Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 358 – ‘Old Friend’

Qin Yu left the inn and started walking down the street. The Beast Hunting Battalion was extremely large and populated by many people; it could be considered a small city. This was the reason why there was such an entertainment business like the inn. And not just that, but there were all sorts of other recreational businesses in operation. As long as one had enough spirit stones or points, any sort of enjoyment could be found.

Without any particular destination in mind, Qin Yu was simply strolling about casually. He had been back at the Beast Hunting Battalion for half a month already and had attempted to break through the Divine Soul bottleneck every day. His magic power foundation was solid and strong and he had opened his soul space ahead of time. His soul force was also overwhelming. He had already obtained some harvests from his mediation, but his final goal was always blurry and out of reach, like an illusion filled with fog.

The more of a hurry he was in, the less likely he would be to succeed. So, he simply interrupted his cultivation and came out to relax and loosen his spirits.

When it came to cultivation, haste often led to carelessness.

Sometimes, Qin Yu even thought of the Deva Soul he had, and perhaps he should just swallow it down, take a nap, and wake up as a Divine Soul.

But after reaching his current step, using the Deva Soul as a breakthrough would be a considerable waste. Moreover, he faintly felt that perceiving the rules of the world on his own might be better for him.

It wasn’t quiet where there were many people. Qin Yu came out to relax so he didn’t want the area to be too noisy. Just as he turned and started walking towards a corner of the battalion, he ran into several young cultivators.

Qin Yu turned to leave, but a cold sneer caught up from behind him. “Qin Yu, you can I can be considered old friends, so how can you not stop and say hello?”

There was the sound of rapid footsteps and then several people blocked his way. Wang Yuanan’s lips curled up in a cold smile.

He still hadn’t forgotten the enmity of the fire kirin!

Qin Yu frowned. “Make way.”

Wang Yuanan didn’t speak, but a young cultivator to his side did. He said with a dark and gloomy tone, “Brat, I think your face is displeasing to my eyes. I really want to beat it black and blue.”

Everyone else kept silent. Their glares more than indicated their attitudes.

There were many people on the street. The conflict immediately drew the attention of many others.

“That person is the brother-in-law of Captain Yang.”

“That one seems like Steward Wu’s son.”

“Do you see? The one in the middle is the leader.”

“I’ve seen him before. He is Lord Yuan Jingzhe’s nephew.”

The crowd began to gossip. Even the wild and normally fearless Beast Hunting Battalion hunters couldn’t help but suck in a deep breath, pity in their eyes.

These young people couldn’t be considered much alone, but when their backgrounds were added together they were a potent strength that no one was willing to provoke.

If an early Nascent Soul boy had a conflict with him, would his ending be any good?

Conversations occurred all around and awe filled the eyes of many people. The several youths lifted their chins higher, putting on a haughty act. One of them lightly said, “You brat, I don’t know how you offended Brother Wang but kneel on the floor and knock your head ten times on the ground. Then, open up some apology wine tonight and I’ll give you a chance to reconcile things.”

“Ten knocks? Isn’t that too few?” Steward Wu’s son loudly said and the several other youths with him laughed.

Wang Yuanan had the highest status of them all. Though he didn’t say anything, pride shined in his eyes.

Qin Yu had a calm expression. It wasn’t restrained anger, but true unwavering indifference.

After experiencing the great competition and the events within the capital city, after coming into contact with someone like the Southshine Nation’s Old Ancestor, a figure that stood above the highest heavens, these insolent youths in front of him simply couldn’t arouse any interest.

Without a single word, he turned and left.

The laughter behind him suddenly stopped as if a palm was ruthlessly slapped on their faces. The atmosphere was filled with awkwardness.

The surrounding cultivators all felt their hearts skip a beat. This brat, he was actually quite brave!

“You motherfu– stop!” Steward Wu’s son flushed red. He reached out a hand, crackling sounds breaking the air. His strength wasn’t considered too weak.

Qin Yu didn’t stop. He simply paused and said, “This is the Beast Hunting Battalion.”

One second before the hand would have grabbed onto Qin Yu, it stopped. Wang Yuanan’s complexion darkened. “Brother Wu, be patient. There will always be a chance in the future.”

Within the battalion, besides a scarce few people, no one was allowed to fight. Otherwise there would be harsh punishments.

The Lord Commander had always handed down severe punishments when it came to this. Even if their statuses weren’t low, they didn’t want to offend him.

Everyone could hear the icy cold meaning in his words. But, Qin Yu simply continued walking forwards, no hesitation in his step.

