131 Chapter 130: Charging into the tomb (1/2)

Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to me.

”Go!”

Without even bothering to thank me or express some form of appreciation, the elite martial artists all dashed into the mountaintop milliseconds after the barrier vanished. They only spent a short time gawking at me, and then without displaying any gratitude, they took my efforts for granted and rushed toward the mountain peak.

”Thank you. Great work!”

Or so I thought, but Lei Yong Chun paused to thank me. I nodded, and the older guy turned toward Bai Ning Xue with a smile.

”You really have quite a few talented students at your school.”

”So think twice before you attack us again,” she retorted coldly. Lei Yong Chun laughed at that.

”Don't be naïve. It's precisely because of that, that the Martial Arts Alliance view your academy as a threat.”

Before he could elaborate further, he followed Sui Sha Yu, and the couple vanished into the mountaintop after the other sects and martial artists.

It wasn't just Lei Yong Chun, though.

”I didn't rely on brute force.”

For some reason, Ling Qing Zhu was sulking as she glared at me. I held up both my hands apologetically to quell her frosty tantrum.

”Sorry. That's not what I meant. I wasn't referring to you specifically. I meant the others, more generally.”

”…”

Ling Qing Zhu didn't seem convinced, but thankfully she accepted my answer at face value and turned away. In a single bound, she streaked toward the entrance of the ancient tomb, resembling an azure shooting star. The rest of her Incendiary Ifrit Sect followed after her, and even though they did not look as impressive, they still struck a magnificent view for all those who watched, resembling blazing fireworks that seared through the heavens.

The elite martial artists and their respective sects weren't the only ones charging into the entrance of the tomb.

”The barrier is gone! Hurry! Charge in!”

Upon seeing the elite martial artists charge toward the ancient tomb, the crowd gathered at the campsite stirred with uncontrollable excitement and insane joy. As one, they surged upward, scaling the mountain and dashing toward the entrance of the tomb with no regard for others or their own safety. In mere seconds, the whole crowd had dashed madly toward the opening, reminiscent of a ravenous locust swarm descending upon a field of crops.

Or the gold rush. Or whatever.

I caught a glimpse of the Green Dragon Sect, Li Chun Long, Qing Xin Xia and the others choosing to hold back instead of helping the elite martial artists and other sects earlier, and wait for them to break the barrier in their stead. Despite being one of the major sects, it seemed that Li Chun Long and the Green Dragon Sect planned to let the others take the credit and conserve their strength, which would allow them to secretly sneak in to reap the rewards while holding an advantage. I paid them not much attention, instead looking around for the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, but was disappointed when I couldn't see any of them.

I would have thought Tang Qi Hong and the rest of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect would come up when they saw me come up the stage, but there was no sign that they were even in the campsite to begin with. Or perhaps the campsite was so crowded that it was difficult for them to fight their way to the front to back me up.

A pity. We could form some sort of alliance between the White Tiger Sect and the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect to counter the alliance between the demonic sects, as well as what seemed collaboration with the Red Phoenix Sect and Heavenly Way Sect. Though, judging from Jiang Jun Hao's reaction, I doubted the Heavenly Way Sect would work with the demonic sects.

”That was a job well done,” Bai Ning Xue told me, and her fellow White Tiger Sect disciples nodded in agreement.

”Nah, I didn't do much,” I mumbled, embarrassed. Zhu Jiao laughed.

”What are you talking about, Wu? You basically single-handedly brought down a barrier that the attacks of so many elite martial artists failed to destroy. You're clearly the MVP here!”

”They all just adopted the wrong approach,” I replied. ”If any of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect disciples or experienced Spirit Engravers were here, they could have deciphered and deactivated the barrier just as easily, if not more so than I did.”

”Always so humble,” Zhu Jiao chuckled with a shake of his head.

”We should go too.”

Bai Ning Xue glanced at the rest of her sect and nodded. As one, the White Tiger Sect moved, their steps fluid and graceful. Zhu Jiao trailed them, hanging at the back.

”Wu, what are you waiting for?”

