Wu Qi stood firm, straight as a pine tree, calm and unhurried.
"This little trick of yours is pretty low."
No one would have expected bandits to appear on the main road leading to Heaven Dou City. By common sense, the closer one gets to a major city, the better the security.
It was no wonder the merchants who stopped here to rest had fallen for it so easily.
"Big Sister, let me handle this. He's only a Spirit Elder," one of the burly men said arrogantly.
So what if they'd been exposed? Wu Qi was alone and only a low-level Spirit Elder. Could he really escape their grasp?
To them, Wu Qi stepping forward only proved he had some brains, but the outcome was already decided.
"No, no, no." The leading woman licked the blade of her dagger. "Such a handsome young man is rare. I'd love to keep him in my hands and train him properly."
She stepped closer. "Little brother, be good and let your big sister cripple your cultivation. From now on, I'll take very good care of you."
Wu Qi replied flatly, "So that means I don't have to die?"
He admitted she had some beauty, but her wolf-like hunger was disgusting.
The woman neither confirmed nor denied it. The fire in her heart flared uncontrollably. As she looked at Wu Qi's face, she almost seemed intoxicated.
Wu Qi suddenly smiled faintly. "Too bad. Even If you're not going to kill me, I want to kill you."
"Move!"
The woman and the bandits froze, instantly scanning their surroundings in alarm.
A full minute passed.
What they heard first wasn't an attack, but Chang Kong complaining, "Brother Wu, your medicine isn't working. They're still not awake!"
Wu Qi's expression stiffened.
Was the antidote powder fake? Had Chrysanthemum Douluo deliberately tricked him?
Before he could think further, a large hand grabbed his calf. "Young friend, thank you."
So they had been pretending to sleep.
Several middle-aged men rose to their feet, Spirit Rings appearing one after another.
One Spirit King. Three high-level Spirit Ancestors.
These four were escorts from different merchant caravans. If not for the antidote powder taking effect, they might have been slaughtered in their sleep.
The leading woman was shocked, her face twisting. "What did you do? Why didn't the muscle-severing poison work?"
Wu Qi remained calm on the surface, though inwardly relieved.
He knew nothing about medicine, only that the antidote powder was made from expensive materials and had been highly praised by Chrysanthemum Douluo.
One of the middle-aged men snorted. "Daring to rob and kill on the main road, you clearly don't respect the authority of the Heaven Dou Empire."
"Don't worry. You won't live long enough to be arrested. We'll deal with you first."
With that, the escorts activated their Spirit Skills and clashed with the bandits.
Wu Qi grabbed Chang Kong and fled the inn amid the chaos.
"Brother Wu, let's help them!" Qian Gu Chang Kong said anxiously.
"Don't be reckless. We're leaving first!" Wu Qi frowned.
Joining that melee? That would be asking for death.
Their Spirit Power levels were the lowest among everyone present.
This wasn't training, it was real life-and-death combat. If there was a chance to escape, why stay and risk it?
There was no time to explain. Wu Qi simply dragged Chang Kong away.
They wanted to leave, but someone didn't want them to.
Sensing a change in the airflow, Wu Qi shoved Chang Kong aside and twisted his body. An invisible arrow, tearing through the wind, shot past him.
A bow-type Spirit!
Wu Qi's heart tightened.
He knew this type very well.
During his years in Spirit City, he had often been "dragged" away by Glowing Feather Douluo to train his reaction speed.
Bow-type Spirits are classified as agility-attack Spirit Masters. In close combat, they are far weaker than other battle-oriented Spirit Masters of the same level. Instead, they rely on speed—shooting once, then immediately changing positions.
In the wild, they are extremely troublesome opponents.
After sparring with Glowing Feather Douluo many times, Wu Qi had never once managed to catch his real body.
However, the hidden attacker's strength was far inferior to Glowing Feather Douluo's. There was still a chance to locate him.
"Chang Kong, draw his fire!" Wu Qi shouted.
Though Chang Kong had complaints in his heart, he didn't hesitate.
His Staff Spirit spun in his hands as he moved with erratic evasive steps.
Whoosh—
Another invisible arrow shot toward him. Wu Qi launched a feather blade to intercept it.
At the same time, he memorized the direction from which the attack came.
As more arrows flew, he calculated the attacker's approximate position based on their trajectory and the opponent's movement patterns.
Crane Cloud Wings and Luan Wings overlapped, his speed soaring to an unbelievable level.
In the distance, Wang Qing's expression changed drastically. "A mere Spirit Elder can actually find my position."
He was a Spirit King. To satisfy his twisted hobby, he liked to shatter his prey's confidence before delivering the killing blow.
If he had attacked with full strength from the start, Wu Qi and the other boy would already be dead. Now that his position was exposed, facing an agility-attack Spirit Elder in close quarters made him uneasy.
Close combat wasn't his strength. And a Spirit Elder who could pinpoint his location was he really ordinary?
The white Spirit Ring beneath Wang Qing's feet lit up.
"First Spirit Skill: Flashing Arrow."
Drawing the bow to a full moon, he released the arrow. It streaked into the air and exploded in a burst of dazzling light.
Seeing Wu Qi closing in step by step and no reinforcements arriving, Wang Qing couldn't help cursing, "Damn it, Chen Fang, what the hell are you doing?"
From this distance, he only knew fighting had broken out at the inn, he had no idea how it was going.
"Wind-Control Flying Blade!"
Feather blades filled the sky like iron cavalry charging across a wasteland, rushing forward at terrifying speed and momentum.
Wang Qing did not dare to be careless. "Fourth Spirit Skill: Frozen Arrow!"
He shot an arrow into the ground before him. Within a radius of twenty meters, the temperature suddenly dropped. Moisture in the air condensed rapidly, forming a solid wall of ice in front of him.
Clang! Clang!
The feather blades struck the ice wall, sending shards of ice scattering everywhere.
Seeing the wall on the verge of shattering, Wang Qing immediately turned and fled at full speed.
"What the hell kind of Spirit Elder is this? His attack power isn't any weaker than a low-level Spirit Ancestor!"
At the same time, he understood something clearly. A youth with this level of strength had to come from a major power.
If they allowed him to escape, their mountain stronghold would face certain destruction.
Even while retreating, Wang Qing continued to fire cold arrows.
Wu Qi was extremely sensitive to changes in airflow. As long as he did not recklessly rush forward, ordinary arrows posed little threat to him.
Meanwhile, high in the sky Wu Qi and Chang Kong were key figures being nurtured by the Worship Hall. It was no exaggeration to say they were considered successors to the worship elders.
How could they travel without a powerful protector accompanying them?
Golden Eagle, an eight-ring Spirit Douluo, watched the scene unfold with disbelief and a racing heart.
A Spirit Elder chasing down a Spirit King was this still the Spirit Master world he knew?
No matter how weak Wang Qing was at close combat, he was still a Spirit King. How could he be afraid of a Spirit Elder?
As a Spirit Douluo, Golden Eagle understood the reason clearly.
Wang Qing had plainly been intimidated by Wu Qi's momentum. Wu Qi's astonishing reaction speed and offensive power made him unwilling to engage head-on.
Still, Golden Eagle found it hard to accept that a Spirit Elder could maintain such composure in battle.
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