Chapter 85: Standoff
Chapter 85: Standoff
"Is that... sorcery?" A bewildered apprentice asked.
Master Zhu shook his head, unsure of what had just transpired.
All he knew was that Mo Hua had splashed spirit ink on Qian Xing, who then grabbed at Mo Hua, only to be kicked and sent flying himself. After that, Qian Xing had exploded...
"Mo Hua!"
With such a loud explosion, they didn't know if Mo Hua was hurt. Since he wasn't a body cultivator, any injuries could be dangerous.
Master Zhu and the others rushed towards Mo Hua. But before they could reach him, they saw that he had already stood up and was dusting himself off. Seeing them, he looked concerned and asked, "Master Zhu, are you all right?"
Everyone: "..."
"Mo Hua, are you okay?" Master Zhu asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a few scrapes and my neck hurts a bit." Mo Hua rubbed his neck where Qian Xing had grabbed him, leaving bruises.
As for Qian Xing...
Mo Hua searched for a while before finding him, charred and covered in blood, his life hanging in the balance.
The power of the Earthfire Array was stronger than Mo Hua had anticipated. When it had exploded the tree, he hadn't realized its full potential, but now, seeing the impact on a person, it was evident.
"Mo Hua, what exactly happened here...?" Master Zhu asked in a low voice.
Before Mo Hua could answer, a middle-aged cultivator rushed over and reached Qian Xing's side in the blink of an eye. With a furrowed brow, he checked Qian Xing's breath and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The middle-aged man administered several pills into Qian Xing's mouth and then, with an eagle-like gaze, scanned the surroundings. In a cold voice, he asked, "Who did this?"
His voice, infused with spiritual power, made Mo Hua's ears ring.
A ninth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator!
Mo Hua's scalp tingled, and he was about to step forward when Master Zhu pulled him back. "There's no need for us to get involved in a ninth-layer matter," he whispered.
As expected, a burly man with a wolf pelt tied around his waist stepped forward from the crowd and shouted, "It's just kids playing around. What are you doing here, Qian Zhongli, at your age?"
The middle-aged man, addressed as Qian Zhongli, sneered, "Is this how your child plays?"
The burly man laughed loudly, "If he had this ability, I'd let him do whatever he wanted!"
"Don't try to fool me," Qian Zhongli said. "Hand over the person responsible, and I'll let it go. Otherwise, you won't like the consequences."
The burly man's face turned grim, and he said, "You ungrateful bastard, Qian Zhongli. Am I giving you too much face? Being polite to you is giving you face. Don't push your luck!"
"I'll say it again, hand over the person! Don't think I'm afraid to take action!" Qian Zhongli restrained his anger.
"I'll say it again too," the burly man retorted. "Get lost while you still can. What will you do if I take action? Are you going to be scared?"
The burly man was equally impolite.
While Qian Zhongli said this, he was genuinely wary of the burly man and didn't dare to act rashly. He merely threatened, "The elders of the Qian family will be here soon. Don't make this into a big deal, or it will be difficult for all of us."
"What now? Are you relying on the Qian family's influence to bully us lone cultivators?" The burly man was unmoved.
"Do you have to be the one to take the lead?"
"If I can catch someone here today, I can ride on your heads tomorrow. What kind of person is your young master? Don't you know what he's up to? If he bullies others, I might turn a blind eye, but if he bullies someone and gets taught a lesson, he deserves it, and you damn well better not interfere!"
"The Qian family has Foundation Establishment cultivators..."
"So what? Is it just your Qian family that has Foundation Establishment cultivators? So what if they're at the Foundation Establishment stage? Are they supposed to bully those at the Qi Refinement stage? What a waste of your long life!" The burly man cursed. "Do you want me to bring up the shameful way your Qian family gained its wealth?"
Qian Zhongli knew he couldn't out-argue the man, and he didn't want to hear any more unpleasant words, so he said, "Fine, I won't take the person for now. But first, tell me, what happened here? Who used what means to injure the young master?"
The burly man let out a soft laugh. "Isn't it clear? Your little bastard of a young master wanted to use sorcery to bully others, but since he didn't master it properly, the spell didn't hit anyone. Instead, he ended up blowing himself up like this! Can't you see that? Are your eyes just for show?"
