Chapter 158: The Small Fry Has Been Dealt With

After a full day of constantly changing directions during their journey, Xia Jixuan’s team still failed to appear within the range of Shen Qingyun’s spiritual sense. This left Shen Qingyun somewhat frustrated and speechless; after breaking through to the Spirit Phase realm, the reach of his spiritual sense had nearly doubled, yet he still could not locate his target. This made Shen Qingyun wonder just how vast this secret realm truly was.

Like a headless fly, he blundered about with Feng Chuxun and the large black wolf in tow.

During this day of travel, Shen Qingyun and his companions also crossed paths with quite a few teams contending for strongholds. Because they were in a rush, Shen Qingyun did not stop to play the good Samaritan.

There were also instances where two teams encountered one another and stopped to engage in fierce combat.

Even a few blind teams set their sights on them. For such unsolicited gifts, how could Shen Qingyun possibly refuse? He accepted all comers without exception. These clueless teams significantly boosted Shen Qingyun’s points, though still not enough to break into the top ten on the leaderboard.

It was not because these teams yielded too few points, but rather because the point accumulation of the teams on the leaderboard was growing at an unreasonably rapid rate. From tenth to fifth place, the points had almost doubled. While the upward leaps among the higher ranks looked modest at a glance, their existing bases were massive!

Because of this, Shen Qingyun was being left further and further behind.

As for Xia Jixuan, whom Shen Qingyun had targeted, that team proved remarkably tenacious. They were frequently overtaken by the seventh-ranked team, only to surpass them again. The two squads went back and forth as if locked in a fierce rivalry, competing with blazing intensity.

Yet this also proved that this "Xia Jixuan" possessed no small measure of capability. If they were suddenly surpassed by those behind them and dropped off the leaderboard, then this entire day of searching would have been wasted in vain.

...

Swish!

High in the sky, a flash of spiritual light streaked past, revealing a figure after covering a certain distance—it was Shen Qingyun.

Half a day later, feeling that searching like this was getting them nowhere, Shen Qingyun suggested to Feng Chuxun and the large black wolf that they split up to search. He deposited a wisp of his spiritual sense into the soul realms of both Feng Chuxun and the large black wolf respectively. If they encountered danger or found the target, they were to trigger the spiritual sense to contact him.

Recalling his spiritual sense, Shen Qingyun let out a sigh; the target was nowhere to be found here either. Just as he was about to streak away again, the spiritual sense in his mind suddenly stirred, causing him to pause his movements.

"What is it?"

Feng Chuxun, who was far away and had just triggered the wisp of spiritual sense in his soul realm, was startled when Shen Qingyun’s voice suddenly rang in his mind. He looked around him, his expression shifting slightly.

"Boss, I've found the target," Feng Chuxun said.

"Where?" Shen Qingyun asked.

"Uh..." Feng Chuxun looked around his surroundings, looking rather bewildered.

"Hold on, I'll sense your location."

As his voice trailed off, Feng Chuxun felt a strange disturbance within his soul realm as a surge of power was released through his body. A moment later, Shen Qingyun’s voice sounded once more, "You are to my northeast, quite a distance away—over five hundred miles."

"Here is what we'll do: keep a close eye on them. I will contact the large black wolf and come over to rendezvous immediately."

Ending the conversation, Feng Chuxun raised an eyebrow; this was utterly miraculous.

On the other side, after receiving Shen Qingyun’s notice, the large black wolf reacted even more drastically than Feng Chuxun, howling in a manner that made it wish Shen Qingyun would take back the wisp of spiritual sense planted in its soul.

Having notified the large black wolf, Shen Qingyun changed direction, facing northeast, and his speed surged explosively.

In the sky, a streak of spiritual light cut across the firmament like a shooting star.

An incense stick's time later, Shen Qingyun arrived at the spot where he had previously contacted Feng Chuxun, and the large black wolf arrived shortly thereafter. Its speed could not match Shen Qingyun's, so the distance it had covered was not far, making its arrival naturally swift.

Reconnecting with Feng Chuxun and obtaining his latest coordinates, Shen Qingyun waved his sleeve, and a mighty torrent of spiritual energy swept up the large black wolf, hurtling together toward the distance.

