The old cultivator instinctively turned his head, his cold eyes piercing toward Ji Tianwei. The giant Fire Spear Technique in his right hand remained poised to strike the young cultivator from the Yuan Clan.
The old man opened his mouth. "What can you do, you pathetic brat with no cultivation base?"
Ji Tianwei squinted, then gave a small sneer. "Don't judge someone by their appearance or strength. You have no right to say that. If you want to fight me, I have no problem finishing you off."
The young Yuan Clan cultivator watched, his thoughts racing. What is he going to do? Doesn't he see this old man is at the Spirit Severing stage? Or is he just all talk?
Ji Tianwei spoke again, "Hey, young Yuan Clan cultivator. Do you want my help? Answer me, or I'll retreat and let you two have your fun." He pointed a finger at the young cultivator.
"If you can help, fine. But can you really defeat him? I can't even sense an ounce of power from you," the young cultivator replied, his voice laced with doubt.
"Boy, go back to your place. This isn't your business. Do you want to die?" the old cultivator spat.
"Hmph! Just try me," Ji Tianwei said, spitting to the side. "If you want to die by my hand." He pulled a sword from the storage ring on his finger.
He pointed the sword at the old man. "I, Ao Man, bow to no one, not even a cultivator like you. Show me the strength you're so proud of; I'll obliterate it until nothing remains." An arrogant tone came from his mouth.
Hearing Ji Tianwei's words, the old cultivator laughed loudly. "What did you say? Hahaha! Where are you from, boy? Are you dreaming? Fire Spear Technique! Die!"
A fire spear appeared from his left palm and shot toward Ji Tianwei.
Ji Tianwei remained calm. He closed his eyes for a moment, recalling all the moves his sister, Xiao Qing, had shown him. "First-Level Ice Dance Technique!"
From the tip of his sword, a cold aura of ice erupted, forming a razor-sharp ice shard. Ji Tianwei thrust it forward, and the shard shot out like a bullet, colliding with the old cultivator's fire spear.
Boom!
The violent collision of the two opposing techniques resulted in a massive explosion. The old man lowered the large fire spear in his right hand, then turned with a wide smile. "Oh... so you can block it. What can you do without that sword, you brat?" He once again pointed the large fire spear at Ji Tianwei.
The giant fire spear was extremely hot and moved fast. Braarr! Ji Tianwei was forced to use his shadow technique. "Shadow Step!" He merged with the darkness, disappearing into the shadows under the moonlight.
The old man's Mountain-Splitting Fire Spear Technique struck the ground where Ji Tianwei had stood. The devastating impact created a massive hole, causing extremely hot lava to appear. All the surrounding trees were set ablaze.
The young Yuan Clan cultivator was stunned, his eyes wide as he saw the effect of the technique that was almost used on him. He thought to himself, What would have happened if that hit me? Wouldn't I just die instantly? Is this the difference in cultivation stages above me? It's so vast. What should I do? Should I just run? Cold sweat beaded on his body, and he froze. He took out a teleportation talisman his uncle had given him from his storage ring, ready to escape. The spiritual plant he had obtained was already safely stored in his ring from the start of the fight.
"Ao Man, where are all your grand words now? How foolish, haha!" The old cultivator laughed loudly. He then turned to the young cultivator, continuing, "Young Yuan Clan brat, hand over that spiritual plant if you don't want to end up like him. Now, realize it, you arrogant Newborn Soul brat!"
Not long after, a laugh echoed around them. "Haha, ridiculous! I'm dead? Are you kidding me, old geezer?" Ji Tianwei's voice was heard from within the shadows.
Both cultivators were startled. They wondered to themselves. The old cultivator's expression changed, and he said to himself, What?! He's not dead? Then where is he? How did he avoid my attack? Is he hiding his cultivation so I couldn't detect it? It's impossible; he's just a brat! I cultivated until I was fifty years old just to reach this stage, and that was even with the help of a Fourth-Level Cultivation Pill. Who is he? He looked around in a panic.
The young Yuan Clan cultivator could only fall silent after hearing that echoing voice. He felt that something was terribly wrong. He thought about calling his uncle with a Summoning Wood to help him.
Whoosh!
A fire fist shot out from the darkness of the trees. The fire formed a fist the size of a boulder and flew toward the old cultivator.
