Chapter Forty - The Abnormal Yue Chen and the Insidious Xiao Long

"Haha I could say the same" Yue Chen shrugged as he feigned ignorance. His eyes darted around the surroundings then back at Xiao Long " What was it that was so important that made the demon beasts enter a ceasefire with their mortal enemies, the humans? if it isn't too troublesome would this brother care to explain?"

"...." Xiao Long stared into Yue Chen's eyes with a blank expression. It was hard to tell what he was thinking but behind his friendly look was an arrogant and overbearing air.

Yue Chen hummed and looked up at Xiao Long who was in the air. Unlike Yue Chen's, Xiao Long's wings were not made of true energy and would not consume true energy. Contrary to Xiao Long's expectations Yue Chen did not stop walking and immediately passed by the area where he was. The area was near where the barrier had been erected before Luo Yan had torn it down. In a matter of seconds Yue Chen arrived near the city's gate. The walls surrounding the city weren't as thick as he had expected, the walls were as thick as a human arm and almost twice as tall as Yue Chen. If it were to be compared to the Xuan Empire's, then the walls around Khaggurin City could barely be considered protection from foreign threats. According to Geng Huan there was a reason for this- the barrier placed around the Khaggurin City was a lot more complex than it seemed so there was no real need for a wall. It was built under the joint effort of over hundreds of True Melding realm experts and was capable of mending itself. Standing at the border Yue Chen was shocked at the sight. In less than half a day the protective barrier surrounding the city was once again fully erected and seemed more robust than before.

"...." Xiao Long stood in place awaiting the designated time for the agreed meeting without as much as glancing in Yue Chen's direction. After all, a warrior of the first sky of the Nirvana realm wasn't enough to attract his attention.

Yue Chen tilted his head with a curious expression. The barrier was a replica of an array formation known as 64 Mantle Strengthening Formations, a formation left behind by the Saint of Formations before the era of the saints had ended.

Bang!

Yue Chen slammed his palm against the barrier causing ripples of energy along it's surface.

Huh? Yue Chen creased his brows at the barrier. A hole the size of a baby's thumb that was formed by his attack and was slowly mending itself. Yue Chen attempted to observe the changes took place in the barrier as he focused his attention in vain. The barrier was repairing faster than he could observe. In the place where the hole had been made was now a reinforced barrier, as if to match the changes in the barrier the surrounding areas also hardened all over the barrier. Raising his palm once more Yue Chen stuck out at the barrier.

Bang!

For second time the entire barrier shook but this time there was no hole in it's seamless cloak over the city. Yue Chen had applied the same amount of pressure as his first attack in order to observe the change.

For Xiao Long who was hearing the 'bang' for the second time couldn't help but twist in Yue Chen's direction. Was he insane? why was he attacking the barrier that was sheltering the humans?

Bang!

The protective barrier shook for the third time. Xiao Long who could not control his curiosity at this point moved towards Yue Chen slowly. perhaps an even greater force than the Yue family was at work, if so maybe he could....?

The barrier mad a crisp breaking sound and once more a hole had found its way into the protective barrier. This time Yue Chen made sure to observe the changes more carefully. Each time the barrier was shattered an invisible force would repair the damage without relying on the True energy in the surroundings, instead it seemed to absorb the energy transferred on impact which further increased the barriers formidability. Yue Chen was lost in thought when suddenly Xiao Long landed next to him.

Xiao Long revealed a crafty smile and said "We seem to be of similar interests, perhaps you could be of use to me, human"

Yue Chen was currently deep in his thoughts and had not heard a word Xiao Long said. He had been digging through his memories for techniques that were similar to the one used by the person who had made the barrier. Had Geng Huan not mentioned it earlier he would have ignored the issue of not having any protective techniques altogether.

After a few minutes of wracking his brains and not coming up with an answer Yue Chen finally stood up and walked away, the answer seemed so near yet so far which made him frustrated. The techniques in the Yue family library were lacking, there wasn't anything that he could practice there either. After pondering for a few more minutes Yue Chen tossed the thought of practicing techniques to the back of his mind and was about to return to the library.

The sound of the air tearing apart abruptly startled Yue Chen back to reality. Sidestepping reflexively Yue Chen completely avoided the attack. As Yue Chen twisted his body to retaliate he realized Xiao Long was present "I knew something was off about you, I didn't think you'd attack me in a human city"

Xiao Long did not respond to Yue Chen's taunt but instead showed a polite smile "it was an error on my part, I was practicing my techniques when one of my attack must have misdirected"

"Misdirected? okay" Yue Chen nodded with an understanding look and turned away.

Xiao Long stood dumbfounded "was this fellow mentally ill?" instantly wind true energy condensed in Xiao Long's hands as he aimed at Yue Chen's from behind.