As night fell, two people clad in identical orange clothes, like a uniform, rushed through the darkness. A blue bird emblem was emblazoned on their robes.
One of them, a short-haired youth, came to a stop. He was tall and strong, while the girl beside him was petite. However, as soon as the youth came to a stop, he turned towards her and bowed respectfully.
“Senior Apprentice Sister, this ought to be the bar the client specified.”
When she heard that, the girl he called “Senior Apprentice Sister” came to a stop as well. A faint, clear light flashed through her eyes, followed by a sharp glint.
“So this is it?”
“There shouldn’t be any mistake,” said the beefy youth. “This is the only bar like it in the area, and the size and configuration match the client’s description.”
“That’s good, then.”
“That said, Senior Apprentice Sister, do we really want to offend them? If they really belong to the Horse Bandits, we’ll have a hard time coming out ahead. How about we take it slow and alert the academy instead…”
The youth was obvious somewhat hesitant, and his words were full of unease. However, before he finished speaking, he sensed a sharp presence piercing into him. He gulped and swallowed his words.
“If you’re afraid, just go back.” As she spoke, her gaze grew even sharper, and her surroundings flashed with faint fluorescent light, like a veil surrounding her body. She looked coolly at the youth, but didn’t stop. She simply leaped up and towards the city.
They were both students of the Northern Divine Mountain’s Skyspan Academy. They’d come here, to Icy Tomb City, to buy the ice crystals this senior apprentice sister needed for her cultivation.
They’d already purchased the crystals and had planned to return to the academy at dawn. However, just as they went looking for a place to spend the night, they ran into a middle-aged man.
The man seemed panicked as he begged for health, but given the male disciple’s personality, he preferred to avoid trouble when he could. He tried to lead his senior apprentice sister away, but she immediately put on an air of righteous chivalry. After listening to the beleaguered man’s description, she agreed to help him reclaim his store.
On the way here, the male disciple had tried to dissuade her repeatedly, but his senior apprentice sister ignored him.
This time, she simply brushed right past him and went in on her own. If she got hurt, when they got back to the academy, those geezers would never let him hear the end of it.
He couldn’t possibly leave, so he had no choice but to steel himself and yell, “Senior Apprentice Sister, wait for me!”
Ye Zichen, meanwhile, didn’t even need to use the Yao-Sealing Pagoda’s ninth-stage sky supremes to deal with this bunch of thieves. He sent out a few third-stage sky supremes instead and got every last one of them under control.
Before long, every last thief was tied up and tossed into the corner. Ye Zichen sat back into his chair and reclaimed all the treasure on the table, reabsorbing it back into the Yao-Sealing Pagoda.
As for why he didn’t go take the bandits’ stuff…
Their food and drink was so awful; could they possibly have any treasures worth stealing?
Bang!
Someone kicked in the doors, scattering wood all over the floor. A few fragments flew right towards Ye Zichen.
His right hand gently pressed off against the table as he dodged the splinters. When he sat back down, he glanced towards the doorway.
A girl in an orange school uniform stood there, and although she was short, she looked heroic. Her hair was cut short, and her gaze was sharp and heroic.
At around the same time, a tall, stalwart youth rushed in after her.
This was, naturally, the same group of Skyspan Academy students who’d been talking outside. It was fair to say that the youth had struggled to keep up with the girl. His senior apprentice sister was obviously faster than him, and by the time he reached the doorway, she’d already kicked down the door.
“Senior Apprentice Sister?” asked the youth tentatively, only to find that she was completely ignoring him; he might as well not exist.
Her vicious, hateful glare was locked onto Ye Zichen. He stared right back at her.
“So it was you?” said the woman coldly after a lengthy staring contest.
“Who are you? Are you one of them?” asked Ye Zichen. His tone wasn’t overly friendly either. He looked back and forth between her and the youth beside her.
Sky supremes.
From the energy they emitted, it was clear that both of them were sky supreme experts. However, their divine power fluctuations were faint and indistinct. Although they were sky supremes, it was obvious that they’d only just broken through. They weren’t particularly adept at controlling their newfound power.
This little gang of bandits was stronger than he expected. So they had three sky supreme experts!
Ye Zichen’s divine awareness was already connected with the Yao-Sealing Pagoda. So long as they made the slightest movement, he would instantly summon yao experts to take them down.
“You really can’t judge people by their appearances,” said the girl with a snort.
“Oh? Are you afraid?” Ye Zichen thought for a moment that she was surprised by his strength, he he snorted despite himself, “If you’re afraid, hurry up and scram. If you get out of my sight now, I might very well spare your life.”
“It really is him,” thought the girl to herself. Although he looked all refined and scholarly, this man was nothing but a petty thief. From the look of things, he was right in the middle of gathering up his ill-gotten gains.
Fortunately, she’d arrived in time. If she’d come any later, he might have already run away.
She took a sidelong glance at the corner and saw a pile of barefoot men, bound hand and foot and gagged with socks. These ought to be the thief’s victims.
How disgusting!
It wasn’t enough to steal their treasures; he was going out of his way to humiliate his victims!
She couldn’t spare this kind of scum!
Although Ye Zichen and the girl hadn’t said much to each other, sparks flew as they glared at each other. The youth couldn’t help but gulp.
Although Ye Zichen didn’t look all that tough, if it really came down to a fight…
But before he could finish that thought, his senior apprentice sister made her move.
Whoosh!
A powerful wave of divine power rippled through the tavern. The temperature inside instantly plummeted way past freezing, coating everything inside in a thin layer of ice.
Cold surrounded Ye Zichen on all sides, and his body trembled involuntarily.
“Ice arts? Just like Big Sister Liu’er and Lu Lu.” Ye Zichen was in a lower cultivation realm than her, so staying in this icy blizzard for too long would undoubtedly harm him.
He arched his brows and hurriedly summoned experts from the Yao-Sealing Pagoda.
The instant they appeared, the chill faded, and the girl knit her brows. The youth beside her stared, eyes wide, and cried out, “Senior Apprentice Sister, they’re sky supremes!”
“Do I need you to tell me that? Hurry up and help out!” She glowered at the youth.
Ye Zichen, meanwhile, licked his lips, straightened his neck, and shouted, “Tie them up!”
