Chapter 32: Red Cloud Slope (3)

The Bai Clan’s Thunder Spirit Bloodline came from the Empty Cry Thunder Spirit.

The Empty Cry Thunder Spirit was, according to legends from the Primordial Continent, one of the thirty-six beasts in charge of lightning and thunder. They were known as the Thunder Thirty Six.

The Empty Cry Thunder Spirit was frightening in that its thunder-type attacks had tremendous penetrative ability. Apparently, if one cultivated the Empty Cry Thunder Explosion to a high level, one could directly send thunder into someone’s body, exploding it from the inside.

Thus, the Empty Cry Thunder Spirit was not feared for its strength, but for its ability to seemingly tunnel into every corner of the human body.

Bai Ou furiously slashed out again and again with the Thunder Blade, constantly activating the jade circlet in his hand. The resounding clear cries complemented the Thunder Blade and the Empty Cry Thunder Explosion. The ringing of thunder was so powerful and intense that those present felt their minds reeling from the shockwaves.

Although his Empty Cry Thunder Explosion was far from being able to explode someone’s body from the inside out, it was already strong enough to affect one’s consciousness. Those who were struck by it would feel nauseous and a sudden desire to vomit.

The person fighting him was Night Demon. In terms of strength, both were at the Qi Drawing Realm. Night Demon had no bloodline, but she was an experienced Origin Qi Scholar who had entered the Qi Drawing Realm many years ago. Bai Ou had a bloodline, but he hadn’t been an Origin Qi Scholar for more than a year, so his cultivation base was somewhat inferior. The two were evenly matched, but as time went on, Bai Ou’s advantage as a member of a Bloodline Nobility Clan began to manifest itself. Night Demon slowly began to lose her composure.

At that moment, Bai Ou struck out with another Thunder Explosion. Although Night Demon blocked it, she was sent flying backwards. More importantly, the resulting aftershocks sent her into a daze.

She couldn’t help but yell out, “Su Chen, why are you just watching me? Come over and help me out!”

Su Chen stared at Bai Ou unblinkingly. “His Thunder Spirit Blade seems to be a little different from mine. I need to analyze it a bit more. Take your time battling him; we’re in no hurry.”

Night Demon was infuriated. “I’m reaching my limit!”

Su Chen didn’t waste time speaking. A firebird appeared in his palm. However, it wasn’t directed towards Bai Ou, but towards Bai Yihong, who was tangled in battle with Iron Cliff.

Bai Yihong was probably the weakest one out of the five. Although his clan and background was quite impressive, his personality was that of a womanizer. He didn’t like cultivating, so his strength was average. Even Iron Cliff was able to battle him to a standstill. Bai Yihong’s strength could be imagined from this fact.

When Su Chen’s Firebird appeared, it charged towards Bai Yihong. The moment it exploded, Bai Yihong was knocked out.

“Go help Night Demon,” Su Chen said.

Iron Cliff rushed over. He used his massive body to block the attack directly in front of Night Demon. Bai Ou’s Thunder Explosion slammed directly into him, but the big lunk was only momentarily dazed and sustained no physical injuries. Simultaneously, Night Demon took advantage of the opportunity to launch an attack of her own, forcing Bai Ou to withdraw his blade to defend himself.

In a two-on-one, the originally unstable situation gradually calmed down.

At the other end of the battle, Smoke, Copper Deer, Aaron, and Qingbai were battling four against three, but they were actually unable to capture their opponents.

That was especially true of the youth surnamed Yu. The silver sword in his hand danced through the air, sending streaks of sword light everywhere. Although the sword light appeared faint, it had the ability to seep into a person’s heart. This was no exaggeration – Aaron and Qingbai had been caught off guard by a few of those streaks of sword Qi. When the sword Qi seeped into their bodies, their faces paled.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Smoke and Copper Deer were suppressing the entire field, just the two of them wouldn’t even be enough to hold down the youth surnamed Yu.

The four of them were unable to hold onto any significant advantage despite the fact that they had a numbers advantage and two Blood Boiling Realm cultivators.

They could only admit that the elites of the Hidden Dragon Institute were truly something else.

Perhaps because they had gotten over the surprise from earlier, even Liu Hua and Zhang Zhongyue, who wanted to flee earlier, began to regain their spirit.

Zhang Zhongyue laughed, “What Blood Boiling Realm cultivators? Aren’t they just so-so in the end? Yu Zhen, let’s take care of them together!”

“Are you retarded?” The youth surnamed Yu’s full name was Yu Zhen. He cursed at Zhang Zhongyue, “Haven’t you seen that Su Chen hasn’t made a move yet? Our opponents haven’t even used their full strength yet. How the hell do you want to take care of them?”

As he spoke, he turned to face Su Chen. “Su Chen, you’ve seen yourself that we aren’t so easy to deal with. If you want to kill us, you will also need to pay a price!”

“I didn’t say that I wanted to kill you,” Su Chen laughed. “I just want to capture you and perform a few experiments.”

Yu Zhen gritted his teeth. “Don’t push this to the point where either the fish dies or the net tears1.

