w.a.n.g Zhong had entered into the Devil’s Abyss several times in the past, in order to promote his strength and skill.
He relied on combat for his development, as he wasn’t being supported by any martial art Schools, nor did he have any money to buy Dan on his own.
So obviously, w.a.n.g Zhong was very familiar with the Devil’s Abyss, so much so, that even Lone Leaf’s knowledge was no match for his.
Bi Fan asked w.a.n.g Zhong, if Bi Fan could provide him with some Dan pellets to help him break the bottleneck to the next layer. And Bi Fan was really surprised when w.a.n.g Zhong flatly refused his offer.
“I rely on practice to break through the bottlenecks. I want to prove to those Big School boys, that I’m better than them, even without the use Dan pellets.” w.a.n.g Zhong had replied.
It was evident from his tone that he disdained the big martial arts schools. Perhaps he had suffered a lot at the hands of the students of big martial art Sects, which was probably the reason he didn’t get along very well with Lone Leaf.
Since w.a.n.g Zhong had refused the offer, Bi Fan decided that it was best to no insist. After all, everyone had their own ways of going about things, and he believed that people should always be allowed to exercise that right. But, obviously, people should also be able to take ownership of the consequences of their actions.
In fact, even Bi Fan wasn’t very fond of taking Dan pellets to break though the bottlenecks, and only used them as a last resort.
He had always believed that using Dan pellets to promote strength might backfire later on, and may obstruct future enhancements.
The impact, however, may not be very adverse; but Bi Fan’s strength was growing at an excellent pace right now, and he felt that such a risk was simply not required.
At the moment, Bi Fan was progressing so fast, that he wasn’t using any kinds of Dan to support his practice, and was very happy with the results.
Although Lone Leaf didn’t like w.a.n.g Zhong, but he still respected, and admired, his tenacity and his strength.
Everyone wanted to break through the bottlenecks as quickly as possible, and so, using Dan pellets for support, had become a trend.
Moreover, Dan pellets didn’t really show any side-effects over short durations, so people often took them, even when they weren’t required, unless of course, they didn’t have the money to afford them.
With the addition of w.a.n.g Zhong, Bi Fan’s delegation had become a lot stronger, and after some discussion, they decided that they should venture a little deeper into the Abyss.
They encountered a lot of beasts on the way, and were able to deal with them easily.
Since the members of the platoon were quite strong, they were able to rotate the fighting between themselves, which allowed them to kill the beasts much faster, while being able to maintain a good energy level as a whole.
The Chimera didn’t get too many chances, as it was asked to remained concealed in the shadows during most of the fights, just in case something went wrong.
w.a.n.g Zhong continued to curse Bi Fan, in his mind, all along the way: “Despicable, insidious, sinister….”
In reality, Bi Fan’s intentions, were never to be cunning or sinister, he simply, was a very cautious and careful man.
He was far more cautious than an average person, probably because he had suffered so much in the past that he simply couldn’t trust people anymore, and so, he wasn’t willing to take any chances.
A while later, they b.u.mped into a group of humans. This group had five members in it, four men, and woman. They were all quite young, and quite strong.
Within this group, the weakest member had already reached the ‘spiritual intelligence’ layer, whereas, the strongest one seemed to be at the peak of the ‘transformation’ layer, and was roughly at par with w.a.n.g Zhong.
“San Yuan’s Wu San and Wu XiuLi!” Lone Leaf recognized them in an instant, and seemed quite surprised to b.u.mp into them.
w.a.n.g Zhong, it was obvious, had recognized these people as well, but he merely twitched his lips, and ignored them all together.
The Blue Dragoon asked: “What’s San Yuan, I have never heard of them before?”
His volume wasn’t very loud, but was still, loud enough for the other party to hear him clearly.
“Lone Leaf, w.a.n.g Zhong, what are the two of you doing stirring trouble together, and watch your friend, he isn’t very polite. You should teach him some manners and etiquettes.” The leader of the group spoke.
His name was Wu San. He looked more like scholar than a fighter. He had a very smiley face, but his smile was more likely to give people an ulcer than b.u.t.terflies, as it reeked of mischievous intentions.
Wu San wasn’t the strongest member of the group, but looked like the wisest of them all, and so, was a well-deserved leader.
w.a.n.g Zhong raised his eyebrows, twisted his head half-sideways, but didn’t respond.
Lone Leaf replied: “The reason why we are travelling together has a long story to it. As for my companion, he comes from a small place, and hence, doesn’t have much experience in talking to people from Sects as distinguished as yours. He didn’t mean to offend you.”
It was obvious from Lone Leaf’s tone and choice of words, that he had been dealing with these guys for a while now, but still, his tone had a hint of cynicism in it. It was apparent that he wasn’t demeaning Blue Dragon, or his background, but still felt that it was important to be a little respectful to Wu San and his stature.
