Chapter 69

Hu Gao was hesitating whether to intervene and rescue Zhou Longqi, and at the same time give the Demon-Exorcising Castle a lesson, but he did not guess that the situation before him was not as he imagined.

Beneath the surface of Zhou Longqi's apparent recklessness and lack of brains, there was a certain shrewdness typical of a scion of a noble family. By claiming that the enemies were after his spatial ring, Zhou Longqi was not cleverly seeking help from passersby, but rather felt that being kidnapped was more shameful than being robbed.

It was precisely this behavior that misled Hu Gao.

The true purpose of the people from the Demon-Exorcising Castle was more accurately to target Zhou Longqi's totem.

Zhou Longqi's yuan force was green, and his totem was a fourth-stage totem. Hu Gao could also sense that Zhou Longqi's totem aura was somewhat special.

But this special quality was Zhou Longqi's greatest secret.

Hu Gao only knew that compared to ordinary totems, there was a type of mutated totem, a variant of an ordinary totem with special abilities. Like his own Bloodlight Snake, which looked very similar to a Red Ribbon Snake but had special abilities. Whether one could condense a mutated totem when awakening the heart and soul and forming a totem could be a moment that changed a person's or even a family's fate.

Hu Gao was criticized and even assassinated by some members of the Hu family precisely because of such a situation, as he was related to the fate of the Hu clan and different factions.

But Hu Gao did not know that there was another type of totem between ordinary totems and mutated totems, a situation known as the "awakening" of a totem. This was when a martial artist first condensed their heart and soul, and the awakened totem was an ordinary totem, but during growth, the ordinary totem awakened special abilities and transformed into a mutated totem.

This process was very unstable, and it could either turn a chicken into a phoenix or a featherless phoenix into a chicken. More often, it would be like waking up in the morning, peeing, and then feeling weak, with things remaining the same. Success brought joy to all, while failure brought ridicule.

Zhou Longqi was in the totem awakening stage, but his father had become a featherless phoenix, leading to a beating like a drowning dog.

Because of this, Zhou Longqi suffered unfair treatment in the Zhou family, which shaped his peculiar personality, seen by the Zhou family as a carefree and happy young man. However, to outsiders, Zhou Longqi still had great potential, which is why the Demon-Exorcising Castle had targeted him, intending to take him away from the Zhou family and interfere with his awakening process to obtain a powerful fourth-stage mutated totem.

Thus, the script for this ambush was set.

However, Mr. Hu Gao mistook the tragic situation for a bitter one, leading to a misjudgment.

"Hmm? Someone..."

While fighting with Lin Fei, the gray-robed old man suddenly sensed a young man standing beside a large tree nearby. He instinctively looked over and saw Hu Gao standing calmly under the tree, feeling a sudden joy.

But soon, the joy on his face turned to disappointment. He had hoped that a powerful expert would appear nearby and come to their aid, but he never expected a teenager like Hu Gao to show up. He did not expect Hu Gao to be of any help.

"Little brother, we are from the Zhou family of Longcheng. We hope you will go to Flame Valley and help find someone from the Zhou family. Tell them that Young Master Zhou Longqi is being attacked here and needs to be rescued quickly."

Although he did not expect Hu Gao to help, the gray-robed old man still spoke, not to ask Hu Gao to save them but to hope that Hu Gao would go and bring reinforcements.

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing the gray-robed old man's call, Lin Fei frowned and looked toward Hu Gao. When he saw the latter, a murderous intent flashed in his eyes. He did not expect someone to approach quietly and did not want the matter to be exposed or for anyone to interfere with his plans. He immediately shouted to two Seventh Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artists, "Hua Fan, Hua Song, you two go and deal with that brat. Don't let him escape."

"Yes, Big Brother."

The two men quickly disengaged from the battle with the green-robed old man, despite his efforts to stop them, as he was being tightly held by two other Eighth Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artists.

"Is there really no hope at all?"

Despair filled the gray-robed old man's aged eyes.

"Hey, buddy, can you handle those two? If not, just shout, and I'll take care of it."

Zhou Longqi looked at Hu Gao, curious about why he was alone in the Longjia Mountains, but at this moment, he was more concerned about Hu Gao's safety, as the two Seventh Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artists were already rushing toward him at full speed.

"Haha, don't worry, just two measly Seventh Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artists. I don't even care."

Hu Gao had long noticed that Zhou Longqi's yuan force was green and had a fourth-stage totem, making him a talented individual. If he summoned his totem to fight, he might actually turn the tide. However, the gray-robed old man had not let him fight, probably to avoid exposing something. Hu Gao liked his attitude.

As he spoke, Hu Gao lightly tapped the ground, and in a flash, he covered several meters, quickly approaching the two Seventh Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artists, and kicked out twice.

