Chapter 25: Traveling Together.
Yun Yantian was almost out of ideas. He just wanted to get to Great Xian City to explore the mystic ruins that were located not far from the city. When he first heard about the ruins, learning that it hadn't been completely conquered despite being found so long ago, it had ignited his fighting spirit. What if he managed to completely conquer them, grabbing whatever treasures were left over?
He had set out almost immediately, traveling day and night to get to the Xian Province. But he found himself delayed time and time again, bandits besieging him wherever he went. He couldn't even shake them off, they just kept following him, growing larger each time.
Today he had been surrounded by 15 of them, they had even brought their leader. Most of these bandits only had minor powers that were close to useless in combat. At best giving them slightly stronger bodies or senses, but their leader had a proper power, the power to strengthen and push his bones out of his body and use them as weapons and shields.
Yun Yantian could kill the minor bandits, sustaining just a few injuries in the process. But if he had to fight their leader at the same time, the odds were much higher that he would sustain heavier injuries, forcing him to cut his journey short and return home.
Yun Yantian was at wit's end when he suddenly spotted someone out of the corner of his eye. On the road not far from him stood a carefree youth that seemed to be around his age. The youth was clad in an emerald green robe and seemed to be a little over 1.80, with black hair that cascaded down his back. He had black eyes that seemed to see right through Yun Yantian, at his waist hung a simple metal longsword. The sword was full of small scrapes, but it was polished and cleaned, so Yun Yantian could see that this sword obviously meant a lot to this youth.
Yun Yantian thought that the youth would rush over and aid him, but he was slightly stunned when he saw the youth standing there with a pondering expression. He was obviously weighing his options! Yun Yantian could see that the youth had almost reached the 9th level of the 0st grade, so if they worked together, these bandits would be no problem.
Yun Yantian didn't need to think for too long, a grin forming on his face. He moved backwards, away from the bandit he was currently fighting, and started sprinting towards the youth while shouting at him.
“Ahahaha! Sorry brother, but i could really use some help here!”
Yun Yantian could see that the youth was shocked at his shout, even looking at him like he wanted to curse all his ancestors, but he still drew his sword. When the youth drew his sword, Yun Yantian silently drew a cold breath. The youth drew his sword, purple lightning crackling on his body, the air around him suddenly turning sharp. Yun Yantian even felt a sense of danger as he looked at the youth.
“Names Yun Yantian. I'll treat you to some good drinks once this is over.”
Yun Yantian gave a short greeting, the bandits were already closing in, so there wasn't time to do a proper greeting. The youth glanced sideways at him. His black eyes had gotten a gray tint, like they were filled with gray smoke. Seeing those eyes, Yun Yantian had the feeling that all his secrets were laid bare.
“Names Yao Jun, those drinks better be the best drinks I have ever had.”
Hearing the youth's reply, Yun Yantian couldn't help but laugh. He really liked frank and easy going people like this Yao Jun, they were people that were worthy of becoming his friends.
The bandits finally caught up to them, attacking them all at once. Yao Jun didn't waste any more time talking, he simply dove right into the group of bandits, his sword shimmering with the power of lightning. The bandits around him seemed disoriented, their eyes glazed over, some of them even started attacking each other.
Yun Yantian didn't waste any time either, his eyes quickly turning serious as he dove in after Yao Jun. Yao Jun dealt with over half of the bandits, so it was obviously Yun Yantian's job to take care of the bandit leader and the rest.
Without the support of his minions, the bandit leader stood no chance against Yun Yantian. Yun Yantian fought swiftly and gracefully, Yao Jun couldn't help but exclaim in awe as he glanced over. Yao Jun had no trouble with the bandits, they were all to weak to withstand his illusion attacks, swiftly sinking into a disoriented state, he had plenty of time to check out Yun Yantian's fight.
Yun Yantian fought with a sword, just like him, but Yao Jun had to admit that he was far inferior to this Yun Yantian. Yao Jun had no proper teacher, only some advice from his father and whatever he managed to learn on his own. His sword style could be called rough and clumsy. But this Yun Yantian, his blade flowed like the wind, bending and striking at blind spots with blinding speed.
While he was looking at Yun Yantian's fight, Yao Jun simultaneously made short work of the bandits around him. They only had weaker powers that allowed them to temporarily enhance one aspect of their body, under Yao Jun's illusions, they could not even activate their powers before they died.
Yun Yantian didn't have any problems on his end either, the bandit leader had a tough defense because of his bone armor, but he was too slow to threaten Yun Yantian. Without his minions to tie down Yun Yantian, Yun Yantian was free to attack and withdraw as he saw fit, quickly decimating the rest of the bandit minions, leaving only the bandit leader, who was quickly dispatched.
Yao Jun observed the way Yun Yantian fought with the bandit leader, he could learn a lot from the way Yun Yantian fought. Yun Yantian also seemed to have a very interesting power. He would stab his sword through the openings in the bone armor, he would then let go of the sword and pull back. The sword that was stabbed into the bandit leader would then suddenly dissipate, a new one swiftly appearing in Yun Yantian's hands.
”Hahaha, Brother Jun I thank you for your aid, you have truly done me a great favor.”
The sword in Yun Yantian's hand dissipated after he killed the bandit leader. He turned around and gave Yao Jun a wide grin as he laughed. He knew that Yao Jun could have simply chosen to run away after Yun Yantian brought the bandits over. But he didn't, he stayed and fought, this instantly gave Yun Yantian a good impression of Yao Jun.
“You could have finished all of them yourself, so it can't be counted as me doing you a great favor.”
Yao Jun gave a smile as he responded. He could see that Yun Yantian was an honest and frank person, saying whatever was on his mind. A person like this was very easy to get along with. He could also feel a strong power from Yun Yantian's body, so it was obvious that Yun Yantian could kill all the bandits without Yao Jun's help.
“I could have finished them but I would end up rather injured, and that would force me to cut my journey short.”
Yun Yantian sifted through the belongings of the bandits as he spoke, pulling out several leather pouches that the bandits had hidden away within their leather armor. He gathered up a total of 15 leather pouches, even picking up the pouches from the two bandits he had killed earlier, and threw them at Yao Jun. The pouches gave off a metallic ringing noise as Yao Jun caught them, they were obviously filled with coins.
“These are yours Brother Jun. You seem to be heading to Great Xian city?”
Yun Yantian frankly questioned Yao Jun, asking a traveler for their destination would be considered rude by some people, but he simply didn't care, he wanted to live his life doing whatever he wanted.
“Indeed, I have quite an interest in buying a few things within the city.”
Yao Jun took the pouches and stored them into his interspatial ring, he was indeed very light on money right now. Yao Jun didn't think that his destination was something that needed to be hidden, countless people traveled to Great Xian City every day. Compared to them, he was just a drop in the ocean.
“Excellent. Then allow me to travel with you! We can drink and share stories as we walk.”
Seeing him accept the pouches and nod his head, Yun Yantian grinned and patted him heavily on the back as he started walking. He had been traveling alone for several months already, finding someone who seemed very similar to himself that agreed to travel within was a great joy.