Chapter 268 Chapter 268 – Spoiler, Title in the End
Ken met the two old men near the stables. There was a whole section filled with beasts belonging exclusively to the Sue Clan, and every elite clan had one of those sections.
"We will move now, only the three of us. We will use the only seventh-rank mount our clan has. Although it's normally good-natured and is not aggressive, try not to irritate it. It can harm you in a fraction second when you ride its back." Fernando warned Ken before he bringing the beast.
"Understood, Uncle."
Fernando walked into the stables and brought out a beast with the body of a tiger and the head of an eagle. Only elders could take seventh-rank beasts from the stables, so he could not leave this task for the stable's boy.
"Calm down, Tygarian. Let them ride on you with me please," Fernando calmed down the beast as it looked down on the other two humans. It did not like serving cultivators weaker than itself.
"Grrr." It lowered its head to show its acceptance. Since Fernando, a stronger being, asked for it, it was willing to cooperate. Fernando came with them, so it could be considered as if they were the elder's guests in the beast's mind.
"Get on."
Dominic and Ken jumped on the beast's wide back and sat cross-legged, while Fernando stood near its neck. Darkness enveloped them completely. It was still night and there was no moon, which was the reason they hurried to embark on the trip that night. With the Darkness Qi around them, they were practically invisible.
With a strong kick to the ground, the beast rose to the sky and started running with its legs while flapping its wings. One might think that the leg movements were meaningless, but they'd be wrong; the beast conjured mana steps under its feet and used them to boost its speed by both running and flying.
Meanwhile, in Ken's storage ring, a certain token Ken had received from Elmer was pulsing with a signal that the elder from the Serene Lotus Sect could locate.
The trio traveled during the night and hid underground during the day. Fernando kept them coated in darkness 24 hours a day, not taking any risk that they might get revealed. They passed sometimes above the heads of both friendly disciples and enemy disciples, but they never intervened in their fights. Their goal was not to participate in the war but to vanish.
"Ken, do you have a plan for what to do while you're in hiding?" His grandfather asked.
"Yes. I will cultivate my nascent soul diligently until it forms. Cultivation has always been about spending a lot of time practicing, so as a cultivator, I will never run out of things to do with my time; I can always just cultivate."
"Good child. Indeed, only those with a strong will and persistence can soar to the highest stages of cultivation. Otherwise, they'd be too bored and unable to spend so much time doing nothing but developing their body, mind, and soul."
Dominic and Fernando both nodded in satisfaction when they heard Ken's words. Children with such aspirations could not be taken for granted; they mostly preferred more interesting activities even when the price was their future strength.
Ken knew it was the same in every world, just like many students preferred playing outside rather than studying in his previous world. Some managed to succeed despite it, while many did not.
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Meanwhile, within the Phoenix Feather Sect's territory:
'Hmm, it seems like Ken is on the move, I guess it's time to act. According to the spy's report, I should expect an eighth-stage elder, a sixth-stage cultivator, and Ken. They will probably move on a beast, and it'd be either in the sixth rank or the seventh.'
Elmer revised the information he had received while forming a plan. First, he decided to rush there and see the situation with his own eyes. He did not fear the elder of a weaker sect that used the same element as him, especially when he had the leverage of knowing Fernando's location while Fernando did not know about him.
It took him two days to catch up, and he could perceive Fernando's Darkness Qi when he concentrated on the place where he knew they were staying according to Ken's token.
'Hmm, a sixth-stage cultivator, seventh-rank beast, and eighth-stage cultivator. I guess I will need a distraction to take him safely.'
Elmer did not worry for himself but for Ken. If Fernando chose to fight, which he probably would, then Ken would probably die once Fernando realizes that Ken wants to switch sides. Even if Elmer could protect the boy from Fernando, the beast and Dominic would be free to attack him.
'Hmm, this old hag looks bored, I can use her.'
Elmer found a female elder from the Four Seasons Sect nearby. There were elders scattered throughout the territory, and most of them did not hide their presence to make it clear that nobody should try breaking the rules in their proximity.
