Xu Yang suppressed his shock at the sight of the three Mystical Warriors from the Fire-Cloud Dojo, the Vast-Gate’s ascetic team was destined to die here.

 1Even Xu Yang who was watching from a distance was shocked, not to mention the vigilant Song Ren and the other members of the ascetic team.

 “I’m just an unofficial disciple of the Vast-Gate Dojo. I’m not a member!” Liu Zishan yelled. “I’m willing to leave the Vast-Gate Dojo and join the Fire-Cloud Dojo! Please accept my application!”

 1“Interesting.” the pale and thin Hong Xi smiled. “It seems that the Vast-Gate Dojo is not doing well. Your disciples are begging to join my Fire-Cloud Dojo.”

 Wei Haoshan, with a scar on his face, said impatiently, “Kill ’em all, don’t leave any of them alive.” His action spoke louder than words as he then swung his fist at Song Ren.

 His fist came with a roaring sound, and a fiery Mystical Power spurted out. Not only Song Ren who was at the front, but even the Vast-Gate Dojo’s disciples behind him were terrified feeling the rich Mystical Fire Power.

 1“Inner strength released, this is the realm of a Mystical Warrior…” Xu Yang was amazed seeing Wei Haoshan’s fist screaming like the tiger’s roar. The Mystical Fire Power released projected the shape of a tiger. “The scar-faced Mystical Warrior surnamed Wei’s cultivation has reached the pinnacle of a Mystical Warrior, it is close to that of a Mystical Master!”

 3Song Ren’s face darkened. He was not even able to go up against Wei Haoshan, what was he going to do with the other two Mystical Warriors—Hong Xi and Lu Zhuo? They were both at the Advanced-tier Mystical Warrior. He could not just stand there and wait for death. He had to gather his Mystical Power to fight back.

 Song Ren started moving his body. His bones made a cracking sound as he accumulated Mystical Earth Power on both of his fists. He punched the ground with a clanging sound. A pair of rocky gloves that extended up to his elbow appeared when he pulled his fist out from the ground.

 1“Ha!” Song Ren’s dark-yellow fist met Wei Haoshan’s. The blasting sounds roared deafeningly, and gravel and sand were flying everywhere with force.

 “Okay. It is the Earth-Extreme Mystical Power which is good for defenses. Again!” Wei Haoshan’s eyes brightened and his bones exploded like a string of beads. His momentum suddenly increased by a grade and he yelled, “Mist-Flame Spear!”

 Wei Haoshan’s Mystical Fire Power suddenly condensed into a huge flaming spear, as he angrily pummeled toward Song Ren.

 Song Ren felt the scorching flames. His hair and eyebrows had a faint burnt smell. He was shocked. He clamped his hands together, and Earth Mystical Power poured out, condensing into a thick shield like the mountains.

 “Mist-Flame Spear is an Intermediate-Mortal-tier Mystical Technique while Song Ren’s Black Tortoise Shield is an Early-Mortal-tier Mystical Technique. Wei Haoshan’s strength is stronger than that of Song Ren’s. The result of their battle using Mystical Techniques is as clear as day.” Xu Yang’s eyes flickered as he analyzed the battle secretly.

 At the same time, Hong Xi and Lu Zhuo rushed toward the Vast-Gate Dojo’s disciples with weird smiles on their faces.

 This was what was known as a massacre. A group of Mystical Learners who had yet to form their Mystical Cores were useless when facing two masters at Advanced-tier Mystical Warrior.

 It was not that no one tried resisting, but Hong Xi and Lu Zhuo did not even need to use Mystical Techniques. By relying on their physical strength alone, they lifted and smashed the disciples who resisted in an instant. The sounds of bones breaking reverberated endlessly across the cliff.

 1Wei Haoshan’s Mist-Flame Spear shot through Song Ren’s Black Tortoise Shield, scattering the dark yellow Mystical Qi all around them.

 Blood spurted out from Song Ren’s mouth. His body was smashed by the force of the Mist-Flame Spear, and his sternum was broken. He coughed painfully and small pieces of internal organs were spat out as he was thrown into the air.

 “Hmm. Where did he get the guts to even fight with me with his cultivation that is one stage lower than mine?” Wei Haoshan said proudly. One of the disciples from the Vast-Gate Dojo who tried to escape was easily caught by him. He raised his hand and crushed him into a meatloaf.

 The strength of Mystical Warriors was much stronger than that of Mystical Learners. Mystical Qi would spontaneously improve one’s physique and body strength. Wei Haoshan had over fifty juns of body strength, which was ten times more than that of a common Mystical Learner, and that was without using any Mystical Power.

 Dozens of Mystical Learners did not pose any threat to them at all. They were all killed by the three Mystical Warriors mercilessly.

 “Please don’t kill me. I beg of you. I am willing to join the Fire-Cloud Dojo…” Liu Zishan did not even dare to resist. He was kneeling on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

 The three instructors of the Fire-Cloud Dojo stared at each other, smirking at this sight.

 “You’re the one who dug up the Ash Grass? Interesting. However, the things that had happened today can’t be known by others.” Hong Xi whispered softly.

 “I will be tight-lipped!” Liu Zishan exclaimed, overjoyed by the prospect of being able to stay alive. He took out his leather pouch and presented it to them, “This is the Ash Grass that I have collected. Please accept it, instructors.”

 Hong Xi took the leather pouch, snorted and put the Ash Grass away. In the realm of a Mystical Warrior, this kind of ungraded herb was insignificant to them.

