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 a the Azure Lotus on the back of Long Huang's robe. Hearing this, the other Xin disciples glanced at the man, who was following the Green Eyed Tiger King.
"Yeah, look at the Azure Lotus on his robe."
"Fuck"
"Why did this have to happen today of all days when I was wearing my Sect robes?" Long Huang cursed under his breath, not expecting that his plan to remain unknown as he stole the Green Eyed Tiger King would be ruined by his choice of clothes.
Wanting to lose these Xin family disciples, Long Huang used his Wind Deer Steps and then jumped into the trees. Xin Fei watched Long Huang's figure maneuver through the trees and murmured,
"What impressive footwork! His speed, even though slower than mine, is remarkable. His marksmanship skills aren't bad either…"
"Hmph! He's just a coward who hides in the back and steals from others! He better not let us catch up, or else…" a youth, who was at the 7th stage of the Meridian Tempering Realm, 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!"
"That person saved our lives," said Xin Fei, shaking his head.
"Yes, he saved our lives, but a junior still died because he wanted us to wear down the Green Eyed Tiger King," Xin Xi replied. Just then,
RooooaR!!...
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 must have died.
"Quick!"
Xin Xi charged in the direction of the sound. Meanwhile, several miles to the east, Long Huang leaned against a tree branch, breathing heavily. Below him lay the Green Eyed Tiger King, its forehead pierced by several branches. Not long ago, this tiger had been a ferocious creature; now, however, the poison had taken its toll, and it was lifeless.
Instinctively, Long Huang reached for a branch to break, but then he realized that the Green Eyed Tiger King was truly dead. He jumped down toward the corpse and began deep in thought. His eyes then fell on the approaching Xin disciples, who were two miles away.
Long Huang stood still, hesitating to move the corpse. It wasn't that he didn't want to; rather, he found it difficult to do so.
The tiger's body weighed around 10 tons and was hard to move. Additionally, its skin was tough to cut, as he only had the basic knife that came with his camping kit. Soon, the five Xin disciples arrived.
"Kid! Move quickly! This is ours!" Xin Xi shouted angrily as he approached.
He was wary of Long Huang's strength, especially since Long Huang showed no signs of exhaustion, whereas they had lost one of their own, and Xin Fei was drained.
However, they still had two members at the mid-stage Meridian Tempering Realm, and he was at the 7th stage of Meridian Tempering.
Long Huang stood his ground and disregarded Xin Xi, only feeling concerned about Xin Fei and not the others.
"Xin Xi! He saved our lives. Let's just discuss how to split the tiger," Xin Fei suggested calmly as he arrived. Long Huang eyed him appraisingly.
"Great minds think alike. The tiger's corpse is too large, and I lack both the tools to cut it and the strength to carry it away. You guys showed up just in time."
Xin Fei and the others had indeed put a lot of effort into killing the tiger. They had also lost one member. Although Xin Xi was somewhat resistant, he ultimately agreed. Soon, they began discussing how to divide the tiger.
"Two-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. Initially, he had wanted to split it five-five, but he didn't expect the Xin family to have such an attitude.
"Don't be arrogant!"
"Oh, and what can you do if I don't?"
"Let's see how strong you are!" Xin Xi taunted as he drew his sword.
"Stop!"
Xin Fei tried to intervene, 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.
"It's the mid-grade mortal combat art, Broken Wind Sword!" someone shouted.
"That kid is dead now. 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.
"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 coughed up blood after receiving the first punch and was sent flying into a tree. He stood up once more, ready to continue the fight.
Xin Xi felt as if a volcano was erupting inside him. Long Huang's strength seemed to surpass that of a high-level Meridian Tempering Realm individual.
"What strength!"
"You're one persistent bastard, you know that?" Long Huang said with a laugh 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! So strong!" 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, as indicated by his robes.
"Strong," one of the disciples remarked.
Xin Fei, who was not far away, asked, "May I know your name?"
"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 his voice calm, 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.