Lone Leaf’s words had an instant effect on Wu San, and his facial expression changed immediately, as he calmed down again.
“Lone Leaf, you are a moral man, and I wouldn’t have thought an ill of you, but then again, you are working with w.a.n.g Zhong it seems.”
“If you fancy killing me, then do well to remember, that your school isn’t a part of the Jiu Yu Sect, and if you managed to anger Bei Ming, then the entire Jiu Yu Sect will come after your school, and things will go bad for you.” Lone Leaf responded in an ice-cold voice.
Blue Dragon spoke up again: “Oh, they aren’t a part of the Jiu Yu, no wonder I have never heard of them before.”
His words. .h.i.t this group of five, right on the spot, and their faces reflected their anger. The strength of the San Yuan School was slightly weaker than that of Jiu Yu Schools, and their students always took this fact to their hearts.
Irrespective of who the speaker was, such words always managed to anger the students of San Yuan School.
Blue Dragon didn’t know about this, but given his personality, he probably wouldn’t have cared even if he did.
Contrarily, he would have probably tried to use this sentiment to stir up more trouble, and would have most likely used it provoke them further, and start a fight.
“Boy, your mouth stinks. You seem too fond of death, ah.” This time, it was the woman who spoke up.
Her name was Wu XuiLi, and true to her name, she was beautiful and elegant, however, her tone didn’t reflect the same.
She was quite strong, and had already reached the pinnacle of the ‘enormous strength’ layer, which was probably the reason behind her arrogant att.i.tude.
“Not very fond of dying, but, I am fond of the truth. And no, mouth doesn’t stink; I just say what I feel.” The Blue Dragon replied in cold tone.
“Oh boy! Come out and cross swords with me, if you have the b.a.l.l.s for it!” Wu XuiLi was furious with Blue Dragon’s continued contempt.
Blue Dragon was on a roll: “I’m sorry; I don’t fight women. If you really do feel like fighting me, then send a man.”
“How dare you look down upon women?” Wu XuiLi’s anger was reaching new heights, and her eyebrows were tensely limp.
Blue Dragon replied: “I don’t look down upon women, I simply don’t like coming in contact with them.”
Wu San stepped forward, in the hope of controlling the situation a bit: “Why don’t we join hands for the sake of our mutual practice?”
“Wu San, you’re thick skinned, I don’t want to collaborate with you.” w.a.n.g Zhong stepped forward.
Lone Leaf whispered in Bi Fan and Blue Dragon’s ears, in a very soft voice: “The rumor is, that some time ago, Wu San challenged w.a.n.g Zhong to a fight, and w.a.n.g Zhong defeated Wu San.”
“Ah, so brother w.a.n.g has beaten Wu San in the past, no wonder he is acting so humbly in front of him.” The Blue Dragon laughed.
Blue Dragon, once again, didn’t control his voice’s audibility, and his words managed to reach Wu San, who was literally trembling with rage at the moment.
Wu San was glaring at Blue Dragon, almost as if he wanted to eat him alive, and he might have, if w.a.n.g Zhong wasn’t standing in front of Blue Dragon.
Bi Fan smiled: “Brother Blue Dragon, you might want to tune it down a notch; otherwise we might land ourselves in more trouble later on.”
“Oh come on, let’s not hold back at all. Let’s have ourselves another fight, and get some more exercise.” Blue Dragon was adamant on landing himself another fight.
Wu San’s tone was cold and inanimate, as opposed to his face and body language: “w.a.n.g Zhong, your comrade thinks of himself as a Lone Ranger huh?”
“That’s none of your business. Decided what you want, and stop wasting our time here.” w.a.n.g Zhong was so rude, that he made Blue Dragon’s words sound like music.
Wu San laughed: “w.a.n.g Zhong, you’re as arrogant as ever. We are going to go and unite with our senior shortly, don’t make us come back for you.”
“I waited so long for that coward to show up, the last time I paid you folks a visit, but he just evaded a confrontation.” w.a.n.g Zhong laughed.
“w.a.n.g Zhong, you’re going to die soon, one day.” Wu San decided that it was better to leave, and Wu XiuLi, along with the four men, sped away from Bi Fan’s party.
Once the San Yuan party had gone out of their sights, Bi Fan turned to w.a.n.g Zhong to inquire about the situation.
San Yuan was considered a very powerful sect in Tian Yu, and was only marginally weaker than the Jiu Da sect Schools.
San Yuan had been trying to get themselves into the Jiu Da sect for a long time, without any success.
It is said, that San Yuan was forming a very strong alliance with Yuan Shi, as backup option, since they had been failing to get into Jiu Da.
“Ah, so they are being supported by Yuan Shi, no wonder they have such an arrogant att.i.tude.” Bi Fan was beginning to understand the situation a lot better now.
San Yuan and Yuan Shi, were located very far away from the Jiu Yu City, which is why Bi Fan decided that it wasn’t important to give much thought for the time being.