The old cultivator turned and quickly dodged to the right. "Is this your strength, a sneaky game? If you're brave, come out here! Do I need to burn this entire forest, haha!" he yelled. He thought, Where is he? Why did a fire technique appear from the darkness of the trees? He squinted, then closed his eyes to try to sense Ji Tianwei's presence.
Whoosh!
A moment later, a sharp ice shard emerged again from behind a dark tree, this time from a different direction. The old cultivator dodged it again. He couldn't focus on sensing Ji Tianwei because the surprise attacks kept coming.
This damn brat! the old cultivator thought. He raised his hand, and a flying sword appeared before him. He planned to fly up and watch from above.
Ji Tianwei saw this from the darkness. He would not let his opponent fly. Swish! A sword slash came from behind, aimed at the old man's back. "Arghhh! You bastard! Come here if you have guts! Don't use sneak attacks!" he screamed. The slash created a cut on his back, and blood immediately spurted out.
Ji Tianwei merged back into the shadows. "Remember, the night is my territory! Haha!" his voice echoed from the surrounding darkness, causing the young Yuan Clan cultivator to tremble with fear.
The old cultivator gritted his teeth. He was furious, and he shouted, "Fire Arrow Technique! Fire Shield Technique!" He launched fire arrows into the forest blindly, attacking in every direction.
The trees hit by his fire arrows immediately caught fire, quickly turning the forest into a massive sea of flames. He laughed loudly. "Now, where else can you hide?" he yelled as he continued to shoot arrows into the darkness.
Meanwhile, the young Yuan Clan cultivator could only take cover using his wind technique. He said to himself, That man has gone insane. What else will that Ao Man brat do? Will he come out? He closed his eyes, and just as he was about to use the Teleportation Talisman, something grabbed his leg. Darkness emerged from the shadow of his feet. He was too shocked to do anything. When he opened his eyes, he was in a place far away from the old cultivator.
"Are you okay?" Ji Tianwei said. He stood with his arms crossed, looking toward the North Forest. The flames were towering high. They were now on a cliff, observing the view from there.
The young cultivator was startled. "Ao Man, who are you, really? Why did you want to help me? Are you from a clan?" he asked, while looking at the blazing forest to the north, where the old cultivator was going insane.
"I'm just an ordinary brat without cultivation," Ji Tianwei replied. He turned to look at the young cultivator, who was still sitting in confusion. "I'm only interested in your clan. Are you from the Qingwu Continent?"
"Yes, I am from the Qingwu Continent." The young cultivator looked at Ji Tianwei nervously. "If you don't have cultivation, where did you get that power? If it's from an artifact, it shouldn't be that powerful."
"What's your name, and what's the spiritual plant that caused you both to fight?" Ji Tianwei asked, his eyes still looking north.
"This?" Yuan De asked, pulling the spiritual plant from his storage ring. He held it. The plant resembled a ginseng, but it was purple and had a very strong fragrance.
"This is a Purple Ginseng," he explained. "A rare spiritual plant from a ravine near that old man. I got it with great difficulty; there were many monsters roaming at the bottom of the ravine. When I got it, I came up and the old cultivator was already standing under a tree as if he was waiting for me. Oh, right… I'm sorry. My name is Yuan De, it's nice to meet you," he said with a shy smile, his words a bit stuttered. "Thank you for saving me."
"No problem," Ji Tianwei replied. "I just want to go with you. I have a special body, so you don't need to worry about the power I have." Ji Tianwei's hand reached up, pulling off the artifact mask. The foolish, ugly face dissolved away, revealing a charming one. His bones shifted with a loud, grinding creak, making Yuan De flinch back. The arrogant voice of 'Ao Man' softened, turning into the pitch of a child's. The darkness that wrapped around his body like torn clothes vanished, and he was back to his original dark blue robe with a Blue Lotus motif on the cloak.
Yuan De, who had been sitting, now stood up and watched Ji Tianwei, who looked serious as he observed the still-raging old cultivator.
Then, he opened his mouth. "Turns out you're still a child," he said with a small laugh. "I didn't expect to be saved by a child like you."
Ji Tianwei, who was shorter than him, squinted. "Hmph! Quickly, show me the way!" A tone of annoyance came from his mouth.
"Okay, okay, let's go!" Yuan De said. They both flew upward, speeding west, leaving the insane old cultivator in the middle of the burning forest.