A Vicious Extortion Incident
Turning his head, he saw a man standing behind Zhuge Xiang. He was about twenty years old, with a kind and approachable face. He always had a warm smile on his face and gently waved a Jade Bone Fan in his hand. He looked like a handsome young gentleman in a turbid world. The thick and stable aura on his body made people know that he was a cultivator in the Body Tempering Realm and that his strength was at least above the Fourth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm.
"So it's you, Senior Brother. Are you coming with us? No problem. But I don't know your name yet," Zhuge Xiang asked upon seeing the man.
Zhuge Xiang did recognize this man; he was the senior brother who had kindly explained the difficulty of the Ghostly Flash Steps Footwork technique to Zhuge Xiang when he was selecting martial arts techniques at the Martial Arts Pavilion yesterday.
"I never expected to meet you again. My name is Dugu Ming," the disciple said with a calm smile, closing his Jade Bone Fan.
"So it's Senior Brother Dugu. My name is Zhuge Xiang," Zhuge Xiang said, and then introduced Niu Geng, Lu Yuling, Hua Nongying, and Zhang Kuang to Dugu Ming.
"Zhuge Xiang? I heard that a new disciple who arrived half a year ago, named Zhuge Xiang, caused a great disturbance at Green Willow Peak, defeating more than a hundred disciples at the Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer all by himself. Could he be my junior brother?" Dugu Ming asked, a strange light flashing in his eyes.
"It was just a misunderstanding with the disciples of Green Willow Peak at the time," Zhuge Xiang said, unusually tactful because Zhang Kuang was standing nearby.
"Dugu Ming? That's a rare surname. I remember there's a genius in the Inner Sect named Dugu Jue. You two..." Zhang Kuang suddenly interrupted, saying to Dugu Ming.
"Indeed, that is my elder brother," Dugu Ming said, his warm smile unchanged, nodding in acknowledgment.
"Inner Sect?" This question made Zhuge Xiang secretly take notice. The Asura Sect claimed to have 200,000 disciples. Although Zhuge Xiang and others were also Official Disciple were actually divided into core disciples of the Inner Sect and Official Disciple of the outer sect.
If the outer disciples' cultivation is simply about focusing on their training in the Endless Mountain Range, then the Inner Sect disciples are the Sect's blade. They are responsible for tasks such as dealing with conflicts with other sects and deterring petty villains from other sects. The Inner Core Disciple Inner Sect Disciple's tasks are no longer limited to the Endless Mountain Range, but they have the right to leave the Sect.
Of course, the Inner Core Disciple have even more arduous tasks, and they must leave the Sect not bring shame to it, so their strength is naturally very formidable. In the six minor realms of the Qi Refining Stage, to become Inner Sect Disciple, one must at least reach the fourth minor realm of the Qi Refining Stage, the Void Splitting Realm, and be able to release Qi Energy externally.
"Hey, Zhuge Xiang, Lu Yuling, are you two also teaming up to do a sect mission?" Just then, a surprised voice rang out.
Zhuge Xiang turned his head and saw Zi Xiang, who was about seventeen or eighteen years old, standing gracefully. Her face still had a delicate appearance, but she had many Magic Artifacts on her body, covering most of her body. Moreover, judging from the aura emanating from her, she had also broken through to the Body Tempering Realm.
"That's great! If you're also going on a sect mission together, take me with you!" With a look of joy on her face, Zi Xiang came to Zhuge Xiang. Her delicate face held a hint of pleading, making her so pitiful and endearing that it was hard to refuse.
Upon seeing Zi Xiang, Lu Yuling frowned slightly but said nothing. Zhuge Xiang's brows also furrowed slightly. Although he wasn't afraid of what tricks she might play, Zhuge Xiang still felt uneasy having such a venomous Lifebound Gu by his side.
"Zi Xiang, why don't you go check out other teams?" Dugu Ming said, moving sideways to block Zi Xiang and Zhuge Xiang's path. His calm voice carried an undeniable air of authority.
"Dugu Ming? Are you the Squad Leader of this team?" Zi Xiang's expression changed slightly as she saw Dugu Ming walk out, though she didn't seem to back down. She hadn't noticed him earlier.
These words left Dugu Ming speechless; he simply looked at Zhuge Xiang, waiting for his reply.
Zhuge Xiang glanced at Dugu Ming, then at Zi Xiang, and had some thoughts in mind. However, before he could speak, the honest-looking Niu Geng interjected, "Zhuge Xiang, I think this Senior Sister Zi Xiang is quite strong. More people mean more strength, so why not let her join us?"
"You?" Zhuge Xiang looked at Niu Geng with some surprise. He didn't expect him to interrupt. It seemed that the honest man couldn't stand Dugu Ming bullying such a seemingly weak woman.
