Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Streaks of light swept across the horizon, and the stern-faced man in black at the head of the group looked down at the rolling mountains below, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes. His black robes fluttered in the wind, but could not conceal the chilling aura emanating from him.
As a powerful expert in the late stage of the Soul Contract Realm, he was considered to be among the top combatants in this assessment. He should have made a name for himself during the assessment, but unexpectedly, he was sent by Lin Cheng to protect his good-for-nothing younger brother.
His fist clenched unconsciously inside his robe, his knuckles turning white, and wisps of spiritual energy flickering in his palm.
Lin Cheng's younger brother, Lin Yang, is an idle and arrogant man who runs rampant because of his family's power.
"If Lin Cheng hadn't been kind to me, why would I have wasted my time here?" His anger grew, and his indifferent gaze became even colder.
Those behind the man in black felt the oppressive aura emanating from him and fell silent, not daring to utter a word.
"Lin Yang, are you sure this is the place?"
He Zhao turned his head and spoke indifferently to Lin Yang beside him.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang slightly raised his chin and said with a confident yet somewhat arrogant expression, "Brother He Zhao, I'm sure. Those two must be in this vicinity."
As he spoke, he took out an exquisite jade box from his bosom.
In an instant, a dark purple light surged from the jade box, and a worm the size of half a palm slowly flew up, circling and hovering above it. The patterns on the worm's body shimmered with a strange light, and waves of spiritual energy emanated from its tiny body.
He Zhao frowned slightly as he watched Lin Yang's actions, but remained silent.
These mother-and-child tracking worms are an extremely effective tracking tool on the Tianfeng Continent. Guided by the spiritual energy signals of the mother worm, the offspring worms closely follow the target's movements. No matter where the target goes, the offspring worms can accurately track the target's location thanks to the special connection between them and the mother worm.
After hovering in the air for a while, the spiritual energy around the mother insect converged in one direction, which was the location of the bronze gate.
Lin Yang saw the direction the mother insect's spiritual energy was pointing, his eyes turned sinister, and recalling the scene of his embarrassment on the stone platform, his hatred intensified.
"Hmph, it really is there."
"I hope you haven't made a mistake. If we make a wasted trip and waste time, it will be difficult to explain to your brother when we get back."
He Zhao frowned slightly and said calmly.
Lin Yang pursed his lips and said nonchalantly, "Brother He Zhao, don't worry. After this matter is settled, I will definitely put in a good word for you with my brother, and you'll definitely get your share of the benefits during the assessment." As he spoke, he reached out and patted He Zhao's shoulder.
He Zhao dodged the outstretched hand, a flash of annoyance crossing his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. Ignoring Lin Yang, he sped straight towards the bronze gate.
"He's just a rogue cultivator. So what if he's reached the late stage of the Soul Contract Realm? He was still sent here to protect me by my brother on a whim. No matter how powerful he is, he's just a pawn in my brother's hands, to be manipulated at will."
Lin Yang glanced at He Zhao's distant figure, muttering contemptuously under his breath, before arrogantly following after him. The dozens of people behind him quickly followed, creating a whistling sound in the air.
Standing before the bronze gate, Qin Luo rubbed his slightly throbbing forehead, thinking to himself:
"It seems I overestimated myself a bit; I've already taken on the challenge of setting up a level three spirit array."
Looking at the spirit array that had collapsed again, he sighed helplessly, then put away the array diagram and looked into the distance.
"Finally here? I've been waiting for so long..."
His voice echoed before the silent bronze door, and as the sound faded, the surrounding spiritual energy gradually rose...
Whoosh!
A rapid whistling sound of wind pressure came, and figures suddenly appeared not far from the bronze gate.
Gazing at the magnificent gate and Qin Luo standing before it with his hands behind his back, Lin Yang took the lead, a mixture of resentment and excitement flashing in his eyes. Arms crossed, chin slightly raised, he shouted loudly:
"Kid, you never thought we'd meet again, did you? You humiliated me on that stone platform, now I'll show you the price of messing with me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd behind him spread out in a fan shape, each staring at Qin Luo with hostile eyes, and waves of spiritual energy surging around them.
He Zhao, standing beside Qin Luo, quickly scanned his surroundings, a hint of doubt rising in his heart:
"Didn't Lin Yang say that this person had a woman at the late stage of the Soul Contract Realm protecting him? Why isn't she here? Is she hiding?" He frowned slightly, his eyes showing a hint of wariness.
Then, his gaze fell on the bronze gate behind Qin Luo, as if deep in thought.
Perhaps the woman is inside the door, or perhaps Qin Luo has some kind of backing that allows him to stand here so calmly waiting for them. He Zhao pondered these thoughts inwardly, but did not reveal them.
Qin Luo's expression remained calm as he gazed at the people circling in the air, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes as he secretly made his own calculations.
Judging from the aura, there was only one cultivator at the late stage of the Soul Contract Realm, which was far from what he had originally expected. He shook his head slightly and sighed inwardly.
"These people aren't strong enough. Their self-inflicted injury isn't dramatic enough. It seems we need to think of other methods."
Thinking of this, Qin Luo no longer concealed the fluctuations in his hand behind him, and an extremely powerful spiritual energy emanated from his hand.
On his palm, a jade fire lotus slowly emerged. The fire lotus was entirely emerald green, as if it were carved from jade.
The Emerald Fire Lotus has layers upon layers of petals, and upon closer inspection, there are as many as twelve petals, each shimmering with a scorching heat. That heat even causes the surrounding air to distort slightly from the heat.
When the fire lotus appeared, everyone on the field paled.
Sensing the violent spiritual energy emanating from the fiery lotus, Lin Yang's face instantly turned deathly pale, and his body trembled involuntarily. His previously arrogant aura vanished without a trace.
"This... how is this possible? How can someone with only the cultivation of the ninth stage of the Spirit Vortex Realm possess such powerful might?"
Lin Yang muttered to himself, his voice trembling noticeably. His restless subordinates behind him all showed fear, unconsciously taking a few steps back, trying to distance themselves from Qin Luo.
A flicker of surprise crossed He Zhao's eyes. He stared intently at the jade fire lotus, a strong sense of crisis rising within him. He could clearly feel the terrifying energy contained within the fire lotus, a power powerful enough to reduce him to ashes.
As he pondered, the spiritual energy in his dantian circulated rapidly, forming a defensive barrier in front of him. This was his instinctive defensive reaction as a rogue cultivator when facing danger.
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