The guard soldier's face turned unsightly after hearing the last three words uttered by Ning Cheng. Hesitating for a moment, he still went to open the door and said, "The door is open. If you want to leave, then go. If you don't leave, I'll close it again."
As long as Ning Cheng dared to take a single step back, he would immediately close the door. After all, Ning Cheng had asked him to open it, and he had done so; if Ning Cheng was unwilling to leave, then it wouldn't be his fault if anything happened.
No choice left to him, Ning Cheng turned around, glaring fiercely at the two guards before walking out of the college's rear gate with dissatisfaction.
From the moment Ning Cheng approached that group of guard soldiers to the instant he stepped out through the small gate, Ji Luofei's heart had been hanging by a thread. She could not have imagined that Ning Cheng would dare to be so bold, using a broom card like that. If they were discovered, the two of them would have no place to be buried. It wasn't because of the soldiers; if they clashed with them, they would never be able to get away.
Once out of the small gate, Ning Cheng did not hastily run off but stopped and pointed at the words "fighting ring," saying, "Luo Fei, if my cultivation ever succeeds, I will definitely wipe out this fighting ring."
Ji Luofei might not be as quick-thinking as Ning Cheng, but she was also smart. As soon as Ning Cheng mentioned the fighting ring, she immediately understood. Ning Cheng knew she had fought in the fighting ring; her heart warmed at the thought.
"Let's go. This is no place for us to linger. I'm not too familiar with the outside here. Luo Fei, lead the way," Ning Cheng said with a smile to Ji Luofei after leaving Cang Qin College and feeling a sense of relief.
"Okay." Ji Luofei nodded, knowing that this was not the time to hesitate. She quickened her pace, leading Ning Cheng through the bustling market. In just a few minutes, she brought him to an extremely secluded alley.
Even while fleeing, doubts filled Ji Luofei's heart: how had Ning Cheng become so calm and composed? After a long hesitation, she decided to ask Ning Cheng. But before she could speak, Ning Cheng was the one to ask, "Luo Fei, I've always had a question. In the big plaza, with nearly a hundred thousand people, how did you manage to find me so quickly?"
There was another question Ning Cheng had not asked: where had Ji Luofei gone after he stayed in the cultivation tower, and why hadn't she come to find him?
Just as Ji Luofei hesitated with her reply, she suddenly felt Ning Cheng abruptly pull her aside, and then a streak of white light shot past where she had been standing. Her face changed as two men appeared in front of her and Ning Cheng.
Seeing the taller and shorter pair of male cultivators, Ji Luofei's heart sank immediately. She recognized them—two strong men from the Xian family, both at Gathering Qi Level 6. With her own strength at Gathering Qi Level 3 and Ning Cheng's at Level 1, escaping was absolutely impossible.
"Huh, just a mere Gathering Qi Level 1, and yet such quick reactions," the taller male cultivator exclaiming in surprise, as Ning Cheng's response was even faster than Ji Luofei's.
It was only then that Ji Luofei recalled that her reaction had not been as quick as Ning Cheng's, but at that moment, she had no inclination to ponder such matters. She urgently said, "Ning Cheng, hurry up and go. I'll hold them off for a while..."
"A mere Level 3 Gathering Qi dares to talk about holding us back. Think you can run after killing Young Master Yuan Kui? Consider for yourself how you should die more peacefully," the taller male cultivator said dismissively.
After a brief panic, Ning Cheng instead calmed down and said in a deep voice, "Luo Fei, you know my talent. After you leave, just remember to avenge me later; I don't want to die without someone to seek revenge."
The two Xian family cultivators didn't wait for Ning Cheng to finish speaking before they made their move, sending several wind blades to block off all escape routes for Ning Cheng and Ji Luofei. Both men then took out magical artifacts but did not attack, clearly intending to capture them alive.
Ning Cheng, who had never fought against anyone, realized just how far behind he was from someone at Gathering Qi Level 6; the difference wasn't simply a matter of level. He even had difficulty dodging those wind blades, not to mention letting Ji Luofei escape.
...
"A Six-Foot White Golden Spirit Root..." Almost everyone standing behind the stage rose to their feet, and the grey-robed male cultivator named Wen Qilue from the Meteor Star Five Star College was particularly shaken with excitement.
Jiang Tu stood before the Ling Root Testing Device at that moment, his hand placed on it, and a white beam of light, as thick as a child's arm and over six feet tall, emerged on the crystal column of the device. There were no tiny lines of light next to the white beam; only a golden circle at the base of the white column.
"Haha, I didn't expect Cang Qin College to have such a genius. Good, good, this visit was indeed not in vain. By the way, what's your name?" An overwhelmed Wen Qilue walked onto the stage, speaking amiably to Jiang Tu.
Jiang Tu bowed respectfully and replied, "If I may address my senior, my name is Jiang Tu."
"Good, good... from now on, you are a student of the Meteor Star Five Star College. There's no need to continue the challenge. Who were you challenging just now?" Wen Qilue continued with several affirming words before inquiring whom Jiang Tu was planning to challenge.
