Chapter 65: Growing Up
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After a long time, the candy melted.
The sunlight streamed through the gaps in the tree crown and landed on Xu Qing’s face. It was as though the sunlight was like candy, melting into the depths of his heart.
It soothed his grief.
A long time later, Xu Qing silently opened his eyes and looked at the beam of light. He followed its source and looked at the sun in the sky before lowering his head to look at the old man’s tombstone. He then sighed softly.
“Captain Lei, have a safe journey.”
Xu Qing stood up and bowed deeply. When he turned around, he used all his strength to suppress all the fragility in the depths of his heart. At the same time, he also buried the last trace of immaturity in his heart here with Captain Lei, making it impossible for it to crawl out at all.
Fate had given him a trace of warmth but now, it was mercilessly s.n.a.t.c.hed away by this world. This was the helplessness of the human world but Xu Qing had no choice but to continue on this path of life.
His eyes slowly turned sharp again and there was a deeper look in them.
His aura gradually gained sharpness and a hint of richness.
With a flash, Xu Qing sped toward the edge of the jungle under the sunlight.
His figure was extremely fast as he shuttled through the light spots. However, if one took a closer look, one would still be able to see the bleakness that remained on his body. That was something that the light couldn’t dispel in a short period of time.
It was so intense that it felt lonely.
It was getting deeper.
It was also getting colder.
He was like a wolf cub that lived in a cruel jungle. After growing up a little in loneliness, he gradually got closer to becoming a true lone wolf.
Time flowed by and very soon, a day pa.s.sed. Xu Qing’s figure didn’t stop in this jungle. When the afterglow of dusk fell, he had already stepped out of the forbidden zone and entered the human world.
However, the area he stepped out of wasn’t within the campsite but on the other side.
He wasn’t prepared to return to the campsite.
The death of Captain Lei’s enemy would surely cause future trouble.
Since the other party’s organization was able to roam the entire Nanhuang Continent, it could be seen that their influence was extremely great. Although an insignificant person had died, there was a high chance that there was still an investigation.
Xu Qing couldn’t gamble on this.
The most important thing was the camp leader’s death.
Xu Qing had heard of the Diamond Sect from Captain Lei.
Although the latter had great influence, he was only a powerful dragon, while the former was the local tyrant.
They were the strongest faction in the vicinity.
The dozens of cities and scavenger campsites here were more or less related to the Diamond Sect and were directly or indirectly controlled by them.
The ancestors of the sect had even reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.
To the people and scavengers who lived in this area,
Foundation Building cultivators were like immortals. Although very few people had truly seen it, the pressure and intimidation from Foundation Building cultivators caused everyone to feel reverence in their hearts.
Hence, Xu Qing was very clear that since he had killed two of the Diamond Sect’s elders, the first thing he had to face was the Diamond Sect’s fury. The solution to this problem was very simple.
He needed an even stronger force to intimidate the Diamond Sect so that they wouldn’t dare to act rashly.
This force was the Seven Blood Eyes.
To the nearby cities and campsites, the Diamond Sect was a colossus. However, to them, the Seven Blood Eyes were the true heaven-supporting existence.
Even if the Diamond Sect had a hundred guts, they wouldn’t dare to provoke the Seven Blood Eyes.
Hence, Xu Qing was very clear that as long as he became the Seven Blood Eyes’ disciple, the crisis would be temporarily resolved.
So, at this moment, when he walked out of the forbidden zone, he touched the Seven Blood Eyes token in his leather pouch and his eyes gleamed.
He was prepared to make a trip to the Seven Blood Eyes!
The Seven Blood Eyes was very far away from here. If an ordinary person wanted to go there, they would usually have to spend several years. During this time, not only would they have to cross the mountains but they would also have to experience various dangers.
However, to a person with the token, everything was much simpler.
On the back of the token, there was a map of the Seven Blood Eyes. At the same time, there were many b.u.mps on it. Any one of them was the location of the Seven Blood Eyes’ branch city.
