Under the threat of the masked men's leader, Mo Buhui and Mei Lianhua did not dare to head in the direction of Martial Hall Palace. Hence, they could only escape in the direction of the Hundred Beast Mountain Range.
"You go as well!" Xiang Shaoyun urgently warned Lu Xiaoqing.
"No! I won't leave you! When we left, we said that we would take care of one another!" Lu Xiaoqing stubbornly insisted.
Feeling Lu Xiaoqing's resolute desire to protect him, Xiang Shaoyun was deeply moved. However, her doing so was actually preventing him from making his own escape.
"Heh heh, what touching loyalty! Why don't you accompany us then?" The leader of the masked men sneered, stretching a hand towards Lu Xiaoqing's delicate face.
"If you dare to touch a hair on her, Martial Hall Palace's eleventh elder will not let you off!" Xiang Shaoyun shouted, blocking the masked man from Lu Xiaoqing.
"The eleventh elder?!" Sure enough, upon hearing Xiang Shaoyun's words, the masked men were visibly conflicted.
"If my guess isn't wrong, you should be from the Wu Clan. If the one you're looking for is me, there's no need to drag her in as well. Both her and I are important disciples of Martial Hall Palace. Don't think that the palace won't investigate your Wu Clan if something happens!"
Upon heading Xiang Shaoyun's words, the masked men's leader's eyes visibly drew back. Xiang Shaoyun had indeed seen through their disguise.
"You, quickly get lost! Don't stay here and drag me down!" Xiang Shaoyun scolded Lu Xiaoqing.
Being a delicate person by nature, Lu Xiaoqing's pretty eyes teared up as she stammered in utter disbelief, "Y-you ungrateful bastard!"
"Hmph. Do you think that you are worthy of being with someone as sophisticated as I am? Even if you're willing to go through thick and thin with me, I won't even take a second glance at you. I only like girls with sexy bodies such as Mei Lianhua!" Xiang Shaoyun coldly laughed.
Before Xiang Shaoyun had even finished speaking, Lu Xiaoqing's eyes were already flowing with tears of pure sadness.
"I-I HATE YOU!" Lu Xiaoqing cried bitterly. Covering her tear-streaked face, she ran as fast as she could away from the encirclement.
"I'm sorry, but I hope you understand," Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself as he watched the fast disappearing figure grow smaller and smaller.
"Brat, there's no need to play any more games. Be a good boy and come with us." The leader of the masked men had seen through Xiang Shaoyun's actions.
“You are all here for revenge for Wu Mingliang, right? However, have you thought this through properly? I’m the junior brother of the nineteenth elder Zi Changhe. If you dare do anything to me, my senior brother will not just sit by the side and watch idly. Furthermore, Martial Hall Palace is very well aware that I possess a five-star physique. I’d advise you not to do anything overly stupid,” Xiang Shaoyun menacingly said.
“Okay brat, it’s no use talking more. Even if the palace master of Martial Hall Palace was here himself today, I would still bring you away with me,” the leader of the masked men coldly said before instructing his men to bind Xiang Shaoyun.
Taking a deep breath, Xiang Shaoyun suddenly began frantically waving in a certain direction. He yelled at the top of lungs, “Senior Brother Zi! I’m over here!"
Upon hearing Zi Changhe’s name, the masked men were badly startled and looked in the direction in which Xiang Shaoyun was waving.
“Go to hell!” Xiang Shaoyun yelled as he rushed towards the leader, one fist aimed straight for his head.
Pa!
Before his fist could land on the leader’s body, he found his fist being grasped solidly by a hand—the leader had come to his senses.
“These petty tricks might work on someone else, but they’re of no use on me!” The leader arrogantly sneered.
“Is that so? How about now?” Xiang Shaoyun said in a low voice before his free hand shot out at the leader.
Star Destroying Finger!
A pure ray of undiluted finger light shot out from Xiang Shaoyun’s index finger. This one move contained all the astral energy he could muster, heading straight for the leader’s lower abdomen.
Not ever expecting that Xiang Shaoyun could deploy astral energy to attack externally as a Basic Realm cultivator, the leader did not even bother defending and was struck as a result.
Pow!
“AH!”
Although the leader of the masked men was an Astral Realm expert, he was not very powerful, only being at the second stage. After being hit by Xiang Shaoyun’s attack, blood started flowing from his abdomen, forcing him to kneel from the resulting pain.
At that moment, the rest of the masked men were scared stiff. They could not begin to fathom how their leader had been injured, and they assumed that Zi Changhe himself had come to deal with the matter.
Run!
Seizing this golden opportunity, Xiang Shaoyun began running with all his might.
The masked men surrounded their leader and frantically asked, “Captain, are you okay?”
“Quick, quick! Chase that brat!” the leader managed to splutter, grasping his wound.
“We’re off!” the other masked men said in unison before they all ran towards Xiang Shaoyun.
“I-idiots! One of you stay and take care of me!” The leader was incensed to the point he vomited blood.
Unfortunately for him, his men had all run far out of earshot.
“Damn it! They’re quick alright!” Xiang Shaoyun cursed to himself upon hearing the group of people right on his heels. He had combat power about equal to, if not more than, an ordinary ninth-stage Basic Realm practitioner; his speed was virtually unrivalled in the Basic Realm. Unfortunately for him, this was insufficient to deal with his pursuers.
Among them were three first-stage Astral Realm cultivators. These people were naturally faster than he was.
Overlord’s Nine Nether Steps!
No longer hesitating, Xiang Shaoyun unleashed the move which took him three days to painfully learn. His innate stars began to glow, and strands of power began flowing to his feet, substantially increasing his foot speed. Most importantly, this movement technique of his was rather magical. Every step he took seemed to have a sort of divine blessing, making his feet light to the point he became a free sparrow.
The masked men who had almost caught up to Xiang Shaoyun now found the gap between the two groups beginning to widen.
“Stop running and stay still! Otherwise, don’t expect to get off easily!” one of the masked men threatened him.
Another proceeded to draw a bow and arrow, nocking an arrow in preparation to shoot. At this moment, a ghostlike figure suddenly came out of nowhere. Appearing right before the person holding the bow, a single palm went flying for the masked man’s head.
Pow!
The masked man, completely unable to resist, had his head split apart like a watermelon being crushed. Without taking a breath to stop, the figure moved among the other people before they even had the chance to react, instantly killing them. Ordinary people could not even see the movements of this mysterious figure.
The masked men did not even have the chance to cry out before dying, truly perishing without even knowing why! Xiang Shaoyun did not know anything about what was going on behind him. He continuously ran and sprinted as fast as he could, cursing, “Wu Mingliang! Wu Clan! You will pay for this!”
Pushing his physical body to its utmost limits, the Overlord’s Nine Nether Steps showed its extraordinary prowess, making Xiang Shaoyun seem even faster than most initial Astral Realm cultivators! Without even realizing it, he had run far away without knowing that his troubles had already been taken care of.