"…I knew it. I always thought it was weird that the Shadow Gang was able to brutally beat up the lower top ten students so easily and even kill the second and third ranked students. Turns out that they really received some outside help."
Scratching my head with my left hand, I studied the newcomer while tightening my grip on my sword with my right hand. Intuitively, I could tell that this guy was dangerous. Very dangerous. I couldn't afford to let my guard down against him.
I wanted to ask him for his identity, but I doubted he would simply tell me the truth if I asked him. And that was assuming he would answer me.
"Han Sha!"
Fortunately, I didn't have to ask. Pang Bai Shan automatically called out the newcomer's name, relief visible on his battered face.
"You saved me! Hurry! Kill this fella! He's your target as well, isn't he?"
Han Sha turned to glare at Pang Bai Shan, and the latter immediately turned pale. He choked and clutched at his throat, foaming at the mouth, before toppling over and heaving. He looked up at the hooded figure, pitiful and pathetic.
"Since when did you become the one giving me orders? Han Sha asked coldly.
"S…sorry!" Pang Bai Shan spluttered, barely able to force his voice out of his constricted throat. "I didn't m…mean it! I'm s…sorry! P…please! Mercy…!"
Han Sha turned away, and Pang Bai Shan coughed, wheezing as he sucked in lungful of air into his abused chest. He lowered his head humbly but wisely didn't say anything this time.
"Hmph. As long as you remember your place, you'll benefit from following me." Han Sha retrieved a pill from his robes and tossed it to a grateful Pang Bai Shan. The traitor swallowed it quickly. I realized the pill was a medicine for healing, but its effects were slow (since when did medicine have immediate effects on the person who ingested it? You need to give the medicine time to be digested and absorbed into the system).
Yet those effects were visible to my Heavenly Flow and Earthly Paths. I could see Pang Bai Shan's energy slowly recover and his injuries gradually mending, the bleeding stopping.
That was an incredible pill. I had heard of such miraculous pills – also known as elixirs – but to think my enemies possessed such amazing resources. Just who…?
I studied Han Sha, feeling a deep chill. The demonic aura that he emanated was unfamiliar, yet I instinctively understood one thing. A comprehension that was further reinforced by the dialogue between him and Pang Bai Shan – something about me being his target.
There was only one reason why someone unfamiliar like Han Sha would want to kill me. And no, it wasn't because I was the protagonist or because I "stole" the woman he loved or because I "offended" him by fighting back when he insulted me or bullied other people.
"You are a demonic cultivator from the Celestial Realm, sent from the future to terminate me, aren't you?"
There was a silence, and Han Sha chuckled.
"Even now, you're still so smart. Then again, I should have expected that from the man destined to become the leader of the resistance…the hero who united all the orthodox sects and led them to victory over the demonic sects."
"What are you guys even talking about right now?" Si Nan shouted from behind. In front, Pang Bai Shan looked just as confused.
"Nothing," I called back. "Just…jargon for underground organizations and complicated stuff. Don't pay attention to it."
Han Sha didn't deny it. He knew as well as I did that most regular cultivators in this world wouldn't know about the Celestial Realm anyway. Or the Temporal Tribulation. That sounded more farfetched than secret cultivators hiding underground in a modern setting. Actually…never mind. There were degrees of absurdity, but the whole time-travel and terminate thing sounded more like they belonged to a science fiction story instead of a cultivation one.
Not unless it was done in the reincarnation or returnee style…
"Well, there's no point wasting time on talking nonsense." Han Sha suddenly vanished from view, only to appear in front of me. I was barely able to block his palm before a burst of qi blasted out and sent me sprawling.
Coughing out a mouthful of blood, I rolled across the ground and jumped back to my feet. However, the heavy blow had numbed my arms and I was barely able to maintain my grip on my sword.
"Oh? You survived that? Impressive reflexes." Han Sha tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. I could only see his eyes and mouth – the rest of his face was hidden in shadow, giving him a creepy appearance. Swallowing, I backed away as best as I could.
This guy was strong. Too strong. Blackened Skies realm, perhaps. He was much stronger than any of the other demonic cultivators from the future I had faced before.
"I took my time to slowly recover my strength, unlike those other fools who attempted to terminate you while they were still weak. Even though I haven't fully restored my strength to when I was at my prime, it's more than enough to destroy the likes of you. I'm sorry, but I would very much prefer to be assured that I can kill you than leave it up to chance."
Metallic whips snaked out of the sleeves of his robes and lashed out at me. I was forced to dive to the side, ducking his relentless assault. The razor-sharp whips slashed into the ground, carving out chunks of concrete, soil and rock.
"Stay back!" I yelled at my schoolmates, who obediently retreated. They could sense the immense strength emanating from Han Sha and were intuitively aware of how powerful and deadly he was. They also knew there was nothing they could do to stop him.
I was on my own.
"Damn it!"
Despite having Heavenly Flow and Earthly Paths, I couldn't avoid the whips completely. They were moving erratically, twisting randomly and catching me by surprise even though I thought I had a good read on the flow of qi or the currents of energy that flowed through them. Their barbed edges bit deeply into my skin, tearing open flesh and drawing blood. I coughed and staggered back, fending the snaking whips off with my sword.
