When the unknown boy entered the carriage without further words, Kaelen redirected his gaze to Qiang Jun and the others.
"If you don't mind me asking, senior brother, who was that boy and are the people in the carriage with you guys?" Tang Hao probed, still looking at the carriage.
Usually, specific clans would use a trademark vehicle that would announce their name and identity. With some general knowledge, one could tell which clan or factions the people inside belonged to. For this reason, when you see a special-looking carriage, you can usually expect it to be members of a powerful clan. To reduce confusion, some clans even prohibit the usage and manufacture of similar carriages to theirs.
As the third prince of the Coiling Dragon Empire, Tang Hao naturally knew of all the major clans and their specific traveling modes. "I know that the Jin Clan travels in a Golden Qilin carriage, while the Qiang Clan uses a White Profound Boa Carriage, and the Xue Clan has an Ice Phoenix Carriage. Though there are more clans in the empire, there are none with a dragon and phoenix carriage, and that boy specifically didn't ring any bells. I may not know everyone in the empire, but such a notable boy would not have been unknown." He thought.
Qiang Jun shook his head and said, "No, we encountered them on the road. I'm not certain who they are, but it seems we're currently heading in a similar direction."
Kaelen's eyebrow raised as he heard this. "So they aren't from the Coiling Dragon Empire most likely… the same direction?"
Kaelen began to wonder where the carriage was headed, but as his mind speculated on the many possibilities, a tremor shook the earth, and wisps of terrible black gold energy undulated.
"ROAR!!!!"
A titanic beast shadow elevated and towered over the surrounding trees. From where everyone stood, they could only see its large and burly golden-furred back. From the sight, they could distinguish monkey-like traits. The beast was roaring at the sky, surprisingly splitting apart clouds with its sheer voice. It lifted its massive right arm, which seemed to be holding a ten-meter-long black staff.
The tall golden-haired beast, coupled with its indomitable aura and mighty staff, formed an unforgettable picture which many of the onlookers would remember for the rest of their lives. The divine ape held a demonic staff as it roared at the heavens.
"Wh- what the hell is that?" Finally, many of the students and mercenaries reacted and began to panic.
"I don't know, but I'm not itching to find out." Some were more terrified than others and began running.
"Stop!! We must stay together, you do not want to get lost inside the inner layers. Everyone, follow me. We need to hide somewhere, quick." Qiang Jun, who was at the head of the group, swiftly led the rest towards a cave not too far.
"You guys, come with us. No matter how talented, you cannot face that beast at all—hurry and follow us." While he ran and led the others, he turned and shouted towards Kaelen and the rest, who were still dumbfoundedly staring at the tyrannical Divine Ape.
Thorin and Raizel both looked toward Kaelen, who was still staring at the divine ape.
"Kai, what do we do?" Raizel first asked. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he still had an unbothered look on his face. Xue Qing, who stood beside him, had a serious expression on her face as she looked gravely at the ferocious shadow.
"That beast…" she murmured.
Raizel heard her murmur and turned towards her. "Little Qing, what is it? Wait—don't tell me you're terrified of that beast as well? Ahaha." He jokingly said.
"What do you mean 'don't tell me you're terrified?' Of course she is and rightfully so," Tang Hao interjected, with cold sweat dripping down the side of his chubby face.
Raizel shook his head and turned towards the divine ape's back. "Although that beast is very powerful, there's no need for us to react to it. Can't you see that, up there?" He pointed up to the sky. Following his finger, Xue Qing and Tang Hao barely saw anything at first. However, after staring for a moment, they noticed a yellow and green shadow falling from the sky. It was surrounded by many red shards of blood that fell along with it.
Seeing it, Tang Hao and Xue Qing finally understood why Raizel wasn't panicking yet. It seemed the ape was fighting another beast at the moment, so it wouldn't care for puny humans right now.
"Let's go, guys. The Pristine Heart Root is that way. If we're gonna get it, we'll need to go through that monster. Now is the best time for that." Kaelen turned to them and said before turning into a golden flaming shadow, flashing towards the divine ape. He was using the Golden Crow's Divine Ascension movement technique. Being at the Heaven Grade, the technique was extremely difficult for others to master, yet he hadn't faced any barriers learning it. Over the last months of training and battling, he had actually reached initial mastery.
Thorin and Raizel both turned into rose and purple shadows respectively as they activated their movement techniques. Though theirs were a grade lower than Kaelen's, they had both reached full mastery, so their speed was just a bit slower than Kaelen's.
Xue Qing followed along next, leaving Tang Hao to stand by himself.
"Wa-wait, you guys! Fuck!!" The latter hesitated for a moment. "Awouuuuu." In this jet-black night, with no one around him but the dragon-phoenix carriage, he heard a terrible wolf howl that sent chills down his spine.
"Ahhh!! Wait for me." Tang Hao immediately screamed from the top of his lungs; you could clearly see the back of his mouth vibrating. He turned into a yellow light himself and rushed towards the divine ape.
…
"Hu-hu-hu…"
A bit farther away, Qiang Jun and the others had reached the cave and all gasped for breath.
"Everyone, gather up." Sister Lan came forward, her dress slightly drenched with sweat. She swiftly looked around and noticed a few missing people. She grit her teeth and immediately looked at Qiang Jun, who similarly had an ugly expression.
