âSomeoneâs coming?â Zu An jumped in fright. âHey, come back! Is it a person or a wild beast?!â
But Mi Li was already gone, and didnât respond to him no matter how hard he tried.
âYou fall asleep as soon as you say you will⦠Are you a pig?!â Zu An snorted angrily. Sheâd only said that someone was coming, but she hadnât said anything else. Iâm in the depths of Hidden Dragon Mountain right now! What if some crazy beast came after my ass?
He gripped the Taiâe Sword tightly, his entire body going taut.
Soon, a figure emerged from not far away. It was a person!
Zu An grumbled inside. Those other protagonists always ran into some random goddess or beauty in the wilderness. Why did he have to run into some dude? This dude was old and ugly too.
His clothes were tattered like a beggarâs, but his eyes were still pretty bright. He was definitely a cultivator, and a strong one at that.
His shoddy appearance was most likely because heâd spent too much time in the mountains, and did not have a spare set of clothing. The man himself didnât seem to care too much about his appearance.
âBrother, are you out for a stroll in the mountains as well?â After considering his options, he decided to greet this man first. After all, he wasnât one to judge.
The middle-aged man was stunned when he saw Zu An. Then, he laughed loudly and said, âLook who decided to suddenly show up! Brat, count yourself unlucky for running into me here!â
Zu An frowned. âDo I know you? I think thereâs something wrong with your mind.â
The middle-aged man flew into a rage. âDo you know what I had to go through because of you? And yet you donât even recognize me?â
You have successfully trolled Wu Di for 666 Rage points!
Seeing the name appear in his notifications brought the events of the Clans Tournament to Zu Anâs mind. He blurted out, âWerenât you the one whose mom was calling him home for dinner?â
Wu Di gritted his teeth and stared daggers at him.
You have successfully trolled Wu Di for 999 Rage points!
Wu Di spoke, his voice a dark cloud. âI lost to that brat Chu Chuyan because of what you said during the Clans Tournament. A glorious sixth rank cultivator like myself lost to someone at the fifth rank! Not only did I become the laughingstock of everyone around me, I was sent to the mountains to pick herbs! Battered by the winds day after day, my prospects are in ruinsâ¦â
His anger intensified when he thought about what his life had been reduced to.
You have successfully trolled Wu Di for 1024 Rage points!
Zu An blinked. He replied subconsciously, âIâm not gonna lie, but losing to a fifth rank junior as a sixth rank senior is honestly kinda embarrassing.â
Wu Di stared at him, speechless.
He expected Zu An to be frightened by his words, or at least feel some remorse or subconscious embarrassment.
Yet this kid was laughing in his face!
He felt as if his lungs were going to explode.
You have successfully trolled Wu Di for 444⦠444⦠444â¦
âDamned brat, there were eyes everywhere during the Clans Tournament, and the Chu clan was protecting you as well, so I couldnât do anything to you. But the heavens have shown pity for me! They have granted me a chance encounter with you in the wilderness! Hahahahahaâ¦â Wu Diâs laughter grew more and more chilly.
He suddenly focused his gaze. He noticed the corpses of Old Mi and Wei Dan next to Zu An, as well as the storage pouches in his hands. A greedy glint appeared in his eyes, and his breathing immediately sped up. âDamned brat, hand over those storage pouches! Who knows, if my mood is good, I might even leave you with your life.â
Zu An nodded and said, âSure!â
With that, he tossed the two storage pouches over to him.
Wu Di was stunned. He fully expected Zu An to refuse, or at least negotiate with him. How could he have predicted that he would just throw them over?
This kid really didnât act normally at all!
He was afraid that the two pouches might explode, or contain some other nasty surprise, and he put up his guard immediately. He wrapped himself in ki before catching the pouches. However, when he examined them, he didnât detect any hidden tricks.
Excitement flooded through his veins. âThis aura⦠these are master rank storage pouches!â
He tried to open the pouches using all kinds of different methods. He even tried using elemental fire, but nothing worked.
He put the two pouches away and looked at Zu An. âBrat, I didnât expect you to be this cowardly! You surrendered them without even putting up a fight!â
Zu An frowned. âWhat, are you going back on your word now?â
He actually felt a twinge of regret. He had tossed them over in the hope that this dude might actually have a way of opening them. He was much older, after all, and he was also at the sixth rank. In the end, however, he turned out to be completely useless! He wouldnât have bothered if heâd known that things would turn out this way.
