After spending the night and morning cultivating his spiritual energy, Xue Wei gathered his friends and looked at them with a big smile.
He was in an amazing mood. Never before had he experienced such a rise in mental vigor.
He felt more powerful than normal; his body was brimming with energy and his mind was clearer than ever before.
“So, looks like there is nothing left to do here in Golden Crow city,” he started. “We will probably be followed by those jealous of my abilities and those wanting to use us for their own nefarious purposes. But none of them should be stronger than Heavenly Warriors so we should be able to shake them off.”
“Can I kill them?” Hei Gou asked. Xue Wei shook his head. “We should not kill humans while pretending to be independent cultivators.”
“But we can injure them?” he pressed on. Xue Wei smiled while nodding his head. “Sure,” he said casually. “We are allowed to act in self-defence.”
“Let’s get a proper last meal before we hit the road again,” Bai Tianyi said with a grin. The others readily agreed when they recalled the kind of food they would be eating while on the road.
Manager Hu was as friendly and as eager to please them as ever.
He quickly made it so that they were being led to one of the private dining rooms.
A group of Heavenly Warriors were constantly keeping tabs on them, and they did not even try to hide it.
Xue Wei completely ignored them. After finishing their breakfast, the group said their farewells to Manager Hu before casually leaving the hotel for a walk through the city.
They were completely carefree as they made their way through the market district, looking for useful items, but sadly nothing caught their eye.
Finally, as the sun was setting, the group made it to the city gates.
They could have easily stayed for another day, but they were eager to continue their journey.
The people hot on their trail also heaved a heavy sigh of relief when they saw that they were heading out of the city. They had been bored to death from having followed them around the entire day.
After exiting the city, the Heavenly Warriors followed closely behind. They made their move only after around a hundred kilometers away from the city.
Xue Wei had sensed around ten experts initially, but it seemed that more had joined since then. Now, a full twenty-five experts surrounded them.
It was obvious who held the upper hand, but Xue Wei still smiled despite that.
“Halt!” one of the experts called out, stepping out from their encirclement around the four to get slightly closer to Xue Wei.
“We were sent by the royal families of the Chengzi Kingdom and the Skyward Empire.”
“Our aim today is not to hurt any of you but to invite you to come back with us to visit our master. He would very much like to see your magnificent skill in the art of formations on display.”
Although his words sounded polite, the man who spoke was anything but. His demeanor made it clear that he looked down on Xue Wei and the others as if they had no choice in the matter.
Such behavior made Xue Wei’s lips curl upwards in amusement. Did he really think that he could look down on them just because they had the advantage in numbers?
Before they left the hotel, Xue Wei had provided his team with formations. He had given each of them some Spiritual Bombs to confuse, a Paralyzing Formation to stall for time, and some Blazing Light Formations.
Although the Blazing Light Formation could not kill those at the Heavenly Warrior stage, it could stall them for a good amount of time and could shave off at least a layer of skin.
He had ensured that each of his teammates had ten Blazing Light Formations.
“I am honored that the princes have taken a liking to my skills, but I am busy. I’m heading to the center of the continent to reunite with a few important people,” Xue Wei said with a smile on his face.
Right now, his aim was to meet Lan and learn more about his uncle. He had a feeling that Lan would be able to give him some answers. It was clear that his uncle would be reluctant to answer any questions, and he had no idea where to look for him to boot.
The faces of the surrounding people turned menacing and their eyes glistened with malice when Xue Wei said this.
“Since you decline our polite invitation, don’t blame us for being ruthless! Your friends are not allowed to leave either! All of you will follow us! That pretty lady over there will be a concubine for the princes and your other two friends will be used as hostages to keep you slaving away for the princes; therefore, isn’t it better to come willingly?”
Xue Wei snickered, but a storm was brewing in his eyes. “You think you can take my wife and make her the concubine of a prince?” he said mockingly, causing them to be shocked. But grins spread on their faces right after.
“Follow our orders and your wife won’t be hurt, but if you do not, don’t expect her to look beautiful after we are done with her!”
Xue Wei frowned and his mood got worse and worse.
“Guys, I just changed my mind,” Xue Wei said in a bone-chillingly cold voice. “Leave no one alive!”
The experts sent by the two princes began roaring with laughter. It was as if they had heard the best joke ever.
“Grab them all!” the one who had spoken up until now called out as well. Now, it was impossible to avoid a battle.
The wind billowed across the plain. Their clothes and hair whipped in the wind while they waited for someone to make the first move. It was the silence before the storm.
Qi dragons roared throughout Xue Wei’s body, ready to be unleashed. The others also got ready to attack. Xue Wei, Hei Gou, Wang Xiaoyun, and Bai Tianyi all stood back to back.
