King of Ten Thousand Years

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: First Battle with the Young Marquis

Inside the valley.

Luo Tian was using his unique "Luos’ Circle Raising Method" to rapidly reap Mist Shadow Warriors, and the Starlight Mark above his head was quickly climbing.

His reaping speed had already steadily surpassed the three great geniuses, even putting him slightly ahead of Nangong Yu.

In the eyes of the Holy Mansion Mentors, this was practically cheating!

Of course.

Even if the other geniuses knew about this method of cheating, they couldn’t possibly pull it off.

After all.

This area had attracted ten or twenty Mist Shadow Warriors, with the lowest Cultivation at the Fourth Layer and the highest at the Sixth Layer.

Only Luo Tian, with his Spiritual Sense and a Perfection Level Upper Grade Body Technique, could control the situation.

Even so.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t dare face so many Mist Shadow Warriors at once.

But right now, while Qi Hong, Wu Chuan, and the others were being "herded," they were drawing at least two-thirds of the aggro.

All in all, he was using their strength against them, creating a mutual checkmate.

"Huh?"

As Luo Tian was reaping Mist Shadow Warriors, he sensed a strange fluctuation in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi nearby.

WHOOSH!

The ten to twenty Mist Shadow Warriors that had formed a circle all scattered, dissipating into clouds of mist.

’What the hell?’

Luo Tian was momentarily stunned. ’If I had kept farming them like crazy, I might have taken first place in the trial.’

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

The scattered mist, accompanied by the fluctuations of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, converged to form a tall warrior clad in armor.

BOOM!

The moment the Armored Warrior appeared, it unleashed a powerful and oppressive aura, and the ground beneath its feet cracked.

’So strong! This Mist Shadow Warrior is probably at the Seventh Layer of Meridian Opening!’

Qi Hong, Wu Chuan, and the others, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, saw their expressions change drastically.

’Run!’

Without a second thought, Qi Hong and the others turned tail and ran.

WHOOSH—

Just then, the Armored Warrior, holding a Great Sword, made its move.

A massive wave of Sword Light energy slashed toward Luo Tian from a distance, leaving a foot-wide trench in the ground.

This was the ranged Attack characteristic of the Seventh Layer of Meridian Opening.

’There are so many people here, why is it picking on me?’

Luo Tian cursed inwardly.

After the Armored Warrior appeared, it didn’t even seem to look around before slashing directly at Luo Tian.

WHOOSH!

Fortunately, Luo Tian’s Body Technique was at the Perfection level, allowing him to dodge the ranged Attack.

However, the Armored Warrior, unhurried, locked its gaze on Luo Tian and gave chase.

’Damn it! Who did I piss off to deserve this?’

Luo Tian cursed to himself.

After a moment’s thought, he quickly landed on a possible explanation.

’It’s probably because my recent frenzy of racking up points caught the attention of the Mentors up above.’

Above the valley.

"Hahaha! That little brat! Take that for cheating!"

Seeing Luo Tian fleeing in disarray, the Mentors felt a great sense of satisfaction.

"No rush. Let it chase him a bit more and wear down his sharp edges,"

the stout middle-aged man said.

The Mentors were still quite surprised by Luo Tian’s performance.

But this kid hadn’t even entered the Holy Mansion yet and he was already causing this kind of trouble. If he actually got in, there was no telling what sort of mess he’d stir up.

Just then, the fleeing Luo Tian suddenly changed direction.

SWOOSH!

With a flicker of his body, he darted into the group of six that included Qi Hong.

"Ah!"

"Why is this bastard back again?"

An inexplicable chill ran down the spines of Qi Hong, Wu Chuan, and the others.

Luo Tian’s action was an experiment.

’This Seventh Layer Realm Mist Shadow Warrior is probably targeting me. But I don’t believe it’ll cut down innocent bystanders along with me.’

Luo Tian analyzed in his mind.

As expected.

After Luo Tian mixed in with Qi Hong’s group, the Armored Warrior slowed its pace and didn’t attack rashly.

The group he had mixed into, however, was scared out of their wits.

"Luo Tian, please, just let us go,"

a youth at the Fifth Layer of Meridian Opening, bruised and swollen, pleaded with a miserable look on his face.

"We were wrong, okay? We shouldn’t have come after you."

Except for Qi Hong and Wu Chuan, the other four youths begged piteously, having completely lost their nerve.

It was simply because.

