Chapter 33: Robbery

Bai Ling naturally recognized him, as well as the several hundred people behind him. Except for the young man at the front, all of them wore gray robes. The youth at the head was Ye Xie, one of the three great clans of Flowing Moon City, and a cultivator at the eighth level of the Initial Origin Realm.

“Get lost!” Bai Ling said coldly.

He immediately understood their purpose. This was blatant robbery—they had blocked the center of the tunnel.

At that moment, a voice rang out behind Bai Ling. Furious, the speaker said, “Big Brother Ling, these bastards just robbed me of all my essence crystals. Relying on their numbers, the three great clans actually stoop to this kind of despicable behavior!”

Bai Ling turned around. He recognized the young man who had spoken. He was one of those who had entered shortly before him, a youth named Wang Shi, who was at the tenth level of the Initial Origin Realm.

“Oh? How interesting. I never expected to run into Bai Ling. Hahaha… You’ve become quite famous in Flowing Moon City lately, haven’t you? Hehehe… The elder of my Ye Clan invited you to our home as a guest, yet you didn’t give us even the slightest bit of face!” Ye Xie rubbed his hands together, narrowing his eyes as he sneered.

Bai Ling remained expressionless. He had no favorable impression of the three great clans.

As for the Ye Clan’s grand elder trying to befriend him more than ten days ago—

Bai Ling merely scoffed inwardly.

“Oh? The third level of the Initial Origin Realm. Hehehe… You really are a freak. I thought you were the most useless piece of trash in the world, but after awakening your bloodline, not only is your combat strength extraordinary, even your cultivation speed is astonishing. And now you’ve run into me. Down here in the spirit vein, Ji Kun can’t protect you. Hand over your essence crystals, or else…” Ye Xie let the threat hang in the air.

As soon as he finished speaking, nearly a hundred people behind him sank into a low stance. An immense pressure erupted from them, causing the youths beside Bai Ling to reveal terrified expressions.

“Damn it! Ten people at the seventh level of the Initial Origin Realm, forty at the eighth level, and nearly fifty more at the ninth level! Ye Xie, you’re cheating! Once I get out, I’ll definitely tell City Lord Ji Kun that you’re throwing your weight around in the spirit vein and robbing people!” Wang Shi snarled furiously.

“Is that so? Then you’ll have to die today, hehehe…” Ye Xie revealed two rows of white teeth and smiled ominously. “If we were in Flowing Moon City, we’d still show Ji Kun some respect. After all, he’s powerful. But down here… Heh heh, the prohibition against killing is nothing but a fart!”

Wang Shi’s expression changed drastically. Terror and fury appeared on his face as he glared at Ye Xie, his fists clenched tightly while his entire body trembled involuntarily.

Bai Ling was also startled by the force arrayed before him, but that was all.

With a faint smile, he said, “I’ll say it one more time. Get lost.”

He was not frightened in the slightest by the imposing aura released by the hundreds of people before him.

Anyone else who encountered them would probably obediently hand over their essence crystals. After all, a tenth-level Initial Origin Realm cultivator could not do anything to another cultivator of the same realm in a one-on-one battle.

What was truly despicable was that the Ye Clan had chosen to move as a group.

One person against several hundred!

The sheer numerical advantage was enough to make anyone flee in panic while surrendering everything they had obtained from the spirit vein. This was why countless cultivators in Flowing Moon City hated the three great clans to the bone.

“I just love that attitude of yours—your arrogance stinks worse than foot odor. Bai Ling, it seems awakening your bloodline has made you even more foolish. You really refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a penalty cup! Get him!”

Ye Xie sneered. With a wave of his right hand, the guards beside him grinned maliciously and advanced toward Bai Ling.

“Big Brother Ling, a wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against him. Hand over the essence crystals. There are still more than half a month left. As long as we don’t run into the three great clans again, we can still obtain quite a lot of essence crystals.”

Wang Shi watched the approaching guards. Although Ye Xie had just said he would kill him, if he left now, he still had a sliver of hope of surviving. Yet he could not bear to see Bai Ling robbed as well, so he advised him despite himself.

