“I’ve long heard of Seventh Princess Nina. She is very gifted. But I didn’t expect that her friend was also so powerful that he even killed Hu Bin. That friend of hers is really matchless.”
“He is amazing. This kind of thing will probably cause a sensation in more than half of the Sea Dragon Star Area very soon. The Elemental Elf Clan will also be famous throughout the Star Area.”
Several Yuan Ying Realm masters taunted Mo Wen.
It was obvious that they meant to hit him when he was down.
Their words made Mo Wen’s face darken.
He looked at the old man and answered rigidly, “Lottman, you made your judgment too soon. When we Elemental Elves came here, we only brought our own people. It’s normal to get to know other people on the trial field and share a journey with them. Watch your tongue. You’ll be held accountable for what you say. Some remarks can be made in public, while some can’t.”
“You have a fair point.” The old man nodded and said, “I’m just here to watch the fun. Mo Wen, it’s useless to argue with me. You’d better focus on considering how you’ll answer to Hu Zhiqiang when he comes back, hahaha…”
“You!”
Mo Wen clenched his fists. At last, he came to Lorain and the other elves with a hard face.
“What on earth has happened?” he asked in a depressed voice.
He then waved his hand and set up a soundproof cover.
“Uncle, Uncle Mo Wen.”
Lorain was a bit scared and said in a timid voice, “I don’t know where to start.”
“Start from the very beginning.” Mo Wen took a deep breath to fight back the anger inside him and said in a more level voice.
“We heard from you that there are several cities that were safe on the east side of the river, so we prepared to go there and meet up with you in East River City. But on our way, we ran into a Snake-tailed Tiger in the Yuan Ying Realm, which was very difficult to deal with. We were no match for it.”
These few words made the faces of Mo Wen and the others change drastically.
“A strange beast in the Yuan Ying Realm appeared on the west side of the river? Snake-tailed Tigers are very powerful creatures. How did they get away?”
Under their gazes, Lorain continued to say, “Just when we could no longer hang in there, Uncle Zhang and his people turned up. Uncle Zhang is the Zhang Hanyang those people talked about. There were more than a dozen of them. Uncle Zhang was remarkable. He suppressed the Snake-tailed Tiger with a few moves and even fought it in close combat. He was so fierce and unstoppable. Soon, the Snake-tailed Tiger realized that it was no match for him, it ran away with its tail between its legs. To repay Uncle Zhang’s life-saving grace, Princess Nina invited him and his people to our stronghold. Uncle Zhang has also brought his daughter here. Her name is Zhang Yumeng. She is 12 years old, very lively and carefree. Soon, she and Princess Nina became good friends. In the past two days, they were always together, chatting…”
She told him about how they met Zhang Han, how he and his fellows fought against those people the next day in Cloud City, as well as the treasures they carried and all the details about the incident.
Having heard the whole story, Mo Wen fell silent.
“They saved Princess Nina’s life. That was a great kindness. But he shouldn’t have taken on Hu Bin. Wasn’t killing Wei Fan already a good enough warning? He shouldn’t have dealt with Hu Bin,” Mo Wen groaned, sounding a little annoyed.
“It was Hu Bin who coveted their sixth-tier treasures and wouldn’t give up. Besides, Uncle Zhang also gave them a chance. He wanted to leave with his people and us. But Hu Bin and the others didn’t allow that. It was not until then that he started to kill,” Lorain said in a low voice.
She was constantly observing Mo Wen’s expression.
The result of her observation was… his expression was rather awkward.
“Did Princess Nina go into the secret realm with them?”
The moment Mo Wen asked that, he found it a moot question. He shook his head and said, “Which force are they from?”
After posing this question, he felt that there might still be hope.
If they were also from a top-level force, the murder of Hu Bin would only cause a battle between the two forces. In that case, this matter would have little bearing on the Elemental Elf Clan.
“From Earth,” Lorain replied.
“Where is Earth?” Mo Wen was stunned. He had never heard of any powerful forces in the Sea Dragon Star Area called Earth.
