The Phantoms attacked without warning, their speed and strength greatly above Kairos' team. And even Syriong who is stronger than them, found himself being overwhelmed. The fearsome method that the Phantoms utilised is to bombard them with long-range Ki attacks, wearing down the superior guardian and warning Kairos' group not to move hastily.

As fire and brimstone rained down around them, the guys began to infuse themselves with Origin Energy. One after another their power rise steeply, reaching the level of Peak A rank, or in Jones' case, Entry S.

In no way, could a regular A ranker, or even an S ranker, stand up against double S practitioners. So, even when the group surpassed themselves having gained such power from using some unusual technique, the Phantoms were not concerned except for having some curiosity.

The changes of their ranks are rather large, even considering the effects from a forbidden art should not be possible to jump from B rank to A or even S ranking.

In the past, when they were weaker, it wasn't a great surprise for anyone to exceed by five grades. There are various treasures and techniques which allows one to fight beyond one's ability for a while.

But when a practitioner become stronger, even increasing a grade with their technique would be a difficult thing to do. Because in comparison, if an F ranker has one unit of power, a B ranker like them would have over ten thousand. To increase from one unit to even ten units is a simple thing to do, but to increase ten thousand units to a hundred thousand would floor any mortal practitioners.

On the other hand, if a practitioner's flesh is resilient enough to hold the energy, even if it is an F ranker that suddenly gains the power of an SSS ranker, it is logically sustainable.

The Phantoms did not bother to ask how the boys did it. When they capture the lot, any question they had in their hearts will be answered.

However, unexpectedly, the guys did not stay where they are and instead tried to charge through the bombardment at the Phantoms. Seeing how Kairos managed to survive an assault against Syriong, they too wanted to try their hand and practice what they learned.

They had no desire to defeat their foes but merely took this chance as a good sparring opportunity against a stronger opponent. The Phantoms, on the other hand, looked down at them and did not specifically target them. In their minds, it is an insult to take A rankers seriously.

As they charged forward, Vouno, however, merely followed behind to rob all of the Ki techniques around them. His eyes changed into up-turned crescents from happiness, as he plucked arts after arts out of the sky. It is as though he had entered a shopping street and is allowed to take anything as he desired.

Soon they broke through the circle of Ki blasts, and the Phantoms who seemed surprised at their action stopped attacking.

The first person to encounter a Phantom is Alan. He enveloped both his tonfas with flames and charged towards the Double S ranker fearlessly. What he used was the fire runes engraved upon his weapons.

But when the Phantom saw the boy rushing at him, he almost laughed. The weapon used is a measly pair of 'batons' that even against regular practitioners, it could only be useful in defence and suppression.

"Kid, since you like to play, here is something for you to study," the Phantom said, then rushed forward with a punch. Alan hastily blocked the blow with both his tonfas, but the force he could muster, at Peak A rank, was two entire ranks weaker than his foe and the strike sent him pummelling backwards into the rest.

*Cough Cough*

The punch had taken the breath in his lungs and nearly broke both his arms, but after a short moment, he stood up again, much to the surprise of the Phantom.

"How strange, this boy is pretty tough to take a hit and survive."

He had not used his full force, planning to knock Alan out with a single hit, but even so, it shouldn't have been this easy to shrug off the effects.

Alan spat out some blood. He had dispersed the impact with the formless stance defence, but it felt as though he was about to be knocked unconscious from just one strike. The fires from his weapon had extinguished, and he realised he could not re-alight them.

"That man's speed and strength are too much for me. Just a strike had interrupted my Ki flow."

Looking around, most of the Phantoms that are simply waiting. The one that Alan is fighting is far from the strongest among their group, but he is already having trouble.

Then, at a corner of his eyes, he spotted that Edward had killed the first Phantom he faced. The Archer pulled his retractable blade out from the head of his kill, just as two more Phantoms engaged him.

"Wha...?"

Alan immediately back away to a safer area to observe the battle, his opponent noticed it but did not give chase. After all, their mission is to bring the boys back, and with so many of his colleagues around, there is no worry that any could escape.

Meanwhile, Alan noticed how the Phantoms had a hard time coming close to the archer, and backing away is only worse. In their eyes, the fugitives are too weak to provide any resistance, but it was this underestimation that cost the life of one of them. However, not all the Phantoms decided to retaliate, after the two Phantoms had charged forward to engage the archer, the rest held back and watched. Their pride would not let them overwhelm children with numbers.

To fight them off, Edward would quickly lose several arrows at his targets and run forward swiftly to close the distance. The projectiles he fired are no longer solid arrows but Ki attacks of A rank, yet its sharpness could pierce through even a Double S ranker's Ki barrier. When he shot a Phantom who had a moment of carelessness, Alan realised that though the arrow is bright and long, the wound created was only of a small hole. The damage Edward dealt with his missiles are in fact small, though the pain still caused a loud scream to erupt from the Phantom.