Anyone who entered any branch city with a token could enjoy a free teleportation.
The closest one was Antler City, which was in the opposite direction from Songtao City.
Unlike Songtao City, the entry permit to Antler City not only cost more spirit coins but also required the recommendation of the Seven Blood Eyes’ disciples. Therefore, Captain Lei couldn’t enter back then.
At the thought of this, Xu Qing turned his head and cast a deep glance at the forbidden zone. After a long while, he turned around and sped away in the dusk. His target was none other than Antler City.
“Calculating the time, I should be able to reach Antler City in three days at most.” Xu Qing estimated.
He had never been to Antler City before but the name wasn’t unfamiliar. This was because Antler City was located not far from the city he had lived in for six years and was now in ruins.
At this moment, taking advantage of the darkness, Xu Qing’s speed in the wilderness grew increasingly faster.
Time flowed by and two days pa.s.sed.
It was correct that Xu Qing didn’t return to the campsite.
Currently, there were dozens of disciples from the Diamond Sect waiting coldly at the scavenger campsite. There were even seven to eight of them who stepped into the jungle to search.
The reason why they found out about this matter so quickly was that there was a mix of scavengers. There were all kinds of people with ulterior motives. Unless he killed all of them, there would be someone who would leak the information.
Hence, when the news spread to the Diamond Sect, the entire sect was enraged.
To them, the death of two elders was a huge matter, especially to their reputation. It was also a form of provocation. Therefore, not only did they have to resolve it as soon as possible but they also had to use this to establish their might.
It was just that after waiting for a long time, Xu Qing still didn’t appear. Moreover, the forbidden zone was too big, so they weren’t sure if Xu Qing had entered or not. As for the vast wilderness outside, it was inevitable that the Diamond Sect’s men would scatter.
So, after two days, they didn’t gain anything.
However, this matter couldn’t be controlled and spread out, causing all the cities and scavengers in the Diamond Sect’s territory to hear about it. This made them, who had searched for a long time, even angrier.
At this moment, an angry shout rang out from the peak of the Diamond Sect’s mountain.
The Sect’s mountain gate wasn’t too far from Songtao City. It was located on a mountain peak and was built in a very luxurious manner. There were hundreds of disciples in the sect and there were many experts among them.
Right now, the furious roars that echoed through the entire sect came from the main hall on the mountain peak.
“You haven’t found him yet?”
In the main hall, a middle-aged man in golden robes sat at the head of the table. His expression was dignified and there was anger in his eyes. The spirit energy fluctuations on his body also spread out in all directions amidst his anger, filled with pressure.
Two people stood below him.
These two people were middle-aged and both wore golden robes. Their spirit energy fluctuations were very intense, surpa.s.sing that of the camp leader. At this moment, they were both frowning. After a long time, one of them spoke in a low voice.
“Sect Master, the wilderness is too vast. Why don’t we let the guards from those cities and the scavengers from the campsite head out to search together? This way, we’ll be able to find them in three days at most.”
“Do you think it’s not enough of a joke? A kid killed two elders and ma.s.sacred the campsite. If we let them help us in this matter, our Sect’s reputation will be tarnished!!” The sect master said angrily.
The two people below fell silent and didn’t speak anymore.
A long time later, the Sect Master took a deep breath. His gaze was filled with intense killing intent as he pointed to the two people below.
“Elder Li, Elder Chen, the two of you are at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Condensation. Either of you can easily kill that kid.”
“I’ve already asked the ancestor and am preparing to borrow two tracking talismans from him for you. After the ancestor agrees to it, you guys can head out personally. No matter what method you use, I want to see that kid’s head in twenty-four hours at most!”
When the two elders below heard that the patriarch knew about this, their expressions instantly turned solemn.
The gaze of the Sect Master was cold. After he finished speaking, he took out a jade slip and was about to ask the ancestor about it. However, at this moment, a cold snort suddenly rang out from outside the main hall like thunder.
