Du Ming was in a panic. He massaged his painful ribs—where he had been punched by Xu Yang.

 “Brother Song, that rascal was… kind of weird. How dare he resist today!” Du Ming rushed to Lu Song’s side as he reported back to Lu Song, but tumbled and fell halfway. This made Lu Song frown in response.

 “Resist?” Lu Song harrumphed. “You could just beat him up and drag him back here. Why are you making such a big fuss?”

 Du Ming was stammering. His face was red and he was at a loss for words. First, he felt that something was off, and second, he was so ashamed that he was beaten by that numbskull.

 “What’s wrong with you? Why are you frozen there?” Liu Zishan laughed at him. “You couldn’t beat that trash?”

 At first, Liu Zishan could not believe that Du Ming who was an Intermediate Mystical Learner was no match for Xu Yang, an Early-tier Mystical Learner. Not only that, Xu Yang’s trashy image of being willing to be humiliated along the way here had been imprinted in their minds.

 Seeing Du Ming who was in despair, Lu Song’s frown deepened.

 “If that is the case, you sure are doing well.” Lu Song said coldly. “You were beaten up by trash like him, doesn’t that make you worse than trash?”

 Du Ming exclaimed, “No. Brother Song, I…”

 Lu Song rose from where he sat and gave him a tight slap. Slap! Du Ming was smacked senseless by the slap, as he staggered and stumbled backward before falling to the ground.

 Lu Song’s slap was so heavy that his fury was evident.

 “The boy has got to come back sooner or later. By that time, I really need to teach him a lesson!” Lu Song clenched his fist and said with a grim face.

 “Be careful, don’t kill him.” The only middle-aged man in this group who was merely watching on the sidelines said lightly.

 “Be rest assured, Instructor Song. I know what to do.” Lu Song answered with a smirk.

 The middle-aged man sighed. It seemed like the young master known as the numbskull Xu Yang was in deep trouble. However, as a guide to the Ascetic Road, he did not care about the disputes between these Mystical Learners. All he needed to ensure was that the survival of these teenagers was at an above average rate.

 The sky darkened gradually. The slightly cool autumn breeze blew gently, giving life to the dead leaves that danced along with the wind.

 “It’s been half an hour, and the boy hasn’t returned yet?” Lu Song was getting impatient. “Is he afraid of coming back?”

 “It is good if he dares not to come back,” Liu Zishan said coldly. “There are plenty of ferocious beasts at the Python Mountains at night. He is outside the valley without fire and shelter. He must be in danger.”

 “Calm down and drink some water, Brother Song.” Du Ming said, sporting a now swollen face as he handed over the water bottle to Lu Song. “It will surely be better for him to get eaten by beasts. If he dares to appear in front of me…”

 Lu Song refused to take the water bottle but instead his stare was fixated outside the valley. That was when a boy who looked thin but stood tall walked toward the valley.

 “What will you do if I appear in front of you?” As soon as Xu Yang stopped speaking, he came in slowly from the valley entrance.

 His shoulder-length black hair was disheveled as the wind was blowing against him, his hair fluttering about behind his neck. A pair of black eyes under the bangs on his forehead shot out a dazzling cold light. He sneered at Lu Song.

 “Brother Song…” Du Ming looked at Lu Song beside him. His palms were sweating profusely.

 “Go, Du Ming.” Lu Song said coldly. “Your power is a tier higher than his. You shouldn’t lose to him. This is a chance to prove yourself, cherish your opportunity.”

 The water bottle fell to the ground as Du Ming’s hands trembled. A flood of water gushed out and slowly permeated into the ground.

 Seeing his response, Xu Yang was filled with even more disdain. He taunted, “You really are a coward. You have no hope in this life to advance your Mystical Learner tier with this kind of mindset.”

 1As soon as these words were uttered, everyone looked as if they had just seen a ghost.

 Xu Yang was usually timid. He used to be a punching bag for everyone. However, he was standing on a higher position at that moment, taking upon himself to reprimand others.

 Du Ming’s face was burning with rage. He yelled, “I am not afraid of you!”

 Lunge Punch!

 A simple basic move was used by the enraged Du Ming. He used his entire strength of five juns. If the punch were to land on a cow, it would have been propelled backward in a somersault.

 “Good try!” With the sound of cracking bones, Xu Yang stepped forward as well. He punched Du Ming’s fist casually.

 “He must be crazy!” That was what everyone was thinking. Xu Yang was merely an Early Mystical Learner with two or three juns of strength. How was it possible for him to challenge Du Ming who had five juns of body strength?

 The result was out of everyone’s expectations. Du Ming groaned in pain and took several steps back. He could feel numbness spreading throughout one side of his body and severe pain in his fingers—like they had almost been broken.

 Xu Yang showed no mercy as he had been constantly humiliated by this loyal subordinate of Lu Song’s in the past, the images of which flashed through his head vividly. A flash of fierce light shone in Xu Yang’s eyes as he stepped forward and elbowed Du Ming’s chest.

 Du Ming spat out a mouthful of blood as his body was pushed a few meters backward like a disconnected kite before he finally landed and rolled several times on the floor.

 All of them were shocked by his punch. The teenagers who were sitting around watching stood up at the same time. Several people even took a step back involuntarily and looked at Xu Yang with a hint of uncertainty in their eyes.