"It was Yong Ruili." Jiang Tu answered honestly.
Wen Qilue nodded and turned to Yong Ruili, who had already come out to accept the challenge, "You've been eliminated. You may step down."
Yong Ruili's face was extremely unsightly, but she had no choice but to bow respectfully before turning away somberly to leave the arena. She was well aware that even as a princess of Cang Qin Country, she was worth nothing in front of this gray-robed figure.
"Jiang Tu, would you be willing to become my personal disciple?" Wen Qilue asked Jiang Tu with a pleasant demeanor after directing Yong Ruili to step down from the arena.
Jiang Tu hurriedly bowed again and replied, "Jiang Tu pays respect to Master."
Wen Qilue laughed heartily and directly handed a small leather pouch to Jiang Tu, saying, "This is a welcoming gift from your master."
"Brother Wen, you're really generous, giving out a storage pouch already. Once Jiang Tu returns to the academy, it's possible that one of the academy's elders will want to take him as a disciple," remarked another man from the Meteorite Academy, his face rigid, at an inopportune moment.
Wen Qilue didn't mind at all, "If you're envious of me, just say so, there are many students here, you can look for your own, maybe you'll also find a satisfactory disciple to take back."
Of course, Wen Qilue said this with pride, clearly not expecting another disciple with a pure spirit root to emerge from Cang Qin Academy.
However, the other two persons from Meteorite Academy really did release their divine senses. They were Building Foundation Realm cultivators, and at Building Foundation Realm one was already capable of releasing divine senses. The other male cultivator didn't see anyone he deemed worthy, but the woman in the lotus-colored skirt embroidered with golden patterns suddenly stood up.
"Yao He, what is it?" Wen Qilue and the other Building Foundation Realm male cultivator both noticed the woman's anomaly and quickly inquired.
The woman called Yao He huffed coldly and actually summoned a blue lotus-shaped mystic artifact, then leaped onto it, instantly flying away from the arena.
"A flying artifact." The students of Cang Qin Academy immediately became restless, as they viewed a flying artifact as even rarer than a disciple with a pure spirit root. In the secondary academy of Cang Qin, there were only two flying artifacts. Normally, students who wanted to go to Daan Forest or to the Mango Sea Area for training had to ride a beast carriage for an entire month.
.....
Ning Cheng pressed one hand against his blood-stained chest and supported Ji Luofei with the other, his heart ice cold. He knew that today he would definitely not escape unharmed, he simply didn't know whether he could return to Earth after death. His sister must be anxious about not finding him for a while, right? Ning Cheng looked at the azure sky, his thoughts lingering on Ruolan.
Watching Ning Cheng gaze blankly into the distance, Ji Luofei also understood that any further resistance was just to endure more humiliation. For a moment, she forgot her imminent death and suddenly asked, "Ning Cheng, when you said you could not marry me before, was it because I'm ugly?"
Ning Cheng turned his head and suddenly smiled, "Luo Fei, you're not ugly. It's because we're from different worlds."
There was another thing Ning Cheng didn't say, he preferred being with Ji Luofei, and now he was somewhat resistant to beautiful women. Besides his sister Ruolan, all beautiful women were like a deep and unfathomable sea. You never knew when they would suddenly turn on you with a knife, without any reason. Even a gentle woman like Tian Muwan couldn't avoid it, let alone others.
Ji Luofei fell silent, she didn't understand Ning Cheng's meaning, they truly weren't from the same world. She thought Ning Cheng meant she would eventually have to leave Cang Qin Country, hence they were from different worlds.
"What about now? We're both going to die," Ji Luofei said just as a long whip came lashing towards them. She and Ning Cheng didn't even have the power to resist, and could only watch helplessly as the whip came to ensnare them both.
With two muffled "thuds," in the next moment, the Gathering Qi Level 6 cultivator who had whipped towards Ning Cheng and Ji Luofei was sent flying by a tremendous force and smashed against a nearby boulder, immediately spitting out a mouthful of blood. At the same moment, another Gathering Qi Level 6 cultivator who had not taken action was similarly sent flying and crashed into another boulder, also spitting out blood.
"Senior..." The two Gathering Qi cultivators were grievously injured in just a breath's time by the newcomer, even their meridians were damaged, instantly struck with terror. Both of them realized that the person who had intervened was far more powerful than them.
Ning Cheng and Ji Luofei regained their composure only to see a fierce-looking woman standing before them.
Ning Cheng recognized the woman at first glance; she was one of the teachers from the Meteorite Five Star Academy who had come to recruit disciples at Cang Qin Academy. But why had she suddenly appeared here? And why did she help them?
"What is your name?" the woman asked Ji Luofei, who was being supported by Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng's heart stirred; he had felt that this woman bore some resemblance to Ji Luofei, could it be that she was really related to Ji Luofei?
(Second release of the day, asking for recommendation and support, good night!)
...