Luo Tian’s earlier "herding" had left them with psychological trauma.

"You four can relax. I mean you no harm. I just purely want to go for a run with you all."

Luo Tian said calmly, seeing their pitiful state.

Of course, his words were not directed at Qi Hong and Wu Chuan.

’Purely? Go for a run together?’

The four youths shivered inexplicably, as if they could feel Luo Tian’s malicious gaze and sense he had some other nasty trick to play on them.

They wouldn’t believe Luo Tian had such a "pure" motive even if they were beaten to death.

"What, you don’t seem to believe me?"

Luo Tian glanced at them.

"We believe, we believe, we believe..."

The youths nodded repeatedly, bracing themselves, like chicks pecking at rice.

"You people just have impure thoughts."

Seeing their insincere expressions, Luo Tian couldn’t help but shake his head, too lazy to explain.

「A moment later.」

The pursuing Mist Shadow Armored Warrior finally stopped in its tracks.

"This kid is really cunning."

Above the valley, the anger had not yet faded from the faces of the Mentors.

They had used an Array to condense this Seventh Layer of Meridian Opening Mist Shadow Warrior specifically to deal with Luo Tian.

But Luo Tian wasn’t an idiot; he mixed into the crowd, leaving the Mentors helpless.

"What should we do about this Seventh Layer Realm Mist Shadow Warrior?"

the female Mentor asked.

"Let’s keep it, but have it not initiate any Attacks,"

the white-robed elder mused.

The Mentors were worried Luo Tian would pull some other stunt, and the Armored Warrior could be kept in check to restrain him.

"Now for a good show!"

The stout middle-aged man suddenly smiled.

The other Mentors looked down and also broke into smiles.

SWOOSH!

A youth in a magnificent purple robe was rapidly approaching Luo Tian and his group.

"Young Marquis!"

Qi Hong and Wu Chuan cried out as if they had seen their great savior.

The purple-robed youth was none other than Tang Wei.

"Nice work! You’ve already captured this peasant."

Tang Wei grinned, his gaze falling upon Luo Tian.

Luo Tian happened to be standing in the middle of the group, so anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he’d been captured by Qi Hong’s men.

’However, why does this kid look so relaxed, while my own men are banged up? Looks like there was a fierce fight.’

"Young Marquis, we..."

Qi Hong and Wu Chuan both looked awkward, their faces flushed red, not knowing how to begin.

"Young Marquis, thank your men for escorting me all the way here,"

Luo Tian said with a smile.

"Escorting? What is a peasant like you talking about!"

Tang Wei’s expression changed as he realized something was wrong.

"Young Marquis, we were captured by him..."

one of the youths said with a miserable face.

What!

Tang Wei was stunned for a moment, then shouted in disbelief, "The six of you... were captured alive by him?"

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they were captured alive.

With injuries to their legs, Luo Tian had relentlessly hounded them like a lingering ghost until they had no fight left in them and had long since given up.

"Young Marquis, we’ll meet again."

Luo Tian laughed and started to walk off in another direction.

"Stay right where you are!"

Tang Wei roared, and a wave of fiery wind erupted around him. He transformed into a crimson shadow and rapidly closed in on Luo Tian.

The instantaneous burst of speed shocked Luo Tian; it was no slower than his own.

After all, the Wandering Body Step was a close-combat Step Technique suited for small-scale maneuvers; speed was not its greatest strength.

Furthermore, Tang Wei’s Cultivation was high, and his Body Technique Realm was not low either.

"Angry Cloud Palm!"

A crimson cluster of wind enveloped Tang Wei’s entire palm, emitting terrifying waves of energy amidst crackling sounds.

The Angry Cloud Palm was a Spirit Level Martial Skill, famous for its explosive power.

Previously, Tang Wei had used this very Martial Skill to instantly kill a Sixth Layer Realm Mist Shadow Warrior.

Luo Tian’s expression changed abruptly. He felt a sense of crisis; this was probably the strongest opponent he had ever faced in his life!

"Star Condensation Unity!"

Luo Tian took a deep breath. The True Qi from his four Qi Veins surged and converged, accompanied by the deep blue Divine Vein Cold Power, condensing into a Sword Light that resembled a cold bolt of lightning.

PFFT! BOOM!

The crimson wind cluster and the deep blue Finger Sword collided, kicking up an aftershock of energy several meters high.

"Such terrifying power..."

Qi Hong, Wu Chuan, and the others present were shaken to the core.