"I believe we can come to a favorable conclusion that doesn't involve robbing me of everything I have." Lei Zhi politely said.
"Unless you got a buddy at the 7th stage hiding around here, don't count on it old man." The young man waved a dagger at him.
"I'm afraid I do not, but can I ask you young men and women a question?" Lei Zhi asked.
"This gramps sure likes to talk a lot, why don't we just rob him already?"
"Sure, ask anything you want but it's not gonna help you at all." Dagger Youth smirked.
"Are you all truly in such dire straits that you cannot help but rob others to advance?" Lei Zhi questioned with concern.
The robbers looked at each other in confusion before suddenly erupting in laughter together.
"Haha! What the h.e.l.l?! Has this old man gone senile?!"
"You think someone would rob people because of a reason like that?! What an idiot! Hahahaha!"
"He's so cute and stupid! I wish I had a grandpa like him." A female robber commented.
"Listen old man. We're part of Wolfeng Gang. Haven't you heard of us before?" Dagger Youth asked.
"Ah, you all are part of that bandit faction. I understand now. You steal and harm others because you find it enjoyable not because you are forced to do so."
�� Lei Zhi could only call the Wolfeng Gang, a bandit faction. There is no other way to describe them in a more fitting way. From all the rumors he heard about their group, these people are the worst of the worst. Murder, ****, theft, nothing is considered too far for those in this group. It is said that one doesn't even need to be at odds with them to be considered enemies. They hara.s.s and take from anyone not stronger them.
It is often called the Weakling's Paradise because of how anyone can do whatever they please as long as they don't offend anyone strong enough to wipe out their faction. If you want to violate young women and young men, Wolfeng Gang will take you in. If you want to do nothing but kill and torture people, the Wolfeng Gang will welcome you with open arms. If you want to never work for anything in your life and take things from those who have, The Wolfeng Gang has a spot for you.
A group like this isn't necessary for the future he envisions for the sect. It would be better if it was completely wiped out but that would be too hasty. Lei Zhi is letting his emotions affect him more than he should. He doesn't know if everyone in the group are irredeemable monsters. For now, he should just retreat. It would be the safest option and avoid any conflict with this group.
"I hope you all find a better path to follow in life. Farewell." Lei Zhi's figure turned hazy.
He appeared in multiple places within the center of the Wolfeng Gang. It looked like there were copies of Lei Zhi all around and he was the one who now surrounded the bandits!
"Kill him! It's just a stupid trick!" The Dagger Youth sliced at the throat of one of the misty clones and it dissipated away.
All the members of the Wolfeng Gang attacked the hazy figures and were shocked once they saw that none of them were the real Lei Zhi!
"That f.u.c.king old coot gave us the slip!"
"That coward!"
"Next time I see that old man, I'm plunging my dagger right through his heart for daring to run away from me, w.a.n.g Yong!"
Lei Zhi actually didn't run away that far. He was hiding nearby while concealing his qi. The reason why was because he was curious if they would try and swear revenge against him for simply running away and it turns out they did. Lei Zhi was actually at a lost here. There was no way he could have handled that situation without them trying to aim for him later.
Well actually, there was one way but he would always consider that the last possible option. How could he have hopes to reform today's youth if he has to kill them? No, Lei Zhi wouldn't take the future away from anyone that isn't completely irredeemable. Although it will be quite scary to have a target on his back like Bing and Ying, perhaps it will help him understand just how far gone some youths are.
Lei Zhi ran away for good this time, choosing not to kill the young group of cultivators. He had to leave behind the spirit beast he caught but it was better than having to fight for no reason. He could still find another one before making his way back to the sect. Iron-horned deer aren't rare in this part of the forest.
Half an hour later, he spotted a group of them grazing on the gra.s.s. Lei Zhi hid himself from their sights and took out his rod on his back. He looked for the strongest and healthiest deer to hook. You could tell how far an Iron-horned deer was in its cultivation by looking at the color and size of its horn. The one Lei Zhi was looking at were large enough threaten bears and gorillas. He couldn't see colors though so he hoped that size would be good enough to determine their maturity.
Lei Zhi tossed his hook into the rear of the deer and quickly reeled it in. It screamed in pain, causing all the other deer to flee away as quickly as they could. It flailed and struggled against the pull of the hook but all it did was cause it to tire out even faster. Hooking it on the b.u.t.t kept any serious damages from happening to the deer, if he hooked it anywhere else, he could've caused serious injuries that would take expensive materials to heal with.
Fishing spirit beasts on land wasn't that different from fishing them from the water. They just took a bit longer to tire out after you caught them. The deer was now softly breathing on the ground next to Lei Zhi. It was completely out of energy after trying to break free from his line and basically harmless. He wished his fishing rod tamed beasts on land the same way it did to beasts in water. It could have been enjoyable to ride the deer all the way back to the sect.
Lei Zhi slapped a capturing spell on the exhausted beast and watched as it was swallowed up into a golden bead. The golden bead shined a light every few seconds and then dimmed into a bronze colored bead. Lei Zhi knew that the deer didn't have much strength in it to resist the spell. This would make things easier on him; trying to carry that heavy spirit beast back would take too much time and he wasn't a young man anymore. Lei Zhi returned back to the sect without further incidents and got his contribution points.
______________________________________________"Kill that fat b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
"Don't let him escape alive!!!"
"I'm going to eat his flesh and s.h.i.t out his bones!!!"
Bing slapped another teleportation spell on himself and got himself out of the immediate danger that he was in. Those crazy Huan clan dogs chased him out of his home and even chased him into the Immortal Forest. It's going to be a hard few weeks until the start of the Plains but he should be fine if he plays it as safe as he has. He's fully stocked up on teleportation talismans so if he runs into any spirit beasts or cultivators stronger than him, he can escape whenever he wants.
