Chapter 171: Powerful Team
The words of the disciple were able to stall the actions of the strange individuals who were just about to attack him. They had previously been about to launch various attacks before they heard the words, which made them hesitate.
Then simultaneously, they turned their gaze towards someone in the center of their group. It was evident that they were waiting for the permission of someone, most likely their leader.
After receiving permission, three of the strongest individuals from the group unsheathed their weapons and launched attacks. The attacks were devastating and immediately destroyed the environment around them.
The disciple, upon seeing these attacks, immediately paled in fright. He had thought he would be attacked without even being given the chance to explain, but surprisingly, that didn’t happen.
All three attacks bypassed him and went straight towards the three boars. The attacks exploded with power, immediately ending the lives of the three flaming wild boars.
The three Rank 3 boars could only let out squeals of agony before succumbing to the destructive power of the attacks and dying. In three swift moves, the three boars that had been a terror to the disciples of the Cloucrest sect lost their lives.
After realizing that he was still safe and that the boars chasing him were dead, his mouth was agape in shock.
Such power! Were these still Golden Core realm cultivators?
If it weren’t for the restriction of the mystic realm, he would have believed it if he were told that they were in the Nascent Soul realm. That was because, to kill a Rank 3 beast as easily as they did, one had to at least be one rank higher than the beast.
After the beasts were dead, the team began approaching him. He instinctively took a step back, growing wary of their strength that eclipsed his. He wasn’t thinking much before when he approached them to save his life, but now that he was actually safe, his brain had begun to work clearly.
In the mystic realm, everyone was an enemy. Since they were all fighting for the same resources, it was highly unlikely that one would find someone who would be willing to spare them. Especially a loner like him that had lost his team.
However, there was little he could do.
The team swiftly approached, and, in a few moments, they were already in front of him. As soon as he saw them, his breath caught in his throat.
Because all of them were too powerful! The weakest among them was already in the mid-stages of the Golden Core realm. And it was only one individual.
However, before he could get his thoughts in order, it was the seemingly weakest member that spoke to him first.
"A disciple of the Cloudcrest sect, huh? What is someone like you doing here?" He asked, his tone not even close to polite.
The disciple could hear the disdain in his voice; however, he pretended not to hear it. He was the weaker party in this situation, so keeping his thoughts to himself would be the wise thing to do.
Besides, with the way the other party spoke of his sect, it was clear that he didn’t put his sect in his eyes at all. That was enough to hint at his background. He also noticed that, despite being the weakest member of the group, none of the rest stopped him from speaking.
In fact, from the way he was huddled in their center, it seemed more like they were sheltering him. Before he could continue his thoughts, though, the same voice snapped him out of his reverie.
"Didn’t you hear me? I asked what you were doing here, or did the flaming wild boars trample on your brain?" The young man in the center asked again, this time with a hint of impatience in his voice.
As soon as he spoke, the rest of the team glared at him, subtly releasing their auras to pressure him. The disciple took a step back, feeling the weight of about ten late-stage Golden Core realm cultivators bearing down on him.
Just as he was about to face even more pressure, it seemed like his brain finally booted up and started working once again. With a straight 90-degree angle, he bowed his head while speaking.
"I greet the young master. To answer your question, my fellow disciples and I ran into some trouble, causing us to get separated. Just as I was escaping, I was unlucky enough to encounter a herd of Flaming Wild boars, which began chasing me, before I was fortunate enough to encounter the young master and his team.
The young master truly is a dragon among men, filled with good luck and favored by fortune. Just by sighting you, all my troubles immediately faded away."
He gave a brief explanation of his situation, not forgetting to throw in some flattering words at the end. The young man directly ignored his direct efforts at flattery, becoming more focused on a particular issue.
"What trouble did you run into that disciples from a medium rank sect couldn’t handle?" He asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. While he didn’t hold the Cloudcrest sect in high regard, he knew that any disciple who could be sent into the mystic realm would be the best of the best.
At the very least, they would all be at the Golden Core realm and would have mastered at least a Silver Rank martial skill. For a team like that to ’run into some trouble’, it was something he had to take seriously, especially since the trouble could still be nearby.
The disciple hesitated for a bit, clearly not wanting to reveal the presence of the Vermilion Spirit grass. But, upon further contemplation, he realized how foolish that was.
The herb had already been snatched from him by that dastardly rogue cultivator anyway. Thinking about it, it was also he who lured the Ember Earth bear, causing him and his fellow disciples to become scattered, their current situation and whereabouts unknown.
As he remembered that bamboo hat-wearing Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, anger suddenly surged in his mind, causing his expression to become unsightly.
He lost control of himself for a brief moment, and his aura flared up, surprising everyone around him. They thought he was going to sneak-attack the young master, causing all of them to release their own aura in turn.
The sudden surge of power snapped him out of his thoughts. Staring at the cold gaze on him, he knew he had made a mistake. He immediately began explaining to avoid any misunderstandings.
"Forgive me, young master. I just remembered something terrible. You see, while we were passing through the forest, we encountered a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator.
We realized he was alone, and out of the goodness of our hearts, we decided to take him in as part of our group.
However, who would have imagined that he wouldn’t appreciate our kindness, but instead would be greedy enough to covet our findings.
We had found a Rank 4 herb that was guarded by a Flame Wolf pack. Normally, we wouldn’t have bothered to try to retrieve it, because that Flame Wolf pack had a Rank 4 alpha.
However, we discovered that the alpha was weakened and was not at full power. We decided to take the risk to fight it and retrieve the herb.
Of course, we didn’t want him to be in danger, so we took him to a safe location before beginning the battle.
However, due to his greed, he thought that we were deliberately excluding him from the treasure. In his anger, he went to attract the attention of another Rank 4 beast.
This Rank 4 beast was a huge bear with fur that was a mixture of brown and red. Unlike the Flame Wolf, it was at full strength and even seemed stronger than a normal Rank 4 bear.
He lured the beast to the area where the fight was taking place, causing the situation to delve into chaos. In the chaos, he snatched the Vermilion Spirit grass from us and escaped with it, leaving us to deal with two Rank 4 beasts.
We could only scatter in retreat, while some of us lost our lives. In fact, I don’t even know if anyone else escaped aside from me.
That was yesterday. When I was running for my life, I encountered the Flaming Wild boars, which began chasing me relentlessly. If it weren’t for the young master and his team, I probably would have lost my life already."
He ended his whole speech, while bowing his head, once again, expressing his gratitude.
However, the young man simply ignored it, his eyes furrowed in contemplation. He didn’t believe the whole spiel of the righteous disciples saving a person only to end up being betrayed.
However, he chose to ignore it and focus on the true meaning behind his words. There were a few pointed clues he could find. The Vermilion Spirit Grass, the two Rank 4 beasts, were particular topics of interest.
