It lit up with a bright light as a powerful explosion came from it, forcing Wan to immediately jump back or suffer damage from the spell. Just as she moved away, he charged forward with his sword, hitting his blade against her closed fan. Wan only looked at him with disinterest. He sliced with quick attacks that were beginning to be too much for her to handle with her fan closed. She was on the defensive now as he held nothing back in his sword strikes. Wan could still tell he was just playing around. This couldn’t be his full strength as the 10th ranker in the Inner Court.
Wan used her auxiliary martial art, Butterfly’s Grace, and created 4 small butterfly wings out of her back. She used these insect wings to gain some distance from Yong but he chased after her like a love-sick puppy. Not to mention the fact that he’s been doing nothing but staring at her chest since she’s met him. It was actually starting to piss her off. She’s never felt like this before either. Maybe this feminine body made by her Illusionary Urn was more powerful than she thought.
And that was when Yong sliced her head off.
“Tch. She was good eye candy while she lasted. I should’ve aimed to pierce her heart instead of chopping her head off. Then I could’ve got some good use out of the body.” He spat on the ground in regret.
Since her illusion died, now was the perfect time to attack. He could only blame himself for being so unaware. Wan opened up her fan and swung it towards Yong’s defenseless back. A wind blast similar to a shot from a cannon exploded from her fan. She also flicked a few butterflies around herself to keep watch for any suspicious activities. They would be helpful in preventing surprise attacks as they could communicate with her mentally and let her know of everything they see.
Yong’s ears pricked at the sound of the sudden wind. He turned and nearly screamed his heart out of his chest seeing the powerful attack coming towards him.
“What the hell is this!?” He shouted.
The young cultivator attempted to use a talisman slip to protect him from the incoming attack. Wan’s simple wind blast smashed through his defensive amulet’s barrier and cracked the second one. Wan noticed that he had more than 3 barriers protecting him during her attack. He wasn’t kidding when he said that he was rich. Defensive treasures and amulets meant for protecting one’s life were not cheap in the slightest. The makers or finders of these types of treasures understood just how valuable they were. That’s why they were always at a high price.
Some people say you can’t put a price on human life. Yong’s grandpa must follow that saying with all his heart considering how many barriers Wan saw activate when her attack hit. That made her start to think about after she kills him. What if his grandpa comes after her? Even with her new fan, she doubted that she would be strong enough to deal with an elder directly under one of the Head Elders. Would Jing be able to protect her from the rage of an elder?
“How dare you!?” He pointed his finger at her, greatly upset. “Do you know who I am?! Do you know who my grandfather is?!” Spittle flew from his mouth.
Wan understood exactly who his grandfather was before she chose to kill him. She was taking a large risk by doing this task but she trusted Jing would be able to take care of the aftermath. She didn’t entirely trust Jing but she did trust her enough know that she wouldn’t give her this task just to place her in danger. It wouldn’t make any sense.
“Are those your final words?” Wan Qing asked.
“You... You... You dare!? A lowly woman like you think you can kill me?!” He slapped several talisman around the blade of his sword.
Wan slowly floated into the air. She didn’t need to humor this fool by engaging him in close combat with her fan. She released several wind blasts from the sky down on Yong. He ran for his life to avoid them while getting closer to her. This reminded Wan of her fight with Hu Tao at the start of the Treasured Plains but unlike Hu Tao, this idiot wasn’t hiding his intention at all. She could clearly see how he planned to used that sword empowered by those talismans to skewer right through her.
She flew even higher into the air as she performed a small dance with her fan. This ‘dance’ was actually a technique from her fan martial art’s manual. The manual was titled Emperor Tito’s Fanmanship. Wan couldn’t tell the ranking of this martial art but she knew that it had to be earth-rank or higher. She was also surprised there was a martial art on fans in the first place. Not even normal mortals used fans for combat. She wouldn’t be surprised to know if she was the only cultivator to use fans but that would be wrong to think because someone talented in fan wielding had to create the manual.
This specific technique was called Gathering of the Winds, it would allow her to sweep the air around her into any form she wants. Yong should be seeing a gigantic butterfly forming above her head right now. She didn’t believe his defensive treasures could save him from an attack like this and if it did, she could just send another attack similar to this one. Gathering of the Winds isn’t an attack that requires much qi to perform just precise qi control. Wan Qing has to actively shape the winds into the form she wants through her special dance. The special dance was required if she wanted to keep the technique formed. The only downside was the more complicated the form, the longer the dance is needed to conjure that shape. Leaving her completely open to certain attacks.