 Clap! Clap! Two abrupt claps attracted everyone’s attention and they all looked at the direction where the sound came from. It turned out to be Lu Song.

 “Well done. Your physical strength has at least doubled as you can beat Du Ming with such force.” Lu Song applauded with a smile, but his eyes reflected envy. “It seems that you have had a good adventure where you have consumed some kind of spirit herb that can strengthen your body! How lucky you are.”

 The teenagers had a sudden realization with his words. That was how Xu Yang was able to defeat Du Ming. He must have consumed a spirit herb. Otherwise, it was impossible to win someone with more power than him as he was merely an Early Mystical Learner.

 Xu Yang looked at Lu Song with no facial expression and said lightly, “If I hit a dog, its master will come at me. Are you going to avenge Du Ming? Well, I do want to settle an old score with you too. Do it right now.”

 “Tsk tsk,” Lu Song shook his head and said disdainfully, “It seems that your brain has been damaged after eating that spirit herb. What is the foundation of a Mystical Warrior? It is cultivation and realms! I am now in the Advanced-tier as a Mystical Learner whereby my physical strength has reached ten juns! I am far stronger than you be it on the aspect of cultivation or physical strength. You are still trash in my eyes now as you were before. However, it’s more interesting to abuse you right now.”

 Xu Yang lifted his finger and made a taunting gesture at Lu Song. That nonchalant attitude of his made Lu Song go completely ballistic.

 “Go to hell!” Lu Song shouted, kicking his feet suddenly like he was shooting a rifle gun. The crackling sound was twice as loud as that of Du Ming’s and his figure was even more imposing. His fist was aimed at Xu Yang’s chest, like it was the tip of a rifle gun.

 Xu Yang sneered. He swiftly let his body fall backward like a bamboo pole. He avoided the fierce punch easily. He then bent his body and kicked Lu Song’s lower abdomen.

 That was the Dragonfish Stance in the Dynamic-Static Combined Qi-Introducing Technique—which was a short move used in battles on land.

 Xu Yang’s current physical strength was not enough to beat Lu Song. However, he knew the melee-combat skill of ten thousand years later which made him totally different from those who could only throw their fists wildly.

 Xu Yang had the strength of six juns but he could exert eight to ten juns of strength whereas Lu Song could not even exert half of his ten juns of strength. His defeat was expected.

 The main reason was that they were all Mystical Learners that could not perform Mystical Skills. Hence, the importance of having the skill of melee combat was apparent. If both of them were at the stage of a Mystical Warrior who could perform Mystical Skills, the outcome of the battle would depend on whose Mystical Skills and cultivation were stronger. At that point, being able to perform melee-combat skills would not suffice to determine the outcome of the battle.

 Lu Song was kicked backward with such force that he was thrown off his feet. He roared in agony as he felt as if his lower abdomen was being ground by a blade, and his intestines were being slashed apart.

 Xu Yang used the rebounding strength of his legs to complete the next move of the Dragonfish Stance, Carp’s Rebound. It was then followed by the Running Horse Stance—where he used his shoulder to wham into Lu Song’s chest.

 The second strike made Lu Song’s eyes roll back, and he almost fainted, losing the ability to fight.

 The round of battle was as fast as lightning as the teenagers could not see clearly what Xu Yang had done. They only saw Lu Song fall heavily onto the ground like a sack. He coughed violently and droplets of blood spurted from his mouth.

 ‘What a savage combat skill! This Lu Song has been badly hit. He would have suffered hidden injuries even if he were to recover—unless an alchemist can make an elixir for him to regulate his injuries.’ The middle-aged man, Instructor Song, was the only person who saw what had happened clearly. He was shocked.

 “Wait a minute!” Instructor Song was terrified when he saw Xu Yang approaching Lu Song who was slumped on the ground. Why did Xu Yang become so cold-blooded and cruel—like he was not the same person? He looked like he was not satisfied with the heavily injured Lu Song. Did he intend to take Lu Song’s life?

 1What Mr. Song did not know was that Xu Yang came from thousands of years in the future where there was a scarce availability of Mystical Energy, natural herbs and treasures. They had to be merciless to others as they had to fight for life just for a single elixir. The era was full of conspiracies and deceit. They used extreme methods to achieve their purpose and felt no remorse in betraying others. Xu Yang’s ruthless actions were visible as he grew up being influenced by that kind of society.

 “Xu Yang, you are allowed to hurt Lu Song but you must not kill him.” Instructor Song stopped him.

 “Why can’t I kill him?” Xu Yang asked and looked up at Mr. Song. This person in front of him was surrounded by Mystical Qi. That meant that he was at least at the stage of a Mystical Warrior—which was known as a true Mystical Cultivator.

 There was only one level difference between Mystical Learners and Mystical Warriors, yet their difference in strength was phenomenal. Mystical Learners’ realm mainly depended on physical combat while the Mystical Warriors’ realm could perform Mystical Skills. Being able to do so improved their combat abilities by leaps and bounds.

 “It is my duty as a guide.” Instructor Song explained. “The guide has to ensure the safety of the ascetics on the Ascetic Road.”

 “So, why didn’t you care when I was almost beaten to death by them?” Xu Yang asked.