Chapter 264: Shadow Warriors

“Hurry! Retreat to the hall!”
Feng Wu Caiyi reacted swiftly. Seeing that those leading the escape were Wudang disciples and the Thirteen Stick Monks, her expression changed abruptly. Shouting orders, she leaped backward with a swift movement.
In the passage, it was difficult to leverage numerical advantages. If the pursuing ninjas were strong, a few people alone would struggle to deal with them. If there were also throwing knife ninjas behind, the situation would be even more dangerous.
So!
While Feng Wu Caiyi gave the order, the Emei Sect also reacted in kind. Over seventy people turned and ran without hesitation, speeding out of the passage and returning to the blood-stained royal tomb hall.
“Hold the line!”
The women in colorful robes and the Emei Sect members took up advantageous positions behind the coiled dragon stone pillars, drawing bows, activating their combat states, and preparing to fight.
The dense, chaotic footsteps grew louder, accompanied by occasional screams echoing from deep within the passage. This made people tense and filled them with fear of the unknown danger.
Whoosh!
A group of Wudang disciples rushed out of the passage like the wind, escaping the gaze of the members of the other two sects. Followed by the Thirteen Stick Monks of Shaolin, their faces showing some embarrassment.
They were back!
It hadn’t been long since they said goodbye to the members of the other two sects, yet they were driven back so quickly—especially in front of a group of beautiful nuns. Their faces turned red. Even Ouyang Qing, unusually, said nothing. He rushed out of the passage and quickly organized his men to form a defensive formation, looking as if facing a formidable enemy.
“What’s going on?”
Yu Cha asked a nearby Wudang disciple urgently.
One of them, with a tense and serious expression, stared at the chaotic crowd of the other three sects inside the passage and replied quickly, “It seems we encountered even stronger ninjas. Many from the three sects died. They were no match at all. We saw something was wrong from afar and ran out.”
The people from the Colorful Robes Sect and Emei Sect were stunned.
So, the Wudang and Shaolin disciples didn’t even engage the ninjas in the passage and just retreated? This…
What kind of situation was this?
The Wudang disciple seemed to notice the strange looks from those around him. His face turned red as he hurriedly explained, “We didn’t fight them, but the ninjas inside were truly formidable. A few of them were flying around on the ceiling, very agile. The leader of the Lingyin Sect was caught from behind—three slashes broke through his protective barrier… He almost died.”
“…”
Hearing this, everyone paled slightly.

The leader of the Lingyin Sect, that middle-aged man, though low-key, is quite skilled. In the royal tomb hall, he’s likely on par with the Thirteen Stick Monks and Ouyang Qing as a master fighter, and his defensive abilities are also strong…
Three slashes broke through his defenses, with a lethality comparable to top-tier hidden weapons—this must be an advanced martial art at the Mysterious Realm level!
“…Are there flying knife ninjas in there?”
The renowned nun whom Nuomi held in high regard asked Ouyang Qing.
While keeping a close eye on the entrance to the passage, he shook his head. “I don’t see any. But besides those Mysterious Realm ninjas who can climb walls, there’s also a group of black-clad ninjas wielding samurai swords. Their combat strength far exceeds that of the ordinary ninjas outside. This could turn into a fierce battle!”
As they spoke, members of the three major factions finally rushed out of the passage.
Several ninjas dressed in tight black outfits, wearing red face coverings and holding Japanese swords with yellow tassels, swarmed into the hall like butterflies among flowers. Their sword draws were swift and decisive.
With a flash of sword light, two disciples of the Lingyin Sect let out groans, staggered upward, and fell into pools of blood.
Their eyes beneath the face coverings were cruel and cold. After killing one, they immediately targeted another nearby. In an instant, those four ninjas with astonishing speed killed over a dozen people. Their speed and brutality left the members of the Colorful Robes Sect pale with fear.
“Be careful of the shadow puppets!”
“Their sword skills are formidable!”
The middle-aged leader of the Lingyin Sect shouted.
It was then that many people noticed the leader had lost an arm. He was pale, clutching his wound, and staggered backward under the protection of his sect members, moving toward a corner of the royal tomb hall.
Shadow puppets!
Was that the name of these ninjas with incredible speed?
“Tap tap tap tap…”
Just as the disciples of various sects completely evacuated the passage, over twenty ninjas, each holding a samurai sword with both hands, rushed into the royal tomb hall like a gust of wind.
The passage was now empty!
All the enemies were just four highly skilled shadow puppets and twenty-four ninjas!
These ninjas seemed clearly weaker than the shadow puppets, at only an intermediate level of the Mysterious Realm—not very difficult to deal with…
After quickly assessing the ninjas’ strength, Feng Wu of the Colorful Robes Sect said loudly, “Everyone! Each sect should focus its efforts on taking on one ‘shadow puppet,’ while the other three sects deal with the remaining ninjas.”
“Agreed!”
The Shaolin Sect was the first to respond.

When the Thirteen Stick Monks responded, they promptly formed the Demon Subduing Stick Formation, surrounding one of the “shadow warriors” that had penetrated the hall. Using a wheel-like tactics approach, dealing with these shadow warriors in the life-and-death realm shouldn’t be a problem.

As the Colorful Robes Sect spoke, they continued to use their massive frames to “tease” the enemy, drawing the attention of another “shadow warrior” by getting close.

The superior protective abilities of a master-level fighter were far stronger than those of the half-baked leader of the Lingyin Sect—just a few slashes, like scratching an itch, left Tuntun feeling no pressure at all. With a grin, he swung his Arhat Axe like a wheel and single-handedly took down one of the shadow warriors.

The Wudang Sect also managed to fend off one shadow warrior; the last one was taken care of by the Emei Sect’s young nuns, who had remained low-key until now.

As the most threatening shadow warrior was distracted, the Feihu Sect, Beggar Sect, and Lingyin Sect, which had suffered heavy losses, filled with rage, vented all their frustration on the twenty-four Xuanmiao Realm Fusang ninjas who had rushed into the hall.

The situation was quickly brought under control!

But!

Amidst this fierce chaos, a black shadow silently slipped out of the passage.

After entering the royal tomb hall, it paused briefly before quickly appearing near the group fighting the twenty-four ninjas… behind the crowd that no one had noticed.

A black Japanese sword emerged from thin air without the slightest sound!

At that moment!

A three-dimensional black shadow instantly solidified.

Vaguely, one could see its curvaceous and alluring figure, along with the warrior attire infused with Eastern Japanese style…

“Ah!” “Ah!” “Ah!”

The three Beggar Sect disciples who were focusing all their attacks on the ninjas suddenly screamed in unison as they were pulled to the ground by a powerful force, leaving gruesome wounds on their backs.

It happened so suddenly—no sword glow, no attacker, and no one noticed at all… No one even knew how the three died.

While everyone was in disbelief, another attack occurred in another direction! Three more people were killed in one strike! This time, someone finally saw the figure of the female ninja disappearing in an instant!

“Ninjutsu! Be careful!!”

The moment that clear voice rang out, the three members of the Reluctant Wolves from the relatively relaxed Colorful Robes Sect Sect twitched their ears, stretched their necks, and exchanged a strange yet surprised glance:

Has that kid arrived?!