The bats engulfed everything. At first, the boys could fend them off, but suddenly they stopped running and held their head in pain.

*VOOOOON*

Though they could not hear the sonic waves hammering down on them from the bats, they could feel the incredible mental strain it caused. The pain was enough to paralyse them, and as the seconds go by, blood started trickling down their noses.

As their eyes turned bloodshot, a bright light shone through amid the darkness.

At the source, Kairos had clad upon himself a beautiful sparkling white barrier. His Ki formed a pair of wings made of light and a crown upon his head. This is the Ki barrier that he had obtained at attaining D rank.

Though it provided no protection for his mind against the illusionary arts, with the coating covering him, the sonic waves could not overwhelm him as quickly.

Normal C ranked combatants would be able to withstand this barrage of sonic waves from the bats, or at least they could hold on until they retreated from the forest. Unfortunately, the boys could only look at their captain with envy. They too have entered D ranks, but this is only because of the effects of the fruit. While they instinctively know how to cast this barrier of Ki on themselves, it is a technique they have yet to practice and could not throw it up in time like Kairos did. Oftentimes, unfamiliarity begets delay and delay begets death.

The sound attacks focused on Kairos, and his Ki barrier started flickering weakly. It will be a matter of time before they break his shield, seconds even. Without hesitation but just as calmly as before, Kairos spread out his arms wide, turning one palm towards the skies and the other towards the earth.

Then he cried out, “Bagua formation #2: Yin-Yang array: The extreme of the extremities. Tai Chi!”

On his left-hand rests a sphere of pure darkness that takes in all light, and on his right hand is a pure white sphere that casts out all shadows. He stretched out his arms and spun on his position. His long-sleeved robes fluttered in the wind, and the orbs turned into a grey circle from the speed. As he spins, the sonic waves could no longer affect him. Then the boy stopped, but those spheres in his hands continued spinning.

*TSSSSSS*

He brought them closer together, the powerful darkness represented the purest Yin, while the incredibly bright light represented the purest Yang.

When his hands met, the two spiralled into one, forming a symbol of harmony. The Taichi.

The glyph flew upwards and quickly expanded, covering the treetops becoming the same Yin-Yang array that made Calculus go bald.

Just like before, every living thing froze. It was only for a moment, but the results were incredible.

The bats that halted in mid-air crashed into the trees or dropped out of the sky. The wolves were not spared either. They were chasing in a mad dash, and the sudden stop caused their legs to tangle. Many stumbled abruptly or crashed headfirst into the ground painfully. In a moment, there were squeaking bats and whining wolves all around.

This time when using the array, there was no pillar of light and darkness that struck anyone, yet it was enough that Kairos nearly knelt over from fatigue.

“As I thought, using the formation by myself is too tough.”

He had activated it using the meridian points in his body with each point representing a person’s position; however, the amount of strength that drained out of him nearly killed him. If he could improve in his Ki control, he can probably activate it with less strain. His Secret Art could also immobilise his enemies, but it doesn’t work on so many enemies.

In the first place, to think up of such a method to handle the countless pursuers was incredible.

Kairos had always been quick to create or understand new techniques or handle crises with ingenuity, but he found it difficult to master any skill he already has. This, he realised, is the problem with having inferior talent despite having high comprehension abilities; concepts may come naturally but getting it to work is challenging.

Kairos is spent, but the disruption let his brothers break out of the spell inflicted by the bats.

“Quickly, seal your hearing!” Kairos instructed and immediately, the boys followed. Closing off their five senses to enter the Selfless Cultivation State was one of the required steps to force out Origin Energy from a person. The group had always thought that this could be used in combat since they started their path in Dao, especially if they seal off the sense of touch so that in turn they wouldn’t feel pain and be hindered by it. Unfortunately, to shut off their five senses required incredible amounts of concentration, and moreover, it will take precious seconds to get into the mode. This time, Kairos gambled everything to earn them the time, and he only managed to do so because it was a high-speed chase.

This time, they had been too assured, complacent even, of having their Soul Perception to warn them of any dangers beforehand. The bats continued to rain sonic blasts down on them, but it is no longer a threat and the boys activated their Ki barriers one after another.

Using it for the first time in battle, an unfamiliar feeling washed over them. Their Ki covered them in a captivating display. A misty, beautiful light green shrouded Edward, just like an emerald dragon that is coiling around him.

A grey shade of Ki covered Tommy, shaped like an armour that is unlike anything that the boys have seen. It isn’t the traditional scale mail of Saint Empire but something much more rustic looking, and it covered him from head to toe like a mighty warrior.

Jim’s body started shining, dispersing light in the colours of a rainbow. Although it gave off a majestic aura and a beautiful shine, because it reminded everyone of his rainbow parakeet, they laughed heartily when they saw it.

The most fearsome-looking one of them all is actually Alan’s barrier. He wore his Ki barrier like a black cloak that is sprinkled with ruby red cloud-like symbols, and a long red scarf hovered around him that hid half of his face. Leaving only his eyes revealed.

He gave off a dangerous aura, like a cold, sharp blade that is silent until it starts taking lives.

“Whoa, I look Awesome! BWAHAHA,” he laughed while doing a little dance.

The suave and cool manner didn’t last three seconds.

“Shut up. You look so covered up, just like your turtle!” Jim stuck out his tongue.

“Hey, don’t be jealous. And besides, these are robes, not a turtle’s shell.”

“Well, it IS better looking than Kairos’ birdman Ki barrier.”

