Chapter 91

When Cody reached Han Shin's distance he was startled by Cody's sudden appearance. He has already forgotten about Cody which gives Cody a time to catch up because of the trap that was laid out. 

He plucked out the arrow that was protruding on his shoulders as he tried to dodge Cody's attack. But unfortunately, a line descended from Han Shin's body and he now had well-cut wounds on his body. A small quantity of blood gushed out from Han Shin's wounds. The cut was not that deep to affect Han Shin but it certainly made one thing clear. Cody was much more stronger than the leader. Han Shin kept retreating back as he looked towards Cody. 

The medicine that his brother had given him had already worn off which is why Cody was able to successfully hit him. If the medicine didn't wear off he would not get caught in the trap and trigger it and more importantly Cody would not be able to catch up to him. 

Han Shin thought carefully about whether to run or not as he was still in the midst of the forest. Cody was standing in front of him and was already going to slash him with his sword so needed to be careful. If he decided to turn back and run he would get slashed by Cody. He knew that although he runs fast but because the distance was not the same as before he knew that if Cody did the same as he did earlier he would get slashed in no time. Especially Cody's weapon was a little longer which will fill the gap in their distance.

And it might even be worse than before. Instead of getting wounds, he might get cut in half if he chooses to run away. He was not stronger than before he engaged in a fight in the camp because he couldn't materialize his qi in a second which means it would be hard using it in a battle. 

Before he could even materialize his qi he would already be half dead. But still, he had been practising cultivation and martial arts since he was a child. This is why he was confident with himself that he wouldn't lose to Cody.

Cody also had the same perspective as him he was confident in his ability especially in close combat which has been honed through hellish training. He was confident that no one can compare to him in close combat and that he can dominate all of his opponents. He just worried that the old man would have another trick up his sleeve. Although the man in front of him wears black and the surroundings were also dark his facial features were still exposed. He could already discern that the man in front of him was already an old man. 

This is also the reason for his worry. He has seen a cultivator and knows that the man in front of him was also a cultivator. He had remembered what his father once said that there are different stages of cultivation and he said "If you see a cultivator that is an old man. Be careful they have many tricks up their sleeve." He had already reminisced about that because Han Shin used a smoke gas which he didn't expect. Even their organization doesn't use that kind of item easily because it was expensive and it is not available in the normal market. Then another thing that made him cautious is the old man's weapon, the needles. He knew that it wasn't normal needles and in this kind of environment if the old man sneaked into an attack it would be very hard to notice and defend against it. 

The darkness of the surroundings give an advantage to Han Shin especially his main weapon is his needles and it was so small that it would be very hard to notice it if he put an effort in executing the attack. 

Han Shin immediately pulled out countless needles from the box that was hidden inside his torso. He put one needle in every gap of his fingers as he clenched one of his fists and positioned it in his side. Then the other hand was open and placed into a half praying position and raised it in front of his chin.

While doing so he took a step forward as he bent his knees. The final position he displayed was like a martial artist in a movie. He waited for Cody to attack as he kept the needles in every gap of his finger. Han Shin did that in just a little bit of time because he knew Cody was not so generous as to wait for his opponent to finish its preparation.

After slashing his sword Cody didn't stop for a minute as he rotated his sword and a dash of silver-lined formed under the reflection of the moonlight. Cody held the katana like he was holding a dagger in reverse. Then he pulled out his combat knife again on his other hand. After doing so he rushed forward then swung the sword forward and vertically like he formed a hook punch. And as he did so, Han Shin raised his elbow while his palm was still in front of his chin. His elbow touched the side of the sword that was still in the middle of the air ready to slice him up. He used force as he went with the flow of the sword and used his elbow to change the trajectory of the incoming sword. 

The sword's direction went upwards a little and as it still descended towards Han Shin. Han Shin lowered his head and his body moved sideways as if he was going to charge a punch. His palm had changed its position and instead of being vertical it now became horizontal like it was ready to chop like a knife.

After Cody his sword he directly crouched down and rotated his body as he jumped three hundred sixty degrees in the air. He stretched out one of his legs and was ready to kick Han Shin using one of his legs. 

Han Shin's hand went like a bullet and directly shot his hand horizontally as it was going to grab Cody's foot. Then as he did a silver needle also came out between the thumb and index finger of Han Shin's hand that was an open palm. 

Cody immediately placed his sword in front of him and blocked the incoming needles. Until his feet that were going towards Han Shin's direction were grabbed by him. Because he was in the air Han Shin's force was better but it still continued to descend as Han Shin couldn't easily stop his attack using only one hand. 

Han Shin didn't plan to stop it from the start but he wanted to counterattack. He pulled Han Shin's feet towards him and then used his other hand which was clenched into a fist shot towards Cody's feet. Cody was not entitled as the strongest in his group just for a show but it means that he really is the strongest one. 

His hands move and it almost forms an afterimage. The sword that was in front of him moved under the moonlight as it formed a silver line that curved towards Han Shin's hand. The movement was as fast as lightning and it went through Han Shin's hand. 

Han Shin was startled once again; he would have never expected that Cody could move that fast. He had lost sensation in his fingers and knew that his hands were cut off. Because of his strong personality, his fist continued to travel and it naturally connected in Cody's foot. 

Creaak**

Creaking bones resounded as Cody's bones broke apart. He was pushed away in the air by Han Shin but it didn't stop because Han Shin raised his foot and rotated his body as he kicked Cody. Cody blocked the attack once again using his sword. He has pushed away more than a few meters.

Blood gushed out of Han Shin's wrist who was missing the other part. It was cut by Cody which he didn't expect. He didn't want to stay any longer because he would lose blood and if not he would lose energy. And after losing energy he might not be able to continue fighting. He hurriedly ran towards the dense forest but this time he was more cautious towards the forest. There might be some traps hidden and waiting for him so he prepared to stay cautious.

As he was going to run a shuriken shot from a distance and went towards him. The shuriken was fast and Han Shin almost couldn't dodge it in time. He looked towards the sword and saw that the man was the second in command which means the leader was now him. He looked at his side and found out that the smoke was now losing its effect so he increased his pace even more afraid to get caught.