135 Chapter 134: Separation (1/2)

As Zhu Jiao watched the Heavenly Way Sect discples leave, he sighed in relief. Even though he was not afraid of them, it would still be a difficult battle and a lot of trouble.

I could practically tell what he was thinking. The idiot was obsessed with stages, levels and realms again. He was most likely thinking he could easily defeat a Qi Fusion Stage practitioner or something (wasn't Jiang Jun Hao at Pure Spirit Stage or whatever? Well…I don't remember and I don't particularly care), and that the rest of the Heavenly Way Sect disciples were at such low realms that they didn't pose a threat to him at all.

”Don't get complacent,” I reminded him somewhat harshly. ”It doesn't matter if they are from a lower realm or weaker or whatever. Even a rabbit can wound a tiger if it lets down its guard. People are perfectly capable defeating opponents stronger than themselves. Hell, haven't you been doing that with your protagonist plot armor and special snowflake thing all this time?”

Granted, it wasn't just plot armor or special snowflake logic. In reality, many factors had to be considered in a fight. It wasn't a simple matter of ”he's stronger, therefore he automatically wins.” This wasn't a qi-measuring (or dick-measuring – the length of your, uh, thing, determined how good you'll be at sex even before you did it – since when was it that simple?) contest. Why do you think we had martial arts tournaments? If everything was as easy as 10th-dan black belt winning, then we would just assign victories to the people ranked higher instead of having them participate in matches in the first place. The dan ranking didn't mean anything anyway. Yeah, probably it meant you achieved a higher level of training and mastery than most people, but it didn't mean you would automatically win a fight before you even lift a finger. A tiger still had to pounce and slash at the rabbit, and if the rabbit got lucky or was smart, and got a kick off, it would not only survive, it would leave an ugly bruise on the tiger's face.

Too many people were obsessed with strength, amount of qi, realm, stages and levels that they were clearly out of touch with reality.

”Yeah, yeah.”

As always, the protagonist had to be an arrogant and impulsive guy, so Zhu Jiao merely dismissed my warning. He then removed the Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets and placed them back in his spatial pouch before turning toward Bai Ning Xue and the White Tiger Sect. smiling broadly, he bowed gratefully.

”Thanks, Ning Xue. Thank you, everyone.”

He also made sure to turn to Gun Bang and the spear guy and bowed to them too.

”Thank you, seniors.”

”No problem,” Gun Bang replied as he rested his staff casually on his shoulder. ”If we let those fools do whatever they want and rob other people, then we can't call ourselves martial artists of the righteous way. We wouldn't have the right to persecute and hunt down the demonic sects.”

”Speaking of the demonic sects, where are they?” Kuang Hu asked, clearly eager for a fight. He was disappointed that he wasn't able to brawl with the Heavenly Way Sect members earlier and was spoiling for a battle.

”Who knows?” the spear guy shrugged.

”I hope we don't run into them,” Zhu Jiao muttered. I winced at that and groaned. He turned to me, confused. ”What?”

”You just had to tempt fate, didn't you?”

”Huh? What do you mean?”

”The moment you hoped that we wouldn't run into them, our fate had been sealed. We'll end up running into them for sure.”

”Uh…” Zhu Jiao looked unconvinced by my explanation. ”Surely we wouldn't be that unlucky, right?”

The two outsiders who had gotten the other Spirit Treasure Armaments took their leave after exchanging a few pleasantries with Bai Ning Xue. As they left, she turned to Zhu Jiao while sheathing both of her Treasure Swords. She smiled and shook her head as she approached him, amusement flashing in her eyes.

”I thought you wanted to follow us. What happened? We looked around for you when we first entered, but the both of you went missing.”

Zhu Jiao grimaced, and thankfully he didn't spout that protagonist nihilistic bullshit about ”I'm accustomed to being alone.” Instead, he gave a more practical and realistic answer. ”There were way too many people, and we ended up being cut off. I did my best to catch up, but I was dragged along with the flow and couldn't find you guys either. Never mind you guys, even Fei Wu got separated by me when the whole crowd rushed into the ancient tomb.”

