In a somewhat empty, abandoned square,
Four middle-aged burly men wearing armbands with the arcane gemstone pattern were from the City of Arcane Arts.
They held four differently styled weapons, surrounding a young girl with long, flowing hair and wearing a loose t-shirt with scattered floral mist.
The girl was Shen Yunyao, whom Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao hadn't seen in some time. A large patch of dark red blood stained her right shoulder, and a trickle of crimson graced her lips. She appeared to be quite injured...
However, Shen Yunyao still gripped a white sword that rippled with water. She stood defensively, confronting the four burly men. "Chen Yi, Chen Er, Chen San, Chen Si, I've always treated you well. Why did you ambush me?"
"Moreover, the City of Arcane Arts has a rule: those who harm fellow disciples shall be executed without mercy. Aren't you afraid of Elder Tu's accountability?"
Shen Yunyao glared at the four burly men before her.
"Elder Tu?"
Chen Yi, the leader, sneered. "Guess why we were chosen for this team?!"
"Attack!"
In the next second, Chen Yi's meteor hammer flashed with flames and shot towards Shen Yunyao. The other three middle-aged men's hands also erupted with fiery light, rushing towards Shen Yunyao.
"Clang~ Whoosh~"
"Splash~ Bang bang!~"
"Boom!~~"
For a time, the scene was filled with the sounds of metal clashing, water splashing, flames roaring, and impacts.
...
Not far away,
Behind a tall pile of weeds,
"Big brother, Sister Yunyao is in danger!"
Xiao Xiao, seeing this, couldn't bear to hide any longer and made a move to help, but Ye Feng stopped her.
"Xiao Xiao, Yunyao is fine. The strongest among those four is only Gold Rank 1. They are no match for her!"
Ye Feng gently shook his head at Xiao Xiao. "Although Yunyao looks badly injured, it's not the case. She's probably faking her injuries, trying to extract some information from those four burly men!"
"If we rush out rashly, we might disrupt Yunyao's plan!"
Ye Feng, having just done something similar himself, immediately understood Shen Yunyao's intention.
"Oh, alright~"
Although Xiao Xiao was worried, she didn't rush out. Instead, she tightly gripped her AK47, ready to provide remote support at any moment.
Watching the confrontation in the square nearby, Ye Feng was quite perplexed.
Shen Yunyao was being attacked by members of her own team from the City of Arcane Arts? Weren't they supposed to be allies...
Was she being attacked because Yunyao had warned him earlier?
That didn't seem right... Judging from the situation, these four seemed to have planned to attack Shen Yunyao long ago!
"Hm?"
As Ye Feng was contemplating, he suddenly frowned slightly, his expression solemn.
Because he noticed that Chen Yi, Chen Er, Chen San, and Chen Si coordinated their movements in battle with extreme skill. Despite being four individuals, they fought as if they were one.
Their combat coordination was seamless and continuous, leaving Shen Yunyao no chance to breathe.
Moreover, their arcane energy was all fire-attributed, perfectly countering Shen Yunyao's water attribute.
The fire-attributed arcane energy of Chen Yi and the other three was connected, making their combat power far exceed Gold Rank 1. Shen Yunyao quickly fell into a disadvantage.
"Hah!"
"Arcane Art - Soul-Reaping Flame Net!"
While Ye Feng was thinking, Chen Yi, Chen Er, Chen San, and Chen Si suddenly formed a formation, surrounding Shen Yunyao from four directions.
The meteor hammers and other weapons in their hands flashed with flames, forming a giant net of fire with special runes, which attacked Shen Yunyao.
Shen Yunyao conjured a massive water wall with her white sword, and a torrent of water arrows shot out, but in the blink of an eye, they were extinguished within the runic flame net.
"Ah!~"
Hit directly by the runic flame net, Shen Yunyao cried out in pain and fell to the ground, rolling.
She condensed a water sphere around herself to resist the invasion of the fire-attributed arcane energy net.
"Soul-Reaping Flame Net? The technique of the Flame Ranger who disappeared for many years, how is this possible?"
"Chen Yi, who sent you?!"
Shen Yunyao's expression was one of utter horror.
"Go ask in hell!"
Chen Yi, Chen Er, Chen San, and Chen Si replied in unison, quickly forming a hand seal.
Instantly, the flame net trapping Shen Yunyao flashed brightly, and the water sphere that had been protecting her burst into flames...
"Dada da!"
At this moment, the sound of AK47 gunfire rang out. It was Xiao Xiao firing three shots at Chen Yi's head.
"Whoosh!~"
Chen Yi reacted extremely quickly, his body swaying. His right hand, glowing with fire-attributed arcane energy, swept out and actually caught the AK47 bullets.
"I didn't expect you to have a helper!"
"But bullets are only useful against the weak!"
Before Chen Yi could finish speaking, Ye Feng's fist slammed into his left cheek.
"Bang!~"
"Pfft!~"
A dull thud echoed, and Chen Yi's entire face contorted. A row of teeth spewed out amidst a bloody mess...
"Who is it?"
"Ah!~ Bang!"
"Crack~ Bang~!"
Without their coordination, Chen Er, Chen San, and Chen Four were ordinary fighters. In a short while, they followed in Chen Yi's footsteps, sent flying by Ye Feng.
The Soul-Reaping Flame Net trapping Shen Yunyao lost its control and was quickly broken by her. Even so, Shen Yunyao sustained multiple scorched injuries.
"Ye Feng?"
Upon seeing who had sent Chen Yi and the other three flying, Shen Yunyao was both surprised and excited.
"Sister Yunyao, are you alright?"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao also came to Shen Yunyao's side, asking with concern.
"I'm fine, thank you both!"
Shen Yunyao took two steps forward, tugged Xiao Xiao's hand, and looked at the gradually fading flame net in the distance. "I didn't expect the Chen Yi brothers to know the Flame Ranger's unique skill, the Soul-Reaping Flame Net!"
"If it weren't for you just now, things would have been really bad!"
As she spoke, Shen Yunyao's water-attributed arcane energy surged, and her scorched wounds healed at a visible speed...
"Big brother, those four bad guys are trying to escape..."
"Don't worry, they won't escape!"
Before she finished speaking, Ye Feng had already vanished from his spot.
...
More than ten minutes later,
"Those four fellows tried to assassinate you, and Elder Tu tacitly agreed... Yunyao, do you have a grudge against that Elder Tu from the City of Arcane Arts?"
"That person seems to be one of the Five Arcane Prodigies, who is as famous as the Flame Ranger, and he's also the leader of your City of Arcane Arts' exploration team for this ancient ruin!"
Ye Feng walked on the road, looking at Shen Yunyao with some confusion.
After a "friendly exchange" between him and the Chen Yi brothers, they confessed to the attack on Shen Yunyao.
However, they were merely following orders and had taken a bribe to eliminate Shen Yunyao. As for the reason why, they didn't know...
"Wait, Yunyao, aren't you from Mech City? How did you end up in the City of Arcane Arts' team?"
After a pause, Ye Feng looked at Shen Yunyao with surprise and asked.
"Did something happen in Mech City?"
Xiao Xiao also chimed in, her expression full of concern.
...