Chapter 2084 – Drinking On The Road
Zhao Hai and the others looked at Topfire Mountain in the distance. They had been on the road for an extended period of time. Although it seems like they had reached the bottom of the mountain, Zhao Hai knew that they would need at least an hour to reach it.
Fortunately, Zhao Hai and the others were now safe. They just left the reception station which was a small town two hours away from Topfire Mountain. Anyone who wants to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion needs to go to the reception station. After reporting their arrival, they would go to Topfire Mountain.
Naturally, once a group’s arrival was reported, their safety was basically guaranteed. Even if they encounter a cultivator with a life-and-death grudge against their sect, the cultivator wouldn’t dare to attack. Otherwise, they would be suppressed by the experts hiding nearby.
Zhao Hai rode on his Demon Horse, letting it go forward slowly. At the same time, his eyes were staring at Topfire Mountain. To be honest, Topfire Mountain doesn’t look anything special to him. It was merely a mountain with a flat top.
Li Fei and the others noiselessly followed behind Zhao Hai. Their gazes were also directed at Topfire Mountain. Deep inside, they were very excited. They experienced a lot of tribulations along the way. If it weren’t for Zhao Hai, they wouldn’t have made it.
Li Fei and the others now held blind faith towards Zhao Hai. If Zhao Hai continued to move forward, they would move forward. If there was a blade in front of them, they wouldn’t step back. Zhao Hai’s strength, wisdom, and leaders.h.i.+p has turned Li Fei and the others into his believers.
After some time, Zhao Hai let out a long breath. Then he laughed and said, “Brothers, after many days of travel, you should be tired. How about we stop here? Let’s go to Topfire Mountain tomorrow. Let’s share a few drinks. Let’s see who dares attack us here.” After saying that, Zhao Hai jumped off his horse and walked to the side of the road.
There were trees on the side of the road. It must be said that the environment of the True Spirit Realm was very good. Virgin woods can be seen everywhere. Naturally, these woods house plenty of demon beasts. Ordinary people couldn’t deal with them and cultivators won’t bother. Therefore, a lot of the realm’s regions remained natural.
When they heard Zhao Hai, Li Fei and the others couldn’t help but stare. They didn’t think Zhao Hai would just stop here to have a drink.
However, the group were also excited. They had been hurrying along for several days. They ate and drank on horseback. It was about time for them to relax.
Li Fei and the others also jumped down from their horses and let the horses go to get their own food. Meanwhile, they helped prepare the area for eating.
Zhao Hai took out multiple food from the s.p.a.ce. He was truly intending to enjoy the moment with everyone. They had been tense in the past few days because of their pursuers. Therefore, Zhao Hai wanted to drink with everyone to help them relax. Li Fei and the others also share the same sentiment.
As soon as they took out the food and began pouring drinks, Zhao Hai and the others heard the sound of horse hooves. Then a group was seen running along the road. Zhao Hai’s group camped not far from the road. They were far enough to see the people pa.s.sing by, but not close enough for the dust to reach their location.
Seeing the people arriving, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but smile faintly. He could recognize the clothes they were wearing. These people were disciples of the True Dao Sect.
The True Dao Sect was an ally of the Tyrant Blade Sect, one of its closest. Back in the Soaring Dragon Realm, Zhao Hai had close contact with its disciples. In fact, if it weren’t for Lin Ling getting in touch with Zhao Hai first, Zhao Hai would have joined the True Dao Sect. At that time, Feng Lingyun and Liu Xiu’er were very optimistic about Zhao Hai. Unfortunately, Lin Ling was a step ahead. When they noticed Zhao Hai’s potential, Lin Ling already recruited Zhao Hai. In the end, they could only watch Zhao Hai become a disciple of the Tyrant Blade Sect. Regardless, with how they treated Zhao Hai in the Soaring Dragon Realm, Zhao Hai always had a good impression of the True Dao Sect’s disciples.
Seeing the disciples of the True Dao Sect, Zhao Hai smiled faintly and his body moved, appearing on the side of the road. When the disciples of the True Dao Sect saw someone appearing on the road, they couldn’t help but be stunned. Then they looked at Zhao Hai with vigilance. At the same time, they slowed down.
