Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Disciples of Qi Refinement had not learned any spells yet. Although they talked about a fight, it was simply a contest on sword dharma. Although Lou Tao had a round body shape, it didn’t hinder his movement at all, evidently he had practiced hard on ordinary days.

What surprised everyone was that Jing Qi actually moved in a speed comparable to Lou Tao, and he not only blocked all Lou Tao’s attacks, he could even counter-attack from time to time. Even Yi Qing couldn’t help but feel surprised, too. Jing Qi had joined Green Robes Sect for a mere few months, and he didn’t imagine that his sword dharma had already become so strong. It didn’t look like third level of Qi Refinement at all.

Yet his cultivation was lower than Lou Tao after all. While he had some advantages at the start, Lou Tao’s cultivation did not grow for no reason. After a while, Jing Qi’s Spiritual Power was visibly insufficient, and he started to dwindle.

Seeing this, Lou Tao sped up his attack, and went on from the front, trying to finish up this fight soon. He even purposely inclined the sword for half an inch to prevent injury. The sword was falling towards the neck of the opponent.

Jing Qi’s face suddenly darkened, as his hands turned, and in an instant, a red flame went straight towards Lou Tao, knocking him out.

At the next moment, Lou Tao fell a couple dozen feet away. Fortunately, he was wearing Dharma clothing, which absorbed the flames. Besides a little pain from hitting the ground, he didn’t suffer injuries from the fire.

Yet Jing Qi’s sword was already on his neck. He looked at him with sarcasm, and said coldly, “Fatty, you lost!”

Lou Tao was stunned, looking at the sword which fell not far away. He couldn’t react for a moment.

Others around them actually started to gasp in surprise.

“It was the fire spell just now? He could use fire at only the third level of Qi Refinement!”

“That’s awesome, that spell was for only the Foundation Establishment level.”

“He actually defeated young Uncle-Master Lou Tao. Young Uncle-Master is at the fifth level!”

“Yeah, I didn’t know that Green Robes Sect had such powerful people too.”

“I heard that he has the celestial spirit root too!”

At once, there was excitement in the look that everyone gave Jing Qi, and even the hostility from just now became much weaker.

Jing Qi snorted, as if he did not see their shocked looks at all. He looked down with disdain and said, “Fatty, admit your defeat, apologize to my little Junior Sister!”

Lou Tao didn’t actually feel angry or humiliated.

He stood up neatly and bowed to the little girl not far away. “Sorry! You can enter Disciples’ Hall now.” After a thought, he added, “But I will still tell the sect master about you plucking spirit herbs and injuring little Junior Brother.”

“You…” Jing Qi was anxious, and his look towards Lou Tao became even more fierce. After a long while, he breathed in deeply, and had to endure it due to them being on the grounds of Honesty Sect after all. Yet he looked at the chubby boy in front of him, and couldn’t help but mocked, “It seemed that your Honesty Sect isn’t too great after all? One at the fifth level of Qi Refinement can’t even beat me, the other at third level.”

“You can use fire, so I can’t beat you indeed!” He didn’t imagine Lou Tao to admit it, with a serious look on his face. It was all straightforward for the kid of less than ten years old. Even the other disciples nodded in agreement, as if they couldn’t get the irony in his words at all.

Jing Qi felt a blocked sensation in his heart, as if something was stuck there, unable to find an exit. He turned and saw Yi Qing who came with the chubby boy, and his eyes darkened immediately. He pointed to him directly and said,

“Hey, wild kid, since we came from the same village, in a certain way, we may as well have a fight.”

For some reason, he couldn’t get to like this person. Although both were orphans, somehow he got above him all the time, from back in the village, till now. While he was the one who always greeted the villagers with “uncle”s and “aunt”s, they preferred the boy who didn’t really talk. Apparently he was the lucky one to join the immortal sect, he somehow joined the larger Honesty Sect, as if he was born to be in his way.

“Rest assured, I won’t use fire,” he said somewhat anxiously, as if he wanted to prove something. “We are both at the third level of Qi…”

“No!” Yi Qing rejected it immediately.

“Why?” he was stunned, before he snorted and challenged him, “are you unable to beat me, and are you afraid of being defeated by me?”

“Hmm, I can’t beat you!” He hadn’t learned sword dharma yet.

“…” Jing Qi was speechless, hadn’t imagined that he would actually admit it. Immediately he felt like he punched onto cotton, both stuffy and awkward.

Yi Qing gave it a thought and added, “And am not free, too!” He still had to cook for Master later. He had finally come up with twenty dishes.

After that, without waiting for a response, he turned and walked into Disciples’ Hall, and got the chubby boy to follow him as well.

Jing Qi was the only one left. His face was dark, and the hand beside his body clenched.

——————

Inside the audience hall.

Lou Hong the sect master sighed, looked at Lonemoon beside him and said, “I didn’t imagine that the demons are so rampant now that they actually dared to gather and attack an immortal sect. Green Robes Sect was careless momentarily, and therefore suffered from their attack.”

“Didn’t they use the Protective Mountain Array?” Lonemoon frowned. “By right, every sect has its Protective Mountain Array, designed to both block attack from enemies and provide time for rescue. Green Robes Sect was not far from Honesty Sect. Even if the rescue did not come on time, it shouldn’t have led to a total destruction?”

“Regarding this, I’m also not sure why their Protective Mountain Array was not activated.” Lou Hong shook his head, “When I got the news, it was already too late. However, when I arrived, I found the demonic aura of a Demon Monarch of the tenth level. I’m afraid even if the array was activated, it wouldn’t stop those demons.”

“Tenth level?” The Demon Monarch had come himself? He suddenly remembered a certain rabbit. Since when had the demons become so courageous too? “What are so many demons doing attacking a small lower-tier sect?”

“I can’t understand this too!” Lou Hong’s face was also full of confusion. They didn’t interact much with Green Robes Sect in ordinary days, but he knew that it was an even poorer sect. Beside the sect master, who was a Nascent Soul cultivator, there were few of even Golden Core disciples. “When Junior Brother and I received the news and rushed over, almost the whole sect had been massacred.”

“Shen Ying, what do you think happened?” Lonemoon looked at Shen Ying.

“Ah?” Shen Ying looked up.

“The demons attacked Green Robes Sect,” Lonemoon’s mouth twitched. We are in a meeting, at any rate, can you please focus, or even just pretend to? “Green Robes Sect is located less than a hundred miles away from here. Towards the south…” He remembered her lack of a sense of direction and changed his way of talking, “It was the immortal sect near the village that Yi Qing stayed at previously.”

“Oh.” Shen Ying looked as if she only just started to understand.

“Demons never act collectively.” Lonemoon frowned. “That village first, and then Green Robes Sect, saw so many demons appearing together, and all around the same area. There must have been some other reason.”

Shen Ying’s eyes narrowed, and only after a long while did she say, “Must be that alarm…”

As I expected… Lonemoon’s heart felt tight.