As the Xin family disciples followed behind, one of them seemed to notice something and spoke.
"Hey, look! That person seems to be one of the Azure Lotus Sect disciples!" the disciple said, pointing at the Azure Lotus on the back of Long Huang's robe.
"Yeah, look at the Azure Lotus on his robe."
"Fuck!"
"It just had to be today of all days when I was wearing my Sect robes, stwww fuck." Long Huang cursed under his breath. He thought he could keep his identity a secret, but that thought was ruined by his choice of clothes.
Long Huang then used his Wind Deer Steps and jumped into the trees, trying to lose the Xin family disciples.
"What impressive footwork! His speed, even though slower than mine, is remarkable. His marksmanship skills aren't bad either…" Xin Fei murmured as he watched Long Huang's figure maneuver through the trees.
"Hmph! So what!"
"He's nothing but a coward who hides in the back and steals from others! He better not let me catch him, or else…" a youth, coldly remarked.
This youth was ranked just below Xin Fei in terms of strength. The others immediately supported his words.
"You're right! That kid let us be the bait while he shot branches from the shadows!"
"Xi, that person saved our lives," said Xin Fei, shaking his head.
"Saved our lives? Fei, a junior, died."
"He waited for us to wear the Green Eyed Tiger King and ourselves down," Xin Xi replied.
"He wasn't obligate t..."
RoaR!!...
A few miles away, a weak roar of the Green Eyed Tiger King echoed through the air. The expressions of the Xin family disciples changed instantly. Without a second thought, they understood that the tiger was close to death.
Xin Xi charged in the direction of the sound. Meanwhile, Long Huang leaned against a tree, his breathing a bit heavy.
Below him lay the Green Eyed Tiger King, its forehead pierced by several branches. Not long ago, this tiger had been a creature of ferocity and strength; now it was but a pincushion.
As Long was about to jump, he noticed the tiger's paw twitch and instinctively reached for a branch, waiting for it to get up, but it didn't move. That's when he realized that the poison from both him and the Xin disciples had taken its toll, and it was truly dead.
He jumped down, deep in thought, as he stared at the corpse. Before his gaze shifted to the Xin disciples, who were approaching.
Long Huang stood still, thinking about how he was going to store the corpse.
Soon, the Xin disciples arrived.
"Bastard! Don't you dare! This is ours!" Xin Xi shouted angrily as he slowly approached his steps, measured.
He looked at the corpse of the tiger, its forehead filled with branches. He then shifted his gaze to Long Huang, who didn't even seem exhausted. Only a few beads of sweat falling from his face, this observation further fueled his anger.
'Most of us are on the brink of exhaustion and have even lost one of our own; even Xin Fei is drained and seriously injured. While this bastard barely broke a sweat. ' Xin Xi thought as he gritted his teeth, as he glared at Long Huang.
Long Huang noticed his gaze but disregarded Xin Xi, for only Xin Fei posed a threat,
"Bastard, did you not hear what I just said?"
"Me?" said Long Huang rising a brow as he pointed to himself. Xin Xi, who was already angry, lost it after seeing Long Huang act innocent and was about attack, but before he could, he heard someone call his name.
"Xi! He saved our lives. Let's just discuss how to split the tiger," Xin Fei suggested calmly as he arrived.
"Haha, haha, brother Fei! Great minds think alike.
"I was just saying I lack both the tools to cut it and the strength to carry it away, and you guys showed up just in time. "
Xin Fei and the others looked at the shameless thief before them with disgust. This kid had hidden away and only helped them at the last second; they had even lost one member, yet he acted like they were friends that haven't seen each other in a while. Xin Fei decided to pay no mind to this kid's shamelessness and began discussing how to divide the tiger.
"Four to six," Xin Fei said.
"Five to Five," said Long Huang
"Two to eight. The Xin family will take eight," Xin Xi stated firmly.
"Hmph! Twenty percent is already too much for this kid!" The rest of the Xin disciples looked disdainful.
"Two-eight? Hahaha…" Long Huang laughed loudly.
"Kid! What's so funny? I want to hear how much you think you deserve!" the group challenged.
"Two-eight. I get eight… You get two!" Long Huang replied. Truthfully, he wanted to leave nothing for these greedy bastards, but the tiger's body weighed around 10 tons, making it impossible for him to move alone.
"Don't be arrogant!"
"Oh, and what can you do if I don't? Beat me and take it from me? In that state?"
"Okay, bastard! Let's see how strong you are!" Xin Xi shouted as he drew his sword.
"Stop!"
Xin Fei tried to intervene again, but it was too late.
"Illusion Flash-Image Art!"
