Chapter 138: Riding a Tiger, Unable to Dismount!

"Get out!"

With a thunderous roar, Tang Zhenge unleashed his full Earth Altar Realm cultivation, his true qi surging outward like a furious tidal wave, attempting to repel Chen Mu and the other three.

Yet Chen Mu and the other three stood firm as bedrock, enduring the violent assault without budging.

"Hsssh~!"

Chen Mu's blade light condensed, slicing through the air wave.

"Shlal!"

Shen Ge's sword qi surged like a tide, locking and covering the target.

"Peng~"

Pang Yunrui merged his twin halberds and slammed down with ferocious force.

"Huhhong!"

Qin Liangjing's spear shot like lightning, piercing straight for the vital point!

All four struck simultaneously with their most powerful blows.

The four powerful forces converged, producing a strange resonance that dramatically amplified their power.

Boom~!

A deafening crash.

Tang Zhenge grunted as his protective true qi shattered under the impact.

He staggered backward several steps, crashing through the inn's front door, retreating all the way to the street outside before barely steadying himself—his chest heaved with churning qi and blood, his face filled with disbelief, furious shock, and a flicker of terror.

A Earth Altar Realm expert, defeated and unguarded by three strikes from four Innate Realm juniors?

On the entire street, every warrior who had rushed to watch stood utterly silent, stunned, staring at this impossible scene.

Four Innate Realm cultivators joined forces with three strikes and repelled an Earth Altar Realm expert?

After a moment of dead silence, a volcanic eruption of uproar and awe erupted.

"I… did my eyes deceive me?"

"They… they actually repelled an Earth Altar Realm expert?"

"Is this the power of the Dragon Potential Prodigies?"

"Incredible! So strong!"

"…"

Tang Zhenge stood on the street, feeling the surrounding stares—shocked, disbelieving, even tinged with mockery—his aged face flushed crimson then pale with shame and rage, yet he dared not advance again.

Deep inside, he felt a twinge of regret—he shouldn't have taken out his anger on Chen Mu.

Chen Mu isn't a lone cultivator; perhaps he once was, but now he's a Patrol Envoy of the Town Martial Office!

Just that title alone meant Tang Zhenge could not kill Chen Mu in front of so many witnesses.

Not to mention Chen Mu had made the Dragon Potential List.

Ordinary Town Martial Office guards or Patrol Envoys could be secretly killed with impunity.

But Chen Mu, a Dragon Potential Prodigy on the list, would draw the attention of the Town Martial Office's high ranks.

Tang Zhenge could use Tang Yiming's death and his grief as an excuse to teach Chen Mu a lesson—but he could not kill him in the open street!

If Chen Mu died, even with Tang family connections inside the Town Martial Office, a heavy price would be unavoidable—and Tang Zhenge himself might be stripped of his cultivation.

Now things were worse.

He couldn't use lethal force, yet he couldn't match Chen Mu and the other three combined.

He failed to teach a lesson—he was the one taught!

Retreat and lose face; stay and still lose face.

Riding a tiger, unable to dismount!

Trapped between advance and retreat!

"…"

For a moment, Tang Zhenge stood frozen, his face twisted in misery.

Tap… tap…

Chen Mu and the other three stepped forward in unison, walking out of the inn and standing together on the street, their auras distinct yet linked, cold eyes fixed on Tang Zhenge.

"Tang…"

BOOM!!!

Suddenly, a deep, muffled roar—seemingly rising from the earth's depths—erupted without warning from the southwest beyond Lu County.

The sound was not sharp, yet carried an uncanny penetration, numbing everyone's soles and stirring their hearts.

Immediately, under countless stunned gazes, a strange transformation erupted in the sky southwest of the city!

The clouds in the southwest churned like boiling water; first, a vast, pure, translucent emerald aura appeared out of thin air, like a colossal jade ring embedded in the heavens!

