After a refreshing swim in the icy lake, Ming Qi emerged from the water with a sense of contentment. He shook his head, shaking the water off his hair. Then, with a gentle wave of his hands, a layer of pale red innate energy emanated from his body, rapidly evaporating the water droplets from his body.
After quickly getting dressed, Ming Qi still hadn't seen Dabai. Undeterred, he simply paced back and forth around the small cave he'd been in, continuously circulating his energy to adjust to the sudden surge of powerful force.
At the same time, Ming Qi extended his spiritual awareness and activated the amplifying effect of the Supreme Diagram.
Having ascended two realms in succession, Ming Qi's aura now covered an area of nearly thirty miles. This was nearly triple the ten-mile range of a typical innate third-level Five Elements cultivator. This massive increase filled Ming Qi with a surge of excitement.
As the aura spread, Ming Qi quickly located Da Bai, who was currently chasing prey in the mountains over ten miles away.
After circulating his Yuan Energy for over ten minutes, Ming Qi's aura suddenly radiated over a dozen unfamiliar auras.
Judging from their auras, several of the dozen or so individuals were innate masters, while the remainder were cultivators of the ninth level of the acquired realm. With the amplification of the Supreme Diagram, Ming Qi could clearly identify any cultivator within the aura.
After just a few seconds, Ming Qi had a clear understanding.
The group moved swiftly, and the Yuan Energy of the innate cultivators fluctuated violently, clearly demonstrating a simultaneous struggle.
"Could it be that they've encountered another murder and robbery?"
Ming Qi stroked his beardless chin, a playful smile playing on his face.
The last time he encountered the pursued black-clad men in the snowy mountains, it had brought him a significant opportunity. Now, it seemed like something similar had happened again. No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than Ming Qi sped towards the group with lightning speed.
A distance of over ten miles wasn't far for a powerful innate being, and Ming Qi advanced relentlessly. Minutes later, the group of a dozen or so men came into his sight.
Taking in sight, Ming Qi was immediately astonished. The scene seemed strange. While it was similar to his previous predictions, it was also completely different!
What he saw was a dozen powerful cultivators desperately pursuing a little boy who looked only ** years old.
The boy had rosy lips, white teeth, a round face, and big, dark eyes. He looked adorable, though his clothes were a bit shabby and his hair was a bit disheveled.
None of these things caught Ming Qi's attention. What caught his attention at the moment was the boy's actions!
The boy's speed rivaled that of the several innate masters relentlessly pursuing him. What even amazed Ming Qi was that even while running, he would occasionally turn and unleash his powerful magical powers!
The boy's actions shocked Ming Qi. He could unleash magical powers at such a young age—that was something only innate cultivators could do!
Such a young boy, could he actually be an innate master!
Ming Qi looked closely and saw that while the boy wasn't nearly caught up, his situation wasn't much better. He probably wouldn't be able to hold out for long before the cultivators behind him caught up.
Anxiety flickered in the boy's large, dark eyes, and a solemn expression that was extremely unbecoming of his age appeared on his face.
"Little brat, since you've seen a secret you shouldn't know, you must be prepared to die!"
As they pursued, the cultivators behind him kept shouting, their magical powers constantly wielding.
"Hmph, so many adults, bullying a little kid? I really can't stand it!"
Ming Qi's lips twitched a few times, and he couldn't contain his anger. These burly fellows were clearly mercenaries from Killing Star City. A bunch of immortal mercenaries bullying a little brat was truly intolerable.
With a swish, Ming Qi leaped through the trees and brush and stepped forward without a trace of embarrassment.
Let's not even consider the little guy's origins for now; he'd just lend a hand.
That was Ming Qi's plan. Of course, his rash approach wasn't impulsive. He had carefully observed the auras and found that the strongest of the pursuing immortal mercenaries was only a fourth-level innate cultivator. The rest were all first-level innate cultivators or even acquired cultivators. Ming Qi's strength had greatly increased, and he couldn't wait to verify the effects of this boost.
More importantly, the nearly forced advancement of two realms had caused the vast amount of energy within him to become somewhat violent, and he urgently needed extensive combat to integrate it.
The young boy, with a group of mercenaries in front, soon appeared before Ming Qi.
When someone suddenly blocked his path, the young boy abruptly stopped without a second thought, then turned and sprinted in the other direction without hesitation.
Seeing the boy's attempt to take a detour, Ming Qi ignored it. Facing the dozen or so mercenaries charging towards him, he said with a smile, "So many of you bullying a child? That's a bit shameless."
