Chapter 32: I Seem to Have Spotted Another Opportunity to Act Cool

Xu Que whistled as he gradually faded into the distance.

"Uh..."

The Prime Minister's son watched his retreating figure, mouth slightly agape in bewilderment.

Several servants beside him also froze for a moment, asking, "Young Master, what did that Black Robe mean? And what sect is this Exploding Heaven Gang? We've never heard of it."

"Are you blind, you dog-eyed fools, daring to question this Young Master? If I knew what he meant, would I be standing here pondering it?" the Prime Minister's son immediately snapped, eyes wide with anger.

The several servants instantly panicked, begging for mercy: "Young Master, please calm your anger; it was our fault, we were blind as dogs. As for that Black Robe kid, he was just spouting madness; Young Master need not pay him heed. Let us proceed along this road; the Wuxiang Sect should be just ahead!"

"Then why aren't you lifting the palanquin quickly? Also, when you meet the Wuxiang Sect's sect master later, remember to be respectful; do not embarrass me. That sect master's strength is in no way weaker than my father's."

"Yes, yes, we understand; Young Master, rest assured!"

The group lifted the palanquin and continued forward.

Soon, they caught sight of the Wuxiang Sect's Gate of the Sect, but...

"Hmm? Why is there such a heavy scent of blood? What happened here?" one servant asked, brows knitted tightly.

The group continued forward, but upon reaching the main entrance of the Wuxiang Sect, they immediately froze in shock.

The entire Courtyard was deathly silent, the ground splattered with fresh blood, and in the very center stood several ice sculptures of old men!

"Bang!"

At that moment, a rockery was suddenly pushed over, and several Qi Refining Stage disciples, faces pale and filled with terror, crawled out; they had been hiding beneath the rockery until now.

But as soon as they emerged and saw people still in the Courtyard, they were instantly terrified to the point of Soul Dissipation, turning to flee immediately.

One servant reacted extremely quickly, shouting at once: "Fellow Daoists, no need to panic; we are from the Imperial City Prime Minister's Residence. The Prime Minister's son is in the palanquin. May we ask what exactly happened to your sect?"

Upon hearing they were from the Prime Minister's Residence, the several Qi Refining Stage disciples immediately breathed a sigh of relief, forcing themselves to regain some Calmness.

At this moment, the Young Master of the Prime Minister's family also lifted the palanquin curtain and stepped out; after frowning and surveying the surroundings, he looked at the several disciples and asked, "What exactly is going on? Where is your sect master?"

The several Qi Refining Stage disciples lost all color in their faces, raised trembling hands to point at the ice sculptures in the Courtyard, and sobbed: "Our... our sect master is dead! The Elders are dead too, Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters... all dead! Our Wuxiang Sect is gone, all gone..."

"What?" The Prime Minister's son was instantly shocked, while the several servants' faces changed drastically, filled with Disbelief.

"Who... who could have done this?"

"Although the Wuxiang Sect isn't a major Sect, it still holds some reputation within the Fire Yuan Kingdom; could it be that they offended some Infant Transformation Stage Old Monster, thus suffering this calamity?"

"No wonder that Black Robe kid said there was no Wuxiang Sect anymore; he must have witnessed this scene too!"

While the several servants were whispering among themselves, upon hearing this, the faces of the few from the Wuxiang Sect instantly turned deathly pale again.

"A... a Black Robed Person? Was... was he at the Golden Core Stage Perfect Realm, carrying a Black Ink Giant Ruler on his back?" they asked the several servants, utterly terrified.

The several servants were taken aback, then nodded: "Yes, why? Do you know that kid? He seemed quite arrogant."

"..."

Instantly, the Expressions of the several Qi Refining Stage disciples from the Wuxiang Sect froze solid; they couldn't utter a single word!

After a long silence, one of the disciples finally drifted out a sentence in a hollow voice: "The one who annihilated our Wuxiang Sect... was that Black Robed Person!"

"What?"

The Prime Minister's son and the several servants all stared blankly for a moment, then involuntarily burst into laughter.

"Gentlemen, this matter is no joke; do not speak nonsense. That Black Robe kid is only at Golden Core Stage Perfection; how could he possibly annihilate the entire Wuxiang Sect alone?"

"Indeed, how can you say such absurd things? Were you perhaps so frightened earlier that your minds became muddled?"

"What exactly happened? Think about it more carefully..."

The several servants shook their heads.