*Thwack*

“They come. Be serious,” Kairos said sternly. They are using their Soul Perception to listen instead of using their ears, and it allowed them to filter what they wanted to hear. Unable to do anything more, the flying rodents retreated like a subsiding wave, but their peril is just beginning.

Countless black crows swooped down, swivelling expertly through the branches. These creatures had been watching the fight from the start with their beady red eyes.

Leading them is a massive crow, nearly as large as a human and gleaming with greyish silver. The Silver Crow King.

They pecked at the boys, trying to gorge their eyes and strip the flesh off them. Their claws were no less dangerous, scratching at their arms, pulling hair, and trying to rip the weapons out of their arms. Their Ki Barriers weakened quickly under the barrage. Although the crows’ attack is only at the level of an F ranker’s blade, the sheer number of them was enough to drive the five of them into full retreat. While running, they did not break out from formation, knowing how important it is to stay back-to-back, and only this way could they minimise the damage they are taking.

But it wasn’t as though they were only withstanding attacks. While covering their eyes from beaks, they are still able to aptly counterattack these feathered monsters, but the vicious birds deftly flew out of range right after attacking.

This moment, they truly felt Jones’ absence. With that boy’s blade shards Ki technique, the crows would be wiped out with a single attack.

Unfortunately, when it rains, it pours.

“Beware, the wolves come!” Alan warned.

Almost instantly, Kairos made a decision and shouted, “Stand firm!”

Like trained warriors, they reacted swiftly and stood their grounds. The wolves instantly surrounded them, snarling and drooling. Their matted fur and yellow eyes struck fear in even grown men, but the boys stood in a circle facing their foes and silent without a sound. Even their breathing was stable and collected as they protected themselves against the crows that never stopped attacking. They know that the beasts viewed them as prey and are waiting for the slightest opening to lunge at them.

A few alphas stood nearby on small rocks, viewing the battle at a safe distance. Wolf packs usually don’t hunt together, but this time, because of the Wolf King, there were several groups.

The animals growled at them threateningly. Above them in the branches all around were black crows staring with their beady red eyes. The leaves rustled bringing a false sense of tranquillity. A brief balance in nature before they pounce.

Suddenly arrows flew out of nowhere, accurately flying towards the alphas.

*YELP*

The cawing stopped, and the wolves also stopped howling, replaced by loud dying cries and the dull thuds of falling bodies. The demonic wolves looked confusedly at the direction of their pack leaders.

Weren’t the alphas standing at a position concealed from sight?

Just what had happened that get them killed?

The beasts had seen those pointy, flying things that other the humans use before. That was why their leaders were staying out of sight. It takes far more intelligence than a regular Black Wind to become an alpha. However, they never saw those flying stick drill a hole through everything like these ones here.

“NOW!” Kairos roared while the wolves are in confusion.

Immediately the five of them charged through the encirclement and ran. The wolves turned to give chase, but suddenly they stumbled again. Their feet give way, and a feeling of weakness struck them all.

Poison, from the dust that Jim had been scattering since the chase began. These boys that grew up in a village that reared livestock know how wolves hunt by running alongside their prey. By throwing lines of dust on the two sides would cause these canines to breathe in the weakening dust.

They could have used lethal poison to do this as well, but that would cost them bags of white gold to do so. The beasts that have more metabolism than cultivators will need stronger poisons to take down; the stronger a poison, the more expensive it costs. Furthermore, wolves have a keen sense of smell, bats and crows are airborne, and the pythons that they had yet to meet are resistant to many toxins. To find something to wipe them out will be costly.

In addition to the dust, the small packages that Jim placed in crevices and tree hollows are in fact, clothes and rugs that the boys prepared. Human scent to lure in the great wolf packs to the dust.

“It worked!” Edward smiled, then turned on his heel and sent several piercing shots into the pack.

The others also quickly changed their objective from running to fighting. It is now the perfect time to strike back. Kairos activated the powerful runes on his weapons, and with his lead, his brothers followed suit. Without the gel coating used in the training grounds, their runic weapons are no longer subdued and glowed powerfully bright.

The fierceness of their aura made the wolves and crows alike whimper weakly. The pythons are nowhere to be found, and the bats that are unsuited to combat have already retreated. A massacre soon began, and it lasted until the beasts fell back from their assault.

Great gales of whirlwind exploded outwards where Tommy is smashing his target into a messy gruesome meat paste, powerful arrows riddled holes in those before Edward, corpses with sliced throats lay all around Jim, and Kairos dominated the view with broad sweeps from his Swallow that cut entire wolves into two.

Meanwhile nearby, Alan alone is thonking, pummelling, and thwacking the beasts into involuntary whelps. The group that was filled with battle lust suddenly laughed when they saw a good number of wolves incapacitated by his side.

“What a peaceful guy!”

“The dust won’t last. It’s time to run.”

“R..run?! Aren’t we winning?”

“Jim, you remember Kairos said there are two or three hundred wolves? We need to get out before they arrive and surround us.”

“Oh, right. Let’s run!”

They quickly created a distance with their enemies nearly crippled by the weakening dust, but just as they thought they had escaped, they entered a place with overpowering darkness and near-complete silence.

“Dragons, search for us a sanctuary in this forest!”

Two tiny reptile heads popped out of Kairos’ robes, and they looked curiously around before taking flight into the cold forest air.

They hovered excitedly around the boys playfully.

“Go quickly and avoid being spotted.”

The divine dragonlings turned and flew off, becoming the size of dust specks in moments. Even if they do not possess much combat power, they are still incredible assets for gathering information with their unparalleled speed.