The voice was too loud, causing the two elders’ hearts to tremble intensely. Even the sect master’s expression changed. He immediately stood up and quickly walked down. Outside the main hall, an old man wearing a golden-red double-colored robe walked over.
This old man had a tall figure and a ruddy complexion. His white hair was disheveled and there seemed to be lightning in his eyes, covering the gloom in them. As he walked over, a powerful spirit energy that far surpa.s.sed Qi Condensation spread out in all directions.
Wherever he pa.s.sed, cracks would appear on the ground.
The aura on his body formed a storm that surrounded him. If one were to take a closer look, one would see that his feet weren’t on the ground but were stepping on air.
He didn’t rely on the wind technique to soar through the air. Rather, he truly soared through the air.
Also, behind him, there was a faint illusory shadow that looked like an angry Diamond. It was as though once it erupted, even the main hall wouldn’t be able to withstand its might.
His arrival immediately made the three people in the hall kneel in unison.
“Greetings, Ancestor!”
The Sect’s ancestor didn’t speak. After he walked to the seat of honor and sat down, he coldly looked at the three people below. Finally, his lightning-like gaze landed on the sect master.
“Yunwen, have you forgotten the purpose of our Sect?!”
The sect master broke out in cold sweat and immediately spoke.
“Ancestor, I haven’t forgotten that our Sect’s motto has always been that it’s fine if we don’t make a move, but once we do, we have to use our sharp metal energy to deliver a single blow. Therefore, I arranged for the two great elders to head out at the same time.”
“Foolish!” The Sect Ancestor glared at the sect master.
“This old man has carefully studied that kid’s resume just now. This kid rose from an ordinary person in a short period of time. He was originally a new member of the Thunder Team but he killed countless people when he first entered the forbidden zone. Not only did he defeat the powerful Bloodshadow but he also saved many scavengers!
He’s even good at poison. With his cultivation at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, he once again killed two of our sect’s elders despite being weaker and our disciples but he still managed to escape unscathed, causing you to be unable to find him even now.”
“There are so many people on the campsite but there are only two scavengers who snitched on us. This shows how popular he is!”
“Based on this old man’s many years of reading through countless ancient books and experiences, you can either neutralize such a person or use your full strength to kill him.”
“Arranging the actions of the two of them in the past like this is no different from sending them to their deaths for someone good at defeating the strong despite being weaker!” In the end, the Sect’s ancestor almost roared angrily.
The three people below could only lower their heads and tremble in anger.
The Sect’s ancestor took a deep breath and snorted coldly. He then continued to speak gloomily.
“I can conclude that after the two of them go there, it’ll be fine if they can’t find him but once they do, they’ll definitely be killed by the other party.”
“After that, you will get angry and choose to head there personally. You will definitely be killed as well.”
“At that time, when I go again, this kid will have already fled far away. Once he returns in a few years, he will probably be able to kill me with a single palm strike.”
Hearing the old ancestor’s words, the sect leader was stunned and more sweat appeared on his forehead. However, in his heart, he still felt that things wouldn’t develop like this. However, in front of the old ancestor, he didn’t dare to refute.
Hence, he could only lower his head and ask.
“Ancestor, please instruct me.”
The Sect’s ancestor lifted his head and looked at the wilderness outside the great hall. His gaze was profound and he slowly spoke after a long time.
“Spread out all the disciples and search all the areas. At the same time, keep an eye on every city and scavenger campsite. The surrounding borders are the same.”
“The two elders will give me a flight talisman and a tracking talisman. Each of you will be responsible for half of the area and this old man will also partic.i.p.ate personally. Once you discover something, immediately inform this old man to go over. Only then will it be considered a final blow.”
“This way, nothing will go wrong. I can also establish my might again and intimidate the thieves!”
A moment later, the bell of the Sect rang out.
A large number of disciples went out one after another. There was even the ancestor who brought the two great elders and flew into the sky.
There were three shining runes in front of him that seemed to be guiding them, leading them into the wilderness. They split into three and sped away separately.