Chapter 125 Mu Changge
The young man had just obtained a great Opportunity, so his vigilance had inevitably dropped. Coupled with his confidence as a "Child of Fortune," he did not restrain his Nascent Soul Aura at all.
The three flew rapidly, swift as lightning, crossing several rugged mountain ridges filled with strange rocks and biting gales. They also carefully skirted around a few deep valleys that were nests for giant beasts, places with obscure Auras and faint, heart-palpitating roars.
However, just as they swept past a relatively flat clearing in the forest where dark purple ironwood grew, and were about to cross the final low mountain ridge to see the edge of the forest in the distance—
An unexpected change occurred!
About a hundred zhang away, perched atop an ancient ironwood tree that would require ten people to encircle, a black-clad figure leaned casually against the thick trunk, looking as if he had been waiting there for a long time.
It was none other than Xiao Ming.
He did not deliberately emit any Aura, and a faint, inscrutable smile hung at the corners of his mouth. Yet, his abrupt appearance, along with his composed and slightly playful gaze, made the three speeding figures' hearts jolt. Their flight lights stopped instantly, and they hovered in mid-air, looking vigilantly at the uninvited guest ahead.
The two guards flashed instantly, shielding the young man in the middle from left and right. Gleaming weapons had already appeared in their hands, their eyes sharp as knives. Spiritual power surged around them, locking onto the black-clad figure under the tree. This person's appearance was too bizarre; not one of them had detected him in advance!
The young man frowned slightly, a trace of displeasure and vigilance rising in his heart. He swept his gaze over Xiao Ming, and seeing that the other party had an extraordinary bearing and a handsomeness that made even him feel a bit jealous, a trace of hostility inexplicably arose in his heart.
But he felt that his own strength was extraordinary and superior, and he was a Child of Fortune, so naturally, he was not afraid.
Before the three could speak, Xiao Ming, who was leaning against the tree, spoke first.
The playful smile on his face deepened. His gaze landed precisely on the face of the young man in the lead. After looking him up and down carefully, he sighed slowly and said in a loud voice, using a tone mixed with regret, curiosity, and a hint of... charlatan-like certainty:
"Fellow Daoist, please stop!"
The voice was not loud, but it carried a peculiar penetrating power.
The three frowned upon hearing this. The young man in the lead subconsciously replied, "What is it?" His tone was guarded and impatient.
Xiao Ming did not answer. Instead, he extended a finger, lightly tapped the air toward his forehead, shook his head, and said with an air of seriousness:
"I observe that you, Fellow Daoist... have a dark Aura between your eyebrows; I fear you are in danger of a bloody disaster!"
He raised his voice at the end, carrying an unquestionable tone of assertion, and his eyes became meaningful, as if he were truly looking at someone about to have terrible luck.
"..." The corner of the young man's mouth twitched. The two guards behind him were also stunned.
What was this? A new trick for highway robbery? A line from a Jianghu con artist? Or... crazy ramblings from someone with an unstable mind?
The young man's face darkened instantly; he felt he was being toyed with. What dark Aura, what bloody disaster? He was a Child of Fortune who possessed a System; how dare this person, who popped out of nowhere, curse him?
"Who are you, Your Excellency? Speaking such nonsense here and blocking our Young Lord's path, what is your intention?" The voices of the two men behind the young man turned cold. They no longer held back their Soul Transformation Early Stage spiritual pressure, which crushed toward Xiao Ming in an attempt to test his depth, as well as to intimidate and warn him.
The young man clenched his palm slightly, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Xiao Ming. From the moment he first saw Xiao Ming, he had vaguely felt that this person was naturally at odds with him. It wasn't that he was jealous of the other's appearance, but rather an invisible Aura emanating from him—he couldn't quite explain it, but he just felt uncomfortable all over, as if they were natural enemies.
Faced with this angry questioning and the vague encirclement, Xiao Ming seemed completely unaware. He even gently patted the rough bark beside him and stood up straight. The charlatan-like expression on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a deep, enigmatic look. His gaze suddenly became as sharp as a knife, piercing straight at Mu Changge:
"Who I am is not important. What is important is..." He curved his lips into a cold arc and said slowly, "Your daily sign-in reward today, Fellow Daoist... should be quite good, right!"
The two men standing in front of the young man paused slightly, subconsciously pondering, but they still couldn't understand what these words meant. However, what they didn't see was their master standing behind them, whose heart was already surging with stormy waves.
The word "sign-in" sounded like a thunderclap in Mu Changge's ears! That's right, the young man's name was Mu Changge, the Young Lord of the Mu Family. His Aptitude had been mediocre since childhood, and his cultivation had been slow. But not long ago, he had awakened a sign-in System. Relying on the System's rewards, he had advanced rapidly, and recently, he had even been taken in as a disciple by the higher-ups of the Wandao Sword Sect.
The nonchalance on his face froze instantly, his pupils contracted sharply, and a monstrous wave churned in his heart! This person... how did he know? The matter of the System was his greatest secret; not a second person knew about it!
