It was from the moment that the young master and his two companions emerged from the library that Zhou Baoxian was alerted to a very familiar aura. A very familiar, oppressive aura.
An oppressive aura that he had gotten used to connecting to violence.
"Well well well, so soon since I've come back and already, an old friend comes to meet me," Zhou Baoxian says, swallowing the cold feeling that was crawling up his throat as he puts on his usual smile.
Both he and Fang Zhiyong stopped and turned around to see three people walking up to them from behind in the corridor, standing side by side.
Fang Zhiyong had not the slightest clue who they were, yet could clearly see that the man standing in the middle was the more powerful one from the three. He seemed to radiate with it, his aura clearly visible yet transparent, like wind.
They're all in mid-stage Foundation Establishment. But it feels like the one in the middle's the only one who feels like an actual threat.
"And what honor do I, Zhou Baoxian, have to deserve the presence of the young master Ren?"
The man in the middle just scowled as he and his two companions stopped an appropriate distance away from the former squadron leader and his former squadron leader assistant.
"Those old geezers, all of their centuries must be finally getting to them," he, young master Ren, says. "Because no man in his right mind would willingly remove trash from the burner and even bring it back into his kitchen."
His voice was what could only be described as perfect. It was the perfect balance between shrill and deep, making it sound very pleasant. Yet even when rife with snark, it was authoritative. A voice truly suitable for an immortal.
Zhou Baoxian moved his hands behind his back as he seemed to stand a bit straighter. It was as if he was assuming the form of somebody with confidence.
"Trash, you say?" Baoxian asks. "I think that the blood and sweat we poured onto the battlefield out in the Midlands for our esteemed Illuminated Sword Sect is a pretty good contribution. And especially that ravine we captured. It's gotta be pretty important if the sect is willing to bring us all back to the main school just for winning it over, but I'm no expert."
His smile seemed to widen ever so slightly.
"How about you, young master Ren? As a son of one of the most esteemed families in the righteous sects, have you collected any claims of fame to your name? Or did you just use your family name to bully someone else into doing all of your mandatory quests after I left?"
The two men beside the young master gaped at Zhou Baoxian as a vein popped out from the young master's forehead.
"Hmph, it seems that you've already forgotten."
There was a whoosh, followed by several gusts of wind as young master Ren suddenly disappeared from his position between his two companions.
Young master Ren Jiang, the youngest of the Ren family's prized offspring, was born with an impressive latent talent. A latent talent so impressive that he blew right through the Illuminated Sword Sect's entrance exam with flying. His potential, however, allowed him to align with a codex that was above average even by the Illuminated Sword Sect's standards.
The Codex of the Windtamer. An ancient codex that allowed the practitioner's qi to flow through his body with the ease of wind flowing through his veins. By aligning himself with the very element of wind itself, the practitioner is not only able to manipulate the wind around him to a certain extent, his qi will assume the form of wind. It flowed through his dantians with the ease of wind flowing through tubes.
Thus, his body was able to adopt the nature and speed of wind while maintaining its usual sturdiness.
In just the amount of time it took to blink, he had suddenly appeared right in front of Zhou Baoxian.
With his right hand raised into the air, the palm of it directed at Baoxian. His aura blew against the former squadron leader's face.
He projected the image of a master about to punish his servant.
"I guess I need to remind you of what happens when you speak to me without permission."
By the time the young master's hand was about to hit Zhou Baoxian's cheek, Fang Zhiyong barely had time to even turn his head, much less try to react.
That hand collided with the side of Zhou Baoxian's face.
Yet, as it did, instead of the usual smack sound one would expect from a slap…
There was a buzz as he felt his hand collide with an invisible surface, blue sparks flying from seemingly nothing at the point of impact.
Ren Jiang stood there for a moment, his eyes wide with surprise, as if taking time to register that his hand was blocked. That surprise quickly transitions into anger.
"You dare block my hand?" he asks, anger creeping into his voice.
"Oh, oops!" Baoxian says cheerfully, his hands still hidden behind his back. "I didn't mean to, really! Here, why don't you try again? This time, I won't block it, I promise!"
The young master's anger increased at the mocking undertone in his voice. His eyes became red and slightly bloodshot.
