Chapter 135: Facing Off Against Four Pract.i.tioners Half a Step into the Spirit Dao Realm Alone
He’d told his companions to head south because the group of people to the south had a relatively weaker aura, and didn’t have a fierce pract.i.tioner half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm, like senior brother Yi, holding down the fort.
Heading south was possibly their only chance of life.
As for what awaited them to the south — whether or not they would possibly barge into other forbidden areas — Jiang Chen couldn’t pay heed to at this moment.
It was a good thing that those in his party were well trained. No one hesitated after hearing his words, and they all steered towards the south.
Jiang Chen operated his Ear of the Zephyr to its maximum, listening in all directions. The information of all aspects continuously gathered in his mind.
There were five groups of people in total, including senior brother Yi’s group.
There were people coming from the east and west. There were also people coming from the northeast and the northwest.
The last group was coming from the south, and would run into Gouyu and the others very quickly.
Of the five groups, the one to the south was the weakest. The strongest of their individuals, was at most on par with Gouyu, and wasn’t someone to fear.
Jiang Chen only hoped that Gouyu and the others could break through the barricade to the south. As long as they were able to charge through the resistance, it would signify that they’d broken free of the encirclement, and gotten clear of Palace territory.
Of course, of these five groups, senior brother Yi’s from the east basically had no fighting strength left.
The Goldwing Swordbird moved as Jiang Chen suddenly stopped. The position that he’d chosen was one that, after all sorts of calculations, was the most centered.
If anyone wanted to pa.s.s through this area, they’d have to go through him first because he’d occupied this position.
As long as he tied them down for a little bit and let Gouyu and the others break through, with the short distance speed of the Goldwing Swordbirds, it’d be very difficult for many of these people to catch on.
However, Jiang Chen somewhat regretted things a bit right now. If he’d known it’d be like this, he would’ve had Ye Rong send people to meet him at the border.
He’d turned down Ye Rong’s suggestion back then because he had wanted to gain an understanding of the local customs and practices of the Skylaurel Kingdom through his own observations.
Besides, he’d felt that if they didn’t go looking for trouble, nothing untoward would happen to them.
Who would’ve thought that the atmosphere of martial dao within the Skylaurel Kingdom would be even more fierce than the Eastern Kingdom. They killed and looted, or stopped others on the road for highway robbery, at the drop of a hat.
“If I’d known this was the case, I might as well not have kept a low profile; I should’ve brought all one thousand Goldwing Swordbirds with me, and just directly crushed this band of thieves!” Jiang Chen was quite depressed.
However, he also knew that this was just a random thought. Their presence would’ve truly been too ma.s.sive if he’d brought a thousand Goldwing Swordbirds with him.
They might have attracted the attention of a group that was even more powerful than this bunch.
Several groups of people made their way to the location within the span of a moment. They were all rather bemused to see only Jiang Chen hover below the vault of heavens. One man, one steed.
What was going on? This kid hadn’t run off or fled? He had struck up the posture of single handedly facing down their groups of warriors? Did this kid plan to fight against their four crews with his power alone?
At that moment, senior brother Yi had also changed to another steed. He looked ruthlessly at Jiang Chen, a thick sense of killing intent permeating his gaze.
However, he knew that with just his personal strength alone, he’d be unable to kill the youth in front of him who possessed the four times refined spirit weapon.
“Yi Qiansui, where does this kid come from? Have you received a thorough understanding of his background yet?” A youth with triangular shaped eyes from another group of people laughed in cold inquiry.
“Humph. Why don’t you ask him yourself if you want to know about him?” Yi Qiansui was in a bad temper. He hadn’t gleaned any benefits from Jiang Chen, and this made him feel that he’d lost a great amount of face.
“Tsk tsk. You’re still half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm. To think that you’re in such a bad shape, what an affront to those of us that are also half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm!” The triangular eyed youth jeered.
“You go take a crack if you’re that good!” Yi Qiansui laughed coldly.
The leaders of these four groups were all pract.i.tioners who were half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm, and thus none of them were stronger than another. Yi Qiansui had had bad luck with Jiang Chen, thus he didn’t mind these folks having a try as well.
Perhaps these guys would be caught off guard and end up even worse than him!
“To try just because you tell me to, don’t think I’m useless trash like you!” The triangular eyed youth urged on his steed and brought himself brashly forward.
The sinister triangular eyes measured up Jiang Chen like a venomous snake.
“Kid, I quite admire your guts. However, don’t try to put on a front before us spirit dao pract.i.tioners, it’s completely useless. True qi currents cover your body — you’re on a completely different level than our spirit qi.”
“Another waste of s.p.a.ce who only knows how to flap his lips?” Jiang Chen broke out into a chilly laugh.
“Yo! Kid, you’re rather n.o.bly aloof huh? Can it be that you really think that, as a true qi pract.i.tioner, that ten thousand will be unable to get by while you guard the pa.s.s?” The triangular eyed youth poked fun at Jiang Chen like he was toying with prey.
However, his moves weren’t to purposefully waste time in idle chatter. He wanted to beat around the bush and test Jiang Chen’s reactions.
The triangular eyed youth had retracted his earlier disdain after their verbal exchanges, and he secretly felt slightly impressed. No wonder Yi Qiansui had had bad luck.
This kid had no flicker of emotion at all when faced with four pract.i.tioners half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm pract.i.tioners.
Logically speaking, true qi pract.i.tioners would instinctively feel a bit panicked when they met those of the Spirit Dao Realm. They would feel fear and maybe, even involuntarily, wish to escape.
But the triangular eyed youth couldn’t discover any hint of this at all in Jiang Chen.