I had to be careful when doing that, taking measures to avoid having the whips wrap around the blade of my sword and yank the weapon from my hands. Not only did Han Sha possess far more qi than me, he was also physically stronger.
Ducking under the whip, I swatted the other one away before using a footwork technique to disappear from Han Sha's sight. Or so I hoped, but it turned out that he could follow my movements. With a flick of his arm, he whipped me before I could land on the ground a few meters away, knocking me off my feet and grazing my body. Fabric ripped and blood spurted from my shoulder and part of my chest. Ignoring the stinging pain, I cursed and leaped back.
Coughing, I jumped a few paces back, but the whips continued to relentlessly pursue, extending indefinitely. It was almost as if Han Sha possessed infinite lengths of those metallic whips.
I exhaled and knocked back one whip with my sword while dodging the other. Huffing, I glanced at the amused Han Sha.
The bastard was toying with me.
"I don't get it," I said, wondering if he was the type to gloat and explain stuff. If he was, then I might be able to buy myself more time, perhaps grab a breather. Hopefully until the instructors returned from their dumb meeting. Otherwise I was screwed. But for now I did what I could. "You said you were taking your time to slowly recover your strength, but you decided to attack now, when you haven't fully restored your strength."
"Oh, that's because I couldn't risk waiting any longer. At the beginning, you were protected by Kai Li Si…and then you had that old fogey from the Na Lan clan secretly watching over you while you were in high school. I didn't have the strength to take your life then. Perhaps Blackened Skies realm might not be enough to guarantee a kill, but it's most likely the best chance I have. After all, your progress has been nothing short of incredible. You managed to attain Heaven realm in about a year of training. If I let you be for a bit longer, given the speed of your cultivation, you would eventually surpass me. I don't know how you're doing it, but I wouldn't be surprised if you achieve Yellowed Lands by next year…and Blackened Skies in three years. Whereas I would stagnate at Blackened Skies realm for the next few years because of how awfully thin the qi is in this world, as well as the aftereffects of my attempts to forcibly restore my former cultivation realm in such a short period of time."
Right…that was the problem with demonic cultivation. While it offered tremendous gain of strength in a short period, it often brought about side effects. Often, it required the sacrifice of other people, such as sucking their qi essence or drinking their blood. However, while such measures undoubtedly brought tremendous power, they often resulted in unstable foundations, unsteady progress and slow damage to one's cultivation. Shortcuts were a double-edged sword, after all. There was a reason why orthodox cultivators avoided them, in favor for a more stable and solid foundation and long-term benefits.
Not that it was going to help me right now. The fact of the matter was that, no matter what happened to Han Sha in future, he was much stronger than me right now.
And he was going to kill me.
"Ugh!"
The whips struck me, and even though I parried them with my dragon sword, I found myself hurtling across the courtyard. This time, I was the one who crashed into the wall and demolished it from my momentum. Sprawling underneath debris, I coughed blood and struggled to my feet, raising my sword defiantly.
"It's useless."
Han Sha smacked me across the face with his whips, knocking me across the courtyard. I felt blood stream down my cheek, my skin split open by the cruel barbs.
"Huff…"
I tried to evade once more, relying on a combination of Heavenly Flow and Earthly Paths and my footwork techniques, but somehow Han Sha appeared in front of me. I skidded to a stop, only to be swatted aside by his whips.
The tremendous force numbed my arms. My skin wasn't able to withstand the sharp qi and bled from a few dozen cuts. I tumbled onto the ground and went into a clumsy roll, only to be struck again by those merciless whips.
"I must admit, you're more tenacious than I thought." Han Sha approached me. Behind, Pang Bai Shan followed eagerly, desiring to see my demise for himself. He wore a gloating expression. The elixir that he had taken had finally kicked in, bearing similar effects to Mu Zi Xing's healing techniques.
Unlike a game where drinking a healing potion would instantly make your injuries go away, the elixir required some time before its miraculous effects kicked in. Given that Han Sha had been whipping me for the last few minutes, I gathered that the appropriate amount of time had indeed passed.
"But it's over now."
Raising his hand, Han Sha hurled his whips at me, ready to finish me off once and for all. Determined not to give up, I raised my sword defiantly to block the whips. But I knew that I would still inevitably take massive damage.
However, the whips never reached me.
Lightning bolts slammed down from the heavens and knocked away the whips. A single guy with brown hair landed on the ground, sending shockwaves that hurled both Han Sha and Pang Bai Shan back several meters. Slowly rising to his feet, he stood tall, lethal electricity wreathing his figure.
I gaped at him, not recognizing the newcomer. He was dressed stylishly, with a red shirt and long, golden scarf wrapped around his neck.
"Who…?"
"Qin Lie! That's Qin Lie!" It was Zhang Ping who answered me. He gaped at the guy dressed in red and with a golden scarf. "The number one ranked student in the Seven Stars List! What is he doing here?"
As if to reply, Qin Lie raised a hand, which crackled ferociously with lightning. He glared at Han Sha and Pang Bai Shan.
"You guys bullied my fellow Seven Stars Academy students while I wasn't around, haven't you?" He growled. The lightning that was dancing in his palm grew even more intense, as if reacting to his fury. "Good! Very good! I'm going to pay you guys back in full."