Almighty Genius

Chapter 2425 - 1919: A Formidable Enemy Approaches!

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"Thanks for going easy..."

Qin Fang naturally also replied very politely.

At least everything he'd just done wasn't wasted; at the very least, Ye Xiang now owed him a favor because of this...

The other matches were still going on, but their impact clearly couldn't compare to this fight between Qin Fang and Ye Xiang...even the duels between those other seed players were a bit weaker. Qin Fang not only won with strength, he also won with style.

So, basically after this fair and square match, Qin Fang's status in the eyes of the Disciples of the Five Major Sects underwent a huge change...now he finally truly lived up to the identity of a Kunlun Sect seed player.

At the very least, Qin Fang could forcefully beat down the guy hailed as the toughest Xuan Ku Force expert; that kind of strength definitely wasn't just bragging...it was punched out one fist at a time.

"Good kid, you scared the crap out of me..."

They walked down from the ring, and some Kunlun Sect disciples came over to congratulate Qin Fang; Qin Fang naturally responded to each of them, but then Jian Qingfeng directly dragged him away—this guy had been holding it in for a long time already.

"Nothing to be scared of. Honestly, I was a bit surprised by Ye Xiang's strength too..."

Qin Fang was still fairly calm. Thinking back on the duel just now, he had to admit Ye Xiang was a tough opponent.

It was just that, tough was all it was; it still wasn't enough to make him feel truly troubled...

So, Qin Fang suppressed his true Cultivation and fought Ye Xiang at that level, and by borrowing the special tenacity of the Xuan Ku Force, he instead seized the chance to break through to Master Level Peak...this was what made Qin Fang happiest.

Don't look at how his Cultivation had already surpassed this tier long ago; if he wanted his Realm to catch up to his strength, he still had quite a long road ahead of him...

The Barbaric Wilderness Mini Secret Realm was a very good opportunity, and Qin Fang planned to make good use of it, wanting to use this little Mystic Realm to directly break through from Master Level Late-Stage to the Early Stage of Grandmaster Level...the difficulty of this was extremely high.

Even though Qin Fang had already made a ton of preparations, he still didn't feel he was guaranteed to succeed...after all, he had to cross two stages, and one of them meant leaping over a whole-level super bottleneck!

To better break through this big bottleneck, the best method was for Qin Fang to first break through to Master Level Peak before entering the Barbaric Wilderness Mini Secret Realm...that way, once in the Barbaric Wilderness Mini Secret Realm, Qin Fang would only need to cross one tier, and the difficulty would be much lower.

Add in Qin Fang's extraordinary level of preparation, and his chances of success were quite high.

"Only a brat like you dares talk like that. Other people...there aren't many who dare not take Ye Xiang seriously!"

Jian Qingfeng could only shake his head with a wry smile as he spoke.

Maybe a few years ago, Ye Xiang's strength really wouldn't have caught his eye...but it was different today. The strength Ye Xiang showed wasn't much worse than his, and with the perverse tenacity of that Xuan Ku Force added in, it made him quite wary.

When even an old-school expert like him had to be wary, there was no need to mention the other experts in this Five Sects Grand Competition...

Aside from a few seed players who could stay a bit calmer, basically every expert aiming for the top ten would feel the huge pressure Ye Xiang brought them...not many people could suppress Ye Xiang as hard as Qin Fang did.

Maybe precisely because of this, Qin Fang's fame had now skyrocketed several times over compared to before...

"Same old rules, you're buying..."

With the fight between Qin Fang and Ye Xiang over, Qin Fang's matches for today were basically done as well...

To make sure every participant had plenty of energy to fight and to guarantee everyone's competitive state, basically each person was only arranged two matches a day...now that Qin Fang's two matches were done, naturally he could go rest.

As for the others, like Jian Qingfeng, Monk Wukong, and the rest, they were all "idlers with nothing better to do," pure spectators. So of course they could leave whenever they wanted, and immediately yelled for everyone to head back for drinks.

As for Monk Wu Fa, say no more. His strength was enough to completely crush everyone else in his group, and his fights had already ended ages ago...now he was in that bored stage again! With more wine to drink, how could he possibly miss out!

As for who would be treating, other than Qin Fang, nobody else even came to mind.

"Look at that..."

But just as the few of them were about to leave, Jian Qingfeng suddenly shot them a meaningful look, muttering quietly.

Everyone looked over in surprise, and saw...Ye Xiang was walking toward them at this moment.

His face was still a bit pale, but much better than before; clearly his injuries were mostly fine now, just that his body was still a little weak...otherwise, Tianwai Tower probably wouldn't have let him out.