“Uncle Zhang said… Earth is hidden in the void of the Sea Dragon Star Area. No matter how powerful one is, without the right method, one will not be able to get in.”
“Pfft!”
Mo Wen almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Good, good, very good!”
Mo Wen’s expression was extremely somber.
“That Zhang Hanyang has successfully shifted the blame of the murder to us. If he hid in somewhere no one could find, who would eventually bear the anger of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family?”
Thinking of this, Mo Wen felt rather wistful.
“Is this trip to the Lost Continent for the trial a mistake?
“Princess Nina, you’re about to hold the Coming of Age Ceremony. Why did you make such an error at this crucial moment?”
In this regard, there was nothing Mo Wen could do. What else could he do? He could only resign himself to fate.
“Doane is here!”
“Why did he come so fast? Didn’t he go to explore the East with Hu Zhiqiang and his men?”
“That means… Hu Zhiqiang is coming soon?”
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”
Hundreds of people present instantly flashed their eyes toward the back of the valley.
A group of five were flying in their direction at high speed. The leader of the group was a man in armor. He was Doane Modred, who was on relatively good terms with Hu Zhiqiang!
His face was very calm, revealing no emotion.
Hu Bin was dead. To him, it was of little importance. Of course, it was not worth his mood swings. Or maybe he had already gotten over the shock.
Even without any explicit explanation, everyone knew what had driven so many people from the east side of the river here.
They were all here for the six-tier treasures!
“Is Zhang Hanyang here?” Doane demanded from the air after he approached the crowd. His tone was kind of murderous, which chilled the others to the bone.
“He went to the secret realm,” a Yuan Ying Realm master replied.
“Hu Zhiqiang hasn’t come yet?” Doane looked around but didn’t see any members of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family.
Even he found this a little strange. The Tiger Talisman Royal Family had brought a large number of their members to this land, but more than half of them nearby had been killed. Only less than 30 percent of them survived in their stronghold. He could not help but exclaim inwardly that Zhang Hanyang was really tough and ruthless.
“Not yet.”
“Okay.”
Doane nodded slightly and suddenly swiveled his eyes to Mo Wen.
“Your Elemental Elf Clan has raised an outstanding Seventh Princess.”
“You flatter me,” Mo Wen replied reluctantly.
At this awkward moment, whether he answered or not actually would not make a difference. Now that the main character of the matter was absent, he had been made the target of public criticism.
“Alas.”
Mo Wen sighed heavily in his head. He even began to wish that Nina had stayed here. Then, as soon as he arrived, he would take her to escape, leaving all the issues behind. However, as Nina had gone, he was left to take the responsibility now.
“An outstanding person should have outstanding friends. I think the friend of Seventh Princess’s is very excellent. With the cultivation of the Yuan Ying Realm, he bullied the weak. That was something. When he comes back, I will ask him in his face who told him to break the rules and who gave him the courage to do it. Was it you? Mo Wen? Or your Elemental Elf Clan?” Doane said coldly.
“Young Master Li Mu was also there at that time. I think as a neutral party, he can give you an unprejudiced account of the affair. If you have any questions, go ask him,” Mo Wen said. His face fell as well.
Even with his refined and elegant disposition, he couldn’t help cursing in his mind.
“Doane, who do you think you are? How dare you criticize me in my face?”
“Li Mu did witness that. But our Cloud Shadow Sky has also suffered a great loss because of this matter.”
Suddenly, a loud and clear voice came from the north.
Everyone once again shifted their gaze in that direction. They were surprised to see that Yi Hou, the 100th elder of the Cloud Shadow Sky, had arrived.
“Yi Hou, you’re back too?” Doane cupped his hands to Yi Hou and greeted him.
Seeing his respectful gesture, Mo Wen’s face darkened even more.
“As soon as you got here, you began to talk to me in a scornful tone. You even reproached me in public. However, when Yi Hou came, you immediately greeted him with a hold-fist salute. Screw you!”
Mo Wen was so furious that even his breathing quickened.
“As such an incident has occurred, I naturally have to come back and take a look.”
