After taking another direct hit from Shi Xiqu, a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of Martial Artist’s mouth. The bronze tint on his body quickly faded, and his face turned pale.
Shi Xiqu coldly sneered at the sight, "I really thought you were invincible."
As he spoke, he swung the tobacco pipe in his hand down towards him.
Jin Zhenming didn’t hesitate and turned to run.
Zhao Ya had made it clear to them in advance that if they encountered an unsolvable situation, it was important to first protect themselves.
Compared to one’s own life, whether or not Wei Hongbin could be killed was irrelevant.
Jin Zhenming adhered to this principle well. He could no longer hold out, so he withdrew from the battlefield without hesitation.
Shi Xiqu did not pursue him.
The most pressing matter now was to first kill Zhao Ya, then address everything else.
So, he directly lunged towards Shi Donglai’s side.
At this time, Shang Tiefeng was also under immense pressure.
Although he and Zhao Ya worked together to hold back Shi Donglai, as time went on, the difference in their realms gradually became apparent.
Especially after Shi Donglai committed to using his full strength, Shang Tiefeng was only able to defend and couldn’t counterattack.
"Master Shang, withdraw first!"
After slashing horizontally to relieve Shang Tiefeng from a crisis, Zhao Ya sternly shouted.
Shang Tiefeng also did not hesitate.
Because he already felt that if he continued to fight, not only couldn’t he help Zhao Ya, he would instead become a major burden to him.
So he simply replied, "Be careful."
Then he took the opportunity to withdraw from the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Shi Xiqu also arrived.
The two brothers joined forces to encircle Zhao Ya.
"Youngster, face your death!" Shi Donglai, rejuvenated, spoke viciously, then joined forces with his brother to launch an attack.
The recent battle left Shi Donglai somewhat doubting his own abilities.
This young man, who at only twenty years old had nearly reached the Fifth Realm, was terrifyingly strong.
His blade techniques, body technique speed, and punching power were not inferior to those of average Fifth Realm martial artists.
Shi Donglai even suspected that if he were alone today, he might not be able to defeat this young man.
This also intensified Shi Donglai’s intent to kill Zhao Ya.
Given time, perhaps even in a few years, he would inevitably become a grave threat.
Shi Xiqu naturally had the same thought.
Two tobacco pipe rods crossed in the air, sealing off all Zhao Ya’s escape routes.
But just at this crucial moment, Zhao Ya suddenly bent over and flew out at an odd angle.
In this way, Zhao Ya astonishingly managed to break out of the Shi Brothers’ encirclement.
This exquisite counteraction made Wang Tiancheng, watching from afar, brighten up.
"What a superb body technique."
Xu Niannian also nodded, saying: "Indeed, not bad."
Even Gu Chaoyue, who was generally displeased with Zhao Ya, couldn’t help but secretly nod and admit that Zhao Ya’s lightweight body technique had indeed reached a state of divinity.
Yet just when everyone thought Zhao Ya would thus withdraw from the battlefield, it turned out he didn’t leave. Instead, he stood not far away, smiling as he looked at the Shi Brothers.
The Shi Brothers, already filled with frustration with nowhere to vent, became even more enraged seeing Zhao Ya escape but stay, seemingly waiting for them.
"Arrogant brat." Shi Donglai shouted, then rushed with Shi Xiqu from two directions towards Zhao Ya.
Zhao Ya did not retaliate, but instead, engaged them using his exquisite lightweight body technique.
The Shi Brothers felt as if they were trying to catch an eel that had slipped into an oil barrel, with no way to grab hold.
Meanwhile, Jin Zhenming, who had retreated to the distance, swallowed a few pieces of dried meat, then gasped and asked.
"Old Shang, what is Ya doing?"
"I don’t know either." Shang Tiefeng was also baffled.
Everyone could see that at this point, Zhao Ya had no chance of winning, so why was he relying on his lightweight body technique to dance around with them? What was he waiting for?
Just then, Shi Donglai, who had been in high spirits, suddenly felt a jolt in his heart, and his originally smooth flow of Qi Blood slightly faltered.
Although it was very slight, it still made his movements somewhat sluggish.
This change was very subtle, and most people probably wouldn’t even notice it.
But Zhao Ya was different.
The reason he persisted and didn’t leave was that he was waiting for this opportunity.
Everything had to do with those lime packages.
During the preparation for battle before, Zhao Ya considered what he would do if the reinforcements Wei Hongbin brought from the Capital City arrived.
The answer was to attack indirectly, as frontal assault would be difficult to succeed.
The only thing Zhao Ya had that could threaten Fifth Realm martial artists was the poison powder prepared using Yuan Chenfeng’s poison.
But Zhao Ya also understood that if it truly were Fifth Realm martial artists from the Capital City, it would be very difficult to poison them without them detecting it.
After thinking it through, Zhao Ya had a sudden idea and decided to place these powders within the lime packages.
Although at Zhao Ya’s realm, lime packages were practically useless.
Using them against Fifth Realm martial artists seemed like a fantasy.
But the less something was regarded, the more likely it was to succeed.
Silently, Zhao Ya secretly poisoned the lime packages, betting that the Fifth Realm martial artists would dismiss them as trivial and lower their guard.
Sure enough.
When the Shi Brothers saw the lime packages being thrown out, they didn’t take them seriously and easily dispersed them with a wave of their palms.