Chapter 262 Substitutes

"How are they strange?" Xiao Chen asked.

Han Moyang contemplated for a moment before replying, "The Order of the Divine Fire is an average sect located in the western border of the Middle Continent. It was behind us in the rankings in the previous assembly, but this time, they sent a disciple called Wan Yanyan. No one whose cultivation is below the Nascent Soul Realm is a match for him. From the looks of it, he seems to be a novice Nascent Soul Realm cultivator…"

"Nascent Soul Realm!"

Zhou Li cried out in surprise before Han Moyang could finish his explanation. His eyes were colored with disbelief. Qingyu and the rest, including Mu Shaoai, were also stunned. None of them had ever heard of a Nascent Soul Realm disciple hailing from any of the sects. Without fail, this cultivator would be the champion of the Immortal's Sword Assembly. After all, not even ten peak of the Core Forming Realm cultivators were a match for a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

Everyone felt suffocated as if there was a great mountain pressing down on their heads.

Unlike the rest, Xiao Chen wasn't surprised. He slowly said, "Nascent Soul Realm? If they have such strength, what are they doing in the Grade 5 district instead of going to the Grade 6 or even 7 district? Even if the Grade 7 district is tough, how much tougher can it be for a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator? And the Hearts of Illusory Moon they can rob every day are not enough for them at all in the Grade 5 district, right?"

Han Moyang nodded. "That's the strange part. They keep a low profile, not acting as arrogant as the Fallen Immortals Sect and the Divine Mist Sect. With a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator among their ranks, they could very well fight these two sects. Brother Xiao, why do you think they're doing this?"

"There's only one possibility: Wan Yanyan isn't the real thing. They must be avoiding Grade 6 and 7 districts out of fear of discovery."

"Don't tell me… Don't tell me they hired an expert!" Qingyu said in disbelief.

Xiao Chen didn't comment. There was a great loophole in the seven-day qualifying round in the Forest of Illusory Moon waiting to be exploited. If he, Qingluan, and Ziyun'er could "join" the Jade Qing Sect at the last minute, why couldn't another sect invite an expert to "join" them at the last minute as well?

Even so, one shouldn't be exploiting the loophole to invite some experienced master. It would plunge the world into chaos. Who among the young ones had truly stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm? As far as he knew, the only person with the chance to ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm among the younger generation was None-flower Dust alone.

However, why would someone like None-flower Dust help the Order of the Divine Fire? Even the Divine Mist Sect didn't have enough sway to convince a young Nascent Soul Realm expert to help. While there were quite a few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators around, a young one was very rare—and that person surely hailed from an impressive background.

Regardless, the most pressing issue right now was the matter of the Hearts of Illusory Moon. Without going to a higher-grade district, they would gather at most another 200 Hearts in the next two days. Never mind cultivating in the Heaven-level Violet Illusory Land, they might not even make it to the Earth-level one. They would be forced to cultivate in the Human-level with other sects that didn't make the cut. Perhaps over in the Human-level, they might be able to enter a higher-ranked one.

To be honest, he wasn't desperate for those two months of cultivation. However, the situation was getting dangerous and his enemies were only getting stronger. He had lost too many years of his life; he couldn't afford to lose these two months.

"Does the Order of the Divine Fire steal from everyone they see?" he asked, frowning.

Qin Shaoyang replied, "Not necessarily. They'd demand twenty Hearts from each person, so 200 in total for the whole ten-people team. Then they'd leave you alone."

"That's to say, each of you handed them 20 Hearts?" Zhou Li asked impatiently.

Embarrassed, Qin Shaoyang coughed a little.

Judging from their pathetic state, they must have undergone an intense and miserable battle before finally losing and having no choice but to hand over a part of their Hearts of Illusory Moon. Zhou Li stopped speaking as soon as he realized how rude he sounded.

For smaller sects, handing over 200 Hearts meant that they would be left with almost nothing.

Xiao Chen had a good grasp of the situation now. The Order of the Divine Fire's dominance would only last for as long as they were in the Forest of Illusory Moon. They avoided Grade 6 and 7 districts out of fear of offending great powers like the Divine Mist Sect, Su family, and Fallen Immortals Sect. Basically, they were bullies of the weak and avoidant of the strong. They must have offended the Order of the Countless Blades and Xianyong Sect as a calculated risk in a moment of desperation.

Still, he was determined to enter the Grade 5 and 6 districts. Thinking of this, he imbued his jade pendant with a wisp of Divine Sense. "Senior Su Mei, are you there?"

"Yes. But I won't help you." Su Xiaomei refused him resolutely.

"Don't misunderstand. I just want you to protect my companions in the event of a battle."

