It was uncertain what martial art skill that the fifth layer Sky Warrior was using, but it was undoubtedly a strong one.
The Qi that shrouded his arm was crimson. The temperature in the hallway rose drastically, and the Qi started to turn into flames as if it had been set on fire.
The hallway was rather small, so he arrived in front of Xue Wei within less than two seconds. Xue Wei did not have much time to react, but that brief instant he was given was enough for him to throw out an attack of his own.
Kick of the Forgotten Kings!
He swung out his leg which was covered in azure Qi and met the arm head-on. The audience sucked in a breath of cold air. They had expected to see Xue Wei being thrown back like a ragdoll, and becoming severely injured.
He was without a doubt a third layer Sky Warrior, while the opponent was a fifth layer Sky Warrior from a great sect. It was obvious who held the upper hand, but when the two attacks met, all that happened was that a shockwave exploded out and energy crashed through the entire restaurant, causing the whole place to tremble.
"This is not the most ideal place to fight," Xue Wei said with a furrow of his brows. He did not want to be stuck with the fee of repairing the place.
Hearing Xue Wei’s calm voice as he slowly lowered his leg was a sight that stunned the spectators. The scenario they had expected where Xue Wei would shoot out like a kite without a string never happened. Furthermore, his breathing was not even labored.
The fifth layer Sky Warrior was shocked. His hand was numb. He knew that he was two layers above this young man, but his senses told him that the one who held the upper hand was his opponent.
Xue Wei’s physical strength far surpa.s.sed his own. The senior disciple from the Crimson Suns.h.i.+ne Sect felt vexed by this. He had wanted to completely demolish Xue Wei with a single attack, sending him flying and showing everyone that the Crimson Suns.h.i.+ne Sect would fight for their face and their martial brothers.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. A single kick from Xue Wei had caused him to be disadvantaged. This was something he could not accept, and he considered it an even more significant loss of face than when his junior brothers had been manhandled by Hei Gou.
The cultivator from the Crimson Suns.h.i.+ne Sect completely ignored what Xue Wei had said about this being an inappropriate place to fight. He proceeded to coat his hands with Qi, this time on both palms.
The palms seemed elusive and transparent. From the air surrounding them, thousands of palm prints appeared, making it impossible to find the real palm, and the beginning motions of this martial art skill alone made Xue Wei acknowledge the cultivator he was up against. It reminded him of his own Arcane Fist!
Just as Xue Wei prepared to take on these palm strikes, he felt a strong oppressive air that descended onto the Crimson Suns.h.i.+ne Sect"s member.
"Insolent!" an ancient voice boomed out from above.
"Even if you are from the Crimson Suns.h.i.+ne Sect, to act like this in my domain is unacceptable!" the voice continued. "Did no one warn you about who controls the Black Iron Fortress before coming here? Did your old hamsters from the sect not instruct you to behave nicely while being here?! Did no one tell you not to flaunt your background and bully others while you were here?!"
The voice was filled with resentment and annoyance. It was clear that the owner of the voice wanted to warn this disciple, preferably without harming him.
Seeing that the oppressive air was completely aimed at the fifth layer Sky Warrior, Xue Wei understood that he was safe.
"This junior pays his respects to you, senior," Xue Wei said as he cupped his hands and bowed. It was unclear whether the senior was trying to save Xue Wei or the restaurant, or if he just had some sort of bad blood with the Crimson Suns.h.i.+ne Sect, but it was clear that he had done Xue Wei a great favor.
Xue Wei had wanted to test his strength against a fifth layer Sky Warrior, but the last collision had already given him most of the answers he needed. Fighting any further would require him to display his strength, and then others would be wary of him too.
When Xue Wei called out to the senior, he heard a bit of a chuckle, and then the ancient voice appeared boomingly again.
"Country b.u.mpkins is only an insult if you interpret it as that. I too was considered a country b.u.mpkin, yet now only three or four experts within the entire Skyward Empire can call me that, and they would be very hesitant to do so!"
"Your att.i.tude is admirable! Your kick was not in any way weaker than his attack, but anything further would definitely wreck the restaurant, and the fee for repairing it will be high. I prefer not breaking anything at all."
"I have been watching from the start. It was clearly the Crimson Suns.h.i.+ne Sect searching for trouble, and now I have admonished you. Come look for me, the one named Wan Qiang, if you have any complaints!"
As he finished his words, the pressure on the fifth layer Sky Warrior vanished. The freed disciple took a deep breath. His eyes were filled with anger and hostility. He felt humiliated, and he thought Xue Wei was to blame for all of this.
"You there! Just you wait till the tournament begins!" he sneered. "I heard it is a life and death arena; I will gladly kill you on stage!"
Xue Wei just shrugged his shoulders, completely ignoring the other man. He flashed a smile, casually dismissing the threat.
