HSSB970: Audacity rivalling the heavens
As Yan Zhaoge headed east, while local martial practitioners of the southern Blazing Heaven Territory did block his way, they were lacking in experts.
He even suspected that he had previously had too high an opinion of himself.
Could it be that he was actually not all that important in the eyes of the southern Blazing Heaven Territory and the Wutong Slope martial practitioners?
Or had he drawn less hatred than he had believed?
As a result, even though he was overtly and conspicuously returning to the southeast through the southern Blazing Heaven Territory, the other side couldn’t even be bothered to pay it any attention.
Yan Zhaoge did not know if he should laugh or cry at this.
Meanwhile, as he travelled east, his newest location was quickly transmitted by those of the south to the ‘Blazing King’ Peng He and the others who were in the midst of heading north at full speed.
Upon receiving the news, the lot of them exchanged looks, all rendered completely speechless.
Never would they have thought that Yan Zhaoge would actually not head north for the central Jun Heaven Territory, never having contacted those of Ingenious Flying Peak to move to reinforce him.
A Seeing Divinity Martial Saint was swaggering back east just like that, heading straight for the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory.
“Well! What a Yan Zhaoge!” A furious Peng He laughed, “Audacious, yes, and dumb enough too!”
Heading east was naturally the quickest way to return to the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory.
Yet, Peng He and the others had dismissed this possibility at once at first.
Why was that so?
In order to guard against martial practitioners of the southeast, the southern Blazing Heaven Territory had numerous experts guarding over this eastern region where the two Territories bordered each other.
The relationship between them was bad and their Exalts were also away. Thus, there were frequently clashes between them.
Whether it was the western region of the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory where the Royal Reed Sea was or the eastern region of the southern Blazing Heaven Territory, these were always defended by countless experts.
Besides those local experts, Phoenix Ritual Mountain’s Wutong Slope always had peak experts active in the region to guard against experts of the southeast at any time.
This was not like that northern region of the southern Blazing Heaven Territory which bordered the central Jun Heaven Territory as it was filled with perils for any martial practitioner of the southeast.
Therefore, Peng He and the others had never thought that Yan Zhaoge might actually head east.
That would be equivalent to him walking straight into the encirclement of numerous experts.
If he headed north, Peng He would still need Daoist Leading Mist to contact experts of the Heaven Emperor’s lineage to obstruct him.
If he headed east, as Peng He saw it, even if he and the others did not pursue, Yan Zhaoge had no real chance of fleeing successfully.
“It could mean something,” Daoist Leading Mist now said, “Perhaps he has a way to contact some people from the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory’s Golden Court Mountain in aiding his return.”
Hearing his words, Peng He pondered deeply.
First not speaking of how Yan Zhaoge’s base was in the westernmost part of the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory, the Royal Reed Sea which was bordered to the southern Blazing Heaven Territory, there was a large amount of experts from the southeast in the border areas as well.”
If Yan Zhaoge was really held in extremely high regard by Golden Court Mountain and had a way of contacting them, the martial practitioners of the southeast and Yan Zhaoge could attack from the exterior and the interior simultaneously, catching the martial practitioners of the south between them.
With that, Yan Zhaoge might really be able to flee back to the southeast, inflicting a huge loss on the martial practitioners of the south in the border areas.
While he thought that Yan Zhaoge’s choice was very foolish, Peng He still dared not underestimate his personal combat power now.
Perhaps this was the reason behind Yan Zhaoge heading east?
“Fellow Daoist Leading Mist’s words make sense,” Peng He nodded, “Let us speedily chase after that Yan Zhaoge. It would be best if we can take care of him on the spot.”
“If a battle really erupts in the border areas, we can reinforce the border and counterattack those of Golden Court Mountain.”
Now, a green-robed man on the Riding Wind Heavenly Vessel who had not spoken a word previously said, “We also have to guard against him bringing false attention to that front and drawing the tiger away from the mountain.”
He was worried that Yan Zhaoge had guessed that he would surely be obstructed if he headed north, thus having made a feint by first moving towards the east.
When his group’s attentions turned to the east, Yan Zhaoge would instead head north and flee into the central Jun Heaven Territory.
After all, it was still unknown whether he would receive the assistance of experts of the southeast even if he headed east.
Even if he received their assistance, there would definitely be a major battle in which victory and defeat was hard to determine.
Wars were dangerous and battles perilous. Even if the southeastern side won, it was still unknown if Yan Zhaoge who was all alone in the southern Blazing Heaven Territory might be able to kill his way back to the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory alive.
It was not at all impossible for the southeast to win but Yan Zhaoge to end up dying in the process.
Heading back to the southeast after travelling north to the central Jun Heaven Territory was still the safest option at the end of the day.
Peng He said, “Fellow Daoist Qingshu speaks rightly. Still, there are still other disciples of my lineage. If that Yan Zhaoge really thinks to draw the tiger away from the mountain and head east afterwards, we will still be able to intercept him.”
Hearing his words, the green-robed man nodded, not longer speaking as he fell silent once more.
While he was a man of few words, it was not just Daoist Leading Mist who was extremely respectful towards him. Peng He and the others too dared not show him any disrespect in the least.
He seemed to be very young on the outside, no older than twenty.
Still, like Peng He, this green-robed man was already a late Immortal Bridge Martial Saint.
His actual age was naturally far greater than his outer appearance showed. Still, he was much younger than Peng He.
His title was Qing Shuzi as he was the head disciple of the Heaven Emperor, being even more powerful as well as well-known in the World beyond Worlds than Peng He.
He was viewed as one of those most likely to soon reach the Human Exalt stage of all the World beyond Worlds’ current ninth level Martial Saints.
“We definitely have to capture that Yan Zhaoge this time,” Peng He controlled the Riding Wind Heavenly Vessel to head east, chasing Yan Zhaoge.
There had been no news of Zhuang Chaohui and the others at all. As a result, Peng He and the other martial practitioners of Wutong Slope were feeling increasingly stifled as they desperately wished to capture Yan Zhaoge and get to the bottom of this matter.
Meanwhile, the martial practitioners of the south all learnt that Yan Zhaoge was attempting to head east, hence directly returning to the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory.
Everyone was shocked whilst also enraged by Yan Zhaoge’s audacity that rivalled the heavens.
“Scum of the southeast, give yourself up…”
Presently, a loud roar reverberated in the air above the Broad Dong Mound Plains in the eastern region of the southern Blazing Heaven Territory.
A few streaks of light simultaneously shot towards a massive black and white beast within the air, targeting that youth who sat on its back.
Still, before those words had even been finished, their voices halted right there and then.
The figures within the streaks of light seemed to have slammed straight into a wall.
One the back of the massive beast, the white-clothed, blue-robed youth extended a palm, pushing it horizontally forward. His palm was like a wall as the attackers all injured themselves in that collision.
Then, that palm flipped over, descending towards the ground.
The attackers were directly clapped dead on the great earth of the Broad Dong Mound Plains.
“Young Master, according to the martial practitioners of the south here, Phoenix Ritual Mountain’s Wutong Slope has a ninth level Martial Saint expert guarding the area,” A big man beside the youth seemed totally unflustered as he scratched his head, “Apart from him, the southern Blazing Heaven Territory also has other experts here.”
The concentration of peak experts in the eastern region of the southern Blazing Heaven Territory was nearly comparable to that at Phoenix Ritual Mountain itself.
That big man was naturally Ah Hu, “Have they shown any intention of taking the initiative to come look for us?”