"Look! That person seems to be one of the Azure Lotus Sect disciples!"
The other Xin disciples glanced at Long Huang, who was following the tiger. Hearing this, Long Huang cursed under his breath, "Why did this have to happen today of all days when I was wearing my Sect robes?" He dashed through the forest and into the trees. Xin Fei watched Long Huang's retreating figure and murmured, "What impressive footwork! His speed is not even slower than mine when I go all out! His marksmanship skills aren't bad either…"
"Hmph! He's just a coward who hides in the back and steals from others! He better not let us catch up, or else…" a youth, who was at the 5th stage of the Meridian Tempering Realm, coldly remarked. This youth was ranked just below Xin Fei in terms of strength.
His words were immediately supported by the others. "You're right! That kid let us be the bait while he shot branches from the shadows!"
"Xin Xi, that person saved our lives," said Xin Fei, shaking his head.
"Yes, he saved our lives, but a junior still died because he wanted us to wear down the Green Eyed Tiger King," Xin Xi replied. Just then, a few miles away, the last roar of the Green Eyed Tiger King echoed through the air.
ROAR!!...
The expressions of the Xin family disciples changed instantly. Without a second thought, they understood that the tiger must have died.
"Quick!"
The youth named Xin Xi charged towards the direction of the sound. Meanwhile, several miles to the east, Long Huang leaned against a tree branch, breathing heavily. Below him lay the Green Eyed Tiger King, its forehead pierced by several branches. Not long ago, this tiger had been a ferocious creature; now, however, the poison had taken its toll, and it was lifeless.
Instinctively, Long Huang reached for a branch to break, but then he realized that the Green Eyed Tiger King was truly dead. He jumped down toward the corpse and began deep in thought. His eyes then fell on the approaching Xin disciples, who were two miles away. Long Huang stood still, hesitating to touch the corpse. It wasn't that he didn't want to; rather, he found it difficult to do so.
The tiger's body weighed around three tons and was hard to move. Additionally, its skin was tough to cut, as he only had the basic knife that came with his camping kit. Soon, the five Xin disciples arrived.
"Kid! Move quickly! This is ours!" Xin Xi shouted angrily as he approached. He was wary of Long Huang's strength, especially since Long Huang showed no signs of exhaustion, whereas they had lost one of their own, and Xin Fei was drained. However, they still had two members at the peak of the Skin Tempering Realm and one at the 5th stage of Meridian Tempering. Long Huang stood his ground and mockingly regarded Xin Xi, only feeling concerned about Xin Fei and not the others.
"Xin Xi! He saved our lives. Let's just discuss how to split the tiger," Xin Fei suggested calmly as he arrived.
Long Huang eyed him appraisingly. "Just as I thought. The tiger's corpse is this large, and I lack both the tools to cut it and the strength to carry it away. You guys showed up just in time."
Xin Fei had indeed put a lot of effort into killing the tiger. They had also lost one member. Although Xin Xi was somewhat resistant, he ultimately agreed. Soon, they began discussing how to divide the tiger.
"Two-eighths. The Xin family will take eight," Xin Xi stated firmly. "Hmph! Twenty percent is already too much for this kid!" The rest of the Xin disciples looked disdainful.
"Two-eighths? Hahaha…" Long Huang laughed loudly. "Kid! What's so funny? I want to hear how much you think you deserve!" the group challenged.
"Two-eighths. I get eight… you get two!" Long Huang replied. Initially, he had wanted to split it five-five, but he didn't expect the Xin family to have such an attitude.
"Don't be arrogant! Let's see how strong you really are!" Xin Xi taunted as he drew his sword. "Stop!" Xin Fei tried to intervene, but it was too late.
"Illusion Flash-Image Art!"
Xin Fei moved like the wind, whirling toward Long Huang, and slashed with his sword, the wind howling around them.
"It's the mid-grade mortal combat art, Broken Wind Sword!" someone shouted.
"That kid is dead now. Xin Xi has already trained in the first six moves of Broken Wind Sword, which means he has achieved a high level of mastery," the Xin disciples said with sympathetic expressions.
"So what? Just small tricks!" Long Huang replied without retreating, instead charging forward. "What speed!" Everyone, including Xin Fei, could only see Long Huang blur into motion.
Not good!
Xin Xi's sword missed Long Huang entirely, and he realized that Long Huang was closing the gap between them with incredible speed.
"Broken Wind Sword Art, Angry Wind After-Image!" Xin Xi shouted as he launched another attack.
"Ocean Wave Fist!" Long Huang unleashed all his strength into his fists. The moment he performed the Ocean Wave Fist art, his power surged, having achieved minor completion and nearing major completion.
"What strength!"
