Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 523: Lian Jinshuʼs Subordinates

ʼWho exactly is this kid? Why do the kingdom guards seem to respect him? Although his cultivation is four minor levels below mine, his speed surpasses mine, and I have to use my cultivation just to keep up with him.ʼ The man wondered to himself as he followed Zhang Fei out of the Xian Kingdom through the southgate.

Meanwhile, Zhang Fei leisurely walked along the path ahead of him, not using any of his cultivation or movement techniques. However, the pressure of the sixteen times heavier gravity that his two clones had endured for a full month had a significant impact on him.

His normal speed has already surpassed many strong cultivators, and if he uses his movement techniques, even a cultivator as strong as Xian Feng may not be able to keep up with him, let alone an earth cultivator like the man.

[Do you intend to do something to that guy, Master? Why did you deliberately lure him to a quiet place?]

ʼDonʼt you know all my thoughts, Mei? Why are you still asking me?ʼ Zhang Feiʼs answer left the AI speechless. ʼI donʼt know whether that guy is part of the alchemy union or not, but Lian Jinshu definitely doesnʼt have good intentions towards me, and he might report my presence to his organization. Thatʼs why I need someone to keep an eye on him; that guy is my best choice for now.ʼ

After he walked quite far from the Xian Empire and arrived at an empty place, Zhang Fei immediately stopped walking and looked in a certain direction. ”I hate it when people stalk me the most, so you should come out now, or Iʼll force you out.”

The man was shocked to hear that, but he still didnʼt want to come out or answer Zhang Fei. Instead, he took out his communication device.

Before the man had time to contact someone, Zhang Fei suddenly moved in front of him and snatched his communication device. Without giving him a chance to react, he kicked his chest, propelling him backward.

ʼFuck! The power of his kick really hurts!ʼ The man cursed to himself as he landed on the ground before staggering backward, but Zhang Fei had already moved in front of him and kicked his chest once again. ”Guah!”

*Bam*

The man repeatedly rolled back on the ground before jumping up and stabilizing himself. He rubbed his chest in pain and stared at Zhang Fei with a shocked expression. ʼShit! My cultivation is higher than his, but I canʼt keep up with his speed. Moreover, he clearly held back his strength, but his punch was truly painful.ʼ

”What did Lian Jinshu order you to do to stalk me?” Zhang Fei then took out the Hongxi dagger and pointed at the man. ”You better answer me now, especially since Iʼm an impatient person.”

Instead, the man pulled out a red spear, which had a long chain and a sword at its end. He immediately unleashed his full strength and dashed toward Zhang Fei.

*Clang*

Zhang Fei immediately blocked the spearhead with his dagger, but the man swiftly pulled his spear back before thrusting it at him several times at once.

Unfortunately, the manʼs movements were like slow motion in Zhang Feiʼs eyes, so he was able to parry all of his attacks without breaking a sweat.

Suddenly, the man leaped high into the air, and three of his clones appeared in different directions. The four of them dived towards Zhang Fei before thrusting their spears at him, but their attacks passed through his body and plunged straight into the ground.

*Bam*

”Youʼre really stubborn, huh?” Hearing Zhang Feiʼs voice from behind startled the man, causing him to try to jump away. However, he immediately slashed the hongxi dagger at his calves, causing both of them to bleed.

ʼShit!ʼ The man staggered as he landed in the distance, his expression filled with pain as he looked at his calves. ʼHis dagger must be a high level artifact, or it wouldnʼt have been able to penetrate my qi protection.ʼ

Zhang Fei smiled faintly after he experienced the effects of the hongxi dagger, especially since it stole quite a lot of the manʼs qi, even though he only attacked him with a normal attack.ʼHey! I love the effect!ʼ

ʼDamn it! I have to run away from him, or heʼll kill me!ʼ The moment the man pulled out his returning jade, Zhang Fei sprang into action, snatching it and his red spear. ”You-”

”Argh!” After the hongxi dagger pierced his right shoulder, the man screamed in pain, but Zhang Fei immediately kicked him backwards, pulling the dagger out of his shoulder and causing blood to spurt from it.

*Swish*

Zhang Fei immediately threw the manʼs red spear at him, and it penetrated his right thigh directly, causing him to fall backwards onto his back.

”Argh!” Zhang Fei didnʼt stop there, but instead, he jumped onto the spearʼs tip, causing it to penetrate the manʼs right thigh deeper until it penetrated the ground beneath him. ”Argh! Stop... stop... please....”

Zhang Fei glared coldly at the man as he released his killing intent, causing him to tremble in horror. ”I told you from the start that I was an impatient person, and you only needed to tell me the purpose of Lian Jinshu ordering you to stalk me, but you were too stubborn and attacked me first.”

