Chapter 81 - 80: A Convergence of Killing Intent

Luo Tian activated his Qi Observation Skill.

The Clear Qi Pillar above the sallow-skinned youth’s head was entangled with strands of dark-red resentful qi and shrouded in a layer of gloomy fog. It was as if it foretold this person’s Destiny Chart—one that had always been hidden in the shadows, burdened by many lives.

’This Destiny Chart is completely different from that of an ordinary student.’

Luo Tian’s heart tightened. He was ninety percent certain that this sallow-skinned youth was the assassin from before.

Compared to the Holy Mansion, the chaotic environment of the Beast Tide was perfect for an assassin’s ambush, making it easy to escape after succeeding.

’An assassin poses the greatest threat when they’re in the shadows. It would be better to keep him where I can see him.’

An idea suddenly came to Luo Tian.

’If I pull the assassin out into the open, it would significantly weaken his combat strength. If he has to use hidden weapons and the like in a frontal assault, their threat would be reduced by more than half.’

"Hold on! My team is short on people too."

Luo Tian called out to the sallow-skinned youth with a commanding expression.

As soon as he said this, Li Hai’s anger flared.

Before, when they were hunting Demon Beasts, Luo Tian had stolen his battle merits. Now he was stealing people from him too.

This was simply going too far!

Among the few squads from the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion, Li Hai’s had suffered the greatest losses and was in dire need of reinforcements.

In the eyes of the onlookers, it looked like Luo Tian was deliberately targeting and retaliating against Li Hai.

As for snatching the person, it was just a pretext.

"You’d better think carefully about whose team you’re going to join."

Li Hai threatened, his face dark as he stared at the sallow-skinned youth.

"This..."

The sallow-skinned youth looked conflicted.

"Heh, our team has zero casualties. Just look at Li Hai’s team—their death rate is nearly fifty percent."

Luo Tian looked as if victory was already in his grasp.

"I... I’ll join Senior Luo’s team."

The sallow-skinned youth appeared slightly flustered. In the end, seemingly for the sake of his own life, he took the easy way out and joined Luo Tian’s team.

"You..."

Veins bulged on Li Hai’s forehead as he glared at the sallow-skinned youth with a fierce, cold gaze.

The sallow-skinned youth’s choice had caused him to lose a great deal of face.

Li Hai memorized the youth’s face. ’I’ll definitely make him regret this.’

"Welcome to the team."

Chen Haofei and the others welcomed him warmly, unaware of the sallow-skinned youth’s true background.

"From now on, I’ll be in your care, Senior Luo," the sallow-skinned youth said flatteringly.

"Mm."

Luo Tian gave a casual nod, his attitude cold and indifferent.

He acted as if he had only snatched the sallow-skinned youth away to strike at Li Hai, and had no interest in the youth himself.

Seeing this, the trace of doubt in the sallow-skinned youth’s eyes vanished, replaced by a flash of cold mockery.

In reality, Luo Tian’s Spiritual Sense was monitoring the sallow-skinned youth’s every move.

The youth’s hidden Cultivation, the Peak of the Seventh Layer of Meridian Opening, could not escape his senses.

The other party was an assassin, and frontal combat was not his strong suit. Luo Tian was confident he could kill him one-on-one, but he needed to find the right opportunity.

After joining the team, the sallow-skinned youth teamed up with Luo Tian and the others to hunt Demon Beasts, making no unusual moves.

Outside the village, the Beast Tide’s assault was relentless.

It was as if this place had been targeted by the Demon Beasts of the Celestial Extreme Mountain Range, and the pressure it faced far exceeded that of the surrounding areas.

Over the next half-day, Martial Artists from the surrounding villages and Battle Castles arrived one after another to provide support.

Among the reinforcements were many students from the Holy Mansion, with a considerable number of Silver Students.

"Ji Xingjun is here too!"

The arrival of a long-armed Silver Student caught the attention of the other Holy Mansion students.

Within the Holy Mansion, Ji Xingjun was somewhat famous; he ran practically rampant among anyone below the rank of Golden Student.

"Brother Ji, you’re finally here."

A pleased expression appeared on Li Hai’s face as he went to greet him.

According to their plan, whoever found Luo Tian’s whereabouts would notify the others.

"Hehe, so the kid really is here."

