Whoosh!
Zhou Hao flipped his left hand, taking another Red Gold Copper Rod out of Mustard Stone Space.
Holding a rod in each hand, he looked at the astonished Cao Rong and the other two, then said coldly, "If you want a fight, all three of you can come at me together. I'll take you on. This has nothing to do with them."
As he spoke, he gestured with his eyes for Xiangcao to take Iron Pillar away first.
Since he had already struck, and his opponent was a Xiantian Lifeform from the Green Flood Dragon Army, Zhou Hao was ready to fight a full-blown battle.
With that wisp of mist remaining in the Sea of Consciousness Blue Flower, he was confident he could get away unscathed even if he faced a Purple Mansion Cultivator. These were only a few Xiantian Lifeforms.
Though the killing rage in his heart made him want to throw caution to the wind and slaughter them all, Zhou Hao had cultivated his mind for many years. Even now, a measure of reason remained, and he had not killed the Xiantian Lifeform he had struck earlier.
That Xiantian Lifeform practiced the Gods and Devils Body Refining Path. Though his body had been split in two, as long as the vital parts of his head remained unharmed, he could recover by expending some divine power.
That way, things would not reach the point of no return with the Xiantian Battalion.
Of course, having his body split in two meant he could not escape the pain.
But when Zhou Hao saw that Cao Rong and the other two looked astonished, yet showed not the slightest anger at their companion being beaten, he could not help feeling puzzled.
"Brother." Cao Rong's gaze fell on the pair of Red Gold Copper Rods in Zhou Hao's hands. "May I ask where you got these two rods?"
"Brother?" Zhou Hao froze.
Shouldn't the three Xiantian Lifeforms have rushed him together to avenge their beaten companion?
They were clearly not following the script!
"Little brother," said the refined-looking man, cupping his hands, "Er Hu meant no harm. He just has a foul mouth. I'm sure that blow you gave him let you vent your anger. If he gets up and says something stupid again, you can smash him into a pulp, and we won't say a word."
"Exactly, exactly." The other man, who wore no helmet and instead had a white cloth wrapped around his forehead, nodded repeatedly.
"Please forgive me and my younger sister for my subordinate's earlier offense." Seeing that Zhou Hao had not answered him, Cao Rong continued, "You still haven't told me, little brother—where did you get those two rods?"
Just then, Iron Ox, Xiangcao, Old Blind Man, and the others rushed in from outside the shop.
It turned out that after Xiangcao had taken Iron Pillar outside, she had still felt uneasy. She had told Iron Ox, then doubled back.
Iron Ox and Old Blind Man had hurried in after her.
"Brother Zhou, don't worry about us. You offended the Black Hand Tribe for our sake, but our Iron Ox Tribe isn't afraid of trouble. At worst, we'll all die here together."
Iron Ox gripped his twin axes, glaring at Cao Rong and the other two.
When Zhou Hao had left behind a blood letter earlier, he had meant for the Black Hand Tribe to come after him if they sought revenge later.
The Iron Ox Tribe had already felt guilty that their troubles had earned Brother Zhou another enemy for no reason. Now, with Xiangcao caught up in a clash as well, they were naturally unwilling to think only of themselves.
"No need, Big Brother Iron Ox." Seeing Iron Ox and the others, warmth filled Zhou Hao's heart, and the killing rage that had been growing unchecked within him eased.
Zhou Hao shook his head. "It was a misunderstanding."
At that moment, he also realized that his state of mind had been influenced by the killing rage without his even noticing.
He had come from the peaceful modern world to this Wilderness World, first encountering Motai Jie's wanton slaughter for no reason, then being attacked by two Xiantian Lifeforms from the Black Hand Tribe.
In neither of his two lifetimes had Zhou Hao ever faced anything like this.
Killing was a sin.
In just a few short days, he had already taken more than a hundred lives.
After breaking through to Xiantian, he possessed power far beyond the mortal, and had awakened a weapon of mass destruction like Blue Flower Space. Even other Xiantian Lifeforms could have their lives and deaths decided by him.
How great a shock was that to the values Zhou Hao had built up from childhood?
Several bouts of slaughter, along with the tragic deaths of the Iron Ox Tribe's people, had ultimately affected Zhou Hao's state of mind.
Without realizing it, his heart had filled with killing rage.
"My cultivation of the Dao Heart is still insufficient." Zhou Hao silently warned himself.
