Chapter 14: Unfortunate Encounter (1/2)

Chapter 14: Unfortunate Encounter

Sitting in the tree, Xu Min felt that his heart was beating more and more erratically; however, he didn’t dare to move a muscle.

Having understood that one of the men was a Three-Star Warrior, he was quiet like a mouse as sweat started trickling down his forehead. Looking at the four experts below, he was certain that they were the kind of mercenaries who would attack other cultivators just to steal their possessions. Even someone as weak and poor as Xu Min would be killed for the sake of the possible wealth he had.

It felt like an eternity for Xu Min as he sat in the tree before the four men finally started to move away. Only then did Xu Min dare to breathe a heavy sigh of relief as he retreated back to his lair, leaping from one tree to another.

Although he wished to go down and pick up the Pest Hog’s corpse, he did not do so because he feared that someone would boobytrap it. There might have been some more people lurking around, observing the corpse and waiting for an opportune moment to strike.

On the way back to his lair, he managed to grab some fruits growing in the tree tops along with some eggs from certain low-ranked winged demon beasts. Some of them were delicacies known as miniature flying horses.

Arriving back at his nest, he climbed down to the ground where he found a few big stones that he carried back up to the nest. Although these stones were heavy and incapable of being lifted by a Student Warrior, Xu Min had the physical strength of a Second-Star Warrior. He took full advantage of his strength as he carried the heavy stones up to his nest.

As he laid the stones on the floor that he had built from several heavy branches, the floor sunk slightly, but managed to hold the weight of the stones. After a moment, dried branches were placed upon the stones and lit up for a small bonfire. A stone was put inside the fire and the eggs were cracked upon the stone, cooking deliciously under Xu Min’s watchful gaze.

The fire was somewhat risky because there was a chance that it would set the rest of the tree on fire; however, Xu Min had some experience in setting up bonfires in the treetops and he knew exactly how to deal with the fire after he had finished cooking. After a short while, he placed more stones on the fire, killing off the flame, and sat down to eat the miniature flying horses eggs and the fruits that he had picked up.

The night was once again spent cultivating; however, as the next day arrived, Xu Min waited before he went into the forest to look for more prey. He took a stance that was unfamiliar to him and, at the same time, closed his eyes to feel his Qi flowing through his body, gathering behind him like a blanket that slowly transformed into small beads of white, slightly translucent arrowheads.

The difficulty of the movements took quite some time for him to get to this stage; however, he tried his very best to remained focused, enabling him to slowly create the thousand arrowheads behind his body. With but a thought, those thousand small arrowheads showered down in the direction that Xu Min had intended.

Succeeding in performing the ability, Xu Min was incredibly exhausted; however, his eyes were glistening with satisfaction. A smile adorned his lips as he slowly leaned back against the big tree trunk where he had built his lair.

He quickly entered a meditative state to replenish his Qi. After an hour, he had fully recovered. Slipping down the tree trunk, Xu Min once more made his way through the outskirts of the forest. As he looked around with alert eyes, his heart beat with excitement because he could not wait to see what would attack him next, whether it was a demon beast or human cultivator.

As he traveled in the outskirts of the forest, Xu Min came across a few groups of people; however, these groups paid no attention to him, and he did nothing but nod to them in recognition. Because he had the physical strength of a Two-Star Warrior and speed that he had diligently trained during his time working at the docks, Xu Min had a feeling of safety. As long as he did not run into a Three-Star Warrior, he should be capable of escaping with his life.

Soon, he found an area where there were no other humans. After a short while, another Pest Hog appeared. This one was slightly smaller than the previous one; however, although it was smaller, it was not necessarily any weaker.

“Boom!” A boom resounded as he drew his sword. With a swift strike, he swung his sword out in front of him, carving a large crack in the ground. However, he missed the Pest Hog because it was swifter than the Pest Hog he had encountered yesterday.

Seeing this, Xu Min knew that the possibilities of being able to defeat it using his sword were slim. He needed to kill the pig quickly or else other people would find his location.

Seeing this, he activated his Shattering Palm once more. As soon as he was about to use it, a young man appeared on the small animal trail, his eyes glistening with excitement. However, he was not looking at the Pest Hog. He was looking at Xu Min instead. His eyes sent a chill through the body of the young, black-haired man as Xu Min felt the killing intent from the bystander.

The killing intent from the man caused the Pest Hog to squeal as it escaped into the vegetation of the forest, leaving Xu Min and the man who clearly enjoyed whatever was happening in front of him.

Looking at the man, Xu Min could easily tell that he was of a higher rank than him. He was most likely a Two-Star Warrior. It was clear that he was no Three-Star Warrior. However, he still looked down on Xu Min because the aura Xu Min had was that of a One-Star Warrior.