Chapter 13

With the assistance of the snake bracelet and the puppet clone, Chen Hai’s cultivation progressed extremely quickly, but it also had its drawbacks.

After just two months of seclusion, he had almost finished eating the two to three hundred plants of Fuling, Zhi grass, and other medicinal herbs in the courtyard. Without the spiritual herbs to replenish his essence and energy, his cultivation speed suddenly slowed down.

One afternoon, after practicing basic leg techniques and basic footwork, Chen Hai was exhausted. He bit off a small piece of Fuling grass to restore his essence and energy, and considered whether he should run to the scripture hall on the mountain to find some books on herb cultivation and study them seriously.

He now needed to plant some fast-growing, high-value spiritual herbs to fully tap the potential of this medicinal field to support his subsequent cultivation. However, thinking about the fact that he had not yet accumulated any merit points in the sect, he realized he could not exchange for any more secret manuals from the scripture hall.

"Chen Qiang’s courtyard, I’ve asked for it many times, but that scoundrel Zhou Jun kept dodging me. Now he lets a mere初级 disciple who just entered the academy live in it. I want to see what kind of background this初级 disciple has..."

Chen Hai was just thinking about how to properly manage the medicinal field when a noisy scolding voice came from outside the courtyard gate. The speaker was extremely angry and aggressive.

Hearing this, Chen Hai’s heart sank. He had been closed up in the courtyard for three months, not interacting with any other Dao soldiers in Tieliu Ridge, but trouble still found its way to him. From the tone of the people cursing, it seemed they intended to take over his courtyard.

Although he had only been alone in Tieliu Ridge for three months, Chen Hai had already fully appreciated the benefits of having a private courtyard with a medicinal field. Even if he vaguely guessed Zhou Jun’s intentions in arranging for him to live here, he was not willing to give up this courtyard that greatly benefited his cultivation.

"Bang!"

Chen Hai was still thinking about what to say to fend off the intruders when the three-inch thick, solid wooden courtyard gate was kicked to pieces from the outside, with wood chips flying into the courtyard.

Chen Hai couldn’t avoid it in time, and a piece of the door scratched his cheek. He wiped it, leaving a blood trail on his face.

Even though Chen Hai wanted to resolve the matter peacefully to ensure a stable environment for cultivation, his face turned grim when he saw five or six figures charging into the courtyard, their eyes filled with greed and resentment.

The young man at the front, with a narrow face and a somewhat handsome appearance, had a sinister gaze that made Chen Hai extremely uncomfortable. Seeing him in a purple robe, Chen Hai knew he was a senior Dao soldier in Tieliu Ridge, on par with Zhou Jun.

Behind the purple-robed young man were five others in green robes, all junior Dao soldiers who had come to cause trouble, possibly the young man’s servants.

A figure stood to the left of the young man, the foot that had just kicked the gate back, extremely tall and robust, like a section of an iron tower. He took half a step into the courtyard, but his face was blocked by the lintel.

Compared to this figure, the purple-robed young man and the other attendants seemed like dwarfs.

Soon, the figure’s body bent, and his head appeared from behind the lintel. When Chen Hai saw the layer of golden-yellow down on his face, he was startled.

The giant man’s face was covered with fine down, and his neck with fine scales, clearly not a normal human.

Looking at his exposed arms, they were also covered with fine scales. His upturned nose, filled with black, coarse nasal hair, looked like two holes on his face, extremely ugly. His eyes, like copper bells, were full of bloodshot veins, like a fierce beast ready to lose control and devour everyone present.

A demon barbarian!

Legend has it that demon barbarians are descendants of ancient great demons and are the greatest and most severe threat to the northern borders of the Jin and Yan states. In the depths of the northern desert of the Taowei Mountains, several powerful demon barbarian tribes gather.

The Wuwei Army, with Taowei Sect disciples at its core, has fought countless bloody battles with these demon barbarian tribes over the past hundred years. Chen Hai never thought there would be a demon barbarian in the academy.

Could the demon barbarian giant be a controlled barbarian slave under the young man’s control?

Although the demon barbarian tribes are the greatest threat to the northern borders of the Yan and Jin states, in the frequent wars, the Great Yan Empire does not execute all captured demon barbarian prisoners. Especially those with high combat power, cultivation potential, or extraordinary beauty, are controlled as barbarian slaves using secret methods to bind their souls.

Although the Great Yan Empire’s noble clans and sects strictly prohibit controlling others’ souls, demon barbarians, as well as some demons and spirit beasts, are exceptions. Even the high-ranking noble clans of the Great Yan Empire take pride in raising high-bloodline demon barbarians.

