After transforming, he shook his hand, and the cane he was holding disappeared. For a second, a bracelet on his left wrist became visible, before getting covered up by his sleeve.
How rare. I've been to the Divine Continent and 5 super sects, but I've never seen anything like this before. To be able to cultivate his spirit to this level before reaching the qi condensing stage, he must either have a very strong spirit cultivation technique or some heavenly treasure. The man pondered. After a second, he frowned.
Also why did he look familiar? This is the first time I've come to the Eastern Continent, so it's impossible for me to meet him before. The man thought. The child's face reminded him of an old friend, making him hold a favorable impression of him. This good will coupled with his shocking talent prompted him to give him his book.
This mysterious man was the author of the book Four Elemental Runes, Lu Tiankuo
As he was thinking, Lu Tiankuo's face suddenly became pale. Stumbling, he violently coughed a couple times, spitting out dark blood. The blood looked vile and caused a quiet sizzling sound when it touched the ground. Taking a green pill from his spatial bracelet, he quickly consumed it. After a few deep breaths, his face regained its healthy color.
This poison is truly troublesome. At this rate, I could probably only live for 30 more years if I don't find a cure. Lu Tiankuo grimaced. He turned his head back and looked in the direction of the duo. Even though they were quite some distance apart, he was able to clearly see them studying the book.
Seeing his excited expression slowly turn into one of pain, Lu Tiankuo smiled a little. Cultivate diligently.
Turning around, he took a step forward and disappeared once again, shocking a bystander that just walked over.
As if to confirm he wasn't hallucinating, the bystander rubbed his eyes. Still not convinced, he cautiously approached the place where Lu Tiankuo disappeared. After confirming that he was really gone, the bystander became bewildered. He walked away, scratching his head.
****
"Alright enough of this, I'll look at this at home." Yang Bin closed the book. He flipped through the entire book and realized it was completely empty except for the first couple pages. Yang Bin stood up, and Yang Mengyao stood up with him.
"Do you want to go anywhere?" Yang Mengyao asked.
Yang Bin took a look around. The area had become much more lively since he sat down. With so many conversations going on, Yang Bin wasn't able to make out the situation, but one thing was clear: everyone is headed in the same direction.
"Something is happening that way." Yang Bin raised his arm and pointed at the direction the crowd was going. "Let's go and see it."
"Ok." Yang Mengyao cheerfully agreed.
As they got closer, the group became more packed. So much so that Yang Bin had to hold Yang Mengyao's hand so they don't get separated. With more people clustered together, Yang Bin was able to pick up bits and sentences of people's hushed conversations.
"What's happening over there?" Someone asked.
"From what I heard, there are two youths fighting. One of them is Ren Bao and his opponent is a young man called Yang Chen." Another replied.
"Ren Bao? One of the three geniuses of the Ren Clan?" A trace of shock was in the voice.
"Correct, that one."
"If it's really him then it's best if we don't get ourselves involved. I pity his opponent."
"Someone had already notified the city guards. They'll be here soon."
Hearing their conversation, Yang Bin frowned and fell into deep thought. He knew Yang Chen very well, as they were in the same generation in the Yang Clan. Being at the seventh rank of body temping at the age of 12, there were very few people around his age that could rival him, but his opponent definitely could. As a matter of fact, Ren Bao was actually stronger.
The Ren Clan was another colossus clan, slightly stronger than the Yang Clan. In the past, they were much smaller. About a decade ago, their previous clan head stepped down and was replaced. Their new clan head was very ambitious and greedy. Following his orders, the Ren Clan started raiding smaller tribes and expanding their own. Thinking that the Yang Clan was weak, they tried to raid the Yang Clan. The Yang Clan resisted fiercely and a bloody battle broke out. There were hundreds of casualties, but eventually, the Yang Clan was won by a narrow margin. As a result, the Yang Clan took their resources and land.
