Chapter 11

Winds blew and the leaves danced as they spiralled to the ground. Crickets resumed chirping away and peace finally returned to the demon plains but the crevices in the ground, the blood dyed earth and littered corpses were the testimony of a fierce clash.

Jin quickly absorbed the pill essence and got back to his peak. Standing up, he walked around and after a few minutes of checking the corpses for anything valuable he left. He tried but unfortunately he got nothing that was worthwhile.

'Whoosh'

A shadowy figure some meters away from the scene dashed out in the opposite direction and into town. Based on the fact that Jin didn't discover him, it could be seen that this was a pretty strong cultivator.

Jin decided to take the time to hunt some wild beasts before heading back into town. On the quest for strength, one could never train too much. He went at it for hours and right before sunset, he went back to town.

. . . . .

Back in the Chen clan

A picturesque manor stood under the moonlight. Its design was not flamboyant but it gave one a feeling of calmness and evoked ones desire to own a manor like that too. The scenery was alluring, beautiful and sweet smelling flowers were grown all around the manor.

By the side was a pond and there was a big umbrella tree providing shade right next to it. As the wind blew, a flurry of leaves swirled with the wind and landed on the ground. Some landed in the pond, causing the calm pond to ripple and undulating waves rolled out in every direction upon contact with the leaves.

Just outside an open window on the first floor of the manor, an obscure figure knelt.

"What happened?"

A voice asked from the other side of the window.

"Young master, I followed them to the demon plains and was able to see what happened" the kneeling figure answered as he continued.

He explained everything that happened, from the moment he followed Jin into the demon plains to the moment Jin killed the last gang member. Making emphasis on the number of attackers and their difference in cultivation levels, it was a very detailed explanation.

"That young man is quite strong. He was able to defeat a cultivator three levels higher than him, and a swarm of other cultivators all by himself. I didn't even get an opportunity to help him like you asked, forgive my incompetence young master"

The figure answered with a tinge of disappointment and surprise in his voice. Disappointed because he didn't fulfill his mission and surprise because of the battle he witnessed earlier. If he wasn't there to see everything for himself, he probably would have doubted the story. He had an order and somehow he couldn't carry it out. Being a subordinate who wanted to be of use to his superior, he felt he had failed.

"Don't say that, Guard Yen, it's not your fault and besides I don't care of you got to take action or not" Young master Chen Song urged and continued

"Brother Jin is really that strong? Haha! Good, I always thought he was not simple and he has proved just that!" Chen Song showed a satisfied expression on his face upon the thought of Jin's victory.

The shadowy figure was a member of the Chen clan and was appointed as Chen Song's personal guard. Earlier, during the skirmish between Ao Feng and Jin, Chen Song had anticipated that the black dragon gang would retaliate against Jin so he asked Guard Yen to shadow Jin and help him if it became too difficult for him.

It turned out that they had thought too much and in the end they didn't even get the chance to help out.

. . . . .

Over an inn

The moon shone brightly in the sky, it's beauty and radiance obscured the stars as it stole the attention of the audience. The winds howled and lifted leaves and debris, making their presence known.

Chirping crickets were abundant in the surroundings, nocturnal animals and creeping insects all made their voices heard and a cacophony of nightlife creatures was produced.

In all, it was a beautiful night.

Through an open window, a fluttering curtain could be seen dancing to the winds rhythm. In the room was a man. He sat cross legged and was in a meditative state, from time to time his hair would flutter with the cool night breeze.

This naturally was Jin. He successfully snuck back into town from the demon plains after he wiped out the unlucky pursuers.

"Phew! The competition is going to start soon. I will take this time and gather my thoughts and prepare for it" Jin thought to himself as he exhaled turbid air and continued to immerse himself in his cultivation.

. . . . .

Black Dragon Gang Manor

Inside the resplendent manor was a man with a huge frown plastered on his face. The aura he emitted was cold and the subordinates by the side could barely keep their feet up as they bowed their heads and dripped sweat from their pores.

The cold atmosphere within was a polar opposite of the grand manors exterior.

Ao Tian had been occupied with the thought of his now disabled son lying in bed without the prospects of curing him. His heart was heavy and deep in his eyes were the strong desire to rip apart whoever the culprit was.

"My lord! Something bad has happened" A messenger ran into the hall with a frantic pace and looked very disheveled. Without wasting time he directly knelt on the ground.

Ao Tian looked at the messenger who was without a sense of control and had a bad feeling in his mind.

He tried to suppress it and went ahead to ask

"What is the problem?"

"M-my Lord! Just now in the soul pavilion..." The messenger had a fearful look on his face and he couldn't complete his sentence.

"Speak! Don't waste my time before I kill you!"

Ao Tian was vexed by this messengers attitude. Although he also had an idea of what could have happened, he still urged the messenger to speak after scolding him.

The messenger couldn't hold back any more and announced the news.

"My Lord just now, the life card of the members that were sent to capture the culprit suddenly shattered"

'Boom!'

The aura lurking within Ao Tian was suddenly unrestrained at this moment and a powerful coercion fell directly on the subordinates within and around the hall as they all fell to the floor with their hands barely supporting them.

"How many of their cards broke?" Ao Tian asked again trying to know the degree of damage taken.

"A-all of them!" The messenger managed to speak out and immediately the coercion increased.

The people around could no longer support themselves with their hands now and were lying face flat on the ground.

Ao Tian's face showed a vicious look and his killing intent was leaking as the chilling temperature rose by many levels.

He furiously yelled at his subordinates to leave hi presence as he might not be able to hold back and kill someone.

"Get out!"