The aura Yi Hou was emanating was extraordinary. Not every Yuan Ying Realm cultivator had that kind of naturally impressive vibe.
“Those involved in the incident have all gone to the secret realm.” Doane gazed at the place covered by clouds and mists and remarked, “It may take one day, two days, or three days before they come out.”
“Then let’s wait and see.” Yi Hou nodded slightly and flew to Li Mu’s side. With a wave of his hand, he set up a soundproof cover and began to talk with the group of people inside the cover.
As they talked, Mo Wen kept eyeing their expressions. He found that Li Mu’s countenance kept changing, and cold sweat seemed to be dripping down from his forehead. It appeared that Li Mu was still in fear.
After contemplating for a moment, he understood why. Since the other party even dared to kill Hu Bin, he certainly wouldn’t mind adding Li Mu to his victim list.
That one decision Li Mu made had decided whether he could live or not.
If he really chose to join Hu Bin’s team for those sixth-tier treasures at that time, he would probably be killed as well. That was why Li Mu was still in a panic fear after the incident.
At that time, Li Mu was truly tempted by those treasures.
However, because Hu Bin and Wei Fan were both overbearing, and he was not an impetuous person, he eventually chose to stand aside and watch the scene first.
Yet, to his consternation, the event turned out to have such a terrifying consequence.
Five minutes later, Yi Hou dispersed the soundproof cover and swept his eyes over the people around him. He then knew how many people had returned from the east side of the river.
In terms of strength, Yi Hou might not be the strongest among the people present. But as the 100th elder of the Cloud Shadow Sky, he was one of the most respected and prestigious on the scene.
“Hu Bin has been killed. This is no trivial matter. Given Hu Zhiqiang’s temper, I’m afraid that he would take his people to besiege this secret realm.”
Someone continuously voiced his guesses.
“Or maybe they have already sent someone to spread the news to the Tiger Talisman Royal Family’s home planet in the Sea Central Star Area. If the news traveled fast, the Tiger Talisman Royal Family’s army could quickly arrive here. Then, the other party would be wiped out even if they had 10 more Yuan Ying Realm cultivators on their side, let alone they only have one.”
“Why bother sending the news back to the Sea Central Star Area? They can directly send their warships on the Dal Star here. In that case, whoever against them must surrender.”
“Here he comes!”
Doane, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the eastern horizon, where more than a dozen aircraft were flying toward them at an extremely fast speed. The leading aircraft was none other than Hu Zhiqiang’s ride.
“Hu Zhiqiang is here!”
“Now that one of the main characters has arrived, a show will be staged. The ones to bear the brunt should be those members of the Elemental Elf Clan.”
“Not necessarily. At the end of the day, this matter has little to do with the Elemental Elf Clan. Hu Zhiqiang’s number one target must be Zhang Hanyang. I wonder if they will directly barge into the secret realm to catch him.”
“Whiz, whiz, whiz, whiz!”
The small aircraft quickly landed in the valley, each of which was more than 10 meters long. The one in the lead was entirely black, and the dozen behind it were red.
“Buzz!”
The cabin door of the black aircraft slid open. A man that was nearly three meters tall and had a beefy figure and a fierce look marched out. He was Hu Zhiqiang.
His face was formidably grim. His eyes were sharp and forbidding, as though they were filled with murderous coldness.
“Brother Hu, you’re a little too late. Those people have already entered the secret realm,” Doane informed.
“Lock down the secret realm. Everyone, go five miles away,” Hu Zhiqiang ordered in a cold voice.
As soon as he said that, a few people’s faces changed slightly. Most of them were at the Yuan Ying stage. They never thought that Hu Zhiqiang would ignore all the people on the scene and make such an arbitrary decision as soon as he came here.
As Hu Zhiqiang spoke, the red aircraft behind him flew into the air and floated on all sides of the valley. Each of the aircraft ejected folded mechanical troops. In just seconds, those mechanical troops, whether flying in the sky or stationed on the ground, were all in place, forming an unpenetrable encirclement within hundreds of meters around the secret realm.
The hundreds of people who were there to watch the fun hurriedly retreated one after another.