They were faced with enemies from all sides. Even Xue Wei felt some pressure. He flipped his hand and a Blazing Light Formation appeared.
The first enemy reached him, which was right in time for the activation of the formation in his hand, which he threw out.
A whirlpool of flame descended from the paper like a flash of lightning. The temperature in the surrounding area rose drastically, and the flame from the formation coiled around like a dragon looking for its lair.
The advancing expert snorted. Xue Wei was merely a Sky Warrior. There was no way this weakling could wound a mighty Heavenly Warrior! Even if he was a formation master, all his formations were at the beginner level and they would hardly be enough to make up the gap
Taking these things into consideration, the Heavenly Warriors did not hesitate for a second and charged straight into the whirlpools of fire.
Xue Wei was not the only one who used the Blazing Light Formation. All four of them had used one at the same time, which turned the entire area into a sea of flames.
Bai Tianyi was the most extreme one. He used a full three formations simultaneously, summoning three fiery infernos in one go.
Ten of the twenty-five experts charged right into the flaming tornadoes, but as soon as they rushed into them, screams of agony erupted from inside.
The Blazing Light Formation alone did not have the power to kill experts of their calibre, but it was enough to make them writhe in agony.
The remaining fifteen experts shuddered when they heard the screams. It seemed that they could not ignore these formations.
But even if ten of them had been enveloped in the formations, there were still fifteen who were now alert and dared not rush head-first into them.
Xue Wei used the cover of the flames to dash forward.
Forbidden Rush!
Shattering Mountain Palm!
A palm descended down on one of the closest experts. But this guy was a Heavenly Warrior and Xue Wei was only a Sky Warrior.
Although he was swift while using Forbidden Rush, Xue Wei was not fast enough to land an attack.
Clicking his tongue, he retreated back from where he came, but the enemies advanced towards him on the other hand. He was their target, so they would not let him move around as he pleased.
Qi of all colors flashed like lightning in the air as countless attacks rained down on Xue Wei. Palm strikes, spear thrusts, sword slashes, everything was raining down on him. It was clear that they did not mind beating him half to death.
The other three had it easier. The majority of the experts were focused on Xue Wei, who was pushing Forbidden Rush to the limits to avoid the barrage of attacks. The other three fought against five other opponents while he was dealing with the rest.
Xue Wei flashed all over the place. For the first time, a truly thrilling battle had come. While unaware of it, a sinister smile had appeared on his lips.
Arcane Fist!
Kick of the Forgotten Kings!
With each evasion, Xue Wei threw out one attack after the other. Some were parried or blocked, while others landed on their targets, throwing them back a few steps.
Wounds started to appear on Xue Wei’s body. His armor could not fully mitigate the damage done to him, and his clothes underneath were turning into rags from the amazing abilities these experts were displaying.
They were definitely vassals of the royal family; their abilities were all top-notch. “This isn’t really working,” Xue Wei muttered to himself.
He had thought that he could handle one person at a time while avoiding the others, but it was not doable in the end. The ten experts chasing him knew each other well and could coordinate their attacks well enough to block anything Xue Wei tried.
Xue Wei decided to change his plans. He could not push Forbidden Rush any further, but then a thought sprang to mind.
Suddenly, his legs, which were covered by the robe, started to transform into those of a dragon.
No one could see the change in his appearance, but his speed reached a completely new height. Now, he was moving so fast that the Heavenly Warriors were deeply shocked.
Movement techniques were extremely rare, so these Heavenly Warriors did not possess one. As a result, Xue Wei held the upper hand when it came to speed because of his transformation.
Suddenly, the Azure Dragon Spirit flew out of his body, startling both his pursuers and even Xue Wei himself.
“Watch out, he has a Fierce Beast!” someone yelled out. But the Azure Dragon Spirit had vanished as soon as it had appeared, making Xue Wei’s lips twitch in amusement. What exactly was the point of the spirit’s action?
Although it seemed a little pointless, Xue Wei saw apprehension in the eyes of the experts, which made him snicker. Now was his time!
He rushed forward, his hand suddenly transforming into a dragon claw.
Shattering Mountain Palm!
The force behind the attack was many times stronger than the last attack..
Xue Wei aimed right at the heart of a second layer Heavenly Warrior-ranked expert.
He accelerated by stomping hard on the ground, thrusting the palm attack forth with both the momentum and his raw strength.
A ‘katcha’ sound echoed out as the palm landed on the chest of the expert. Blood sprayed from the mouth of the expert and his eyes were filled with disbelief as he lost his life.
Just as he died, the golden dragon awakened. It flew out of Xue Wei’s forehead and hovered above the dead expert for a few moments before retreating back into his mind. It was clear that it had consumed the expert’s soul and turned it into soul power that it could digest and refine into spiritual energy.