Chapter 3834 — Interception from Front and Rear

Yu Jiang paused at the words, cast a deep glance at Wei Zhao's receding figure, then nodded and turned without a moment's hesitation toward the other direction.

He could not guess which way Wei Zhao would run next, but for Yu Jiang it hardly mattered—he need only take a shortcut and reach any one of the exits ahead of time.

If he managed to block the boy, so much the better; and if he chose wrong, that was no great matter either. With his master Nan Tianyong in person on the boy's heels, this "Lin Er" could not possibly escape—it would merely cost a little more time. Nothing more than that.

Sensing that the two men behind him had split up, Wei Zhao's heart tightened. That he could keep his speed and stay ahead of Nan Tianyong was due entirely to the obstruction of the crowd—but at the same time, this carried its own drawback.

In a secluded place, it would not have mattered much even if his pursuers split up, for Wei Zhao could rely on his instincts to easily track their movements. But here, in a crowded, clamorous market street, while bearing the immense pressure Nan Tianyong exerted, to also try to keep watch on Yu Jiang's position was simply unrealistic.

Gritting his teeth, Wei Zhao at last did not divide his attention to deal with Yu Jiang, and focused wholly on shaking off Nan Tianyong behind him.

He knew full well what the man intended, and knew precisely what threat it posed: once his enemy guessed the direction of his flight, what awaited him next would inevitably be a pincer attack from front and rear.

After their last exchange, Wei Zhao no longer feared Yu Jiang in the slightest one-on-one; but the man was, after all, an expert of the mid Foundation Establishment stage, a grade above him, and in a short span he would have no trouble at all entangling him.

And once delayed even a little, only one fate awaited Wei Zhao: death with no place to be buried.

After all, Nan Tianyong's strength at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage was no empty boast. Let the distance between them close even slightly, and he was already a dead man—of this, Wei Zhao was keenly aware.

Yet for this very reason, Wei Zhao had no leisure at all to spare for Yu Jiang. Compared with such an unknown risk, the solid, present threat of Nan Tianyong behind him was far more terrible and far more lethal.

"But even guarding against him alone with all my strength—this Nan Tianyong really is a hard one to shake!" Seizing a gap amid the obstructing crowds, Wei Zhao stole a glance behind him, and his heart tightened once more.

The lead he had just won by that **acupoint true-qi technique had been forcibly whittled away—the distance recovered was very limited, but recovered it was, and of that there could be no doubt!

For all that Wei Zhao's Butterfly Steps and Wind-Chasing Lightning Boots, sheltered by the throng, had been driven to their utmost, he still could not outpace the man.

Even a layman could see that Nan Tianyong was simply not the type built for speed; yet beneath so vast and悬殊 a gap in rank, his speed was still far beyond what Wei Zhao, an expert at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage, could match.

At that thought, Wei Zhao felt another surge of relief. Thank heavens this was a crowded market street—were it not for the fear of the experts mingled among the crowd, the fellow would surely have caught up long ago!

By Nan Tianyong's domineering temper, had any ordinary man dared to block his path like this, he would long since have begun a slaughter and carved his way straight through. Then, even with his Butterfly Steps, Wei Zhao could never have kept from being caught.

A pity this was no common thoroughfare, but a market street reserved for cultivators. Those passing by might be Heaven Tier experts, might be Foundation Establishment experts, and might even be top-tier experts above the Foundation Establishment stage.

So even with his strength at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, even with a temper however fiery and overbearing, Nan Tianyong dared not erupt in such a place. Should he provoke the fury of the crowd—or worse, draw out some great figure hidden among them—then never mind hunting Wei Zhao; he himself would be the first to die here!

Yet even though he dared not unleash his full speed for fear of the crowd, Nan Tianyong still used his absolute advantage in speed to claw back the gap little by little. Delay much longer, and who knew when he would be caught!

"Looks like I must finish this quickly!" The thought stirred in Wei Zhao—not only because he would be overtaken at this rate, but more crucially because the thing coalescing in his palm had begun to stir restlessly. Hold it forcibly in hand too long, and it would spell real trouble.

After a brief survey of his bearings, Wei Zhao, under cover of the crowd, without the slightest hesitation dashed at random toward one of the market exits.

His figure swift as a ghost, flickering in and out among the flowing crowd, Wei Zhao soon reached the exit—only to find, to his astonishment, a familiar figure already waiting there: Yu Jiang.

"Didn't expect that, did you? Even Heaven won't help you—you really are out of luck!" Yu Jiang came forward to meet him, his face split in a hideous grin.

The outer and middle streets of the market had four exits in all. Even if the pressure of Nan Tianyong on his heels was too great for Wei Zhao to choose any exit at will, he still had at least two or more options; and since Yu Jiang had taken a shortcut to arrive early, he could not have known Wei Zhao's choice—still less changed his own position midway.

So even Yu Jiang himself had little confidence in blocking Wei Zhao—after all, the odds of guessing right were really quite small. As for Wei Zhao, he too harbored no great worry on that score, his attention fixed entirely on Nan Tianyong behind him.

Yet the scene no one could have foreseen unfolded just the same: Yu Jiang had guessed the exit aright, and what Wei Zhao now faced was a dead end—caught between front and rear!

After that relentless pursuit, Nan Tianyong was now only five zhang behind Wei Zhao—a distance that, for an expert at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, was all but within arm's reach.

If Yu Jiang ahead delayed him even a little, Wei Zhao was doomed beyond doubt. After all, this was not like that instant when he had stepped out of the inner street; Nan Tianyong behind him had already launched himself at full speed, and should Wei Zhao's pace slacken even slightly, then never mind shaking the man off as he had before—the only outcome would be a palm strike that killed him outright.

And for Yu Jiang, an expert of the mid Foundation Establishment stage, even though last time he had come shamefully close to being killed by Wei Zhao, if all he need do was hinder the boy for a moment, that was simplicity itself.

In an instant his aura surged to its peak, and a keen sword-qi gathered at his fingertips. From the look of it, Yu Jiang intended far more than a mere delay—he was in earnest about running Wei Zhao through with a single sword to vent the hatred in his heart! (Fourth update! The new server of the school-belle mobile game *Cloud-Tier Isle* is open; henceforth each new server shall be named after a school belle—reply on WeChat yuren22, and the belle whose name appears most often shall give the server its name. Also, the launch of *Cloud-Tier Isle* will bring generous perks to readers~) RS