Zhao Zidie, Feng Fan, and Shen Huabei were resting atop a branch of a high tree. This specific branch was wide enough to accommodate the three of them.

Zhao Zidie's left arm had stopped bleeding. At present, she no longer had any of the talismans that could regenerate a lost limb, but once she returned to the sect, although it would be painful, she would be able to get her arm back. Her face was pale and her hair disheveled, but she could not focus too much on her appearance and her lost limb and was grateful to be alive. After all, she had seen Liu Xing escape from her technique and split the wind dragon her two teammates had created. This technique was their ultimate technique that could only be activated by a huge amount of qi and their respective treasures. Although she had no illusions that it could kill an elder, even among the inner disciples, this technique was considered to be one of the strongest, and Liu Xing had split it quite easily.

Truth be told, she had been trembling badly when they had run hurriedly, afraid that Liu Xing would chase them and kill them as easily as a wolf tearing the neck of little lambs. Feng Fan and Shen Huabei spoke arrogantly, but she knew that they too felt fear of Liu Xing. Their qi was spent, without any scrap remaining, and while their physical prowess had not regressed, a prepared and determined Lock Opening cultivator could kill them right now.

As she rested, Zhao Zidie looked up at the sky with her mouth open wide. She knew that her master was super strong; even though she was not one of the Twelve Elders, she was one of the strongest elders in the Purple Moon Sect. She knew that her master was temperamental and quite protective of her, especially since she was her cousin. However, to think that she would suddenly summon an entire mountain after her report made Zhao Zidie feel as if she had underestimated her. As the mountain fell from the sky, parting the clouds and making a loud whistling sound as if the wind itself was screaming, Zhao Zidie swallowed hard.

"With this, that bastard will die!" Feng Fan smirked to her right side, though his golden eyes were actually trembling as he watched the mountain fall.

"To think that our master would summon an entire mountain, it makes me wonder why she isn't one of the Twelve Elders," Shen Huabei said as he adjusted his spectacles.

Zhao Zidie observed the falling mountain, inhaled deeply, and tried to smirk arrogantly herself. After all, she was Zhao Zidie; she needed to be strong and elegant. She tried to mask her feelings of insecurity, of her inadequacy, and a semblance of confidence came over her. Along with this confidence, her fear of Liu Xing was overpowered, and a little resentment finally resurfaced.

"There's no way he can survive this attack," she said, and her teammates nodded in agreement.

The three of them silently agreed that they could not win against Liu Xing, and they really, really needed the dragon vein. So they had contacted their master, told her what Liu Xing had done, exaggerating it a lot, and her master, famous for her bad temper, had been easily convinced to deal with Liu Xing. He was indeed strong, and he would become a valuable inner disciple later, but currently, he was still an outer disciple, and her master had thought that Liu Xing had offended her by attacking her disciple and intending to kill her. Zhao Zidie had never thought that her retaliation would be on this scale.

"Do you guys think the contract would survive this attack?" Feng Fan asked.

"We saw that Liu Xing had a spatial bag. I assume he saved the contract inside the spatial bag," Shen Huabei looked up and observed the falling mountain a bit more thoroughly. "The mountain will crush Liu Xing, no doubt, but the spatial bag probably could survive."

"That means we need to dig out the spatial bag," Feng Fan said.

"Digging for a little while is not something we need to be ashamed of," she said, "the reward is worth it."

The falling mountain was already quite close to the target mountain, shadowing it and making the area around it darker, as if the mountain was a giant cloud that descended from the sky. Liu Xing was fast, but he could not outrun a mountain. Her master knew that her attack was not famous for its speed, so she had compensated for this with a technique that locked her opponent in place. Zhao Zidie had asked to be taught this technique and been refused; her master stated that she was too weak to even attempt to learn it, but it seemed it was time for her to be more insistent.

