<h4>Chapter 260: Mysterious Man in Civilian Clothes</h4>
Trantor: Minotauruz
The man in civilian clothes continued to walk along the bustling street with a steady pace. Even though he donned a veiled conical hat, hisnky and upright posture coupled with his otherworldly aura caused many to pause in their steps and do a double-take at him.
Everyone was curious how this man looked underneath the veiled conical hat of his.
Just then, a disturbance appeared on the road ahead. As though something scary were taking ce, people began to scream and shout and scatter about in panic.
If one listened closely, they could pick up traces of cries along the lines of, “Monster...help...save me...” and so on.
The man in civilian clothes continued to walk forward inplete juxtaposition with the world of chaos that ensued in the direction of where he was headed – one was a realm that was in aplete mess, filled with panic and fear; while the other was a man who remained still, steadfast and immutable as time.
The most incredulous thing was that no matter where the crowd scattered and ran, nobody collided into the man in civilian clothes at all.
It was as though there was an invisible force protecting and sequestering this man from the others around him.
However, as soon as the source of the chaos arrived, it stopped before this man.
“Shove off!” A rotten voice resounded, echoing in the ears of all who were around. If any cultivators were around right now, they would immediately be able to tell that the voice had been imbued with spiritual energy to give rise to such an effect.
The man in civilian clothes looked up, and the veiled conical hat on his head swayed slightly. In the next moment, a massive beast that was as tall as the height of five personsbined bellowed as itnded in front of the man. A youngdy dressed in pink garments sat atop the massive beast.
“Why aren’t you making way for me?!” The youngdy red down and pointed her finger at the man in civilian clothes from atop the spirit beast.
The man in civilian clothes looked up once more, before cidly responding, “Anyone can walk along this path. Why should I make way for you?”
“You!” Thedy was incensed. Sheshed out with her whip, making several cracking sounds as she barked back, “You’re blocking my way!!”
“You’re not supposed to be riding your spirit beast pet in the streets of the mortal world to begin with. Your spirit beast is a Hellfire Lion, and it’s a ruthless and tyrannical creature. I wonder how many mortals have been trampled to death or eaten up by your Hellfire Lion along the way here.” The man in civilian clothes spoke with a tone of voice that wasced with much displeasure.
Everyone else who had earlier been running for their lives noticed that the ferocious spirit beast had stopped in its tracks, and they no longer ran about frically. Instead, they turned back and watched themotion from afar. As soon as they heard the words from the man in civilian clothes, everyone nodded their heads in agreement, and they were filled with gratitude towards the man for standing up for all of them.
“Since you know it’s a Hellfire Lion, why aren’t you making way for me?! Do you believe me when I say I’m going to order it to devour you?!” The unruly and tyrannicaldy was evidently displeased with the behaviour of the man in civilian clothes, and she began to threaten him.
“I believe you. But it doesn’t have the ability to devour me.” The man in civilian clothes responded with nonchnce. His words were so serene and tranquil, and yet the extent of its cidity only incensed the headstrongdy even more.
“Alright, since you’re being so arrogant and unreasonable, then don’t me me for my impoliteness! Hellfire Lion, get at him!”
Under its master’s instructions, the Hellfire Lion immediately pounced towards the man in civilian clothes.
In the blink of an eye, a spirit sword appeared in the hands of the man in civilian clothes. This sword emanated a frigid and incisive air about it, and the man’s aura instantly exploded with ferocity and increased in its intensity by several levels.
Earlier, when the man in civilian clothes remained discreet, his existence was so faint that it was barely noticeable. Apart from the dignified aura exuding from his body, nobody could feel the roaring, intense pressure emanating from his body. This caused the arrogantdy to mistake him for nothing more than a pushover that could be crushed at any time.
Yet as soon as he armed himself with his spirit sword, the oppressive aura around his body erupted instantly and engulfed the surroundings. It was only at this point that the arrogantdy realized that she might very well have stubbed her toe.
That said, the pride in her heart meant that she was not willing to admit defeat so easily. Besides, her mount was something that her brother had personally gifted to her, and its abilities were already in the Golden Core stage of cultivation.
Spirit beasts that were in the Golden Core stage of cultivation were incredibly fearsome. If both were at the same level of cultivation, human cultivators would generally be unable to match up to the powerfulbat abilities of the spirit beasts.
The arrogantdy was evidently conceited because she had the backing of the spirit beast beside her, and it was for this reason that she dared to act in such an unbridled manner.
Unfortunately, it was also evident that the arrogantdy was unaware of the truth of life that there was always someone stronger in the vast world out there. Her ego had been puffed up to unprecedented levels within her sect, causing her to forget the fact that the world out there was filled with existences that could crush her as easily as they would crush an ant. Within one incense stick of time, the man in civilian clothes had managed to incapacitate all four limbs of the Hellfire Lion, and it was reduced to its final breaths as itid pathetically on the ground. At the same time, the arrogantdy fell from the top of the Hellfire Lion when it copsed to the ground.
