43 Chapter 43 (1/2)

The man wasn't sure how he should feel about the whole encounter, he thought he would feel happier after doing the deed but instead, he felt hollow on the inside after the woman left. I guess it wasn't all that great if there weren't any feelings involved. But not like he didn't enjoy his encounter, he still had a stupid expression on his face as he thought back to the night.

*Uh, I'll consider this a win...”

He went into the bathroom to clean himself up a bit dejected that the woman was gunning more for his status than himself, then he dressed and headed out to ask people about the Zhang Clan. The rumors were widespread so it wasn't hard. Apparently the Zhang Clan was void of any elders at the moment and all of their heavy hitters died in some exploration attempt of some ruin or holy ground. Those were things akin to dungeons that had sealed of spaces and you never knew what dangers lurked inside, it wasn't anything new you could gain a lot but also lose your life.

*Guess that's why Fei gave me the cold shoulder, she thinks that I have no backing now and will get hunted by other clans if they see me...*

He still felt a bit dejected but could understand the woman's decision and not like they had any deep relationship bonding them anyway. He needed to make a decision now, either head to the Zhang Clan and check out if he could salvage the situation there, maybe it wasn't as bad as the rumors said. Or wait it out then make the decision. Not like he couldn't take another identity if he wanted, this would probably be the intelligent thing to do, but would the people from the Zhang clan die if he didn't go there?

This would probably be the case, but that didn't really sit well with him. Would this system place him in a hopeless position? He didn't really have a hard time, the enemies weren't that tough and he was getting better and better at fighting. He also considered his personal strength to be in the later stages of core formation due to his cultivation method and added bonuses from the Dao he had.

He didn't know why but it just didn't feel right to abandon those Zhang Clan members, from what he heard the people around here much preferred them to the Cheng Clan that was gaining power. He couldn't just abandon them now after he knew that they were in danger. Also, he was slowly starting to change a bit, the winning battle with the tentacle monster brought something new. The feeling was strange, but it made him itch for a fight.

It was one thing to battle beasts and fry big bug monsters with his lightning bolts, it was another thing to do the same thing to other humans. He didn't know if he could hold back and not kill someone by mistake either. While this was going through his mind he tossed out his large sword and started going up into the air. He glanced in the direction of the caravan as he flew above them for a moment, they were leaving the city. The woman noticed him looking at her from afar, she just gave him a little bow before looking away and heading out of the city.

Matt gave out a sigh and looked at his system map, this city was a halfway point if he counted the forest as his starting point so it would take him a bit to get there. So he pushed his spiritual energy into it and with a thunderous sound, he bolted towards his new destination. The people in the city were alerted to his loud takeoff, the Cheng Clan members glad that he was finally gone and that they didn't suffer much besides that one pervy elder of theirs, but he could be easily replaced.

He was going fast and the scenery rapidly changed below him as he increased his speed, he decided to do some mental training while he was at it. Checking all of his inner knowledge that he received from the system wanting to know what he had imprinted in him concerning fighting other cultivators. He also counted that he would have a bit over 25k spirit points if he started absorbing the spirit stones he got. Though he wasn't sure what to spend it on yet, he also had enough skills he didn't really need anymore. They were all higher grade and powerful. Though he was running low on those healing pills, he might have to spend some on those.

At about the time that Zhang Dong was speeding towards his destination, other things were happening there.

Spirit Spring City was at full alert, their defensive formations were all active, a bright golden shield was covering the whole city. You could see cultivators sitting in lotus positions powering the defensive shield that covered the whole area. Some of them were getting dragged away on stretchers, their bodies drained from their spiritual energy as they were switched out with other cultivators. On the other side of the shield you could see people as well, they were pounding on the shield with something that looked like siege weapons. There were balistas and cannons, firing of colorful shots of energy that were hitting the golden shield making it rumble.