Landing beside Feng Chuxun, Shen Qingyun asked in a low voice, "How is the situation?"

Hearing this, Feng Chuxun turned his head and, upon seeing Shen Qingyun, the sharp gleam in his eyes faded as he said, "Right now, a team has targeted the target, but they haven't shown any intention of making a move yet."

Shen Qingyun frowned slightly; this fell under the category of failing to learn one's lesson. It was completely normal for the top ten teams to be targeted; the crux of the matter lay in whether one possessed the strength. Those without strength were simply delivering points, wave after wave—it would be a wonder if those people's points didn't skyrocket.

However, having another team eyeing the same target right now was not necessarily a bad thing. Why not welcome an extra team's worth of points?

Boom!

Suddenly, from the rolling mountains ahead, a heaven-shaking fluctuation of spiritual energy erupted. Feng Chuxun and Shen Qingyun narrowed their eyes; the fighting had begun.

The two exchanged glances and, carrying the large black wolf with them, sped forward.

Several breaths later, they concealed themselves deep within the mountains. Looking ahead, two teams were locked in battle. That heaven-shaking fluctuation of spiritual energy was formed by the merging of everyone's spiritual pressure surging up into the heavens.

"It has begun." Shen Qingyun’s eyes narrowed slightly. This team matched the target team evenly in both numbers and strength; it looked like they had stumbled upon another big fish.

"Hehe, Xia Jixuan, you might as well honestly hand over all your points." Ge Zhonghai confronted Xia Jixuan, the battle centering around the two of them.

"I think it's you who should hand over all your points," Xia Jixuan replied with a cold smile.

Hearing their exchange, the large black wolf muttered strangely, "If they know each other, how can they still start fighting..."

Shen Qingyun could hear the large black wolf's muttering, but what caught his attention even more was what Xia Jixuan had said.

"This fellow is a woman," Shen Qingyun said softly.

"What did you say?" Feng Chuxun cast a sidelong glance and asked.

"That Xia Jixuan is a woman," Shen Qingyun repeated, looking at Feng Chuxun.

Feng Chuxun looked toward Xia Jixuan. Her skin was fair and her facial contours were smooth and soft, yet he could not discern any other features that made her look unmanly.

Shen Qingyun smiled faintly, "The sound of her voice lacks a man's magnetic resonance; it's quite easy to distinguish."

Feng Chuxun stared in mutual dismay; why hadn't he noticed that?

"Then should we still make a move now?" Feng Chuxun asked.

Although Feng Chuxun didn't care—even if the opponent was a woman, he could strike just the same—Shen Qingyun was different. Perhaps, considering that the other party was a woman, he might let it go. Still, since he was the team leader, he would follow his lead no matter what.

"We can't let any of them go."

Shen Qingyun spoke in a low voice. From their conversation, he had learned the identity of the other team: ranked seventh on the leaderboard, the team that had been constantly contesting the sixth spot with Xia Jixuan—Ge Zhonghai's team.

The large black wolf and Feng Chuxun nodded, indicating they understood.

"Then let's go!" Shen Qingyun waved his hand, and the two men and one wolf moved out in unison, walking into the open.

Shen Qingyun made no effort to conceal his actions; in fact, to ensure they would notice, he deliberately made some noise. The moment Shen Qingyun and his group appeared, the fierce battle paused slightly, and everyone turned to look at Shen Qingyun...

"Who are you?"

"What people are you?"

Xia Jixuan and Ge Zhonghai asked in unison.

The large black wolf concealed itself behind Shen Qingyun and Feng Chuxun, so no one could see it, leaving only the two humans visible.

"I asked you a question!"

A young man stepped out from the ranks, glaring coldly at Shen Qingyun and Feng Chuxun.

Now, because of the appearance of Shen Qingyun's duo, both teams had suspended their combat and turned a united front outward, staring coldly at Shen Qingyun with icy gazes.

Seeing this, Shen Qingyun's inner suspicion was further confirmed: these two teams actually hailed from the same academy!

"I sensed fighting happening here from afar, so I came over to see if there was any profit to be made," Shen Qingyun smiled and said.

Over a dozen people stared at Shen Qingyun with chilling gazes. Hearing his words, every single one of them burst into loud laughter, the looks they cast his way filled with playful mockery.