"He had sacrificed all the power for the penetrative ability! But... how did Edward take one down with that?" Alan observed. The difference between their ranks is too large for them to breach, so how did his friend manage it?

He did not need to wait for long, and his question is answered. Taking advantage of the pain he inflicted on his opponent, Edward quickly closed the gap. The Phantom recovered instantly and launched a massive strike in angry retaliation. But before he unleashed the attack, the archer already predicted it and dodged at full speed.

"Static reading! ... Oh ... I forgot about that move."

Though most of them did not have the time to learn the three movement techniques imparted by Enki, Edward, Alan, and Tommy had instead mastered Static Reading. The technique to sense the electric-energy levels within their opponent's body. Being sensitive to static electricity, they could easily guess their opponent's next move.

The attack from the Double S ranker was swift indeed, and Edward only managed to dodge by a hair's breadth. Following that, he charged forward seemingly wildly, yet at the same time with very refined movements.

His strides were long, but his body is compact. Every step seemed to be a mixture of power, speed and elegance.

Then, within an instant, Edward sent a punch at the Phantom, but his foe quickly saw through it and tried to protect himself with his arm. The archer's punch changed into a grip, and he held on to hand his opponent threw up in defence, then flicking his hand back a sharp blade protruded from the device strapped to his wrist, and it stabbed into flesh and bones.

*AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*

Making use of this moment, the second Phantom attacked him from behind, but Edward easily parried the blow aimed at his blind spot and was instead hurled backwards into safety by use his opponent's superior strength.

The two Phantoms and Alan saw the fluid way Edward handle himself, and the 3 of them have the same thought: The Archer has Mastery over the weird weapons strapped to his arms.

They looked at Edward strangely. The Mastery of weapons is less common among practitioners than martial techniques or even Secret arts. Like how Jones has his sword mastery, and Jim has his daggers art, Edward is now using a similar mastery over his weapons.

Like the stages of Swordsmanship, those that could Master the equipment they use can learn powerful attacking methods. As Edward progresses in his Mastery, he might even learn skills comparable to the blade shards that Jones has.

The prowess he displayed was what caught the first Phantom off-guard and killed. And if not for the third Phantom's intervention, even the second Phantom who faced Edward would have been killed.

They had backed away successfully after realising they are unable to fight him because his weapon is overly strange. These Double S rankers are already well over five hundred years old, but they still have no knowledge of this weapon and what Mastery over it could do.

But this couldn't be helped, for the weapons Edward used is had never been used by anyone in the past, and in fact, it is a creation of Jim and Kairos. So even if they are a million years old, they would not have prior knowledge to counter Edward's attacks.

The trickiness of his wrist-blades caused them to continue backing away. If it merely functioned as a hidden weapon, the Phantom would not have died. But because the blade could be shot out like a spike at any time, retracted, and still parry, slash, and pierce, it has already become something unique that they had never seen.

It was an odd thing to die to an A ranker, like a grown man who was accidentally stabbed in the heart by a child who playfully wielded a long spear for the first time.

While Edward still had difficulty against the two Phantoms, his battle gave Alan the courage fight once again. Like his friends, he also had improved his cultivation and skills, and he requires a spar to solidify his technique. And with the pre-emptive ability of static-reading, he gained an idea on how to win his battle.

Soon, he picked the same opponent he faced before and taunted him with a finger. The Phantom laughed at his reattempt and steadily walked forward to fight the boy. Since one of their missions is to kill the Guardian if he resists, there would be some time before they suppress Syriong, and he had some free time to mess around with this kid.

Although the Phantom is playing around, Alan seriously twirled his tonfas and began his attacked. He noticed that his movement is sluggish and frail when compared to his foe, and the battle once again turned quickly into a defensive one for him. Every blow that the Phantom struck made his bone rattle, yet as the fight continues to draw out, a smile appeared on Alan's face that becomes wider by the second.

His opponent was taking it lightly at first. Thinking that, against an A ranker, there is no need even to waste his Ki. He struck the boy with such speed and power that his arms turn invisible to sight, and each time his attack contacted, they could hear a small boom from the impact.

He was gleeful at the start, but after a while, sweat started rolling down his cheeks as he realised that there were no attacks that he solidly landed.

Able to judge the attack before it was executed by using Static Reading, and also see every detail of his opponent with his Soul Perception, Alan perfectly nullified all the impacts he received. His Tonfas may be weak in its killing power, but conversely, they are superb for defence.

Time quickly passed on the battlefield, as a minute felt like a year to them both.

After just five minutes, Alan and his opponent already felt fatigue kicking in because of the intensity which they fought. The Phantom, who has more stamina thanks to his higher cultivation, also used more energy for attacking non-stop, and he couldn't help feeling just as drained.

