A Chaotic World

Chapter 339: Young Master Xuan Hao of the Timeless Flame Sect

In contrast to the cloaked man's thoughts, Young Master Xuan Hao's eyes lit up in excitement.

Perhaps his companions had found a way to overcome the underwater beasts!

If so, then the situation had completely turned around.

Unless the opponent was capable of long distance attacks as well, he would no longer need to put himself in danger by fighting the opponent in the water!

At this moment, everyone's attention turned towards the underwater situation.

"Well done!" one of the three martial artists underwater cheered in delight.

With Lu Tianzi's actions, the pressure on them had been largely alleviated.

Fending off all twenty Blue-finned Razor Whales might have been an issue for them, but dealing with less than ten of them would not be too big of a problem at all!

However, they quickly realised that after what Lu Tianzi had done, the Blue-finned Razor Whales no longer continued attacking.

Instead, they started gathering near the surface of the water where the cloaked man was.

The cloaked man whistled repeatedly, but there seemed to be no change to the behaviour of the Blue-finned Razor Whales.

"What are you idiots doing?" the cloaked man could not help but curse out loud in frustration. "Dumb beasts!"

"Seems like things aren't going too well for you?" Young Master Xuan Hao smiled.

He could sense that the tide had turned.

"Damn it!"

Unable to take it any longer, the cloaked man dived into the water himself.

He did not believe that with his strength, he would not be able to handle four martial artists with lower cultivation levels.

The three martial artists underwater immediately tensed up upon seeing the cloaked man enter the water, but they did not cower in fear despite their lower cultivation levels.

"He is the one controlling the Blue-finned Razor Whales."

"That makes things simpler. All we have to do is just get rid of him!"

"Let's go!"

With that, the three martial artists charged towards the cloaked man.

They might have struggled against the Blue-finned Razor Whales, but all of them were still martial geniuses in their own right.

This would not be the first time that they faced an opponent of a higher cultivation level, not to mention that they now had strength in numbers.

"Wait, don't be rash!" Young Master Xuan Hao called out anxiously from the open deck.

However, his warning came too late.

"Just because you managed to gain a bit of advantage, you think that you are all that great?" the cloaked man sneered in malice.

He waved the heavy sword in his hand, sending out multiple sword lights towards the three martial artists.

Faced with his fierce attacks, each of the three martial artists hurriedly defended themselves with their own weapons, but that was far from enough.

"Argh!"

They groaned in pain as their Origin Force defences were broken instantly, the impact sending them deep into the depths of the Canal of Misery.

One of them even spat out a mouthful of blood upon receiving the cloaked man's attack.

But while they were being sent away by the cloaked man, Lu Tianzi took the opportunity to charge forward.

"Just who the hell are you?!" the cloaked man sent his voice straight into Lu Tianzi's head.

From their earlier exchange, he could already tell that Lu Tianzi possessed strength far beyond others at the same cultivation level.

This was not something that just any nameless character was capable of, but his information did not show that Young Master Xuan Hao was travelling with anyone of exceptional prominence either!

The cloaked man could not help but feel frustrated to have his meticulous plans disrupted by a lapse in information received.

"You don't need to know that," Lu Tianzi answered curtly while piercing out with his Moon Culler.

This time, the Moon Culler did not just send out regular sword light.

Energised water swirled around his blade, forming something akin to a mini underwater tornado.

At the same time, the two Radiant Raven Bracelets on his wrists glowed brightly.

By feeling the water with his body and observing the movements of the Blue-finned Razor Whales, Lu Tianzi had managed to gain a much deeper insight into the Law of Water in this short underwater battle.

It might just be the first steps, but he had finally learnt to incorporate the element of water into his attacks.

This was a definite progress in his combat techniques!

As long as he continued to practice and build on this foundation, Lu Tianzi had no doubt that he would be able to wield the element of water with a much higher proficiency in the future.

Yet even though prolonging this fight would help in deepening his comprehensions, it would also increase the risks involved.

This was not a fight in a controlled environment like the one against Chengban at the Divine Storm Palace, where numerous elders and guests were present to stop the fight if things were to get dangerous.

This was a real battle in the wilds, and people could die from it.

Lu Tianzi was already contented with the insights that he had gained so far, and no longer wanted to drag things out any further.

By activating his Radiant Raven Bracelets, he was intending to end it with the next move.

What Lu Tianzi did not expect was that when the cloaked man saw his Radiant Raven Bracelets glow brightly, the cloaked man's eyes would suddenly widen in shock.

"So it is a fellow member of the Radiant Raven Sect!" the cloaked man exclaimed in surprise before discreetly revealing a similar pair of raven bracelets that he was hiding under his long heavy cloak. "But why have I never seen you before? Could it be... are you a member of the Blood Banner?"

Hmm?

Lu Tianzi was caught by surprise, and it took him a few moments to understand what was going on.

"What do you think?" Lu Tianzi quickly reined in his emotions and asked in return with an expressionless face.

"Damn, I was right!" the cloaked man cursed. "I thought I was sent here to get rid of Young Master Xuan Hao, but seeing that you are already here, I guess I am just taking a supportive role in the grand scheme of things. I shall not hinder you any longer then, good luck with your mission!"

With that, the cloaked man immediately retreated.

The Blue-finned Razor Whales almost seemed relieved to follow his lead as they left as quickly as they had come.

