So You're Playing Dirty, Huh?
"Get ready for class!"
As the words fell, the void rippled in the distance beneath the night sky.
Immediately afterward, two flying boats appeared.
Several powerful presences bore down on them in an instant.
At the same time, the two flying boats abruptly picked up speed.
They approached from the left and right.
There were three people aboard each boat.
Among the six, two had clearly reached the peak of the Life and Death Realm.
The other four were at the early stage of the Life and Death Realm.
"Are those people from the Five Symbols Sect?"
Chen Ming, who was in the Life and Death Realm, frowned and looked at the other Life and Death Realm cultivator.
"People from one of the six great sects. Wang Yan, should we stop here, so we don't beat the grass and startle the snake?"
Chen Ming asked through voice transmission.
"We're already here," Wang Yan replied, his gaze turning to Gu Chen.
"This kid has a strong presence, and his aptitude is at least heaven-grade. His blood is worth the most."
While the two exchanged voice transmissions, Xu Kun asked Gu Chen:
"Do you remember what to do when you encounter an enemy?"
"If I can't avoid them..."
Gu Chen thought for a moment and said:
"Call for backup?"
"That's right." Xu Kun nodded.
"Two fists can't fight four hands, and enough ants can bite an elephant to death." Xu Kun nodded in satisfaction.
The next moment, he spoke calmly:
"Show yourselves."
Swish, swish, swish.
As his words fell, the void rippled.
Yet another flying boat appeared.
A full sixteen elders stood aboard it.
Every one of them appeared to be in the Dao Platform Realm.
Gu Chen's eyelids twitched.
Were this many people following them in secret?
Lu Changzhi was much calmer.
With Gu Chen's talent and status, how could the five people in plain sight be his only protection?
"Fuck."
Seeing this, Chen Ming couldn't help cursing.
"Sure enough, there are more people protecting him in secret."
"What are you afraid of?" Wang Yan smiled faintly and looked at Xu Kun, a trace of amusement on his lips.
"Your Five Symbols Sect isn't the only one that can call for backup."
"We've always been careful and thorough. How could we have come unprepared?"
The instant his words fell,
the void rippled farther away, and two more flying boats appeared, speeding toward them.
Each boat carried more than ten people.
Together, there were over twenty of them.
And among them were two more cultivators at the peak of the Life and Death Realm.
Now, judging by appearances, the four peak Life and Death Realm cultivators and more than twenty Dao Platform Realm cultivators held an overwhelming advantage.
After all, on the Five Symbols Sect's side, only Xu Kun was at the peak of the Life and Death Realm. The other twenty were merely in the Dao Platform Realm.
Lu Changzhi's gaze shifted slightly.
These bandits were no ordinary bunch.
"Are we done for?"
Beside him, Luo Ling'er blinked, a teensy bit of nervousness in her eyes.
Lu Changzhi smiled faintly.
"I'm afraid that'll be a little difficult."
If there were real danger, how could they treat this as a class?
Most likely, Xu Kun wasn't planning to hide his strength anymore.
Xu Kun was a peak master of the Five Symbols Sect, after all. How could his cultivation be lower than a bunch of bandits'?
Just as Lu Changzhi thought Xu Kun was about to reveal his strength and strike back,
streaks of light suddenly appeared in several directions nearby.
The lights came from afar, then abruptly unfurled.
Swish, swish, swish.
The presences of several formations spread out over them.
At the same time, voices rang out:
"Soundproofing formation in place."
"Illusion formation in place."
"Presence-concealing formation in place."
"Levitation formation in place."
The voices rang out one after another.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Chen Ming's expression changed slightly.
At that moment, eight flying boats entered the formations.
Each boat carried eight elders of the Five Symbols Sect.
Another sixty-four people!
At that moment, the amusement vanished from Wang Yan's face.
In its place was unbridled fury.
"Goddamn it, Five Symbols Sect, you're playing dirty, aren't you?!"
Everyone else was furious too.
Only a few people were visible on the surface, but nearly a hundred had been hiding behind the scenes.
Fuck, they were fishing for them?!
"Fuck, let's fight them!"
One man shouted angrily, "We have more experts. Even if they have more people, it won't do them any good!"
At the same time, Xu Kun half closed his eyes and said:
"Make your move."
The instant his words fell, four elders aboard the flying boats struck at the same time.
Each chose a peak Life and Death Realm opponent.
The others went after the Dao Platform Realm cultivators.
Bang!
Bang!
Boom!
Thud!
In a single exchange,
of the four peak Life and Death Realm cultivators,
two spat blood and flew backward, while one exploded and died.
The remaining one was hurled heavily back onto a flying boat. His face was covered in blood, his pupils had shrunk to pinpricks, and he struggled to raise a hand.
"You... really... are... c..."
Before he could finish, his breath ceased.
The remaining Dao Platform Realm bandits should have been furious enough to make their hair stand on end, ready to avenge their big brothers.
But before they could do so, it was all over.
On the road to the Yellow Springs, the souls of the four big brothers were no longer alone.
Everyone who was supposed to come had arrived, not one missing.
"This..."
Gu Chen stared, his eyes wide and fixed.
At that moment, he felt as though he hadn't joined a cultivation sect.
They were so decisive and efficient.
This was straight-up an assassin organization!
Swish, swish, swish.
High in the air, the corpses and severed limbs didn't fall to the ground.
Instead, they landed on the levitation formation below.
Then the entire battlefield was swiftly cleaned up.
Some took the storage rings, some searched pockets, and others destroyed the flying boats.
A few breaths later, not a corpse or flying boat remained.
A faint floral fragrance drifted through the air.
The elders all disappeared.
It was as though nothing had happened.
Lu Changzhi lowered the hand he had held over Luo Ling'er's eyes, shook his head gently, and remarked:
"Now that's professional."
Those bandits really were an unlucky bunch.
One moment of carelessness, and they'd become teaching material for a class.
"But I have those bandits to thank."
Lu Changzhi thought to himself.
The formations just now had completely blocked outside probing and perception.
And even then, the elders hadn't revealed their true strength.
They really knew how to hide it.
"Do you understand?"
Xu Kun looked at Gu Chen and said with some pride:
"You can always trust your sect."
"As long as you can't win, call for backup."
"I understand." Gu Chen took a deep breath and committed it to memory.
The bandits were only a minor interlude.
A day later, the flying boat returned to Hidden Origin Peak.
"Gu Chen."
Lu Changzhi glanced around and said:
"Go build Luo Ling'er a house too."
Gu Chen nodded in agreement and was about to leave when he heard Luo Ling'er exclaim in surprise beside him:
"Oh, what a big rooster!"
Gu Chen hurriedly looked over.
Xiao Ming glanced at Luo Ling'er and didn't move.
Gu Chen frowned, paused thoughtfully, and called out:
"Brother Rooster?"
"Chirp, chirp!!"
The moment the words left his mouth, a red flash shot straight at Gu Chen.
"That's discrimination!"
Gu Chen cursed and immediately struck back.
In an instant, the man and the rooster were locked in a fight.
Luo Ling'er watched the scene with wide eyes, unable to believe it.
"Master, the rooster you raised is amazing."
Lu Changzhi laughed and called Xiao Ming to a stop.
He was a sacred beast, after all. How could he be weak?
The next few days remained peaceful.
Spurred on by Xiao Ming, Gu Chen worked even harder at his cultivation.
Not only did he reach the Dao Platform Realm Ninth Level, he even reached the beginner stage of the Spirit Concealment Art, which he had only recently obtained.
One day, Luo Ling'er came to find him, her face full of anticipation.
"Master, are you going to teach me some powerful skills too?"