"Huh?"
The leader had already been a little surprised by the sudden appearance of such a stranger, but upon hearing his words, he immediately understood: this guy was here to interfere and obstruct their work.
The leader was approximately thirty years old, with broad cheeks and a short beard, his face etched with a ruthless, murderous expression. He was clearly a celestial mercenary accustomed to a life on the brink of death.
Most notably, he bore a scar on the left side of his face, over two inches long, stretching from his ear to his eyebrow, a striking and ferocious sight.
This scarred cultivator was formidable, none other than the fourth-level Xiantian cultivator among this group of celestial mercenaries.
Upon hearing Ming Qi's words, Scar raised his hand without a single word and unleashed a stream of earth-yellow energy.
The released energy instantly transformed into a sharp blade, charging directly at Ming Qi.
The instant they engaged, Ming Qi frowned. He also raised his hand, spread his five fingers, and flames roared from his fingertips. In an instant, he unleashed a fire thunder.
Five fire thunder bolts blasted towards Scarred cultivator with lightning speed.
Seeing the resistance ahead, Scar had already taken action, and the monks who arrived shortly thereafter quickly surrounded Ming Qi.
Everyone stared fiercely, their auras brimming with murderous intent.
Bang!
Ming Qi launched a series of finger-tip fire bombs. Two of them, controlled by Ming Qi, struck directly into the energy stream released by Scar, while the other three struck Scar's upper, middle, and lower limbs.
"Hmph, a trifling trick!"
Scar wasn't surprised by Ming Qi's fire bombs. With a gentle flick of his right hand, a khaki barrier emerged, shimmering with light, clearly a magical power.
"I'll handle this guy. You keep chasing. Make sure you seal that brat's mouth shut!"
Scar issued the command while unleashing his defensive magical power.
It was clear that the scarred monk was the leader of this group of mercenaries, and he remained calm in the face of danger, clearly not forgetting their purpose for chasing him.
The fleeing boy was the target; the guy before him was just a small fry who, for some unknown reason, wanted to be a hero.
Ming Qi could discern the opponent's strength level, and Scar's monk could naturally also discern Ming Qi's realm. He was only at the third level of the Five Elements Realm, and Scar believed he was more than capable of handling him alone.
At Scar's command, the others abandoned their desire to fight and quickly jumped out of the circle to pursue the little boy.
A sinister smile crossed his face, and Scar licked his lips with his scarlet tongue, staring at the handsome young man before him as if he were watching a delicious feast.
"Perhaps you have some skills, but against me, Scar, you'll die!"
Scar didn't believe his decades of mercenary service, stalking the edge of a knife, were in vain. If he couldn't even defeat this delicate young man, whose realm was even lower than his, Scar wouldn't have any use for himself.
"You won't know whether you have skills until you try."
Ming Qi chuckled, stepped back a few steps to distance himself, and stared at Scar with narrowed eyes.
Scar was confident. He was at the fourth level of Xiantian, while his opponent was only at the third level. He was a veteran of battle, while his opponent was a delicate novice. With either strength or experience, he was confident he could defeat the opponent, especially since he had both.
With such an overwhelming advantage, Scar naturally chose a quick and decisive battle.
After saying this, Scar raised his hands, and a hazy earth elemental force rapidly rose and condensed between his palms. In the blink of an eye, the dense earth elemental force had condensed into a dazzling ball of light.
Innate cultivators compete with their supernatural powers, a fact Ming Qi was well aware of. So, upon seeing Scar gathering his energy, he was already in motion.
However, his steps were not employing any techniques. In the Postnatal Realm, Ming Qi used the Taixu Nine Steps to increase his speed. But now, having entered the Innate Realm, he was shocked to find that the Taixu Nine Steps, once considered a superior footwork at the Postnatal Realm, had slowed considerably, no longer able to keep up with the lightning-fast pace of Innate Realm combat.
So, Ming Qi simply used his energy to increase his speed. At the same time, he stretched his hands in front of his chest, his fingers spread out, revealing the same finger-snapping fire bomb he had used before.
"Is that all you have?"
Seeing the flames emanating from Ming Qi's fingertips, Scar sneered, his hands still moving.
The ball of light condensed, and then he arched his body backward, thrusting suddenly at Ming Qi!
"Yellow Dragon Breath!"
With a deep, deep roar, a stream of earth-yellow air, nearly as thick as a large water tank, swirled out of Scar's palms and soared through the air.
Where the yellow air stream passed, trees, dead grass, and rocks were shattered to pieces!