The qi refning warrior who’d antagonized Li Qingshan face to face snickered coldly. He walked past by him and said in a quiet voice, “I’m going to see how you die. You better use the time left to pray to the gods not to meet me.”
Li Qingshan said with a faint smile, “I’m confident I won’t meet you.” Then he crossed the plaza under the attention of every qi refining warrior and came at the foot of the pavilion. Two green-clothed attendants barred his way. “What are you doing?”
Li Qingshan ignored the attendants. He lifted his head and said in a loud voice, “I dare ask, is Captain Zhuo Zhibo here?”
“What are you trying to do?” “Are you tired of living?” The group of qi refining warriors was greatly astounded, and the Dark Wolf guards above also exposed looks of consternation.
Brandy Nose mumbled, “Looks like I guessed wrong, this kid is going to die before he even goes up on stage.”
“Drive him away!” Zhuo Zhibo frowned. Was his name something any little qi refining warrior could directly call?
Swish!
Two Eagle Wolf guards outside the veranda casually pulled out their blades. The other Eagle Wolf guards maintained their former attitude, drawing the picture of men looking at an interesting show.
“I bet he can stop at least three moves!” Brandy Nose’s words immediately made his blade-wielding colleagues become a little more serious. One of them said, “Then I’ll take on that bet!”
Zhou Wenbin suddenly said, “Wait! Captain Zhuo, that’s the man I bet on, if he dies like this I won’t admit any debt. Maybe he has some issues, we might as well take a look at it!” The smile in his eyes became even deeper. He stood up and came down to the veranda. Zhuo Zhibo could only follow him, feeling a little disquieted.
Zhuo Zhibo stood high and looked down at Li Qingshan. “What do you want?”
“Captain Wang Pushi made me come.” A dark light flashed in Li Qingshan’s hand and shot upward toward the building.
Zhuo Zhibo stretched out his hand and caught it. He saw it was a Dark Wolf badge. The matter from several months ago suddenly surfaced in his mind. He abruptly lifted his head and looked at Li Qingshan. “So you’re that person?” He didn’t expect this kid who’d caused Feng Zhang to lose his position and cause Wang Pushi to berate himself to be still alive. He even unexpectedly dared to show his face in front of him.
Li Qingshan spread his hands open and shrugged his shoulders. “Replacement guaranteed if not authentic.”
Zhou Wenbin faintly smiled at the success of his scheme. “Captain Zhuo? What’s this about?”
Zhuo Zhibo said with a heavy face, “Lord Zhou’s foresight is deep and astute, there is no need to ask a question when you already know the answer.”
He’d always flaunted his wisdom and knowledge, but today Zhou Wenbin actually played a trick on him to his face, hence his mood was bad to the extreme. He looked at Li Qingshan, itching to give him a slap and kill him on the spot.
“Are captain Wang’s words valid?” Li Qingshan entirely disregarded Zhuo Zhibo’s anger. He felt relief after getting his first look at Zhuo Zhibo. According to his visual assessment, Zhuo Zhibo was merely at the level of a monster with a newly formed monster core; this was within the scope of what he could endure.
A qi refining warrior of the sixth level who’d shaped a sea of qi was roughly equivalent to a monster who’d formed a monster core. Monsters cultivated for a very long time, but they weren’t without their advantages. Their bodies of flesh were formidable, while their monster qi was dense and deep. They far exceeded humans at the same realm, holding an almost overwhelming advantage. Humans could barely stay level even using spiritual devices and talismans as weapons. In the end it was only thanks to wisdom and numbers that mankind managed to repress the monsters.
Added with a helper cultivating the [Dao of the Beautiful Bones] like Little An, Li Qingshan was naturally secure in his own strength. He wasn’t one to make compromises in order to win favor with somebody, and since he was already clearly aware it was impossible for Zhuo Zhibo to like him, then he might as well let things run their own course. It seemed a little arrogant and despotic when witnessed by others however.
Who dared to say in Clear River prefecture that Wang Pushi’s words weren’t valid. At least Zhuo Zhibo didn’t dare to. His expression changed a few times then returned to normal and even carried a little smile when he tossed the dark wolf badge back down the pavilion. “Li Qingshan, you’re an Eagle Wolf guard, you wait below!”
“Many thanks to captain Zhuo for the promotion!” Li Qingshan arched his hands in salute but he became even more vigilant instead. This kind of person who could control their own emotions were like poisonous snakes hiding among the grass. They were more dangerous than angry tigers and lions.
The Eagle Wolf guards observing to the side couldn’t help but be surprised when they heard these words, while the qi refining warriors who came to apply went in an even louder uproar. Spots were scarce to begin with, and now one spot was already spoken for. The little clown who was certain to die in their eyes actually directly passed the test in such a way. They immediately became indignant.
The qi refining warrior who’d gone head to head with Li Qingshan and who had his heart set on burying Li Qingshan to the land of the dead shouted out loud, “That’s not fair, why can he skip the contest!”
“He’s only a first level qi refining warrior, can even this kind of person be casually admitted in the Eagle Wolf Guard?”
Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi watched Li Qingshan from afar, their shock and astonishment no less than other people beside them. Neither of them said anything. How could a group of small qi refining warriors change the decision of a Dark Eagle captain. They were pondering how powerful a backing he would need to make Zhuo Zhibo directly take him in. Wang Pushi? Who was that?