"Whirlwind Kick"! Since leaving Ningcheng, Hu Gao had finally encountered someone weaker than himself, and it was time to use a leg technique he had never used before to start off with a victory.

These two kicks were like two iron whips, striking the two men with a loud thud. The sound of bones breaking echoed, and the two men were thrown back several meters, crashing into a tree and falling to the ground.

Better to act decisively than to hesitate. Instead of worrying about whether they would use the Wind and Thunder Pearl, it was better to show his dominance, making them use the Wind and Thunder Pearl, so he could slip away.

"Huh?"

Seeing this, everyone's mouths dropped open, and the battle came to a halt.

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy had kicked two Seventh Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artists, knocking them unconscious, and their fates were unknown. This... This was too terrifying.

"Roar, buddy, you're amazing..."

"Damn, I didn't expect you to have some skills."

Lin Fei's face changed, and at this moment, he was certain that Hu Gao's combat strength was not weak and could influence the situation here.

"However, the outcome will not change. Your appearance has actually helped me. The Zhou family's boy still belongs to me!"

His eyes swept over the two stunned old men and the extremely excited Zhou Longqi, revealing a hint of ruthlessness.

"Brat! Surrender!"

Without hesitation, Lin Fei moved swiftly, dashing toward Zhou Longqi like lightning.

"Bad, he's going to hurt Young Master, stop him quickly."

The gray-robed old man finally reacted, but it was too late. Lin Fei was already less than two meters from Zhou Longqi.

At this moment, even if Zhou Longqi were to summon his totem, it would be too late. He was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Zhou Longqi also felt a strong sense of danger approaching. The excitement on his face instantly froze, turning pale. His totem was in the awakening stage and could not be summoned. How could he resist the powerful Lin Fei?

"Pfft!"

Just as Lin Fei's hand was about to land on Zhou Longqi, a more piercing sound of wind came from behind him. Before Lin Fei could turn to look, he felt a chill in his back, and a bloodstained sword tip appeared in front of his chest.

Lin Fei, with Ninth Stage Condensation Shadow Realm cultivation, who could fight the gray-robed old man on equal terms, was cleanly and decisively killed by Hu Gao.

The gray-robed old man's movements paused, and he was stunned. He knew better than anyone how strong Lin Fei was. When the latter went to grab Zhou Longqi, even he did not react in time. He thought the situation would become extremely dire, but unexpectedly, Hu Gao appeared and quickly eliminated Lin Fei.

Hu Gao ignored the shocked and almost stunned people. After quickly killing Lin Fei, he swiftly moved, using lightning-fast movements to incapacitate the remaining two Eighth Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artists.

With an incredible series of moves, Hu Gao completed his actions, and his heart finally relaxed. He really did not expect that one kick would create such a significant opportunity. Lin Fei had simply exposed his back without a word, and the two Eighth Stage martial artists were also stunned!

This gamble was won...

Hu Gao wanted to find a phrase to describe his feelings but could not think of the right one.

Zhou Longqi's exclamation brought Hu Gao back to his senses.

"Wow, buddy, you're too amazing. Killing these people is like killing chickens."

Zhou Longqi seemed to have no sense of the danger he had just escaped. Seeing Hu Gao's incredible strength, he was very excited, showing no fear or tension.

"Is this guy really so confident that his fourth-stage totem will protect him from any danger?"

Hu Gao looked at Zhou Longqi, puzzled by his reaction. After experiencing a life-and-death crisis, most people would be extremely fearful, but he seemed excited.

Hu Gao was certain that if he had not intervened, Zhou Longqi would have become a hostage. Even if he had had time to summon his totem, with his current strength, he could not have resisted Lin Fei for long.

"Thank you, young brother, for your timely help in rescuing our Young Master."

After confirming that Zhou Longqi was not injured, the gray-robed old man approached Hu Gao and bowed.

He was genuinely grateful to this young man. If anything happened to Zhou Longqi, not only would they face severe punishment, but they would also feel ashamed before their deceased master.

They could see that Hu Gao was no ordinary person. At just fifteen or sixteen years old, he had the strength to kill a Ninth Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artist, which was not something a common force could cultivate. Their Young Master was fourteen and had only reached the Seventh Stage Condensation Shadow Realm, despite using countless cultivation resources, which they thought was a good achievement. Compared to Hu Gao, he still fell short.

From this, they could determine that Hu Gao's identity was not simple and was likely not inferior to their Young Master.

"It's nothing. I didn't intervene solely to save your Young Master, so you don't need to thank me so much."

Hu Gao smiled, but his words did not match his thoughts.

"Regardless of your intentions, since you saved our Young Master, if there is anything you need in the future, just let me know, and I will do my best to help."

Although the gray-robed old man seemed very enthusiastic, Hu Gao really wanted to say, "No sincerity!"

"Old sir, there's no need to be so polite." However, he did not want to sound too harsh, as it would make him seem petty.

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