"Acid Rain, Lu Xie!" Bai Lian shouted.
A laughter came, "Junior sister Bai Lian, let's all take it easy so we might meet again. The two juniors are only going out to get some fresh air. What's the harm in that?"
Whoosh~
A youth in green floated down, his smile twisted, and his power making even Bai Lian falter back five steps.
[He got even stronger!]
Bai Lian squinted.
Chi Feng was overjoyed, "Senior brother Lu Xie, you're out of seclusion. What great timing!"
"Ha-ha-ha, I've been out for a while now and I'm only here now to help." Lu Xie snickered, "You do your job and I'll handle mine. And that's to get you out of here."
Chi Feng bobbed his head, "Ha-ha-ha, senior brother Lu Xie is Venerable Shi's prized pupil. We're on the same side!"
Lu Xie nodded and turned to the frosty Bai Lian, "Junior sister, with me in the 9th layer of Radiant Stage and you being in the 8th, there's no way you can win. I am not one to be lenient in my attacks but out of respect for Venerable Bai, I hope you won't fight me and will let them go."
While each one of them had a bigshot behind them, neither wanted to take things too far. As disciples, incurring the wrath of an elder or venerable, even when under Sect Leader's protection, they would still suffer the consequences.
The sect's rule stating they couldn't kill disciples might protect them if they went after some nobody disciples.
While killing the precious kin of some elder would leave them with no place to hide.
All that was left to do against a madman bent on taking you down with him was to give in and die.
That being said, while all elites were savages and cruel, they knew when to stop.
Like now for instance, Lu Xie had Venerable Shi behind him, but killing Venerable Bai's granddaughter would render Venerable Shi's protection useless.
Bai Lian took a deep breath and shouted, "Lu Xie, the three venerables have asked us to patrol the barrier and stop anyone who exits it. You know me well enough to know that I'm not going to stop just because of a few words."
"Ha-ha-ha, true."
Lu Xie chuckled, "I'd have let this one go if it were any other time, but oh well."
Lu Xie's eyes hardened and he shot a green whirlwind at Bai Lian.
The pressure took her breath away, even more so when the acid within could even melt her bones.
The caustic scent spread its foul odor everywhere.
Bai Lian faltered three steps, coming to an impasse.
She knew Lu Xie was going easy or he'd be striking with something she couldn't cope with, without even giving her a chance to breathe.
Lu Xie wanted her to get lost. [If you can't even stop this, scram!]
Bai Lian felt even more morose, just this first strike showed the gap between their levels.
Lu Xie snickered at her difficultly, the mockery enraging Bai Lian.
"Lu Xie, your arrival won't change a thing!"
The shout announced the arrival of a yellow light shooting from the ground, meeting the green whirlwind and scattering it.
Earth Canopy!
Crack!
Lu Xie was pushed two steps back with a dark face.
Whoosh~
A youth in gray with sharp features, blue eyes, pointy nose and thick lips, as well as large ears, stood next to Bai Lian.
The mood of the other three sank.
Lu Xie gnashed his teeth, "Qi Changlong! You're out too?"
"Just in time too. Who else can stop your murderous tendencies, Lu Xie?"
Qi Changlong snorted and barked at the pair, "You two, I know what you've done and Fiend Yin warned me that you'll be up to something. You won't get to touch Labor Office again! "
"Big words for someone who's alone. You can't stop all of us."
Lu Xie glared, "Qi Changlong, it's time for me to take that best elite title from you, here and now!"
Qi Changlong mocked, "Lu Xie, you've been after it for a while now, a shame you'll never have it."
"We'll know after we fight. You're no match for me after my seclusion. I will take that best elite title and after the Double Dragon Gathering, I'll become the Sect Leader's successor!"
"Go ahead and try!" Qi Changlong snorted.
The two were at odds, ready to come to blows at any second.
Chi Feng and Yujuan tensed. This was a fight to settle the next Sect Leader. Lu Xie was always one step short of beating Qi Changlong but had always worked hard to overcome this small gap.
The two ended up as Lu Xie's supporters, [Give him hell, senior brother!]
Then they thought better of it.
[Wait, we gotta go humiliate laborers, not join this bustle!]
"Uhm, senior brother Lu Xie, maybe you should first figure out how to get us out…" Chi Feng began.
A loud bang cutting him off was the answer for him as the barrier above them shook and broke, as the bright sun's rays shined on the five elites.