Zhu Jiao glanced back at me. I was still craning my neck and scanning the crowd for any sign of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, but even with the technological aid of my advanced glasses, I couldn't locate any of my friends at all. Sighing in disappointment, I shook my head and turned to Zhu Jiao, my legs already moving.

”For the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect.”

”Don't worry. If Heaven wills it, we'll meet them sooner or later. For now, let's go into the tomb! After coming all the way here, I don't intend to return home empty-handed!”

”I know how you feel,” I said with a nod. I felt similar, after all, and hoped I could get my hands on at least a single treasure. That would make the whole trip, and the amount of time and effort spent on it entirely worthwhile.

Using my Shadow Steps and footwork, I managed to surge ahead and keep up with the extremely fast White Tiger Sect disciples. Remembering how I initially had trouble with Kuang Hu's speed when I fought him during the tournament, I couldn't help but marvel at how they had trained and developed. The White Tiger Sect truly emphasized upon speed.

No wonder Lei Yong Chun was able to escape Teacher Jiao and the others that night…

”Out of the way!”

”No, you get out of my way!”

”I'll kill you!”

”!!”

While we sprinted toward the entrance of the tomb, already there were several conflicts and arguments in the mass of bodies pressing forward. I ignored them even though I could sense the surges of qi and hear explosions and the unmistakable noise of skirmishes as martial artists sought to pull ahead of their competitors.

The battle for the ancient tomb had finally begun, it seemed.

On the bright side, it seemed that we were no longer ripping off chapter titles from Wu Dong Qian Kun.

Braving through the commotion atop the originally serene mountain peak, I tried to swim through the crowd of onrushing martial artists who were frantically making their way toward the ancient tomb. While there was conflicts between fellow humans, as I mentioned earier, occasionally inhuman snarls and roars punctuated the screams of humans as they fell victim to the numerous demonic creatures and magical beasts that dwelled within the mountains. Despite the casualties to both human and non-human attacks, the majority of the martial artists succeeded in reaching the mountain's peak within a few minutes.

I hung back a little, not wanting to be targeted by either human martial artists or ferocious magical beasts and demonic creatures. That allowed me to successfully avoid them, but I found myself separated from Zhu Jiao and the rest of the White Tiger Sect. I caught a glimpse of Zhu Jiao flailing about as he too was torn apart from his beloved Bai Ning Xue, before a sea of martial artists flowed in to cut us off from each other's sight.

Damn it!

Gritting my teeth, I tried to wade through the sea of bodies, doing my best not to get swept away by the onrushing tide of martial artists. I didn't know how I did it, but after what seemed like an eternity, I finally found myself at my destination. Bending over, I heaved and panted to catch my breath at the edge of the mountain's peak.

”Phew…”

Exhaling in relief, I raised my eyes and wiped the perspiration from my brow. Ahead, there was a large stone wall that was built into the cliff wall that was concealed beneath the vegetation that grew all over the mountain's peak. Or what used to be a stone wall, anyway. Presently, the stone wall had been forcefully smashed to bits, only the huge chunks of debris showing any sign that it used to be a sturdy, solid stone wall.

This qi signature…

Judging from the type of qi that lingered around the shattered stone wall, I guessed that it was Jiang Jun Hao who obliterated the stone wall in order to forcibly create an entrance. I couldn't help but shudder at his brute strength.

Maybe I shouldn't have made fun of them over-relying on brute force earlier…

Gulping, I cautiously made my way toward the shattered entrance.

Outside the stone wall, countless martial artists were pouring into the broken hole, excited and passionate. The raw emotion of greed seemed to radiate from their bodies, saturating the air with their desires and hopes.

”Zhu Jiao!” I called out, hoping to find my friend. However, even though I scanned through the entrance with the aid of my hi-tech glasses, I failed to catch sight of Zhu Jiao or the White Tiger Sect or the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. they must have been carried along by the flow and overwhelming press of martial artists and entered the tomb a while ago.

Damn it, Zhu Jiao…what was the point of making a group if we were going to separate and end up having to explore the tomb individually?!

Of course, I knew inwardly that Zhu Jiao would actually appreciate his current predicament, especially if he found himself alone. He had many secrets, which included the golden amulet and his master, Qi Lin, which were best kept from other people. He was probably laughing to himself about how favorable his situation was.