Shock, horror, disbelief, and a trace of panic from having his greatest secret exposed instantly replaced his previous arrogance and contempt. He stared fixedly at Xiao Ming, trying to see something on the other's face, but he only saw a bottomless pool.
"You... who exactly are you?" Mu Changge's voice carried a trace of imperceptible trembling, and his Aura was faintly released.
Xiao Ming did not answer. He simply dusted off non-existent dust from his black sleeve with composure, looking at the three people in front of him with a playful expression. He met Mu Changge's gaze and teased, "Are you... afraid?"
Mu Changge stared fixedly at the black-clad man ahead. The man's handsome appearance, combined with the faint smile at the corners of his mouth, would surely mesmerize countless women. But to Mu Changge, it felt as if an endless abyss was hidden behind that smile, causing an involuntary chill to rise in his heart and his back to feel faintly cold.
"This person must not be left alive!" A cold thought exploded in his mind. The System was his reverse scale, his greatest reliance for reaching the pinnacle in the future, and his absolute secret; it could not be allowed to be leaked in the slightest! This person not only knew of the System's existence but even knew that he needed to sign in. His tone was playful yet carried an unsettling depth, as if everything was under his control.
Any further questions were futile. Mu Changge no longer hesitated. Killing Intent erupted in his eyes, and he said in a low voice, "Kill him!"
Once the order was given, the two guards, who had already been surrounding Xiao Ming in a pincer formation, moved almost simultaneously in response!
"Boom—!"
Two incomparably powerful Soul Transformation Stage Auras were released without reservation, like two invisible mountains descending suddenly from the sky, fiercely suppressing Xiao Ming opposite them! The air seemed to emit a series of unbearable explosions under this terrifying pressure; the fine sand and dust on the ground were instantly flattened, crushed, and blown away. Soul Transformation and Nascent Soul were a huge watershed on the path of cultivation; the pressure of high-level Cultivators had a near-Law-like suppression over low-level Cultivators. Under the joint suppression of two Soul Transformation experts, an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator, let alone resisting, would likely be unable to move a single finger or circulate a trace of spiritual power, and could only await execution.
These two guards acted decisively and ruthlessly. From the start, they used their Realm to crush him, intending to imprison the target in the simplest and crudest way, and then deliver a thunderous blow. They had long seen that although this person blocking the path was somewhat unusual, the Aura he revealed was only at the Nascent Soul Realm. While his appearance was bizarre, in the face of an absolute difference in strength, any flashy tricks were futile. There was not even much expression on their faces, only the indifference of executing an order, as if they were about to crush an insignificant bug.
However, the scene they had anticipated—the target being shocked by the pressure, showing terror, and unable to move—did not occur.
Xiao Ming remained composed, standing in place, and even his lazy posture of leaning against the tree trunk had not changed in the slightest. The Soul Transformation Aura, which was enough to make an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator's bones creak and their spiritual power solidify, landed on him like a gentle breeze passing over a hill, leaving no trace. His black robes hung quietly, not even a corner fluttering, and the meaningful arc at the corner of his mouth did not change in the slightest.
He just stood there calmly, his gaze not even bothering to look at the two murderous Soul Transformation guards, but instead remained playful, falling upon Mu Changge, whose face was gradually becoming ugly.
Mu Changge's heart sank completely at this moment, and the previous chill suddenly amplified into a cold warning! This is wrong! This is absolutely wrong!
These two guards of his were both Soul Transformation Early Stage death soldiers, meticulously trained by the Family and battle-hardened; they were by no means comparable to ordinary Loose Cultivators. When the two joined forces to apply pressure, they could make even a Mid Spirit Severing stage Cultivator feel the pressure and have their movements restricted. But this person in front of him...
Faced with the Killing Intent lock and spiritual suppression of two Soul Transformation Cultivators, he could actually be so indifferent, as if that terrifying pressure capable of solidifying the air were nothingness! This composure had already exceeded his control.
Furthermore, Mu Changge discovered that the gaze with which the man in front of him looked at him from beginning to end was like a kind of deep-seated... indifference toward the current situation, or even a hint of mockery.
An ominous thought uncontrollably sprang into Mu Changge's mind. The confidence he had previously felt, having swelled due to obtaining System rewards, rapidly deflated like a balloon pricked by a needle. The other party was fearless because he surely had something to rely on!
A bead of sweat silently soaked Mu Changge's back. He could no longer bother to think about why the other party knew about "signing in." All his thoughts focused in an instant on one point—saving his life!
Mu Changge forcibly maintained a cold and stern expression on his face, but his eyes could not help but flicker slightly. The spiritual power within his body flowed slowly in an extremely hidden manner, while his mind sank frantically into the depths of his consciousness. At the same time, his fingers moved extremely slightly within his wide sleeves, touching his Storage Ring, and his thoughts raced through the items inside like a revolving lantern.