The horses ridden by the disciples of the True Dao Sect weren’t as fierce as the Demon Horse. Although they weren’t small, they couldn’t compare against the Demon Horse. Most importantly, the horses had slender bodies, showing how they were bred for speed.
As the True Dao Sect’s disciples looked warily at Zhao Hai, Zhao Hai smiled faintly as he cupped his fist and said, “Brothers, are you from the True Dao Sect?”
Hearing Zhao Hai, the group kept silent. Then a 30-year-old looking cultivator cupped his fist and replied, “This one is True Dao Sect’s Zhao Yalong. May I ask who you are?”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “I’m Zhao Hai from the Tyrant Blade Sect. We just arrived here. We didn’t want to go to Topfire Mountain yet, so we camped here to have a drink and eat. I happened to see you pa.s.sing the road. Since the True Dao Sect is allied with the Tyrant Blade Sect, I want to invite you over. What do you think?”
Zhao Yalong couldn’t help but be stunned. He has heard of Zhao Hai’s name before. Not from other people, but from Feng Lingyun himself. Therefore, his impression of Zhao Hai was deeper than other people. Now that he saw the person, he couldn’t help but be curious.
Zhao Hai smiled at Zhao Yalong. Suddenly, a low cough was heard from behind. Zhao Yalong quickly came back to his senses. He found that he was staring at Zhao Hai, which was a bit impolite. He couldn’t help but get embarra.s.sed as he cupped his fist and said, “So it’s Junior Brother Zhao Hai. I’ve been impolite. Since our brothers from the Tyrant Blade Sect are inviting us, how could we decline? It just so happens that we’re tired as well. We’ll have to impose ourselves on you.” After he said that, he waved his hand. Then everyone got down from their horses. Zhao Hai observed and saw that everyone was at the Soul Fusion Stage. Moreover, there were quite a lot of them.
Zhao Hai led Zhao Yalong’s group back to their temporary camp. After inviting them over to sit down, Zhao Hai asked, “Senior Brother, because we’ve been chased down all throughout our trip, our group was very tired. Now that we’re safe, we couldn’t stop ourselves from taking a rest. We didn’t expect Senior Brother to arrive just as we set our camp up. I hope Senior Brother doesn’t blame me for being abrupt. Let me offer you a cup.”
Zhao Yalong quickly held his cup as he said, “Junior Brother is too polite. Haha. To be honest, when I was at your level, I also entered the compet.i.tion. At that time, we were also chased down and attacked. It’s only after we arrived at the venue did we take a rest. Junior Brother’s idea of stopping to rest before reaching Topfire Mountain is actually good.”
Zhao Hai and the others also smiled. The relations.h.i.+p between the two sides became closer. They exchanged drinks and stories with each other. Several groups of people pa.s.sed along the road, but they just looked at Zhao Hai and the others before proceeding. They weren’t allowed to attack in this region, otherwise they would be bringing huge trouble to their sect.
The group drank throughout the evening. It was only when midnight came did the group disperse. The next morning, the two groups gathered around and hurried towards Topfire Mountain. After an hour, they finally arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Upon arriving at the foot of Topfire Mountain, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but stare. There were many tables lined up along the foot. Behind each table was a person along with a banner with sect names written on it.
Zhao Hai looked around and found the Tyrant Blade Sect’s table. He also saw the True Dao Sect’s table not far away. He turned to Zhao Yalong and said, “Senior Brother, it’s time for us to separate. After the compet.i.tion, if we have the opportunity, let’s share drinks once more.”
Zhao Yalong laughed, “Next time, I’ll invite you. To be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve drank until I pa.s.sed out. Junior Brother, we’ll be leaving first.” After he said that, he cupped his fist towards Zhao Hai before leading the rest of the True Dao Sect disciples towards their table. Zhao Hai also led Li Fei and the others to the Tyrant Blade Sect’s table.
After arriving at the Tyrant Blade Sect’s table, Zhao Hai cupped his fist to the person on the other side and said, “This one is Zhao Hai, team leader of the Clone Stage group. Reporting.”
