Shang Jiao only glanced at Ryan for a brief moment before withdrawing her gaze again. She let out a soft, self-mocking breath and shook her head faintly.
I'm thinking too much.
No matter how calm that young man looked, no matter how strange the battlefield around him appeared, reality was reality. He was still just a teenager. Sixteen or seventeen at most. Even if he had some hidden talent of some powerful clan, how far could it go?
Even if Ryan truly possessed the strength of an Exalt, at best, he could escape with his own life. Saving others? That was simply a fantasy born from desperation.
Once that thought settled, Shang Jiao forcibly extinguished the faint spark of hope in her heart. She could not afford false expectations. If she was going to fall, she would fall awake, not clinging to illusions.
Taking a deep breath, Shang Jiao stepped forward, her spine straight despite the tremor in her hands.
"It's clear your target is me," she said, her voice steady but hoarse. "We can lay down our weapons and stop resisting. But I have one condition."
Her gaze locked onto Zhang Yuxi, unwavering.
"Let my team members go. I will go with you."
The words felt like knives cutting through her chest, but she forced herself to say them anyway.
This was the only path she could see.
If surrendering her own life could buy even a sliver of survival for her companions, she would take it without hesitation.
"No, leader!"
The response came instantly.
"Captain, you can't go with them!"
"Once you fall into their hands, you won't survive!"
"We're not leaving!"
"We live together, we die together!"
The voices overlapped, raw and desperate, cutting straight into Shang Jiao's heart.
She froze, staring at the familiar faces before her—faces she had fought beside, bled beside, laughed beside. Men who had trusted her with their lives without hesitation.
Her vision blurred.
She clenched her fists tightly, nails digging into her palms, and finally spoke, her voice trembling despite her efforts.
"Thank you… all of you."
She paused, swallowing hard.
"You call me leader. You respect me. But from the beginning, I never thought of you as subordinates." Her eyes glistened. "You are my friends. Meeting you is the greatest fortune of my life."
Her voice softened, heavy with sorrow.
"But this is my responsibility. Their eyes are on me, not you. You still have futures ahead of you. As long as you're alive, there's hope. Don't throw your lives away here… for me."
By the time she finished speaking, tears had already rolled down her cheeks.
For a moment, silence reigned.
Then one man stepped forward. "I'm not leaving."
Another followed.
"Me neither."
"I'll stay."
"I'll live and die with the leader."
One by one, every remaining member voiced the same decision, their expressions resolute, eyes burning with quiet defiance.
Shang Jiao's emotional dam finally collapsed.
Tears streamed freely as she covered her face, her shoulders trembling.
"Idiots…" she sobbed. "All of you… idiots…"
"Touching," Chang Bo sneered, breaking the moment mercilessly. "But unfortunately, we never planned to let any of you go."
His gaze swept across the group coldly.
"Everyone here today will die. Except for Miss Shang."
That "everyone" included Ryan, too.
Loose ends could not be tolerated.
Zhang Yuxi watched calmly, his expression indifferent, as if listening to idle chatter.
"Leader," one mercenary growled through clenched teeth, "let's fight them!"
Shang Jiao wiped her tears away, her eyes hardening into steel.
"Yes," she said slowly. "If we die today, then let our deaths be worth something. I, Shang Jiao, swear—if even one of us survives, we will seek justice for our fallen brothers."
Her voice carried a ferocity that silenced the forest.
Zhang Yuxi smiled faintly, as if amused. "Naive."
He turned slightly and gestured lazily toward one of the gray-robed men.
"Zhao Wu. Deal with these ants. That short-haired woman—I want her alive."
"Yes."
Zhao Wu stepped forward.
A Three-star Upper Elite.
Stronger than Chang Bo.
The pressure he released rolled outward like a heavy wave, suffocating the Red Scorpion Mercenary Corps.
Zhao Wu didn't rush. He advanced with deliberate steps, eyes filled with disdain.
Then he stomped the ground.
The earth cracked before his body shot forward like a cannonball.
"Come!" Shang Jiao shouted, gripping her sword as tightly as she could.
Her men closed ranks behind her, long swords raised.
"Wind Shadow Palm!" Before Zhao Wu even reached them, he struck.
The air screamed, and a chilling gust surged forward, carrying crushing force.
"Everyone, with me!"
"Flying Snow Without Trace!"
Six swords moved as one.
Steel flashed.
Their combined attack surged forward, desperate and brilliant.
But the gap was too wide.
"Boom!"
The palm landed.
Shang Jiao and her team were flung backward like rag dolls, blood spraying midair as their swords flew from their hands.
Bodies hit the ground one after another.
Several men lost consciousness instantly.
Only Shang Jiao remained barely upright, blood staining her lips, her body shaking violently.
The battle was over in an instant.
Zhao Wu looked down at them, smiling.
Zhang Yuxi nodded once. "Good. Kill the rest."
Zhao Wu raised his palm, stepping toward a fallen mercenary.
Despair filled Shang Jiao's eyes.
She couldn't move.
She couldn't scream.
She could only watch.
Zhao Wu's palm descended.
Right then—
There was a blur.
A shadow crossed the battlefield.
"Heavenly Star Palm!" A sharp cry rang out.
Two palms collided soon after.
BOOM!
Everyone stared in silence for a second.
Slowly, their eyes turned toward the figure standing between Zhao Wu and the fallen mercenaries.
The young man.
The one they had dismissed.
That's right. The one who saved the remaining members of the Red Scorpion Mercenary Corps and struck Zhao Wu down in a single blow was Ryan.
Zhao Wu's palm strike had been terrifying.
When it descended, the air itself screamed, crushing forward with the might of a seasoned Upper Elite realm expert.
Yet Ryan's responding palm was something else entirely. It was not merely stronger. It was as if the rules governing strength had been rewritten in that instant.
The moment the two palms met, Zhao Wu's attack collapsed like paper set ablaze. His body was flung backward without the slightest resistance, blood spraying from his mouth as though his internal organs had shattered all at once. There was no struggle, no counterattack, no chance to even cry out.
A Three-star Elite had been sent flying like trash.
Ryan had not held back. Not even a little. That palm carried pure killing intent, unrestrained and absolute. The result was inevitable.
Zhao Wu hit the ground hard. His body twitched once, twice. His eyes rolled upward, unfocused, and his head lolled to the side. His chest rose weakly, then stopped altogether. In the span of a breath, his life had been extinguished.
*Ding! You killed a 3-star Upper Elite warrior.
*Ding! You leveled up.
*Ding!
The system's cold, emotionless voice rang clearly in Ryan's mind, announcing the kill and the massive reward that followed.
With the surge of experience flooding in, Ryan felt a familiar heat course through his body.
His bones hummed, his blood roared, and something deep within him broke through another invisible barrier.
His cultivation rose once more, stepping cleanly into a higher realm.
Ryan exhaled slowly.
The increase in strength was obvious.
His power didn't simply double; it surged like a tide breaking through a dam.
At this moment, warriors like Chang Bo or Zhao Wu no longer even registered as threats in his perception.
A single palm would be enough to end them. Among the people present, only Zhang Yuxi, the silver-robed leader, barely qualified as someone worth fighting seriously.
Silence engulfed the battlefield.