The man’s shoulder had been pierced clean through, and blood flowed nonstop. He shot Xu Ziyan a vicious look, gritted his teeth and fled.
Xu Ziyan did not pursue him. The ambushes in this forest were meant to wound, not kill. If Xu Ziyan insisted on taking the man’s life, that would cross a line. He refused to believe there were no Flowing Light Sect observers nearby; if anyone’s life were truly endangered, the hidden watchers would surely intervene.
He calmly returned the longbow to his storage bag and continued forward in excellent spirits. That man was not the only ambusher in the vicinity, merely the strongest. If he wanted to make an example of someone, the man had been the ideal target.
“Big Brother is amazing,” Xu Zirong praised with a smile.
Xu Ziyan laughed. Having a little brother who always complimented him felt wonderful, but he knew that without Zirong’s help, he would not have wounded the man so easily. Wood-element techniques were particularly effective in a forest. Over the past three years, aside from Rain Moistens Without a Sound and the Wood-Tempering Art, Zirong had learned only one other technique: Forest Speech. It offered no offensive power, but allowed a limited degree of communication with nearby plants.
Of course, holding a conversation with trees was impossible. At most, the technique gave indistinct warnings about hidden dangers, and even those worked inconsistently. Other Xu disciples who studied it had almost never succeeded, and some even declared it useless.
Oddly, it worked on Zirong quite often. During their training in the Forest Sea behind the Xu residence, he had frequently helped Xu Ziyan locate demonic beasts at a suitable level. Xu Ziyan had never understood why and finally concluded that Zirong had a natural aptitude for wood-element cultivation.
In truth…
That wretched Forest Speech technique was nowhere near so effective. The reason Zirong sensed ambushers so readily was the Blood Demon Lord’s innate sensitivity to blood.
Within a certain range, he could distinguish the blood containing the most energy. All higher-level demonic beasts had been cleared from this little forest near the city. The people lurking here shone in his awareness like lanterns at night; even if he wanted to pretend not to see them, it would be difficult.
When the other hidden attackers saw Xu Ziyan dispose of their strongest colleague, they drew sharp breaths. They already knew Xu Ziyan was a candidate for first place, but his strength still shocked them. At least two groups quietly withdrew. His ability exceeded their expectations, and attacking him now would bring little benefit while risking the enmity of a likely winner.
Their retreat was exactly what Xu Ziyan had expected. Few of them were fools. Some might have been persuaded by others to trouble him, but not many would dare persist after witnessing his strength.
“There’s one more,” Xu Zirong whispered.
Xu Ziyan’s smile gradually faded. The formal examination had not even begun, and he did not want to make too many enemies. His earlier attack had been meant to scare off the rest. If this last person still intended to target him, though, Xu Ziyan would gladly teach him a memorable lesson.
To his surprise, the final person did not attack. Instead, he stepped openly out of hiding.
Xu Ziyan’s eyes narrowed sharply when he saw the tall boy. He knew him! Or rather, the original Xu Ziyan had known him.
The boy was called Le Hu, a member of the northwestern tribes. His people lived year-round in the deserts of the far west, home to countless varieties of demonic beasts, some as powerful as Nascent Soul cultivators.
War between human cultivators and demonic beasts had never ceased in the Xuanyu Domain. The northwestern frontier was the first line of defense against armies of beasts from the desert.
The tribespeople possessed exceptionally powerful physiques. Even those without spiritual roots could rival Qi Refining body cultivators in physical strength. Having fought demonic beasts for years, nearly all carried a formidable killing aura. Even an ordinary soldier could hold his own against a fifth- or sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator from the Xuanyu Domain.
The northwestern frontier was defended not only by the tribes but also by cultivators periodically dispatched from major sects and powerful cultivation clans. It was the ultimate training ground. Anyone who returned from it was almost invariably among the elite.
Of course, that assumed they returned alive.
Fighting demonic beasts was perilous. Even Golden Core cultivators could die from a moment’s carelessness. At his present level, Xu Ziyan would be nothing more than cannon fodder there, but he had long planned to visit someday to improve himself.
Le Hu was a candidate recommended by the northwestern frontier for the Flowing Light Sect’s inner-sect examination. Members of the tribes generally fought demonic beasts from early childhood. Xu Ziyan could not speak for the others, but this particular boy filled him with an inexplicable sense of danger, despite being only at the seventh level of Qi Refining.