“This kid must’ve trained himself mentally, there’s no way he could be so calm otherwise.” A thought struck the triangular eyed youth’s mind as a sword appeared in his hand.
“Everyone, I’ll play with him for a bit. But I’ll say this first, if I capture him, all his equipment belongs to me!” The triangular eyed youth’s tone was a bit domineering.
“In your dreams!” The other three pract.i.tioners half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm protested at the same time.
The triangular eyed youth was incensed. “I’m leading the charge. Do you guys want to profit off my efforts?”
“No one’s forcing you to lead the charge.” Another chubby pract.i.tioner a half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm said bad temperedly.
Jiang Chen was privately pleased to see internal conflict arise in the others. The more time these people wasted, the better it was for him.
As long as Gouyu and the others broke through that line of defense, he would immediately dust himself off and depart, leaving this group of idiots to play amongst themselves.
Jiang Chen secretly observed them. The other ten or twenty pract.i.tioners were here to round out the numbers. Jiang Chen basically ignored those within the true qi realm.
These people would pose no threat to Jiang Chen, whether it was in terms of attack, or in defense.
The only thing was that the four pract.i.tioners half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm would be an extreme hards.h.i.+p. If any two of them cooperated sincerely, then it would be enough to cause great trouble for Jiang Chen.
If three of them cooperated, then Jiang Chen would have no place to escape to.
If all four of them worked together, with no unpleasantries between them, then Jiang Chen would be dead for sure.
However, this was built on the foundation of being surrounded by them. In actuality, Jiang Chen had been on his guard until even now. He would immediately retreat if they sought to encircle him.
And, the direction of his retreat would have to avoid Gouyu and the others.
It was obvious that these four pract.i.tioners half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm all had their own motives. This was the only advantage Jiang Chen had.
There was the scarfaced youth Yi Qiansui, the triangular eyed youth, the chubby youth, and the last one, whose appearance looked like a woman’s — making it difficult to discern their gender.
This person hadn’t spoken at all, but still gave Jiang Chen the feeling that they were the most frightening.
It was said that barking dogs seldom bite.
This person with the hard to discern gender was absolutely the most shrewd and poised of them all.
“How about this, the four of us will combine our efforts and take down this kid first. Afterwards, we’ll split his equipment, how about it?” The triangular eyed youth proposed.
“Alright, I only want the bow. You guys can have the rest.” Yi Qiansui said.
“Heh heh, I want the bow too. Yi Qiansui, ask for something else.” The fatty narrowed his eyes and laughed craftily.
“First come first served, I was here first, so of course I’ll take my pick first.” Yi Qiansui was incensed.
“You were here first alright, but you would’ve fallen to your death had we not gotten here. What right do you have to argue with us?” The triangular eyed youth jeered once again.
Yi Qiansui was greatly ashamed. This was the truth.
However much he was ashamed though, he wouldn’t give way in the face of profit. “Anything you say is pointless. I only want that bow. This kid is bizarre, he’s got to have a lot of valuables. His blade is also very odd. I suspect that it’s a spirit weapon. My chain of wind and cloud actually cracked when he slashed down at it.”
“What? Yi Qiansui, are you speaking truly?” The fatty was surprised. He knew that Yi Qiansui’s chain of wind and cloud was a quasi spirit weapon.
With Yi Qiansui’s cultivation of half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm, and him manipulating a quasi spirit weapon to fight against a true qi pract.i.tioner... to think that his weapon had been chipped by his opponent!
What did this mean? This meant that the blade of the true pract.i.tioner was absolutely stronger than the quasi spirit weapon. It was also one hundred percent certain to be a spirit weapon, and it was very likely to be a high leveled one.
“Absolutely certain. If my words are false, may I be struck by lightning and split into two halves.” Yi Qiansui swore.
“Alright then, I’ll take a step back. I want that blade.” The fatty pouted. “Then it’s settled, no one can fight with me.”
The triangular eyed chuckled coolly. “You two, one wants the bow, and the other wants the blade. Do you guys take senior brother Liu and me to be dead?”
Senior brother Liu was the indistinct gendered youth who hadn’t spoken until now.
The youth’s face was quite pale, and his eyebrow arched slightly when he heard triangular eyes refer to him, as he displayed a bizarre smile.
He suddenly took a few steps forward, and swept his gaze over the other three.
“I’ll say one thing.” Senior brother Liu looked like a woman, and even his voice was sweet and girlish, making listeners feel quite uncomfortable.
The three others looked at senior brother Liu with spurious smiles.
“You three can all go back now.” Senior brother Liu’s tone was diffident, and no emotions surged over into his expressions, as if he was uttering an extremely ordinary string of words.
“What do you mean ‘Go back’?” Triangular eyes started.
“Senior brother Liu, are you still dreaming?” The chubby one joked.
“Stop joking! Things might change the more we drag things out. Let’s grab this kid first. We’ll have all the time in the world to discuss how to split up the goods afterwards.” Yi Qiansui was of the mind to grab the target first, and then discuss how to split things.
Senior brother Liu’s eyelids lifted slightly, “I said, you can all go back — now. Immediately. Scram! I want all of this kid’s equipment!”
“You’re mad.”
“You with the Liu surname, you’ve lost your mind!”
“Heh heh, who do you think you are? There’s no place for you to act like you’re awesome here!”
The other three immediately formed a battlefront and started heckling this senior brother Liu. Everyone was half a step into the Spirit Dao Realm, how could they let this senior brother Liu throw his weight around in front of them?
Senior brother Liu chuckled and said nothing. He lifted his finger and tapped it downwards slightly, tapping it in quick succession with unsurpa.s.sed speed, in the direction of those three.