The mocking voice instantly startled the three disciples.
All three spun toward the source of the sound, weapons already raised.
A figure emerged from the trees.
Stephen.
For a brief moment, surprise flashed across their faces.
Then it was replaced by naked hostility.
"You little bastard!"
One of them laughed coldly.
"We were wondering how we'd find you. Who would've thought you'd deliver yourself right to our doorstep?"
The other two grinned viciously.
If looks could kill, Stephen would have been torn apart already.
Stephen merely smiled.
"Pleased to see me?"
He walked forward at an unhurried pace, sword resting casually on his shoulder.
"Fate really is a funny thing."
His gaze swept across the three men.
"Out of everyone in this Rift, you lot ended up being the first people I ran into."
He chuckled.
"What a coincidence."
The three disciples' expressions darkened further.
Stephen pointed toward the corpse of the Fire Tiger Beast lying nearby.
"Tell you what."
"Hand over the beast."
He smiled pleasantly.
"And I'll generously give you thirty minutes to run away."
Silence.
Then the forest exploded with killing intent.
The three men's faces twisted with rage.
"You really have a death wish!"
One of them snarled.
"We would've had to waste time hunting you down."
"But since you've come to us yourself..."
His lips curled into a cruel smile.
"We'll make sure your death is slow and painful."
The three immediately spread out.
Years of fighting together had made their coordination seamless.
Within moments, they had formed a perfect encirclement.
Every possible escape route was sealed.
Stephen calmly observed their movements.
Then he shook his head.
"If you were at full strength, dealing with three peak King Realm experts would be troublesome."
His eyes narrowed.
"But after fighting that tiger..."
"You can barely bring out half your strength."
A vein bulged on one man's forehead.
"You dare look down on us?"
Another sneered.
"Even injured, I could kill you one-on-one."
Stephen shrugged.
"Maybe."
The third disciple spat on the ground.
"Don't think we're stupid enough to let you provoke us into fighting separately."
"Together."
"We kill him now."
The three attacked simultaneously.
Swords, axes, and qi surged through the forest.
The ground beneath their feet cracked as they rushed forward.
Yet—
Stephen vanished.
Their attacks struck empty air.
The three immediately felt danger.
"Behind—!"
Too late.
Stephen appeared behind the lankiest of the three, a man wielding a broad sword nearly as large as a door.
His blade swept horizontally.
The disciple reacted instantly.
Years of life-and-death combat saved him.
He twisted around and raised his weapon.
Clang!
A deafening metallic crash echoed through the forest.
Sparks exploded outward.
Stephen's arm trembled from the impact.
The webbing between his thumb and index finger split open, blood staining the sword's grip.
The force rattled his entire body.
His chest churned violently.
For a moment, he nearly coughed up blood.
His eyes narrowed.
These weren't ordinary opponents.
Even injured, they were still veteran fighters.
Far stronger than the average disciple.
Stephen immediately retreated.
The axe wielder seized the opportunity.
With a roar, he charged straight at him.
The massive axe cut through the air with terrifying force.
Yet just as they were about to collide—
Stephen abruptly shifted direction.
The axe sliced through space.
His real target was elsewhere.
The swordsman.
The one whose injuries were the most severe.
A flash of understanding appeared in the man's eyes.
But it was already too late.
Stephen's qi erupted.
"The Phoenix Shakes Its Plume."
A brilliant sword light burst forth.
The swordsman's face changed dramatically.
He desperately threw himself sideways.
The blade missed his neck by inches.
But not entirely.
A spray of blood filled the air.
An arm flew upward.
Still gripping its sword.
For a brief second, the severed limb spun through the air.
Then it landed heavily in the grass.
Thud.
The swordsman stared blankly.
Then agony exploded across his face.
"AAAAAAARGH!"
He clutched the stump with his remaining hand.
Blood poured through his fingers.
His eyes turned bloodshot.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"
The other two reacted instantly.
Seeing their companion maimed sent them into a frenzy.
They attacked from both sides simultaneously.
Stephen retreated several steps.
Then his eyes landed on the severed arm lying nearby.
An idea appeared.
He moved.
The arm shot into the air with a flick of his sword.
At that exact moment, the broadsword and axe came crashing down.
Neither attacker could stop in time.
Boom!
The severed arm exploded into a shower of blood and flesh.
For a moment, silence fell.
The swordsman froze.
Then his face turned deathly pale.
"My arm..."
His voice trembled.
"No..."
The grief in his eyes was almost tangible.
Losing an arm was one thing.
Modern medicine could still reattach it.
Expensive, yes.
But possible.
Destroying it completely was another matter.
Even if a replacement limb was regenerated later, it would never truly be the same.
For a swordsman, it was a devastating blow.
The other two looked horrified.
"Brother Harry!"
Their eyes reddened with fury.
Without hesitation, they launched themselves at Stephen again.
One from the front.
One from behind.
The battle intensified.
Steel clashed repeatedly.
The forest echoed with explosions of qi.
Dozens of exchanges occurred in the blink of an eye.
Cuts and bruises appeared on all three combatants.
At one point, Stephen nearly managed to split the axe wielder in half.
At the last moment, the man blocked with the shaft of his weapon.
Even so, he was sent stumbling backward, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
Stephen's expression remained calm.
But inwardly, he was evaluating the situation.
This couldn't continue.
A prolonged battle benefited no one.
Especially not inside a Rift.
The more injuries one accumulated, the closer they moved toward death.
And these three weren't his only enemies.
Wilson was still out there.
If he exhausted himself now, he would simply become prey for someone else later.
His eyes flicked toward the corpse of the Fire Tiger Beast.
A grin slowly appeared.
Perfect.
Stephen suddenly feinted toward Harry.
The armless swordsman instinctively retreated.
The other two rushed to protect him.
But Stephen's target had never been Harry.
His sword flashed.
The Fire Tiger Beast's head separated cleanly from its body.
Before anyone could react, Stephen grabbed it and shot backward into the forest.
Like a shadow.
Gone.
The entire sequence happened so quickly that the three disciples stood frozen for several seconds.
Then the realization hit.
The beast.
The thing they had nearly died obtaining.
Its core had just been stolen; it was, after all, the most expensive material of the beast.
"YOU BASTARD!"
The axe wielder roared so loudly that birds scattered from the trees.
The broadsword user's face twisted with fury.
They wanted to chase him.
Desperately.
But Harry was badly wounded.
Leaving him alone in the Rift was no different from abandoning him to die.
In the end, they could only watch helplessly as Stephen disappeared into the forest.
Their fists clenched so tightly that blood dripped from their palms.
"Just wait..."
The broadsword wielder growled through gritted teeth.
"You won't stay lucky forever."
The axe wielder nodded viciously.
"Young Master Wilson will kill you."
His eyes burned with hatred.
"And that girl too."
"You'll both die in this Rift."
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The remaining three chapters will be released together next time. Sorry for the inconvenience .🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️