Lone Leaf led the way, with Bi Fan and Blue Dragon following his footsteps, along with the Chimera, and the four of them quickly sped through the Devil’s Abyss.
Lone Leaf didn’t stop to fight any of the beasts they encountered on the way, and ran directly past them, as he simply chose to ignore their presence.
As they watched Lone Leaf’s strides, Bi Fan and Blue Dragon were even more surprised with him, than they had been before, and it was awfully clear to them that he was really strong.
“Brothers, there is no point in killing these beasts, as the chances of getting a nucleus are very low. In comparison, the beasts in the deeper parts of the first layer are mostly over the ‘spiritual intelligence’ layer, which means that the chances of getting a nucleus will be much higher there.” Lone Leaf explained.
Bi Fan asked: “If most of the beasts are above the ‘spiritual intelligence’ layer, then what will we do if we run into a large group of them?”
“Don’t worry; the beasts in the deeper parts of the layer are often aware of their own territories. And even if they are living in large groups, they mostly come out alone to hunt for food.” Lone Leaf smiled.
Along the way, their party came across several people. Even though Lone Leaf didn’t seem to recognize any of them, he still didn’t seem willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and show some trust.
Lone Leaf didn’t talk much on the way; in fact, he didn’t even stop to help out any of the people they encountered on the way, even if they seemed to be in trouble.
Blue Dragon and Bi Fan were aware that they were relying on Lone Leaf and his expertise, so they didn’t raise any objections.
“Don’t help anyone you don’t know personally. Things are very complicated inside the Devil’s Abyss. What might seem like a ‘call for help’, might prove out to be a trap in the end.” Lone Leaf explained.
Blue Dragon and Bi Fan listened carefully, and nodded in understanding.
Lone Leaf belonged to a distinguished sect and seemed to know an awful lot about the Devil’s Abyss. Blue Dragon and Bi Fan, were learning a lot of new things from him.
Bi Fan and Blue dragon weren’t carrying a holier-than-thou att.i.tude, and modestly benefitted from the advice that Lone Leaf was giving; so much so, that they even asked questions, if they didn’t clearly understand something.
From time to time, Lone Leaf would nod in approval, as he seemed to be continuously evaluating the two of them.
Originally, Lone Leaf was somewhat looking down upon Bi Fan and the Blue Dragon, as they belonged to smaller schools, but now, his opinion of them was changing.
Suddenly, the three of them heard sounds of fighting coming from up ahead, and they quickly dashed in the direction to check things out.
The three of them quickly reached close enough to get eyes on the fight. A fight was being raged between a group of Devils’ Race creatures and a young man, dressed in bright white clothes, and the beasts weren’t exactly doing too well at the moment.
“That’s Tian Feng from the Jian Shen School!” Lone Leaf spoke out, in an astonished tone.
Bi Fan and Blue Dragon, were visibly surprised when the heard the name Jian Shen School.
Jian Shen School was the Quinyang equivalent of Bei Ming and was a member of the Jiu Da (The nine major, most prominent schools) sect, and was known to be an incredibly powerful sect.
Each and every student of the Jian Shen School was an expert in their own right, as they were only inducted into the School after they reached the ‘emerging from the womb’ layer.
Moreover, the students also needed to have a very strong base to begin with. Owing to this, strong base, the students were able to advance further quickly, which is what had helped the Jian Shen School build such a strong base, and a formidable reputation.
Bi Fan and the Blue Dragon, were just beginning to understand what the nine major sects were all about. Prior to the information that they had just received from Lone Leaf, they had no idea what the Nine Major Sects were about; all they knew was the names of these Jiu Da schools.
“Is Tian Feng extremely powerful?” Blue Dragon asked Lone Leaf, out of curiosity.
Lone Leaf revealed: “Tian Feng isn’t that powerful; to tell you the truth, we have matched swords several times in the past, and were neck to neck with each other on every occasion.”
“Oh? Do you want our help in getting rid of him?” The Blue Dragon exclaimed.
“Really? If the two of you help me out, then the three of us, could easily get rid of him, without any problems at all.” Lone Leaf’s face suddenly lit up.
Bi Fan put his hands down: “Brother Leaf, we belong to very small Schools; we don’t want to go around stirring up trouble with such powerful Schools.”
Blue Dragon clearly understood what Bi Fan meant, but he couldn’t shelve the inner most desires of his heart. He wanted to challenge the students of such powerful Schools, to prove his worth, and didn’t want to miss such an amazing opportunity.