In his mind, the sacred image of the Supreme Clarity Moral Heavenly Venerable appeared. Draped in robes of five-colored radiance, he stood there as though eternal.
His gaze was peaceful as well, as if nothing in the world could stir the slightest ripple in him. He calmly looked down upon all living beings across the myriad realms.
"A misunderstanding?" Iron Ox and the others looked at the two halves of a body on the ground, still working to rejoin beneath a veil of green light.
If a misunderstanding had ended like this, what would happen if it hadn't been one? Would they have chopped him into mincemeat?
Cao Rong watched Zhou Hao speaking with Iron Ox and the others.
Suddenly, he keenly noticed that the young man before him seemed to have changed somewhat.
Compared with before, he seemed... more peaceful.
Cao Rong and the other two came over and introduced themselves to Zhou Hao again.
Zhou Hao already knew Cao Rong's name. Of the other two, the man who looked like a learned scholar was called Yang Qiong, while the one with a white cloth wrapped around his forehead was called Miao Ying.
The fellow on the ground was Zhao Hu. Since he was the second child in his family, people who knew him often called him Er Hu.
After they had exchanged names, Cao Rong asked whether the copper rods in Zhou Hao's hands had come from Ape Demon of the Fire Worship Sect. Only then did Zhou Hao understand why their attitude had changed so suddenly.
"I got these rods after killing an ape-like demon-man named Yuan Lie." Zhou Hao lifted the Red Gold Copper Rod in his hand. "I don't know if he was the Ape Demon of the Fire Worship Sect, but he looked like an ape, and his arms were incredibly strong."
"Then that settles it." Cao Rong nodded. "Earlier, I led a team to West Mountain Marsh to kill a great demon that had been eating people within the bounds of Jade Dragon City. We ran into Yuan Lie there.
"We didn't know his name, so we called him Ape Demon because he looked like an ape.
"Several of our brothers were lost to those two Red Gold Rods of his. I've wanted to face him again these past few days, but I never expected him to have died at your hands, Brother Zhou."
"Yuan Lie practiced a peculiar technique. Those arms of his made him terrifying with the Red Gold Rods. Even Cao—"
As he spoke, Yang Qiong suddenly felt the temperature beside him soar. Realizing at once that he had misspoken, he hurriedly stopped.
But Zhou Hao already understood. It seemed Cao Rong had lost to Yuan Lie before.
Otherwise, he would not have recognized the weapon as Yuan Lie's after only a glance.
Whoosh!
Zhao Hu's body, newly rejoined and healed, sprang up from the ground. The armor he had been wearing was already destroyed, so he used his true essence to form a green robe.
"Er Hu, come over here and apologize to Brother Zhou!" Cao Rong glared at him.
The prodigy who had killed Ape Demon had nearly ended up fighting them all over a few careless jokes.
Even though Cao Rong was confident that he had improved over these past few days, he still would not claim that he was stronger than Yuan Lie had been.
If he really fought Zhou Hao, there was no telling whether a few of them might die here today.
"Br-Brother Zhou Hao, I had a foul mouth. I apologize." Zhao Hu hung his head and bowed deeply to Zhou Hao, then turned to Xiangcao. "Miss Zhou, I was wrong earlier. I apologize."
Xiangcao hurriedly stepped aside and waved her hands. "It's fine, it's fine. It was all a misunderstanding."
After a slight pause, she added for emphasis, "My name is Xiangcao. I'm not his younger sister."
"Yes, Miss Xiangcao. I, Zhao Hu, apologize." Zhao Hu bowed to Xiangcao once more, then went over to stand beside Cao Rong and the others, head lowered and silent.
"Brother Zhou Hao, now that we've cleared up the misunderstanding, why don't we let the matter rest?" Yang Qiong smiled as he smoothed things over. "You could say we've come to know each other through fighting. From now on, if your tribe needs anything in Jade Dragon City, just come to us."
"Exactly." Cao Rong nodded. "I have quite a bit of standing in Jade Dragon City. If you need anything, Brother Zhou Hao, just ask."
"Can you help Brother Zhou find a Qi Refining technique, too?" Iron Ox spoke up first.
He had no intention of showing any kindness to these fellows who had joked about his younger sister, even if they were Xiantian Lifeforms.