The scattered wind began to hit them, as if an explosion had happened in the distance. The qi emanating from the mountain was stable, as if the mountain was born to fly in the sky and could descend wherever it wanted. The sound it made was so loud that it sounded like the world itself was growling, and she imagined that the top of the upside-down mountain was a sword that could pierce its chosen opponent. In contrast, the mountain below was calm, soft, and felt almost gentle. She could imagine that the mountain below would be crushed as easily as tofu being crushed by a boulder. Liu Xing was definitely on that mountain, otherwise her master would not have let a mountain fall there.

Seeing this display of power, Zhao Zidie felt a little smug in her heart. That was the payment for being her enemy, the payment for her two severed arms, as well as inflicting a humiliating fear deep inside her. There was a small part of her that felt a bit uneasy, but it was drowned out by her confidence that masked her true self.

Then, the tips of the two mountains met. And Zhao Zidie expected the mountain below to be crushed, a huge explosion that would send debris and a huge cloud of dust flying, as if a mountain had erupted and made the world itself groan. Yet, something unimaginable happened.

"Die!" A feminine yet loud voice echoed through the world, scattering the wind. A purple light glowed from the tip of the mountain below, and a huge shockwave, accompanied by a loud sound of thunderclaps, spread through the world. Then, the mountain blew up, but not the one anchored to the earth, which looked soft and easy to destroy; no, the one that exploded into debris was the upside-down mountain, as if it were made of glass.

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As the mountain shattered, a wild rushing sound could be heard, and the fragments of the mountain, which looked so small, began to shoot in all directions.

Zhao Zidie's mouth opened wide, as she could not comprehend what had just happened. The one that should have exploded, or at minimum been crushed, was the mountain below, yet the one that exploded was the other mountain!

As some scattered trees and boulders rained down around, as if a mountain had truly erupted, a fear so profound began to drown her heart.

Zhao Zidie looked to her right and left. Feng Fan had his eyes wide and his mouth agape, and Shen Huabei was the same, with his spectacles glinting light frantically—the effect of so much debris flying overhead like a swarm of giant swarms—as if it too felt panicked and were sending an S.O.S message.

"As we pulled our backing," Shen Huabei's voice trembled, "so did Liu Xing."

Upon hearing that, Zhao Zidie realized that she had been foolish for a moment. She had thought that the one who destroyed that mountain was Liu Xing. In hindsight, it was a stupid thought. The voice that had reverberated before the mountain exploded was feminine, as well as the fact that Liu Xing was just a Core Splitting realm cultivator like them. There was no way the one who destroyed it was him. But the truth, while easing her heart a little, still made her stomach churn.

"Do you think we have picked the wrong target?" Zhao Zidie said slowly. "It seems Liu Xing is not an ordinary outer disciple."

Both of her teammates remained silent for a while, observing the rain of chunks of earth, boulders, and trees around them, decimating the landscape. Then, Shen Huabei said, "What should we do, Feng Fan?"

Feng Fan gulped, and then, as if he had successfully swallowed his fear, he spoke with a steady voice. "What are you guys afraid of? It's true that we miscalculated."

Twice, Zhao Zidie added in her heart.

"But in the end, we are still standing. We haven't lost, and we know the full capabilities of Liu Xing as well as his backer. Huabei, with the current information, what do you think about Liu Xing?"

Shen Huabei pinched his chin, his eyes tilted upward, observing the still-raining debris, though the large debris had already landed, and what was still raining down was on average the size of her palm. Zhao Zidie licked her lips. Feng Fan was their leader, but Shen Huabei was the brain of their team. Shen Huabei's task was to think and come to a conclusion, so Feng Fan could make an informed decision. Zhao Zidie herself was not a passive member of their team; sometimes both of her teammates lacked some wisdom that she possessed, and thus, they had become one of the most functional teams in the entire inner court.

"Liu Xing is strong, fast, and dangerous. He has well-rounded battle capabilities. He can fight from close up but is also dangerous from long range. Those bolts of his that rained down on us were not dangerous in themselves, but with the sheer number of bolts he can unleash while fighting other people at the same time, I think that Liu Xing is a one-man team."

