Taking the Initiative

"Boss Wu Hai, are we almost there?" a young man asked anxiously.

"Almost. We should be there after we get around this bend. You've all done well along the way, taking care of everyone who spotted us. We've already succeeded with most of the operation! All that's left is to pick the Crimson Flame Lotus!" said Wu Hai, who was at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Stage, with a smile.

Hearing they were almost there, everyone grew excited. There were two or three hundred Crimson Flame Lotus plants. If they really managed to harvest them and turn them over to the Lin Clan, they would surely receive an extremely generous reward. They wouldn't have to worry about cultivation resources for the next few years.

"Hm? Someone's here?" As they rounded the bend, they immediately saw two figures standing at the end of the passage. They were small and slender, clearly just a couple of children, but where they stood, they blocked the narrow passage completely.

"Has someone beaten us to it?" Wu Hai's expression darkened. "Move!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Wu Hai charged ahead. His ninth-level Qi Refining Stage cultivation burst forth, and no one could match his speed.

It's time to go all out! Qin Lang thought quietly. He watched the tall figure race toward them, surrounded by a powerful surge of spiritual energy, yet felt not the slightest fear. He planted his foot and unleashed all his spiritual power, charging straight ahead.

"Hm? You actually dare to come out and face me? You're just a little brat at the fourth level of the Qi Refining Stage. Where did you get the courage to defy me? Die!" Wu Hai's face was cold and cruel. He had already seen through the cultivation levels of Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi.

One was at the fourth level of the Qi Refining Stage, the other at the third. In his eyes, they weren't even qualified to fight him. But to reach the cave as quickly as possible and check on the Crimson Flame Lotus, he had decided to make a move himself, intending to kill them both with a thunderous strike.

What astonished both Qin Lang and Wu Hai, however, was that Bu Lianshi, who was at the third level of the Qi Refining Stage, didn't stay behind to defend. The instant Qin Lang charged out, she charged alongside him, then said in a low, quiet voice, "Brother Qin Lang, I'll defend you. Just focus on attacking!"

Qin Lang glanced at Bu Lianshi in surprise. He didn't know where his companion had found the confidence to say that, but he chose to believe her. He quickly changed his approach, channeling all the spiritual energy he'd been saving for defense into his attack. He no longer thought about how Wu Hai's attack might come at him. All he had to do was attack.

He knew that if Bu Lianshi couldn't defend against the opponent's attack, he might be seriously injured by a single blow—or even killed. But he chose to trust her, no matter how ridiculous that trust might seem to anyone else.

A third-level Qi Refining Stage cultivator defending against the full-force attack of someone at the ninth level? Was this a joke?

"Hmph! You two ignorant little brats don't know how high the sky is or how deep the earth is. Today, I'll show you the difference in strength!" Wu Hai sneered, a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes. He hadn't reached his current level and position by being softhearted. Countless people had already died at his hands. He'd built his achievements on a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, using every means necessary.

The eleven people behind Wu Hai saw the two brats charging toward them, both at the third or fourth level of the Qi Refining Stage, and let out quiet snickers. Such cultivation was beneath their notice, let alone that of their boss, Wu Hai, who was making his move personally. The question wasn't whether he could win, but whether he could kill them both with one strike.

The three rapidly closed the distance between them. Wu Hai raised his fist high, and as spiritual energy gathered around it, it began to glow faintly. It was almost at the point where the spiritual energy could leave his body. If that blow landed, Qin Lang would be all but certain to die.

Just as the fist was about to smash into Qin Lang's undefended chest, something strange happened. Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi, who had both been poised to attack, suddenly lowered their hands and began rapidly forming hand seals before their chests.

"Hm? What's this...?" Wu Hai was startled by their strange actions, but he still believed that two brats with such low cultivation couldn't have any techniques that posed a threat to him. His fist continued toward Qin Lang without slowing.

But the next moment, Bu Lianshi finished forming her seals first. A glimmer of spiritual light appeared on her pretty face. The moment it appeared, it converged at the center of her brow. In the next instant, her brow suddenly split open, and a golden bronze mirror shot out from within, blocking Wu Hai's fist.

Clang!

A deafening boom rang through the entire cave. The golden bronze mirror was sent flying by the blow, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Bu Lianshi's mouth. But she had, without a doubt, blocked the full-force strike of a ninth-level Qi Refining Stage cultivator.

"What... How could..." Wu Hai stared in disbelief at the golden bronze mirror he had just knocked away.

"That's..."

"That golden bronze mirror is..."

"Could it... be a magical treasure?"

Everyone's gaze fixed on the golden bronze mirror. They stared, dumbfounded, as the unbelievable scene unfolded before them.

By then, Qin Lang had finished forming his seals too. Just like Bu Lianshi, his spiritual energy quickly gathered at the center of his brow. Then his brow suddenly split open, and a bolt of purple lightning shot out. It moved too fast for anyone to perceive; in almost the same instant, it pierced straight through Wu Hai's chest.

"Damn it, they really do have magical treasures! Those two brats are both protected by magical treasures..."

"Quick... Hurry and save the boss..."

The eleven men, who had been leisurely watching the fight, snapped out of it and rushed toward Wu Hai as his body was flung into the air.

After that strike, Qin Lang's face turned deathly pale, as if he had been completely drained. Sweat streamed down his forehead like a brook.

Bu Lianshi and Qin Lang exchanged a glance and smiled at each other. So he wasn't the only one with a hidden trump card!

"I'll defend!"

"I'll attack!"

In an instant, they had each settled into their roles. They withdrew their magical treasures and quickly retreated.

By then, Wu Hai's subordinates had caught him. A massive wound had pierced through the left side of his chest, near the shoulder. If Qin Lang's cultivation hadn't made controlling the magical treasure so difficult, that strike would have been enough to take Wu Hai's life. But it had missed by just a little, and Wu Hai had survived.

"Too bad... That was our only chance..." Qin Lang said, his face pale as he looked at Wu Hai nearby.

Their spiritual energy had been depleted by half in the attack and defense just now. They could hardly use attacks like those again, and now that the other side knew what they could do, how would they ever give them another chance?