White-Robed Chief

Early morning.

Birds’ chirps were clear and cheerful, bringing a sense of refreshment to those who heard them.

The air on Spirit Cranes Peak was extraordinarily fresh, it was as if a breath of it could fully penetrate one’s heart and cleanse away all foulness from one’s organs.

Xiao Shi was practicing her breathing technique underneath a tree. As she took in Spirit Cranes Peak’s crisp air, she felt her body lighten and becoming more at ease as if she was a bird that was going to fly.

After a glance at Chu Li who kept fooling about with two Spirit Cranes, she continued practicing her breathing technique.

The blue skies here seemed to be especially blue as if it had been cleansed with water and the white clouds particularly thick like they were real balls of cotton floating in the air, unmoving.

Chu Li played around with two Spirit Cranes for a while and then took out a scroll from his inner pocket. He opened it to reveal a realistic painting of a fierce tiger.

The Spirit Cranes’ intelligent bright eyes scanned it and immediately retreated with a loud cry.

Chu Li then saw the true Spirit Tiger from their minds.

On the peak of a towering and grandiose mountain, there was an enormous Spirit Tiger stood roaring on top of a giant rock, its roar truly magnificent.

The two cranes were coincidentally flying by when they heard the Spirit Tiger’s fierce roar that made their blood surge with immense fear. At that moment, their energy disappeared as they quickly plummeted from the sky.

If it was not for their parents who had noticed something wrong and quickly flew to catch them and took them far away, they would have been gobbled up by this Spirit Tiger in no time.

They still could not erase the Spirit Tiger’s majestic look from their minds that even the thought of it would send chills down their bodies, there was no way they would go anywhere near that place again. Their desperate cries were a clear warning to Chu Li to stay away, or else, he would definitely be eaten by it.

They were intelligent, they knew that Chu Li could interpret the meaning behind their cries.

Chu Li had a meaningful look on his face as he put away the scroll.

He sat cross-legged on a rock, his mind filled with thoughts about the white tiger.

The white tiger he pictured in his mind was now different from before, he had replaced the original white tiger with the Spirit Tiger in the two Spirit Cranes’ minds and started imitating each of its movements.

The force that flowed within the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait instantly grew stronger by a few times.

After two hours, he slowly relaxed, his Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait had advanced into another level and his body was strengthened significantly.

Too bad it was harder to improve now. After all, Chu Li has not been able to observe the Spirit Tiger for real and with possible problems with the technique itself, he seemed to have reached his limit—he needed a better heart technique to continue torso tuning.

If he was able to stay by the Spirit Tiger’s side in real life to observe its posture and truly understand the essence of their movement just as how he hung around by the Spirit Cranes, he would be able to perfect his Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait then the Spirit Crane Technique and perhaps stand a chance at becoming an Enlightened Master!

When he thought about it, being an Enlightened Master did not feel unreachable at all!

However, there was no access to learning the Spirit Crane Technique and there was no way for him to observe the Spirit Tiger closely in order to cultivate his Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait, nothing was going well for him!

If he could just ride on one of the Spirit Cranes to watch the Spirit Tiger from afar and feel its dominating aura, it would already be good enough for him. Unfortunately, Spirit Cranes were even more arrogant than humans and would not let anyone ride them.

…

The night sky was as clear as water and had a bright moon that hung on it.

King An’s Imperial Residence was in a deep slumber.

Two men in black floated silently without alarming King An’s Imperial Residence’s Protectors. Like a feather, they quietly landed in Tianshu Courtyard.

“Who is it?” A stern voice called out and alerted the entire Imperial Residence.

The men in black kept their calm composure as they glanced at the four Protectors who descended upon them.

Zhu Tianhua’s burly physique stood out the most as he glared at the two men and uttered the following words coldly, “What business do you have here to be visiting at midnight?”

The two were clad in black clothing but did not have their face covered—one of them was a handsome young man while the other was a stoic middle-aged man.

The handsome young man bit out coolly. “Ask Chu Li to come out and face his death! We’re here to kill him, we won’t butcher innocent people mindlessly but if he won’t present himself, then we’ll just have to kill all of you to force him out!”

Zhu Tianhua huffed. “What an unfortunate coincidence, the Head Chief is not here!

“He’s not in?” The handsome young man turned to the middle-aged men and said, “Senior Pu, it seems like we’d have to kill everyone then!”

“Who are you?” Zhu Tianhua asked.

