Xu Xingyao stared at the Heavenly Union Association members before him, his eyes gleaming with menace.
He carried a debt of nearly 2,500 Contribution Points, and there were five Heavenly Union Association members in front of him. Under Elder Zheng of Jade Yao Peak's settlement rules, a Dao Sect outer disciple at the fourth layer of Qi Refining was worth 400 Contribution Points; a fifth-layer disciple was worth 500; and a sixth-layer disciple, 600.
Of these five, one had noticeably weaker spiritual power and was probably at the fourth layer of Qi Refining. Two were somewhat stronger, at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, while the remaining two were only slightly weaker than him, at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining.
Added together, these five were worth 2,600 Contribution Points!
If he knocked them all unconscious and delivered them to Elder Zheng, he could not only repay every last loan, but even earn another 100 Contribution Points!
At that moment,
His surprise attack had already knocked one disciple at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining unconscious.
Xu Xingyao swept his gaze over the remaining four. That pretty boy at the fourth layer of Qi Refining posed no threat; he could leave him for last.
To capture the bandits, capture their king first. I'll deal with these two at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining first!
With that thought, Xu Xingyao fixed his gaze on two of them.
The next second, he activated his spiritual power.
His steps were light and nimble, carrying him like a phantom before the leading Heavenly Flame Peak disciple in an instant. At the same time, his right fist erupted with fiery red light and smashed toward the disciple's stomach like a ball of flame.
But the leading Heavenly Flame Peak disciple was no pushover. Seeing Xu Xingyao unleash two martial skills right from the start, he immediately retreated, avoiding the brunt of the attack.
At the same time, he shouted to the others:
"Attack together!"
With that,
the three once again surrounded Xu Xingyao and attacked simultaneously.
As for Chen Yu, he hid off to the side and watched quietly.
Xu Xingyao was actually this formidable!
As they exchanged blows, Xu Xingyao unleashed one martial skill after another, constantly varying his attacks.
Even fighting three against one, he showed no sign of falling behind.
Watching this, Chen Yu knitted his brows.
Xu Xingyao was crushed beneath a mountain of debt, and Chen Yu and the other four senior brothers were his last hope of repaying it. He was fighting with everything he had to stay alive. Judging by the current situation, the three Heavenly Union Association senior brothers might really be no match for him.
When the lips were gone, the teeth would grow cold.
He could not simply wait here.
I'm no good at fighting. Joining the battle directly won't do much.
Think of another way.
Chen Yu pondered.
Meanwhile, the three were besieging a single opponent, yet making no progress. Instead, Xu Xingyao had even seized the initiative.
All three felt stifled.
"Haha, stop resisting." Xu Xingyao drove his spiritual power madly, attacking ferociously as he grinned. "Hurry up and let me tie you up! Go get refined into spirit essence in my place!"
"In your dreams!"
The leading Heavenly Flame Peak disciple glared angrily and clenched his fists, preparing to strike back.
But just then,
a voice suddenly came from beside them:
"Oh, Elder Zheng?"
The voice held a trace of surprise amid its respect. Hearing it, the leading Heavenly Flame Peak disciple froze and instinctively looked toward its source, only to find the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining junior brother speaking to empty air.
At first, confusion crossed his face.
Then he instantly grasped his junior brother's intent!
Seeing that Xu Xingyao had indeed been distracted,
he lit up with delight.
He immediately drove the spiritual power within him into a frenzy and hurled a punch at Xu Xingyao...
Meanwhile, the sudden mention of "Elder Zheng" had left Xu Xingyao's mind blank and made his heart spasm. He hurriedly looked toward the voice, already trying to think of how to explain himself to his creditor. But when he turned his head, Elder Zheng was nowhere to be seen.
All he saw was that pretty boy at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining bowing and speaking toward a spot behind him.
Xu Xingyao hurriedly turned around again.
But when he turned, what filled his vision was not Elder Zheng of Jade Yao Peak, but a fist the size of a sandbag.
Bang-
A heavy punch landed squarely on Xu Xingyao's face.
Xu Xingyao took a hard hit.
He staggered backward several steps and fell to the ground.
"Nicely done, junior brother!" the leading Heavenly Flame Peak disciple praised Chen Yu.
Only then did the other two Heavenly Union Association senior brothers, who were still looking around for Elder Zheng, realize what had happened. Junior Brother Chen had been distracting Xu Xingyao.