âSo what if I go back on my word?â Wu Diâs lips spread in a sinister smile as he closed in on Zu An. âIâm going to teach you an important lesson today! You shouldnât be so naïve when youâre in the outside world.â
Zu An sighed. âCanât you tell that Iâm not scared of you at all? At least take a moment to think about why Iâm acting like this. Who is the naïve one?â
Wu Di was shocked. He stopped in his tracks and looked all around him. Could it be that the Chu clan had set up an ambush?
He looked around but didnât see a single person. He snorted and said, âYou had me scared for a moment there. I received a report not long ago that something major had happened in the Chu clan. How could they afford to send men into the wilderness like that?â
However, he couldnât shake Zu Anâs cold and disdainful gaze. He seemed as though he was looking at a dead person. Wu Diâs mood grew darker and darker. âDamn you, kid! You will learn today that you are absolutely nothing without the Chu clanâs protection!â
He thrust out a hand as he spoke. He had witnessed Zu Anâs style of fighting during the Clans Tournament. This kid was only at the beginning of the third rank. Only an idiot like Yuan Wendong could be done in by this little bastard.
He had six ranks of cultivation! He could crush this brat like an ant!
Seeing the careless way in which Wu Di was reaching towards him, Zu An had confidence that he could behead him in one move.
However, he had just risen a rank, and he wanted to test out his strength. Wu Diâs cultivation would make him the perfect punching bag.
As such, he put away the Taiâe Sword and threw out a fist as well.
This kid is courting death! A mocking look flashed across Wu Diâs face when he saw that Zu An had no intention of dodging. The difference between sixth rank and third rank was much too vast! His arm might just explode as soon as they made contact!
Why did the Chu clan choose such trash to be their son-in-law? Iâm clearly much better.
The two fists made contact. He subconsciously exerted just enough force to break Zu Anâs fingers. He didnât want this victory to be decided too quickly. Instead, he wanted to slowly torture Zu An. Only then could he vent all his resentment!
*Crack!*
There was the sharp sound of bones breaking, and a miserable scream echoed throughout the forest.
Wu Di looked at his fingers, which had bent ninety degrees. His expression was one of sheer horror.
How⦠how is this possible?!
âYouâve been going on and on from the start. Do you really think youâre anything special? Are you really at the sixth rank?â Zu An didnât seize the initiative, instead remaining exactly where he was. He looked at Wu Di in puzzlement.
The scorn and contempt in his voice almost made Wu Di puke blood.
You have successfully trolled Wu Di for 458 Rage points!
He had a similar question of his own. Was this kid really at the third rank?
Am I dreaming or something?
He didnât dare show any more carelessness, and immediately drew his blade. Red flames covered its surface.
With a roar, he launched a cleaving strike at Zu An. He was ambidextrous, so using his off-hand did little to hamper his fighting ability.
Zu An suddenly recalled the Sunflower Finger that Old Mi had passed on to him. He hadnât had a chance to test it out yet. This was the perfect chance to practice.
When he saw Zu An raise a finger to ward off his blade, Wu Diâs lips spread in a malicious smile. I am going to chop off your fingers one by one! If not, I will disown my own name!
Zu An could feel the heat of the flames before the blade even made contact.
He shivered inwardly. He was facing an opponent at the sixth rank, after all. Even though he was strong enough to go toe to toe with an opponent at the sixth rank, Wu Diâs elemental power was still a force to be reckoned with.
A light bulb went off in his head. He summoned Blue Mallard, gathering all of the nearby water elements towards him.
There were many trees in the forest, so water was naturally plentiful. He quickly collected a large amount of elemental water. The sensation of scorching heat immediately reduced considerably.
As he watched, the flame blade moved ever closer to him. Zu Anâs finger moved. He thrust it forward, directly towards the approaching blade.
Wu Di felt as though a strange energy vortex had run along the length of his blade, and he almost lost his grip on it. The raging flames were scattered instantly. Fortunately, he immediately regained his focus, and the blade was again wreathed in gouts of flame.
He was horrified. âWhat kind of skill is this?â
Zu An raised his finger to the edge of his lips and blew off the smoke rising from its tip. âThis is the result of a thousand years of⦠Ahem, ahem, a skill I created on my own. I call it the Golden Finger. Are you impressed?â