Chapter 93: Young Master
The rumor of Xu Min's achievements spread faster than he walked. Everyone was looking at him with astonishment. Moreover, some looks contained fear while others were mixed with curiosity.
People also stared at Ye Ling, who was by Xu Min's side. Even Ouyang Xiu, who was from a renowned family, was not getting even half the attention that Xu Min was getting.
Surprisingly, Ouyang Xiu was not jealous of this lack of attention; he was also very interested in this young man. During their casual conversation, he realized that Xu Min truly knew nothing about the Immortal Ruins. His lack of knowledge shocked Ouyang Xiu.
"So tell me, why did you come to the Immortal Ruins in the first place?" Ouyang Xiu asked curiously. If he had not come for the sake of the Immortal Valley Rankings, what was his point in being here?
Xu Min just shrugged his shoulders, "I heard about this place and thought it'd be interesting to come visit. Who knew I'd stumble across such an amazing thing like the Immortal Valley Rankings."
Ouyang Xiu was stunned. You stumbled across such a thing? Even if people were to know about this competition, to participate would not be easy. What exactly had Xu Min promised Bu Huang in return for his admission?
Ouyang Xiu was burning with curiosity, but he also knew that it was incredibly rude to ask such a question. Thus he stayed quiet, smiled, and casually conversed with Xu Min about anything from the most recent gossip spreading in the Immortal Ruin to the Immortal Valley Rankings.
Xu Min did not speak much, but he nodded his head and listened to Ouyang Xiu. Although he was not speaking much, Xu Min felt grateful for all the information he gleaned. This strange and unknown Immortal Ruins became much clearer to him.
"The Immortal Ruins used to be the location of the elves many thousands of years ago," Ouyang Xiu explained. "Back when the elves lived here, they had a large and developed civilization. All the ruins were parts of their cities. When they lost, this entire area was left in ruins. The humans who were the victors took over because we needed space. Slowly, everything was remade."
"There is only one faction which remains from the time of the Great War, and that family is the Guardians of the Immortal Valley. Every other family is at least a few thousand years younger. This is also why we all listen to what the Guardians have to say and follow their rules. They are the largest faction within the Immortal Ruins, and they are also the ones with the deepest history. They never take in anyone from the outside. No matter how astonishing they are. In the same vein, they never participate in any worldly struggles. No one wishes to go against them."
"After the Guardians are the four great families and sects. The Snow Mountain is one of them; my Ouyang family is another. These four great families usually don't enter each other's territories, but recently Snow Mountain has been very aggressive. As of now, they have gone for the smaller cities; therefore, we are not too interested. However, if they enter our territories, a great war will erupt. No one wants this to occur."
Just as they entered the Lakeside Marketplace, Xu Min noticed a large group of experts rushing towards them. The leader of this group was clearly led by the Snow Mountain. Xu Min recognized them from the time he was here previously; it was clearly the one who had yelled about Xu Min being a coldblooded killer.
"Ouyang Xiu! Don't get mixed up in our family's affair. Just because you show yourself does not mean that we will give you face! He has killed so many people, and this is the Immortal Valley! You know what happens within the Immortal Valley cannot be pursued by the sects outside of the Valley. If I were to kill you now, no one would be able to blame me!"
Hearing this words, Ouyang Xiu did not shy away. Instead, he chuckled. "And how do you plan on killing me? If you possessed the young master here, things would be different. However, he is not here to threaten me, so why should I feel fear? I happen to have a lot in common with brother Xu, and I enjoy chatting with him. If you wish to stop our friendship from growing, I will patiently await your attack at any time!"
"Don't get too arrogant, Ouyang!" A voice suddenly rang out. The expression on Ouyang Xiu's face turned slightly sour. Xu Min was not dumb. He instantly guessed that this young master that Ouyang Xiu had mentioned previously had made an appearance.
"Hand over Xu Min to me or don't blame me for being ruthless!" This voice was filled with boundless arrogance and a hint of hate. Xu Min slowly turned towards the voice which had spoken. He noticed the young man he had seen at the very start of the Immortal Valley Rankings. The young man who had introduced himself to Xu Min and said that he would kill him later on.
I might have been afraid of you back then, Xu Min thought to himself, but now things are different!
A smile appeared on Xu Min's face, but Ouyang Xiu felt slightly uncomfortable. Should he keep supporting Xu Min, whom he had just met, and risk his life, or should he back away and thereby lose his chance in reeling in Xu Min? The choice was difficult.
"Brother Ouyang, please step back," Xu Min suddenly said, cutting in through his complicated train of thoughts and taking him by surprise.