Eyes twitching, the five's hostilities ceased right away, "Someone broke the barrier!"
Whoosh!
A thin figure came over while they were still out of it, "Uhm, pardon me, but could you point me in the direction of Chi Feng and Pang Yujuan?"
After another round of eye twitching, they looked at the sloppy guy in shabby clothes, carrying a broom and smiling kindly.
"W-who are you?" Bai Lian sized him up, but all she got was a 1st layer Radiant Stage's vibes and that made her relax.
The guy scratched his nose, "Ha-ha-ha, oh where are my manners. I am the boss of Labor Office, Zhuo Fan. You can just call me the coolest, best laborer the Demon Scheming Sect has ever seen, Steward Zhuo. We're holding an apology banquet, you know? With seventh and second elders already present, how can we miss the stars of the show, Chi Feng and Yujuan? Ha-ha-ha, the feast will never achieve its height without them. "
"So you're that rotten waste Zhuo Fan! Did you not get your face slapped hard enough that you thought to turn the other cheek forward?"
Yujuan mocked, "The guiding venerables feared that we'll make a scene at the banquet and had us stuck here. Yet you punk, have just waltzed in. Ha-ha-ha, you've come right into my lap!"
"You've really opened my eyes as well!" Chi Feng pipped in.
Zhuo Fan smiled back, "I take it that you're the two brats?"
"And what if we are? Are you going to bang your head and beg yours truly to go to that dump again and smack you some more?" Pang Yujuan snickered.
Chi Feng laughed alongside her.
Zhuo Fan grinned, "Oh, you've understood it all wrong. This apology banquet is for second and seventh elders in particular."
"Ain't that the same? They're our grandpas and we're the main stars here." Yujuan stuck her chin out.
Zhuo Fan shook his head with a smile, "Oh no no no, you've completely misunderstood me. We're apologizing to the elders alone. Because, you know, their precious grandchildren are about to die at my hand."
Zhuo Fan's eyes took on a savage glint, his face hardened as he looked at his prey with a grin.
Hu~
A domeneering wave swept everyone, like solidified bloodthirst, like an unending flood coming to drown them, like the world crashing down on them.
Their hearts were stricken with utter disbelief at this display.
Some fresh Radiant Stage nobody laborer just released a more savage aura than their masters.
[Who the hell is this guy?]
The more they looked into Zhuo Fan's eyes the worse they felt, like facing a peak Radiant Stage expert.
"Zhuo Fan, you two bit filthy laborer would dare come to the elite area? Suicidal much?" Chi Feng threatened while shying two steps away.
His cawing had the same tone and attitude, yet even a blind man could tell that he was running away. Why else would he waste time prattling instead of outright fighting?
Monologuing only cemented his cowardice; all bark and no bite. A true boss on his turf would not just stand by and attack at once!
All this while, Zhuo Fan had a creepy little smile on his face and shook his head in utter disappointment.
All of them were at a standstill, with no one moving a muscle.
[What the hell?! Whose turf is this again?] Near peak Radiant Stage experts are just standing by, instead of attacking a fresh Radiant Stage cultivator.
Yet the ones affected by the flood of bloodthirst found it totally appropriate. Their instincts were screaming at them that this guy was no pushover.
Chi Feng reacted the worst of them all. He was sweating like a pig from the eerie vibe that he was getting, that not even Gui Hu could match. Gui Hu's power wasn't focused, while this guy unleashed it all upon them with impunity.
After fighting Gui Hu and meeting Zhuo Fan, Chi Feng came to learn the meaning of 'worlds apart'. If Gui Hu was merely a wolf's pup, this guy was a demon having gone through thousands of killing fields.
[It's obvious now that this kid isn't the Sect Leader's aide for nothing.]
Chi Feng's heart was a mess.
Zhuo Fan grinned as he watched them, "You two made quite a scene a few days ago at the Labor Office and even said it was the Labor Office's challenge."
"So what? Aren't you apologizing for it?" Yujuan screamed her moral high ground, even while she shifted ever so slowly behind Chi Feng.
Zhuo Fan nodded, "True, I admit to everything. As for what comes next, it's not important. Ha-ha-ha, since you proclaim that the laborers disrespect their betters, here I am disrespecting you all. By sect's rules, when a low status fights another disciple of higher status, the capital punishment isn't pursued. So, are you coming at me all at once or one at a time?"
