Stranger Danger

During his first battle, Yun Qingxiao singlehandedly eliminated the Twelve Forts of the Eight Rivers and slew a total of twelve Half-Step Grandmasters. The rivers ran as red as blood that day.

During his second battle, Yun Qingxiao fought against the notorious rapist known as A Flower and pursued him across a distance of hundreds of kilometers. In the end, he was able to slay the Grandmaster as a Half-Step Grandmaster.

During his third battle, Yun Qingxiao offended the Three Lives Sect of the thirty-six unorthodox sects and caused them to pit their full might—three Grandmasters and dozens of Half-Step Grandmasters—against him. Despite overwhelming odds, Yun Qingxiao was able to break out of the encirclement and slew one Grandmaster and five Half-Step Grandmasters. As a result, the Three Lives Sect suffered immense losses to both their strength and their reputation.

Publicly, Yun Qingxiao had only fought three times in his life. However, these three battles were enough to impress the entire jianghu.

Not everyone could overcome the gap between cultivation stages and defeat a superior, and the chasm only got wider the stronger one was.

In fact, many people believed that Yun Qingxiao was stronger than the fourth-placed Chu Wangsun, the third-placed Child of the Buddha of Lanke Temple, and the second-placed Child of the Demon of Demonic Mountain. In fact, they believed he could contend against the Little Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain[1] for first place.

Of course, the reality was that Chu Wangsun, the Child of the Buddha, the Child of the Demon and the Little Heavenly Master all possessed the strength to slay Grandmasters as a Half-Step Grandmaster. They all had a body count to prove it, so it was impossible to say who was stronger and who wasn’t until they actually fought.

Yun Qingxiao’s strength was unquestionable though. He was absolutely one of the absolute best among his peers, and he possessed a bright and boundless future.

In any case, no one expected Chu Wangsun to recruit the mysterious and low-key Yun Qingxiao for this venture. It was so surprising that even Six Yins Boy, Madman Chu and more were caught off guard.

For the first time, the quiet Holy Son of Maitreya looked up and stared at the two young men as well.

The Holy Son of Maitreya had not become a Grandmaster yet, so of course he was in the Human Champions Ranking as well. However, he was even more mysterious and low-key than Yun Qingxiao since he had almost never showed his face in the jianghu.

When Ye Qing met him for the first time, the Holy Son of Maitreya was only a middle-stage Spirit Purifier. At that level, he couldn’t even enter the Human Champions Ranking. It had only been a few months since that day, and now he was a Half-Step Grandmaster with seemingly full control over his powers. The difference was night and day to put it mildly.

The Holy Son of Maitreya was currently ranked sixteenth on the latest update of the Human Champions Ranking, but that was only because the Holy Son of Maitreya had never fought someone before. No one knew exactly how strong he was.

Maybe it was because geniuses naturally attracted each other, but Chu Wangsun and Yun Qingxiao instinctively met the Holy Son of Maitreya’s eyes when he looked at them. However, since neither of them were combative people, the stirrings in their eyes subsided so quickly it was almost as if nothing had happened.

Chu Wangsun and Yun Qingxiao nodded at Madman Chu and Laughing Buddha after stopping at a suitable spot. Then, they waited. Neither man seemed anxious or impatient in the slightest. In fact, they looked so calm and natural one could almost mistake them for a part of the scenery.

“Kekeke… youngsters these days are really something.” Six Yins Boy cackled after glancing at the duo. Only he knew if his compliment was sincere or not.

Madman Chu chuckled. “Youngsters should be arrogant. A youngster who isn’t arrogant might as well be an old man.”

A couple more people showed up while they were conversing, but they seemed extremely wary of the group and stayed a good distance away from them.

That was fine by Madman Chu. He could not be arsed to spare cowards and weaklings any attention or energy. Another teatime passed, and Madman Chu asked, “It should be almost time for Sun Sovereign and those creepy bastards from Fengdu to show up, right?”

As if on cue, the world suddenly turned unbearably hot. The next moment, a gigantic fireball descended from above not unlike the sun itself. Its pressure was such that even powerful warriors such as Madman Chu, Six Yins Boy, Laughing Buddha and Mistress Qu flinched a little.

The fireball looked intimidating, but it elicited neither noise nor tremor when it landed on the ground. Two people appeared when the deadly flames faded into nothing.

