Ye Han saw three people he had met once before. They were the fellows who had followed Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan that day and questioned him about his relationship with Ye Han.
He had asked Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan about them. Their names were Zhang Sanlei, Li Zongqing, and Wang Fulai...
They were disciples of a Martial Uncle Liu on Seven Mysteries Peak. The three knew a Combined Attack Formation. Although their cultivation was not high, they were immensely powerful together, and ordinary cultivators were no match for them.
The three fellows were actually staring intently at him, making Ye Han inexplicably nervous...
Even Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan had been deeply wary of these three, and at the time, he had already reached the eleventh layer of the qi refining realm.
Ye Han, on the other hand, was only at the peak of the fourth layer of the qi refining realm. Any one of these three could deal with him alone.
Very few cultivators in the Azure Profound Sect had actually seen him in person. Aside from the few disciples he had encountered when he first arrived, who did not even know his name,
there were only a few elders and the sect leader.
Those people paid him no heed at all and would never set their sights on him.
Other than them, there were only Azure Phoenix Fairy, Jin Feng, and these three fellows.
He now dared to walk around the sect partly because his cultivation had improved, and partly because his body had grown considerably during his breakthroughs. Very few people could connect him with the ten-year-old Ye Han.
He now looked like a boy of fifteen or sixteen...
The change in his build gave him confidence that others would not recognize who he really was.
But now Zhang Sanlei, Li Zongqing, and Wang Fulai kept staring at him, and their gazes had lingered a little too long. Unease stirred in Ye Han's heart. Why were these fellows staring at me?
Could they have recognized me?
After all, they had seen him before.
Ye Han sensed danger. Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan had told him that although cultivators had long lifespans, most actually perished before reaching the end of their allotted years.
Take Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan himself, for instance. He was only in his twenties, yet he had not returned from his latest mission. It seemed the odds were stacked against his survival.
By that reckoning, he had not even lived as long as an ordinary mortal.
But danger lurked everywhere for cultivators. Since Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan had chosen that mission, he could only bear the consequences himself.
For Ye Han, however, it had been so hard to find such a good senior brother, someone who could help and guide him. Now there was no word of him at all. How could Ye Han not worry about Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan?
Ye Han was not a coldhearted person. Back in Green Ox Village, Wang Laocai and his wife had treated him so harshly, yet simply because they had said a few kind words about him behind his back, he had given Wang Laocai ten of the twenty taels of silver he had received.
He was not someone who forgot kindness and betrayed those who had helped him. Thinking of Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan left him feeling a little guilty.
Still, he intended to avoid provoking Zhang Sanlei, Li Zongqing, and Wang Fulai...
Yet although he did not provoke those three fellows, they came to provoke him.
The three strode rapidly toward him.
Ye Han's heart stirred, but he did not panic. He was still within Seven Mysteries Peak, under everyone's watchful eyes. No one would dare do anything to him here.
The three approached Ye Han, and Zhang Sanlei said, "Junior Brother? I haven't seen you before. Which martial uncle are you studying under?"
As he spoke, the three looked Ye Han up and down, their gazes a little strange.
Ye Han's expression shifted slightly at those words. From this fellow's tone, he seemed curious about Ye Han's identity rather than to have recognized him.
So Ye Han said, "Senior Brother! I've just arrived at Seven Mysteries Peak. Please look after me."
His manner was utterly sincere, but he did not mention who his master was.
Hearing this, Zhang Sanlei, Li Zongqing, and Wang Fulai exchanged glances. They had not expected Ye Han to say nothing about his background and only tell them he had just arrived.
Beside them, Li Zongqing smiled. "Oh, so you're new? No wonder we haven't seen you before."
As he spoke, he shot Zhang Sanlei and Wang Fulai a meaningful look.
The other two exchanged some unspoken message with practiced ease...
Ye Han knew full well that these three fellows were up to no good, but he did not want to offend them either. After all, in the cultivation world, living longer was what truly counted.
Wasn't carelessly offending cultivators, especially those with higher cultivation than his own, simply courting death?
A strange realization suddenly struck him. Some time ago, word of his identity had spread widely across Seven Mysteries Peak. The one behind it had to be that damned Fifth Elder.
But he could not possibly have done such a thing personally. He must have bribed some disciples of Seven Mysteries Peak...
Zhang Sanlei, Li Zongqing, and Wang Fulai seemed the most suspicious. For one thing, they had a grudge against Zhang Qingshan. For another, their character was hardly admirable to begin with, and with three of them, they could spread the word even faster.
With these thoughts in mind, Ye Han said, "Yes, this is my first time meeting you three senior brothers too. Everyone says the senior brothers of Seven Mysteries Peak treat their junior brothers better than anyone else. It seems that's truly the case."
With those words, he neatly boxed the three in, keeping them from posing any threat to him.
Sure enough, Wang Fulai laughed. "Of course! We disciples of Seven Mysteries Peak are the most united of all! Isn't that right?"
The other two laughed along, but a trace of disdain flashed in their eyes. He really is a newly admitted disciple, so naive. We should make good use of him...
Ye Han laughed along too, looking utterly harmless and completely trusting of the three...
Zhang Sanlei said, "Junior Brother, you've only just arrived at Seven Mysteries Peak, yet you're already an inner sect disciple. Your cultivation must be quite good, then?"
He wanted to find out exactly what Ye Han's background was. It would be bad if they ended up offending the wrong person.
Ye Han immediately answered, "My cultivation is very poor. I'm only at the fourth layer of the qi refining realm. I hope you three senior brothers will look after me and offer me guidance!"
Ye Han looked thoroughly honest and simple, even volunteering his cultivation level. He certainly seemed very easy to deceive.
In truth, Ye Han knew these three fellows had already seen through his actual cultivation. Trying to hide it might only make things worse.
Sure enough, Zhang Sanlei immediately said, "Oh dear, I didn't realize your cultivation was still stuck at a bottleneck, Junior Brother!"
Wang Fulai chimed in beside him. "Junior Brother! The three of us have a tremendous opportunity, and we'd like your help. I wonder if you're interested."
Li Zongqing added, "As long as you help us out and complete that mission, we'll give you a share of the reward. Besides that, we'll take good care of you on the mountain from now on!"
The three spoke as though they were being very considerate toward Ye Han, but their tone carried an unmistakable insistence that brooked no refusal...
Ye Han had no idea what these three fellows were plotting. He said, "Then how might a junior brother like me be of help to you senior brothers?"
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