“Martial sister!”
“Martial sister!”
“Martial sister...”
Over ten male disciples ran over from the distance and did what they could to support the arrogantdy and help her back to her feet.
The arrogantdy had the Hellfire Lion as her mount, while the rest of them were on foot. Thus, they had only managed to arrive where thedy was when her Hellfire Lion was defeated by the man in civilian clothes.
“Leave me be for now. Kill that man!” The arrogantdy red hatefully as she pointed at the man in civilian clothes and barked through her gritted teeth.
“This...” The disciples exchanged sheepish nces with each other. Having noticed the state of the Hellfire Lion, how could any of them still have the guts to even attempt to duke it out with the man in civilian clothes?
The man in civilian clothes swept his gaze across the group of men who had just arrived. As soon as he noticed their hesitance and theirck of battle intent, he flicked and sheathed his sword, ignored the group of people and continued to make his way forward.
“Bunch of useless cowards!” The pink-garbeddy red hatefully at the male disciples surrounding her, “If you don’t obey mymands, I’m going to tell my brother. Let’s see how he’ll deal with you at that time!”
The male disciples were evidently rather afraid of the “brother” that the arrogantdy had referred to. They nced at each other, before immediately rushing towards the man in civilian clothes – none of them had the confidence that they could defeat this man, and they knew that their only chance of sess stood in the fact that they could take the man by surprise.
Unfortunately, the man seemed to have eyes on his back. He suddenly turned around, and countless des formed with sword intent immediately congealed in mid-air as they rushed straight towards the male disciples who were charging at him.
Nobody expected the man in civilian clothes to be so nimble and quick with his reflexes. Given that they were already mid-step, the male disciples ended up scrambling to avoid the des formed by sword intent. Those who failed to avoid the des ended up with wound after wound appearing on their bodies. They were reduced to an extremely sorry state. In fact, that was most astonishing was the fact that the des formed by sword intent were even able to track and follow them – and the disciples were unable to shirk off these des no matter what they did.
“Trash! All of you are trash!” The pink-garbeddy stamped her feet on the ground. At the same time, she recalled that there was something within her Interspatial Ring that she could use.
This was something that her brother had given to her to be used during emergencies.
The pink-garbeddy’s eyes grew cold and frigid as she nced at the man in civilian clothes. Then, she immediately retrieved the sharp, needle-like object from her Interspatial Ring, imbued it with her own spiritual energy, and tossed it straight at her opponent.
This was a Soulying Needle. It should never be underestimated just because of its small size. As soon as it punctures a person’s body, it would immediately burrow its way into a person’s meridians and find its way into its target’s Dantian, crippling that person’s entire cultivation. It was an incredibly devilish, vicious weapon.
Unfortunately, the pink-garbeddy underestimated the abilities of the man in civilian clothes. Even though she was absolutely confident in the abilities of the Soulying Needle, he discovered its existence before it struck his body. The man in civilian clothes waved his sleeves, and the Soulying Needle exploded mid-flight, shattered into innumerable tiny pieces and slowly drifted to the ground.
The Soulying Needle was gone in just an instant – it waspletely destroyed.
The pink-garbeddy grew increasingly anxious and enraged. This was a gift that her brother had given her for her birthday, and it was the object of envy of several of her friends. But now, everything was gone! She looked at what remained of the Soulying Needle, before lifting her head, ready to blurt out a string of obscenities and curse at the man in civilian clothes. But when she saw him this time, she immediately froze in shock.
As it turns out, the shockwave from the Soulying Needle’s explosion had blown the veiled conical hat off the man in civilian clothes, revealing his appearances – it was a face that could be ranked among the top, even in the cultivation world where handsome men and beauties abounded. He possessed a high nose-bridge, thin, charming lips, striking eyebrows, and a cool yet abstruse-looking pair of eyes. Over and above all that, he possessed a cold and distant air about him, as though he was a deity with pristine looks that had just descended from the heavens.
At the beginning, when the pink-garbeddy noticed that the man had hidden his appearances, she had immediately concluded that he must be hiding his face because he looked hideous. Unexpectedly, this man was not only not ugly, he was incredibly good-looking.
He’s even more handsome than brother is... The pink-garbeddy’s heart began to thump with excitement, and the gaze with which she looked at this man immediately changedpletely.
Just a little while ago, she was still arrogant and headstrong as she forced the issue. Yet, now, her gaze was simply filled with passion and vigor.
The man in civilian clothes nced back at her cidly, before turning to leave,pletely ignoring the passion burning in the depths of her eyes.
It was evident that the man in civilian clothes had not sought revenge for the pink-garbeddy’s actions because he hardly considered them deserving of any more of his time.
“Wait a minute!” The pink-garbeddy noticed that the man in civilian clothes was about to leave, so she immediately gave chase after him.