Xin Xi felt as if a volcano was erupting inside him. Long Huang's strength seemed to surpass that of a high-level Meridian Tempering Realm individual.
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed as Xin Xi and Long Huang clashed.
Slap!
Xin Xi coughed up blood after receiving the first punch and was sent flying into a tree. He stood up once more, ready to continue the fight.
"You're one persistent bastard, you know that?" Long Huang said with a laugh as he threw out a second punch.
Bang!
Xin Xi's silver sword was knocked away. Long Huang followed up with a third and then a fourth punch.
Boom!
This time, Xin Xi was sent flying again, leaving an imprint of his body on the tree.
"What power! So strong!" The other Xin disciples stood frozen in shock. They never imagined someone with the power of a mid-level Meridian Tempering Realm cultivator would lose to an Azure Lotus Sect disciple who wasn't even a Core disciple, as indicated by his robes.
"Strong," one of the disciples remarked.
Xin Fei, who was not far away, asked, "May I know your name?"
"Long Huang," he replied casually, retracting his fists.
"What?" The Xin disciples gaped in disbelief. They recognized Long Huang; they had seen him before, and Xin Xi even remembered him from the awakening ceremony.
"Kid! You were just lucky this time!" Xin Xi declared arrogantly, now realizing who he was facing and no longer taking Long Huang seriously.
Xin Xi struggled to get up from the ground. "I've been fighting like a tiger and am exhausted. Next time, you won't be so lucky."
"Luck, you say?" Long Huang replied with a faint smile. Despite Xin Xi's injuries, Long Huang believed he could still defeat him at peak strength.
"Of course, it's just luck. You're nothing but an ordinary-grade bloodline holder," scoffed Xin Xi. Long Huang responded, "I see you're true to your name, talkative much?"
"So what if I love to talk? You still shouldn't be this strong. You probably used a strength-enhancing pill," Xin Xi retorted.
"Yeah, that's right. There's no way you could be this strong; it's only been half a month since the awakening ceremony," murmured some of the Xin family disciples. One of them added, "Hand over the corpse, and we'll leave you to whatever you were doing before."
Whoosh...
Long Huang jumped onto the corpse as if to claim ownership.
"Oh yeah? Go ahead, try me," he daringly taunted, perched atop the lifeless body of the Green-Eyed Tiger King. One hand confidently propped on his thigh, holding his head as he looked at them with an air of defiance, like a king surveying his domain. His striking emerald green eyes sparkled with a fierce battle intent, reflecting both the triumph of victory and the thrill of the challenge that lay ahead.
Long Huang was unfazed by the Xin family members' words but welcomed a challenge. He noticed that every time he fought, everything became clearer to him, and he relished that feeling, which always came from a battle. The only person he was wary of was Xin Fei.
Xin Fei's strength was nearing the Bone Tempering Realm. When he used all his power, he could even damage the Green-Eyed Tiger King, let alone Meridian Tempering Realm cultivators.
"Xin Xi, you are not his opponent! Don't you think you've already lost enough face?" Xin Fei said, slowly turning towards Long Huang. Suddenly, a frightening fighting will radiated from him, causing Long Huang's heart to skip a beat. "Has Xin Fei already recovered?"
Certainly, if Xin Fei had not regained at least 60% of his strength, Long Huang would not be afraid of him. It was clear that Xin Fei had yet to fully recover.
"Your fist art is almost at the major completion level, and your footwork is incredible. Next time, I'd like to spar with you," Xin Fei said, looking at Long Huang with admiration.
"Sure, we can spar next time," Long Huang responded. While he was cautious of Xin Fei, he was not afraid. Xin Fei's strength was comparable to that of a Core disciple ranked on the Earth list among the Azure Lotus Sect disciples.
If Long Huang could defeat Xin Fei, he would be capable of fighting a Core disciple. Soon, they finished discussing how to split their rewards.
"Six-four. I get six, you guys get four," Long Huang proposed.
"Okay," Xin Fei answered. The other Xin disciples remained silent, too wary of Long Huang's strength to respond.
Long Huang nodded to himself. Giving away 40% of the rewards was a smart move. Firstly, he lacked the tools to cut or move the entire corpse since his storage pouch was almost full, so he let the others handle it. Secondly, he did not want to create too many enemies before he had enough power.
If he kept the entire reward for himself, wouldn't that just make the others jealous?
He then coollects his share and turns and leaves the Xin family members .
" We could have taken him Xin Fei " said Xin Xi . But Xi Fei replied "It's better to gain a friend than to gain an enemy"
" Plus at his rate he'll be in the top of the up and coming competition in a few months " hearing what Xin Fei said they agreed.
" Alright that's enough let's head back to the City" said Xin Fei, they all then turned a headed in the direction leading to the City.