But those few disciples from the Wuxiang Sect wore faces full of lingering fear, terror still evident in their eyes, stating with absolute certainty: "We remember correctly; it was that Black Robed Person. His cultivation realm is definitely not limited to Golden Core."

"Honored guests, since matters have come to this, we dare not speak any further."

"Now we only wish to leave this place of trouble as quickly as possible, the farther the better; otherwise, if that Black Robed Person returns, we fear we won't survive. Farewell!"

Having finished speaking, the group immediately fled in panic.

The Prime Minister's son and the several servants were all stunned, yet some doubt still lingered in their hearts.

But unknowingly, as the Prime Minister's son recalled the strange Body Movement Method displayed earlier by the Black Robed Person, he felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine; cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and he seemed to begin feeling some belated fear.

Meanwhile, Xu Que had already returned to the Village; along the way, he inexplicably received a system notification rewarding him with Acting Cool Points, but he paid it no mind, heading straight to that old person's home.

But... the old person had already left with his grandson; however, on the table, a bowl of white congee, still slightly warm, remained!

"Sigh, not even two hours have passed..."

Xu Que shook his head and sighed, not blaming the old person for lacking trust in him.

After all, Mortals' fear of cultivators is indeed immense!

"Never mind; in any case, news of the Wuxiang Sect's annihilation should spread soon enough; when that happens... the old person and that child will hear of it and return! It is also time for me to depart for the Imperial City."

Finally, Xu Que drank the bowl of white congee in one gulp, left the small hut with a sense of lingering satisfaction, controlled his Three Thousand Thunder Movement, soared into the sky, and continued toward the Imperial City against the gentle Wind.

Several days later, Xu Que stepped into a stretch of wild jungle, where a Nascent Soul Stage Demon Beast blocked his path.

This left Xu Que somewhat amused yet helpless.

A few days ago, after slaying that group from the Wuxiang Sect, his Experience Points had already reached over 1.3 million; he was only a hundred thousand or so short of being able to Level Up. He hadn't expected that now, a Demon Beast worth two hundred thousand Experience Points would deliver itself right to his doorstep.

Well, might as well kill it casually then!

"Boom!"

Xu Que gripped his Xuanzhong Ruler, condensed surging True Essence, and powerful energy surged out from within his body; his ink-black robes moved without wind as he fiercely slashed at the Demon Beast with a strike of the Flame Splitting Swallowing Wave Ruler.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host 'Xu Que', for killing a Nascent Soul Stage Demon Beast; you have received 200,000 Experience Points and drop rewards!"

"Ding! Congratulations, Host 'Xu Que', for breaking through to Golden Core Stage Perfection; you are about to face the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation!"

"After system calculation, this Heavenly Tribulation will arrive in seven days, with a difficulty rating of: Hard Mode!"

Holy crap!

Xu Que immediately widened his eyes and shouted aloud, "On what grounds? I undergo a Heavenly Tribulation and you give me Hard Mode? System, you can't play like this; didn't we agree before that you'd help me act cool and help me soar?"

"Ding! Since the Host cultivated the Ancient Five Elements Art, a Dharma Spell intolerable to Heaven and Earth, Hard Mode is already the current easiest difficulty; in the future, there may be Hell Mode, Asura Mode, Nine Deaths One Life Mode..."

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

Just as Xu Que was listening to the system prompt sounds in his mind, his ears suddenly twitched slightly, and several faint noises came from the nearby forest.

Immediately afterward, six figures darted out.

All six of these people possessed Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, and they all wore white brocade, donning red masks that revealed only a pair of eyes brimming with Killing Intent!

"She's not here; continue searching; we absolutely cannot let her return alive!"

The six people casually glanced at Xu Que, directly ignored him, turned around, and swept back into the depths of the forest.

Xu Que was stunned for a moment, somewhat puzzledly scratched the back of his head, and continued moving forward.

But he hadn't walked a few steps when he suddenly saw an overturned carriage not far ahead; corpses lay scattered all around the carriage, with blood flowing everywhere across the ground.

"Eh? This carriage..."

Xu Que exclaimed in surprise, greatly astonished.

"This carriage seems very familiar, and there's a Fire Yuan Kingdom Banner planted on its roof. Damn, I remember now; isn't this the team I met half a month ago at the small tea lodge? It seems... they must have been ambushed and hunted down by that group wearing red masks just now; tsk tsk tsk... I feel as though I've spotted another opportunity to act cool..."