Zhao Zidie agreed with his assessment. Truth be told, while they really, really needed the dragon vein, it would be worthless if they died; hence, if they had to choose between the dragon vein or their lives, they needed to choose their lives. Yet, she knew that as a cultivator, a way of thinking like that would leave her behind. People always sought opportunity, as well as created opportunity for themselves. If they did not take risks, then they would not advance. Still, it seemed Shen Huabei had painted Liu Xing as an equal threat that could not be underestimated. He was as strong as the three of them combined.

"Additionally," Zhao Zidie added, "he has a strong backer. Our master is at the Black Sun realm, and yet, Liu Xing's backer could fend off her attack."

"Do you think our master was serious, Zidie'er?" Feng Fan asked, his golden eyes sharp. Zhao Zidie knew that Feng Fan had feelings for her, but that feeling was dwarfed compared to his devotion to her master.

"No," she replied. Making a mountain fall was a feat she could not even begin to comprehend, but she knew that it was not the limit of her master's power. "But we cannot be sure Liu Xing's backer was already at full power either."

"Zidie is right," Shen Huabei added, "There's a chance that Liu Xing's backer is as strong as our master, and that means he is truly our equal, strength and backing wise."

"You want us to back down?" Feng Fan asked, his tone a bit harsh

Shen Huabei once again adjusted his treasure spectacles. "Yes. But before you call me a coward, I want you to remember our master's words. Before we left, she said that we were merely hatchlings. There are eagles and dragons out there, and if we did not know when to back down, we would die."

"But she also said that we need to risk our lives for opportunity. That is the essence of what we learn from her. Treading a safe path would guarantee life, but it means killing your potential."

"It is not wise to throw ourselves into danger."

"It's also stupid to let a chance pass by."

Her teammates glared at each other. If they had enough qi, they would begin brawling. Zhao Zidie's confidence that had resurfaced was now drowned by her insecurity again, and she understood that Liu Xing was a terrifying enemy. She was inclined to agree with Shen Huabei, but she could not say it that bluntly, or she would lose respect from both of them.

"Shen Huabei," she began, making both of her teammates look at her. "I think you have voiced your opinion, and I think it's time for Fang Fen to make a decision. In the end, he is our leader, and we need to follow his direction. But Fang Fen, you need to decide wisely and account for our situation."

Both of her teammates needed to regenerate their qi, and while she had some to spare, it was not enough to begin a new battle. Moreover, she only had one arm remaining. If they fought Liu Xing, it would be like mortals throwing themselves into the gaping mouth of a tiger. She knew that Feng Fan understood their situation, and he was wise enough to see that they were not fit to fight.

Feng Fan snarled, but his eyes did not emit hostility for her and Shen Huabei, but instead deep frustration. Their team had never lost this humiliatingly before, so it was a new experience for the three of them.

"Fine! We will not chase Liu Xing, but that doesn't mean that we're going to forget this humiliation. That Liu Xing sooner or later will get back to the sect, and when that time comes, we will ensure that he will die by our hands."

"Then it's decided," Shen Huabei nodded. "We need to go back to the sect. While he is as strong as us, it doesn't mean that he is out of our reach. I believe with enough preparation we can kill him and get that contract."

"How about his backing?" she asked.

"It's easy," Shen Huabei smiled. "We just need to make sure that this is a matter between disciples."

"Begin to think about the plan then," Feng Fan ordered. "We will leave shortly after we have recuperated."

Zhao Zidie looked around. The shattered mountain had finally stopped raining down debris. All around her, clouds of dust began to swirl higher and higher. But the mountain where Liu Xing should be was pristine. Not a single piece of debris had fallen onto it, or the forest that circling it. As she observed this, she wondered whether their intention to pursue this matter was wise, but then she remembered that she was Zhao Zidie. Even if some part of her was reluctant, she needed to drown it out. She needed to be strong and beautiful.

A hard thing to do.

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