”Yeah, there's too many people.” I stared at the White Tiger Sect. ”I'm actually impressed that you guys managed to stick together.”

”We've worked together on missions before,” Kuang Hu explained. ”We've a good understanding of each other and thus are able to move more in concert. If you hang out with us more often, I dare say you'll develop the same understanding.”

”A pity we aren't from the same sect.” Zhu Jiao chuckled. I groaned.

”Really? Even if I'm with other members of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, I don't know if I'll be able to stick with them and have that same kind of understanding.”

”Well, it's high time you stop being a loner and learn to work with others.” After saying that dismissively, Bai Ning Xue turned to Zhu Jiao. ”As expected of Zhu Jia, that battle was impressive. I knew you would be able to beat Jiang Jun Hao to the Spirit Treasure Armament. That expression on his face, he never saw it coming, did he?”

”I was just lucky,” Zhu Jiao replied with a laugh. I seethed inwardly. Damn right he was lucky. As the protagonist, Zhu Jiao had the luck of the devil himself. Always getting the good things, always conveniently escaping death, always at the center of attention and receiving praise after slapping everybody's faces and proving them wrong. And learning the most powerful martial arts techniques and having such a great master.

Even though I somewhat shared his fate in having a dead master, Master only taught me for a week. In contrast, Zhu Jiao had Qi Lin accompany and guide him for years, thus widening his advantage over me.

This was so unfair. I couldn't help but sigh and shake my head in despair. In the face of Zhu Jiao, no matter what I did or achieved, it would pale in comparison to him. Not that I wanted to make it a competition, but Zhu Jiao was inadvertently destroying my self-esteem by being present. And worse, I knew I wouldn't get anything as valuable as him…

”Where's your first senior?” Zhu Jiao asked, casting a glance around the main hall warily. ”I'm surprised Lei Yong Chun wouldn't seize the chance to grab these Spirit Treasure Armaments. Come to think of it, where are the demonic sects and all the other elite martial artists?”

Now that he had mentioned it, there were no sign of Lei Yong Chun, Nan Ke, Ling Qing Zhu, Li Xue Wu, Yan Qing Wu and the others. There was only Wang Pan…I mean, Jiang Jun Hao from the Heavenly Way Sect.

”First Senior Lei Yong Chun and the rest have most likely already reached the center of the ancient tomb,” Bai Ning Xue replied, but her voice was filled with disapproval. ”To them, these Spirit Treasure Armaments don't hold that much value.”

”Are you fucking kidding me?” I muttered. These high-quality Spirit Treasure Armaments were worthless to those idiots? Look, I knew they were elite martial artists and most likely had bigger fish to fry, but even so, that was quite an audacious attitude.

On the bright side, it meant we didn't have to fight those monsters over these Spirit Treasure Armaments. Not that it helped me. Even without Lei Yong Chun and the rest joining the fray, I still couldn't obtain a treasure of my own.

I was beginning to think I should just give up…

”Hah…”

On the other hand, the promise of even more valuable and higher-quality Spirit Artifacts, weapons and treasures hidden within the inner vaults of the ancient tomb was too much to bear. Since I was already here, I might as well keep trying. Fight to the bitter end…to give up now would mean cutting off any chance I might still have of getting at least a little something out of this whole ordeal. I should aim for that astronomical chance instead of surrendering to Fate.

Zhu Jiao and I glanced at the direction where Jiang Jun Hao had left in. Presently, not just him, but his fellow sect disciples and the dispersing crowd in the chamber, were all leaving in the various corridors that spread out from the main hall, all of which led to the deeper segments of the ancient tomb. Like me, none of them had given up on the chance to find more treasures, spirit artifacts and weapons in this place.