Lu Tianzi simply stayed floating in the water, watching on as they left in a hurry. On his wrists, the bright glow of his Radiant Raven Bracelets died down as well.

With his speed in the water, he would have no problems catching up to the opponents.

However, Lu Tianzi did not think there was a need to go to such lengths.

Even though the process was quite different from what he had expected, it was all good as long as the danger had been resolved.

As far as possible, he wanted to maintain a low profile until he left the vast territories of the Divine Storm Sect, and this meant avoiding needless fights as well.

At this moment, the three other martial artists appeared before his sight. But when they did, all of them revealed looks of confusion as they looked around for traces of the cloaked man.

They had been sent flying by the cloaked man's earlier attack, and had rushed back as soon as they could.

All in all, it had only been a matter of seconds, but where did the cloaked man disappear to in such a short span of time?

The three martial artists could not help but turn their attention towards Lu Tianzi, who looked back at them in return.

"He left," Lu Tianzi said, and started making his way back to the water surface.

"He left?" the three martial artists exchanged strange glances before heading to the surface as well.

"Hahaha! You guys did far better than I thought you would! Since when have you guys become so capable?" Young Master Xuan Hao laughed as he welcomed his companions back to the open deck of the ferry.

"Brother Xuan Hao must be joking. It's this young brother who managed to chase them away," Young Master Xuan Hao's companions gestured awkwardly towards Lu Tianzi who was heading over to the waiting Nanlan Qianxue.

"Him?" Young Master Xuan Hao revealed a look of surprise while his companions filled him in on what happened underwater.

"You're back," Nanlan Qianxue said with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm back," Lu Tianzi could not help but smile in return. "However, there seems to be some complications."

"Complications?" Nanlan Qianxue blinked blankly.

"It's like this..." Lu Tianzi repeated what the cloaked man said to him earlier to Nanlan Qianxue through voice conveyance.

At the same time, Lu Tianzi channelled his Origin Force, and all the water on him evaporated instantly, as though he had never entered the water in the first place.

"So he thought that you are a fellow member of the Radiant Raven Sect," Nanlan Qianxue snickered. "Well, at least this allowed us to avoid a battle today."

"I guess you are right," Lu Tianzi shrugged.

As he said that, Lu Tianzi could not help but adjust his long sleeves to make sure the Radiant Raven Bracelets on his wrists were covered.

If the cloaked man could leave after mistaking him for a member of the Radiant Raven Sect, it also meant that enemies of the Radiant Raven Sect could end up attacking him without warning.

Considering that, it would be best not to reveal his Radiant Raven Bracelets unless absolutely required.

At this moment, Young Master Xuan Hao walked over and clasped his fists towards Lu Tianzi. "This young brother here, thank you so much for your help earlier. We deeply appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it," Lu Tianzi waved it off nonchalantly. "We are on the ferry together, so it is all of our responsibilities to defend it."

"That might be so, but the other party is here for me after all. It is only right that I thank you properly for your help," Young Master Xuan Hao shook his head. "Please allow us to treat you to some of our best wine as a show of our gratitude!"

"Well, if you insist," Lu Tianzi nodded.

Since the other party seemed genuine in wanting to thank him, there was no reason for him to insist otherwise either.

If he did, the other party might even end up being offended.

Rather than that, he might as well just get this over and done with.

Just like that, the seven of them ended up sitting around a table with wine and side dishes.

"My name is Xuan Hao, and these are Sister Ruan Ling, Brother Bing Jie, Brother Wei Shen, and Brother Tie Mo," Young Master Xuan Hao introduced the group. "If it is convenient, may I know what names are?"

"You can call me Tianzi, and this is Qianxue," Lu Tianzi answered frankly.

"So it is Brother Tianzi and Sister Qianxue," Young Master Xuan Hao silently noted down their names in his heart. "May I know where you are headed?"

Lu Tianzi let out a carefree smile. "To be frank, we are just wandering the lands and do not have a particular destination in mind. What about Brother Xuan Hao? Why are you being targeted?"

"This..." Young Master Xuan Hao hesitated for a moment.

"If it is a secret, then let it stay as a secret," Lu Tianzi laughed it off nonchalantly.

"Since Brother Tianzi has already been affected, I guess it would be unfair if I keep you in the dark," Young Master Xuan Hao sighed. "The thing is, I am actually an heir candidate of the Timeless Flame Sect, and I am out adventuring before returning to pick up the reins of the sect. I thought we have kept our identities hidden well enough, but the other party must have realised my identity and is trying to use me to get at the sect."

"The Timeless Flame Sect?" Lu Tianzi felt that the name sounded vaguely familiar.

"Mengxi mentioned the Timeless Flame Sect before," Nanlan Qianxue reminded him through voice conveyance.

"Mengxi?" Lu Tianzi thought back to his conversation with the female core disciple of the Divine Storm Sect and could not help but feel slightly surprised by the young man in front of him.

Back when they first met, Mengxi had thought that Lu Tianzi was from one of the other ancient sects, naming the Timeless Flame Sect as one of them.

From the sound of it, this Timeless Flame Sect was probably an influence on the same level as the Divine Storm Sect.

And for this Xuan Hao to be an heir candidate to such a powerful influence, it was obvious that his status was not low by any measure!