Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 550: Gathering II

Like his father, Long Tian and Long Chen have blue hair, one shoulder-length and the other back-length. They also have two blue horns on their heads and two dragon wings on their backs. As they walked towards the stone obelisk, they kept their eyes on Zhang Fei. Despite his low cultivation, they did not underestimate him, especially since their father praised him so much, something Long Huang almost never did.

”Big brother, that guy is not bad, and he seems to be aware of our actions.” Long Tian spoke as his eyes glanced at Zhang Fei.

Long Chen nodded in agreement with that, but he raised his eyebrows when he noticed many eyes were on Zhang Fei. ”I donʼt know whatʼs going on, but many people seem to be targeting him, especially people from the Huangfu and Bai Kingdoms. Look at them; Huangfu Lian and Huangfu Xiaofan looked like they wanted to swallow him alive, and their two sisters were no different from them.”

After hearing that, Long Tian briefly looked at the four people from the Huangfu Kingdom before shifting his gaze to the three people from the Bai Kingdom. He could see that their gazes were also focused on Zhang Fei.

”It seems true that the Bai Kingdom is the Huangfu Kingdomʼs lackey, especially since they also seem to be targeting him.” Long Chen agreed with his little brother. ”Are we going to help him deal with them, Big Brother?”

”No need.” Long Chen immediately rejected his little brotherʼs idea. ”Do you see any fear on Zhang Feiʼs face? Despite his low cultivation, he doesnʼt seem to be the least bit pressured by these peopleʼs presence, so thereʼs no need for us to do anything to help him. Moreover, our father thinks highly of him, so I want to see the ability behind his confidence. Unfortunately, we wonʼt have the chance to fight him, especially since those guys will make a move against him soon.”

”Yeah.” Long Tian then looked back at their group and asked them to speed up their journey, especially since he couldnʼt wait to take on those challenges.

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”Hey, Big Brother! Where did you meet that guy? Whatʼs so special about him?” Huangfu Xiaofan questioned Huangfu Lian while he glanced at Zhang Fei.

”I first met him at the artifact shop in the Xian Kingdom, and I initially thought that he was just a brat with no status. He opened a restaurant there, and Xian Fengʼs aides kept protecting him, so I reported it to our father. Huangfu Lian then looked at Zhang Feiʼs group. ”Moreover, he is close to Xian Xianqin and Xian Xianwu, so we must capture him if we fail to capture those two.”

Huangfu Xiaofan nodded slightly in response. ”Chao Yuanfeng is clearly focusing his attention on them, and Iʼm sure Xian Fengʼs aides are hiding around here to protect his children, so it will be difficult for us to capture them.”

”Our best option to capture them is when we undergo tests from the maze and survival challenges, especially since those people wonʼt be able to protect them.” Huangfu Lian then turned to his two sisters. ”Xiaomei! Xiaoying! I know our father ordered you two to capture Yun Qinghao and Yun Xinyue, but I want you to focus more on capturing Zhang Fei. Since Xian Feng is so protective of him, Iʼm sure he possesses certain qualities that pique his interest, making him more valuable than those two.”

”We know.” Huangfu Xiaomei and Huangfu Xiaoying had already set their sights on Zhang Fei without Huangfu Lian having to ask them. First, his cultivation was far below theirs, yet he could act calmly among so many powerful cultivators, indicating that he was indeed not an ordinary cultivator. Second, his good looks attract their attention, and they will use any means to get him.

Huangfu Lian then contacted the three people from the Bai Kingdom, and he ordered them to focus on capturing Zhang Fei, to which they immediately agreed.

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In the Zhou Kingdom entourage, Zhou Meiling tugged at her half-brotherʼs sleeve as she asked. ”Big Brother Tong, why did the people from the Xian Kingdom bring a weak cultivator like that guy? His cultivation is at the 1-Star Earth Realm, and he will never be able to reach the top 100 rankings with his current cultivation.”

”Hmm?” Zhou Tong briefly looked at Zhang Fei and turned his gaze away immediately. ”You donʼt have to mind him, Meiling. Remember, the three of you are tasked with capturing Bai Renfu and Bai Shaoyi while I am taking care of Bai Chongxi. Therefore, you should concentrate on these tasks and ignore other cultivators. Otherwise, our father will be furious with you, and he might even strip you of your titles.”

”Why is our father targeting them, Big Brother?” Zhou Fang asked inquisitively.

Zhou Tai was also curious about their fatherʼs decision. ”Could it be that he did it because the Bai Kingdom was already under the control of Huangfu Shou, Big Brother?”