Following that defeat, the Ren Clan conquered other clans in a frenzy. Some smaller tribes were intimidated by them and chose to surrender and join them. Now that the Ren Clan is stronger than ever, they've been waiting to strike back.
Of course, this battle has nothing to do with Yang Bin's generation, but with how much their elders talk about it; it was impossible for the members of the two clans to be friends.
The Ren Clan had three geniuses: Ren Bao, Ren Xiu, and Ren Anbo. All of them have stepped into the eighth rank of body tempering and the strongest one, Ren Anbo, was rumored to be approaching the ninth rank.
On the other hand, the Yang Clan only had one person who had reached the eighth rank of body tempering: Yang Bai. The next closest to eighth rank would be Yang Chen.
Yang Bin pushed his way past the crowd with Yang Mengyao right behind him. He made his way to the front and saw the scene.
Inside a large ring of spectators, there were four people. On his left was Yang Chen and Yang Yu. Aside from his messy clothes, Yang Chen looked perfectly fine. Yang Yu, though, had another bruise on his face; red and new. Messy and injured, he was clearly beaten up.
On Yang Bin's right were two people that looked somewhat similar; red hair and red eyes with an unruly temperament. Though one was older and taller than the other. The older one was Ren Bao, and the younger one was Ren Min: Ren Bao's younger brother. Yang Bin couldn't tell how strong he was due to the distance, but judging by Yang Yu's state, he should be at least at the 4th rank of body tempering.
"Yang Chen, stop your foolish actions. You haven't reached the eighth rank and yet you still want to fight me? Did you forget that I've already reached the eighth rank? If this is all you have, then you can forget about getting the 500 year gold ginseng." Ren Bao said with a ridiculing smile on his face.
"Hmph, again!" Yang Chen charged forward. While running he activated iron palms and shot out a silvery white palm.
"Ha! This again? Since you are so persistent, I'll let you see the difference between us!" Ren Bao laughed. "Steel Fist!" He punched out.
"Ting!" A sharp sound rang out as his fist collided with Yang Chen's palm.
Yang Chen winced in pain and retreated a step back.
"I'm not done yet!" Ren Bao immediately lunged forwards and followed up with multiple punches.
Seeing another fist flying at him, Yang Chen hurriedly backed away and held his arms up. A faint bronze sheen appeared on his forearms, as he blocked the attack. However, it was evident the defense wasn't perfect, as Yang Chen grit his teeth with each block.
"Big brother!" Yang Yi cried. Enraged, he charged at Ren Bao, ignoring the consequences. "I will kill you!" He screamed.
"This fool." Ren Bao simply snorted with disdain. "Little brother take care of him."
"I got it." Ren Min charged forwards with a wicked grin on his face.
On the sideline, Yang Bin, watching all of this happen, couldn't help but mentally berate Yang Yu for his stupidity. You are half his rank!
Sighing, Yang Bin decided to save Yang Yi from a miserable fate. "Hold this." He passed the book he was holding to Yang Mengyao.
Yang Mengyao, knowing his intentions, tightly held his hand. "You're going to help him?"
Slightly surprised at Yang Mengyao's intervention, Yang Bin replied, "Yeah."
"Why?" Yang Mengyao furrowed her brows. She knew about the hostility between the two and couldn't fathom why Yang Bin would risk himself to save Yang Yu. The two were rivals, often fighting, and Yang Bin would usually get beaten, just like the time one month ago.
Yang Bin gave a helpless smile. "We do have some bad history between us, but ultimately, we are still part of the same clan. Ren Bao and Ren Min are part of the Ren Clan, and they are the enemies of our clan. No matter how bad our history is, I can't just sit back and watch when our enemies come to attack us."
"Oh." Hearing this, Yang Mengyao slowly released her grip on Yang Bin's hand and took the book from him.
Yang Bin smiled at her for another second before turning around. His smile vanished, and activating Phantom Tracks, he sped into the fight.
Watching Yang Bin's figure leave, Yang Mengyao quietly mumbled to herself.
"So what if they are part of the same clan. The one I care about is you."