Ji Xingjun looked toward Luo Tian, not far away, and a cruel smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Let’s wait a bit longer. The Young Marquis is still on his way."

Li Hai’s smile held a murderous intent.

Their goal this time was to eliminate Luo Tian completely, so naturally, they had a detailed plan to surround and kill him.

「That evening.」

The Young Marquis arrived, leading a squad.

’Luo Tian... After this Beast Tide mission, you’ll never be going back to the Holy Mansion!’

Murderous intent seethed within Tang Wei as he scanned Luo Tian’s back.

By now, his Cultivation had broken through to the Seventh Layer of Meridian Opening, making him a Silver Student, and his strength had more than doubled.

’These guys all gathered together?’

Luo Tian’s brow furrowed slightly.

He had been preparing to deal with the assassin, but he hadn’t expected these enemies to show up.

Fortunately, there was one thing he could be sure of: the assassin was likely not part of their group.

This was because he had only offended Tang Wei, Li Hai, Ji Xingjun, and the others after entering the Holy Mansion.

The assassin, on the other hand, had infiltrated by posing as a new student, a premeditated move from the start.

「Late at night.」

Luo Tian felt several waves of killing intent coming from Ji Xingjun, Li Hai, and Tang Wei.

There was another wave of killing intent, far more subtle and restrained, coming from the sallow-skinned youth on his team.

Just then, a vast, dense swarm of black dots appeared in the night sky as thousands upon thousands of flying birds approached.

The number of Demon Beasts on the ground also suddenly surged.

"This is bad! The scale of the Beast Tide is expanding!

"The flying beasts are back, and there are more of them!"

The scalps of the Martial Artists inside the village tingled with fear.

What was even more terrifying was that this time, two Spirit Level Flying Birds appeared in the sky. One was the same Cyan-Feathered Giant Bird from before, and it had brought a helper.

On the ground, a Spirit Level walking beast also appeared.

Three immense auras, each comparable to the Spirit Sea Realm, bore down on them.

"Three Spirit Level Demon Beasts! What in the world is going on? Why would a single village get special attention from the Beast Tide?"

Fatty Luo’s expression changed drastically.

A tiny village was actually facing pressure comparable to a Battle Castle!

If they held their ground, they would all be wiped out!

"Retreat! Everyone, withdraw from this area!"

Fatty Luo’s resonant voice echoed throughout the village as he gave the order.

SWOOSH!

Fatty Luo went forward alone, holding back the two Spirit Level Flying Birds.

The Spirit Level Demon Beast on the ground was being held in check by a joint effort from five or six Martial Artists at the Meridian Opening Eighth and Ninth Layers.

"Run!"

"Retreat!"

The scene was utterly chaotic as numerous Martial Artists fled the village.

"Kid! Quick... get out of here!"

The Crow saw the swarm of flying beasts charging madly toward them, and its black feathers trembled.

"Hurry up and retreat!"

Luo Tian shot it a fierce glare.

The pressure from the Beast Tide here was most likely related to this Ugly Bird.

Luo Tian was about to pull it into the Celestial Book, but the Crow was already on guard and cunningly flew several hundred meters away.

Its departure drew the fire of a large number of Demon Beasts.

"Hm?"

Luo Tian noticed something strange: the attacks aimed at the Crow would all go awry in various ways. They would either veer off course, or as they got close, they would be struck or disrupted by other nearby attacks.

In short, all the Demon Beasts and flying beasts attacking the Crow would inexplicably "malfunction," always coming just shy of wounding it.

’Fine by me!’

With the pressure on his side greatly reduced, Luo Tian led his team out of the village without any major incidents and headed for a nearby Battle Castle stronghold.

「While passing through a dense forest.」

WHOOSH! SCREECH!

A giant black bird dove down from the sky, its sharp talons like hooks, still caked with bits of flesh and blood.

"Look out! A One-star High Tier Demon Beast!"

The color drained from the faces of Chen Haofei and the others. This giant black bird had the strength of the Peak of the Seventh Layer of Meridian Opening.

Ordinarily, they could have killed it by working together.

But right now, with the Beast Tide erupting behind them, the consequences of getting tied down were unimaginable.

"You guys retreat first! I’ll lead it away."

Luo Tian made a decisive choice.

SWOOSH!

Using the trees on either side, he leaped into the air. The sharp sword in his hand burst forth with a cold, sharp Starlight, luring the giant black bird into the forest.

