# Chapter 33: The Strongest Tianba
As spatial fluctuations appeared, Su Xiao suddenly materialized behind a purple-robed Tianba, thrusting his blade forward.
*Pfft.*
The long knife pierced through the purple-robed Tianba's throat. Against ordinary enemies, when a vital point was pierced, their first reaction would be to grab Su Xiao's blade to prevent him from cutting open their throat.
This purple-robed Tianba was different. His first reaction was to grip the sword hilt at his waist, lift his right foot, and stomp hard against the ground.
*Dong~*
A pale blue shockwave spread outward. The purple-robed Tianba lunged forward with all his strength, trying to pull the blade embedded in his neck free.
The shockwave surged toward him. Su Xiao tightened his grip on the sword handle and slashed horizontally with full force.
*Shhhhla!* Dragon-Slaying Flash sliced through half the purple-robed Tianba's throat. Blood droplets splattered along the blade's cutting trajectory.
The purple-robed Tianba staggered a few steps before dropping to one knee. He reversed his grip on his sword, stabbing it into the ground, while his other hand clutched his spurting neck. This bastard... wasn't dead.
Earlier, Su Xiao hadn't had the chance to examine these Tianba clan members' data. After actually engaging them, he discovered these Tianba were different from the ones he'd encountered before that had been severely eroded by Source Force.
These Tianba clan members had clear minds. That meant their technique ability levels were all around Grandmaster Lv.3 to Lv.5, with elite units being even higher.
"Ee~yo!"
Three green-robed Drowning Tianba shrieked as they leaped up. Mid-air, they had already drawn their bows. The exquisite longbows were incredibly resilient, their bowstrings woven from semi-transparent fibers, slightly thin.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Arrows came flying one after another. The triangular metal arrowheads and slender shafts left no doubt about their penetrating power.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Metal clashed sharply. Su Xiao slashed three times in succession, shattering the arrows aimed at his head, heart, and abdomen.
"Woo~ya!"
A Tianba wielding a bladed spear leaped forward, thrusting straight down. Simultaneously, one arrow flew past his armpit while another passed beside his neck—all aimed at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao sidestepped to dodge, but he couldn't avoid the incoming bladed spear. He swung his long knife horizontally, the spear tip scraping against the blade.
*Zzzzzt!* Sparks erupted. The bladed spear thrust past Su Xiao's neck as he delivered a straight kick.
*Bang!*
The bladed-spear Tianba was struck in the abdomen, dropping to one knee and losing his ability to fight.
*Clang!*
Dragon-Slashing Flash struck the bladed-spear Tianba's neck but was blocked by two long knives—wielded by two purple-robed Tianba.
Blades clashed repeatedly. Just then, Su Xiao's speed suddenly increased dramatically.
*Zheng.*
Amid the chaos, a purple-robed Tianba was decapitated, falling with a thud.
What did it feel like to be surrounded by 14 enemies with Grandmaster-level technique abilities? This was it. These rational Tianba were far stronger than those driven by Source Force, but... Su Xiao was even stronger.
*'Blade Path Sword: Time.'*
*Dong~*
A shockwave spread. Everything around Su Xiao slowed down. He slowly turned sideways, dodging an incoming arrow while simultaneously executing an upward slash.
Blood splattered. The bladed-spear Tianba, who had just recovered, had his neck sliced open. Even with Dragon-Slashing Flash's current sharpness, he couldn't cut through Tianba like slicing vegetables—that required the right opportunity.
Su Xiao leaned forward and charged. Crystal layers formed on his elbows. As he surged forward, his left elbow struck forward, crashing into the bladed-spear Tianba's chin, sending him flying backward.
*Pfft. Pfft.*
Two arrows pierced through the bladed-spear Tianba's back into his body. His tough frame acted like a shield, blocking arrows for Su Xiao.
Su Xiao grabbed the bladed-spear Tianba's collar, yanking him down to shield his side. Two slashing long knives halted.
*'Blade Path: Azure Demon.'*
A forward slash. An azure-blue blade aura shot out. A Drowning-type Tianba was about to leap and shoot when the blade aura arrived, cutting across his abdomen.
*Zzz~*
Realm Severing Thread tightened. Su Xiao pulled his arm, causing the Drowning-type Tianba to lose his sense of direction. The intense pain in his abdomen made him release his bowstring.
*Bang.*
An arrow shot through the air, piercing the eye socket of a purple-robed Tianba beside Su Xiao. He had been preparing to ambush Su Xiao from the side.
Was that arrow a coincidence? No, there were no such coincidences in battle.
*'Blade Path Sword: Extreme.'*
Su Xiao slashed with full force. His blood energy gathered in front of him, erupting with a boom. The purple-robed Tianba blocking with his sword staggered backward.
*Clang! Clang! Craaack!* The purple-robed Tianba's long knife shattered. Blade light swept across his neck. Suddenly, his body went numb.
Dragon-Slashing Flash flipped in Su Xiao's hand. He reversed his grip while leaping backward, dodging four arrows and a slashing short knife.
Using the backward momentum, Su Xiao's long knife precisely pierced the chest of the purple-robed Tianba paralyzed by Azure Steel Shadow energy.
The moment Su Xiao landed, his other hand pressed against the sword pommel, pushing down hard. The blade pierced through the purple-robed Tianba's chest, directly through his heart.
Su Xiao vanished from his spot, reappearing behind two green-robed Tianba—two Drowning-type Tianba. Two consecutive slashes. As ranged fighters, Drowning-type Tianba had much weaker physical defenses.
