C27 Misunderstanding

Mu Hanshan, one of the three Chief Presbyters of the outer court, held a position of great authority and possessed a cultivation level that was beyond measure. He could never have imagined that he would one day be floored by a brick wielded by a servant disciple.

Despite being taken by surprise, Mu Hanshan's formidable cultivation allowed him to regain consciousness almost instantly. But by the time he rose to his feet, Chu Lin had already fled with Yang Hu on his back.

As Chu Lin ran, he spat out bitterly, "You scoundrels of Heaven's Edge! How dare you lay a hand on my brother. I swear I will have my revenge."

Mu Hanshan had intended to give chase, but he hesitated upon hearing Chu Lin's words. It dawned on him that there had been a misunderstanding. Clearly, Chu Lin had gotten the wrong idea.

"I saved your brother's life, and this is how you repay me?" Mu Hanshan muttered to himself in frustration. After a brief pause, a mischievous glint appeared in his eye. "He bears a grudge against Heaven's Edge, yet he had the audacity to strike me with a brick. I must teach him a lesson."

With that, Mu Hanshan strode off into the woods, his seemingly leisurely steps carrying him swiftly away. In a mere moment, he had vanished into the thicket.

Chu Lin carried Yang Hu for several miles before feeling safe enough to stop.

"Heaven's Edge, your day of reckoning will come! I will avenge Tiger," Chu Lin declared, his face dark with anger and his eyes flashing with lethal intent.

Chu Lin had put all his might into that previous strike. His strength was on par with a martial artist at the seventh level of Body Tempering, yet the old man had shrugged off a direct hit to the head without a scratch. This alone was a testament to the elder's frightening power. Chu Lin was now even more convinced that Heaven's Edge intended to wipe him out, determined not to let him leave Raven's Pass alive.

Unbeknownst to Chu Lin, the elder he had struck down with his brick was none other than one of the outer court's three Chief Presbyters. He had clearly overestimated Heaven's Edge's influence. If Heaven's Edge could command such a formidable individual, then nobody would dare cross Yu Xiu in the outer court.

Suddenly, a loud sneeze erupted, startling Chu Lin.

"Why is it so cold? I can't even get a decent night's sleep," Yang Hu muttered as he woke up, rubbing his eyes and giving Chu Lin a bleary look.

"Tiger? You're alive?" exclaimed Chu Lin, relieved.

Yang Hu gave him a puzzled look. "Chu, what are you talking about?" he asked, sounding a bit downcast.

Chu Lin cleared his throat and replied, "I'm just glad you're okay."

In his rush to get here, Chu Lin had been too worried about being pursued by the expert to notice that Yang Hu had merely been asleep.

"Why are we here? What happened to the senior?" Yang Hu asked, looking around and realizing they were no longer in the cave.

"Senior?" Chu Lin's eyebrows lifted as if a realization had dawned on him.

"Back in the cave, I hit a bottleneck during my breakthrough. If that senior hadn't come to my rescue, I would have perished," Yang Hu recounted the harrowing experience with a shiver.

Chu Lin was taken aback by Yang Hu's account, his feelings a complex mix. It took him a while before he could utter, "Oh my goodness."

Half an hour later, when Yang Hu learned that Chu Lin had actually hit the senior on the head with a brick, he nearly crashed headlong into a boulder.

"Chu, you've got guts," Yang Hu said with admiration. Despite the misunderstanding, Chu Lin had been willing to confront a powerfully enigmatic expert for his sake, which deeply moved Yang Hu.

"That senior is incredibly powerful. The brick didn't hurt him at all. I'm sure he won't hold a grudge, right?" Chu Lin ventured, a twinge of guilt in his heart, though he maintained a composed exterior.

Just then, noises from a skirmish drifted over from the nearby forest.

"There's a fight going on!" Yang Hu alerted Chu Lin, his eyes wide.

"Let's check it out," suggested Chu Lin, dashing off toward the commotion with lightning speed. Yang Hu was quick on his heels.

In Raven's Pass, danger was omnipresent. Whether it was feral monsters, spirit animals, mercenaries, Adventuring Parties, or Martial Academy disciples, conflicts were rife. Having spent many days in Raven's Pass, Chu Lin knew all too well that humans were often the most perilous of all.

A rare panacea could drive brothers to bitter rivalry, even leading a father and son to mortal combat!

Raven's Pass was a microcosm of the martial cultivator's world.

Chu Lin and Yang Hu stealthily made their way to the site of the recent skirmish. The grass around them was shredded by the slashes of blades, and several bodies lay nearby, clearly casualties of the recent conflict.

The survivors were split into two factions. One side was numerous, with individuals around thirty-four years old, exuding a menacing presence akin to bandits.

The other group consisted of youths, both male and female, around sixteen or seventeen years old. Despite their lavish attire, they appeared to be at a disadvantage.

"This is a clash between mercenaries and outer court disciples," Chu Lin observed.

Their garb and demeanor suggested they were likely mercenaries from Duskhaven. These mercenaries typically earned their keep by hunting feral monsters and were generally martial cultivators in the Body Tempering Realm.

Despite their modest strength, the mercenaries had grown hardened and ruthless from their time in the mountains. To them, taking a life was all in a day's work.

The outer court disciples, on the other hand, lacked such hardened experience. Engaging with mercenaries at Raven's Pass was fraught with peril.

"If we were in Duskhaven, we might show you some courtesy. But here in Raven's Pass, the treasures belong to the strong. We're set on claiming the Starfruit. If you value your lives, leave now. Dying for a panacea is a fool's bargain," the mercenary leader declared with a menacing tone.

"Though I've never had formal education, I understand some basic truths. Your brothers have already perished for the sake of the panacea. Such a waste. Do you wish to share their fate?" taunted another, with a note of irony.