“Bi Fan, Blue Dragon, Brothers, if the two of you help me in killing off Tian Feng today, then I promise you that we won’t leave behind any traces that could cause trouble later on, as long as we succeed in killing him. If fact, I won’t even take my share in the loot, and you can keep all of his valuables to yourself. I just want him gone. Moreover, I will also give you both a low-grade weapon as a reward for your help. What do you say?”
Lone Leaf tried to read Bi Fan and Blue Dragon’s faces as he offered them their rewards on success.
Bi Fan and Blue Dragon, looked at each other; they were tempted, both of them.
Lone Leaf was quick to realize that they two of them could be tempted into helping him murder Tian Feng, so he promptly took out two low-grade weapons and handed them over to Bi Fan and Blue Dragon.
“I’ll give you the rewards before-hand. They belong to you from now on, irrespective of whether we succeed or not.”
Bi Fan and Blue Dragon, hesitated for a second, but then ultimately, accepted the gifts.
Good weapons were hard to come by for them, as they didn’t belong to big Schools. They were merely students of smaller Schools, which unlike the Jiu Da Schools, didn’t have so many resources.
If they managed to kill off Tian Feng, then they could get their hands on an even bigger bounty.
This was the one point that was tempting the two of them into taking the risk of killing a Jian Shen student.
Tian Feng was, indeed, roughly at the same level as Lone Leaf and had attained the ‘enormous strength’ layer.
Bi Fan was sure that the three of them would be able to put an end to him without much trouble, which is why he was willing to agree to this idea. Things were much simpler when it came to the Blue Dragon; he just simply wanted to fight Tian Feng.
Lone Leaf was very happy to see that Bi Fan and the Blue Dragon had accepted his offerings.
Lone Leaf laid out the strategy: “Bi Fan, Blue Dragon, brothers, we will wait till we all get in position. We will surround him from all sides and then launch a surprise attack. We must not let Tian Feng get away, or else we will have to deal with some major problems later on.”
“Understood!” Bi Fan and the Blue Dragon, distinctly understood the fact that if Tian Feng managed to escape, then the two of them won’t just have to deal with him later on, but his sect as well; who were certain to wreak havoc into their lives.
Once the three of them were done plotting, they split up, and put the plan into action.
Bi Fan was responsible for flanking Tian Feng from the right side; whereas Blue Dragon was in charge of the left side. Lone Leaf would attack Tian Feng from the rear, while the beasts he was engaged were nicely blocking the way ahead of him, and effectively helping the trio’s cause by, completely trapping Tian Feng in a circle of enemies.
“Attack!” Lone Leaf waved on the attack, and the three of them charged out at the same time.
Tian Feng quickly realized that he was about to be ambushed.
Tian Feng turned around and the look on his face changed, very drastically in a split second, as he saw Lone Leaf charging in his direction.
“Lone Leaf, I never imagined that you would resort to hiring help in order to deal with me!”
Tian Feng was fl.u.s.tered and exasperated; he was in a state of complete disarray.
“Tian Feng, fate has brought you in front of me today. You’re out of luck. If I kill you inside the Devil’s Abyss, no one will ever be able to trace it back to me. So, thank you for making this easy for me.”
Lone Leaf unleashed a direct attack on Tian Feng; Fierce and merciless.
Bi Fan and Blue Dragon had also launched their attacks in simultaneous fashion. Bi Fan’s purple-feathered sword and Blue Dragon’s Scimitar, sharp and ready to shed blood.
Tian Feng focused his attention fully on Lone Leaf, as he didn’t think Bi Fan and the Blue Dragon, would be able to do him much harm.
If Bi Fan and Blue Dragon were allowed to get started, they would be able to exhibit why they needed to be feared.
Bi Fan and the Blue Dragon’s attacks were not as fierce as Lone Leaf’s. But even though they weren’t as strong as Lone Leaf, the difference wasn’t that great; a fact that was made obvious by their momentum.
As soon as he a.s.sessed their momentum, Tian Feng realized that he had been undermining Bi Fan and the Blue Dragon. Tian Feng knew that he was almost at the same level as Lone Leaf, but with two more, such powerful people a.s.sisting his enemy, his attackers would overwhelm him in no time.
Now, trapped between demons on one side, and a human combatant closing down from, each of, the other three, Tian Feng was sure that he didn’t have any chances of winning this fight.
Tian Feng immediately a.s.sessed the situation and made a quick decision, which he felt would suit him best.
Thirty Six Stratagems – If all else fails, retreat.
Of all Thirty Six Stratagems, fleeing is the best.
Tian Feng rushed straight into the flock of the Devils’ Race’s creatures; he was going to use them as cover for his escape.