"These f*ckin' kids." He growled and was just about to run back but was stopped by Lan Xueyi.
"Sister Lan, I can't leave them by themselves knowing what just happened; if anything were to happen to Maiden Xue Qing and the third prince, I won't be able to face the second and first prince." He said with a grave look.
"Brother Jun, I can't protect them by myself. We ran deeper into the forest, so we may face demonic beasts like the one just now. I'm going to need you." Lan Xueyi retorted.
Qiang Jun gritted his teeth even harder as he was faced with a dilemma.
"Besides, they saw us run but didn't follow, and those kids aren't stupid. If they didn't follow us, then there must be a legitimate reason why." She added in an attempt to put him at ease.
Hearing this, Qiang Jun went silent and thought that she had a point.
"..." Just as he was about to speak, a huge explosion occurred from where they had just run from.
"Oh no!" He took a step and in an instant landed on top of tall tree, he looked into the distance, only to barely see in the totally pitch-black forest.
All he could see was a flash of yellow and green clashing, causing the surroundings to shake. The divine ape seemed to be fighting another powerful beast.
Seeing the two demonic beasts fight, he understood what the kids decided to do, but even so, he couldn't help but curse in his mind.
"These audacious idiots, even if the two beasts are fighting, the shockwaves caused by two stage six or higher demonic entities is not something elemental resonance and innate spirit kids can withstand." He mumbled before exhaling loudly and jumping back down.
He looked at everyone and said, "The divine ape we saw was fighting an unknown powerful beast. The third prince and his friends probably took that as a chance and ran past the battle zone. Since we are not necessarily in a much better position, I've decided that it's best we stay together and go along with the initial plan for this expedition and hope to encounter the third prince and the others in a few days."
The other disciples and the five mercenaries looked at each other and murmured.
"Are those kids idiots? Willingly entering the battle zone of that terrifying ape is tantamount to suicide." Someone couldn't help but softly say.
"Right." Others couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Listening to the comments, Qiang Jun went silent and could only pray that the kids stay alive.
…
Back to the main group.
Kaelen and the others were like strings of light as they sped past the tumultuous surroundings. They swiftly made their way through the battlefield and covered their auras as much as possible to not attract the beast's attention.
Of course, though they were focused on escaping, the young martial artists couldn't help but gaze at the battle that shook the land and sky. Having traversed hundreds of meters in a few seconds, everyone could more clearly see the body of the divine ape. Its golden fur swayed with the wind, and the dark black metal staff in its hand exuded an eerie atmosphere.
Buzzing noises could be seen surrounding the metal staff, causing the void to tremble ever so slightly. With his piercing vision, Kaelen saw the earth-shattering force that was released by the staff.
"That vibration… A martial technique? No—that's a skill born from weapon mastery." Kaelen took a deep breath while analyzing the staff. Despite his attention being there, he didn't slow down his speed and led everyone towards the area where the Pristine Heart Root had germinated.
"Monstrous beasts that can learn martial arts are extremely rare. Normally, they use innate skills inscribed within their bloodlines, passed down by their ancestors. To learn its own skill means that ape is endowed with very high spirituality: Its bloodline, whatever it is, must be extremely pure." Kaelen looked at the ape with slight admiration from a distance.
The others similarly observed the divine ape in awe at its valiant appearance and the might it unleashed.
"That ape seems to be fighting a bird-type beast. The other party must be near its level in order to not be completely blown to pieces by the staff." Thorin said in a slightly rushed voice, which could not be helped as everyone was running at a reasonable speed.
Indeed, the green light had fallen back down, and one could clearly see what it was—a green divine bird with a pair of gem-like blue eyes. It was quite large, about the size of a small house, but still considerably shorter than the towering divine ape. Naturally, birds have length normally on their wings, not their bodies. As such, the divine bird spread its large wings as it hovered above the divine ape.
Just its wing was about the same size as its total body, with a mix of majestic sapphire and emerald-colored feathers embellishing the already gorgeous imperial beast. The light of the moon for a few miles seemed to be blocked by the sheer wingspan of the bird.
"Screeeeechh."
An azure light flashed in its bright blue eyes before it unleashed a terrible screech that shook the void, uprooting dozens of trees around the battlefield before descending on the divine ape with a powerful claw.
"Tearr!!!"
Space seemed to be torn apart as Kaelen and the others saw a slight distortion on the path of the claw. Seeing the incoming attack, the divine ape snorted and swiftly lifted its great staff.
"Woosh! Woosh!!" It wielded it masterfully and with immense strength despite its obvious weight, doing a few spins as it charged its attack, awaiting the claw.
When the given moment arrived, and the claw was about to reach its face, the divine ape swung its great staff violently and collided with the claw. A golden metal shine traversed its even brighter fur to merge with the pitch-black staff, giving it an additional godly splendor and imbuing its attack with a heavy might.
"Boomm!!!"
The two attacks collided, causing an eruption of aura that destroyed a mile's worth of land. Soon the power wave reached Kaelen and the others, who immediately reacted.
"Crap! Everyone, on the ground!!" Tang Hao screamed and him and everyone jumped face down on the soil.