Chen Tang and the other two exchanged glances.

The youth's body technique was extremely skillful—none of the four of them could match it!

Yuwen Heigou frowned inwardly.

He couldn't discern the origin of the youth's body technique.

In the blink of an eye, Changsun Ming had attacked dozens of times, yet the youth merely dodged in place, his movements not exceeding even a small circle.

Under Changsun Ming's fierce offensive, he remained unscathed!

Moreover, he never counterattacked from start to finish.

In fact, Changsun Ming didn't harbor much malice.

But since this person was of unknown origin and was evasive when questioned about his identity, it truly left people at a loss.

The main purpose of his attack was to force the youth to counterattack, so as to deduce his background from his moves.

However, as the youth never struck back, Changsun Ming was at a loss.

Chen Tang and the other two exchanged a glance and attacked simultaneously!

Under Changsun Ming's assault, the youth was still able to dodge with ease and calmness.

Yet, when facing the combined attack of Chen Tang and the other three, the youth suddenly seemed a bit flustered. Although he relied on his body technique to dodge, he eventually had to pull out weapons to block.

With a flick of his sleeves, two daggers appeared in his palms.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The youth swung his dual daggers, clashing repeatedly with Chen Tang's blade, Changsun Ming's spear, Dugu Qingcheng's soft sword, and Yuwen Heigou's long sword, the sound of metal clashing ringing continuously.

The five of them were in the hall, amid flashing blades and swords, their figures interlocking, rising and falling with the speed of hares and hawks.

Through this round of exchange, the youth's cultivation was revealed.

The youth was roughly Fifth Grade, on par with Yuwen Heigou's realm.

Moreover, his body technique was extremely exquisite. Even when besieged by Chen Tang and the other three young geniuses, he still appeared at ease.

Although for the time being, he couldn't break through the four-person encirclement.

"Strange."

Yuwen Heigou furrowed his brow inwardly.

He had never seen the youth's martial arts techniques before.

Judging by his moves, some seemed to originate from the military, while others resembled those of Jianghu sects—extremely varied.

"Woo…"

At this moment, a flute melody suddenly drifted through the hall, melodious and continuous.

The flute sound appeared extremely bizarre.

"Hmm?"

Yuwen Heigou was the first to detect something amiss.

Being a Fifth Grade Inner Core, his internal energy began to run amok under the influence of the flute sound, showing signs of entering a state of madness!

This startled Yuwen Heigou greatly.

He took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his mind and suppress the turbulent energy in his dantian.

But the flute sound persisted, and the inner energy couldn't be suppressed!

Yuwen Heigou's face changed drastically as he hurriedly withdrew from the battlefield, not daring to make another move.

As soon as he stopped, the inner energy in his dantian gradually calmed down.

Yuwen Heigou seemed to think of something, his expression filled with doubt and uncertainty as he furrowed his brow.

Chen Tang, Dugu Qingcheng, and Changsun Ming also gradually sensed the anomaly.

Although they hadn't cultivated inner energy, the flute sound got into their ears, and all three couldn't control their minds, appearing somewhat dazed!

Among them, Chen Tang was the least affected.

Since he had broken the Mud Ball Palace, even without entering the Divine Illumination State, his mental will far surpassed others.

Even so, this flute sound still left him somewhat restless and agitated.

His heart pounded uncontrollably, as if about to explode!

Amazing!

Chen Tang and the other three exclaimed inwardly in shock.

"Stop!"

Yuwen Heigou hurriedly reminded them.

Chen Tang and the other three withdrew their hands, retreating to calm their minds.

That segment of flute music vanished as the five of them ceased fighting, as if it had never existed!

The youth breathed a sigh of relief, looking gratefully at the hallway outside.

"The four young heroes misunderstood me, I really meant no harm."

The youth cupped his hands again, saying with a bow: "The reason I informed you of the dungeon was out of concern that you might set the mountain ablaze, leading to the innocent women below being buried alive."

"Are women captured by Wushan Village held in the dungeon below?"

Dugu Qingcheng asked hastily.

"I've seen it."

The youth said: "The captured women were eventually brought to this hall with their eyes covered, then escorted into the dungeon. There must be ventilation between the dungeon and the outside. If a fire burns the mountain, smoke could easily seep in, and at that time, the women inside might suffocate."

"So, I wrote a letter to remind you four."

In fact, after that bout of fighting, all four felt that the youth probably had no ill intentions.

During the battle, although wielding double daggers, the youth was mostly on the defensive.

Changsun Ming said in a low voice: "If what you say is true, I will apologize to you."

If what the youth said was true, they almost made a grave mistake.

Having been the first to attack, Changsun Ming would also be the first to admit it upon realizing his mistake.

"It's nothing."

The youth smiled: "We're all trying to save people. Without the four young heroes, I wouldn't know how to deal with the Ten Ghosts of Wushan and the thousands of bandits in the village."

"Don't you have that helper from earlier?"

Yuwen Heigou suddenly said.

"Her?"

The youth smiled and shook his head slightly.

"Who was that? She was incredible, disrupting me with just a piece of flute music,"

Dugu Qingcheng couldn't help but ask.

Respect and admiration flashed in the youth's eyes, yet he remained silent.

Yuwen Heigou said: "If I'm not mistaken, she's from the south, right?"

The youth's expression did not change, and he still remained silent, not confirming or denying.

From the south?

Chen Tang thought, could she be from Nanxia?

Yuwen Heigou continued: "If I'm not mistaken, she should be the number one on Nanxia's Human Ranking, Jade Flute Fairy!"

Not until the words 'Jade Flute Fairy' came out did the youth's expression change slightly.

Seeing this change, Yuwen Heigou knew he had guessed correctly.

"What's the Human Ranking?"

Chen Tang asked curiously.

Yuwen Heigou explained: "In Nanxia, regardless of Grade, our Ninth Grade to Sixth Grade are all termed as Postnatal Realm. Young martial artists under twenty are listed in a Wind and Cloud Ranking based on potential, achievements, etc."

"Above the Wind and Cloud Ranking are three ranks of heaven, earth, and human. The Human Ranking corresponds to our Fourth and Fifth Grade experts, and being atop the Human Ranking means you are definitely at the peak of Fourth Grade!"

Chen Tang suddenly understood.

No wonder she was so powerful, at the peak of Fourth Grade, and the top of the Human Ranking, also known as Jade Flute Fairy.

Look at her title.

Chen Tang muttered in his heart.

What's with this title of Young Hero Tiger Subduing, Panda Blade Master—it's so weak in comparison.

Dugu Qingcheng couldn't help but ask: "Why didn't this Jade Flute Fairy show up, just played a piece of flute music, and left? It's rare to meet an expert from Nanxia, and I wanted to meet this sister."

"Maybe she had her reasons."

The youth seemed to casually divert the topic, glancing at Yuwen Heigou and the other two, and said: "Can you open the mechanism beneath the Village Chief's seat?"

Yuwen Heigou said: "I just tried it; the stone requires multiple attempts. I estimate it will take half an hour to crack."

"I'll do it."

The youth moved toward the Village Chief's seat.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.