The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 66: Targeted

“You…” Li Lang stared at one of the men who ambushed him. “I’ve seen you before at the headquarters!”

Over the course of six months that Li Lang had stayed in Emberglow City, he would head to The Orchid Covenant’s headquarters daily as an alternative to the Alchemist Guild. Their refining rooms were cheaper to rent, and they had the same materials for sale to their members. Their prices were even better than the Alchemist Guild’s. It was all to encourage trade within their organization.

Of course, with perfect attendance, the people in The Orchid Covenant had begun to recognize the strange young man with an adult-sized head. However, the reverse wasn’t true as Li Lang was too self-absorbed in his own matters to connect with anyone else. He simply refined his daily quota and rushed back to cultivate the new skills they learned from the Bloodwave Conclave. Still, he was able to memorize a few faces he constantly saw, and the boy in front of him was one of them.

“You know them, Li Lang?” Long Yi furrowed his brows as he cautiously watched the men who had surrounded them.

“No, not really. I’ve just seen him around when I went to refine pills. I think I overheard his name was… Shu…something.”

“It’s Sheng Haoran! Is your large head only for show?” the young man cried.

“Yes, Sheng Haoran. I take it you guys won’t give us a free pass despite being from the same organization?”

“That’s right. Don’t blame us, but someone seems to have a grudge against you. They promised us plenty of remunerations if we take you out.”

“Someone?”

“I’ve already said too much. If you want to learn more, then beat us first!”

At Sheng Haoran’s words, his two other companions instantly unleashed the attack they had been preparing while they were conversing. They both let out a Qi art of entirely different properties. One unleashed a flurry of Qi attacks while the other erected stone walls around them to prevent escape.

The combination attack spoke volumes about their teamwork. That didn’t even take into account their cultivation, which was in the fifth stage of Energy Gathering.

The trio immediately scattered as they dove to dodge the attacks.

“Run to the main building, we can’t be wasting our strength for this fight!” Li Lang screamed.

“Don’t run now. Let us exchange some moves first.”

With those words, Sheng Haoran joined the attack, thrusting out his sword multiple times to send out various Qi art attacks in the form of thrusts.

“You guys head on first! I’ll hold them back!” Long Yi dramatically yelled out as he prepared to face the attacks.

Both Li Lang and Wei Ping were dumbfounded at the sudden ‘heroics’ of their friend.

“Shut up and get over here already!” Li Lang yelled as he swiftly pulled Long Yi along by his collar.

Meanwhile, Sheng Haoran grinned at the disorganized antics of his targets. He looked forward to his attacks landing, scoring himself a nice payday.

However, the scene before him was suddenly obscured as a large cloud of smoke covered the surroundings.

“What the?”

“Senior Sheng, we can’t see through this smoke. We should regroup first!” a voice yelled out from within the haze.

It took a brief moment for Sheng Haoran to decide what to do, and that hesitancy would cost him.

“No, rush in and engage them. We’re stronger in a free-for-all and we can’t give them a chance to run!”

Sheng Haoran dashed into the smoke, searching for his prey. He tried to predict the path Li Lang’s group would take to escape to the grand hall. With their objective apparent, it was easy to predict their route.

As luck would have it, he soon spotted a figure dashing through the smoke.

“Running are you? Wait for me!” He yelled out gleefully.

He unleashed several Qi art attacks to block their path as he closed the distance. As soon as he was within range, he didn’t hesitate to lunge out.

He got close enough to make out the shock on the big-headed boy’s face and grinned at the scene before slashing his sword at him. The blade effortlessly sliced through the Li Lang.

However, it had been too effortless. There was no resistance and no feeling of cutting into anything at all.

It took a moment for the image of Li Lang to crumple to the ground, but it then vanished. It dissipated into the smoke unlike how a normal competitor would when they were eliminated. It was seeing this scene that Sheng Haoran realized he had been duped.

“Run to the grand hall, hurry! They used a decoy talisman combined with a smokescreen talisman to run from us!”

By the time Sheng Haoran’s group began to rush toward the grand hall, it had been too late. Their moment of hesitation when the smokescreen appeared allowed ample time for Li Lang’s group to run straight to the grand hall under the cover of their concealing talisman.

