Clang.
As the green-clothed leader made his threats, the other two pulled out their weapons as well. There was a mean glint in their eyes.
Li Luo shook his head disapprovingly. “That’s a nasty attitude, guys. No alms today.”
The leader snorted. “Let’s not do this the hard way. By the looks of your golden dragon design, you guys are from the Xia Kingdom. It’s not that weak a place, but why is your squad so pathetic?”
“And I see that you three are from the Polar Wolf Kingdom’s branch.”
“Ji Sun, at your service,” the leader said with a mocking bow. “These two are my friends.
“Come now, lady and gentlemen. I don’t want to have to fight you. In fact, if you wish, we could even team up. Of course, you’ll have to give us 80% of the profits.
“In exchange, we’ll protect you.”
Lu Qing’er’s face was rigid with anger. Li Luo sighed. “80%? Are you sure you guys aren’t loansharks? Because your hearts are black as hell.
“Besides… look at you. One First Changing and two Third Patterns. You’re not that much stronger than us, brother. What makes you think you can charge a protection fee like that?”
Ji Sun’s eyes narrowed.
“Seems like you don’t just want to be taken down.
“You want to be taken out!” These words were punctuated by a deafening crackle, a violent streak of energy that came from behind Li Luo. He shuddered as it passed him, an avatar of savagery with his spear out, attacking Ji Sun.
He was a tiger incarnate, burning through snow as he charged.
Qin Zhulu.
Fighting was in his blood, and he had an instinctive grasp of when things were about to turn violent… and to act one step ahead of that.
“Roar!”
Ji Sun leaped back with alarm, taken back by the ferocity of this sudden attack.
“An eighth-grade beast resonance! No wonder he’s such an animal!” Ji Sun yelled to his companions. Still, he was only a Third Pattern!
Ji Sun stepped forward to meet him, lancet at the ready. Wind energy twisted around it.
He cut out in a curious, slicing motion, sending a fan of wind that cleanly chopped away at the trees around them. It made its clear imprint in the snow.
Bang!
The two clashed with a monstrous bang, resonant power on resonant power.
Ji Sun staggered back two steps from the impact, while Qin Zhulu was sent back a few steps, almost losing his balance.
Qin Zhulu had come out worse from their clash due to the marked difference in their cultivation levels.
He was completely unfazed, the bright joy of battle burning bright in his eyes. His entire body trembled with the excitement of being in battle.
Ji Sun eyed him warily. “Impressive Snarling Golden Demon Tiger resonance. If you were a Fifth Pattern, I would be pretty scared of an upset. But a Third Pattern… far from sufficient.”
“I’m guessing you’re the strongest in this squad. Will you all behave if I take this guy out?” Lu Qing’er was about to retort, but Li Luo cut her off. “Yup. You got it, boss man. Old Lu here is our strongest.
“Old Lu, he’s all yours. Buy us all the time you can.”
Qin Zhulu looked approvingly at Li Luo. He wasn’t happy that Li Luo had called him the strongest. He was just happy that Li Luo had left him the strongest, Ji Sun, to fight.
He probably couldn’t win, but it did not matter. Fighting was all that mattered, and who cared if the result was death or injury.
“Roar!”
Qin Zhulu plunged his spear into the ground and roared, his resonant power swelling forth with his voice. Golden tiger stripes began to surface on his skin, and his voice deepened with a tiger’s growl.
His eyes had become cat eyes, deadly and watchful.
He was a hunter now, ready to take down his target with any means possible.
Snatching up his spear, he shot forth in a blur towards Ji Sun.
Ji Sun watched him come. “Guo Xiang, Xu Ling, the other two are yours. I’ll handle this guy.”
“Haha, no problem, Boss. Let’s see who can finish off their opponent first.”
They were both Third Patterns, while Li Luo and Lu Qing’er were Third and First Patterns respectively.
Ji Sun nodded. The gap in power on all sides was clear—he was not worried for them.