He attempted to lift his hand from the translucent blue surface so he could raise it again, but found that…he couldn't.
His hand was stuck to the surface.
He tried again to pull back his hand, but found that he couldn't even move his arm.
Baoxian's smile widened ever so slightly.
"Oh, is something wrong?" he asks with faux concern, tapping his cheek with a finger innocently. "You're not retracting your hand! Oh, I think I know what's going on! Well, that must mean that…you're offering yourself for me to slap!"
The young master's eyes widened, his bloodshot eyes becoming even more bloodshot, as Zhou Baoxian raised his own hand.
"Don't you dare!"
Zhou Baoxian's hand was nothing more than a blur as he swung it around from his back.
The young master felt his hand detach from the translucent blue energy in front of Baoxian's face as feeling returned to his arm. He immediately retracted it and, mustering all the speed he could with his codex, attempted to back out of range…
But it was a hopeless endeavor. He was simply too close and Baoxian's hand was simply too fast.
A loud, clear smack rang throughout the corridor as Zhou Baoxian slapped the young master Ren across the cheek right before he could disappear.
The young master appeared back in his former place between his two servants, caressing his reddened cheek. His eyes were wide and bloodshot with anger as rage burned inside him like a roaring flame.
"Kill him!" he shouts, anger thick in his tone.
At their master's command, the two cultivators immediately shot forward.
The two of them were, put frankly as possible, simply inferior versions of the young master. Although they were weaker than him, they were still above average and just happened to align with the Codex of the Windtamer just like their master, a major reason as to why Ren's family had chosen them specifically to accompany him throughout his time at the sect.
Thus, just like him, they were capable of moving like the wind.
However, they are still weaker than him nonetheless, even if they did practice the same codex. They just simply weren't capable of the same speeds that he was capable of, even if they practiced the same codex.
Before the two of them could get close enough to attack Baoxian, Fang Zhiyong suddenly appeared in front of them, his arms raised as if aiming to block those sharp blades with just his limbs.
Yet, as their swords continued forward, they didn't slice through Zhiyong's flesh.
Instead, sparks flew as the blades bounced harmlessly off of his arms.
The two cultivators' eyes widened. They quickly reassumed their postures, standing a safe distance away from Fang Zhiyong.
"That's…!"
Translucent blue energy was enveloped around his raised arms, forming a protective barrier around them that repelled the cultivators' blades.
"Precise qi control?" one of them says.
Precise qi control, the name given to the ability to manipulate qi as if it were water. To have it assume whatever form that the user wished. It was almost entirely neglected by the Illuminated Sword Sect because not only did it take hundreds of years to effectively practice, even then, it was still far inferior to a codex. There were many incidents in which experts of precise qi control were completely destroyed by intermediate codex practitioners. Due to that, it was an almost entirely unexplored field, pushed aside by the fact of its recognized weakness.
However, to those who weren't able to align with a codex, it was the only way to stand on the same level as codex practitioners. Because it didn't require innate potential or latent talent, but hard work and dedication.
To those who were sent to the battlefield, finding ways to make something weak become powerful in their own way was necessary for survival.
Fang Zhiyong lowers his arms slightly, though still keeping them in a combative position. He draws his own sword from its sheath at his hip, its blade just as bright and sharp as his two opponents'.
"It doesn't matter if he can do precise qi control, he's still codexless trash," the other says. "Everyone can form a barrier with precise qi control. But how'd he react to our attack? And he even got between us before we could even get close enough to attack."
"It doesn't matter. He's still just trash without a codex. Dealing with him will take no effort."
Fang Zhiyong smiles.
"Is that really your opinion?" he asks. " Almost all of the 'experts' I've encountered out in the battlefields I've fought in thought the same, y'know. And I'm the one who's still breathing at this moment."
He takes a step forward, raising his sword and pointing it at the two. His eyes narrowed slightly, like a predator setting sight on his next meal.
The young master's eyes widened. The two cultivators beside him suddenly froze, shivers running down their spines. Killing intent prickled at their skin.
"Perhaps I'll send you two to the same place I sent them. As punishment for attempting to attack my squadron leader."