He had the feeling that if they fought, the outcome would be impossible to predict.
“What do you want?” Xu Ziyan asked. He had no desire to make enemies without reason. Le Hu’s decision to emerge openly was itself a gesture of peace.
Le Hu was exceptionally tall and wore only a tiger skin over his sturdy, muscular frame. Without the original owner’s memories, Xu Ziyan would never have believed that this powerful-looking youth was merely sixteen.
“That was… what?” Le Hu looked solemn, his thick brows knotted in a troubled frown. But his question stunned Xu Ziyan. What was he asking about? The technique Xu Ziyan had just used?
Le Hu mistook Xu Ziyan’s silence for reluctance. Frowning even harder, he hesitated for a long time before pulling a small, round bead from his pocket and offering it to Xu Ziyan. “You people from the Central Plains always want an exchange. I’ll give you this. Teach me that move you used.”
Xu Ziyan stared at the beast core from a Foundation Establishment demonic beast, his eye twitching. What the hell? This is all wrong! Where was the savagery, overwhelming arrogance and boorish rudeness Le Hu was supposed to possess according to the original memories? Had he eaten them all?
Damn it! Even the original owner’s memories could be unreliable? That’s unbelievable!
“What? Not enough?” Le Hu tilted his head. “You Central Plains people seem to know lots of these strange techniques. If you won’t teach me, I can learn from someone else. But… I still think yours is the strongest!”
Xu Ziyan could only give a dry laugh. Should he compliment Le Hu’s eye for quality? The boy had actually recognized that the Nine Transformations of the Purple Firmament was something special.
He rubbed his face hard, then smiled at Le Hu. “My technique is a secret art that cannot be passed on. I’m sorry, but I can’t teach it to you.”
Le Hu seemed disappointed. He had come to the Flowing Light Sect to learn stronger techniques. Although his people were naturally powerful, few possessed spiritual roots. Having two spiritual roots made him an extraordinary talent among them, which was why the tribal chief had personally sent him to study here.
Standing beside Xu Ziyan, Zirong wore a distinctly displeased expression. This crude fellow could not even dress properly, yet he had somehow made Big Brother react like that. How infuriating!
Xu Zirong watched Le Hu coldly, already considering how to teach him a lesson without being detected. His bloodthirst remained, but over the years he had at least learned not to kill people casually. Xu Ziyan had little tolerance for such acts, a lesson Zirong had learned after one particularly memorable punishment.
On that occasion, he had nearly killed another Xu family disciple. He had pretended it was an accident, but in fact had deliberately lured the person into a trap in the Forest Sea.
The unfortunate girl had been badly injured and nearly died. When Xu Ziyan found out, he lost his temper with Zirong for the first time and punished him severely.
Previous spankings had been largely symbolic, but this time Xu Ziyan had struck hard enough to leave Zirong’s backside swollen.
Afterward, Xu Ziyan regretted losing control, brought ointment to tend his injuries, and lectured him about not hurting innocent people merely because he was angry.
Zirong barely listened to the lesson. Ever since his previous life, he had known that strength determined what counted as justice. With enough power, whether someone was innocent or not would be entirely up to him.
That was what had happened to him before. He had nothing to do with the invasion of bloodsucking insects, yet those people, relying on superior strength, had blamed him for the whole disaster!
The only lesson Zirong had taken from the episode was that if he did something similar again, he should make sure Xu Ziyan was nowhere nearby. And if possible, he should avoid killing his victim. That way, even if the truth came out, Xu Ziyan might not be quite so angry.
Why he so desperately wished to avoid making Xu Ziyan angry was something Zirong had never considered. He merely sensed instinctively that if his brother became too furious, something very bad might follow.
Although disappointed, Le Hu did not insist. He glanced at Zirong and left Xu Ziyan with a warning: “Watch out for your little brother.”
Xu Ziyan: ???
Watch out for what? Was Zirong in some kind of danger?
Xu Ziyan was about to stop Le Hu and ask what he meant when Zirong seized his hand. “Big Brother, I think it’s almost time for the gathering.”
Xu Ziyan glanced at the time. They had indeed delayed too long. Without further thought, he took Zirong’s hand and hurried toward the meeting place.