Clever trick

  When the sun is about to set.

  "Master Ma, three people are coming over. One of them looks like Ye Chen! The sky is a bit dark and we can't see the other two clearly. But there are five of us, enough to deal with them!"

  A young man in charge of lookout whispered.

  "Great! Come on, let's go down and cut them off!"

  Ma Ruyu was sitting on the ground resting when he heard this and became overjoyed, suddenly standing up and calling to the other four people as they rushed down towards the small hill.

  "There's someone ahead, possibly another hunting party from the academy!"

  Wei Zhen heard the sound of rushing wind coming from the front, suddenly ducked down, called out in a low voice, turned his hand to grip the short blade, and stopped moving.

  Ye Chen's eyes narrowed, gazing forward.

  Ma Ruyuan and four or five other martial artists rushed forward from the front, and had already stood more than ten zhang in front of Ye Chen and others.

  "Master Ma, it's Wei Zhen and Zou Yi. There are two more troublemakers, what to do? Should we take them out together?"

  A young man whispered and made a throat-slitting gesture.

  "Shut up! Do you think it's that easy to kill three sixth-layer cultivators?! If we can't even kill them and they escape, it'll be even more troublesome."

  Ma Ruyu rolled her eyes and glared at the young man as if he was an idiot, saying in a low voice.

  The young man suddenly became flustered and shut his mouth, no longer saying a word.

  Ma Ruyuan's gaze swept over Wei Zhen and Zou Yi, and he said loudly with disdain, "So it's the two of you, Wei Zhen and Zou Yi. Three ordinary martial artists gathering together. I advise you to leave quickly! I have some business to discuss with Ye Chen, which has nothing to do with you. It's best if you pretend you didn't see anything and leave as far away as possible. Afterwards, I'll give you a sum of gold as hush money. If you dare to reveal even half a word, the Ma family will make you regret it for the rest of your lives!"

  "Pfft, Ma Ruyuan, who wants your gold? Just because your father is a first-rank general doesn't make him anything special! I joined the Wu Kingdom's army as a fourth or fifth-rank officer and after decades of hard work, I can become a first-rank general too. Do you think you need to show off in front of me?"

  Wei Zhenxiang pointed directly at Ma Ruyuan's nose with a stern expression and scolded him loudly.

  "Haha, the 100,000-strong army on the border of Wuguo, half of them have to look at my father's face to act, listen to my father's words and they can be promoted, if not, then get out! You Wei Zhen are just a small onion, my Ma family can crush you to death easier than pinching an ant. With your short and skinny stature, you still want to become a 4th or 5th rank military general? Go ahead and dream on!"

  Ma Ruyuan held his sword with both hands and laughed wildly.

  "Wei Zhen, don't be so naive! Do you really think that just because you passed the graduation exam and got a letter of recommendation from Beilu Academy, you can get promoted to a higher official position?!"

  "Once you enter the border army, everything is decided by the Ma family! Even if the imperial court speaks, it's not effective! Offending the Ma family makes it difficult to move an inch in the military. Of course, if you go to a small town and become a gatekeeper, spending your whole life cooped up in one place, then that's up to you."

  The four young men beside Ma Ruyuan also burst out laughing, they followed Ma Ruyuan in order to curry favor with the young master of the Ma family, and in the future follow Ma Ruyuan in the military to rise to prominence, hold high office, and enjoy wealth and glory.

  "Even if I couldn't become a general in the army, I would eventually become an assassin of national caliber."

  Wei Zhen's face turned red as he shouted, but the momentum of his speech was already clearly insufficient. To become a national-level assassin, one must first cultivate to the ninth layer of the Refining Body period, and the martial skills are also extremely high standards. This difficulty is more difficult than becoming a general with a certain rank.

  Zou Yi's expression had already revealed a shrinking color, he pulled Wei Zhen's sleeve and shook his head, saying in a low voice, "Brother Wei, the Ma family is too powerful, we can't compete with them! This matter was originally their own grudge, it has nothing to do with us, let's not get involved."

  "Zou Di, how can you say such things!"

  Wei Zhenqi's jump shot.

  However, Zou Yi did not want to take the lead, and Wei Zhen wanted to but could not.

  Ye Chen was originally still hastily considering whether to take action and fight with Ma Ruyuan, but after hearing Zou Yi's words, he knew that the situation had already gone, turned around and rushed towards the rear. If he hesitated any longer, his life would be in danger.

  He didn't blame Wei Zhen and Zou Yi for refusing to take action either.