For anything weaker than him, he can feed it to his shield and cultivation techniques. Just like these cultivators behind him that are at the 4th stage just like him. After he killed their secret weapon, he spent the rest of the day frantically trying to break through to the next realm. Any sliver of strength is needed in this dangerous time. He's already called for backup using the Empress's special messaging talisman. Ying said she was on her way and was excited to cut down a few more Huan dogs. Lei Zhi said that he could hide out at his shack until it was time for the Plains. Hu Tao told him to kill them all or die for being a worthless weakling. The Empress didn't respond...
But back to the situation at hand, Bing beefed himself up before using Swift Devil and charging into one of the three cultivators behind him. The cultivator was sent flying into the tree. If all of his ribs weren't shattered by that shield bash, then something else inside him had to be ruined just as worst. The other two were surprised at Bing's sudden appearance and quickly moved to take out their swords and strike him down. Bing grabbed the faster cultivator by the throat and used her body to defend against the sword strike of the other. The cultivator's sword stabbed straight through his ally and he was stunned at his actions, giving Bing enough time to drop the body and smack his shield into the skull of the remaining Huan clan member.
With a powerful stomp, Bing crushed the neck of the fighter and stood among the remaining bodies. He gathered them all up in a pile in preparation to feed it to his Devil Arms martial art. A sinister and dark air surrounding Bing as he activated the special breathing technique. His hand came alive as a forked tongue split open his palm and licked the air with excitement. Sharp pointed teeth appeared inside the mouth and the tongue hovered over the bodies, salivating. Soon, everything but the bones were sucked whole by the mouth.
Bing felt the strength in his body increasing as the tongue sucked the bodies dry. He was glad he didn't actually taste anything while his hand was doing its thing. It would be hard to not call himself a cannibal if he could taste these guys. Bing might be willing to do certain things to increase his strength but he doesn't plan on losing his humanity and common sense at the cost of it. After draining the cultivators dry of any remaining meat, he crushed their bones and fed their blood to his shield, giving it a nicer shine but the size stayed the same this time.
"I wonder what you need all this blood for in the first place..." Bing mumbled to his shield.
______________________________________________ Ying was wandering through the Immortal Forest looking for Bing. The big guy managed to get himself into some deep trouble and most of the Huan clan from the sect is after him. Since she was his friend and didn't really want to see him die in such a pathetic way, she decided to help him out! It wasn't like she had anything better to do nowadays. Just constant training, ranking matches, eating, and sleeping.
Ying found herself running into a group of cultivators. They were around her cultivation rank and seemed to be looking for something... or someone.
"Hey you aren't looking for a dumpling in the shape of a person too, are you?" Ying asked.
"She's the fata.s.s's friend. She has to know where he's hiding. Get her!"
Ying stood and watched as 5 cultivators out the 6 in front of her rushed towards her. If they know she and Bing are friends then they should know that she's stronger than him, right?
"She's mine!"
"What a beauty she is! Maybe I can have some fun with her if she doesn't talk willingly."
The greatsword wielder didn't even spare a second for these idiots. Bing could be in danger right now so, she didn't have the time to play with these trashes. With a single slash of her sword, she managed to cut through three of the cultivators' midsections. Crippling fear, disbelief, and panic filled the others. Ying stabbed her sword through the chest of one of the idiots just standing around and tossed his body at the one who fell down to the ground after seeing her cut the other three in half.
And with a mighty leap, she stuck her sword through the two like a skewer. The last guy was at the same rank as herself but the stain in his robes told her everything she needed to know about this coward. They locked eyes. Ying's brightly burning orange eyes seemed to bore into his soul. His life was already in her hands and nothing he could do could possibly stop her. His life was forfeit the moment he encountered her. He didn't expect that today would be his last day living in this world.
Ying walked over to the doofus staring off into s.p.a.ce. She knocked on his head and got no reaction. Did she just scare this guy into a r.e.t.a.r.d?
"h.e.l.lo? Is anyone hoooooome?" She waved her hand in front of his eyes but he still didn't react.
He didn't even blink but the puddle beneath his legs was getting larger.
'Whatever.'
Ying ran off deeper into the forest to try and find Bing. She took out any Huan cultivators around that she met with to cull their numbers a bit more for Bing. Since the old man said he could stay at his place, he should be heading somewhere in that direction. Hopefully, she'll be able to catch up to him before he gets himself killed but knowing Bing, he should be fine. He likes to use his fat head a lot to think about pointless things and worry about nothing.
______________________________________________"You've caused a lot of trouble for my clan you know that fatty?" Bing had blood running down his face while holding his shield towards his opponent.
"You've caused a lot of trouble for me as well. Your clan should know when to cut your losses. You've lost more than you could have ever possibly gained by trying to kill me over and over. Even now... They're going to lose an 8th stage Qi Gatherer by trying to kill me." Bing said as his 4th stage qi was musculizing his fat.
"Ho... So, you think you'll be able to kill me Fatty? A 4th stage Qi Gatherer with a little shield is going to be able to kill me?"
"It might not happen now or anytime soon but, I promise I will destroy the Huan clan and everyone who came after my life. I didn't ask for this but trust me, I will finish it." The aura surrounding Bing was something frightening and terrifying.
The look in his eyes promised pain and destruction to all those that stood by the Huan clan. The types of eyes that only a certain type of people could have. A certain type of people that will follow through on their promises no matter who or what stands in their way. Maybe Bing isn't as ordinary and common as he thought. Not just any 4th stage Qi Gatherer could make someone 4 stages higher than him actually frightened just with a glare and promise.
"Talk big all you want Fatty, you won't even die with a proper burial!" He tried to laugh off his previous fright. There's no way he could be scared by this tub of lard. He rushed at him to kill!