"What's up? Heading off for a drink?"

Facing their odd looks, Ye Xiang didn't mind at all, instead asking very boldly.

"A chance meeting beats a planned one...come along!"

Qin Fang also extended a very warm invitation.

"Then we'll gladly impose..."

Ye Xiang didn't seem like the type to get all sentimental either, and agreed right away...

"Welcome, welcome!"

The others exchanged a look, then all grinned and chimed in… Anyway, it was just one more person and one more mouth, and more people meant better atmosphere. Since the one footing the bill was that filthy-rich Qin Fang, they couldn't care less.

"..."

Qin Fang had nothing to say to that. He could only sweep his gaze over their faces with utter contempt, feeling deeply ashamed of how generously they were spending someone else's money...

Of course, this was all just minor stuff, nothing anyone would actually care about.

They were all young, with the oldest, Jian Qingfeng, just over thirty. Basically all the same generation, so there was plenty to talk about… After reporting the situation to the Elders of their respective Sects, the few of them set off together back toward Shangri-La Town.

No helping it—if they wanted to drink, they had to go for the Wine God Sect's Spiritual Wine; ordinary booze couldn't satisfy their mouths… That Spiritual Wine tasted great and even helped with Cultivation, naturally the top choice.

The five traveled together. Aside from Monk Wukong, whose strength was a bit weaker, the others all had Great Grandmaster Level Cultivation. Offense or defense, they all possessed terrifying power, so the Elders of their Sects weren't too worried.

The group set out as a team, roaming across the vast plains, making for quite a scenic sight...

Only, just a few minutes after they left the Wu Xin Sea Minor Secret Realm, they suddenly felt something was off.

"You feel that?"

Qin Fang muttered in a low voice.

"Most likely foe, not friend..."

Monk Wu Fa's strength was formidable, and so was his perception. He subconsciously nodded, then replied quietly.

"So who's got their eyes on us? People from the Esoteric Sect? Or that Qingyuan faction… or maybe one of your enemies?"

Jian Qingfeng was even more straightforward, quickly rattling off a few possible enemies.

Someone was deliberately targeting this small group; odds were they were coming for a specific person...

"Pretty sure they're not my enemies..."

Ye Xiang's face went a little pale, but his voice stayed firm. "Because… they're all already dead!"

From his words, it was obvious that while this guy looked carefree and bold, when it came to his enemies, he was definitely not the merciful type!

"If it really is my enemies, and we can't handle them, you guys just run. Don't worry about me..."

Monk Wukong's strength was the weakest; he only had a vague sense of danger, nothing clear… but he knew he was the burden of the group, so he spoke very decisively.

As long as someone could escape, they could alert the Sect's experts… whether for rescue or revenge, they would never let those enemies from the Xiaoyao Sect walk away unpunished.

"Not just enemies… they're very strong enemies!"

This time Qin Fang gave a wry smile. "There are four or five of them, and they're all strong… The weakest is at the Early Stage of Grandmaster Level, and the strongest one has already reached Great Grandmaster Late-Stage!"

"Hiss~~~"

Hearing that, everyone couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath… From Qin Fang's expression, they already knew this opponent was no joke, but they hadn't expected them to be this strong—it completely eclipsed them.

"Junior Martial Brother Qin, what do we do? You take command..."

Jian Qingfeng was strong, but in this sort of situation, he felt it was better for him to just be the muscle. As for the rest, he'd rather leave it to someone else.

"Yeah, you oversee the whole situation..."

Monk Wu Fa and Ye Xiang exchanged a glance, then voiced their agreement.

At the very least, Qin Fang could sense the enemy's situation so clearly; he obviously had some edge they lacked… Only with him overseeing the big picture could they form a truly powerful attack team.

Facing such a powerful foe, their only chance was to stick together and form an effective killing force, to carve out a larger space for survival...

"Since that's the case, I won't stand on ceremony..."

Qin Fang didn't bother being polite now. Time was tight, and he had no leisure to waste on small talk. "First off, we keep calm. Act like we haven't noticed anything… and keep moving forward. If I remember right, there's a little hill up ahead, and the terrain there is pretty good!"

They were on their way back to Shangri-La, and Qin Fang still had a vague impression of the road they'd taken… On these plains, the terrain was relatively flat, so the field of view was naturally quite open.

If they wanted to shake off the "tails" behind them, they had to make use of the surrounding terrain… and clearly, that little hill ahead was a great spot!

As long as they got out of their pursuers' line of sight, Qin Fang and the others would have far more room to maneuver… Whether they chose to slip away or launch a sneak counterattack, they'd have a lot more options! (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)