Qichen nodded with understanding. "They're still alive till this day?" Qichen suddenly asked.
"Of course. Martial spirit realm cultivators have a thousand years' lifespan. They are now big shots in the White Tiger domain."
"This sister, I don't even know your name," Qichen suddenly thought. They'd been talking for a while now, and they didn't even know each other's names. "Xiao Jing...!" The girl was about to say her name when a call rang out behind them.
A group of people slowly walked towards their direction. A total of five, consisting of three men and two women. A young man led them in the middle. He had a handsome face, long black hair, and a look that gave people the feeling like he was a lord looking down at ants. The two women beside him were not much worse than Xiao Jing. The other two young men had a slightly better-than-average appearance. They were all in purple, and each had a bag-looking pouch hanging at their waist.
As they got closer, they each held their nose and looked at Qichen with unparalleled disgust in their eyes.
One of the two young men behind pointed straight at Qichen and asked as if giving Qichen an order. The man in the middle didn't talk, as if talking to a nobody would be a waste of his time. "Boy, what is your name!" Qichen frowned. Another person here to cause trouble.
"Qichen." Although Qichen didn't have a good impression of these people, he still answered. The man who spoke frowned even more with his nose covered. "I haven't heard of any family with the name of 'Qi'." He said. He looked at the fire-shooting tiger over the fire with greed. "Get lost from here now! This camp will now belong to my senior brother."
The young man spoke, looking at the man in the middle with fanaticism in his eyes. "Senior brother, this originally belongs to this little brother. I am just a guest." Xiao Jing got up and quickly came to the man in the middle, fearing something would happen to Qichen.
The man looked at her with a gentle expression. The difference in how he looked at Qichen and her was like the difference between heaven and earth. "Xiao Jing, I know you mean well. What you don't know is that your sister would arrive earlier than mentioned. She is already on her way as we speak. This place is the best in the surrounding areas. Do you want your sister to stay the night in a less accommodating place?"
There was a flicker of lust when the man mentioned the sister. It came and went in a flash. When Xiao Jing heard her sister would be coming earlier than expected, her eyes brightened, and a smile appeared on her face. She looked at Qichen and was trapped in a dilemma.
The young man in the middle looked at the man who asked Qichen his name. He seemed to understand and quickly reached inside the little bag hanging beside his waist. After a second or two, his hand was removed from the little bag. He opened his hand, and a smaller bag appeared in it with the sound of metal sounding in it. He threw it to the ground beside Qichen and said with a cold tone.
"That bag contains 10 gold coins. Now get lost." The man looked at Qichen with disgust in his eyes.
Ten gold coins were enough to feed a family for a whole year. Qichen looked at the bag on the floor with a calm expression and slowly shook his head. "No need." He got up and was about to leave.
"Hmph! You don't know what's good for you." The man who threw the coins snorted with an unhappy expression. "Qichen, I didn't know this would happen. I…" Xiao Jing said with a guilty expression.
"You don't have to worry; you're not to blame. Since I don't have enough strength, what right do I have to talk?" Yes, with only strength can you speak up and make them bow. Qichen knew that he wasn't a match for this group of people, especially the one in the middle.
"You are knowledgeable, kid." The young man looked at Qichen with a smile. Qichen returned the smile and looked at him as if looking at a dead person.
Although he said he didn't have the strength to talk, that was his personal strength he was talking about. He had an Immortal Emperor puppet, which was considered part of his strength.
Although it wasn't his personal strength, it was part of his strength after all. He didn't know how far the Immortal Emperor realm was, but he knew that no one in the White Tiger domain was his match.
The reason he didn't want to summon the puppet right now was to test his own strength. He had fought with a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Condensation and had dominated the other. What he wanted to know now was how strong he currently was.
Why not use these clowns as test subject?
They'll die sooner or later. Why not let them live a little while longer? Although he couldn't fight them all, if he leaves now, he knows that someone will surely come after him eventually.
"Trying to take something that's mine, you're just seeking death," he snorted coldly in his mind and slowly walked away in another direction.
The young man in the middle frowned and felt that something was wrong with the way Qichen looked at him. His eyes showed killing intent, as if they could pierce directly through Qichen's heart. Qichen felt it but ignored it, which made the young man in the middle even more unhappy. He turned his head and looked at the other man who had given Qichen the coins.
The other young man's eyes turned cold, and he nodded. He was already unhappy with Qichen—why not use this chance to make him suffer? The young man in the middle looked at Xiao Jing and said, "Xiao Jing, let's sit and wait for your sister to come." Xiao Jing looked in the direction Qichen had left and slowly nodded. Like that, they sat down.
After some time, the young man who gave Qichen the coins made an excuse and quickly gave chase. He went through another direction so as not to let Xiao Jing find out.
Xiao Jing looked at the direction in which he was leaving with a wrinkled brow.
"Xiao Jing, I heard your sister broke through before coming and made it into the top three of the core ranking," the young man said. He could see Xiao Jing's worried expression and quickly brought up a topic to distract her thoughts.
And his guess was right. The moment Xiao Jing heard that, her attention was immediately diverted. The two women beside her looked at her with envy.
On the other side
Qichen stood on a tree branch, looking at the approaching young man with a smile.
"Where's that little brat?!" the young man shouted, looking all around for Qichen. "Brat, come out! I know you're here!"
Thud!
A sound came from behind, making the young man quickly turn his head.
"Brat, you really are brave. You must have known I was coming, but you still didn't leave," the young man said, surprised at first, but then he smiled evilly. "Stop pretending. You must be scared out of your mind right now. Don't worry—I'll torture you and make sure you suffer before you die."
"Hmph! Why do I need to fear a dead person?" Qichen snorted and replied sternly.
The young man's expression distorted with anger. "Boy, it seems like you don't know what situation you're in. You'll beg me to kill you soon."
He said angrily, then his right hand turned into a claw, and he walked step by step toward Qichen.
"Boy, look closely. This is a martial spirit sign I awakened. This is what I'll use to dig your heart out. You should feel honored," he said, licking the hand that had transformed into claws.
"Stop talking nonsense and come," Qichen said impatiently.
"You…!" The young man couldn't take it anymore and shot out with killing intent.
Qichen had a serious look on his face. He quickly clenched his fist and punched out.
Boom!
As a result of the collision, a loud noise echoed, causing the wind to howl slightly. The distance were they are was far enough that their fight wouldn't disturb others.
Qichen took eight steps back with a numb hand, while the young man took three steps back.
"How is it possible…!" the young man said, looking at Qichen with an unbelievable expression. You must know that he's currently in the early stage of the Innate Realm, and that attack was enough to take the life of a cultivator at level one of Qi Condensation. Superimposed with the awakened sign, Qichen's body should have been torn apart!
"come again!" The young man couldn't believe it and shot out again. His hand this time was stronger than before, and his speed increased.
Qichen wasn't to be outdone and also punched out.
Boom!
The noise caused by the collision this time was nearly twice as loud.
Qichen took six steps back this time, with a more numb arm. The young man was slightly better, taking three steps back and having only a slightly numb arm.
The young man's expression turned sour. He looked at Qichen with a deep gaze.
"Boy, it seems you do have something to rely on. But that's only when it comes to physical strength. You might be better than me in that, but you've forgotten—I haven't used any qi yet." He said this as if trying to blame his loss on not using qi.
"Physical strength is not everything. Let's see how you fare against my qi-enhanced attack"