"Qi Refining techniques?" Cao Rong and the others laughed. "What's so difficult about that? If Brother Zhou Hao wants to get a few Qi Refining techniques for the tribe, so its members can cultivate inner force, there are plenty for sale in the markets of East City. The cheap ones cost just a few dozen pieces of Dog-Head Gold, or even a few catties of Thunder Gold."
"That cheap?" Zhou Hao was surprised.
"An ordinary Qi Refining technique just lets someone cultivate inner force. How expensive could it be?" Yang Qiong said with a laugh. "But a technique like that can only take someone to the peak of Post-Heaven at most. Reaching the Xiantian Realm is difficult, and the higher Purple Mansion and Myriad Phenomena realms are even more out of the question."
"What about better techniques?" Zhou Hao pressed.
"Better ones get expensive. A technique that can take you to Xiantian starts at ten High-Grade Origin Stones, and that's only an abridged version. It's painfully slow at absorbing the Origin Power of Heaven and Earth." Yang Qiong shook his head.
"After all, they're being sold. The truly good techniques are the foundations of Immortal Cultivator tribes or sects. How could they let them spread freely? If you want a better technique, you can only get one by joining a faction."
"Why join some other faction? Isn't our Green Flood Dragon Army's Xiantian Battalion the biggest faction in Jade Dragon City?" Cao Rong laughed heartily.
"Brother Zhou Hao, our Xiantian Battalion has Qi Refining techniques that can take you to the Purple Mansion Realm, far better than those sold in the markets.
"You can also exchange military merits for resources like Origin Stones.
"With your strength, Brother Zhou Hao, you could even become a squad commander like me if the opportunity arose.
"Then you wouldn't just earn military merits for completing camp assignments—you'd also receive a yearly supply of High-Grade Origin Stones."
"Exactly." Yang Qiong chimed in. "Joining the Xiantian Battalion in Jade Dragon City is the most convenient option. It benefits you personally, and your tribe would also be protected within Jade Dragon City's sphere of influence and exempted from taxes."
"You'll protect my tribe and exempt them from taxes, too?" Zhou Hao's eyes lit up.
He had come to Jade Dragon City to obtain a Qi Refining technique in the first place.
Now, not only could he get what he wanted, but he could also settle the Iron Ox Tribe, whose situation had been troubling him these past few days. Naturally, he was even more delighted.
The Iron Ox Tribe had been the first to take him in, and they had weathered danger and hardship together along the way.
With Jade Dragon City protecting them in the future, and himself in the Xiantian Battalion nearby to look after them, he would no longer need to worry about the Black Hand Tribe's pursuit and revenge.
Thinking of this, Zhou Hao cupped his hands and bowed to Cao Rong and the others. "Then I'll trouble you all to show me the way. I'd like to join the Green Flood Dragon Army's Xiantian Battalion."
"What trouble? Once you join our Xiantian Battalion, we'll all be brothers in arms. We can watch each other's backs in battle." Cao Rong smiled.
"There's no time like the present. It's still early, so we'll take you to the military headquarters to register. As for your tribespeople, they can settle here at West Gate Market for now. Once you get a Tribe Decree, you can find some land and establish a tribal settlement."
"Good." Zhou Hao nodded.
The four of them, Cao Rong and the others, were all well-connected local figures in Jade Dragon City. Letting them handle things would save him a lot of trouble.
"Zhu Da, Zhu Da!" Zhao Hu, who had remained silent until then, saw that they had reached an agreement and hollered toward the kitchen. "Come out and settle the bill. I'm paying for everything today!"
Seeing this, Zhou Hao shook his head with a smile.
Although his state of mind had contributed to what happened earlier, Zhao Hu's foul mouth had also been one of the main causes of the conflict.
Wouldn't it have been better to behave this way from the start? He had to take a beating before he learned.
In the previous chapter, I wrote that my state of mind was affected as a way to vent.
Another reason was that, in my view, an ordinary person from normal society who went to a world with no apparent laws, where human life was as worthless as grass, would have their state of mind affected to some degree.
Zhou Hao was an ordinary person, too. His soul was powerful, but that didn't mean his Dao Heart was strong. It only meant it would be easier for him to improve. He still had a long road of tempering ahead.
I'd planned to post this at the usual time this afternoon, but since today was already thrown into chaos, I figured I might as well post it now.
This is the second update today. There won't be another tonight.
Tomorrow Suifeng has to attend a meeting. I've already written and saved the chapters, so there'll be one at noon tomorrow and another in the afternoon as usual.
Before you continue