“Wang Shi, if your life were threatened, and you knew that you would be relentlessly hunted for the next twenty-odd days, what would you do—even if it meant dying?” Bai Ling slowly turned to look at him.

Wang Shi was stunned by the question. After pondering for a moment, he said, “But… but there are so many of them! I’m confident I could defeat one person, but against so many people of the same realm, I really would die!”

“Is that so?” Bai Ling slowly turned around and spoke coldly.

Looking at Ye Xie’s guards approaching him, he unexpectedly began to smile.

Ye Xie watched the two of them chatting as though nothing were happening. With his nostrils turned upward, he let out a mocking laugh.

“Idi—”

He had barely uttered one syllable when Bai Ling moved.

The power of the third level of the Initial Origin Realm erupted from his body, yet his speed was astonishing. He abruptly slipped past Ye Xie’s guards, and in an instant, his figure filled Ye Xie’s vision.

Bai Ling unleashed the Wind Shadow Technique and activated his bloodline power. At that moment, he was like a cheetah. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Ye Xie and drove a fist into his chest.

Bang!

“Ugh… You… you bastard, how dare you…”

The sound of ribs snapping came from Ye Xie’s chest. His features twisted instantly, his eyes widening with venom as he cursed through clenched teeth.

“Idiot.”

Bai Ling finished the word Ye Xie had failed to say. He seized Ye Xie by the neck and retreated at lightning speed, holding him as easily as one might hold a chick.

“Presumptuous! How dare you ambush our young master!”

“Bai Ling, you’re dead!”

“Put him down immediately, or you’ll die horribly!”

The furious shouts of more than a hundred people rang out as Bai Ling tightened his grip around Ye Xie’s neck and continued retreating.

After putting fifty meters between himself and the others, Bai Ling revealed a faint smile.

Ye Xie’s mouth hung open, and the suffocating sensation made him suffer terribly. Bai Ling’s hand was clamped tightly around his throat, leaving his face flushed red. To be humiliated like this in front of so many members of his clan enraged him, and he roared, “Bai Ling, I’m telling you, you’re dead! Let my young master go at once, or today will be the day you die!”

Bai Ling listened to Ye Xie’s vicious threats. The veins on his arm bulged as he increased the pressure.

Ye Xie’s eyes bulged, and muffled sounds escaped his throat.

With a smile on his face, Bai Ling lowered his voice. “It seems you still don’t understand your situation. With only a little more force, do you really think you’ll live to see the next second?”

His words made Ye Xie’s eyes tremble violently, and terror appeared on his face.

Wang Shi stood frozen in place, his eyes wide with shock. More than ten days ago, Bai Ling had already been able to defeat Ji Jiu’er, who was at the eighth level of the Initial Origin Realm, while he himself had only been at the first level. Wang Shi had admired him immensely then.

But Bai Ling was even stronger now—and far bolder.

Facing so many enemies, he had acted in an instant without the slightest hesitation. Before anyone could react, he had seized Ye Xie by the throat and retreated until he reached a safe distance.

In Wang Shi’s mind, Bai Ling had gone completely mad.

The person in his grasp was Ye Xie of the Ye Clan, one of the three great clans!

What was he planning to do?

Use Ye Xie as a hostage while making his escape?

Was he not afraid of the Ye Clan’s revenge once they left a month later?

Moreover, the Ye Clan members who had entered the spirit vein certainly numbered far more than the hundred people before them.

There were still twenty-seven days left. Could Bai Ling really intend to force Ye Xie to accompany him in fleeing through the spirit vein every day?

He had to be insane!

The more Wang Shi thought about it, the more terrified he became. Cold sweat broke out across his back, and he regretted speaking up to dissuade Bai Ling. Now, even if Bai Ling knelt and begged for mercy, the Ye Clan would likely never forgive him.

Escape!

Wang Shi turned and fled in terror.

A few seconds later, he disappeared into the tunnel.

Bai Ling merely shook his head with a faint smile. He did not care.