Chapter 404 - Four Hundred: Intervention
Having just regained consciousness from the shock of his high-altitude fall, Mi Chu clung to the icy neck of the luan, only to find the silver giant alarmingly close. His only ally, the luan seemed soulless, unresponsive to his calls.
Meanwhile, the giant’s fist, devoid of mercy, was descending upon him, its vast shadow engulfing all that lay beneath, making escape impossible.
He felt a force, weighing more than a hundred thousand pounds, confining the space around him, rendering him immobile!
The silver giant, bearing a striking resemblance to Tang Luo, had an expressionless face. Mi Chu was devoid of any Xuanji Jade or other escaping treasures; his only hope lay within the beast souls he had absorbed. But with his current condition, just how many times could he merge with the beast soul to use its powers?
Regardless, the silver giant had made a resolution of death, whether it took two or three punches.
“Boom”!
The giant’s full-forced punch was equivalent to a Spirit Art unleashed by the creatures of the Fierce Realm, yet this deadly swing was unexpectedly obstructed by a green ray, rendering the punch that carried hundreds of thousands of pounds of force, powerless.
A dazzling green light shield had appeared around Mi Chu’s body, defending him from the deadly punch.
Retracting his fist, Tang Luo looked at the green crystal that had corroded his armguard. He raised his head towards the silhouette in the towering sky merging with the drifting clouds and roared, “Is every warrior from the Mi Clan supposed to intervene in a life-and-death battle?”
The giant’s bellow reverberated in the sky over Jianglin, the sound waves piercing the clouds and revealing the shadow of the powerful Mi Jing from the Battle Hall of the Mi Clan.
He was a famous cultivator who had surpassed human strength for over thirty years and had a Fierce Realm body, enabling the Green Wood Battle Qi he used to defend Mi Chu from the silver giant’s punch.
In response to Tang Luo’s rebuke, Mi Jing felt somewhat embarrassed. Considering their ages, Mi Jing was almost twice as old as the sixty-year-old Tang Luo. But he was helpless, at a loss for words in reply to the accusatory roar.
Although it was unfair to interfere in a warrior’s live-or-die battle, Mi Chu was vitally crucial to the Mi Clan. Awakening the bloodline was a rare occurrence, with not more than one in ten thousand succeeding. But no one knew what level of bloodline would awaken.
As an advanced beast soul bloodline, Mi Chu would be a leading cultivator even in the Beast Taming Sect, let alone in Xiling, Longzhou.
Thus, despite the possibility of being severely criticized, Mi Jing was determined to ensure Mi Chu didn’t die a meaningless death. He slowly descended from the sky. Just then, onlookers in the center of Jianglin, attracted by the bellowing sound reached the outer ring of the battlefield.
Looking at the descending Mi Jing and the Mi Chu covered in green light, everyone had a good idea of what had taken place here.
Mi Jing was a highly skilled cultivator, and the onlookers couldn’t hush him like they did with Mi Chu. Yet, the contempt in their eyes couldn’t evade Mi Jing’s keen observation.
Expressionless, Mi Jing landed, standing next to Mi Chu. He addressed the silver giant, “This battle ended with young master Tang’s victory. But after slaughtering three barren beasts, do you not think your bloodlust excessive in wanting to kill Chu as well?”
“Absurd!” The silver giant sneered. Bent over, he glared at Mi Jing, “In martial arts, life and death battles represent personal abilities. What’s the reason for your intervention?”
His words, loud and clear, spread across the four directions, earning him the agreement of most of the crowd.
Mi Jing shook his head, not wanting to argue further. Instead, he tried to reason amicably, “Both of you are the Pride of Xiling, the future of the Tang and Mi Clans. Maybe you think the consequence of a life-or-death battle rests just on you, but you don’t know how much your families worry.”
The green light shield covering Mi Chu lifted, hovering towards the sky as Mi Jing spoke. Thinking it was an attack, Tang Luo swiftly dodged it only to see the green light crossing over the silver giant, smashing directly into the heavens. The green burst generated a wave of explosion forming a circle in the sky, revealing another shadow hidden in another part of the sky. It was none other than Tang Qian from the Martial Ancestor Sect of the Tang Clan.
The spectators were stunned to see another powerful expert from Xiling, also from the Fierce Realm, secretly observing the fight. As a result, a wave of whispers arose from the crowd.
If it had been Mi Chu chasing Tang Luo to kill him, without a doubt, this Martial Ancestor Sect cultivator would’ve saved Tang Luo. It became apparent that the life-and-death battle wouldn’t have resulted in a fatality, after all.
On seeing the senior clansman, Tang Luo flinched. He had assumed that after informing the Martial Hall earlier, the next intervention wouldn’t happen. He never expected that the Sect Master, whom he had argued with before, would show such concern that he even assigned a Martial Ancestor to protect him. This development had undoubtedly disrupted his initial plan, putting him in a passive position.
Mi Jing, having opened a clearance in the clouds, pointed at the distant sky and loudly declaredm “If it were young master Tang who was injured now, Elder Qian would undoubtedly step in to help. After all, both of them are the future of our clan. I am sure that it’s best not to reiterate unnecessarily the general principle that a prized asset should not be risked.”
Nothing was more persuasive than the appearance of the powerful cultivator from the Martial Ancestor Sect descending from the sky. Originally, the boys and girls watching were quite reluctant to admit that Tang Luo and Mi Chu were the prized juniors of their respective families. They had to accept it, even if begrudgingly. However, their eyes were full of convoluted emotions.
In the past, few battles in Jianglin didn’t result in death, involving only pawns. There had never been a powerful cultivator intervening in any of them. But now, they felt a stark difference when they saw Tang Luo and Mi Chu. It appeared that not everyone was treated equally.
The figure descending from the sky landed beside the silver giant. Martial Ancestor Tang Qjan realized that his presence had inadvertently put Tang Luo at a disadvantage. However, he disapproved even more of Mi Jing, who had blasted him out from the clouds. He coldly declared, “Even if the prized juniors don’t go into battle, if your dame from the Mi clan loses, you have to pay a price. If you plan to take someone away without paying anything, I won’t agree!”
Watching the two powerful cultivators, who had taken over the battle and were starting to negotiate ransom, Tang Luo knew he couldn’t let this Martial Ancestor continue. Otherwise, his purpose would get completely disrupted. He compressed the spiritual power within his Undying Battle Body, causing the towering silver giant to exponentially shrink back to human proportions in matters of a breath.
He had prepared a suit of clothes in advance, which he held in his hand when in his giant form. With the Heavenly-gifted Divine Armor dissipating as his body shrank, he cloaked himself with the suit. “If you want to take away a life, shouldn’t we negotiate the ransom for Mi Chu?” he said, looking at Mi Chu and Mi Jing.
Tang Luo’s hair and eyebrows grew back quickly under the circulation of his Innate Qi, making him look somewhat comical. Yet, there was an undeniable firmness in his voice. Even in the face of a powerful foe, he did not retreat.