"Rear Guard—A Xiao!"
Lu Yuanzhou turned his head and looked at the youth about his age.
He was the second senior brother among Glazed Mountain's current generation of disciples, currently at the Qi Condensation Realm Peak.
He should be able to break through to the Martial Spring Realm within half a year.
The youth looked toward Lu Yuanzhou as well.
"Take them east, to the outer sect of Listening Willow Temple. Don't look back."
Lu Yuanzhou's tone was utterly calm, no longer timid or trembling.
The moment he resolved to stay behind and cover their retreat, Lu Yuanzhou's state of mind instead grew even calmer.
There was nothing left to fear.
And A Xiao, as he was called, had clearly realized what Lu Yuanzhou intended to do.
"No, Senior Brother!"
"If this continues, we'll all die."
Lu Yuanzhou said slowly, "Besides, if you stay, you'll only hold me back."
"..."
A Xiao fell silent.
He knew Lu Yuanzhou was right.
He was merely a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator.
...If he had cultivated a little harder, would he now be a Martial Spring Realm cultivator too?
Would he have been able to fight shoulder to shoulder with Senior Brother?
There was no longer any "if."
"I'm the Senior Brother."
Lu Yuanzhou continued, "This is what a Senior Brother is for."
The instant he finished speaking, Lu Yuanzhou charged forward in the direction completely opposite to his junior brothers and sisters.
The youth's slender silhouette was backlit, his sword tip dragging across the ground and carving out a long, thin trail.
Ahead, amid the trees, two dark-red figures were strolling toward him at an unhurried pace.
The man on the left was brawny and bald, his face thick with flesh, a mountain-splitting axe slung over his shoulder.
The man on the right