"Damn, junior brother really knows how to put on an act."
"You can actually do that?"
The two could not help glancing at Chen Yu.
Meanwhile, Xu Xingyao's face was already bruised and swollen from the punch. Realizing he had been tricked, his fury blazed up, and he shot Chen Yu a vicious glare. "I'll beat you up first, you pretty boy!"
He immediately endured the pain and scrambled up, swinging his fists as he prepared to charge at Chen Yu.
But by then, the three Heavenly Union Association senior brothers had surrounded him again.
Both sides resumed their fierce battle.
Clearly, after taking that punch, Xu Xingyao's attacks were no longer as ferocious as before. But he was fighting desperately to survive, after all, so he remained extremely difficult to deal with.
As the two sides fought, more voices drifted intermittently from the side.
"Elder Zheng!"
"Greetings, Elder Zheng!"
"..."
Although his heart still involuntarily twitched whenever he heard the words "Elder Zheng," Xu Xingyao refused to fall for the same trick twice.
"Shut up!"
Xu Xingyao cursed.
Just then, he heard another voice.
"Xu Xingyao, watch your back!"
Get lost!
Still trying to trick me?!
Hearing that pretty boy's voice, Xu Xingyao stubbornly refused to turn around. He gritted his teeth and concentrated on fighting the three men before him.
But the very next second, he suddenly felt a searing heat on his back.
There was a smell of burning cloth.
He hurriedly reached back to feel it, only for the flames to scorch his fingers. Somehow, the back of his robe had caught fire.
However,
he was a Heavenly Flame Peak disciple, after all.
Xu Xingyao was still very familiar with flames.
He immediately activated his spiritual power and slapped his right hand toward his back, intending to absorb the little flame.
But the instant his spiritual power touched it, Xu Xingyao realized something was wrong. Tiny though the flame was, it contained tremendous destructive power. Instead, it was devouring his spiritual power.
Xu Xingyao's heart
lurched, and he hurriedly summoned more spiritual power.
Fortunately, the flame was small. Once a large amount of spiritual power surged over it, it was immediately extinguished.
However,
the course of a battle often changed in a single instant.
While Xu Xingyao was putting out the flame on his back, the three Heavenly Union Association senior brothers did not stand around watching.
Seizing the opportunity, all three unleashed martial skills simultaneously, driving their fists into Xu Xingyao.
"Bang!"
Xu Xingyao was sent flying on the spot.
He collapsed unconscious on the ground.
"Tie him up!" the leading Heavenly Flame Peak disciple ordered.
One of them immediately took out a rope and bound Xu Xingyao's hands behind his back. Once it was done, everyone finally let out a breath.
Looking at the unconscious, bound Xu Xingyao, Chen Yu shook his head. "I told you to watch your back."
With Xu Xingyao completely subdued, the leading Heavenly Flame Peak disciple looked at Chen Yu much more warmly. He walked over and cupped his hands. "We owe this to you, Junior Brother Chen. If you hadn't thought on your feet and distracted Xu Xingyao from the side, there's really no telling how things would have turned out."
"Exactly."
"Your acting really is impressive, junior brother."
The other two chimed in.
"Thank you for the praise, senior brothers." Chen Yu smiled. "My cultivation is only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining. I couldn't help in a head-on fight, so I had to think of something else."
"Haha." The leading Heavenly Flame Peak disciple laughed. "My name is Ren Shaohua. Just call me Senior Brother Ren."
"Senior Brother Ren."
"Mm." Ren Shaohua nodded and asked curiously, "I saw you flick out a flame just now, junior brother. Could you also be cultivating the Flame-Calling Art?"
"To be honest, senior brother, I cultivate the True Origin Mystic Canon," Chen Yu replied.
"Oh." Understanding dawned on Ren Shaohua. "I see."
"The True Origin Mystic Canon?"
Hearing the name of this cultivation method, the other two Heavenly Union Association senior brothers looked at Chen Yu with somewhat complicated expressions.
"Then you'll need to do plenty of missions and earn more Contribution Points from now on, junior brother."
"Yes." Chen Yu nodded.
After this incident, Chen Yu's relationship with these senior brothers had grown considerably closer.
They did not linger here.
After waking the fifth-layer senior brother who had been knocked unconscious at the very beginning, the group took Xu Xingyao with them and headed for the summit of Jade Yao Peak...