As expected of the typical wuxia/xianxia protagonist. Always alone, on his own, so that he can indulge in his secrets and hoard all the treasures to himself. No doubt, the spirit of his master would be directing him toward a treasure vault where he would find countless qi pills or something. And then foolish antagonists will attempt to rob him, only for Zhu Jiao to teach them a lesson and kill them, and ended up intimidating the other martial artists who followed.

Yeah, it was so predictable I could already guess what would happen.

Then again, it's not as if I'm not in a similar situation…

Like Zhu Jiao, I was alone. The problem was that I didn't have any of his cheats or protagonist luck. I didn't have a ghostly master on hand to tell me where all the precious goodies were, and I certainly wouldn't be lucky enough to stumble upon a cache of spirit pills or other valuable treasures and weapons. And I didn't have any secret other than that I was the disciple of the Heaven and Earth Sect, except that most people already suspected that. Plus it wasn't that big a deal because…there wasn't much I could learn other than Heaven and Earth Formula, which was a cultivaton technique rather than a combat technique.

”Ha…”

If only Master could conform to the typical ghost master…as it was, I had only learned under him for less than a week, and he taught me nothing but the most rudimentary technique and left me to learn everything else on my own. Those wuxia and xianxia protagonists had it good, having such fated encounters and awesome luck.

Meanwhile, I got tortured, abused, and suffered nothing but failure after failure. The fate of a non-protagonist like me was pretty…bad. Well, at least I had some successes, but nothing too major. On the other hand, I did succeed in my hunting missions and had the spirit materials I needed…all that was left was for a yin-type artifact that could help both me and Qing Tan.

Well…let's not waste any time.

Sighing again, I stepped through the entrance, while allowing myself to be carried along by the unceasing flow of martial artists. The moment I was through the broken entrance and inside the ancient tomb proper, I suddenly felt an immense pressure crushing me.

”!!!”

My knees almost buckled from the weight. Fortunately, it seemed I wasn't the only one affected. Everyone who had passed through the entrance seemed to feel the exact same suffocating sensation, gasping, turning pale or staggering. Thanks to that, the flow into the tomb slowed down. Normally, the people from behind would shove them forward in their relentless march toward the ancient tomb, but like everyone else, the moment they were through, they abruptly stopped when they felt the inexorable pressure weighing down on them.

Even though the Nascent Soul Stage practitioner had clearly been dead for countless years, his lingering aura continued to remain in this space. The sheer power of his ghostly presence clogged up our qi and caused our movements to grow sluggish.

”Whoa…what a terrifying power,” I murmured, my face pale and sweaty. I swayed slightly on my feet, trying not to fall over. ”Even though he's dead, he still possesses this much power…man, I wonder how formidable he was when he was alive…”

Taking deep breaths to calm myself down, I wandered into the cavernous chamber in front of me, following the flow of people. Then I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the chamber suddenly open up to dozens of passages, each leading into different places within the tomb. Needless to say, the sea of people who had flooded into the ancient tomb earlier were now dispersing, choosing a different path and following it into whatever depths in the tomb it took them to.

Needless to say, Zhu Jiao's master had told him to take the fifth tunnel to the left. He had ignored the other martial artists exploring the place and looking for treasures and proceeded straight to a hut where he sensed a tremendous amount of qi. Relying on the advice of his master, he was somehow able to unlock the door, which would was too sturdy and durable for him or any of the other martial artists to break through with brute force.

Inside, he found tens of thousands of Pure Yuan Pills which he could then convert into millions of Yang Yuan Pills. With that spatial pouch of his that stored his items in an alternative space (thanks to the Void Whale material), Zhu Jiao was able to gather almost all of them. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), four random dudes with no names or personality other than them existing purely to be greedy antagonists for the protagonist to kill without any qualms, walked into the hut and, in the most stupid manner ever, demanded that he handed his pills over.

Again, needless to say, Zhu Jiao defeated them as easily as a pro gamer would against mob AI enemies, felling them in one attack each. Or perhaps he set his pet magical beast on them. Then Zhu Jiao went back to storing every single Yuan Pill in his bag, and smiled in satisfaction.