Wang Pushi’s nickname “old Wang” spread out too far and wide, making his actual name fade away from people’s memories. But both of them were quick of mind and well-informed. They immediately reacted, could it be that Red Eagle captain old Wang from the legends? Couldn’t be, that was a figure overlooking every qi refining warrior in Clear River prefecture, one of the three persons ruling over a land three thousand miles across.
But who else other than this man could pressure Zhuo Zhibo into lowering his head without even being present at the scene. They looked at Li Qingshan again, and felt this apparently ordinary sixteen years old young man seeming to gain an aura of unfathomable depth. If that man were truly the one standing behind him, then he was a figure that could definitely not be provoked.
Diao Fei thought that if he were able strike a relationship with such a figure, then killing Qian Rongming without batting an eye would be a matter of course.
Zhou Wenbin looked at the tumultuous field with a smile. He said to Zhuo Zhibo, “Right then I was merely joking with you. I already said that gambling is the thing I dislike the most in my entire life. Captain Zhuo needs not take it to heart.”
“But there’s no word I say that I won’t keep. Is lord Zhou looking down on my sincerity as a gambler?” A somber smile sat on Zhuo Zhibo’s face as he casually took a walnut from a fruit plate on the table and twisted it between his fingers.
Li Qingshan suddenly felt a fearful murderous aura. There were no more than three persons in the entire field would could clearly see it, Li Qingshan one among them.
That walnut broke through the air and penetrated the curtain of rain with a power to perforate through stone and pierce though clouds. It shattered countless raindrops, piercing a hole in the air then hitting the forehead of a qi refining warrior of the second level.
“Bang!”
The walnut broke to pieces and the forehead disintegrated. An angry expression was still left on that qi refining warrior’s face when a gigantic strength broke his neck and flung his skull to the ground. His entire person fell down in a distorted posture.
All the qi refining warriors closed their mouths, as if their necks were being strangled at the same time. Each and every one of them were children blessed by the gods back in their hometowns, standing over ten thousand others, holding the power of life and death over men of the rivers and lakes, to say nothing of the common folk.
Now, a qi refining warrior as grand as themselves had had his life so simply stripped away, seemingly as easy as butchering chicken and killing dogs. Moreover the one to die could have been anyone among them. That guy merely had had the bad luck of being randomly chosen as a warning for others.
They looked at the perpetrator, the Zhuo Zhibo standing on the tall pavilion. That silhouette a little short and plump seemed to have grown taller in an instant. They suddenly understood something. This place was Blessed Peace, the place with the most and the strongest qi refining warriors within several hundred miles, while they stood in the domain of the Eagle Wolf guard which had the strongest and most numerous qi refining warriors. Not mentioning talking about nonsense, even the dissatisfaction in their hearts vanished.
Li Qingshan heaved a sigh. This was reality.
There was a great difference between every level at the qi refining stage. If qi refining warriors at the second level wanted to defeat a qi refining warrior at the third level, then perhaps they could still find safety in numbers and achieve victory with a mighty talisman. But they could only hope for protection from the gods if they wanted to escape from a fourth level qi refining warrior. Death was ineluctable if faced with a fifth level qi refining warrior.
On top of that, the difference between the fifth level and the sixth level was even higher than the differences between the previous levels all added together, just like a monster beast without a monster core would have no way to prevail against a monster who’d formed one. Killing a small qi refining warrior of the second level was even easier than eating and drinking for a qi refining warrior of the sixth level who’d established a sea of qi. They wouldn’t even have the time to react, to say nothing of escaping.
Zhuo Zhibo wouldn’t have dealt with it so ferociously either in ordinary times. After all, every qi refining warrior had very great influences back in their own area, or they came from clans and sects. He had no wish to start random feuds. But now his heart was filled with anger and he stopped paying attention to these. A little qi refining warrior, if they died then so be it, who wold dare to come to him for revenge?
Zhuo Zhibo faintly swept his glance over Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan could tell he would rather have thrown that walnut his way instead, but he merely gave him a smile. Zhuo Zhibo’s brows wrinkled even tighter. Ordinary people would tremble in fear and alarm when they witnessed unrivaled power, and it would be even more of a psychological pressure if that person held animosity for you. You could even force someone into madness after some time.
But he couldn’t see the slightest fear on Li Qingshan, only extreme calm and tranquility. Either Li Qingshan was an idiot and didn’t know fear at all, or else he was secure there was something he could fall back on. The answer was obviously the latter
Zhuo Zhibo would of course not believe that Li Qingshan felt secure because of his own strength, which meant he had supporters behind him. However Wang Pushi hadn’t expounded on his relationship with Li Qingshan and had only said a few words in passing. Seeing his manners seeming very indifferent, he couldn’t help but look at Zhou Wenbin. This loser had many connections in Clear River City and was definitely aware of something.
Zhou Wenbin cleared his throat: “Captain Zhou, I heard the White Eagle of the Ruyi region also met with this kid and even invited him to drink a cup. She also made constable old Wang give him the Verdant province Mind Map he carried on him.”
“Really?” Zhuo Zhibo’s heart shivered. A name rose in his mind, as well as that white figure he’d glimpsed in a rush but was certain he would never forget. He could also be said to be well-informed. He knew that captain Gu had once appeared in that small border city, and knew even better that the reason why Feng Zhang had been directly fired was because he’d been caught red-handed and caused old Wang to lose face in front of captain Gu.
But he had absolutely no idea about the details, because none of those present at the scene were people he could interrogate. The reason Zhou Wenbin was able to know was because this friend of his had shared wine in the company of beautiful women together with Hua Chengzan.