Elmer slightly contorted his face when he saw she preferred to keep her elderly look instead of using products to make her look young. As a serial skirt chaser, he felt it a waste of a strong and capable woman.
With a sigh, he began letting strands of Darkness Qi move toward her 'carelessly', and the elder turned alert and concentrated on her surroundings. She found the source of the Darkness Qi and followed it with swift movements, finding nothing.
"Who is there? Show yourself!"
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"Be silent, don't channel any Qi. An elder from the Four Seasons Sect is nearby and it seems like she sensed something."
Fernando whispered to his companions. He was confused as to why the woman suspected anything; she shouldn't have a chance to see through his disguise unless she knew his approximate location.
"Come out, or I will see it as a provocation and destroy the whole area until I flush you out." A heavy concentration of Qi formed in the air above them.
"I'm here, do you have a problem with it?"
Fernando unwillingly left the group and revealed himself. He used a technique to coat them in darkness and it'd last for at least a few hours before it ran out of Qi and dissipated.
"Fernando Sue… why are you here?" she squinted her eyes in suspicion.
"Because I can, that's my sect's territory. Unlike evil invaders like yourself, I'm allowed to be here."
"As if I want to be in this shitty hole and its low Qi concentration. I was told you are very close to Ken Sue, perhaps he is here too?" The woman speculated with a cold smile while observing Fernando's face carefully to detect any changes. To her dismay, she saw nothing. Fernando did not engage in his clan's and sect's politics for centuries only to fall for a simple taunt.
"What would he be doing here, Gertrude? He is where we can keep him safe from your filthy blackmailed assassins, in the clan's territory."
"Be careful with your words, Fernando. We are a righteous sect, we do not practice blackmailing and assassinations." The elder quickly denied his words shamelessly.
"Hehe, why are you two talking instead of fighting? Don't you know that Ken Sue is right under your nose?" a mischievous chuckle resounded out of nowhere, and the two recognized it despite not seeing the person.
"Elmer, why are you interfering in the war between our sects again?" Fernando asked sternly.
However, it was too late. Gertrude acted as soon as she heard the 'anonymous' tip. She conjured a large ball of water with her Qi and threw it on the ground. It missed Ken's real location, but Fernando had to defend against it just to stop the shockwaves.
"Tygarian, carry them and flee while I hold her back!"
Fernando gave the beast an order and brought out his flexible sword. The two elders soon began their clash, neither was able to overpower the other in the short run. By the time their battle would be over, Ken would be far away.
"I need backup, Ken Sue is here. He is protected by a seventh-rank beast! Be careful, Elmer from the Serene Lotus Sect is here as well." Gertrude reported to her communication stone. She mentioned the last sentence as a warning; everyone knew that he was up to no good if he was there.
The half-tiger half-eagle beast soared to the sky and dashed fervently, using its aura to defend its passengers from the raging battle between Fernando and Gertrude. Behind it, an invisible man followed leisurely.
"Elmer! Don't touch the boy!" Fernando shouted angrily, but he could not afford to protect Ken from two eighth-stage cultivators of the top 5 sects.
"Don't worry, I will just protect him from the danger on the road so you can be at ease," Elmer answered back with another laughter as his voice faded in the distance.
Dominic, who understood the gist of the situation, looked around them in clenched teeth. He knew there was nothing he could do if they were assaulted by Elmer.
"Ken, no matter what happens, remain calm and stay behind me. The Seren Lotus Sect does not have a reason to touch you."
"You're wrong, young man!" Elmer said the beast crashed into a black wall that appeared out of nowhere. It was trapped within a sphere of black smoke, and it seemed lost as it walked in circles inside it.
Ken and Dominic flew from the beast's back to the ground, rolling on it roughly at high speed. The older man hurriedly stood up, grabbed Ken, and did his best to run forward while carrying his grandson on his shoulder.
"Elder, please let us go. We are not in the Supremacy Phase and have not offended you," Dominic requested in an angry tone, aware that he could only be polite with someone so much stronger than him.
"But I want Ken Sue too."
"Why do- AH!"
Dominic shouted in the middle of his sentence, looking at the sword coming out of his chest before falling to the ground and letting Ken go.
Chapter 268 - Geronticide
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