"Chief, that Qingyang Sect bastard has come out!"
Hiding behind a boulder, Wang Fatso saw Lu Li charging straight toward his group and shouted excitedly.
"Stop him!" The leader did not show himself.
"Understood!" Wang Fatso wore a ferocious grin, waving at the brawny men crouching behind him. "Follow me!"
More than twenty bare-chested men flashed out from behind the massive rock, instantly forming a line.
Lu Li was fleeing for his life when a crowd suddenly materialized ahead, nearly crashing into them. Regaining his footing, his gaze darkened at the sight of the short, stout Wang Dharma Protector. "It's you!"
"Heh, of course it's me, you dog bastard of the Qingyang Sect! Did getting called Senior a couple of times make you forget yourself? Hahaha... Come on, break this Dharma Protector's legs!"
"Kill him!" The men shouted in unison, closing in on Lu Li shoulder to shoulder.
Every single one of them was at the second layer of Qi Refining.
"Just you lot?" Lu Li glanced back, his foot tapping the ground as he shot forward like lightning and threw a punch.
Before the man could react, his consciousness faded. The others only saw a massive figure fly backward before Lu Li vanished from view.
Behind them, the brawny man's head had burst apart.
"Gulp."
Swallowing hard, the men stared in disbelief.
Was he really this formidable? A second-layer Qi Refining cultivator couldn't take even one of his punches?
Even Wang Fatso was stunned. Recovering his senses, he roared hysterically, "After him-!"
It was a mystery what grievance Lu Li held against him to warrant such blinding hatred.
Hidden behind the rock, the leader hadn't expected Lu Li to move with such speed. He considered pursuing him, but remembering the beast lingering further back, he stayed put.
Wang Fatso's group chased for some ten zhang before halting, realizing they had lost Lu Li's spiritual resonance entirely.
At that moment, a green-robed man accompanied by a figure in white and another in pink came speeding from behind.
Wang Fatso immediately barked orders to block their path.
"People from Water Cloud Stronghold!" Zhong Ping stopped, his face dark as he glared at Wang Fatso. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Heh, meaning?" Wang Fatso sneered. "You're in cahoots with that Qingyang Sect dog bastard, aren't you? Since you're here, you aren't leaving!"
With a wave of his hand, he shouted, "Take them!"
"Insolent!" Seething with fury, Zhong Ping flicked his sleeve. Several sharpened wooden stakes whistled through the air; with a series of dull thuds, the three leading men collapsed, motionless.
Color drained from the faces of the remaining men, who shrank back in terror.
Zhong Ping sneered. "It seems I've been too lenient, letting trash like you dare insult the Qingyang Sect!"
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
At that moment, the leader who had remained hidden behind the boulder stepped out, clapping his hands. "Fellow Daoist has quite the methods."
Turning back, Zhong Ping frowned. "You're with Water Cloud Stronghold as well?"
"Heh, your insight is lacking, Fellow Daoist. You killed my men and don't even recognize Xu Shan?"
"Xu Shan? You're the master of Water Cloud Stronghold!"
"Hmph, not entirely a fool!"
Xu Shan stamped his foot, launching himself high into the air. With a clawing motion of his right hand, a gray boulder the size of a washbasin materialized out of thin air, hurtling downward toward Zhong Ping like a cannonball.
"Fifth layer perfection!"
Zhong Ping's pupils constricted. He formed hand seals at lightning speed, a cyan rune disk flashing into existence before him. Before the disk could solidify, the boulder crashed into it.
"Bang!"
The boulder struck the rune disk. Lasting barely half a breath, the disk shattered into wisps of smoke with a sharp crack, and the massive rock smashed straight into Zhong Ping's chest.
"Pelt!"
Zhong Ping coughed up a mouthful of blood and flew backward.
Xu Shan had no intention of stopping. As Zhong Ping flew through the air, Xu Shan leaped again, launching the exact same attack.
"Senior Brother!"
Fu Yao and Junior Sister Ling cried out in alarm, rushing forward to help.
Fu Yao was quicker, reaching Zhong Ping's side in a flash and casting an array of ice arrows to intercept the boulder.
Yet at that instant, Zhong Ping's expression turned vicious. He grabbed Fu Yao and shoved her directly in front of him.
"Boom!"
The hurtling boulder struck Fu Yao squarely on the forehead. The front of her skull caved in, and she turned her head in sheer disbelief, seeking an explanation.
But the person behind her was already gone, and she collapsed backward.
"Hahaha! Truly a Qingyang Sect bastard, using your own Junior Sister as a meat shield!" Mockery covered Xu Shan's face as he watched Zhong Ping flee in panic. Slapping a talisman onto his sole, he turned into a blur and gave chase, shouting to his subordinates,
"Catch that girl! This master's going to have some fun tonight!"
Wang Dharma Protector and a dozen men immediately surrounded the girl in pink. Looking at her coldly, Wang Dharma Protector said, "Will you surrender, or do we have to break you?"
Blank-eyed, the young woman stood frozen. Her mind was utterly shattered. She could not comprehend who was good and who was evil.
Why had her Senior Brother harmed Senior Sister Fu?
Why had that dark-clad Senior Brother stolen the spiritual herb?
Why did these people want to kill them?
Why... were people like this?
Seeing her silence, Wang Dharma Protector waved a hand. "Take her."
Two men advanced. To them, the girl was clearly frightened out of her wits-little more than a greenhouse flower raised in a sect, likely terrified even of slaughtering a rabbit, let alone facing cultivators.
Yet just as they reached for her, the girl snapped back to reality, shrieking, "No, don't come near me! Please let me go, I'm not a bad person!"
"Oh?"
"Hahahaha..."
Amused, the men exchanged grins. One chuckled, "Little sister, you might not be a bad person, but we certainly aren't good ones. Be a good girl and surrender."
"If we accidentally mar that pretty face, it won't be as fun."
"No, let me go!"
Terrified, the girl turned to run, but finding herself hemmed in, she was shoved back into their midst.
"Hhahaha..."
"A little lamb of the Qingyang Sect!"
Peals of laughter erupted from the men.
Despair washed over the girl. Trembling, she wept for mercy, completely forgetting she was a third-layer Qi Refining cultivator herself. Had she fought back with all her might, she might not have escaped, but she wouldn't have suffered such humiliation.
Wang Dharma Protector stood back with folded arms, watching coldly. With him here, even if the girl were at her peak instead of this paralyzed state, she wouldn't have lasted three rounds against him.
Losing patience, the two men reached out to grab her.
The girl closed her eyes in utter despair.
Right then.
A sharp gale brushed past the faces of the crowd.
A dark cyan figure dropped like a ghost from a nearby tree.
Hands raised.
Fists struck out together.
Both men flew backward through the air, crashing onto the ground with their heads lolling sideways, dead before they hit the dirt.