Su Chen shook his head. “The net won’t tear. If you had the ability, you would’ve done it awhile ago. Aren’t you trying to negotiate with me because you’ve also realized that you can’t do it?”

Yu Zhen was speechless.

At the moment, they were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, yet they were able to defend themselves against two Blood Boiling Realm and two high-layer Qi Drawing Realm cultivators. Their performance was truly outside the capabilities of common people.

But this didn’t mean that they could escape their inevitable defeat. At best, they would only be able to delay and bother their opponents a bit longer.

As for turning the tables on them, that was quite simply a pile of rubbish.

Copper Deer laughed. “I must say, I feel quite embarrassed to be pushed so far by some children. It’s time to end this farce!”

As he spoke, he raised his hands. Countless vines twisted into the air, snapping towards Yu Zhen’s group.

Simultaneously, Smoke let out a long howl and launched a firebird of his own.

This firebird was somewhat different from Su Chen’s Erupting Firebird. It was larger, yet also more agile. It had a beak and eyes filled with spirit, as if it possessed intelligence. After it appeared, it let out a shrill cry and then flew towards Liu Hua. When it spread its fiery wings in midair, a wave of flames danced through the air. Simultaneously, its hooked beak snagged a piece of Liu Hua’s flesh and tore it away, causing him to let out a cry of pain.

This was Smoke’s Weeping Flame Kite. As a Blood Boiling Realm cultivator, he could already give his Origin Energy substance. Thus, the Firebird he produced was much more powerful than Su Chen’s. It could attack and move on its own.

After repeatedly attacking its target, the Weeping Flame Kite dissipated in a shower of sparks. Su Chen was incredibly envious.

If his own Erupting Firebird reached this level, he would be set. Unfortunately, the burden on his Origin Energy was too great; without a sufficient cultivation base, it would be hard to achieve.

Smoke and Copper Deer simultaneously unleashed their full strength. The trio finally succumbed.

Liu Hua was the first to fall, followed by Zhang Zhongyue.

Yu Zhen was indeed the strongest of the three. It took a bit of time and effort to capture him.

Large numbers of vines stretched out, binding up the three people. At the same time, Bai Ou was being forced backwards by Night Demon and Iron Cliff’s combined attacks.

Su Chen wasn’t interested in watching Bai Ou anymore. An Erupting Firebird quickly ended their battle.

At this point, everyone had finally been captured.

Zhang Zhongyue was especially infuriated. He yelled, “Su Chen, what ability can you claim to have if you hire people to help you fight? If you have the ability, fight me on your own.”

His reply was a swift and vicious kick from Iron Cliff.

Liu Hua said, “Su Chen, are you sure you know what you’re doing? You’ve already offended the Bai and Chang Clans. Do you also want to offend the Liu, Zhang, and Yu Clans as well?”

Su Chen gently smiled. “I don’t care.”

What a joke. Earlier, when he had become Shi Kaihuang’s disciple, Shi Kaihuang had already told him that the path he would take would put him at odds with all Bloodline Nobility Clans.

One day when his research finally succeeded, all of the Bloodline Nobility Clans would try to gang up on him together.

Since he was already aware of this, what reason did he have to be scared of a few Bloodline Nobility Clans?

On the contrary, the existence of these people strengthened Su Chen’s determination to continue along his path.

Only if he dealt with this problem from its roots would the human race finally escape from the regime of the Bloodline Nobility Clans and achieve freedom for all of humanity!

Yu Zhen knew how to speak in this kind of situation. He gazed at Su Chen and said, “I’m very sorry for agreeing to help Bai Ou trouble you. This was our fault. If you are willing to let us go, I am willing to dissolve our enmity and even become friends. My Yu Clan is also willing to owe you a favor.”

Su Chen’s reply was, “Iron Cliff, feed them some Qi Obstructing Powder and then tie them all up for me.”

“Su Chen, do you really want to oppose us to the bitter end?” Bai Ou yelled. “If we die, don’t think that you’ll get off easily.”

“I already said that I wouldn’t kill you. I just want a few people to...... cooperate with my experiments,” Su Chen smiled brightly as he replied. “After my experiments end, I will naturally let you go. But right now, if any of you continue to be noisy, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

Upon hearing these words, they finally shut up. All they could do was hope that Su Chen’s experiments would end quickly so that they would be able to leave all of this behind faster.

At that moment, they didn’t know what was in store for them.

On the way back, Night Demon quietly asked him, “After your experiments, are you really going to let them go? You shouldn’t feel safe just because they are asking you to spare them right now. If they have an opportunity, they will definitely come back for their revenge.”

Are you really going to be reasonable now of all times?

Su Chen replied with a slight smile, “If by the time I finish my experiments they don’t tremble uncontrollably at the sound of my name, let them come find me to make trouble..... Then just consider me to have no ability and simply seeking death.”

“......”

“......”

“......”

1. This is a Chinese idiom that essentially means that there’s no room for either party to back off – essentially a life-or-death battle. I’ve preserved the original idiom mostly because of Su Chen’s response in the next sentence.