Feng Lijun said in a deep voice, "Xia Yan, Madu, this kid poses no real threat to us — just a slippery bastard. Be careful not to let him escape!"
Xia Yan was tall and broad, wielding a giant scythe. Madu was shorter, but his shoulders were wide and his frame stocky, packed with dense, corded muscle.
The two of them stood at the other sides of Jiang Kai, forming a three-way encirclement that trapped him in the center.
"Attack!" With Feng Lijun's command, all three of them charged toward Jiang Kai at once!
"Death God Scythe!" Xia Yan swung his giant scythe, the blade slicing straight toward Jiang Kai's neck.
At the edge of the scythe's blade, a faint phantom shimmered — clearly, the True Qi within this strike was gathering, ready to explode with power!
Feng Lijun thrust his long sword straight at Jiang Kai's abdomen. "True Qi—Heaven and Earth Sword Intent!"
"Let me show you the power of a fifth-rank soldier!" Madu roared, "Tactic—Blazing War Camps!"
The spear in Madu's hand surged with overwhelming flames, rushing forward in a blazing torrent.
Jiang Kai's gaze locked onto Madu's attack.
For Huaxia martial apprentices, their qualitative change was True Qi. But for Huaxia soldiers, their qualitative change was Tactics.
Before this, Jiang Kai had rarely seen high-ranking soldiers use Tactics. This was his first time witnessing it in person.
A soldier's "Tactics" encompassed all sorts of powers — including elemental and True Qi-based attacks.
From Madu's move, "Blazing War Camps," it was clear that he hadn't used any weapon like a "pyromaniac's torch." Instead, his strike itself was imbued with terrifying flames.
Facing an ambush from three high-ranked and strange professions, Jiang Kai snorted coldly.
"Next time, be smart. If you see me again, go straight to your second form — otherwise, you won't even be able to touch me!"
With that, Jiang Kai didn't use any movement skill — he simply vanished from the encirclement at a speed too fast to follow.
The three of them struck empty air, their eyes full of disbelief.
"How can his speed be that fast?!"
In the next instant, two Chasing Death daggers appeared in Jiang Kai's hands.
"Tempered Chasing Death!"
Dozens of flaming Chasing Deaths shot out toward the trio.
Jiang Kai's attack was so fast that the three didn't even have time to dodge.
"True Qi Shield!"
"Golden Bell Armor!"
"Undying Battleplate!"
Among them, two activated their armor effects to block Jiang Kai's strikes, while Feng Lijun used a True Qi shield to deflect the incoming darts.
"This kid's much stronger than before — don't take him lightly!" Feng Lijun had already realized something was wrong. Blocking Jiang Kai's attack, he shouted furiously, "High-rank, Second Form!"
His slightly hunched body suddenly bulged from the back. His height surged from barely one and a half meters to over two-point-three!
His arms and legs lengthened dramatically, and his pupils vanished — his eyes turned entirely pitch black.
Feng Lijun's transformation was even more extreme than the Tyrant's or Evilfire's before. Now, he looked nothing like a man — more like some long-limbed ghostly beast!
On the other side, Xia Yan and Madu also entered their second forms.
Madu's muscles swelled violently, dark fur sprouting all over his body — like a half-werewolf.
Xia Yan's body expanded, his skin and face bulging with veins, making him look utterly monstrous.
Seeing the three of them transform, Jiang Kai couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
The second forms of high-rank strange professions were far more extreme than fifth-rank ones. It wouldn't be wrong to call them half-human, half-demon.
"Could it be that the higher a strange profession's rank goes, the stronger their corruption becomes?"
As Jiang Kai speculated, the three lunged at him again — their speed now almost double what it was before!
"Jiang Kai! Today, you'll fall!"
The four clashed once more. Feng Lijun and the others unleashed strike after strike, while Jiang Kai used his speed advantage to slip away from their attacks each time.
Even Feng Lijun's group didn't dare be careless with Jiang Kai's Chasing Deaths — his throwing speed was terrifying. Over twenty daggers flew and spun around him, forming a deadly defense circle that both attacked and guarded.
Although the trio's agility couldn't match Jiang Kai's, they fought as one, covering each other seamlessly.
Under the twentyfold gravity environment, the four battled fiercely for over ten minutes without a clear victor.
"War Leap!" Jiang Kai slammed down onto the ground heavily. But just as he landed, the three of them leaped at him together.
"Cleave Through Time!" Feng Lijun swung his sword, releasing a blade of energy that sliced across Jiang Kai's path.
Jiang Kai quickly dodged and widened the distance between them.
After the long fight, all four were breathing heavily.
Feng Lijun glared at Jiang Kai and muttered to his allies, "This guy just advanced to high-rank — how can he be this strong?"
Xia Yan couldn't think of an answer, only saying, "It's not that strange. Don't forget — when Jiang Kai was max level at fourth rank, his agility already hit twenty-two thousand points. After advancing, his stats multiplied again."
Madu said darkly, "Either way, we can't let this Jiang Kai live."
"Enough underestimating him. Let's go all out and end this!"
On the other side, Jiang Kai was still in good condition. From the earlier exchanges, he'd roughly gauged their stats — their top attributes in the first phase were around fifty thousand, and in the second phase, around seventy or eighty thousand.
Only his agility was absolutely higher than theirs; in other areas, he didn't hold an advantage.
Still, with his speed, he could attack or retreat freely — keeping him on even footing.
At that moment, Jiang Kai noticed the three's faces had turned grim.
"About to get serious?" Jiang Kai smirked. "Good. I was getting bored anyway."
Madu shouted, "Tactic—Combined Force!" Then he struck his palm against Xia Yan's back.
A burst of golden light exploded from Xia Yan's back, and in the next second, Xia Yan shot forward toward Jiang Kai like a cannonball.
This time, his speed far surpassed Jiang Kai's expectations — in an instant, he was right in front of him, swinging his scythe. "Strange Talent—Death God's Harvest!"
A massive scythe phantom swept across Jiang Kai, its True Qi so intense that even he was shocked.
The power Xia Yan unleashed was far beyond what Jiang Kai had anticipated. By the time he tried to dodge, it was too late.
Seeing the blade closing in, Jiang Kai shouted, "Deception Substitute!"
But just then, Feng Lijun, who had been waiting for this, roared, "Still trying that trick? I knew you'd use it!"
"Revealing Relic—Nothing Can Hide!"
"Sealing Gem—Bind the Calamity!"
Jiang Kai's real body was instantly exposed, and he suddenly realized he couldn't use Deception Substitute.
The sealing gem had taken effect, locking his last used skill and preventing him from reusing it for a short time.
Madu looked exhausted but was still able to activate another relic.
"Strange Relic—Tactic Enhancement: Trapped on All Sides!"
Suddenly, Jiang Kai's mind went hazy. A wave of despair surged through his thoughts.
Xia Yan's giant scythe suddenly shifted direction, slashing right toward Jiang Kai's real body — but Jiang Kai's momentary daze made him miss the perfect moment to dodge!
Realizing he was under mental interference, Jiang Kai hurriedly activated Divine Might Aura to cleanse it.
But the moment the aura purged the "Trapped on All Sides" effect — Xia Yan's attack was already upon him.
"Battle the Eight Wastelands!" Jiang Kai shouted, trying to evade.
But he was half a step too slow.
The Death God's Harvest tore open Jiang Kai's chest, and the scythe's curved edge hooked into his right arm — slicing half of it clean off.
Under the full coordination of Feng Lijun, Madu, and Xia Yan, Jiang Kai was gravely wounded. His stamina plummeted — nearly gone.