Chapter 39: Crus.h.i.+ng….
“Chen Fei?” Bai Xiaochun blurted, blinking. He quickly scanned Chen Fei and his two friends, and after determining the level of their cultivation bases, immediately relaxed.
“Bai Xiaochun, even if you drop to the ground and beg for mercy, it’s too late. It was your idea to force us into the Outer Sect, and you’re going to pay for that. I, Chen Fei, have been waiting for this day for a long, long time!” Laughing loudly, Chen Fei waved his right hand, unleas.h.i.+ng the power of the fifth level of Qi Condensation. Numerous leaves were swept up into the air as a result, making for a very impressive scene.
“After joining the Outer Sect, I spent the entire time practicing cultivation, and now I’m in the fifth level of Qi Condensation. Let me tell you, Bai Xiaochun. Today you will truly understand what it means to be bullied. Your bones are going to be broken and your tendons severed!”
Laughing with complacent arrogance, Chen Fei performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing a green flying sword to appear. It was only about 15 centimeters long, but radiated a cold, ancient air.
As for Chen Fei’s two friends who had flanked Bai Xiaochun, they smiled viciously as they unleashed their cultivation bases and produced their own flying swords.
Considering they had him surrounded, and outnumbered him three to one, they were completely confident that they could crush Bai Xiaochun. That was especially true after their own a.n.a.lysis led them to the conclusion that Bai Xiaochun had never fully mastered Lightness-in-Heaviness like they originally thought he had.
“You would have been safe if you had never left the mountain. But here you are, outside the sect. And now you will understand the great price to be paid for the error of your ways!” Chen Fei felt a little better after having vented in this way, although anger still burned within him.
“Aren’t the three of you afraid of violating sect rules by ambus.h.i.+ng me here?” Bai Xiaochun asked, genuinely curious.
“Sect rules? Hahaha! We’re outside the sect right now. Plus, you don’t measure up to us at all in skill. No one’s going to blame us for breaking a few bones and severing some tendons. At the worst, we’ll have to make some apologies, and then the whole matter will be over with.” Chen Fei laughed proudly, imagining the image of Bai Xiaochun smas.h.i.+ng into the ground. He was even preparing some good taunts to use after beating him down.
However, when he noticed how calm Bai Xiaochun was acting, he suddenly realized that something wasn’t right. Despite being surrounded on three sides, Bai Xiaochun’s expression hadn’t changed at all, and in fact, he seemed to find the situation somewhat odd.
Looking like a master cultivator, Bai Xiaochun proudly said, “Oh, so that’s how it is. Well in that case I feel a lot better.”
Chen Fei’s pupils constricted, and he felt even more ill at ease. However, now was not the time for pondering the situation.
“Attack!” he barked, performing an incantation gesture to send his flying sword shooting toward Bai Xiaochun. At the same time, his two friends also performed incantation gestures and sent their flying swords into action.
Three flying swords were bearing down on Bai Xiaochun, who suddenly smiled. He didn’t even produce a magical item; he simply stepped backward. To the eyes of Chen Fei and his friends, Bai Xiaochun just seemed to vanish into thin air.
When he reappeared, he was right next to one of the burly men in the fourth level of Qi Condensation. The man’s eyes went wide, but before he could do anything, Bai Xiaochun clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out.
The fist moved with incredible speed, landing on the man’s neck with a boom. The man’s entire body was shaken, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood as he bent over backward. It was as if some ma.s.sive object had slammed into him; he immediately flipped head over heels, slamming into a nearby tree.
The tree shuddered, and the man coughed up some more blood, then collapsed, unconscious.
This sudden development left the man’s companion staring at Bai Xiaochun in complete shock. His mind felt as if it were being struck by countless bolts of lighting. Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have imagined that Bai Xiaochun… could possibly move so fast, or unleash such astonis.h.i.+ng power.
Chen Fei’s face fell, and he gasped. Without even thinking about it, he backed up, looking at Bai Xiaochun in disbelief.
“You….”
“Too weak,” Bai Xiaochun said, looking like a profound master, alone in the world, unable to find a worthy opponent. Sighing, he took a step forward, appearing directly in front of the other fourth level Qi Condensation cultivator.
The burly man let out a maddened shout, causing cultivation base power to surge wildly, sending the flying sword slas.h.i.+ng toward Bai Xiaochun at top speed. However, because of the Undying Live Forever Technique, and his Undying Iron Skin, Bai Xiaochun’s fleshly body had reached a shocking level. He easily sidestepped the sword, then once again punched out with his right fist.
A boom rang out, and the man let out a miserable shriek. Blood sprayed everywhere as he was sent spinning backward. There was no tree for him to run into, so he landed about thirty meters away, his internal organs vibrating painfully. He couldn’t even get back to his feet; he just lay there, seemingly struggling to hold on to life.
“Too weak,” Bai Xiaochun said, shaking his head. Then he looked back at the trembling Chen Fei.