He turned back to his target. Green wind resonant power started to swirl around his entire body, until he seemed to almost hover just above the ground. His steps were light and speedy, his control precise. He darted forward, seemingly floating from position to position like a dragonfly.
Qin Zhulu showed none of that precision. A wild tiger with a single fang—his outstretched spear, roaring loud enough to shake the air.
Ji Sun snapped his wrist forward with a powerful blast, snuffing out the energy around the spearhead.
“I have time. I’m going to play with you.” He smirked.
“Or perhaps you care for a wager? Want to see if my friends over there will end things faster than us?”
Qin Zhulu smirked right back at him, his tiger stripes glowing anew.
“Not sure how long you can last, but your friends over there are about to be ended real quick, I reckon.” He bared his teeth.
Ji Sun looked at him as though he was crazy. Qin Zhulu was already on the move, a relentless attacking force.
…
At the same time, Guo Xiang and Xu Ling were pincering Li Luo and Lu Qing’er. Both were eying the latter with great interest.
“Hey, Old Xu, leave the girl to me, eh? I’ll wipe your loan clean from last time,” Guo Xiang said, pumping his eyebrows at his friend.
Although they would not dare to do anything blatant here at the Golden Dragon Dao Fields, copping a feel or two in battle wasn’t going to incriminate them.
Xu Ling swore. “Alright, you bastard. Don’t take too long, eh? We might attract others. I’ll test out this other bugger.”
He turned to Li Luo. He would rather take on the pretty girl than the handsome guy any day. What the hell did a guy need to look that good for anyway?
Well, he would bring him back to average looks later with a few well-placed stomps on his face.
Shing!
Xu Ling spread his palms, and razor-sharp claws extended out from his fingers, glowing silver.
At the same time, his stance opened up with a wildness that was reminiscent of Qin Zhulu, and icy power swirled around him.
Seventh-grade snow wolf resonance.
He was quite strong as well. Probably as strong as an average student in the Astral Sage College’s Two Star Hall.
He was not planning to be careless against Li Luo. They were evenly matched as Third Patterns after all.
Still, all he needed to do was play it safe until Guo Xiang finished his battle, then they would be on good footing again.
“You’re not very smart, friend, turning down our leader like that.”
Xu Ling did not wait for Li Luo’s reply. Bending down, he loped gracefully towards Li Luo, a white wolf imbued into his spirit.
His claws glittered in the snow.
Li Luo let the white shadow flit closer to him, his own shortswords held loosely in his hands as his waterlight resonant power played over them.
He darted forward to meet Xu Ling square on.
Water Edge Art? Xu Ling smirked to himself. Common plebeian street trick.
Coating his claws in a layer of icy crystal to reinforce them, he slashed out.
“Tiger-general resonance art, Icy Wolf’s Fangs!”
His fingers were spread in partial imitation of a snarling wolf’s maw.
Li Luo was unimpressed by his opponent’s fancy moves. He countered with a simple sword slash.
Dang!
The clean ring of metal.
Xu Ling paled.
From the power on Li Luo’s swords, he knew that the Water Edge was not ordinary. His own hardened claws had deep scratches on them.
What the f*ck was this Water Edge Art?!
How could a Third Pattern make such a cheap trick so strong?!
He had to at least be a Fifth Pattern in power!
Xu Ling felt his insides twist with panic. This person was cunning!
He did not know how strong the tiger-man tussling with his captain was, but he couldn’t possibly be stronger than this freak!
They had been had!
Xu Ling’s voice bubbled in his throat, but a withering force clamped down on his claws before he could call out to his teammates. He screamed as they shattered.
He tried to retreat, but his feet seemed to be moving in slow-motion. His attacker was already behind him.
The two short blades slashed across his chest, sending fresh blood spraying.
Xu Ling’s eyes were wide as he crashed heavily to his knees. He could not believe that he had lost in one move.
Li Luo plunged his swords into the bloody snow and squatted down, bringing his face close to Xu Ling’s.
“You see, my friend,” Li Luo sighed. “The harshest of words deserve the harshest of beatings.”