 “How can I trust you?” Hong Xi sneered. “The three of us didn’t even bring our disciples along for this. How can we trust an opponent’s disciple when we can’t even trust our own disciples?”

 Liu Zishan’s face turned pale once again.

 1“Moreover, there are not only clumps of Ash Grass growing here, but also… Flame Flowers.” Hong Xi whispered. “Do you think that the people at the Fire-Cloud Dojo are fools that won’t investigate after having found Ash Grass? It seems that you are not only spineless but also greedy.”

 Liu Zishan’s face was as white as a sheet. He trembled and took a small pouch out from his waist, handed it in, and wept, “It is all my fault, I forgot all about it. Please forgive me, instructor!”

 “Okay, let’s end this game of cats and mice,” Wei Haoshan stepped forward, snatched the Flame Flower from him and hummed coldly, “Boy, you’re going to die. Today is the day you meet the grim reaper.”

 Looking at the palm of Wei Haoshan’s raised hand, all color drained from Liu Zishan’s face. He suddenly shouted, “No, there is still one… there is still one person in our team who is alive!”

 Wei Haoshan dropped his hand. He seemed to be curious.

 “Who is that?”

 “Will you let me go if I tell you?” Liu Zishan asked hopefully.

 “Hmm. I will let you go if you are telling the truth.” Hong Xi said, as he chuckled. There was a thick layer of mockery in his eyes.

 “The person’s name is Xu Yang. He is not a Vast-Gate Dojo’s disciple. He said that he wanted to go relieve himself when we discovered the clumps of Ash Grass but he hasn’t returned since then.” Liu Zishan said as he trembled.

 “Oh, interesting.” Hong Xi asked about Xu Yang’s appearance and his outfit. Then, he patted Liu Zishan’s on the head.

 Liu Zishan still had a smile on his face, thinking that he would be spared, but the smile was soon frozen in place. A look of utter disbelief flashed across his face as he fell backward onto the ground.

  “Gather their corpses and burn them with a fire,” Hong Xi wiped his hands and said slowly. “We have to destroy the evidence so that nothing can be found by the Vast-Gate Dojo if someone were to come to investigate.”

 “Why bother? The bloody smell of this place will attract beasts. Not even a finger will remain after today. It will increase the suspicion of the Vast-Gate Dojo if you burn the corpses and leave the remains.” Wei Haoshan said in disapproval.

 Lu Zhuo had been checking among the bodies for a while now. He did not pay much attention to the pouch of the Mystical Learners but walked to Song Ren’s body.

 “What? As a superior Mystical Warrior, he only had two sets of clothes, a few pieces of dry food, and a map.” Lu Zhuo hummed dismissively after examining Song Ren’s bag. He then threw the leather pouch back to the ground.

 “We must not forget the person that the boy talked about just now.” Hong Xi said with a dignified look. “This was the reason the Chief told us to come together. He didn’t want anyone to know about our actions.”

 “Check around the mountain area. If you discover anything unusual, kill him on the spot.” Wei Haoshan said nonchalantly, just like his swift actions. He left the valley in two or three quick vertical jumps.

 1Hong Xi and Lu Zhuo left after him.

 Xu Yang was not angry about Liu Zishan’s betrayal. It was meaningless to hold a grudge against a dead person as things had already happened.

 1Xu Yang climbed down from the post secretly, and he was soon near the cliff.

 “The three Mystical Warriors must have thought that I left the scene, distancing myself from the cliff. Hence, the place where the incident happened is the safest place right now. It will be dangerous once they finish their search as they will surely meet here.”

 2Xu Yang ventured closer to get the map of the Python Mountains. There were beasts prowling there. It was too dangerous for him as a Mystical Learner so it was not wise for him to stay on longer.

 Xu Yang descended the cliff by hanging onto a vine. He quietly approached Song Ren and opened his leather pouch. He took out a piece of cloth with a sketch of the mountains and rivers.

 “This is the map of the Python Mountains…” Xu Yang felt glad. There was a path of the Ascetic Road marked on the map. The path was twisted and winded, which would then lead back to Lin Yuan City after a big arc.

 Suddenly, a hand grabbed hold of Xu Yang’s ankle.

 Xu Yang was terrified. Although he was bold, his forehead was still sweating. He turned his head hurriedly.

 As he looked back, Xu Yang breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out to be Song Ren. He had not died, at least not yet. However, his life was coming to an end.

 “Xu Yang…” Instructor Song Ren said, “I, I am dying…”

 Xu Yang nodded and looked into Song Ren’s eyes. He said, “I know, but I can’t save you.”

 “No… you don’t need to save me…” Song Ren coughed, dark red blood dripped from his mouth. “I have a request, please…”

 “Tell me what it is,” Xu Yang said lightly. “I can help you as long as it’s not too troublesome. I’ll treat it as our friendship over the talks we had before.”

 1Song Ren smiled bitterly. “I… I know, you have complaints about me, you may blame me… as I have been lax with Lu Song and the others, allowing them to humiliate you… I’m sorry…”

 1Xu Yang said nothing. Song Ren was telling the truth. He was not a disciple of the Vast-Gate Dojo but he joined this ascetic team coincidentally. Although Xu Yang had been humiliated by Lu Song and the others who were disciples of the Vast-Gate Dojo, Song Ren’s negligence was reasonable because he was not one of them.

 “I… I beg of you, take care of my daughter… She is only eight years old… She can’t live without me…” Song Ren’s face displayed warmth upon the mention of his daughter, “I beg of you, keep her… either as a maid or a servant, please… treat her well…”

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