"I am not a part of the Immortal Ruins, and I have no grievances with your family. To have you suffer because of me is not something I want to see. Also, someone like him does not have the qualifications to kill me."
The last sentence spoken shocked the entire area. Ouyang Xiu's jaw dropped at the amount of surprise he felt. The young master of Snow Mountain turned completely red from anger. His eyes blazed with killing intent, and his hand already gripped his weapon so hard that it would have shattered had it not been a magical treasure.
"I cannot kill you?" The young master spat out the words, "well you sure are confident in yourself. Let us see where this confidence comes from. Everyone attack, I will gift the bounty to whoever kills him!"
Xu Min had expected this. Out of nowhere, the elf spirit bow appeared in his hand. Qi arrows appeared one after another and were shot out with lightning speed. Every single arrow pierced the advancing cultivators right between their eyes, creating a small bloody hole, resulting in their deaths. Within the brief exchange of blows, Xu Min had shot out a total of twenty-three arrows, and all twenty-three arrows had pierced the head of an advancing cultivator.
Silence descended upon the area. It was not only Snow Mountain experts who had attacked. Some of the audience had been tempted by the bounty and had joined in on the attack as well, but the entire first wave had been killed in less time than it takes an incense stick to burn.
No one spoke, but the more time that went by, the more experts were observing the battle that was happening right in front of them. Right now, the battle was at a standstill; no one sought to move closer. As long as Xu Min held his strange bow in his hands, no one was willing to advance.
Even the young master of the Snow Mountain family was stunned speechless; his head was numb, and his back was soaked in cold sweat. Who would have thought that this young man who seemed to be quite a few years younger than him was so frightening?
Ouyang Xiu also felt slightly annoyed with his decision to not assist Xu Min. After seeing his first display of power, he fully understood that this man was not weak; it was highly likely that he had other secrets up his sleeve. Xu Min’s arrogant words seemed to be correct. This was something which Ouyang Xiu had never believed possible before.
"Ye Ling, deal with the ones around this young master. I'll take care of the Young Master himself," Xu Min asserted as he looked at the individuals from Snow Mountain in front of him. They were the only enemies left. Although the bounty was tempting, none among audience wished to throw their lives away. Instead, they decided just to stay back and witness who the winner would be.
These experts were all the geniuses of their families. Although at times they could be incredibly arrogant when it came to their strength, they were still intelligent. Seeing Xu Min's sudden display of powers made all of them begin to wonder just what kind of power he contained. Who had taught him to cultivate, and who was it that had gifted him all these different treasures? Perhaps it was a large sect or a very powerful roaming expert?
Only Ouyang knew that Xu Min did not come from a massive sect, and this knowledge made him even more worried. He had been told that Xu Min was the only disciple of his master. If this master was as strong as Ouyang expected, he feared that this expert would turn the Immortal Ruins upside down if his student were to die here.
Xu Min, the one everyone had started gossiping about, knew nothing of his master's true strength, nor did he originate from a large sect. Nevertheless, he knew that the treasure he had been given by his master was so outstanding that he could become much stronger than his peers. However, there was no time to think because now it was time for him to start moving.
Xu Min unsheathed his sword from the back. The moment it landed in his hand, he inserted his Qi into it. A humming sound appeared and filled the entire area; the sword was vibrating in Xu Min's arms; and Xu Min himself was filled with killing intent.
He had joined this Immortal Valley Ranking to train. Everywhere he went, the Snow Mountain people had been in his way. Although all these life-and-death battles had tempered him, he was filled with annoyance towards them as well. Now they had even gone as far as to put a bounty on his head. He was going to claim this bounty and eradicate the Snow Mountain forces within the Immortal Valley!
Seeing how Xu Min's eyes turned cold and a killing intent billowed outwards from his body, everyone took a few steps backward. His killing intent was so imposing that it felt as though thousands of knives were being pierced through one's skin wherever it touched. Even the young master of the Snow Mountain was not exempted. He too felt this killing intent, his rage subsided, and his face paled.
There was a big difference between Xu Min and these other experts of the Immortal Ruins. Many of these experts had never killed before and had never experienced true life-and-death battles. Whenever they went out to train, there would be experts of their families watching over them. Just in case they encountered true danger, they would be saved.
Xu Min was not the same. The only safety net he had had with him was Cao Cao. Although the two of them fought together, they had experienced countless challenging situations where they had been forced to break through their limits.
Killing this many people and fighting life-and-death battles as often as he had done, Xu Min's killing intent was truly ferocious, whereas his opponents were incapable of utilizing their power to the fullest. They had been suppressed by the fear that was creeping up on them.