Di was basically toying with them for some unknown reason. It was also obvious that he is not using everything he have to defeat them.

Finally after what seemed like ages, Gu Di stopped forty feet from the two assailants and loudly proclaimed, “I have enough fun for today, it’s been a long time since I moved my body like this. Now tell me who you are working for and how you know where we are, or you will not leave this place alive!”

“Ptui!!We rather die!”

One of the assailants spat insultingly and replied, and the two of them immediately rushed Gu Di after he said this.

What happened next did not even take a second.

When both the assailants were within twelve feet of Gu Di, one of them suddenly split into two right down the middle. The other reacted just in time, to see his right leg amputated at the knee.

“ARGH!”

He fell over a three dozen feet onto a giant branch, and laid there in pain and confusion. Blood gushed out in huge spurts from the wound, as the artery, veins and blood vessels lay exposed from the amputation.

The cut was so clean and precise, that it seem an extremely fine and sharp surgical blade was used.

The surviving assailant turned his head in agonizing pain and stared at Gu Di, and what he saw made him dumbfounded. In Gu Di’s hands, there was now a glowing red whip that was approximately fifteen feet in length.

The rod was no longer there, and the assailant had no idea when Gu Di changed his weapon. Even then, he could not have done it in the split second it took them to reach twelve feet of him.

“Are you going to tell me now, or is death the only way?” Gu Di asked him, having move closer and standing on the same branch a few feet away.

“Besides, that is to repay for what you did to my Junior,” he added.

“Ugh … ungh … Even if I know, I wouldn’t tell you,” the assailant gasped a few times before answering.

His eyes was filled with pain and there was something else showing in it. It was desperation, and it was clearly at its peak.

“Now don’t be stupid and try to escape with that, you should be well aware this is not somewhere you can use it. You will onl….”

Gu Di’s caution was cut off halfway, as the assailant vanished right in front of him. It was not a foot technique, but spatial movement.

The two of them who attacked Gu Di, were the ones that Jay sensed to have abilities, and the abilities in question, were the same as what Gu Di and Xiaoxia have.

It is ‘The Power of the Mind’.

“Damn that stupid fool, blind loyalty is idiotic!” Gu Di cursed.

At the exact instant the assailant vanished, he appeared on the edges of the Main Island of Paiza. He grimaced and took a few short painful breathes, but suddenly his eyes opened in horror.

“SHHHHHIIIIIIIIIII……”

“Boooossshhhhhhhhhhhzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!”

He could not even scream his curse to its end, as his body imploded and shattered into an infinite pieces.

----------

Right about the time the assailant imploded, Xiaoxia met the tall lady.

“What’s this?” She asked again, still pointing at the activated Ki weapon in Xiaoxia’s hand.

“It’s a Ki weapon ma’am,” Xiaoxia chose to be respectful instead of being rude.

The lady in front of him looked about the same age as Amelia, and she did not seem threatening or bear any ill intent towards him.

“How did you get it? And who are you?” She continued asking.

“I am sorry ma’am, I am not at liberty to tell you this,” Xiaoxia apologized.

Given the situation he was just in, he made the choice not to tell her.

“You will tell me, or you will never get out of this jungle by yourself,” the lady’s voice raised a notch, clearly getting upset.

Her eyes looked more curious as the seconds ticked by, and Xiaoxia was intrigues by this, but still held his ground.

“Ma’am if you were to attack me, I will have no choice but to defend myself,” Xiaoxia warned.

“Silly boy! If I wanted to harm you, I would have done so during your previous battle. If I have any ill intent, I would have taken your friend a hostage and demanded your answer as a ransom!” the lady’s voice took an incredulous and insulted tone, laced with a hint of anger.

“You saw?” Xiaoxia asked in surprised.

He did not even notice her presence during the battle, and it was odd, as his awareness of the area was what he believed to be all encompassing.

It was a another new trait he learnt during his years spent in the wilderness, meant solely as a pre-cautionary warning against attacks from wild beasts.

(AN: refer to Volume 2 Chapter 3, just before the beast classification, on the topic of training in the wilderness)

“Pfft! Of course, a baby like you was making too much noise, that even the deaf a thousand leagues away could hear,” the lady snorted in a very impolite way, unbecoming of a woman.

Xiaoxia was a little embarrassed at this, while he was a little exuberant from defeating two opponents in the Unknown Realm, he knew exactly what she meant.

It was of course an exaggeration to imply that the noise could be heard by a deaf a thousand leagues away, but it was more or less true the battle was noisy.

While the explosive impact sounds the Ki caused, may not have been heard beyond a few leagues, it would have definitely exposed their location to any assailants sent as reinforcement in that area.

“You should have just used that weapon, it is more discreet and totally without any sound,” she continued chiding him, like a mother would a child.

Xiaoxia did not know how to reply to this lady, and the only things that came into his mind, were retorts that would get him nowhere.

“Besides, I said you will never get out of this jungle yourself. I did not say I will harm you, and instead I am willing to offer my assistance in helping you get out of here, if you told me how you got that and who you are,” the lady concluded.

Xiaoxia was about to reply, when he was interrupted by a welcomed voice.

“Oh, I see, so you two have already met.”

It was Gu Di.

But unlike Xiaoxia's feelings of relief, the lady seemed to think otherwise.

“You! Where the hell have you been all these years?” the lady demanded the moment she saw Gu Di.

“Erm, here and there,” Gu Di replied without details.

“You better tell me, or you will live to regret it, and who is this boy?” she demanded again.

“Will it really matter? I have been to too many places and done so many things, that standing here in the middle of nowhere, will not be a conducive environment to talk about such matters. Why don’t we head back to your place, where it is more appropriate?” Gu Di smoothly deflected the question and changed the topic.

The lady was giving him a suspicious looks, then her eyes widen and there was a hint of raw anger in them, “Oh my GOD!! Why are you changing the topic and not telling me who this boy is???!! Don’t tell me he is your bastard sons!!! You damn bastard!! How can you do this to me?? I who have been so faithful to you??!!”

Xiaoxia was a like taken aback by this outburst, it seemed Gu Di and this lady knew each other very well, perhaps even more than he can imagined.

“Erm, sorry to interrupt, but Senior, who is she?” he asked curiously.

“Oh! Sorry my rudeness. Xia Er, meet my wife,” Gu Di introduced her, while turning to his wife, “Xue Er, meet Xiaoxia, not my son, but someone under my care. He is …………..”

The rest of the dialogue was lost to Xiaoxia, he was mind-blown by these two words - “My Wife.”