Two headless bodies fell. Su Xiao flicked his blade. The remaining few Tianba clan members exchanged glances before all crouching low. They showed no fear, only extreme vigilance.
Su Xiao hooked his foot, kicking up a bladed spear from the ground. He gripped the spear with one hand, muscles slightly bulging across his body. Right hand holding the knife, left hand gripping the spear, he crouched nearly to the ground.
*Bang!* Su Xiao vanished from his spot. A whoosh sounded as the bladed spear swept horizontally, shattering several incoming blade auras.
*Boom!*
The bladed spear smashed down from above, mud splattering everywhere. The surrounding Tianba clan members scattered and leaped away. Su Xiao appeared before a purple-robed Tianba, his long knife slashing repeatedly.
Metal clanged, sparks flying. The purple-robed Tianba before him struggled to hold on, but he managed to block Su Xiao for a moment. Just then, a long knife slashed from Su Xiao's side.
*'Blade Path Sword: Ring Break.'*
When the battle subsided, a large section of surrounding buildings had collapsed. All 14 Tianba clan members had been slain.
Su Xiao pulled an arrow from his abdomen. Against Tianba driven by Source Force, he could handle over thirty at once. But against these clear-minded ones, each a Technique Grandmaster, facing over a dozen at once was already quite stressful.
[Prompt: You have obtained 210 Soul Coins.]
[You have obtained Ba's Soul × 42.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao wasn't surprised. In the Divine Village, each ordinary Tianba killed yielded 3 Ba's Souls, and Soul Coin rewards were also higher.
The increased Ba's Soul acquisition made Su Xiao sense the danger of [Source]. "Ba's Soul" was the product of combining a Tianba's soul with Source Force. The more eroded a Tianba, the fewer Ba's Souls obtained upon killing them. This meant [Source] eroded not only the body but also the soul, gradually fragmenting the Tianba's soul. The Tianba had a peak period, and the ones Su Xiao had just killed were at that peak.
"So... so strong."
Liu, who had been watching the entire battle, was dumbfounded. In her impression, Su Xiao was stronger than her, but she didn't know exactly how much stronger since she'd never seen him fight. Today, she witnessed it.
*Woo~*
A whistling sound came from above. A figure fell from high altitude. Just before crashing to the ground, he stepped on a bladed spear embedded in the earth.
Blue robes fluttered in the wind. A Tianba wielding a long knife appeared. His blade was nearly one and a half meters long, with ornaments tied to the end.
"How did you come to the Divine Village?"
The blue Tianba stood about three meters tall, yet he had no sense of heaviness. His blade bore indelible bloodstains. Hair at his temples was braided into thin plaits, while the rest hung loose.
Su Xiao pulled out a bottle of [Honor Recovery Potion]. He hadn't even found the Tianba's gathering place yet, and already a powerful enemy had arrived. This enemy would require risking his life to face—he was the Tianba clan's leader, the Qin Leader.
The Divine Village wasn't a game dungeon. The strongest boss wouldn't foolishly wait at the final checkpoint for players to slowly fight their way through.
Su Xiao had just entered Tianba territory, and the Tianba's strongest had already arrived, apparently with a group of underlings.
"I... can't keep you here. But she can."
The Qin Leader leaped down from the bladed spear. Just then, he suddenly turned sideways and slashed diagonally.
*Shhhhla!* A trace of blood appeared in the air. Baha appeared behind Su Xiao, his entire chest and abdomen sliced open.
"Boss, this guy is ruthless. Stronger than the clan leader."
"Mm."
Su Xiao was about to drink the [Honor Recovery Potion] when, on the distant building rooftops, Tianba clan members came leaping over. Conservatively estimated, there were several hundred, with six Tianba's auras particularly distinct. They were much weaker than the Qin Leader but far stronger than ordinary Tianba—these were elite Tianba.
Seeing this, Su Xiao turned his gaze to Liu. Liu forced a faint smile and nodded firmly.
"Boss, retreat."
"..."
Su Xiao grabbed Baha's claw. Baha flew toward the high altitude. Just moments ago, Su Xiao had spotted frostbite on an elite Tianba's body. The residual ice energy aura was definitely left by Amu.
According to the adventure group's member list, Su Xiao knew Amu wasn't dead. His vital signs were unclear, but Amu had likely been captured by the Tianba.
Baha gripped Su Xiao's arm and flew. Whistling sounds came from behind. Mid-air, Su Xiao slashed several blade auras, shattering incoming arrows.
"Woo~ya!"
Tianba clan members shrieked, leaping across building rooftops. At least several hundred Tianba were pursuing Su Xiao.
Liu stood still. She knew she couldn't escape.
A tall figure walked over, crouching before Liu. His blue pupils stared at her.
Liu's heartbeat accelerated. Suddenly, she raised her right hand from behind her back, swinging the short wooden stick in her hand.
*Dong~*
The short stick struck the Qin Leader's forehead. Facing Liu's attack, the Qin Leader didn't even feel any pain, nor did he deign to dodge.
The Qin Leader pressed his thumb against his index finger, reached toward Liu's forehead, and flicked.
*Bang!*
Liu flew straight out, crashing through a wall before collapsing unconscious in the rubble.
Seeing this, Bubu Wang, who had blended into the environment, shrank his head. That hit looked painful.
Bubu Wang didn't retreat. He needed to determine Amu's current location and where the Tianba's gathering place was. Once these were confirmed, things would be much easier to handle.