  He and the two seniors had only known each other for a few days, not sworn brothers in adversity. Wei Zhen was willing to speak a few fair words, which was already enough. Did he still expect them to help him at all costs? In the Beilu Academy, there were only a handful of students who dared to offend Ma Ruyuan.

  "He wants to run! Quick, catch him!!"

  Ma Ruyu let out a loud whoop of excitement, grasped his knife and took off in pursuit.

  Several other young martial artists glared at Wei Zhen and Zou Yi, warning them not to interfere in this matter, then followed Ma Ruyuan as he chased after him.

  "Alas! Ye Chen's junior brother is likely to meet with more misfortune than good fortune... I hope he can escape alive and return to Beifeng Academy!"

  Wei Zhen looked at Zou Yi with a glance, hung his head in dejection, without rebuking him, and also lost the previous heroic spirit. What Zou Yi said was right, for an unfamiliar Ye Chen, they had also put their own future on the line, which was not worth it.

  On the mountain ridge, it was quiet and deserted, with two human figures gradually disappearing from view.

  Ye Chen ran wildly, occasionally turning his head to glance at the five warriors in hot pursuit behind him, furrowing his brow as he rapidly thought of a plan, his eyes flashing with an icy and murderous intent that seemed to appear and disappear.

  In less than a moment, he buried his head and rushed to a steep cliff.

  In front of it was a steep cliff, on the cliff there was a big crack several meters wide, winding and twisting into the depths inside, which seemed extremely deep, and I didn't know where it led to.

  Ye Chen was in a hurry to escape with his life and didn't have time to think too much. He charged in headfirst, speeding towards the crack at full speed.

  "Haha, Ye Chen, you can't escape! I've explored the terrain around here before. This is a cliff with only a thousand zhang depth. Don't think about escaping from inside, it gets narrower and narrower until not even a person can pass through, a dead end. Today is your day of death!"

  Ma Ruyu followed closely behind, waving a fine steel knife in his hand, desperately chasing after him, laughing wildly.

  "This is what you get for humiliating me in public! You dare to embarrass me, I'll make you lose your life!"

  Ma Ruyuan's triumphant laughter, thinking that Ye Chen was about to be killed by him in the North Mountain Range, his whole body was excited and refreshing, that kind of unparalleled pleasure, really wanted to shout a few times, let the entire North Mountain Academy hear, Ye Chen this humble commoner who had humiliated him, would soon die miserably at Ma Ruyuan's hands.

  He wants to see who in Beilu Academy, or even the Wu State, dares to not give him face again after this.

  Ye Chen ran inside and suddenly turned back with a hint of mockery in his eyes, staring at Ma Ruyuan who was closely pursuing behind him like he was looking at a dead man.

  The two of them had already charged forward for over a hundred zhang on the precipice.

  "Oh, really? I've been here before too, and even spent a night here. Of course, I know there's no way through this cliff."

  "The day before I left the academy, I also went to the library to borrow the 'Eight Gates Golden Lock Blade' martial arts manual. The 'Eight Gates Golden Lock Blade' you're practicing includes twenty-two knife techniques and five footwork methods, with steps as smooth as flowing clouds, blending softness and firmness. In more open spaces, it's even more agile and varied, with excellent ability to dodge enemy attacks! I may not be able to chop you down! But in a narrow place like this cliff, let's see how you can display your footwork and avoid my blade techniques!"

  Ye Chen's voice was overly calm, and there wasn't a hint of panic in it.

  "What?!"

  Ma Ruyu was suddenly drenched in a basin of cold water, his whole body trembling, and he abruptly woke up from the excitement of crazy pleasure.

  Yes, the terrain of this mountain ridge is getting narrower and narrower, which is not conducive to his display of the "Eight Gates Golden Lock Knife Method". On the other hand, it is very beneficial for Ye Chen, because Ye Chen's "Tiger Leap Knife" does not emphasize evasive footwork, but rather brave and direct advancement. Once they meet on a narrow road, it is simply unstoppable. It can be said that these two different knife methods have their own advantages and disadvantages.

  He only thought of his own strength and numbers being invincible, focusing on pursuing and killing, but overlooked this aspect.

  Can't chase anymore!

  Ma Ruyu was taken aback and hastily stopped, about to withdraw.

  Ye Chen would never give Ma Ruyuan the chance to escape, he sprang up, his right foot pushing off from the steep cliff on the left side, using the momentum to make a sudden turn.

  His right hand rested on the hilt of his waist knife, and his fingers trembled like an electric shock.

  "Draw your sword!"

  A cold light flashed out.