Yet, the man in civilian clothespletely ignored her.
“Mar-...martial sister, don’t give chase anymore. He’s too powerful. We won’t be able to defeat him.” The pink-garbeddy’s martial brothers attempted to persuade her.
“Who says I’m going to look for him to settle the score?” The pink-garbeddy retorted in exasperation. She stamped her feet on the ground, before continuing to run after him. Within moments, she found her way in front of the man in civilian clothes and stood in front of him.
Her breathing was slightly ragged from the running. Yet when she looked up once more at the man’s pristine appearances, infatuation immediately filled the depths of her eyes.
This man is even more gorgeous when you look at him closely. I have to make this man mine! The pink-garbeddy eximed in her heart with great resolve.
The man in civilian clothes furrowed his eyebrows. He hated trouble, yet the troublesome pink-garbeddy had time and againe up to him looking for trouble.
If he could help it, he did not wish to kill a person under the watchful eyes of the public. After all, even though his personality was cold, he was not so cold that he was nothing more than a bloodthirsty murderer. Besides, he could tell with one look that the pink-garbeddy was of an unusual stature.
The pink-garbeddy looked at how the man was looking at her with furrowed brows, and she immediately recalled how she had earlier been picking a fight with this man. Her rationality was beginning to return to her.
No! I can’t let him continue to hate me!
As the pink-garbeddy thought about it, she bit down on her lower lips and looked back at the man sheepishly as she muttered, “About earlier...I’m sorry. I was at fault. I apologize to you.”
The man in civilian clothes never expected the pink-garbeddy to change her attitude to suddenly, and he was immediately taken aback.
That said, he quickly collected himself and responded, “I ept thisdy’s apology. Then, please stand aside...”
Rather thanmunicating his eptance of the pink-garbeddy’s apology, it might have been more urate to say that the man had taken into ount the fact that he was unharmed from the earlier incident, and he simply couldn’t be bothered to press the issue.
The man in civilian clothes circled around the pink-garbeddy and continued to walk forward. However, the pink-garbeddy immediately grabbed hold of his arm.
His body flickered. In the next moment, he wrested his arm free of her grasp.
“Lady, just what do you want with me?” The man in civilian clothes sounded increasingly displeased. He hated it when people intruded into his personal space. He hated it when anyone did so, except for one person, and this one person...
An image of that person flickered across the depths of his heart, and a trace of warmth could be seen welling up in the depths of his pupils.
The pink-garbeddy thought that his soft expressions were directed at herself, and her heart leapt with joy as she introduced herself, “I’m Qin Shanshan, a Dawn Sect disciple. My brother is Qin Lingyu, a disciple of the Limitless Sect. I wonder how I should address this brother? No discord, no concord. Let’s make an acquaintance, shall we?”
The man in civilian clothes suddenly trembled, and a bright, incisive gleam shed across the depths of his eyes –
“You’re from the Dawn Sect? Your brother is Qin Lingyu?!”
“Ye-...yes...what...what about it?” Qin Shanshan stammered in response. She was taken aback by the moment of frigid intent in the man’s voice.
She had earlier mentioned her brother’s name in order to give her own introductions some gravitas; she had never expected such an intense reaction from the man in civilian clothes.
However, the man in civilian clothes quickly collected himself. In the blink of an eye, as he looked up once more, his eyes were once again filled with a cool, distant gaze.
“Since thisdy is a disciple from the Dawn Sect, then I’m sure you would know a little bit about the current condition of the Heavenly Peak right?”
“Heavenly Peak?” A look of disgust shed across the depths of Qin Shanshan’s eyes, “I do know a little. I wonder why this brother wishes to discuss matters pertaining to the Heavenly Peak?”
When she drew to thetter statement, Qin Shanshan intentionallyced her tone of voice with some measure of curiosity as she probed at his intentions.
“It’s just that I’d earlier heard that the Heavenly Peak had been annihted, and I was hoping to verify this for myself.”
“I wouldn’t consider them annihted just yet. That said, that band of people can be said to be in dire straits.” Qin Shanshan quipped with delight in her voice. She obviously had no favourable impression of the people of the Heavenly Peak.
“Dire straits...” The man in civilian clothes echoed, as though deep in thought.
“Does this brother want to know more? Let’s have a chat at the teahouse nearby, then...oh yes, may I know how I should address this brother?” Since the man was interested in finding out more about the people of the Heavenly Peak, Qin Shanshan felt that she could easily use her knowledge in this regard as a hook to have a chat with this man and make an acquaintance.
As to whether this man has any ulterior motives for finding out more about the Heavenly Peak, she was content to temporarily shelf that thought. After all, she had the backing of her brother, and she did not believe that this man would dare to make a move against her.
“How would you address me...” A gleam shed across the depths of the man’s eyes, before he resolved to keep his real name hidden in his heart.
“My surname is Jun. You can call me Jun Ziwen.”