After Ling Tian and the others broke through the encirclement, they waited for an opening to summon the Fire Dragon Steed, then turned into a streak of red light and sped away. Lei Zhan and the others couldn't catch up. Watching the direction Ling Tian had gone, Lei Zhan's face darkened until it looked as if water might drip from it, and he felt a faint twinge of self-reproach.
"Damn it, damn it! They actually killed one of our people and then walked away unscathed. If the other realms find out, we'll become a laughingstock—especially to the other three realms." Lei Zhan was nearly beside himself with rage. He looked behind him. "Hey, which of you is good at tracking? Can you follow them?"
At the sight of Lei Zhan fuming, Chi Teng and the others fell silent, trembling like cicadas in winter. One by one, they shook their heads without saying a word.
"If I had my hawk, I could have kept track of them," the hawk's owner muttered. He glanced at the hawk Fairy Meng Shang had killed. "Too bad it's gone now. I..."
"Enough. The hawk was very useful. We'll help you tame another one." Lei Ting waved a hand impatiently. Looking at Lei Zhan, she comforted him. "Brother, this wasn't your fault. That Ling Tian was just too despicable."
"Alas, we've lost one of our people before even facing the other three realms. That makes winning first place even harder." Lei Zhan sighed, then looked at Tuoba Zongheng and the others. "Brother Tuoba, according to our agreement, you should know what to do now, right?"
At that, Tuoba Zongheng and the others looked utterly grim. But in the end, they gritted their teeth and took out their Communication Jade Talismans. Before long, the Nine-Colored Jade Slips