Given the cultivation levels of those present, they could naturally discern Shen Qingyun and Feng Chuxun's realms at a glance. In the secret realm, there was no such thing as concealing one's cultivation because there was no need; everyone was in the Spirit Phase realm, so there was no point in hiding.

"Kid, you must be courting death," someone looked at Shen Qingyun and mocked playfully.

"I don't think I'm courting death at all," Shen Qingyun shook his head and said, "I want your points."

"Tsk tsk, that is probably the funniest sentence I've heard in all my years of cultivation. Want our points? You don't even know your own weight."

"That's right..."

With that, the crowd burst into hearty yet piercingly sarcastic laughter.

Feng Chuxun's eyes turned cold, and he made a motion to draw his sword. However, Shen Qingyun reached out to press down on his hand, shaking his head slightly with a completely nonchalant expression.

"Boss..." Feng Chuxun suppressed the rising anger in his heart and looked at Shen Qingyun.

"All bark and no bite, yet too cowardly to fight."

Seeing this, someone added fuel to the fire with sarcastic ridicule.

"Chuxun, how many do you want?" Shen Qingyun asked calmly.

Feng Chuxun was slightly stunned, then sneered, "I'll take eighty percent of these small fries, and leave the rest to the large black wolf."

"Very well." Shen Qingyun nodded with a smile, turning his gaze toward those who had reined in their laughter and gradually revealed murderous intent upon hearing their previous words. "Because initial Spirit Phase practitioners are inferior to you, you dare to mock them like this. Today, then, I shall teach you all a proper lesson called: Don't be afraid when you see an initial Spirit Phase practitioner!"

"The tuition fee is strictly points!"

As his voice fell, Shen Qingyun and Feng Chuxun stepped forward, their figures already flashing out aggressively, revealing the large black wolf standing behind them with an insidious grin.

Someone recognized the large black wolf at a glance and cried out involuntarily, "It's that wolf cub! He is Shen Qingyun!"

"What are there to fear? We have the numbers, let's rush them together!"

"Ah..."

The moment the words fell, a miserable scream rang out as a sharp surge of sword Qi swept across, directly sending someone flying and knocking them unconscious.

"Damnable kid, you're looking for death!" someone shouted sternly. In response to him came a long sword flashing with a chilling light, which struck his body. Extreme heat scorched his vision while extreme frost invaded his marrow, instantly forming an ice sculpture.

Seeing this, everyone else could not help but display fear. Wasn't it said that Shen Qingyun only had a utterly shameless wolf cub by his side? How could there also be such a terrifying god of slaughter?!

Shen Qingyun stood quietly. Opposite him, Xia Jixuan and Ge Zhonghai stared straight at him.

Shen Qingyun asked with a smile, "Are you satisfied with this lesson?"

Xia Jixuan and Ge Zhonghai wore gloomy expressions and remained silent.

Before long, the field was suffused with sword intent everywhere. Aside from the two team leaders, only two members remained standing.

The large black wolf howled, "Second Master, you said you were leaving twenty percent for me!"

Feng Chuxun sheathed his sword and cast a cold glance at the large black wolf, "I got carried away for a moment. Do you have a problem with that?"

The large black wolf tucked its tail and shook its head repeatedly, "No, no problem. Even if you hadn't left a single one for me, I wouldn't have the slightest problem."

"Oh," Feng Chuxun uttered indifferently. Suddenly, a flash of sword light vanished as quickly as it appeared, and the final two survivors were likewise blasted backward, vomiting blood.

The large black wolf: "..."

Bullying this Lord Wolf for having no temper...

Feng Chuxun and the large black wolf walked behind Shen Qingyun, standing to his left and right. Feng Chuxun said calmly, "Boss, the small fries have been dealt with."

Shen Qingyun nodded and said to Xia Jixuan and Ge Zhonghai, "Now, the lecture is over. Shouldn't the two of you pay your tuition fees?"

"If you want the points, defeat me," Xia Jixuan said stubbornly, as though she had already resigned herself to her fate.

"Same here," Ge Zhonghai uttered just two words, declaring his decision.

"Then come on." Shen Qingyun looked rather troubled, massaging his brow. "I originally wanted to save some effort, but oh well. This is a private tutoring session, you know—you should accept it with a grateful heart!"