Xin Xi moved like the wind, whirling toward Long Huang and slashing with his sword, the wind howling around them.
"That kid is dead for sure. Xin Xi has already trained in the first six moves of Broken Wind Sword, which means he has achieved major completion." The Xin disciples said with sympathetic expressions.
"Kid, you best dodge, that's a mid-grade mortal combat art, Broken Wind Sword!" Xin Fei shouted.
"So what? Just small tricks!" Long Huang replied without retreating, instead charging forward.
"What speed!"
Everyone, including Xin Fei, could only see Long Huang blur into motion.
'Not good!'
Xin Xi's sword missed Long Huang entirely, and he realized that Long Huang was closing the gap between them with incredible speed.
"Broken Wind Sword Art, Angry Wind!" Xin Xi launched another attack. Seeing the oncoming attack, Long Huang sent out a punch with all his strength behind it.
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed as Xin Xi and Long Huang clashed. Xin Xi felt as if a volcano was erupting inside him, as he coughed up blood, and he was sent flying into a tree. He stood up once more, ready to continue the fight.
"You're one persistent idiot, you know that?" Long Huang said as he threw out a second punch.
"You bastard!!!"
Bang!
Xin Xi's silver sword was knocked away. Long Huang followed up with a third and then a fourth punch.
Boom!
This time, Xin Xi was sent flying again, leaving an imprint of his body on the tree.
"What power! How is he so strong!" said one of the Xin while the other Xin disciples stood frozen in shock.
They never imagined someone with the power of a late-level Meridian Tempering Realm cultivator would lose to an Azure Lotus Sect disciple who wasn't even a Core disciple.
"I know all the note worthy disciples of the Azure Lotus sect so who are you?" asked Xin Fei, who was not far away.
"Long Huang," he replied casually, retracting his fists.
"What?" The Xin disciples gaped in disbelief. They recognized the name Long Huang; they had even seen him before. Xin Xi even remembered him from the awakening ceremony.
"Kid! You were just lucky this time!" Xin Xi declared arrogantly, now realizing who he was facing and no longer taking Long Huang seriously.
Xin Xi struggled to get up from the ground. "I've been fighting that tiger and am exhausted. Next time, you won't be so lucky."
"Lucky, you say?"
Long Huang replied with a faint smile. Despite Xin Xi's injuries, Long Huang believed he could still defeat him at peak strength.
"Of course, it's just luck. You're nothing but an ordinary-grade bloodline holder," scoffed Xin Xi. Long Huang responded,
"I see you're true to your name, talkative much?"
"So what if I love to talk? You still shouldn't be this strong. You probably used a strength-enhancing pill," Xin Xi retorted.
"Yeah, that's right. There's no way you could be this strong; it's only been half a month since the awakening ceremony."
Murmured some of the Xin family disciples. One of them added,
"Hand over the corpse, and we'll leave you to whatever you were doing before."
Whoosh...
Long Huang jumped onto the corpse as if to claim ownership.
"Oh yeah? Go ahead, try me!"
He daringly taunted, perched atop the lifeless body of the Green-Eyed Tiger King. One hand confidently propped on his thigh, holding his head as he looked at them with an air of defiance, like a king surveying his domain.
His striking emerald green eyes sparkled with a fierce battle intent, reflecting both the triumph of victory and the thrill of the challenge that lay ahead.
Long Huang was unfazed by the Xin family members' words but welcomed a challenge. He noticed that every time he fought, everything became clearer to him, and he relished that feeling, which always came from a battle.
The only person he was wary of was Xin Fei.
Xin Fei's strength was nearing the Bone Tempering Realm. When he used all his power, he could even damage the Green-Eyed Tiger King, let alone Meridian Tempering Realm cultivators.
"Xin Xi, you are not his opponent! Don't you think you've already lost enough face?" Xin Fei said, slowly turning towards Long Huang.
Suddenly, a frightening and intense battle intent began to radiate from Xin Fei, causing Long Huang's heart to skip a beat.
'Has Xin Fei already recovered?' Long Huang thought as he put all his senses on high alert. If Xin Fei regained at least 90% of his strength, he would be a serious challenge.
"Your strength is incredible; next time, I'd like to spar with you." Xin Fei said, looking at Long Huang with admiration, his battle intent fading with each word.
"But let's negotiate our shares now."
"Sure, let's talk business."
Long Huang responded in a calm voice, finally easing his guard. Even though Long Huang was not afraid of Xin Fei. Xin Fei's strength was known to be comparable to that of a Core disciple ranked on the Earth list among the Azure Lotus Sect disciples, and fighting him would be reckless.
But deep down, Long Huang felt a sense of excitement rising.