Zhao Tian watched as the group of bandits closed in on them, their faces twisted with a mixture of greed and arrogance.


    A lightning charge began crackling around him, arcs of blue lightning dancing across his skin.


    His gaze locked onto the remaining bandits... six of them, all wielding various elemental energies, and his grip tightened on the sword.


    *thosh* Then, in a single, explosive burst of energy, Zhao Tian vanished.


    The bandits barely had time to register his movement and in the next instant he was standing still, and the next, there was a sh of blue light as he shot forward, faster than any of them could react.


    *crack* *woosh* The crackle of lightning echoed through the air as he reappeared right in the middle of their group, his sword drawn, crackling with lightning energy.


    *sleesh* With a swift motion, Zhao Tian''s sword shed through the air, leaving a trail of electric blue in its trial.


    The closest bandit, a wind elemental user who had just raised his sword to defend, was too slow.


    *woosh* *crack* Lightning surged through his body the moment Zhao Tian''s de connected with his chest, the sharp edge slicing clean through his armor as if it were paper.


    "AAARGHHHHHHHH!" The bandit''s body convulsed violently, his eyes wide with terror as lightning coursed through him.


    *thud* In an instant, his body copsed to the ground, smoking and lifeless.


    As the others began to react, drawing their weapons or gathering astral energy in a desperate attempt to fight back, he was already moving again.


    *thoom* Lightning crackled in the air, enveloping Zhao Tian as he dashed toward the next opponent, a fire elemental user who had summoned a wall of mes in ast-ditch effort to stop him.


    The heat from the fire would have scorched any other cultivator, but Zhao Tian''s body was wreathed in lightning, the energy forming a protective barrier around him.


    Clicking his tongue in annoyance, the fire user hurled a massive fireball toward Zhao Tian, the mes roaring as they shot through the air.


    He leaped into the air, his entire body pulsing with lightning energy.


    The fireball exploded beneath him, missing its target entirely.


    As Zhao Tian came down from his leap, he raised his sword high, lightning gathering around the de until it hummed with lightning energy.


    *sleesh* The de cut through the fire user''s neck in one clean motion, lightning surging into his body.


    "GUAARGHHH!" The man''s eyes rolled back, and his body crumpled to the ground before the fire even had a chance to extinguish itself.


    The other bandits, witnessing the carnage, finally realized the true extent of the danger they were in.


    But it was toote. Zhao Tian was already upon them.


    The next bandit, an earth elemental user, mmed his hands into the ground, causing a wave of stone spikes to erupt from the earth, aiming to impale Zhao Tian.


    Zhao Tian smiled as he zigzagged between the spikes, moving with lightning speed.


    The earth elemental user''s eyes widened in panic as Zhao Tian closed the distance in the blink of an eye.


    He tried to summon another wave of earth to shield himself, but Zhao Tian was already too close.


    *sleesh* His sword shed once more, and in the same instant, the man''s arm was severed at the elbow, lightning crackling through the wound.


    "AAARGHH!" The bandit let out a scream, falling to his knees as blood poured from the stump of his arm.


    With a final, swift motion, Zhao Tian drove his sword through the bandit''s chest, lightning surging into his heart and silencing his screams for good.


    Zhao Tian pulled his sword free, the bandit''s body copsing at his feet.


    Only two bandits remained now... a wind elemental user and a fire elemental user.


    They nced at each other, fear clear in their eyes.


    They had already seen how futile it was to try and fight him head-on.


    But still, they couldn''t back down.


    With a roar, the wind elemental user summoned a powerful gust of wind, sending a barrage of cutting wind des toward Zhao Tian.


    At the same time, the fire user gathered all his remaining energy, mes bursting from his hands as he prepared to unleash one final, desperate attack.


    *flick* As Zhao Tian dashed forward, his sword coated with lightning energy shed through the barrage of wind shes and appeared in front of the bandit.


    *flick* As the souls of the dead bodies came to him one by one, he shed his sword, taking the bandit''s head in one slice.


    The bandit''s head separated cleanly from his body, a look of shock still frozen on his face as his head tumbled through the air.


    *boom* The ground trembled as thest surviving bandit, eyes wide with terror, made a desperate move to escape.


    He channeled thest of his astral energy, roaring in fear and anger, as a massive fireball erupted from his hands.


    The mes exploded behind him as he dashed away, sending waves of heat rippling through the forest.


    The bandit''s figure blurred as he sprinted down the mountain slope, his mes scorching the trees in his path.


    He had no intention of staying to fight; his only hope was to survive.


    With a sharp breath, Li Xueyan drew water from the moisture in the air, forming two long, whips that crackled with astral energy.


    She swung them in a wide arc, the whips slicing through the air with deadly precision.


    The bandit barely had time to raise his weapon before the water whip coiled around his throat, tightening like a noose.


    "GAARGH!" His eyes bulged as he wed at the whip, gasping for breath, but Li Xueyan showed no mercy.


    With a swift tug, she yanked him off his feet, sending him crashing into the ground with bone-crunching force.


    The bandity there, lifeless, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.


    The water whip receded from his body as Li Xueyan flicked her wrist once more, and the liquid dissolved into the air, returning to its original state.


    Her gaze flickered, scanning the battlefield with satisfaction... until she spotted one final bandit still alive, attempting to run away.


    Li Xueyan''s hand moved, ready to summon another water whip to finish him off, but before she could act, Zhao Tian gently caught her wrist.


    "Xueyan wait..."


    Li Xueyan was startled and asked "Tian.. why did you let him go?"


    He softly pulled her closer and muttered "He will surely run to his hideout to tell about this to his leader, so we can just follow him."


    Oh... Li Xueyan was quite amused and then nced at Zhao Tian, up to down "Nothing happened to you, right Tian?"


    With a chuckle, he hugged her waist as she instinctively ced her hands on his shoulders "No, I''m perfectly fine," he said softly, his breath brushing against her ear. "How about you?"


    Li Xueyan rxed in his arms, her tension easing as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I''m okay…" she murmured, her voice trailing off as her body leaned into his warmth.


    A dark glint passed through Zhao Tian''s eyes as the dark energy swirled around the remaining bodies, pulling the soul out of them for Zhao Tian to feat upon.


    Zhao Tian''s hand trembled slightly, a small surge of dark energy crackling at his fingertips.


    Just then, Li Xueyan shifted in his arms, her gaze moving toward the bodies of the fallen bandits.


    Her eyes narrowed slightly, sensing something unusual in the air.


    As Li Xueyan turned her head to look at the bodies, Zhao Tian gently sped her chin and ced her head again on her shoulder, cing a kiss on her head to distract her.


    *gasp* Li Xueyan was startled by his kiss on her head and closed her eyes in the warmth of his arms.


    Meanwhile, Zhao Tian smiled wryly ''If I hadn''t done that, she would have seen the soul getting absorbed.''


    -----------------------------------------------------


    I hope you guys liked this chapter!