"Don't be nervous. I'm here to give both of you an offer." Chen Ning reassured Ma Xiao and Shui Chun, noticing they were sweating and visibly shaking.
"Your tribe elders took your Gu from you and even refused to put you in a team. So, basically, you don't have any choice other than going back to the normal academy life like the rest of the D-grades. But as I said, I have an offer for you. Are you interested?" he asked, as if they would say no.
"Yes, Elder, please tell us!" Ma Xiao was excited even though he didn't know the details yet. For the elder to come personally, it had to be good, right?
"Mhm. What about you?" Chen Ning nodded at him and turned to Shui Chun.
She stayed silent for a while, not knowing what to say. Feeling nervous in front of the elder and pressured by Ma Xiao's expectant eyes, she ended up nodding silently.
"Good. Come with me, and I will explain the situation on the way to the tribe," Chen Ning said, leading the way, presumably to the Lin tribe. They stopped briefly to pick up another student whom Ma Xiao recognized and was surprised to see.
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*BOOM*
In a forest close to the Ma tribe's gate, a lightning strike hit a tree, causing a loud explosion and sending the remnants tumbling to the ground. A mysterious figure clad in black clothes, covering every part of their body that could reveal their identity, ran swiftly through the forest.
'That was close... damn it!' she gritted her teeth, cursing the attacker. Though she had managed to dodge the previous attack, if it had landed on her, she would have probably died, without any Gu to protect herself, of course.
'That damned Ma Long Min! Why is he out here patrolling the middle of nowhere?' Even though it was close to the Ma tribe's main gate, she didn't expect someone as strong as Long Min to be guarding such a place.
'Isn't he supposed to be the genius of the Ma tribe or whatever... shit!' Her thoughts were interrupted again as another lightning strike shot towards her from behind.
She didn't panic. Realizing she couldn't dodge the attack this time, she activated her Gu worms. Inside her aperture was a Gu worm that looked like a silver-white pillar, shining with a majestic rainbow glitter. Its surface bore various intricate patterns and shapes, making it eye-catching. After a moment, a layer with the same patterns and shapes started forming on her skin.
*BOOM*
When the lightning struck her, a loud explosion occurred, sending her flying across the forest. Surprisingly, she didn't slow down; even after the explosion subsided, she continued to fly through the forest, gaining momentum and speed with every second.
"Hmm, that demonic bastard! Whoever they are, I have to admit they're crafty." Long Min said. He looked exactly like his brother Long Mei, but his eyes were clearer and his hair longer, a scar ran under his left eye.
"Huff... huff... what do you mean, Long Min?" a young woman asked from behind him, panting heavily. Long Min had clearly given his all while chasing that demonic Gu master.
"They know about the attack I used. They know it's not actually a lightning path attack but a strength path one, and that I can't use it repeatedly. So they were alert the moment they saw me because of that attack. But when I used it again, they were surprised. They probably let their guard down a little, which is why they couldn't dodge it again, but at the same time, they weren't flustered." Long Min explained.
"They even managed to make a plan to escape in the middle of a dangerous situation. I assume they activated some Gu worm that can handle lightning, probably with a movement killer move that can take advantage of the explosion I created." he added, explaining to the female guard.
"Oh, wow. I wonder who they are. To be able to turn such a dangerous situation around is amazing." she praised. "But why was someone that amazing hiding near our tribe's gate? Were they waiting to ambush someone, or was it just a coincidence?" she expressed her concern.
Long Min stayed silent for a while and then said. "It definitely wasn't a coincidence. If we hadn't gone on patrol, no one would have caught them. They were hiding their identity and fleeing the moment they saw us coming. They're definitely a demonic cultivator. We should inform the mission hall elder, the caravan elder, and even the academy elder to make sure everyone who goes outside the tribe is aware of this danger." He concluded and then headed straight back to the tribe.
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Meanwhile, in a cave far from the chase location, a young woman was sitting on the ground, breathing heavily as she treated herself. Her skin was a silvery white, shining with a rainbow glitter that, combined with her long white hair and jet-black eyes, made her look strangely beautiful.
Her black clothes from before were torn and charred by the attack she took head-on. Sitting practically naked in the middle of nowhere wasn't something she wanted, but she had no choice as her injuries were not light.
"Tsk, that bastard, why is he so strong?" she muttered angrily. "I spent the last week looking for an opportunity to strike the target, but he either wouldn't come out of the tribe or would stay so close to the gates that I couldn't get near him." She vented her anger with words but eventually calmed down and focused on treating her injuries.
The lightning had struck the left side of her body. Even though the layer created by her Gu worm absorbed most of the damage, she still had a couple of broken ribs, various bruises, and internal injuries.
She gritted her teeth, feeling angry again. "Why isn't he taking missions anyway? Isn't that the newest thing with the alliance? Is he not strong enough? But why would those guys want me to kill a nobody who can't take missions like them? Forget it. There's probably a reason why he isn't taking them. What I need to do now is wait for him to start taking missions again, as the Ma tribe will be more difficult to approach from now on." She calmed down again, focusing on how to accomplish her mission.
"Hmph, Ma Rue Bu, I, Jin Luo Niu, will make sure your final moments are hell on earth, courtesy of your tribesman Ma Long Min." she said shamelessly.
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Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Rue Bu tried his best to stay focused. Today was a crucial moment. After over three months of rigorous nourishing of his aperture walls, he finally felt ready to attempt a breakthrough. But something was bothering him.
'I'm usually not paranoid, but after what I heard today about that demonic cultivator, I feel uneasy.' He had planned to go into the forest tonight to breakthrough like he did previously, but after hearing Long Min's report, he decided against it. Especially since the location where they found the demonic cultivator was the same new spot he had chosen to cultivate in after the incident with Chen Yan. Staying home to cultivate instead was definitely the safest and smartest move.
'I don't even know why I prefer it outside. Anyway, at this rate, I won't be able to concentrate fully.' His mind was full of uneasiness and paranoia, making it hard to think straight. So he made a decision. 'Activate state of peace.'
Suddenly, his mind cleared, and he entered a state of transcendence. He could think clearly, and nothing affected his thoughts as before. Knowing that time was crucial, he wasted no time and immediately started attacking the walls of his aperture.
The currents and waves of his primeval essence crashed into the watery walls that were so condensed, they almost looked like a watery dragon flowing majestically around his aperture, trapping it and not letting it advance any further.
*BAM* *BAM* *BAM*
Crash after crash, the walls shook, the tremors growing more intense with every wave of primeval essence he used. But Rue Bu didn't let it affect his mind. He wasn't there yet; there was still a long way to go.
After almost two hours of relentlessly attacking the walls of his aperture, they finally began to give in.
*CRACK*
A small crack formed in one part of his aperture. Excitement surged through him. After more than three months of stagnation, he was finally making progress.
'Calm down, calm down, Rue Bu!' He didn't let it distract him, knowing how dangerous it was to lose focus now. He calmed his mind and concentrated all his attention and effort on the crack, working to expand it and create more cracks in various locations on his aperture wall to facilitate the breakthrough.
*CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK*
A bright light shone on his primeval essence sea, emanating from his aperture walls as they collapsed. Various chunks fell away, giving way to a new aperture wall, signifying his success. He had done it.
"Rank one upper stage! I feel exhausted." He mumbled as he succumbed to fatigue, falling asleep immediately.
Even though it was just another minor achievement in the grand Gu master cultivation journey, for Rue Bu, who had just started less than half a year ago, it was a huge milestone. Especially when the rest of the B-grades in all three tribes weren't even close to advancing yet.