Zhuo Fan eyed the couple, holding the broom over his shoulder.
Yet those eyes drove fear into the two's hearts. Fresh Radiant Stage cultivation aside, that thick bloodthirst was a blatant sign of what was about to happen.
"Zhuo Fan, there may be such a rule, but since it's outside of any competition, they can refuse your challenge. And since you've burst into the elite area, you've broken the rules. It is you who has some answering to do!" Lu Xie shouted.
Zhuo Fan raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
Since he couldn't ascertain Zhuo Fan's capabilities, he tried shielding the couple. By saying this, he was actually alluding that Zhuo Fan would have to fight the entire elite area. [Let's fight if you want, but can you take all of us?]
Would Zhuo Fan shake in his boots due to some scamps?
Zhuo Fan put on his most condescending and demeaning smile as he taunted them, "Stop barking and fight already. Aren't there more of you? Don't worry, I will take full responsibility, since this time… it's the truth."
[Cocky prick!]
Their faces shook with annoyance and this comment made them all see him as an enemy, even the earlier in-fighting stopped.
[We don't give a flying damn about those two but how dare you come to challenge the elite area? What do you take us for, dirt?]
[Though he is a weird one.]
Qi Changlong and Bai Lian looked at Zhuo Fan with hostility.
Lu Xie had a smug smile, [The fool has dug his own grave by challenging everyone.]
[No matter how freaky he is, no fresh Radiant Stage cultivator can take on all elites!]
[And when those foolish laborers hear of this, they'll never set foot here. Ha-ha-ha, two birds with one stone!]
Lu Xie cackled in his delusions as his eyes shone with an eerie green glow. The couple now had some good shoulders to lean on and shed all their fear.
Whoosh~
What came next were tens of people in fancy clothes surrounding the scene. One of them cupped his hands at them and said, "Seniors, this guy just broke the elite area's barrier. We were just about to capture him but he moved too fast. Thank you seniors for holding him down."
"Breaking the sect's barriers isn't how you challenge one's seniors." Lu Xie grinned having found Zhuo Fan's weakness, "Even if we kill you now, the Sect Leader can't touch us."
Zhuo Fan saw through him and laughed, "True, if you can kill me that is."
"Ha-ha-ha, not me, but us!" Lu Xie took it upon himself to share this responsibility with everyone present. On one hand he'd finish the job master had for him, to threaten the Sect Leader and on the other hand, he'd get away scott free, "Don't just stand there, attack! Capture him dead or alive!"
The oblivious newcomers obeyed without second guessing his motivations or the fact that he was using them.
What good would come from shedding Sect Leader's aide's blood anyway?
Lu Xie knew it all too well and let others do the dirty work.
Zhuo Fan snorted and his broom shifted, "I said I've come to challenge the elite area, so all of you come at once. Sending some nobodies won't even make me break a sweat."
Whoosh~
A mere sweep of the broom, covered in a red glow of course, had the space whistling.
Then came the bang.
The dozens of Radiant Stage experts felt as if something slammed in their chests and coughed blood as they got flung into the air. They soon made intimate contact with the pavement, landing out cold.
It happened so fast, they couldn't even figure out how they got beaten.
Sss~
The main six gasped in shock at Zhuo Fan's outrageous show of strength.
[Dozens of Radiant Stage experts defeated in one blow? No way!]
[How is he just a fresh Radiant Stage cultivator?]
The couple started shivering all over, incredulous that the worthless Labor Office would hide such a monster.
Their knees softened and they slumped to the ground.
Zhuo Fan eyed the two with a creepy smile, "You came into my turf to harm and kill my fellow disciples. Today I will make you pay by taking your worthless heads with me!"
Zhuo Fan shot for the two, his overwhelming aura stopping them from even taking a stand.
Like deers in the headlights, their minds blanked, forgetting they had a good pair of legs under them to run with.
"Wait, uh, they're elites like us. You can't harm them!" Qi Changlong's sense of duty kicked in as he scrounged up the courage to face Zhuo Fan and struck by sending a yellow glow from his palms.
It had the hardness of a rock and the power of the earth.
And Zhuo Fan handled it with a broom sweep, crushing the glow and hitting Qi Changlong in the chest.
Pff!
Qi Changlong coughed up blood and was ashen.