Transcending the Nine Heavens

(TLN: originally ‘To Capture the Thieves First Capture the King’)

The first enemy that caught Chu Yang’s eyes was hidden in a layer of leaves. Only his cold and alert eyes were shown; they were devoid of any emotions.

One look at those eyes and you could tell this was a skilled and seasoned soldier! This kind of person only has one creed in life: kill the enemy and complete the task!

On the ground in front of him was a row of hidden crossbows. Each was already preloaded with ten shiny black arrows, ready to be fired.

Chu Yang carefully held his breath and advanced slowly. His body was currently hidden on a treetop. Like a silent ghost, he advanced in an extraordinary manner.

Looking down from up high, Chu Yang carefully scanned all four directions below. Nearby there were many more such shiny arrows. From the number of arrows, he guessed there were at least fifty to sixty people!

This ambush was clearly planned well ahead of time! How did the enemies know that the group would rest here? Plus, they actually buried the bow and arrows in advance?

Looking at the enemies’ hiding positions, Chu Yang could not help but frowned. They were extremely well-calculated!

From each position, they could keep watch on at least three of their companions. They can easily help each other, without fail. On the off chance that someone got discovered, they can provide support!

Only the most elite of military soldiers could come up with this plan! If he attacked anyone in the group, three others would immediately find out!

The enemies’ hiding positions not only were extremely well-covered to the outside, they also created a battle formation without any blind spots! It was impossible to quietly attack a group like this one. The only thing left to do was to fight from the inside out; there was no other way!

In the center of this formation, behind some short bushes was a vague silhouette of a person sitting very still. At first glance, this person was not special in comparison to the others, but Chu Yang recognized that this was the most important person.

This was because the place he was hiding in had at least ten people watching! For other places in the formation, there was only a maximum of five people watching. Moreover, his position was at the center; the whole thing was essentially a net of protection for him. Next to him, nestled amongst the foliage, was an extremely large piece of equipment! It was the siege crossbow.

At this moment, beyond the thick forest, the sound of manager Gao and eight other people talking were clearly heard: “…if you take Du Shi Qing and turn around, we will not pursue…” As these words fell on Chu Yang’s ears, he was a little shaken. He could already make a rough guess who these people were.

They had the siege crossbow; plus, they were very disciplined. Of course they were of military background!

Chu yang’s body continued to float in a ghostly manner as he approached the leader. Suddenly, he pushed hard with his two legs and his whole body shot down from the treetop like a lightning bolt. Like a hawk grabbing its prey, his ten fingers curled as he fiercely sprung forward!

When Chu Yang was less than a meter away from this person, the air hissed. An arrow suddenly flew toward Chu Yang. This arrow seemed to have alerted the whole group. Some thirty to forty sharp arrows flew like lightning from all directions, creating a series of violent whistling sounds in the air.

The first arrow was the real threat; the others were clearly one step too late.

Chu Yang tilted his body to one side, and the first arrow passed by his nose, missing it by about a centimeter. His hands kept their original stance as continued to fly down.

After seeing the positions of the enemies, Chu yang immediately changed his approach. He took a more aggressive initiative. He only needed the group to discover him. Along with his speed to disrupt their rhythm, he could destroy their perfect cooperation!

This was not the time to kill the enemies, but to disrupt their formation first!

Furthermore, that other person was of great importance. Capturing him was enough to destroy this ambush!

In seizing this man, he had the opportunity to finish this in one shot!

This person immediately saw Chu Yang. His eyes flashed, but he never panicked. He screamed, and his whole body jumped up. The moment he was off the ground he turned, and, with arms outstretched, shot ten arrows in Chu Yang’s direction. This was followed by a flash of a saber fiercely slashing in the direction of Chu Yang’s neck.

Chu Yang’s agile body easily avoided those ten arrows. In a flash, his right arm went forward pass the saber, and his clawed hand straightened as he palmed the nape of this powerful person. This movement was extremely fast.

The person glared at him. His eyes flashed a look of disbelief as his whole body fell down like a wooden block.

Even though this person’s reaction was very quick, but Chu Yang had momentum from falling down from up high. Plus, the other person was caught by surprise; his reaction came too late!

Chu Yang did not wait until his body touched the ground. His right hand grabbed the person’s collar and lifted him up. Chu Yang’s two feet had just touched the ground when he pushed hard, and he shot back into the air.

After he just flew up, his legs immediate pushed hard against a large tree. The large tree shook violently under his push. Leaves flew down like rain. Like an arrow, Chu Yang flew straight out of the forest. That person must have weighed almost two hundred pounds, but Chu Yang held him with his right hand as if it was nothing. His quick actions was not affected in the slightest.

Hundreds of arrows gave chase behind him, but Chu Yang was not bothered by them. He simply swayed his body a few times to avoid them. Chu Yang’s black clothes were ripped apart in the front and back, but his body did not have one scratch.

It clearly looked as if a few arrows were piercing into Chu yang’s body, but the next moment, those arrows only went through his clothes and flew out in a strange manner. Chu Yang’s silhouette did not change as he flew faster and faster!

The soldiers in hiding were clearly concerned about the fact that Chu Yang was holding that person. With each arrow, they tried their best to avoid him. In doing so, they have unwittingly helped Chu Yang’s movement as well as verification of the person’s identity!

This person was definitely not ordinary at all!

Chu Yang’s two legs successively kicked fiercely on the tree trunks. His body was like an electrical pulse flying through the thick forest. Most of the arrows that tore through the wind after him ended up in tree trunks!

After a few breaths, Chu Yang left in a blur as they were still mobilizing; as for him, he was already almost out of the thick forest!

In front of him, there was suddenly a loud roar as a few people simultaneously jumped out. They swung their sabers fiercely blocking Chu Yang’s escape.

Chu Yang’s eyes flashed as his two legs suddenly pushed hard. He was originally moving forward, but now he mysteriously flew straight up into the air by about three meters. After rising above their heads, Chu Yang continued to push against the big tree trunks and flew out like a shooting star, leaving shaking trees in his wake.

He was finally out of the forest and into the wide open fields.

The ambush party in the surroundings could no longer stay hidden. They revealed themselves as they came out from all four directions to give chase after Chu Yang. Behind the black masks, their eyes have all lost the extreme calm of earlier. They were replaced with only concern.

They had developed a very meticulous plan. The eight experts were to come out and reduce the group power. In the chaos, they would attack and kill Du Shi Qing, and disappear right afterward.

They did not plan on the appearance of this wretched, unknown boy, who shot straight into their crucial position and caught their commander. And, thus, he has wrecked their plans!

Even though they were all furious, each person was also extremely puzzled: How could this youth have penetrated the center of their tight knitted defense with such accuracy? Was it possible that he has some kind of divining ability?

With their plans fallen apart like this, how could they return?