Chapter 1697 (Raw 1709): Unable to Ally
"The Confucian Mantra, Unbendable Might!"
A few voices shouted that in unison. Four figures appeared, projecting a vast and boundless aura that was as heavy as a mountain. Then, they landed before Xiao Chen and Yang Qing.
The leader of this group was dressed like a scholar. He had a fair complexion with no beard or mustache, exuding an air of elegance.
At this moment, these four brandished their swords. The elegant air turned into righteous Qi. They showed determined expressions and an unparalleled sharpness on their faces.
The aura of this group rose infinitely. In the blink of an eye, it reached the level of a peak Major Primal Core cultivator.
Xiao Chen entered deep thought. This Unbendable Might was somewhat similar to his Deities Descending. They were both techniques that temporarily raised one"s aura and strength.
However, this was combined with the Confucian sect"s righteous Qi. It was much better than Deities Descending alone.
These four each launched a sword strike, sending out intense sword Qi. Mountains and rivers trembled as the sword Qi struck the Black Iron Demon Ape.
"Boom!"
s.p.a.ce trembled, and the Black Iron Demon Ape was immediately suppressed. Under these four swords" attacks, it got forced back.
After sending out one strike of Unbendable Might, the leader aside, the other three appeared slightly pale and stopped to catch their breath.
However, the fair scholar flourished his sword in the air, making calculated moves with his sword, appearing like he was dancing to a folk song. Clangor rang out loud and resonant.
"Great Sword Technique." Xiao Chen could not help exclaiming softly, entranced by it.
The other party"s skill with the sword was truly exquisite, moving in a calculated manner. He wielded his sword amazingly, every sword move executed as he pleased, not sticking to one pattern.
While the moves looked very messy, they all held deep meaning. Every sword move was a set up for something. After this person sent out ten moves, the set-up was completed. Then, that fair scholar sheathed his sword.
As the fair scholar descended, quivering sounds rang out in the air. The unremarkable places that the sword had struck exploded and gathered into a resplendent sword light.
A face-sized wound appeared on the Black Iron Demon Ape"s chest, and blood poured out like a fountain.
This time, the Black Iron Demon Ape was significantly injured. However, its ferocity did not diminish. Nevertheless, after it paused for a moment and howled, it chose to return to the jungle.
After confirming that the Black Iron Demon Ape had gone far away, the fair scholar and his three companions walked up to Xiao Chen and Yang Qing.
Xiao Chen"s expression did not change. He waited to see what exactly these four wanted.
Although the Black Iron Demon Ape was incredible, strong enough to appear on the mountain path, Xiao Chen had not needed others to intervene.
At first, he had been caught off guard, and that Black Iron Demon Ape"s means of hiding its aura was highly excellent. Hence, he had not noticed.
However, since Yang Qing made a move, which gave Xiao Chen time to catch his breath, fleeing would not have been a problem at all.
Even without these four people"s aid, Xiao Chen could have dealt with the problem before him. Hence, he did not feel particularly grateful.
More importantly, he felt that these four were not simply helping him, but more like they were deliberately showing off their strength to him.
"Many thanks to you four for helping out. I have not obtained your names yet," Xiao Chen said after stepping forward and performing a cupped-fist salute. He still needed to display the basic courtesy.
"Young Master Xiao, you are too polite. Even if we did not make a move, Young Master Xiao would have been able to deal with this as well. This humble self is w.a.n.g Ce. These three are my junior brothers. All of us come from the Confucian Inst.i.tution."
The fair scholar appeared rather sincere and did not become arrogant from his accomplishments.
"The Confucian Inst.i.tution? How are you related to w.a.n.g Yueming?" Xiao Chen asked softly, feeling interested.
At the mention of w.a.n.g Yueming, a trace of pride flashed in the eyes of these Confucian Inst.i.tution disciples. w.a.n.g Ce said, "He is my senior brother. We are all disciples of the same teacher. However, Senior Brother w.a.n.g went to a forbidden land."
"A forbidden land!" Yang Qing exclaimed. However, she immediately understood. "That makes sense. As one of the three top geniuses, he does have the qualifications to test himself in a forbidden land."
w.a.n.g Ce smiled as he looked at Xiao Chen. Then he said, "Let"s not talk about that for now. Young Master Xiao, what do you think of our strength?"
Xiao Chen thought for a while before answering honestly, "Very strong. If you all worked together, I would find it hard to take things easy. This is especially so for Young Master w.a.n.g. Your skill at the sword is a great eye-opener. Your sword strikes are calculated. You move like you are dancing to folk music, not sticking to a pattern. When you attack, it is swift and mighty. You are decisive in attacking, using your full force and moving agilely."
w.a.n.g Ce clearly felt happy at gaining such an evaluation from Xiao Chen. He smiled humbly and said, "It"s not worth mentioning at all. Compared to Young Master Xiao"s skill at the saber, I am much inferior."