Although this courtyard had not been inhabited for four to five years, its previous owner, Chen Qiang, was a core disciple of the Tieliu Ridge Dao Academy. The courtyard gate was made of high-quality hardwood that took a thousand years to grow in Tieliu Ridge, far superior to ordinary wood. Even if Chen Hai used the first move of the风云腿 (Fengyun Leg) technique, the Ten Thousand Jun Kick, he was not confident he could kick the gate open, let alone shatter it.

This demonstrated the terrifying power of the demon barbarian giant’s kick.

Chen Hai secretly felt that the demon barbarian’s combat power was equivalent to a late-stage Tongxuan realm or even a辟灵境 (Biling Jing) cultivator. In the academy, only the purple-robed Dao soldiers could withstand such a kick. The purple-robed young man’s cultivation was not higher than the demon barbarian, but he had such a powerful barbarian slave, indicating that the young man had a very unusual background.

Among the more than two thousand Dao soldiers in Tieliu Ridge, very few would have the qualifications to own such a powerful barbarian slave.

Looking at the demon barbarian giant’s muscles, which bulged like small mountains under his armor, containing unimaginable strength, and the bloodshot eyes filled with a desire to kill everyone present, including his master, Chen Hai felt a chill. However, the demon barbarian’s soul was controlled, and he could not defy the young man’s will.

The young man at the front stood at the gate without a word, and the demon barbarian giant remained like an iron tower. A lean junior Dao soldier squeezed in, pointing at Chen Hai and scolding him:

"Who are you? Don’t you know the rules? How can someone of your status live in this courtyard?"

In Tieliu Ridge, the status of junior Dao soldiers, though lower than that of the Xuan and purple-robed Dao soldiers, was still significant. The Taowei Sect and the Wuwei Army had complex internal relationships, and even among the junior Dao soldiers, a considerable number were from noble clans (only the most talented commoners had the chance to enter the academy).

Since they dared to come directly, they must have done some investigation. If they knew he was the nephew of Chen Lie, a third-generation true disciple of the Taowei Sect, and still kicked the door, it was likely that Chen Qing had already spread the word in Tieliu Ridge.

Although the lean youth wanted to point at Chen Hai’s nose, Chen Hai did not act rashly.

He knew his current situation was delicate. If Chen Qing intended to use him as a pawn, he might lose his footing in Tieliu Ridge before Chen Lie returned to the Taowei Sect.

Chen Hai was in a dilemma, unsure whether to advance or retreat. He wondered what Zhou Jun’s attitude was.

Zhou Jun had long known he was Chen Lie’s nephew and had arranged for him to live in this courtyard, likely to use his identity to counter the purple-robed young man. But why hadn’t Zhou Jun appeared?

Could it be that Zhou Jun, knowing his poor track record, had abandoned his initial plan?

Chen Hai felt a headache, ignoring the lean youth’s aggressive behavior, and instead observed the purple-robed young man. He had no solid plan and could only face the group’s rude scolding, saying coldly:

"Yao Xing originally served in the Jieyun Cliff and only came to Tieliu Ridge two months ago for cultivation. I don’t know the rules here, but Senior Brother Zhou Jun arranged for me to live in this courtyard, so he must have his reasons."

Regardless of Zhou Jun’s current thoughts, Chen Hai had to involve him to possibly keep the courtyard.

***************************

The group kicked the door and rushed in, hoping Chen Hai would lose his temper and fight them, but they didn’t expect the supposedly temperamental Yao Xing to neither fight impulsively nor back down from their pressure, but instead to use Zhou Jun as a soft nail to throw at them.

Although the lean youth also looked down on the seemingly useless Chen Hai, since Chen Hai showed no intention of resistance, he couldn’t do much to him in the academy. Stunned, he could only turn to the purple-robed young man.

"I want you to leave now. What do you have to say?" The purple-robed young man, seeing Chen Hai calmly mention Zhou Jun, stared at him with a cold, mocking smile.

He didn’t need to act himself; a single command would have the iron slave tear this ungrateful person to pieces. He didn’t believe anyone was truly fearless, especially a useless person abandoned by the Chen clan!

The young man’s gaze carried a faint pressure, making Chen Hai feel slightly suppressed.

Chen Hai sensed that the young man had likely cultivated to the middle stage of the Tongxuan realm, with a stronger soul than ordinary people, which gave him a mental pressure.

Although the young man was only a minor figure in the Taowei Sect, in Tieliu Ridge, he was almost unfathomable.