24 Completely Losing I (2/2)

One of the three, the one who didn't seem to share familiar bonds with the others, took out a few paper talismans from his bag of holding.

The leader of the group took out a short dagger that looked about a thousand times sharper than Shin Sumi's Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.

The last one simply rolled his shoulder muscles. He was the youngest of the three but the bulkiest, and gave the impression that he could crush Shin Sumi's skull with just one hand.

In a split second, they all attacked. It showed that they had been working together for quite a long time, their coordination being on point. Thankfully Shin Sumi had good reflexes and evaded the first salvo.

She jumped sideways towards the guy with the paper talismans. Her first instinct had been to get away from the sharp dagger and the bulging muscles.

Whiiiiish.

A paper talisman flew in a straight line past her shoulder. Pure luck was the reason why their trajectories hadn't intersected.

It was the first time Shin Sumi had witnessed let alone heard about the use of paper talismans in a fight. The only example she had was Jun Qian the yellow robed disciple and his speed talisman. Other than that she had no idea what they could be used for.

The talisman flew fast and reached a nearby tree. A deafening explosion of white flames occured. Anyone who had blinked would have missed the impact.

Shin Sumi didn't allow herself to be startled as she wasn't out of danger at all, and refused to think about what might have occured, had she not evaded the talisman.

The tree fell on to its side, water from the swamp splashing and half extinguishing the white flames.

The heart in Shin Sumi's chest was beating furiously fast. She was on the verge of losing it and relied only on instinct. She wanted to cry, to apologize, to run away, to abandon the Immortal world.

She never asked for all that! She had gone to the training grounds simply for that, training. A life or death situation was too much for her to handle.

For half an incense stick worth of time she continuously evaded the attacks of her three opponent. The boys were getting more furious by the second but she kept evading them.

Shin Sumi discovered at the same time as them how her body was unpredictably powerful and nimble. The second her feet were on the ground she was ready to leap again, evading another salvo.

But she knew she couldn't keep on doing that forever, besides every time she would try to get away from them, a paper talisman would fly out of nowhere and prevent her from leaving the area.

Shin Sumi had no idea what to do. She couldn't think straight and the only thing that went through her mind was ”I am going to die here.”

And then she snapped.

The change was so sudden that even she didn't realize it. At some point she simply stopped evading. Luckily the boys slowed down their attacks. When the prey had given up, what use would it be to keep on attacking?

After all she was cornered, surrounded, and even though she was fast, the three boys still believed she wasn't strong.

The fight was decided.

The first to get Shin Sumi into his reach was the youngest, Chao Ru. Mustering all his strength into one punch, he swiftly got closer to her.

As the first was about to reach her face, Shin Sumi lifted the Gold Tyran Flying Sword in front of her.

The impact made Shin Sumi jump backwards, but even more so it made Chao Ru's hand vibrate with a deep pain.

”AAAAAaaaaaah” cried the boy loudly. He held his right hand in his left. At least two of his fingers must have been broken by the impact.

The sword may have been only a dull piece of metal, but it was still stronger than any bone a Honorary Disciple had in their body.

Shin Sumi tumbled on her back. Either she didn't realize what she had done to Chao Ru, or due to the state she was in she didn't pay it any attention, but she immediately got up.

She had been projected towards the guy wielding the paper talismans.

Without a second of hesitation, Shin Sumi lifted the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword above her head and slammed it down on the poor disciple's.

All of this takes some time to describe, but since the moment Chao Ru attacked her, not one second had passed and the paper talisman disciple was floored, his ears buzzing and his consciousness on the verge of dissipating.

Shin Sumi battered him a few more times until her instinct reacted to a movement behind her.

She was like a lost animal, hungry and hurt. Instinct and survival were the only things that mattered.

Wielding the broken sword once again, she faced the third attacker.

”I'm gonna skin you alive you b*tch” said Chao Long. In his hands, the dagger turned and turned again, a proof of his dexterity.

But Shin Sumi was in no condition to analyse the movement of the blade to know from which angle he would attack. She was brandishing the bronze colored sword and swatting at the air in front of her.

It looked a bit ridiculous, this weak looking girl with a big piece of junk metal turning incoherently. The effect was working though. Due to her large movements with the heavy blade, Chao Long had no way to get close.

”WAAAAH!”

A sudden cry from deep inside Shin Sumi's throat swelled up as she jumped into offensive. It was so surprising that Chao Long couldn't even react to it.

Bonk!

His fall was maybe the most pitiful of the three. The middle of his forehead caved in as Shin Sumi bludgeonned him.

As if she wasn't aware of what she was doing, she kept hitting and crying until his head turned into a bloody pulp. Her terrified expression never left her face, distorting her mouth and eyes.

Only when all movement had stopped did she turn to the other two disciples.

The passed out paper talisman guy was jolted awake by the breaking of his leg under the massive sword, only to lose consciousness once again. He was on the verge of death when the crazed Shin Sumi turned to the third guy, Chao Ru.

Chao Ru was the first to suffer in the three-on-one fight, but also the one to suffer the less.

His hand had swelled up considerably and it would surely take weeks if not months to heal, even with Elder Zhu's medicinal assistance.

But of course that was only if he could escape his current predicament. Tears were falling down his cheeks, snot dripping from his nose and a foul smell seemed to come from under him as he tried to crawl away unnoticed.

Shin Sumi hit him square on the back of the head, her berserk attitude still not dissipating. She too was crying, although she didn't really know why. She didn't really know anything.

She was panting, one knee on the ground, propped up on the heavy sword when she regained a bit of clarity in her mind.

”What was going on?” she asked herself.

She felt incomparably exhausted, mentally and physically. Her hands were covered in blood and her arm muscles were sore.

She cried some more for an unknown period of time, curled into a ball without daring to look around her even once.

When she finally moved, it was to crawl towards the water of the swamp to wash away the blood on her hands. She still was in a state of big shock and couldn't believe what she had done.

It was only when one was at their lowest that they could find the strength to rebel like she did.

She had come out unscathed at the end, but with the price of two human lives, maybe three.

She eventually found the strength to turn around after a long time, only to vomit all the content of her stomach in the bloody mud of the swamp the next instant.

She wanted to leave, to get far away, to find the comfort of her small courtyard but her legs would not listen to her.

The little nut was releasing healing waves in the swamp water around her but with no effect. What she felt was not physical pain.

For a second she thought about Xiao Yue's words. Experience.

A dry and nervous laugh found its way through Shin Sumi's throat as she realized what experience she just acquired.

It was only a while after that a vibration in her bag of holding suddenly jolted her awake.

She took out the piece of jade with the word 'green' inscribed on it and poured some divine sense into it.

”Disciple Shin Sumi, you are requested by Elder Zhu for a private audience. Please come to the Affairs Pavilion before the end of the day.”