Chapter 410 Standoff
Wu Long watched the Mortal Transcendence Realm expert on the other side with a feeling of shame.
'If I could only get rid of him now'
He thought, as revealing he could go against Mortal Transcendence Realm cultivators in his current realm would cause Gu Zhen to abandon the stalemate even with the bloody cost of fighting Zhao Xieren and the others, and start the war immediately to not allow him any more growth, so he had to restrain himself.
Besides, they were preparing to reap an even more fat prey.
Sonic booms resounded as over time people from the Azure Eagle side and Alchemy Tower side, as well as neutral cultivators in the Seven Boundless Realms arrived at the location while the ones already here entered and impasse.
A small formation covered Wu Long and his beauties, as well as the Foundation Building Realm fighters of the Thousand Eyes Information Bureau, shielding them from the oppressive, suffocating aura of so many experts above Nine Mortal Realms.
The sky gradually filled up with about a hundred people, with thirty belonging to the side of the Azure Eagles and Madam Liang, only five of whom were actually of the Azure Eagle Spiritual Beast Race, twenty neutral ones standing in isolation from each other, and the others all gathering on the side of the Alchemy Tower.
"Do you really want to start this?"
Do Bishui grinned as part of these people came from the negotiations that were held far up north, where the side of the Alchemy Tower was trying to figure out the intentions of the Azure Eagles behind the sudden actions of the Empire.
Both sides started taking an aggressive stance, as the ones on the Alchemy Tower side began smiling, raring to go. It was apparent that they were already not as reluctant to start a war as before.
The neutral people exchanged glances as they looked at the two sides. It was apparent that they were rapidly calculating their chances, with some of them very slowly moving toward the Alchemy Tower's side.
"Madam Liang, Tower Master Gu is very fond of you, and if you come with us now he might forgive you your reluctance and defiance. You just have the right attitude"
Receiving no answer from the Azure Eagles who stoically did not reveal any nervousness and only concentrated, Do Bishui turned his gaze to Liang Yuhan.
"Hah! You can tell that slimy bastard to find a more suitable partner for himself... how about... his alchemy furnace? It has all the right curves and orifices..."
Liang Yuhan revealed a smile that could charm any man yet again, lightly laughing at the end as Do Bishui furrowed his eyebrows.
"Hah! To start the war over this shit"
He then turned to Wu Long who was finally recognized as the notorious Troublemaker.
"Do you even realize that you have been hanging by a thin thread the whole time?"
He asked, as the man kneeling in front of Wu Long with a spear blade lying flat on his shoulder that was not injured, revealed a gloating smile.
"Hah, you know better than ask me that question"
Wu Long chuckled, as the man in front of him first froze, and then became ashen as he started to realize something.
"Indeed, you know what you were doing. But the games end here, and your deeds that went unpunished will all be judged today-..."
"Release my man!"
As Do Bishui talked, a man in gray robes with a saber behind his back barked at Wu Long, but was ignored as Wu Long continued to look at the former.
"Khm! Anyway, it seems today is the day this long wait ends~"
Do Bishui first grimaced at?being interrupted but just coughed and finished up as he took out a communication talisman, no doubt ready to signal war to all forces on the continent starting a wide-scale carnage.
And then, a man flew out of their camp with a weapon in hand.
"Hahaha, finally I can-... kheuk!!!"
As he was trying to become the first spark that started the war, a streak of light flew in with a more powerful sonic boom, and the man's neck was grasped in a withered-looking but somehow blazing with power hand. An old man raised his head, his sunken eyes from under thick white eyebrows glinting with a sharp light.
"...!"
"Impossible-...!"
"How can...!"
A shiver went through the rowdy crowd of Seven Profound Realm cultivators as Spiritual Qi swirled around the old man who did not look any younger but was brimming with strength and vitality. The eyes of the people on the Alchemy Tower side widened with fear rapidly feeling them.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"This is different from what you claimed Daoist Do!"
"Give us an explanation!"