Before the emerald light faded, another thick, majestic golden aura spread outward from within the emerald ring, merging with the green and adding an ancient, primordial weight.

Finally, a blazing, dazzling crimson aura erupted violently at the center, layered atop the other two—three colors of aura stacked and interwoven, instantly spreading to cover the sky for miles around.

Bathing that stretch of heaven and earth in breathtaking splendor, like a divine miracle!

An indescribable ancient, boundless aura, though distant, faintly reached them.

After a brief silence, Lu County exploded like a boiling pot!

"A rare treasure! A rare treasure has emerged!!"

"Heavenly omens! A great treasure must appear! Hurry and see!"

"It's to the southwest! Quickly leave the city!"

"…"

The crowd instantly went wild, no longer bothering to watch the excitement over here. Countless martial artists surged toward the city gate like a tide, their cries of alarm, shouts, and footsteps merging into one deafening chorus.

What Earth Altar realm experts, what clashes between Hidden Dragon prodigies—all of it seemed utterly insignificant before the possibility of a heaven-sent opportunity.

The original standoff was instantly shattered by this sudden, unexpected anomaly in the heavens and earth.

Tang Zhenke first stared in astonishment at the astonishing tri-colored glow on the horizon, a flash of greed and suspicion also passing through his eyes. He then looked at Chen Mu and the other three, gave a cold snort, and took the convenient way down from his impasse. "Hmph! Little beast, count yourself lucky! A rare treasure is being born, so this old man will spare you for now. Once this matter is settled, I'll come back and capture you lot to guard the tomb for Yiming!"

After delivering his harsh words, he didn't wait for Chen Mu's response. His figure flashed, and he blended into the surging crowd, racing toward the site of the anomaly outside the city. His figure quickly vanished from sight.

"Pah! Old thing, runs pretty fast, doesn't he! Clearly afraid of us, and still talking tough!" Pang Yunrui contemptuously spat in the direction Tang Zhenke had disappeared.

Chen Mu, meanwhile, restrained his aura, turned to face Shen Ge, Pang Yunrui, and Qin Liangjing, and solemnly cupped his fist in a bow, his tone sincere. "Shen Ge, Pang Ge, Qin Ge—thank you for what you did just now!"

That single "Ge" was called out with complete sincerity.

If not for the three of them stepping in to help without the slightest hesitation, facing Earth Altar realm Tang Zhenke alone—even if he could have escaped—would certainly have come at a terrible cost.

Shen Ge laughed with easy grace, sheathed his sword, and said, "Brother Chen, you and I are friends. Isn't helping each other what's expected? Besides, that old scoundrel Tang Zhenke is utterly unreasonable—how could we let him have his way?"

Pang Yunrui waved a big hand, entirely unconcerned. "Exactly! We brothers came out together, so naturally we advance and retreat together! Some old coffin-stuffer, what's there to fear about him!"

Qin Liangjing also laughed heartily. "Brother Chen, you're being too polite. We hit it off the moment we met, and besides, this whole thing was you suffering unwarranted disaster. The Tang family may be powerful, but we're not the sort to be pushed around either."

The protectiveness and camaraderie in the three men's words warmed Chen Mu's heart.

He nodded, committing this bond of brotherhood to memory.

Immediately, the gazes of all four turned, as if by unspoken agreement, toward the still dazzling, slowly rotating tri-colored glow outside the city.

Qin Liangjing's eyes shimmered with excitement and dawning realization. "This anomaly… this direction… that's right! It's the ancient site I discovered! I didn't expect the anomaly to manifest so soon, and to cause such a huge commotion."

Shen Ge's expression grew Grave Demeanor. "Such a stunning celestial phenomenon will likely draw quite a few experts. The fight ahead will probably be far more intense than we imagined."

"No matter!"

Pang Yunrui rolled up his sleeves, his fighting spirit rising. "The four of us brothers fighting together—we can take on even Earth Altar realm!"