“Y-you… you….” Chen Fei’s mind was spinning, and he suddenly felt like a complete fool. He had absolutely no confidence in being able to win now; Bai Xiaochun had suddenly transformed into something like a wild beast.
Two fist attacks had easily knocked out his two friends; that in itself required an incomprehensible amount of power. Subconsciously swallowing, Chen Fei backed away; he had no desire to keep fighting, and the only thing he could think about now was to flee.
Before he could get very far, though, Bai Xiaochun flew forward at top speed, hand clenched into a fist which sped toward Chen Fei. Before it could land, a flas.h.i.+ng light appeared in front of Chen Fei, and a little s.h.i.+eld materialized, which met Bai Xiaochun’s fist.
The resulting boom caused Bai Xiaochun to sigh. He s.h.i.+vered slightly, but at the same time, the s.h.i.+eld trembled, and it was sent spinning off to the side, its spiritual energy fading rapidly.
Chen Fei was now scared out of his mind. He had spent quite a few merit points on that s.h.i.+eld, and it should have been able to hold out for a while even against the sixth level of Qi Condensation. And yet, Bai Xiaochun had severed his connection with it in a single blow.
“Bai Xiaochun, y-you… you push things too far!!” he shrieked.
“Hmph! Let me tell you, today you will truly understand what it means to be bullied. Your bones are going to be broken and your tendons severed!” Bai Xiaochun was happier than ever to see the terror in Chen Fei’s eyes. He would never give up an amazing chance like this. Furthermore, he didn’t just repeat Chen Fei’s words, he also unleashed his cultivation base, allowing the power of the sixth level of Qi Condensation to erupt out. A huge wind swept up, sending his hair flying about, and his energy soaring.
“Sixth level of Qi Condensation….” Chen Fei gasped, his eyes bulging and his scalp tingling in fear. He staggered backward as Bai Xiaochun closed in with another punch. This time, there was nothing he could do to block it, and the fist slammed into him.
Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he flew backward, his entire body vibrating. A miserable shriek rang out. It didn’t matter that he was as broad-shouldered as a bear and a tough-looking as a lion, or that he was in the fifth level of Qi Condensation. He was now going all-out to escape, heart filled with intense bitterness, rueing his decision to try to ambush Bai Xiaochun… in a place so far away from the sect.
However, Bai Xiaochun was chasing after him like a wild beast, causing Chen Fei to shriek, “Bai Xiaochun, aren’t you afraid of violating sect rules!?!?”
Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat, then repeated Chen Fei’s own words. “Sect rules? Hahaha! We’re outside of the sect right now. Plus, you don’t measure up to me at all in skill. No one’s going to blame me for breaking a few bones and severing a few tendons. At the worst, I’ll have to make some apologies, and then the whole matter will be over with.” Then he kicked out with his foot.
That kick sent Chen Fei flying up into the air, where he once again coughed up a mouthful of blood. A look of despair appeared on his face, and he screamed. However, before he could even land on the ground, Bai Xiaochun began to batter him with more punches and kicks.
Chen Fei was terrified, and couldn’t stop screaming. Soon, he was completely swollen from head to toe, and his screams were weakening.
His bones were broken, his tendons severed, and his face ashen. He soon lay there, numb and staring at Bai Xiaochun in complete horror.
Although Bai Xiaochun was pure, fair and somewhat skinny, what Chen Fei saw was a vicious beast disguised in human skin. That was even more so the case when Chen Fei realized that Bai Xiaochun hadn’t even used any magical items. He had only relied on the terrifying strength of his own body to crush him.
Off in the distance, the two burly men in the fourth level of Qi Condensation regained consciousness, and when they saw what was happening, their scalps went numb and their hearts began to pound. They immediately pretended to go unconscious again, not daring to move lest they attract the attention of Bai Xiaochun.
Seeing that Chen Fei was gasping for breath, Bai Xiaochun finally lost interest. He settled his spiritual energy, then emptied their bags of holding and also took the little s.h.i.+eld. Humming a little tune, he continued on his way down the path.
As he watched Bai Xiaochun leaving, Chen Fei wanted to cry, but no tears would come. “Who the h.e.l.l told me that Bai Xiaochun won the Fragrant Cloud Peak compet.i.tion by pure chance!?!?”
If he had known all along that Bai Xiaochun was this terrifying, not even the threat of being beaten to death could have convinced him to stir up trouble.
As for the other two burly men, they were scowling miserably, hearts filled with terror as Bai Xiaochun made his way off.
“Elder Brother Chen, what do we do now…? Let’s just leave him alone, let bygones be bygones. I heard that’s what Xu Baocai did.” The two men anxiously awaited Chen Fei’s response.
Chen Fei’s heart was filled with bitterness. After a moment of thought, he gritted his teeth.
“I want revenge, but can’t get it myself. What should I do… I need to think….”