The Record of Slaying Demons

Helian Wu's counterattack came extremely quickly. Tie hope thought this attack would surely leave the boy with a bloody head, but to his surprise, Helian Wu was able to turn in mid-air and launch a counterattack. The three cold stars came too suddenly, and he could not dodge them. He raised his hand to shield his eyes.

With a "whoosh," the three cold stars simultaneously burrowed into Tie hope's arm; they were three small short swords.

These short swords were only as thick as a finger and roughly the same length. Helian Wu was overjoyed to see his counterattack succeed and shouted, "Surrender!" He had spent over ten years honing his skills with these three short swords, knowing that a single blow to the enemy would cripple his arm. His first strike had been successful, and his pride was beyond words.

No sooner had he uttered a cry than Tie hope suddenly raised his head and pulled the three short swords from his arm with his left hand. These three swords were deeply embedded in his flesh, but he pulled them out as if they were three thin thorns, as if nothing had happened. His eyes, however, turned from blue to red, filled with a chilling light. Helian Wu met his gaze and felt a chill run down his spine, thinking, "How can he be alright?"

Tie hope pulled out three short swords, suddenly crouched down, slapped the ground with his right hand, and leaped into the air, reaching a height of over ten feet. The second floor was originally only about ten feet high, but Tie Xi's leap allowed him to jump even higher than Helian Wu, though the distance was still about ten feet. Helian Wu felt relieved, but then Tie Xi suddenly turned in mid-air and charged straight at Helian Wu, who was clinging to the railing, grabbing at his forehead with one hand.

Tie hope's hands were still stained with blood, and his fingernails were extremely long and sharp as knives. He was extending his right arm, the one that had just been stabbed, but there wasn't a single scratch on it.

Helian Wu hadn't expected Tie hope to be able to come across horizontally in mid-air, and he recoiled in fright. Though small in stature and extremely agile, he still couldn't completely dodge Tie Xi's grabbing arm. Tie Xi's fingers grazed his ear, leaving two scratches on his earlobe, from which blood immediately flowed. Although the injury was minor, the pain was like a sharp needle made of lightning, piercing straight to his heart. Helian Wu cried out in pain, already lying flat on the floor. In his heart, he lamented, "An eighty-year-old mother, yet she's dragging her child down! This is terrible!" These were words Helian Chifenruo had told him; in this moment of crisis, he even had time to think of such things.

Tie Xi's body seemed to be suspended in mid-air. His first grab missed Helian Wu, yet he didn't fall. He reached for Helian Wu again in mid-air. Helian Wu lay on the ground, unable to move, only feeling a gust of wind carrying the stench of blood. Tie Xi's fingers were like iron hooks; this grab would surely rip open his abdomen, spilling his intestines. But it was too late; there was no way to save him.

He closed his eyes, but felt a sudden tightening on his shoulders, and his body was abruptly pulled back. He heard someone shout something, and two dark figures rushed out from either side of him. The voice was strange, unlike any Central Plains accent, and the two men were most likely of mixed Chinese descent. Then, a "thud" sounded between his legs, as Tie hope's grabbing struck empty air, his fingers sinking into the floorboards.

Having narrowly escaped death, Helian Wu silently chanted, "Amitabha, Namo Amitabha, I will never dare to be so careless again." He was so frightened that he forgot to open his eyes, only hearing a continuous clanging sound, like metal striking metal. He wondered, "Does that thief still have weapons?"

He opened his eyes, only to be taken aback. Tie Xi was still in mid-air, yet seemed to be firmly planted on the ground, completely still, with two dark figures circling him. Both wielded swords; one's sword was extremely broad, while the other's was as thin as a steel needle. The two continued to circle Tie Xi, their swords constantly striking him, but Tie hope, unarmed, blocked with his bare hands. The clash of swords produced the sound of metal clashing against metal.

Helian Wu was dumbfounded, thinking to himself, "This thief is incredibly skilled! What kind of lightness skill is this? How can he levitate in the air? But if his lightness skill is so high, he also knows the Iron Shirt and Golden Bell Cover techniques!"

Although Helian Wu had never practiced the Iron Shirt or the Thirteen Bodyguards' external martial arts, he knew these were the pinnacle of external martial arts, but they were incompatible with lightness skills; anyone who practiced this style would inevitably have poor lightness skills. However, this thief possessed both, and both were incredibly skillful. He was awestruck and amazed. Most astonishingly, the two men surrounding the thief also possessed such superb lightness skills. He was secretly disappointed, thinking, "The martial arts of t

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