The Tyrant Blade Sect disciple behind the table wasn’t very strong. He’s only at the Soul Fusion Stage. However, he was aware of Zhao Hai’s details. Naturally, he wouldn’t dare be neglectful. He stood up and cupped his fist, “Junior Brother Zhao Hai. You’ve arrived. I heard from the reception center that you arrived yesterday. Why did you only arrive now?”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “I’m sorry about that. Because of our travels, we’re very tired. Knowing that we’re safe, we decided to take a rest on the side of the road.”
The disciple didn’t mind it, he smiled and said, “Alright. I heard that your path hasn’t been peaceful. It’s good that you arrived safely, well done. You can climb up the mountain. The Tyrant Blade Sect has its own camp. You can continue resting there.” Zhao Hai complied and then gave a salute before leading his group up the mountain.
They already received their Demon Horses long ago. Zhao Hai and the others climbed the mountain without using any movement techniques. They leisurely chatted as they walked up. Li Fei looked behind him before he smiled and said, “it seems like the sects really attached great importance to this compet.i.tion. We need to work hard.”
Zhao Hai laughed and said, “Even if we need to work hard, let’s not push ourselves too much. We might not know the strength of the others, but I reckon they won’t be that much stronger than us. I’m confident that we can get first place. Do you agree?”
“Agree!” Everyone immediately answered. They were now aware of Zhao Hai’s strength. Back when they heard that Zhao Hai managed to fight against a Teleportation Stage cultivator, they didn’t believe that Zhao Hai was strong. But after fighting Soulhook, they knew that the rumors were true.
“Talking big!” Just as everyone was laughing, a voice was suddenly heard. Zhao Hai and the others couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. Then they turned to their side and found a cultivator not far from them. The cultivator wore black clothing and he had a half-meter long bar on his waist.
Seeing the long bar, Zhao Hai immediately recognized that it was a b.u.t.terfly knife. This person was from the neighboring sect of the Tyrant Blade Sect, the b.u.t.terfly Sect.
Zhao Hai looked at the cultivator and smiled, “So it’s a Senior Brother from the b.u.t.terfly Sect. Me and my brothers are merely chatting. Senior Brother doesn’t have to take our words seriously.”
The cultivator from the b.u.t.terfly Sect was also at the Clone Stage, so he was bound to face Zhao Hai and the others in the compet.i.tion. So his previous words weren’t complete nonsense. Hearing Zhao Hai take a step back, the cultivator from the b.u.t.terfly Sect coldly snorted and said, “Remember, you cannot spout nonsense just because you want to. Otherwise, you won’t be able to handle the consequences.”
“You!” Hearing this, Li Fei was incensed. Zhao Hai was their team leader and benefactor. A mere disciple from the b.u.t.terfly Sect actually dared to lecture him. How could Li Fei and the others just ignore it?
Zhao Hai was also a bit angry. What he just said was a formality for the other party. He didn’t expect the other party to slap his face instead. Zhao Hai’s expression sank, he looked at the others and said, “What I want to say to my brothers is not up to you. If you have the ability, then I’ll see you in the arena. If you have the time to talk to us, then you might as well go back and train some more. You’re nothing more than a charlatan with cheap tricks.”
Zhao Hai wasn’t easy to offend. If you provoke him, he would of course fight back with all his strength. He no longer showed any politeness. This resulted in the b.u.t.terfly Sect disciple to turn red with anger.
The disciple from the b.u.t.terfly Sect didn’t expect Zhao Hai’s warm temperament to immediately turn cold. But he coldly snorted and said, “The true charlatan will be seen when the time comes.” Then he turned around and left.
Seeing the other party’s back, Li Fei coldly snorted and said, “What an idiot. He might not even survive long enough to face the team leader. He better wish that he doesn’t face me in the compet.i.tion. Otherwise, I will smash his face in.”
Zhao Hai waved his hand and said, “Alright, if we meet him in the arena, we won’t show him any mercy.” After that, the group continued to walk up the mountain.