"Take care, Brother Luo!"

Chen Haofei and the others understood that their own strength was too weak and they would only hold Luo Tian back. They hurriedly retreated toward the nearby Battle Castle.

「Meanwhile.」

Luo Tian lured the giant black bird into the dense forest, restricting its mobility.

SLASH! Luo Tian executed the Celestial Star Sword Technique, sending out several fierce sword shadows that bloomed with Starlight. He quickly left a bloody gash on the giant black bird’s wing.

Suddenly, Luo Tian sensed someone quietly approaching.

That faint, almost imperceptible killing intent was clearly from the sallow-faced young assassin.

’Perfect timing!’

Luo Tian sneered inwardly. Now that he was on guard, he had no fear of his opponent.

Besides, here in the dense forest, he could activate his Divine Vein Power without any restraint.

Hm?

His Spiritual Sense picked up several other waves of killing intent from the other side.

Over there, Ji Xingjun, Li Hai, and Tang Wei had somehow tracked him down.

’What a coincidence. Both sides are here!’

Luo Tian’s heart tightened.

He channeled a bit of his Divine Vein Power, and his longsword stabbed out, creating several streaks of Sword Light like cold, blue stars. He heavily wounded the giant black bird, forcing it to flee.

Luo Tian had the ability to slay the bird but had deliberately held back, staying on guard against the approaching assassin.

At the same time, a sallow-skinned youth was quietly closing in on Luo Tian from behind, now only twenty to thirty meters away.

Little did he know, he had entered Luo Tian’s Spiritual Sense range long ago.

"Why did you come back?"

Luo Tian drifted down onto a tree, turning slightly so his gaze "happened" to fall on the sallow-skinned youth on the other side.

"C-Captain Luo, I came to help you!"

The sallow-skinned youth broke out in a cold sweat and hid the Poison Dart in his hand.

Facing the current Luo Tian, he had no confidence in a direct confrontation.

If he failed, he would lose his chance completely.

"No need. I just heard a noise to the west. Go check it out."

Luo Tian’s expression was cold as he gave the order in his capacity as captain.

’What rotten luck!’

Not wanting to arouse Luo Tian’s suspicion, the sallow-skinned youth obeyed the order and headed west.

「In the western part of the dense forest.」

Ji Xingjun, Li Hai, and Tang Wei kept low as they closed in on Luo Tian’s position.

They saw Luo Tian fighting a giant black bird in mid-air and then forcing it to retreat.

"Charge! Let’s get that kid!"

Ji Xingjun’s face was grimly vicious, his eyes glinting with excitement.

"Luo Tian, today is the day you die!"

Tang Wei also couldn’t hide his excitement.

Although the combat power Luo Tian had displayed was slightly superior to an ordinary Seventh Layer of Meridian Opening, right now, the three of them—all at the Seventh Layer of Meridian Opening—were joining forces. Ji Xingjun was even at the Peak of the Seventh Layer, and they had other trump cards as well.

If they couldn’t kill Luo Tian even with all this, where was the justice in the world?

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The three of them shot forward to attack, but they suddenly saw a sallow-skinned youth walking toward them.

"There’s another student!"

Tang Wei’s expression changed.

Killing a fellow student was a major taboo in the Holy Mansion. If word of this got out, not even Tang Wei’s status and background could save him from death.

"It’s that kid!"

Li Hai’s Yin Cold eyes stared at the sallow-skinned youth, remembering how he had rejected him earlier that day to join Luo Tian’s team.

"He’s only at the Fifth Layer of Meridian Opening. Kill him! Absolutely no outsiders can know what we’re doing right now."

Ji Xingjun’s expression was resolute.

The sallow-skinned youth was walking west when three figures suddenly leaped out in front of him, giving him a huge shock.

"Seniors, don’t misunderstand..."

Seeing the three men seething with killing intent, the sallow-skinned youth hurriedly tried to explain.

"Cut the crap and kill him!"

"You can only blame yourself for being somewhere you shouldn’t be."

The three Silver Students from the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion charged at him to kill, barely pausing for a moment.

’This is bad! Could they have seen through my identity as an assassin?’

The sallow-skinned youth’s expression changed drastically.

He vaguely felt something was wrong. From their tone, it sounded like these three intended to kill him to silence him.