Most of the experts who observed the fight were under the impression that the fifth layer Sky Warrior had underestimated Xue Wei, and that he would not lose against Xue Wei in a longer battle.
The fifth layer Sky Warrior from the Crimson Suns.h.i.+ne Sect had felt annoyed at his junior brothers when he realized that they had omitted specific facts about their altercation with Xue Wei and Hei Gou, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect that he would be insulted, humiliated, and pressured the way he had been today.
He could not blame his junior brothers, since they were from the same sect as himself, but he could blame Xue Wei. Therefore, all his anger and hatred was aimed at this third layer Sky Warrior who had managed to block one of his attacks.
"I just hope you will live long enough to encounter me in the tournament," the fifth layer Sky Warrior sneered before turning around and gesturing for the other three to follow him.
They left the restaurant with their faces contorted with anger, and their fists clenched tightly.
Xue Wei had a vague smile playing on his lips, but he said nothing. It was always easiest to defeat opponents when one was underestimated.
Hei Gou had acted casually from the very start. He had been smiling and observing the entire scenario that was playing out in front of him, and not once had he revealed doubt in Xue Wei’s ability to deal with the situation.
From this, Hei Gou"s blind trust in Xue Wei could be seen. The two had been through so much together, and so far Xue Wei had managed to bring him so many surprises and miracles, that he had an unshakeable faith in his friend’s ability.
Xue Wei had arrived in his darkest hour and brought him a ray of suns.h.i.+ne. They had fled time and time again, and no matter how dark their situation had seemed, they had survived.
Now, Xue Wei was letting him experience a life he could not even have had dreamt of before. Xue Wei was his savior and best friend. He was Hei Gou"s support and pillar of strength.
Seeing the casual expressions on both Xue Wei and Hei Gou"s faces, a few of the experts in the restaurant started pondering. Was it really pure arrogance to think that they could defeat this fifth layer Sky Warrior, or was it possible that perhaps the two of them had something hidden up their sleeves?
Most of them were not worried. They were confident that these two experts were genuine country b.u.mpkins from some small village, unable to understand the difference between the earth and the sky.
They were used to being hailed as geniuses, and it had reached their brains, making them incapable of understanding their own limits.
"Well, we’re done with our meals, so let us leave," Xue Wei said to Hei Gou and gestured for his friend to follow him. The two of them made it down the hallway and out of the restaurant.
They had half-expected that the Crimson Suns.h.i.+ne Sect"s members would wait for them outside, but surprisingly enough they were gone.
"Were they really that easy to beat? One supreme expert and they hid away like tortoises?" Xue Wei muttered to himself with surprise. Perhaps this Wan Qiang was not as simple as he seemed.
Perhaps this Black Iron Fortress held more to it than it let on. It was as if this Wan Qiang was a figure that even the Three Great Sects did not want to insult.
Xue Wei was pondering about this figure, but there was one thing he understood right away. Wan Qiang was a supreme expert within the Skyward Empire.
Only sheer strength would allow him to talk this way about the Three Great Sects.
Xue Wei and Hei Gou walked through the fort town. Many shops were selling medicinal plants, herbs, spiritual fruits, and medicinal pills, but it was impossible for Xue Wei and Hei Gou to buy any of it. All they could do was drool over these items.
They saw many cultivators buy these items as if it was something to take for granted. Xue Wei could not help but sigh. "We should have robbed those Crimson Suns.h.i.+ne Sect members," he said half-jokingly and half-seriously.
They were bound to have a lot of resources on them, so taking that from them would surely fatten Xue Wei’s and Hei Gou’s wallets.
"If you have the strength, then take it from their cold corpses when you meet them in the arena," a melodious and soft voice sounded from behind Xue Wei and Hei Gou, taking both of them by surprise.
Turning around, they saw a group of five beautiful young women. Four of them flanked the one in the middle.
Xue Wei had seen this woman before. She was the leader of the Argent Moon Sect"s disciples. Although Xue Wei had not interacted with her, only having seen her at the sign up point, his impression of her was that she was a cold and callous person.
"You are saying that if I kill them, I can take their items?" Xue Wei asked with a frown on his face. Was this not the same as asking for the contestants to murder one another?
"I heard it is a rule set by Wan Qiang, and no one goes against that old man"s decisions here in the Black Iron Fortress," she said with a nod of her head. However, her openness caused Xue Wei to hesitate. Why would she approach him to begin with? They had nothing in common.
The woman, who Xue Wei faintly remembered was named Xiong Bing, seemed to notice his confusion. She looked at him, her face still hidden beneath the veil.
"From all the independent cultivators, only the two of you give me a sense of danger," she explained. "I have a feeling that perhaps you will end up being a dark horse in this tournament."
"Also, to have reached your rank at your age, not to mention the fact that you do not even have the backing of a great sect, you are very talented. It is only natural to want to befriend talented people."