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The butterfly’s general form isn’t difficult considering she’s around them 24/7. It wasn’t too farfetched to say she’s become one with them. Bonded with the butterflies that make up her giant fan, especially after that illusion formation where they helped try to save her. Wan would describe it as the bond shared between a Beast Master and their beast.
“Impossible...!” The giant butterfly slowly soared down towards Yong.
In his panic, he placed down four talisman around himself and created a formation around himself. He laughed to himself inside the defensive formation and Wan continued to hover in the sky with her wings. Just in case he does survive, she would need to prepare another attack to kill him with. Defensive formations were usually unbreakable among those in the same stage. But Wan doubted this one would be able to withstand her attack. It was just a feeling she had, that’s all.
The giant butterfly descended upon the tiny blue barrier like an meteorite crashing upon the Earth. It immediately shattered upon first contact with the insect, causing Yong to scream in fright. The large insect made of wind and qi then slowly crushed Yong into the ground. It continued to fly deeper down into the earth, leaving a great imprint behind of a butterfly. Wan could see several barriers shattering once the wind butterfly started lowering into the ground.
“I guess I better take some proof that he’s dead. Hopefully some part of him is still recognizable.” Wan Qing messaged everyone with the special talisman given by Jing that she’s accomplished her task. Everyone else did it, so she did it too.
She floated down to the insect-shaped crater and saw Yong’s mangled and crushed corpse. It was a complete mess and absolutely disgusting. However, that didn’t stop her from grabbing his storage ring for herself. He probably had something in here that would identify him. If not, oh well. She just got herself an incredibly valuable storage ring without paying a thing for it. Ni Xong came running out of the bushes from far away towards her after she finished her fight.
‘This little useless bear...’ His cowardly nature hasn’t lessened at all. The only thing that’s changed about him is his strength.
“Rawr?” He looked up at her.
“Just looking at you makes me upset.” She sighed. “Show me your progress.” She ordered.
“Roah!” The little cub stood in an upright stance with his right foot leading forward.
The gauntlets were giant for his small size and seemed to grow along with him somehow, another mystery added to her savior. Wan shook her head to get off her mind off that subject and focused on Ni Xong. He let off super quick punches one after the other with his giant golden gauntlets. Ni Xong let off a rapid round of punches so fast that it looked like he had more than one pair of fists! A barrage of ultra-fast attacks!
“Tch. Good enough.” She couldn’t release her frustration about him when he was diligently training in a satisfactory manner.
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“What an enjoyable place this is...” Lei Zhi said as he sipped on his drink.
“I agree. We haven’t run into any people that want to fight us yet. Back home, you can’t even step out your house without someone trying to pick a fight with you or insulting you.” Bing agreed.
“It’s a shame we have to leave so soon. I would like to enjoy this type of atmosphere more often.” Lei Zhi said.
“This type of peace would definitely be appreciated. Something like this is impossible at the Golden Serpent Sect.” Bing supported.
“Until we help Jing change things for the better.”
“How long do you think that’s going to take?”
“Heh. You’re asking the wrong person Bing. Do you know how many years I've been at the Qi Gathering stage?” Lei Zhi laughed.
“You’re progressing pretty well now in my opinion. It won’t be long till we’re all out of the Qi Gathering stage.”
“And then we can go to the Inner Court and get caught up in even more situations.” He laughed some more.
“That tends to happen with allies like ours added along with Jing’s tasks.” Bing smiled.
“It might be my first time saying this but I'm actually excited for the future. I can actually see myself going further than I ever have before. See myself actually making a difference with the cultivators in the world.”
“By being kind to them?”
“No. I’m not a naïve old man, Bing. I know that just being kind and forgiving won’t be enough to change the views of what a cultivator should be. There is one rule in this world that has yet to be broken. Might makes right. If my might is stronger than the rest, it’ll be hard for them to refuse my views on how an ideal cultivator should be. If need be, I’ll force mercy and kindness on everyone that refuses to adhere to such a view.”
“I must apologize to you Lei. I actually did think you were going to be kind to everyone you meet and spare them no matter what actions or crimes they do against you.”
“Oh, heavens no!” Lei Zhi chuckled. “There’s a fine line between being human and being a monster. Those who commit inhuman actions don’t deserve the same treatments as humans.” A surprising amount of killing intent leaked from Lei.
Bing was shocked when he felt the dangerous aura coming out of him. This was the first time he ever felt something like this from him. And they’ve been through several life or death situations together. Some with people trying to kill them, others with animals trying to kill them. And until now, he’s never felt a hint of killing intent coming from him. Bing would be sure to pray for whoever manages to get on the bad side of Lei.