”Thatʼs right.” Zhou Tong nodded to them. ”Among the four kingdoms, the Huangfu Kingdom is our biggest threat, so we canʼt possibly allow Huangfu Shou to control the other kingdoms. If we let the Bai Kingdom be under his control, he will attack us sooner or later. If both kingdoms attack us simultaneously, we will encounter difficulties, so we must seize control of that kingdom from him. The easiest solution for us is to capture the three of them, so we must succeed in doing so, and our father will use them to force Bai Yaowei to side with us.”

They nodded to Zhou Tong. ”All right, we will focus on Bai Renfu and Bai Shouyi, but you must help us if the people from Huangfu Kingdom get in our way.”

”Donʼt worry, I will do whatever it takes to make our fatherʼs plan go smoothly.”

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”Who are you looking at, Yueliang?” Ximen Hongwu asked as he followed his little sisterʼs gaze.

”That guy.” Ximen Yueliang pointed at Zhang Fei. ”Donʼt you find that guy strange? He is obviously very young, but his cultivation has already reached the 1-Star Earth Realm. Moreover, he remains relaxed and indifferent despite the presence of numerous powerful cultivators around him.”

”Hmm?” Ximen Hongwu raised his eyebrows before nodding in agreement with her. ”That guy is indeed unusual, and he seems to have a close relationship with the prince and princess of the Xian Emperor. Do you want to get him? He is quite handsome and has a good physique, so I think we can capture him and turn him into a puppet, and you can order him to do whatever you want.”

”Haha.” Ximen Yueliang giggled in response. ”All the puppets our mother gave me are no longer interesting, and I have already disposed of some of them, so I want him to be my puppet. Additionally, I want the two princes from the Xian and Yun Kingdoms, so you must capture them for me.”

The corners of Ximen Hongwuʼs lips twitched at his sisterʼs request, but he immediately agreed to it. ”I canʼt possibly capture the three of them by myself, so Iʼll ask Zhou Tong to help me, and you can have them later.”

”You said it yourself, so you have to keep your word! Otherwise, I will complain about you to our mother, and she will definitely punish you.” Ximen Hongwu could only sigh helplessly because Ximen Yueliang always used their mother to suppress him, especially since she loved him more than him. ”Hey, those guys seem to be targeting me.”

Ximen Hongwu quickly glanced at the group from the dark demon kingdom, but then he spoke to the two old demons behind them. ”I donʼt care how, but you guys have to protect my sister from them, including sacrificing your lives. Do you both understand?”

”Yes, Young Lord.”

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Despite their eagerness to take action against the group of humans, the people from the Dark Demon Kingdom appeared indifferent to them, focusing solely on Ximen Yueliang.

A young demon walking in front of them immediately spoke to the black-masked woman beside him. ”Your main task is to capture Ximen Yueliang, and I will punish you severely if you fail to do so.”

”Yes, Master Ximen Yan.”

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Meanwhile, the group from the natural races paid no attention to any of them, and they only focused on themselves. After all, they were peaceful races, and they would never look for trouble with others unless they looked for trouble with them first.

A petite woman with long pink hair and four wings behind her back suddenly pointed at Zhang Fei. ”Hey, guys! Thereʼs something unusual about that guy! Although he appears human, I have a feeling that he is not human.”

All of them immediately looked at Zhang Fei, and they also felt the same feeling as the woman. A young man with a sturdy and muscular body immediately spoke. ”You are right, Xin Xianzi. His appearance is clearly human, but I can sense a faint beast aura from him. I think he is a beast that transformed into a human, but he deliberately hid his beast aura to avoid the suspicion of humans.”

”Zheng Ru! He seemed interested in our group as he glanced at us several times. A young woman with long, wavy brown hair riding a brown wolf suddenly spoke. ”Moreover, Lang also smelled another scent from his body, but he didnʼt know what kind of scent it was.”

”Can you recognize that scent, Lang?” The brown wolf howled as he shook his head, causing Zheng Ru to raise his eyebrows. ”We donʼt need to think about him, and it would be better to stay away from him, especially since he came with those hateful humans.”

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After walking for some time, they finally arrived at the location of the stone obelisk, and all the groups immediately formed their respective lines.

Zhang Fei could see a large screen right above the stone obelisk, which was used to record the results of their strength test. However, he was more interested in the ten colored crystals on the stone obelisk, especially since their colors were different from each other.

”Xianqin! Xuanwu!” The two people immediately turned to the prince and princess of the Yun Kingdom, who were running towards them. When they arrived in front of the Xian siblings, Yun Xinyue immediately hugged Xian Xianqinʼs arm. ”Hehehe! You are too busy with your cultivation, so I rarely see you. Anyway, our father has asked us to join your group, and we will overcome these challenges together.”

”Why did Uncle Yun ask you two to join us? What about your group from your sect?” Xian Xianwu asked in confusion.