Then suddenly, Alan retaliated.

"W...what's with this whelp! I thought he didn't dare to strike back?" The Phantom thought angrily, "The boy had been jumping around and tried to defend himself since the start. Did he think that there is a chance now?"

He immediately gathered up his Ki, planning to launch a more powerful strike to teach the boy his place.

.

.

.

After three breaths, nothing happened, and he could not draw any Ki from his Dantian.

Instead, a blow flew towards his face.

The desperately tried to raise his arms to block once again, but somehow his limbs refused to move.

"N...Noooo!" The Phantom screamed to reject the shame he felt, just as Alan's Tonfas struck him with full force in his temple. Though the attack is weak, and his Ki barrier protected every part of his body, but getting hit with full force in his weak point still knocked him into unconsciousness.

The last thing he remembered was the realisation that the Tonfas had stricken many of the meridian points in his body during battle, and he could not even use an ounce of his strength because of it. This technique Alan used is learned from the storm palm skill manual, a method which focusing on targeting the opponent's weak spots by using Static Reading. With Kairos' help, Alan had adjusted the technique to use together with his Tonfas, and also change the skill to use fire elemental instead.

Though Alan is not a talented practitioner compared to many others, he easily assimilated the move into his Formless Stance and became capable of using it. The Formless Stance is a technique that when one makes it as his primary martial technique, could help integrate new martial arts quickly.

Besides them, the other two friends, Tommy, and Jim are each fighting a losing battle against the target they each picked. The Static Reading technique complimented their soul perception, and even Double S rankers could not take them even when they are at a disadvantage. Whereas Jones and Kairos found themselves surrounded by multiple Phantoms after their foes noticed their devastating combat abilities. Where Edward only had two opponents, the two of them had a dozen each.

While everyone was busy, among the group, there is one person who is feeling rather bored.

After the guys charged through the Ki-bombardment, the Phantoms stopped sending Ki attacks over. As the others are all locked in combat, Vouno found himself ignored.

However, there was a Phantom that stealthily crept up to him from behind at this time. In the Phantom's eyes, all these fugitives are but weaklings, however toying with weaklings could be fun as well, and Vouno is the lowest in cultivation among them.

However, just as the Phantom came close, a powerful blast of Ki suddenly appeared in the form of a gigantic hammer, and it struck him right in the face. Before he had time to react, another attack that looked like an oversized spiked mace already smashed into his chest.

Following that, techniques after techniques that are all familiar to him appeared and struck him mercilessly. He knows each and every of those attacks, because, they are all moves used by somebody from the Phantom.

"W...why did you guys ...attack me...." He said with huge discontentment just before he fainted.

Not knowing where those Ki attacks came from, the other Phantoms looked at what happened to him in astonishment. Some of them even stared at their hands in disbelief when they recognised a technique that belonged to themselves.

On the other side of the battlefield, Syriong found himself overwhelmed in battle. The Guardian had repeatedly been charging towards the nearest Phantoms, but being aware of his strength his opponents would quickly retreat and pepper him with attacks.

Each of those attacks hammered down on his Ki coating, though without soul energy infused within, the damage dealt by these SS rankers to his shields are visibly weaker. The force of the Double S rankers' strikes is indeed stronger than Kairos' team's attacks, but there is a strange power that exists within Soul Energy which makes things different. When compared, it is as though the Phantoms are firing an arrow from a fully drawn bow, while Kairos' team only threw out a bottle with their hands, except that the bottle contains acid.

Though the Ki attacks did not strip Syriong's Ki barrier by much, the Phantoms' persistence still enrages him. The Guardian suddenly stopped moving and used a technique that he had never displayed before.

A purple mist began to clad his body, and from the mist, crystals started growing on his skin, and his aura turned more fearsome than before.

Though his increase in strength has not made him above Triple S rank, the pressure he emitted caused everyone to stop in their tracks and observe at him.

Then, like a demon, he pushed off against the ground with a stomp and flew towards the nearest Phantom.

His target hastily used a teleportation talisman, causing a sphere of space around to distort. But, Syriong punched into the teleportation distortion and dragged his target out of it.

A shower of blood rained down as the Phantom was dragged out like a wrung rag, obviously not surviving the ordeal.

What happened afterwards was a nightmare that burned into the minds of all who watched.

One by one, Syriong would intercept the Phantom where they flee, and with his bare hands, he would tear the person apart brutally.

There were those that ran by activating their forbidden techniques and others who fought back. But nothing succeeded against the Guardian who is in this state.

Then, when a dozen Phantoms lays dead on the ground, and the rest managed to back off. As they waited for Syriong's technique to wear off, he instead turned and marched towards Kairos.