“Since Fairy Linglong has invited me, I’m naturally willing to join,” Ling Xiao nodded.
“Thank you for giving us the honour, young master. May I have your name?” Fairy Linglong asked with a smile.
“My surname is Ling.”
“So it’s Young Master Ling! I’ve long heard of you!” Fairy Linglong flashed a charming smile.
At that moment, a cold-faced warrior beside her, who had reached the early Fifth Layer of the Mortal Realm, looked displeased. It was understandable that he looked down on Ling Xiao.
“Hmph, what young master? Just a little brat,” the man snorted coldly. “Fairy, we agreed that the minimum cultivation for this mission would be the late Third Layer of the Mortal Realm because that place is extremely dangerous. This kid is only at the early Third Layer, he’s simply not qualified.”
“Exactly, a brat who hasn’t even been weaned, who could trust him?”
“Fairy, let me join your team instead.”
As the cold-faced warrior spoke, other Mortal Realm Third Layer warriors vying to join the team began to clamour.
Fairy Linglong smiled at Ling Xiao and said, “Young Master Ling, why don’t you show them your strength? These people are quite proud, they won’t listen to my explanations.”
Ling Xiao thought to himself: You just want to gauge my true strength, hmph, but unfortunately, you won’t get your wish. Even without removing the Array Refining Stone, I have no fear of a peak Third Layer Mortal Realm warrior.
With that in mind, he nodded.
“Alright, don’t you all want to compete with Young Master Ling for a spot? We only need thirty people for this mission, and we’re short one, which was meant for Young Master Ling. Since you’re not convinced, you can each challenge him one by one,” Fairy Linglong’s approach was clearly designed to cause trouble for Ling Xiao.
With so many warriors, over a dozen at the late Third Layer or peak Third Layer, fortunately, the strongest were only at the peak Third Layer. It seemed Fairy Linglong had already selected the Fourth Layer experts, or else Ling Xiao might have had to reveal more of his strength.
“No need for such hassle, come at me all at once!” Ling Xiao wasn’t afraid of multiple Third Layer warriors. Without special techniques, they couldn’t even breach his defence, so he only needed to attack.
“Big words!”
“Kid, you’re asking for it!”
“Since you insist, we’ll all come at you and teach this brat a lesson about the real world.”
Amid the chaotic shouts, fifteen warriors at the late and peak Third Layer of the Mortal Realm rushed towards Ling Xiao.
If they had coordinated, they might have lasted longer.
But they were too foolish and barely knew each other, swarming him like a mob.
Ling Xiao sneered, casually taking out an Array Refining Stone.
Once activated with true essence, the ground was instantly covered with fire snakes.
Though modified by Ling Xiao, this Fire Snake Array was equivalent to a First Layer Mortal Realm warrior’s attack, with over a hundred fire snakes in a single array.
Crucially, the fire snakes in the array couldn’t be destroyed. Unless the array was broken, any defeated snake would regenerate.
The sudden appearance of the fire snakes threw the fifteen warriors into disarray. If they had stayed calm, they could have easily avoided the array even without breaking it.
But they panicked instantly.
To make matters worse, Ling Xiao suddenly produced two sword qi from his fingertips. Standing still, he could attack every enemy within the Fire Snake Array.
In an instant, several warriors were pierced by the two sword qi, collapsing in pools of blood.
Of course, they weren’t dead, Ling Xiao wasn’t so bloodthirsty, just injuring them.
For Mortal Realm warriors, such injuries would heal quickly.
With some wounded and on the ground, the scene grew even more chaotic, with conflicts breaking out among the warriors.
In the end, Ling Xiao barely used much true essence, defeating all fifteen warriors in just sixty breaths.
“Fairy Linglong, have you got the result you wanted?” Ling Xiao asked with a grin, looking at the slightly trembling Fairy Linglong.
“Young Master Ling, you actually know arrays, how surprising!” Fairy Linglong said in astonishment.
“A small trick. Can we head into the mountains now?” Ling Xiao displayed his strength to warn Fairy Linglong that if she truly planned to move against him, she should be prepared for heavy losses.
He considered this an act of utmost kindness. If she didn’t come to her senses, he’d have no choice but to strike decisively.
“Of course,” Fairy Linglong smiled.
“By the way, I’m heading to Thousand Ghost Forest, so if it’s not on the way, we might part after entering the depths of the Fulong Mountain Range,” Ling Xiao reminded her.
“What a coincidence, it’s on the way,” Fairy Linglong replied.
“Good then.”
Whether she was truly on the way didn’t matter to Ling Xiao. He joined this team only to deal with potential trouble.
He wasn’t one to leave problems unresolved, as they could lead to endless complications later.
…
After entering the depths of the Fulong Mountain Range, the team’s pace slowed considerably.
The area was fraught with danger, where the slightest carelessness could exact a heavy toll.
The dense forest seemed tranquil, yet there were occasional rustles.
You couldn’t tell if it was the wind, hidden ferocious beasts, or ill-intentioned warriors.
It had to be said, the people Fairy Linglong chose were of high quality.
This referred to their professional skills.
As “beast-hunting warriors” who frequently ventured into the Fulong Mountain Range, each had honed sharp eyes.
Their gazes seemed to pierce through grass and trees, easily spotting anomalies in the forest.
Their weapons were already drawn, ready to handle any sudden changes.
Clearly, these people often worked together, having entered the Fulong Mountain Range with Fairy Linglong countless times.
They had their own coded gestures and glances, understanding each other with a single look or motion.
At first, Ling Xiao didn’t understand their gestures, but it wasn’t difficult for him to learn. Moments later, his Mountain and River Martial Soul had analysed all their gestures and glances.
He could now clearly understand their intentions.
But he didn’t say so. He had joined this group to see what they were up to.
Some things were better kept secret.
The three-thousand-jin weight of the Array Refining Stone made walking extremely difficult.
Yet even so, he didn’t fall behind.
The benefits of training his body during the Martial Vein Realm were now fully evident.
Only with an exceptional physique could he endure Yuan Zun’s training methods.