The moment they stepped out of the tree line and through the barrier, Li Lang let out a sigh of relief.

“We barely made it, but…those talismans weren’t cheap.” Li Lang then turned to Long Yi. “In the first place, you should’ve remembered our trump card! What was that earlier? Trying to be the hero? That’s way too reckless of you, even if you can’t die in here.”

“I…kind of…for—.No, I was just surprised you even used them in this tournament. Weren’t the talismans for real emergencies only?” Long Yi quipped.

“...Financial loss is fine when the rewards outweigh it. You heard how this pocket realm only opens once every ten years. We won’t get a chance again if we lose.”

Just as the two were starting to relax, Wei Ping picked this moment to pull on both their sleeves.

“L-look, they’re r-right behind us.”

They instantly turned to where they had just came in from and spotted three figures emerging from the tree line.

“Tsk, you got lucky this time.” Sheng Haoran spat before turning back into the forest.

“What are they doing? Aren’t they targeting us, so shouldn’t they be waiting for us to come out?” Long Yi asked with a bewildered expression.

“They’re not stupid either. Their main goal should be the pocket realm, too. We’re just an extra side trophy. Seeing how they were waiting around the grand hall, they must not have hunted any seals at all. They are going back to take seals from other participants.”

Shaking his head at the figure of their retreating assailants, Li Lang began making his way back into the grand hall.

He found it entirely empty—until he spotted the same white-haired young man from before he left, snoring away, completely unmoved from his previous position.

There wasn’t time to investigate further as the mark on the back of their hands began to glow when they stepped into the building. The three watched in wonder as the circular mark unraveled itself, becoming a trail of glittering dust once again, heading straight into one of the tablets surrounding the room.

It caused the words on the tablet to light up as the words began to change. In an instant, there were extra lines of words on it, showcasing their names and scores.

Li Lang - 27 Points

Wei Ping - 25 Points

Long Yi - 31 Points

“Hmm, we all scored different points despite slaying two Qi beasts each…” Li Lang muttered.

“It m-must mean each Qi b-beast is scored d-differently. Probably b-based on their strength.”

“So how long until we head out again?” Long Yi asked as he stretched his back.

“Just when everyone else is starting to return. They’d be on their guard against attacks, and be less likely to chase after us then. Plus, that Shu something guy will be busy with all the people coming in to deal with us.”

“Sounds like a plan, so I guess we should wait outside, then?”

Seeing his companions nodding, Long Yi was the first to step out of the building. He quickly found an open spot with a good vantage point of the surroundings and plopped himself on the ground.

Having prepared for the long haul, Wei Ping passed out some water and dried rations to his companions as they rested. Time passed quickly as they ate and chatted amongst themselves, and soon, the sound of fighting could be heard in the distance.

The Trio got up and prepared to set out when they suddenly heard the door to the grand hall opening. They turned to find the young man, with disheveled silver hair, walking out with a yawn.

He stretched out his body, pointing both palms to the sky before finally surveying his surroundings as he scratched his stomach with one hand.

“Is it time for everyone else to return, yet?” He spoke out loud to himself.

A moment later, a loud metallic sound of swords clashing rang out, as if to answer the man’s question. It was followed by a figure rapidly sailing through the air, not slowing down for a second. It quickly passed through the barrier around the grand hall and headed straight to the young man with silver hair.

It almost clipped him, as it sailed past him with less than an inch between, but the man remained unfazed. The figure then only stopped when it slammed into the building.

As the dust settled, everyone present could see a white light surrounding the person who had been sent flying. It swiftly faded as the victim was teleported out of the artifact space.

The man with white hair barely spared a glance at the person who had almost crashed into him as his eyes were locked straight ahead toward the area outside the barrier. Someone with particularly good eyesight may be able to see a humanoid figure with claws for hands and a tail fending off a dozen different cultivators.

“I guess that answers my questions. But still…It seems like someone is experiencing cultivation deviation…” The white-haired man let out an exaggerated sigh. “It’s a pain, but I guess I’ll deal with it.”