Chapter 328: Two Helpers (2/2)

“All things said, he still belongs to the Heaven Palace Sect. They have the final say on his life or death. I don’t ever want to anger the Heaven Palace Sect!”

“Xue Long, you’ve been overcautious your entire life. This is where you need to learn from me.” Li Langfeng’s tone was filled with ridicule. “It’s just because you’re burdened by too many fears that you can never beat me. If I were you, and I was caught up in a situation like you were in the Realm of a Hundred Battles, I would have…” Li Langfeng didn’t finish his sentence.

Xue Long suddenly assumed a cold face. “I don’t need you to judge me!”

Nie Tian’s expression flickered as he thought to himself, “The Realm of a Hundred Battles!”

Since he had overheard conversations between Song Li and Han Mu, he had learned that Song Li and Xue Long knew each other, and that ‘Xue Long’ wasn’t his real name.

From the look of it, Li Langfeng knew about Xue Long’s history. The fact that he mentioned that Xue Long was from the Realm of a Hundred Battles made Nie Tian realize that Song Li and Han Mu from the Fang had also come from the Realm of a Hundred Battles.

“Ning Yang is currently wandering in the forbidden region to the east of Ash City.” Nie Tian blurted.

Xue Long’s eyes lit up as he said, “Good! We’d better hurry over there now and strip that fragmentary star mark from him while he’s still at the late Greater Heaven stage. I’ve long since heard people talk about this man. It’s said that if he hadn’t been distracted by his fragmentary star mark, he would have broken through into the Worldly realm already.”

It appeared that Xue Long also harbored fear towards Ning Yang.

“With the just two of you?” Nie Tian asked with a frown.

“The two of us should suffice,” Xue Long said with a smiled. “I know how powerful Brother Li is. Ning Yang might be slightly stronger than him. However, with me there to help Brother Li, our success is pretty much guaranteed.”

“You two are not enough.” Nie Tian shook his head as he explained the problem to them, “Ning Yang is traveling with a guest elder of the Wild Fire. That man is also at the late Greater Heaven stage, and just like Ning Yang, he also used to be a disciple of the Heaven Palace Sect. Not only that, I overheard Ning Yang refer to that man as ‘senior martial brother’, so I doubt that he’s any weaker than you.”

Xue Long’s expression changed as he asked, “Have you ever seen the man in person? Can you briefly describe his appearance to me?”

Nie Tian describe the man’s appearance according to his impression of him.

After hearing his description, the facial expressions of Li Langfeng and Xue Long both flickered as they called out simultaneously, “It’s Tong Jianfeng!”

“You both know that man?!” Nie Tian was taken aback.

A grim expression clouded Xue Long’s face as he said with a deep frown, “Yeah, Tong Jianfeng is probably a fake name. He’s a guest elder of the Wild Fire. His status among the Wild Fire’s guest elders is similar to Brother Li’s status amongst the Dark Moon’s guest elders. That man and Brother Li are probably evenly matched in strength, but he might be slightly stronger than me.”

“You were right. If he is indeed traveling with Ning Yang, I’m afraid the two of us won’t be able to take them.”

After learning that Ning Yang had Tong Jianfeng by his side, Li Langfeng also fell silent.

After a moment of pondering, Xue Long said, “That changes everything. We can’t go into the forbidden region to the east of Ash City now. I’ll inform the Spirit Condor of the current situation. If the Spirit Condor doesn’t send other powerful experts to our aid, our operation against Ning Yang will be doomed to fail!”

With a deep breath, he turned to Nie Tian and said, “Luckily, you told us that Tong Jianfeng was Ning Yang’s senior martial brother and that they are traveling together now. Otherwise, if we acted rashly and engaged in battle with the two of them, we would definitely have suffered a great loss!”

At that point, a fierce aura seemed to suddenly burst forth from within Li Langfeng’s sickly body as he said, “We don’t need to ask the Spirit Condor for reinforcement. There’s another way to turn the situation around.

“Hua Tian! You come with me and help me with my cultivation for a few days. I’ve got a feeling that with your help, I’ll be able to step into the Worldly realm in ten days!

“Once I enter the Worldly realm, I’ll be able to overtake Ning Yang and Tong Jianfeng by myself!”

“What?!” Xue Long asked with a shocked expression on his face. “Are you really that close to your next breakthrough?”

“Yes, I’m just one step away, but this last step is very crucial. If there’s no one to help me, I’m afraid it will still take me three months to finish this final step. However, if Hua Tian agrees to help me, I have confidence that I’ll be able to break the barrier and enter the Worldly realm in ten days.” Confidence could be seen on Li Langfeng’s face as he continued, “Once I enter the Worldly realm, Ning Yang and Tong Jianfeng won’t be able to pose any threat to me! I won’t even need you to do anything, Xue Long!”

Xue Long’s expression flickered as he asked, “How about this: I’ll inform the Spirit Condor of the current situation. In the meantime, Hua Tian will help you with your cultivation. If you can advance to the Worldly realm in ten days, we’ll act according to our original plan. If you fail to do that in ten days, we’ll sit tight and wait for the Spirit Condor to make other arrangements.”

“Very well!” Li Langfeng agreed.

Xue Tong turned to Nie Tian and asked, “What do you say?”

“That sounds good to me,” Nie Tian blurted.

1. “looking at a leopard through a bamboo tube” is a Chinese saying which means having a limited view of something.