“The Holy Church of Light’s High Officials, but there’s no need for you to know our names.” The young man laughed as he shook his head. “I’ve heard about Chu Li for quite a while, I originally thought that I would have to put in some effort to kill him but who knew, he isn’t in.”

“Xiao Sun, there’s no need to waste time explaining, just kill them,” Senior Pu said faintly.

Xiao Sun replied respectfully, “Yes, leave this small matter to the young one, how about you hold the line for me later, Senior Pu?”

“Mmm.” Senior Pu agreed.

Xiao Sun took a step and came in front of Zhu Tianhua where he pushed down lightly with his palm.

Zhu Tianhua was alert enough to not take the blow blindly, he took a diagonal step back and evaded the attack.

“Thump!” A heavy thud rang out as the palm force left a clear handprint on the wall behind Zhu Tianhua.

When Zhu Tianhua saw the neat handprint that was stamped on the wall, the lingering palm force around it despite being shot from so far away, he realized that he could not do the same thing. He knew that he was still beneath this fella and that his cultivation could not even compare!

“With such a big head, it’s surprising how you’re actually not stupid!” The young man mocked. “Let’s go again!”

With a single wave of his sleeve, he pushed out his left palm.

A red flag raised within Zhu Tianhua as he quickly retreated and avoided the incoming sleeve.

“Whoosh!” A clear whistle sounded as the wind his opponent’s sleeve blew past him and landed on a wall behind him. It was a deep cut as if the wall had just been sliced through with a knife.

While his opponent considered using his sleeve as a smart diversion, Zhu Tianhua considered it as a malicious move as he gritted out. “That’s a low move!”

The handsome young man laughed. “You’re truly clever! But it doesn’t matter how smart you are, it’s useless if your martial arts can’t compare.”

“Since he’s here to kill us, there’s no need to play nice with him, let’s fight him together!” Liu Xing declared in his deep voice.

Xiang Feixue and Huo Yuhao charged towards the handsome young man with him.

“Hmph!” Senior Pu sneered and came before them with a single leap, stopping them in their tracks as he drew his fist out for a punch.

“Boom!” Huo Yuhao immediately flew backward from the impact and crashed into a wall.

He spat a whole mouthful of blood as he weakly slid down the wall and sat unmovingly.

“Elder Huo, are you dead yet?” Liu Xing called out.

Huo Yuhao croaked out softly, “I won’t die but I’ve no energy to fight back!”

“How useless!” Liu Xing harrumphed.

By utilizing their rapid body movement technique, Liu Xing and Xiang Feixue were able to fend off this Pu-named middle-aged man and hold on for quite a while.

On the other side of the courtyard, Zhu Tianhua was slowly driven and was almost trapped into the shadows of the corner.

The young man was relaxed, it was like a game of cat and mouse to him as he teased Zhu Tianhua while attacking him. “It must be a waste to have grown such a big head and have no use for it, you must have a low cultivation level and horrible aptitude, right? I say, if a person is big, they are either stupid or dumb!”

Zhu Tianhua scoffed. “Well, at least it’s better than being a shorty like you!”

The young man was handsome but was lacking in the height department, he only reached Zhu Tianhua’s shoulder.

The smile on the young man’s face fell as his expression darkened. “Alright, if I don’t finish you off today, I will take on your surname!”

“I wouldn’t have a son like you!” Zhu Tianhua pursed his lips.

The handsome young man shot back in a cold tone. “Well, you’d have a father like me! …How would you like to die, big guy?”

Zhu Tianhua spat. “I would like you to die! Your looks are still bearable, but you’re just too chatty, like an old woman that’ll annoy a person to death. I wonder which woman in the world can stand a mouth like yours!”

The young man burst into a fit of blind fury. “You must have a death wish! Die!”

Both his palms shot out with lightning speed, clearly aimed at Zhu Tianhua.

Zhu Tianhua quickly rolled to the ground and avoided his attack in a pathetic manner.

Xiao Sun was boiling with anger as he turned to go after him.

Suddenly, a palm came out from the shadows in the corner in a rapid ambush.

Xiao Sun was chasing Zhu Tianhua down with all his might when his instinct sensed danger and it was too late for him to block off the palm attack that planted itself on his back.

“Rumble!” A faint sound of thunder rang out.

Xiao Sun’s body froze.

“Rumble!” A second palm went for the young man’s back.

“Thump!” With a large leap, Senior Pu came beside him and took the blow for him.