One of them looked to be in his sixties. He had red hair, red eyebrows, and wore a red garment. His body looked thin, but he was dazzling and eye-catching like the sun itself.

The other person was fully wrapped inside a black robe. It was impossible to tell their shape, size, or even gender, and their aura resembled a black hole that constantly devoured the surrounding light. Not even Madman Chu and the other Grandmasters were able to peer through the black hole and perceive the mysterious figure’s true form with their spirit or eyes. All they could see was a patch of darkness.

“You’re all here!” the red-haired old man said casually while shooting a glance at Ye Qing’s hiding spot.

Even from a hundred meters away, Ye Qing still felt his eyes hurting like they were stabbed like needles, and his body heating up like he was being cooked inside a pot.

Ye Qing was astonished as a matter of course. Ever since he started cultivating the “Dream Butterfly True Scripture”, his ability to hide himself had gone up considerably. The fact that Madman Chu, Laughing Buddha, Six Yins Boy and Mistress Qu hadn’t discovered him was proof of his growth. However, this Sun Sovereign had discovered him as soon as he showed up. No wonder even the proud Madman Chu was treating the man with respect. His power demanded it if nothing else.

Thankfully, Sun Sovereign didn’t seem interested in exposing him. He had looked away and said nothing after that glance.

“Sun Sovereign…”

On the other side, Madman Chu, Six Yins Boy, Laughing Buddha and Mistress Qu returned to their senses and saluted Sun Sovereign. Even the proud Chu Wangsun and Yun Qingxiao did not dare to treat him lightly and did the same thing.

“Where are the creepy bastards?” Sun Sovereign asked.

He was talking about the ghosts of Ghost Tower, of course.

“We haven’t seen them yet,” Mistress Qu answered.

“Hmph! I’m sure they’re already here. They’re just hiding in their mouse holes and waiting to stab us in the back,” Madman Chu scoffed.

“Crafty plots and machinations are just a small way. There is nothing to worry about,” Sun Sovereign said indifferently. His tone was calm, but his confidence was unmistakable. “Since the Death Sea has appeared, let us be off.”

Before Madman Chu or anyone else could muster a response, Sun Sovereign grabbed the black-robed person beside him and shot into the sky.

When he got close to the Death Sea, a massive sea wave surged in his direction without any warning whatsoever.

From the ground, it looked as if the waters had suddenly rediscovered gravity and cascaded downward like a waterfall.

Sun Sovereign paid it no attention, however. He simply shone brighter and brighter like the rising sun. As a result, the wave evaporated before it could even get close to him.

The next moment, Sun Sovereign crashed into the Death Sea like a gigantic boulder made of sunlight. The impact caused massive waves that were easily over a hundred meters tall, but they evaporated into steam before they could do anything. For a time, the entire area including the ground was covered in steam, and more than one person wondered in terror if the Death Sea would fall on top of their heads.

“Hahaha… Sun Sovereign is a real man alright!”

Madman Chu guffawed at the sight of this before cocking his head at Mistress Qu. “Sun Sovereign’s gone, old hag. Are you going?”

Mistress Qu harrumphed and did not deign to give him a reply. She waved a hand and ordered, “Let’s go,” before taking to the sky as well.

Mistress Qu and her subordinates’ flight wasn't nearly as forceful as Sun Sovereign’s, but it was very beautiful. The way their dresses danced to the wind made them look like true celestials.

Madman Chu sighed as he watched the women for a moment. “I must admit that the women of Li Hentian Palace are quite pretty if nothing else. It’s a shame that…”

“No need for lamentations, Brother Chu. If you like them, you can always join them. With your strength, I’m sure they will happily submit their women to you. Who knows, it might even be possible for you to become their head,” Six Yins Boy teased.

“You’re kidding. I have zero interest in old hags.” Madman Chu shook his head. “Besides, what use is a woman to a warrior? Haven’t you heard that womenfolk are the tomb of all heroes? They will only slow down my fists.”

“I’m lamenting not because I want them, but because most of these beautiful women are going to crumble into a pile of bones very soon.”

As if on cue, bloodcurdling screams suddenly broke out of the sky. Then, the women of Li Hentian Palace began plummeting to the ground like the rain.

1. Little Heavenly Master hails from Heavenly Master Mansion, and Heavenly Master Mansion is a division of Dragon Tiger Mountain, just like East Kunlun is a division in San Qing Temple. ☜

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