Chapter 145: Installing a Time Bomb

Chapter 145: Chapter 145: Installing a Time Bomb

"Mengxue, will you be my girlfriend?"

The moment he asked the question, Ye Xing snapped back to reality, his mind short-circuiting. ’Oh, crap, what have I done? I got carried away and just blurted it out? That was way too forward. I’m screwed. What if Mengxue gets angry? What do I do now!’ Ye Xing couldn’t help but glance nervously at Tantai Mengxue, who was seated at her desk.

Tantai Mengxue’s brush paused ever so slightly. She stopped, turned her beautiful eyes toward Ye Xing, and nodded. "Okay!"

There was none of the anger or embarrassment he’d imagined. Instead, she’d just agreed. What was going on? This was not what Ye Xing had expected at all.

"Uh!" Ye Xing froze, his mind going completely blank. Only that one word, "Okay!", echoed endlessly in his head. ’She agreed? Mengxue... she agreed?’

When he finally processed it, Ye Xing was ecstatic. From the first time they met on the back of White Cloud Mountain, he had been completely smitten. She was as beautiful as a celestial fairy, with a captivating aura. She was intelligent, generous, highly skilled in martial arts, virtuous, and kind... a mysterious and noble fairy. Any man would be madly in love with her.

"Really? Mengxue, you said yes?" Ye Xing was thrilled.

"Mm-hmm!" Tantai Mengxue nodded, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion. "But that’s a strange question. Haven’t we always been friends?"

"Huh? Fri... friends!"

Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, Ye Xing stood dumbstruck, utterly mortified. ’This is so embarrassing! "Girlfriend" is what lovers are called on Earth. It seems the word doesn’t even exist on the Martial Arts Continent. Mengxue probably thought "girlfriend" just means a female friend! Argh, so frustrating. I got all excited for nothing. And on my first confession, too!’

’But maybe this is for the best,’ Ye Xing thought to himself. ’That was way too abrupt, confessing out of the blue like that. I almost died of embarrassment. Good thing she doesn’t know what "girlfriend" means, hehe!’

"Ye Xing, I’ve finished the drawing!" Tantai Mengxue said, placing her brush on its rack.

Ye Xing hurried over to take the drawing. The paper depicted a small piece of tender green wood, radiating an aura of life. It was, unmistakably, the Thunder Heart Spring Wood. Tantai Mengxue’s brushwork was delicate and graceful, bringing the Thunder Heart Spring Wood to life on the page.

"This is amazing! Thank you, Mengxue!" Ye Xing rolled up the drawing, stored it in his Qiankun Bag, and quickly headed for the door.

"Ye Xing, where are you going? Aren’t you going to stay a little longer?" Tantai Mengxue asked.

"No, I have something to do. I’ll come back another day!" As he spoke, Ye Xing was already out the door, his departure a bit rushed, even flustered. He couldn’t help it. After that "confession," he felt a little sheepish facing Tantai Mengxue. Even though he knew she probably didn’t understand the meaning of "girlfriend," he just couldn’t shake the feeling.

Pfft!

Watching Ye Xing’s flustered retreat, Tantai Mengxue’s beautiful eyes crinkled with a hint of a smile.

Then, she shook her head and sighed softly, her gaze a complex mixture of joy, worry, helplessness, confusion, and panic.

...

By the Thousand-Year-Old Banyan Tree on White Cloud Mountain, Martial Artists had gathered in droves.

With a Spiritual Treasure about to emerge, countless Martial Artists had flocked to the area, their numbers swelling to over a thousand.

Of these thousand-plus Martial Artists, over half were Qi Cultivation Stage Martial Artists of the First to Third Realm. Around thirty percent were Qi Gathering Stage Martial Artists of the Fourth to Sixth Realm. These martial artists, making up over eighty percent of the crowd, had no real chance of contending for the Spiritual Treasure. Most were just here to watch the show and take advantage of the rich Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi for their Cultivation. Once the Spiritual Treasure appeared and the bloody slaughter began, this group would probably flee faster than rabbits.

The ones with the real strength to fight for the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasure were those with Cultivation at or above the Martial Arts Seventh Realm. There were about one or two hundred Qi Condensation Stage Martial Artists between the Martial Arts Seventh Realm and the Martial Arts Ninth Realm. Among them, the number of Ninth Realm Martial Artists had grown to over thirty.

Closest to the trunk of the Thousand-Year-Old Banyan Tree stood four individuals whose auras were the most powerful. They surrounded the Big Banyan Tree, positioned in the four cardinal directions. To the east was a bearded giant with black gauntlets on his hands. To the south was a slightly thin man in a linen robe, standing with a sword in his arms. To the west was a man in green robes holding an Iron Whip—none other than Gao Zhisong of the Seven-Snake Centipede Whip. To the north stood a woman in her thirties or forties, past her prime, with narrow, almond-shaped eyes and a pair of sabers at her waist.

For these four to stand on equal footing, they were naturally all masters from the Wind and Cloud List. The bearded giant to the east was Shao Shantai of the "Mountain Shattering Fist," whose pair of Iron Fists could shatter mountains and crack stone with ferocious power. The thin man to the south was Fu Yifan of the "Cross Breaking Sword," whose Sword Skill was simple yet devious, aimed straight for a person’s vitals. To the west was Gao Zhisong of the Seven-Snake Centipede Whip, and to the north was the woman with the almond-shaped eyes, known in the martial world as Shen Sanniang, the "Mother Yecha." Her skill with her twin sabers was divine. Though a woman, she was incredibly fierce and had once allegedly chopped a man into meat paste to make human-flesh steamed buns.

"The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasure is about to appear. Why haven’t any Innate Realm experts come to seize it?"

"Phoenix Town is just a remote town in Red Sun Province, not the Imperial City!"

"It’s normal. There are only a few dozen Innate Realm experts in all of Tang Country, and many have gone to make a name for themselves in the Central Plains Martial Arts world. There are probably even fewer left in Tang Country!"

"Maybe they’re on their way, it’s a long journey!"

"Whether Innate Realm experts come or not has nothing to do with us! We should just take advantage of the abundant Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi here these next few days and cultivate!"

"There are plenty of experts here already. Four top masters from the Wind and Cloud List have shown up! Just looking at that Shen Sanniang gives me the creeps!"

"Hey, look! It’s that brat with the Purple Lightning Golden Eagle again!"

"So many people were hunting him, how is he not dead?"

"Who knows? I heard he has a powerful background. And he’s deadly with Hidden Weapons. A Martial Arts Seventh Realm artist was killed by his Hidden Weapons."

Discussions broke out among the many Martial Artists around the Thousand-Year-Old Banyan Tree.

Ye Xing, riding his Gale Leopard, also arrived at the Big Banyan Tree. Many of the Martial Artists recognized him. However, no one dared to make a move on him. The Eighth and Ninth Realms Martial Artists had been thoroughly intimidated by Tantai Mengxue’s Cold Jade Token last time. As for those below the Martial Arts Eighth Realm, the Gale Leopard could easily handle them.

The night was dark and windless. A few dark clouds obscured the stars and moon, plunging the world into blackness.

The Thousand-Year-Old Banyan Tree emitted a faint green glow, barely illuminating the outlines of things. The area was bustling, with people either chatting or cultivating.

’The Thunder Heart Spring Wood was nurtured here on my White Cloud Mountain, and I was the first to find it. How could this young master just stand by and watch you all snatch it away!’

A vicious glint flashed in Ye Xing’s eyes. Under the cover of the pitch-black night, he began to plant time bombs in hidden spots around the Thousand-Year-Old Banyan Tree.