”He... he ordered me to look for information about your wife, and he asked me to bring her to him if I had the chance.” The manʼs answer caused Zhang Feiʼs face to darken, especially since he hated it the most when people targeted anyone among his wives or family members. ”Young master... please... spare me... Iʼm just carrying out my masterʼs orders.”

”Spare you?” Zhang Fei asked with narrow eyes. ”Do you think I will spare you after you target my wife?”

”Young master, I-” Zhang Fei didnʼt give the man a chance to beg. He jumped down, strangled his neck, and immediately used the life-force absorption against him. ”Argh!”

Since he still needed the man, Zhang Fei didnʼt kill him and stopped immediately when he looked so weak after losing a lot of his life force. He then touched his chest, implanted the demon slave mark into his soul, and altered some of his memories to ensure his loyalty to him.

”Argh!” The man screamed in pain again after he pulled the spear out of his thigh, but Zhang Fei immediately gave him some healing pills to heal his wounds, which he swallowed all at once. ”Thank... thank you, master.”

”Whatʼs your name? Why did Lian Jinshu ask you to bring my wife to him?”

”Situ Yi.” The man immediately sat on the ground while enduring the pain in his shoulder and thigh. ”Master, the Alchemy Union has ordered Lian Jinshu to bring all the best alchemists to join them, and he will receive good rewards if he succeeds in doing so.”

Zhang Fei raised his eyebrows at that statement. ”So the alchemy union often recruits alchemists by force?”

”Yes.” Situ Yi nodded to Zhang Fei. ”They want to monopolize the alchemy products market, so they want the best alchemists to join them, even by force.”

”Tch! Theyʼre just greedy humans!” Zhang Fei irritably muttered. ”Are you also part of the alchemy union? How many people are in your group?”

Situ Yi hurriedly answered him. ”Master, I am part of the alchemy union, but I do not have any status within the organization, and I am only part of the guard group. Every representative of the organization was given five guards, so there are still four others besides me in the capital.”

”Only five?” Situ Yi nodded to Zhang Fei again. ”Where do they live? Who is the strongest among them? What is that personʼs cultivation level?”

”Master, we donʼt stay in one place; we spread out on every side of the capital and disguise ourselves as workers.” Situ Yiʼs answer surprised Zhang Fei a little. ”Actually, I am the weakest among them, and the strongest among us is Huan Ya because her cultivation has reached the quasi-divine realm.”

Zhang Feiʼs expression became serious after he heard that, especially since Huan Ya was too strong for him. ”Quasi-divine realm, huh? What about the strength of the other three?”

”Dugu Yunʼs cultivation is at the 10-Star Saint Realm, Li Sanxiʼs cultivation is at the 10-Star Ancestor Realm, and Xiu Tianʼs cultivation is at the 10-Star Heaven Realm. They all use artifacts to disguise their cultivation, so Emperor Xian wonʼt suspect them.”

”Hmm?” Zhang Fei was shocked, as he didnʼt expect that the alchemy union would give Lian Jinshu five powerful guards, and their cultivation had reached the peak of each level. However, he was also confused by his decision to send Situ Yi. ”If the four of them were that powerful, why did he send you to follow me? Wonʼt it be better if he sent one of them?”

Situ Yi shook his head and proceeded to explain. ”The alchemy union has strict rules, and Lian Jianshi can only send us according to the strength of our target. Since your cultivation is at the 1-Star Earth Realm, he sent me to tail you. However, he has the authority to order us to move together in certain situations, especially when powerful cultivators surround our target.”

”Does that mean Huan Ya rarely makes a move?”

”Yes.” Situ Yi nodded in response. ”Over the years, Huan Ya has only made a move once because her target is an alchemist with cultivation in the quasi-divine realm, and she managed to capture that person with her unique ability.”

Zhang Fei raised his eyebrows slightly. ”Unique ability?”

”Master, I donʼt know about Huan Yaʼs ability, so I canʼt explain it to you.”

Zhang Fei let out a heavy sigh. ”Go back! Report to Lian Jinshu that Emperor Xianʼs subordinates are protecting me, and theyʼre the ones who attacked you.”

”Eh?” Situ Yi was surprised to hear that.

”I wonʼt explain it to you in detail, but I do have a relationship with Emperor Xian, his wife, and their two children.” After he said that, Zhang Fei immediately used his Nine Cloud Steps and disappeared from Situ Yiʼs sight.

”I didnʼt expect that my master would have a relationship with the royal family, and Lian Jinshu had made a fatal mistake by offending him.” Situ Yi immediately picked up his spear and stood up. ”Sigh! If my master hadnʼt given me healing pills, my wounds wouldnʼt have healed this quickly.”

