Chapter 51

The sun rose!

Shui Yao shielded her eyes from the sunlight, squinting at Lu Fang seated before the waterfall—they had sat in silence all night.

“What should we do next?”

Shui Yao couldn’t help but ask.

Lu Fang stretched, looked up at the sky, and said: “Our next move is to draw the demon-barbarian alliance’s heavy firepower to the east, creating favorable conditions for breaking through the west.”

“Draw heavy firepower?”

Shui Yao frowned.

“Yes! I’ll make the demon-barbarians feel threatened on the east, forcing them to concentrate all their heavy firepower there.”

Lu Fang summoned his Xuanjia armor to cling to his body.

His voice echoed through the waterfall!

He transformed into a streak of light, heading toward the demon-barbarians’ eastern frontline.

Shui Yao leapt after him, quickly chasing after, “Shouldn’t I scout ahead first to check the demon-barbarians’ deployment?”

In her view, drawing heavy firepower was dangerous—if they encountered a coordinated strike from demon-barbarian elites, death was certain. She didn’t believe in Lu Fang’s plan, and she didn’t want him to die.

“No need!” Lu Fang shook his head. “How fast are you?”

“Very fast—at least faster than you!”

Shui Yao declared confidently.

Among peers, her speed and stealth were top-tier.

“Oh.” Lu Fang responded, fully activating his Qimen Flying Armor—his flight speed doubled, leaving Shui Yao behind.

“Testing me?” Shui Yao sneered, pushing herself to full speed.

But the more she chased, the more stunned she became.

Lu Fang ahead was astonishingly fast!

No matter how hard she pushed, she could only maintain a hundred-meter distance.

She pushed her limits to accelerate, yet Lu Fang could flip, spin, and hover midair as if waiting.

Is he really a Seventh Rank, Second Stage Confucian?

Didn’t the texts say humans at low realms were the weakest?

Where’s the weakness here?

“Your speed is a bit slow!”

Lu Fang landed atop a mountain peak, shaking his head at Shui Yao as she arrived: “I’m not showing off—I need to assess where and how far you should stay from me if we encounter a strong enemy, to stay relatively safe.”

Drawing fire is dangerous, but he had the Qimen Flying Armor—he wasn’t afraid.

But he had to consider Shui Yao’s presence.

Shui Yao took several deep breaths before speaking:

“You don’t need to worry about me—I can turn into Extreme Yin mist and cling to your belongings. You should worry about what you’ll do if you face an enemy stronger than you.”

With that, she dissolved into a black mist and clung to Lu Fang’s shoulder.

Since Lu Fang was so much faster than her, clinging to him would conserve her Extreme Yin energy for a critical moment.

Lu Fang shivered slightly—he felt only a cool chill, no discomfort—and continued forward, reassured.

‘Let’s see what you’re really capable of.’

Shui Yao thought silently.

Under her gaze, Lu Fang landed on a barren hill guarded by the demon-barbarians, locking eyes with two barbarian sentries.

“Barbarians!”

Lu Fang acted as if terrified, stumbling backward, struggling to manifest his Hao Ran Zheng Qi war chariot before fleeing far away.

His acting would make any actor bow in shame.

“...”

The two barbarians stared blankly at each other; only after Lu Fang fled did they realize a Seventh Rank, Second Stage Confucian had foolishly landed right before them.

The situation was utterly unexpected!

Even more absurd than waiting by a tree for a rabbit!

“Will this work?” The black mist on Lu Fang’s shoulder suddenly formed a pair of eye outlines, glancing back.

Isn’t this too fake?

They won’t fall for it...

Uh...

Behind them, the two barbarians screamed and charged after Lu Fang in a frenzy.

“Quick fight, quick finish!”

Lu Fang smiled, diving into the deep mountains below.

Seeing this, the two barbarians grew even more excited, roaring loudly as they leapt into the mountains after him.

“This human Confucian is so stupid—he actually dared to run into the mountains.”

The barbarian wielding twin hammers laughed aloud.

The other barbarian opened his mouth to mock him too—but suddenly felt a powerful pressure surge behind him.

“Spiritual Soul: Azure Dragon Crescent Blade!”

A flash of cold light passed.

The two barbarians had barely seen Lu Fang’s figure before their heads were severed from their bodies.

“Is it you who’s stupid—or am I?”

Lu Fang chuckled, swiftly looting two storage bags, then turned back without pause to lure again.

The strength of “Shi” also improved control over concealing one’s aura.

As long as the enemy lacked special perception or their Shi wasn’t vastly superior, they could only spot him with their eyes.

‘He’s stronger than I imagined.’

Shui Yao thought—should she ever fight Lu Fang... she’d likely lose.

Ever since meeting this Great Zhou Marquis of the Imperial Pen,

she had repeatedly redefined the very meaning of “Confucian.”

Lu Fang showed no fatigue, using the same method to lure and kill six barbarians in total.

Finally, the barbarians grew wiser!

No matter how Lu Fang provoked them, none emerged.

Seeing this, Shui Yao thought inwardly: “The barbarians hold their ground and refuse to attack—now what will you do? I don’t believe you’d dare charge alone into the heart of the demon-barbarian alliance.”

Lu Fang indeed dared not risk entering the enemy’s heartland, but after repeated failures to lure out the barbarians, he felt humiliated—after all that performance, for nothing.

So...

Under a dark moon, wind howling.

Lu Fang stood atop the barren hill, shouting down at the barbarians below with Hao Ran Zheng Qi amplified: “Are you blind? I’m alone here, and you cowards won’t even come out?”

“Even turtles aren’t this cowardly!”

“Come out, you little bastards! I’ll smash your shells!”

The more Lu Fang brazenly taunted, the more the barbarians refused to emerge, fearing a trap.

“That’s enough—you’re not tired?”

Shui Yao asked nervously.

“Fine.” Lu Fang was hoarse from shouting and saw no point in continuing—he’d leave now. He’d return once more tomorrow—it should work.

“Ahahaha...”

A nine-foot-tall black panther sat cross-legged, its body flickering with electric arcs, its face twisted in a human-like sneer.

It was the Yao Clan’s Tuo Huo Lei Bao, possessing the three innate divine abilities of Wind, Fire, and Thunder.

Among its peers in the Yao Clan, it was among the elite.

Because the elite barbarian guards on the east had been killed, it had been temporarily reassigned to watch the line.

The eastern frontline had originally been jointly guarded by barbarians and a few Yao.

But recently, the two clans had clashed in argument, so they agreed: barbarians guard east and west, Yao guard north and south—separate duties.

Unknown to them, before the Tuo Huo Lei Bao arrived yesterday,

over a dozen barbarians had been mocked by a Seventh Rank, Second Stage Confucian—and dared not come out to fight.

A colossal joke!

“Don’t be careless—I suspect that Confucian’s boldness means he has some backing.”

A mountain goat spirit warned cautiously.

“What’s to fear?” The Tuo Huo Lei Bao lifted its head. “Those barbarians are all idiots—what’s there to fear? If that Confucian dares show up, I’ll bite his head off, regardless of his backing.”

A dozen other spirits shouted in agreement.

“Exactly! If he shows up, we’ll swarm him!”

“Even if he has allies, we won’t fear!”

“Let those idiot barbarians see our might!”

Let those barbarian fools see clearly—the might of our people!

"That human must have sensed the demonic energy here and was too scared to come back!"