”My father asked us to join you because of him.” Yun Qinghao replied as he pointed at Zhang Fei, causing him to raise his eyebrows. ”I donʼt know my fatherʼs reasons, but he asked us like that, so we have to follow his orders.”

Zhang Fei nodded slightly, but he already knew the reason Yun Shang and Guo Xuehua sent their son and daughter to him, and their reasons were clearly the same as Xian Fengʼs. ”Iʼm not the leader of this group, so you two can ask the others if you want to join us.”

Upon hearing that, Yun Xinyue immediately questioned Xian Xianqin. ʼDoes he always act this indifferent?ʼ

ʼYes.ʼ Xian Xianqin replied with a nod. ʼZhang Fei doesnʼt really like royal members, and this is your first meeting, so you shouldnʼt be surprised if he acts like this.ʼ

Yun Xinyue nodded slightly as a sign of understanding. ʼHey, whatʼs your relationship with him? Is he your lover? I saw you sharing intimate moments with him earlier, and you were both holding hands on the flying artifact.ʼ

ʼNo comment!ʼ Yun Xinyue pouted her lips, but Xian Xianqin ignored her and spoke to Zhang Fei. ”We will start testing our raw strength soon, and we must be able to light up at least five crystals to enter the top 100 rankings. You must use all your strength to hit the stone obelisk, or you will fail to reach it, and you wonʼt be able to challenge the tower.”

”Five crystals, huh?” Zhang Fei muttered to himself before asking. ”Have any cultivators previously been able to light up the top crystal?”

Zhang Feiʼs question caused Yun Qinghao and Yun Xinyue to frown, particularly given that his cultivation was still at the 1-Star Earth Realm. They were uncertain if he could illuminate five crystals, much less the top crystal.

Zhang Fei immediately turned to them. ”Why are you two looking at me like that? I am aware of my strength, so I didnʼt think about lighting up the top crystal, and I was just curious about it.”

”There are only two people who have ever lit the top crystal; they are the beast emperor and the elf emperor.” Bai Tianʼer told Zhang Fei. ”How many crystals can you light? Lighting five crystals shouldnʼt be difficult for you, right?”

”This is my first time coming to this place, so I canʼt say for sure, and I will try my best to get into the rankings.” Zhang Fei then looked towards the stone obelisk, and the people from the beast race had already started lining up in front of it. ”Is there any benefit if we can light up a lot of crystals?”

”No.” Bai Tianʼer answered with a shake of her head. ”They are trying to light up as many crystals as possible just to show off their strength, so we donʼt need to waste our energy on that.”

Zhang Fei nodded in understanding, but he suddenly sensed a powerful aura from above the sky. However, he pretended not to notice and checked the map, finding Xian Changyueʼs name there. ʼXian Feng and Shi Qingzhuang must have sent her here to see me.ʼ

*Boom*

A loud explosion suddenly rang in their ears, and they saw Long Chen standing in front of the stone obelisk with a confident smile. Quickly, the crystals on the obelisk lit up one by one all the way to the top, causing almost all the living creatures in the place to gasp in shock.

”That guy is a pure dragon, and his physique is extremely strong. Therefore, itʼs not surprising that he can ignite all crystals.” Zhang Fei then pointed at Long Tian, who was already preparing to test his strength. ”Dragons are proud creatures, and that guy will follow his big brother.”

*Boom*

As expected, Long Tian also easily lit up all ten crystals, and their actions raised concerns in the hearts of many, especially the members of the two demon kingdoms.

The members of the beast races then took turns testing their raw power on the stone obelisk. Most of them were able to light up more than five crystals, but some failed to do so. Even so, their names are still in the top 100 rankings, especially since the first test has just started.

After the beast races finished, the people of the natural races began testing their raw strength, but only one of them managed to light up all ten crystals. In the end, all of them managed to light up more than five crystals, increasing their chances of challenging the tower.

Next came the demons from the Dark Demon Kingdom, and people immediately moved away from them as they prepared for their sudden attack, especially since they were known to be very vicious.

Zhang Fei turned to Xian Xianqin, who suddenly hugged his arm. He could feel that her body was shaking violently as her eyes looked toward the group of demons, so he followed her gaze, which focused on the black-masked woman among them.

Zhang Fei immediately held Xian Xianqinʼs hand and rubbed it. ”Itʼs okay; you donʼt need to think about her for now, and you just need to focus on passing your demon heart challenge.”

”Yeah.” Xian Xianqin answered quietly, but her gaze couldnʼt move away from the womanʼs figure, especially since she was her best friend, Qian Ying. ”Can you do something to free her?”

Zhang Fei nodded slightly. ”I may have a way to bring her back to you, but we must proceed with caution and focus on our tests first.”

- To Be Continued -