As everyone was backing away, Hu Zhiqiang suddenly turned and locked his cold eyes on Mo Wen and the others.
“Since the murderer is a friend of the Elemental Elf Clan’s Seventh Princess’, you elves shall stay here.”
“Buzz!”
Mo Wen heard a buzz in his head.
“Have we really been targeted?”
“Hu Zhiqiang, although the murderer is Seventh Princess’ friend, in essence, this matter has nothing to do with the Elemental Elf Clan, does it?”
He was a little angry, but his tone didn’t show it. Even though Mo Wen was in the Yuan Ying Realm, he didn’t dare to provoke Hu Zhiqiang at this time, because his strength was still not strong enough.
“I can tell that myself. Now I’m asking you to stay here, do you dare to leave?”
Hu Zhiqiang’s face became as malicious as the most vicious villain.
At the sight of this scene, many were startled and began to tremble in their boots.
“Hu Zhiqiang is really fierce!”
Everyone, including Mo Wen, knew that if Mo Wen said no, Hu Zhiqiang would attack at the next moment.
“Hu Zhiqiang.”
Mo Wen puckered his brows and said, “It’s a pity that Hu Bin is dead. And it’s true that the one who killed him is in the same league with our Seventh Princess. However, that doesn’t give you the right to abuse our Elemental Elf Clan.”
“Well, you’re right.” Hu Zhiqiang grinned and said, “I’ll ask you again. Will you stay here or leave?”
“Our Seventh Princess is taking an adventure in the secret realm. Of course, I’m gonna stay here.”
“Haha.”
Hu Zhiqiang sneered and then ignored them.
Many people in the area went a little more than a mile away instead of going as far as five miles as Hu Zhiqiang told them to.
Most of the cultivators present were in the Elixir Realm. In addition to them, there were still more than a dozen Yuan Ying Realm masters.
Doane and the other three were relatively close to Hu Zhiqiang.
“Brother Hu.”
Doane smiled and said, “Since things have come to this point, we don’t have to be too edgy. Let’s just wait for the interested parties to come out.”
“Or perhaps we can take a more interesting measure.” Another Yuan Ying Realm master nearby suddenly gave a sinister laugh and said, “After entering the secret realm, everyone will randomly land in different places. Those people surely need some time to reunite. The secret realm has just been open for two hours. Li Mu and many people here have seen them before. Thus, we can just go in and start a slaughter game.”
“A slaughter game?” Hu Zhiqiang’s eyes suddenly narrowed.
“To kill those people is probably not their goal. What they really want is to get those treasures, isn’t it?
“Sixth-tier treasures. Hahaha, those are really tantalizing.”
In that instant, Hu Zhiqiang considered several ideas. Then, his big eyes swept at the people present.
He found that more than 20 Yuan Ying Realm masters and even some Elixir Realm Peak-Stage cultivators on the scene were already eager to take action.
“I’m not interested in games,” answered Hu Zhiqiang indifferently.
“We are not here to be onlookers. Three of our disciples have also been killed by them. This hatred is absolutely irreconcilable.” The Yuan Ying Realm master who made that proposal looked around and said, “Is there anyone else who happens to share the same view as me?”
“An eye for an eye. They also killed three disciples at the Elixir Realm Last-Stage of our sect. The three were all our sect’s prized talents. Two of them were even about to break through to the Elixir Realm Last-Stage. I agree with Elder Mo’s method. I say we play the laughter game.”
“Since some people have been so unscrupulous, it’s time to teach them a lesson. Thus, I’m of the same mind.”
“Me, too.”
In an instant, more than half of the 20 or so Yuan Ying Realm masters present shouted their consent.
“Brother Hu, aren’t you going with us?” someone asked.
“Oh, you guys go. Don’t mind me.”
Hu Zhiqiang’s expression was calm, but he was secretly sneering in his head.
“Even if the people in the secret realm have more sixth-tier treasures, so what? Those treasures will all fall into my hands in the end anyway, won’t they?
“You people who are going into the secret realm, don’t blame me for being cruel and merciless.”