Zhuge Xiang had some calculations in mind. He had originally intended to agree, but since Niu Geng had spoken up, he naturally went along with it and nodded in agreement.
"Thank you, Junior Brother Zhuge, and this other Junior Brother, thank you for pleading on my behalf," Zi Xiang smiled as she saw Zhuge Xiang agree. Her gentle appearance made her smile truly beautiful.
Since Zhuge Xiang had said he wanted to leave Zi Xiang behind, Dugu Ming, though unwilling, didn't say anything. Thus, Zhuge Xiang, Niu Geng, Zi Xiang, Dugu Ming, Zhang Kuang, Lu Yuling, and Hua Nongying, a total of seven people, formed a team and went down the mountain.
"Zhuge Xiang, you need to be careful. That Zi Xiang is no pushover," Dugu Ming whispered in Zhuge Xiang's ear as they descended the mountain.
"Yes, I understand," Zhuge Xiang nodded silently, indicating that he understood, but he was still wary. Admittedly, Zi Xiang Zhuge Xiang not trustworthy, but he was also wary of Dugu Ming. Although he seemed very approachable, his willingness to join his team was suspicious. One should always be cautious.
Because of the sect's mission, there were many people at the foot of the mountain. Not only were the disciples in the Body Tempering Realm drawn to the mission, but even many disciples in the Meridian Opening Realm were attracted by it. Within ten miles of the Sect Headquarters, it was practically deserted of Monster Beast. Not only were Demon Wolf rare to see, but other Monster Beast were also hard to find.
As they ventured deeper, they saw many people with satisfied smiles on their faces, clearly having reaped a rich harvest. However, there were also many seriously injured disciples, either being helped by friends or struggling on their own to make their way back. The greater the harvest, the greater the risk naturally became. Thousands of disciples descended the mountain to fight the Demon Wolf, and the ground was tinged with a faint red color. The stench of blood permeated the air, and the slippery feeling made people feel extremely uncomfortable.
As the number of people dwindled and they ventured deeper, Zhuge Xiang and his companions were able to spot the Demon Wolf. They were in small groups of three to five, and it was rare to see any of these Demon Wolf alone. There were always at least thirty to fifty of them, and most of them were around the One-Star Mid-Grade.
As they ventured deeper into the Wolf Tribe's territory, the number of people dwindled, but the dark side of the Demonic Sect disciples began to surface. Along the way, they saw the corpses of many disciples lying on the ground. Although most of them had been torn apart by the claws and fangs of wolves, they could also see fatal wounds on many of the disciples' bodies, caused by sharp blades. Clearly, these people had died in fratricide.
"Be careful, the Demon Wolf are terrifying, but we can't let our guard down even among fellow disciples." Although he had a warm smile on his face, Dugu Ming's eyes had become much more serious. Zhuge Xiang and the others nodded silently and cautiously ventured deeper into the sect.
After killing several waves of Demon Wolf, everyone had a general idea of each other's combat strength. They carefully avoided large packs of wolves, but when the numbers were right, Zhuge Xiang and the others would charge in together.
The Demon Wolf captured by the team were divided into six portions. Zhuge Xiang and the other disciples who had Body Tempering Realm each received one portion, while Niu Geng and Hua Nongying, who had not reached the Body Tempering Realm, shared one portion.
After slaying the Demon Wolf, collecting their hearts as proof earns 1 Contribution Points in the Sect. After three days of continuous fighting, Zhuge Xiang and his group killed over a thousand Demon Wolf, and Zhuge Xiang also gained 200 sect points. Of course, the thousand-plus Demon Wolf also brought Zhuge Xiang over 30,000 experience points. Unfortunately, most of these Demon Wolves were only One-Star, and the team had seven people, Experience Points were greatly reduced.
On this day, in a forest in the Wolf Tribe's territory, Zhuge Xiang and his group encountered a pack of more than forty wolves. They rushed forward to fight, but only two Low Grade One-Star Demon Wolf Zhuge Xiang little threat to them.
However, just as Zhuge Xiang and his group had almost killed all the dozens of Demon Wolves, before they could collect their hearts, a group of twelve disciples appeared, around twenty years old, and subtly surrounded Zhuge Xiang and his companions.
"We chased these Demon Wolf here, and they were exhausted when you took advantage of them. I think my fellow disciples are all righteous people, and these Demon Wolf shouldn't try to steal from us."
The twelve disciples were all around twenty years old. They seemed to be veterans who had been with the Asura Sect for five or six years, and their strength was at least at the first Body Tempering Realm First Layer. A tall and strong man stepped forward, his eyes filled with a dangerous light, and stared at Dugu Ming, who had the highest cultivation level. Naturally, he was regarded as the leader of this team.
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