Cries of dismay and indignation rose all around the man in the white clothes and a leather crown. The neutral spectators froze as their eyes widened with shock as well. The ones becoming near to the Alchemy Tower side also halting their slow movements, and even slightly backing away.
"Silence!!!"
A sharp voice immediately made the sounds die out as Old Man Zhao's powerful presence commanded the scene.
"Heh, this one is paying for attacking our side"
Zhao Xieren did not wait for a response from Do Bishui who opened up his mouth to protest and his sword went into the abdomen of the man he held in hand, turning the blade to crush his Dantian and then releasing the hand on his neck, letting his body fall from the sky like a sack of potatoes.
The people below watched with round eyes as a mighty Seven Profound Realms cultivator fell just like a gutted chicken while Wu Long inwardly chuckled as their first 'fat prey' fell.
"Zhao Xieren!!!"
"Hooh~"
Do Bishui shouted in rage, but froze immediately after as the old man's sharp gaze from the sunken-in dark circles resembling that of a skeleton turned to him.
"You got a lot more courage since the last time we met, little Bishui. What was it? 'Senior, I wouldn't dare' ... that you said at the time?"
He spoke with an uneven grin as the opponent reddened in face.
"Enough"
A new, calm and domineering voice resounded on the scene as a ball of flames appeared from a distance.
'Tch, as I thought, a Flame Projection'
Wu Long held in the urge to click his tongue in disappointment. He knew Gu Zhen was extremely careful, but he still held a small glimmer of hope he would show up in person. In that scenario, Wu Long could at least estimate the opponent, but this Flame Projection did not give him any information.
The only saving grace was that this projection could not peer into Wu Long either.
"Hah! You finally show up, and not even in person!"
Zhao Xieren snorted as he watched a fairly handsome young face appear among the flames.
"I must admit... I did not expect this"
Gu Zhen spoke in a calm and collected tone, his eyes peering through the flames to try and pry into the secret of why this old man was standing before him with so much vigor and strength.
"So, you want a fight? Here we are!"
Zhao Xieren widely grinned, all raring to go as the ones on the other side became a lot more timid than when everything started.
"Haa~ why must everything become so tangled... I suppose it is that young man's fault, isn't it?"
Gu Zhen's eyes turned from Zhao Xieren to Wu Long, becoming a little troubled as he sighed with a little dismay, his voice still calm and peaceful.
Wu Long returned the man's gaze, as the two stared in each other's eyes for a few moments in silence. Despite Gu Zhen's peaceful tone, the place was filled with tension one could cut with a knife as all sides were prepared to engage at any moment.
"I suppose it is our first greeting, Wu Long is it?"
"It is, Gu Zhen?"
The two confirmed the opponent's name, both equally calm and collected as the man kneeling in front of Wu Long finally became pale as the snow his knees were buried in. He finally understood why there was no reaction from Wu Long to his words like he anticipated, becoming the very frog in the well he thought he would expose Wu Long as.
"I thought I gave you enough leeway. Not to mention I believed we had an understanding for a while there"
"You were sneaking a move so I took it as the signal, is it my fault you got caught red-handed while not knowing the full picture?"
Gu Zhen spoke as if they were long acquainted, which did not make Wu Long show any surprise as he responded in tone.
"Hahaha, I suppose I have to concede that. But do you really think you will win if you start full-scale now?"
A lighthearted laugh escaped Gu Zhen as he nodded, as if really conceding mere pawns on the chessboard or stones on the board of Go.
"Well, you were already raring to go so we couldn't just sit and wait for you to start"
Wu Long shrugged his shoulders and stood his ground, not being intimidated by the promise of the imminent conflict.
"..."
Gu Zhen took a long look into Wu Long's eyes, as silence once again filled the place. The tension not only hasn't subsided, it only rose, as various parties gripped their weapons tighter, circulated their Spiritual Qi, and their auras slowly were rising in preparation of a battle dreaded by both sides.
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