Young Master Xiao…why is this person so long-winded and wishy-washy? Even now, I still do not know what he wants. Yang Qing"s voice rang out in Xiao Chen"s mind.
Xiao Chen replied, There"s no rush. The people of the Confucian sects are all like this.
w.a.n.g Ce paused for a moment before saying, "All of us saw Young Master Xiao"s battle with that monk from the Profound Light Temple. Actually, if you want to go to the Buddha Seeking Platform, there is no need to ally with that group of monks.
"The righteous Qi of our Confucian sect also has a strong suppressive effect on Fiendish Demons.
"That Black Iron Demon Ape earlier was something that started a fiend transformation. However, our Confucian sect"s Sword Technique still forced it away."
Now, Xiao Chen understood. On a certain level, righteous Qi did indeed have the same effect through different means as the Buddhist sect"s Buddhist Might.
At the same time, he also understood what these four wanted. They wanted to ally with him and tackle the Buddha Seeking Platform together.
"Brother w.a.n.g Ce, you want to work together to go to the Buddha Seeking Platform?"
w.a.n.g Ce nodded. "The Buddha Seeking Platform is not a simple place. The Fiendish Demons in that place are intelligent, no different from us. Furthermore, they are acclimatized to the pressure in this Fiendish Demon Battlefield. When at the same cultivation level, they can erupt with more strength than we can."
Everyone who came to the Fiendish Demon Battlefield, including Xiao Chen, had their strength suppressed. It was just a matter of how much.
"Young Master Xiao saw our strength earlier. What do you think? Do you want to head for the Buddha Seeking Platform together?" w.a.n.g Ce revealed a c.o.c.ksure expression; he felt very confident in his invitation.
Xiao Chen exchanged looks with Yang Qing. Then he said, "I will have to discuss this with my companion first."
The two stepped aside and spoke via voice projections.
Xiao Chen asked, Miss Yang, what do you think? I do not mind. I am already very satisfied with the natural treasures from the jungle. Right now, I only want to go to the Buddha Seeking Platform to take a look at the ancient Buddhist statues, and it will be enough.
Xiao Chen"s mind was set on his destination. This was for the sake of improving his Buddha-like heart, to strengthen the Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique. Everything else was just secondary gains.
Yang Qing entered deep thought and then replied, I do not mind, either. However, Young Master Xiao, do not be fooled by the righteous appearance of these Confucian Inst.i.tution disciples.
Xiao Chen looked at the other party in surprise. This Yang Qing seemed to have a grudge against the people of the Confucian sect. She had not shown such an expression when facing that group of bald monks earlier.
After the discussion was over, Xiao Chen slowly walked over, feeling confident.
"How did it go? What are the results of the discussion?" w.a.n.g Ce asked.
"We can do that. However, we want sixty percent of the gains along the way. There will only be forty percent for you."
"That means the four of us will each get only ten percent." A Confucian disciple immediately expressed his dissatisfaction.
w.a.n.g Ce"s lips twitched slightly. Then, he smiled in embarra.s.sment. "Young Master Xiao, we are very sincere in this…"
Xiao Chen did not care either way, so he actually could have asked for more. A sixty-forty split was already a rather sincere offer for him.
"In that case, goodbye."
Since the other party felt that Xiao Chen was not sincere, there was no point in continuing chatting. Xiao Chen waved his hand and departed with Yang Qing.
"How repulsive! Big Brother w.a.n.g Ce, we gave this white-clad bladesman face, but he did not accept it."
"We are helping him out of kindheartedness, yet he actually tried to rip us off."
"How frustrating! He simply looks down on the people of the Confucian Inst.i.tution."
"Elder Brother w.a.n.g Ce, there is no need to be so polite with him. We can just directly s.n.a.t.c.h away everything on him."
Seeing Xiao Chen walk far away, the people of the Confucian Inst.i.tution all expressed their dissatisfaction.
w.a.n.g Ce"s expression turned sinister as his eyes filled with rage.
Previously, w.a.n.g Ce sought to cooperate with Xiao Chen not just because of Xiao Chen"s strength but the mysterious item that Xiao Chen carried.
w.a.n.g Ce guessed that Xiao Chen had a treasure that had a strong fate with Buddhism. Otherwise, Xiao Chen could not have gotten such a harvest on this Buddha Seeking Mountain.
However, w.a.n.g Ce was not confident that he could deal with Xiao Chen. From the attack of the woman with Xiao Chen, she was not weak, either.
Just as w.a.n.g Ce did not know what to do, a group of people rushed past them.
When w.a.n.g Ce looked up, he saw that it was Yan Feng, whom Xiao Chen previously defeated, quickly leading another Profound Light Temple disciple to the summit.
"The Profound Light Temple"s Zhen Xuan!"
A smile immediately appeared on w.a.n.g Ce"s face. Then, he said, "Now, there will be a time when he begs me."