No wonder Lei Yong Chun and the rest didn't bother to stop here. With their statuses and achievements, they probably didn't hold these ”mere” Spirit Treasure Armaments in their eyes, and instead planned to look for even more valuable treasures and Spirit Armaments located in the deeper regions of the ancient tomb.

It would be the crowning moment of irony if they gambled on that, only to find nothing and leave the ancient tomb empty-handed, I thought, more than just a little sardonically. The expressions on their faces if that happened would be too precious not to capture on video.

”We plan to rest and regroup here for a while before exploring the deeper areas. What about you? Do you still plan on following us?”

Bai Ning Xue seemed to sense Zhu Jiao's ambition and greed. She knew her boyfriend too well.

Upon hearing her question, Zhu Jiao glanced around the vast hall. As I mentioned earlier, now that all the Spirit Treasure Armaments inside here had been claimed, everyone was already leaving the main hall and dashing toward the deeper regions without any hesitation. Particularly those who had arrived just after the Spirit Treasure Armaments were taken. I understood exactly how they felt, having experienced that several times before ending up here. The frustration and regret that filled my heart were what drove me to push on without pause, in hopes that I would locate another Spirit Artifact or treasure before they were taken once again.

”I'll go ahead and take a look first. If I can't find anything else, then I'll just give up then.”

Zhu Jiao seemed amused while he watched the scene of people coming and going. Even though he had reaped quite the bountiful harvest this time, he had yet to find the Spirit Artifact he was truly looking for – a yin-type artifact that would help his sister, Qing Tan. That had been his primary objective all along.

If he was unable to find it, then Qing Tan's situation would undoubtedly grow more dangerous.

That was why he couldn't stop right now.

”I'm very sorry. But there's a reason why I'm in a rush. I'm looking for something specific.”

Bai Ning Xue studied Zhu Jiao for a moment, and most likely because she was aware of his family circumstances and sister (they are childhood sweethearts, after all), she nodded understandingly and waved for him to go.

”Good luck. I hope you find whatever you need for Little Qing Tan. And wish her well when you see her again. I hope she recovers.”

”Thank you!”

Zhu Jiao glanced at me, recalling that I was looking for a similar type of artifact.

”Are you coming along, Wu? Or are you going to follow the White Tiger Sect?”

”I'll follow you,” I replied, feeling a little hollow. Right now, I was probably the only one who hadn't gained anything from this little venture. I was feeling bitter that I was facing a very high possibility that I would return home empty-handed.

However, this was a good chance for me. If I followed Zhu Jiao around, I might possibly be able to ride on his coattails and share in his protagonist luck. He might even split whatever treasures he found with me!

”All right, let's go then!”

Zhu Jiao then spun around and bowed politely to bid Bai Ning Xue, Kuang Hu and the rest of the White Tiger Sect farewell.

”Thanks again…if you guys need help, give me a holler. If I'm around, I'll definitely come and save you!”

Bai Ning Xue laughed and nodded. ”I know you will.”

Even though I didn't know it, later I learned that Zhu Jiao had indeed saved the White Tiger Sect a couple of times before. Being the protagonist that he was, he had quite a few adventures of his own where he played the role of hero, saving his love interest and her sect, and doing all those usual xianxia main character things.

The both of us then proceeded toward the depths of the tomb. Zhu Jiao was unable to suppress a smug smile on his face.

”Ha ha ha! This has been quite the fruitful trip! I can't believe I managed to get my hands on so many Pure Yuan Pills and even a high-quality Spirit Treasure Armament! It was totally worth making the journey here!”

”…”

Noticing my taciturn silence, Zhu Jiao turned to me, his brow raised.

”What's the matter, Wu?”

”Nothing.”

”Really?” Zhu Jiao didn't seem to believe me, but he let the matter drop. Or that was his intention anyway, but he continued with a question that speared straight into my heart. ”So what have you managed to get so far?”