Su Xiaomei said, "I can't do that either. Your mother is a Su, and so are you. This is your training. I won't help you. Moreover, I look forward to you meeting that kid from our family. Oh, and stop calling me Senior. You make me sound so old."

She spoke no more. Xiao Chen sighed to himself. It seemed that she had made up her mind not to help him. Even so, he would never request Evernight in the Nine-heaven Jade Pendant to waste his Soul Power to help him.

Yu Yifeng stepped forward and asked with a frown, "Junior Brother Xiao, what should we do now?"

Somewhat flabbergasted, Han Moyang asked, "Are you really planning to go to Grade 5 and 6 districts?"

Xiao Chen's brows were tightly furrowed. After a moment of contemplation, he replied, "We can take a look. Brother Han, Brother Qin, are you guys coming with us?"

Qin Shaoyang shook his head. "Forget it. We just came back from that place. No thanks."

After thinking for a moment, Han Moyang put on a wry smile. "I'll wish you good luck then." He made it clear that he wasn't going either.

Moments later, the Xianyong Sect and the Order of the Countless Blades disciples excused themselves. Xiao Chen looked at his injured team members and asked, "How are you guys doing?"

"I'm fine. Let's go," Luo Shangyan said as she rose to her feet.

The team once again set forth on their journey, this time heading southwest. The sky was overcast the entire way. Four hours later, they entered an ancient woods and heard voices in the distance. There was no shortage of cursing and insults exchanged in that conversation.

"Xiao Chen and None-flower Dust, those two b*stards! Just because their cultivation is high, they think they can be bullies! One day, someone will surely sort them out!"

"Forget it. Just consider it our misfortune. Sigh."

Xiao Chen couldn't help his astonishment. When he went near the voices, he saw seven to eight youngsters bearing white badges walking in their direction. They were from the Middle Continent. One of them was still livid as he said, "That b*stard Xiao Chen thinks he's above everyone! Someone must have died in his family! I swear, he'll get his comeuppance one day!"

Xiao Chen was even more surprised. Who was the one who considered himself above everyone else, for this person to scold him in his face? Just as he was about to question that person, Ziyun'er glared at him and bellowed, "Who do you think you're scolding?!"

That person was so frightened that he jumped. The rest were also terrified and swiftly fled the place. Yu Yifeng was confused. Frowning, he asked, "Junior Brother Xiao…"

Xiao Chen shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go."

The next few groups of people that they met would curse out Xiao Chen and None-flower Dust without fail. The old saying went that one shouldn't implicate the family of one's enemy, but these people said some very unpleasant words. They even went as far as cursing Xiao Chen and None-flower Dust's eighteen generations of ancestors.

Xiao Chen was beginning to lose his patience. When he saw another group, he went up to them and asked, "Friend, why are you cursing those two?"

Even though one had to be on guard when meeting another group of people in the Forest of Illusory Moon, Xiao Chen and his teammates weren't bearing arms and exuded no murderous aura. Clearly, they weren't here to rob them of their Hearts of Illusory Moon. Thus, that person wasn't afraid. He pointed to the way he had come in and said indignantly, "Those b*stards are blocking passersby and robbing them blind. They're making everyone hand over a portion of their Hearts. If we don't hand them over? Death. Who'd dare to provoke those famous Harbingers of Death?"

Xiao Chen nodded. "Thank you for letting me know. I get it now."

The person kindly warned him, "Brother, let me warn you. One is steeped in evil aura, the other kills without blinking. You must not go down this path." With that, he led his team in leaving the place.

Shortly after, Yu Yifeng looked at Xiao Chen. "Junior Brother Xiao, looks like someone doing evil deeds using your name."

Ziyun'er said indignantly, "We must check this out! How can we let them smear Master's reputation as they please?"

Mu Shaoai sneered. "Looks like things are getting interesting."

The team walked in the direction that the person pointed in. An hour later, they saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of an expanse of woods. Two in the crowd stood out. Dressed in cyan clothes, he looked rather scholarly, but his expression was arrogant and despotic. He looked rather frightening with a blood-red broadsword resting on his shoulders.

The other person was dressed in white, feathered clothes and had a delicately-carved feathered fan in his hand. He must have powdered his face to make it look pale and flawless.

The youngster carrying the blood-red broadsword on his shoulder said loudly, "All you need to remember is that my name is Xiao Chen. I have a thousand ways to make your life unbearable in the Violet Manor. If you want to try me, I don't mind playing along."

Some admitted their misfortune after hearing this and obediently handed over a portion of their Hearts of Illusory Moon. Some clenched their fists so hard that their bones creaked, but when they saw the blood-red broadsword, they dared not to even express their anger.