Some time after Situ Yi left the place, two old men appeared, exchanged a brief glance, and then burst out laughing. ”That kid is really cunning, Old Feng! He deliberately used the name of the royal family to protect himself.”

Old Feng nodded in agreement with his friend. ”Old Wen, the people from the alchemy union are still too strong for him, so he has no choice but to do that. However, I am truly curious as to how he managed to increase his speed to such a high level, as my senses canʼt keep up with his movements.”

”That kid is no ordinary cultivator; even with our cultivation in the 1-Moon Divine Expansion, he can deceive our senses.” Old Wen then sighed softly. ”No wonder our emperor was eager to bring him to his side; he even asked the two of us to protect him and his family. I think we donʼt need to make too many moves, and he should be able to fight against heaven realm cultivators.”

”Youʼre right.” Old Feng replied while nodding. ”With his current speed, Iʼm sure that cultivators with cultivation at the quasi-divine realm wonʼt be able to catch up to him, so he should be able to escape if those bunch of brats chase after him. However, his wives probably wonʼt be able to escape from them, so we should focus on protecting them.”

”Letʼs go back; we have to report this matter to our Emperor.” The two old men immediately disappeared from the place again.

.

.

.

Zhang Fei had already arrived at their residence and sat opposite Zhang Lingxue; he explained to her about Lian Jinshu and the alchemy union. ”I made a blunder by going to that old manʼs shop, and those people will definitely keep targeting us from now on.

I have ordered Situ Yi to report to him that Emperor Xianʼs people are protecting us, but I donʼt think they will be deterred by that, so we should always be on guard against them. As for my plan to open an alchemy shop, I think I should cancel it, or else we will face the people of that organization head-on.”

”I think thatʼs the best choice, so we donʼt need to add any more enemies.” Zhang Lingxue then gave her idea. ”Since the presence of representatives from the alchemy union prevents us from opening an alchemy shop in the Xian Kingdom or other human kingdoms, what do you think about opening one on one of the other islands?”

”Other islands?”

”Yes.” Zhang Lingxue nodded to Zhang Fei. ”I have the Fire Phoenix bloodline, so I think I can go to the Beast Kingdom. Moreover, we have your teleportation devices, so I can go back and forth between the two islands freely. Additionally, you can contact Senior Oliver and the others in the kingdom of the natural races and ask them to gather information about the alchemy shops within that kingdom.

If there arenʼt many shops there, we might be able to open one, and we can leave the shop management to them.”

”Your plan to open an alchemy shop in the natural racesʼ kingdom is plausible, but Iʼm not sure about the beast kingdom.” Zhang Fei then pulled Zhang Lingxue onto his lap. ”You do have the Fire Phoenix bloodline, but you are still an ordinary human. Meanwhile, Long Huang and his wife are true dragons, and your bloodline will be useless against them.

We do need a lot of money to buy various best resources for our cultivation, but your safety is the most important to me, so I will not take the risk of sending you there.”

”Hehe.” Zhang Lingxue giggled and kissed Zhang Fei for a brief moment. ”All right then, I wonʼt go to the beast kingdom; instead, I will focus on my alchemy in our residence. After you get those herbs, I will concoct some pills that are suitable for us. Anyway, you should contact Senior Oliver and the others right now, and I will help the others with their training again.”

After Zhang Lingxue left, Zhang Fei immediately contacted Oliver and the others to discuss the matter with them, but they told him that they had not yet gone to the big towns, and they were still staying in a small town near the edge of the island. Even so, they did not reject his plan, and they told him they would try to do it as soon as possible.

After cutting off communication with them, Zhang Fei immediately contacted Hu Yue through the harem feature, and the female fox told her that Hu Dong was getting impatient to take her as his wife. ʼThat damn guy! How dare he think of taking my lovely fox as his wife! I will come over and skin him alive if he dares to force you to marry him, and I will use his skin to make a bag!ʼ

{Hehe! You donʼt have to worry too much about Hu Dong; he wouldnʼt dare to force me to marry him with his cultivation still below mine.} Hu Yue was then silent for a while before asking Zhang Fei. {Are you interested in my mother?}

ʼDidnʼt I tell you before that I was interested in Lili? Unfortunately, your mother rejected me, but I didnʼt want to force her to accept me.ʼ

{In that case, you have to think of something, especially since Hu Gao told my mother that he would take her as his wife soon.}

Zhang Feiʼs face darkened after hearing that. ʼYueʼer, Iʼll go there right now, so tell your mother to meet me outside.ʼ

{All right, I will inform her straight away.}

- To Be Continued -