To Hu Zhiqiang, Hu Bin’s death was indeed a grave matter. Yet, it had already happened. No matter what he did, he couldn’t bring Hu Bin back to life.
The death of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family’s prince was definitely an earth-shattering event. The Tiger Talisman Royal Family would not allow others to challenge its prestige.
Nevertheless, this matter could be somewhat remedied with some sixth-tiers treasures.
After all, the Tiger Talisman Royal Family was a large family with many princes. There were many who could fill in for Prince Hu Bin.
At the moment, Hu Zhiqiang’s plan was to kill the other party and take their sixth-tier treasures. If he was able to obtain more than five such treasures, Hu Bin’s death would not be a big loss. He would act angry for a while and then let it slide.
However, these people in front of him were actually coveting those treasures. He found them very naive and ridiculous.
“I thought two of them would be my allies. But now…the ones who want to snatch the treasures are all my enemies.”
In truth, Hu Zhiqiang despised those people. Because they were not even qualified to compete with him.
Nevertheless, there were still several powerful masters present. Hu Zhiqiang’s eyes inadvertently flickered to Yi Hou, the 100th elder of the Cloud Shadow Sky.
Of those on the scene, this Yi Hou from the Cloud Shadow Sky was the only person whom he found a little intimidating.
Although Yi Hou was ranked the 100th among the 100 elders, his strength was considered above the average.
“He is very close to the Yuan Ying Realm Middle-Stage. In the future, he will definitely become the Cloud Shadow Sky’s mainstay,” Hu Zhiqiang mused. “The Cloud Shadow Sky is very powerful. Though its scale is not as big as my Tiger Talisman Royal family, its overall strength is slightly stronger. He… is not someone I can provoke. As for the others, except for that Zhong An from the Silver-winged Hall, there is no one else that I can’t lay a finger on. But… can I leave all of them to rot on the Lost Continent?”
Hu Zhiqiang was weighing the pros and cons of his plan. He knew that unless these people were all buried on the Lost Continent, the news on what happened here would eventually spread out.
“However, have these people really all failed to see what’s coming?”
Hu Zhiqiang was lost in thought. He kept calculating the gains and losses, hoping to come up with a sure-fire plan.
At the same time, the others were also looking at one another with meaningful eyes.
A few of them had secretly cast a soundproof cover around them and quickly gave their subordinates some instructions. The content of those instructions was basically the same.
“Hurry up and inform the troops on the Dal Star. Tell them to come to the Lost Continent as soon as possible. Also, remind them to bring as many forces as they can summon. When necessary, they can employ all the connections on the Dal Star.”
Of course, those people were not fools. They were aware that as long as they entered the secret realm, they would be Hu Zhiqiang’s opponents.
Regardless, they could not let go of the precious sixth-tier treasures. Those were simply too tempting.
As the distant water couldn’t quench the imminent thirst, they knew it was too late to contact their sects at this time. Thus, they could only summon their troops stationed on the Dal Star.
There were more than a dozen of them. When the Yuan Ying Realm masters resting on the Dal Star arrived, they together would be a strong alliance. Then, how could Hu Zhiqiang be able to take on all of them?
The only thing they had to heed was Hu Zhiqiang’s fleet. If the fleet brought here some extremely destructive weapons, they would probably have a hard time defending themselves.
Therefore, the only way was to spread the news and keep in touch with their troops stationed on the Dal Star at all hours other than telling them to send some forces over. Although the Tiger Talisman Royal Family was fierce, it could not afford to incur public indignation.
Thus, after careful scheming, about 15 Yuan Ying Realm masters decided to enter the secret realm.
They already couldn’t wait.
“We now have 15 players. Since it’s a game, let’s make some rules, okay?”
The Yuan Ying Realm old man who spoke first laughed. Then, he suggested, “Why don’t we divide ourselves into three teams to hunt our targets? Each team will have four hours inside the secret realm. When time is up, the team shall exit at once. Let’s see which team can kill more targets during the four hours.”
“Oh, all right. Then how should we put ourselves into three groups? And how will we decide on the order of entry?”
“Let’s draw lots.”