"Don't spout rubbish!" Qian Zhongli said angrily.
"Then you tell me, what happened? Can you point out anyone among this group who could cast a spell of such power?"
The burly man pointed at Mo Hua, "If you can find someone, I'll let you take him away without another word."
Qian Zhongli was left speechless.
Among this group of cultivators, the most powerful was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, and none had sufficient spiritual energy to wield such sorcery. Although a few had the requisite cultivation level, one glance told him they were body cultivators. The martial arts and techniques of body cultivators were completely different from the sorcery practiced by spiritual cultivators.
Qian Zhongli swept his spiritual sense over the crowd again and again, doubting himself. Could it be that the person who injured Young Master Qian Xing was really not among them? Indeed, none of these cultivators seemed capable of such sorcery.
Mo Hua, who was mixed in with the crowd, lowered his head. There was no sorcerer among them, but there was someone who knew how to manipulate arrays...
However, Mo Hua was only at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, so Qian Zhongli didn't even spare him a glance.
"Well? Cat got your tongue?" The burly man sneered.
Qian Zhongli frowned, "Regardless, I demand an explanation."
The burly man's temper flared, "You want an explanation? You're looking for trouble! Then let our cultivation do the talking. We'll see if I make you cry for your daddy or if you beat me so badly that I'll be searching for my teeth all over the ground!"
The burly man withdrew a wolf-tooth club, its tip stained with dark red blood, emanating a sinister aura. It was clear at a glance that many magical beasts had met their end at the business end of this club.
Qian Zhongli didn't want to fight, but he had no choice at this point. He drew his sword, causing his spiritual energy to surge, making him seem even more powerful. However, facing the burly man's cold smile and wolf-tooth club, he felt utterly intimidated.
Just then, someone shouted for them to stop. A cultivator wearing the robe of the Dao Court walked over, and Mo Hua recognized him as Zhang Lan.
Zhang Lan was usually idle, but now, dressed in the Dao Court's robe, he exuded an air of authority.
"The Dao Court will handle this matter." Zhang Lan spoke with the air of an official.
"Zhang Dian, this matter..." Qian Zhongli started to say something, but Zhang Lan raised his hand to stop him, "I said, the Dao Court will handle this matter. Everyone else, leave at once!"
Qian Zhongli didn't want to leave, and the burly man stood his ground as well, resulting in a stalemate.
Zhang Lan's gaze sharpened as he glanced at the burly man with the wolf pelt, "It's best not to make a big deal out of this," he said, then turned to Qian Zhongli, "and don't bring shame to your family."
Qian Zhongli gritted his teeth and bowed, "As you decide, Zhang Dian."
The burly man also clasped his fists in salute, then glanced at Mo Hua and waved his hand, "Kid, stop gawking and scram!"
Mo Hua and his friends quickly took the hint and left.
Da Zhu and the others had sustained various injuries from the fight, so Mo Hua led them to find Mr. Feng for treatment. Qian Zhongli took away the severely injured Qian Xing, paying no heed to the other Qian family disciples.
The burly man snorted coldly at this, then sauntered away.
Soon, several Dao Court cultivators arrived and began cleaning up the scene under Zhang Lan's direction.
Zhang Lan had been slacking off nearby and only rushed over when he heard the explosion. He saw Qian Zhongli and the burly man facing off but had no idea what had transpired.
However, as a Dao Court official, he couldn't just do nothing, so he decided to put on a show of authority.
Zhang Lan thoroughly inspected the scene, then looked at the spirit ink on the ground and the array paper that had almost burned to ashes, muttering, "Could it be a formation?"
Who would use such an array?
Not every cultivator could learn arrays, especially in a small place like Tongxian City.
Zhang Lan recalled the curious look on Mo Hua's face as he had flashed by in the crowd earlier.
He had initially thought that Mo Hua was just there to watch the spectacle, but now, a rather absurd idea popped into his head, causing Zhang Lan's eyelids to twitch involuntarily.
"No way, could this kid be that formidable...?"
(End of Chapter)
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