Everything was silent, but the crowd seemed as if they could clearly hear another loud slap.

Wang Yuanan’s complexion turned even cloudier. “Let’s go!”

The group of second generation Beast Hunting Battalion young masters all had ill and nasty demeanors. The crowd quickly drew back, not wanting to mess with them.

Faintly, one could hear Chief Steward Wu’s son say, “Brother Wang, don’t worry. My father is in charge of logistics. There will be a time when that brat cries for us!”

“That’s right, Brother Wang has managed to make constant cultivation breakthroughs in a short period of time. Once you reach Divine Soul, you can destroy that brat however you like!”

“Don’t let him ruin our fun. I’ve already reserved a room at the inn. We brothers can go and have a cheerful good time!”

The second generation young masters gradually walked away. Without anything fun to watch, the cultivators dispersed. As they heard the fading voices of those young masters, they paid silent tribute to the boy who had caused them to hear a slap in their ears.

If that boy was targeted by them, his future days would likely be hard-lived. Perhaps he would die by tomorrow.

Qin Yu didn’t place what happened in his heart at all. He stood at the edge of the Beast Hunting Battalion and looked out beyond the invisible barrier towards the endless sea of clouds that howled with astral winds.

Occasionally, a terrifying gust of wind slammed into the barrier, causing ripples to appear. Although it looked ordinary, if any cultivator below Divine Soul were to be placed within, they would suffer a terrible fate.

Qin Yu peacefully stared into the distance. As the astral winds roared in his ears, they might seem like sharp and loud sounds to most, but to him, they seemed to possess some sort of strange and unknown rhythm. His pupils widened and he entered into a trance.

Although it felt as if he had only fallen into an absent-minded daze for a moment, when Qin Yu’s eyes refocused again, it was already pitch black outside the barrier. The astral winds still howled in the dark. Though his mind was still blurry, the great fog that shrouded his thoughts had dissipated by a great deal. Qin Yu smiled. It seemed like his breakthrough wasn’t too far away.

Coming out today had been the correct choice.

But this good mood was ruined when he returned to the inn. Amongst the tender cries of women, there were the deep voices of several young men shouting about.

It was clear that the young men had paid a high enough price to take the women out for a night.

This was an extremely normal matter for the inn. But when both sides met at the great hall, the air instantly froze over.

Half drunk, Chief Steward Wu’s son had his head buried in the arms and chest of a woman. As he looked up and saw the person standing at the entrance, his eyes widened.

“Fuck, it’s you!”

Wang Yuanan was overjoyed. He smirked inside and thought that the evils we bring inflict on ourselves are truly the hardest to bear. Out of the few places where you could fight in the Beast Hunting Battalion, the inn was one of them.

They were men, right? Fighting and arguing was normal, right? As long as they didn’t take another person’s life, all they had to do was pay a fine afterwards.

Chief Steward Wu’s son pushed the woman he held away and then drunkenly staggered forwards. “You bastard, you dare to compete with me for women? You are courting death!”

A slap came fanning out.

Wang Yuanan happily smiled. This Wu fellow was vulgar, but he was easy to use. This excuse was pathetic but it was enough to strike someone with.

The eyes of the surrounding drunken youths all flashed with light. As they glanced at Wang Yuanan and noticed his expression, they cursed inwardly.

They had allowed this Wu fellow to make the first move and leave a favorable impression on Wang Yuanan. As the one who would teach this brat a lesson, the honor and merit would also be his.

Just as they were unwilling, they suddenly heard a loud bang. The sound was so deep and heavy that it caused a chill to crawl up their scalps. Several youths fiercely looked up to see Chief Steward Wu’s son, who had been rushing over, fly backwards at an even faster speed. He crashed through the wooden floor of the inn, splinters covering his entire face as he held his stomach and crazily vomited.

Blood was mixed with his vomit. Just looking at him made a cold chill shoot through one’s heart.

As they looked at the calm and indifferent Qin Yu at the entrance who seemed as if none of this involved him, no one could muster up the courage to do anything.

Wang Yuanan had a dignified expression. After a brief moment he stepped forwards and said, “Qin Yu, you injured my friend so today you won’t be able to leave.”

Although everyone knew that this was retaliation for the earlier matter of the fire kirin, by draping it in the guise of avenging his friend, it at least looked much better.

Qin Yu didn’t care about his thoughts at all. He frowned. “Don’t mess with me.”

Wang Yuanan smirked. “I really am curious. Just what qualifications do you have to be so calm in front of us?” He shook his head. “Depending on your late Nascent Soul cultivation? But in my eyes, you aren’t anything at all.”

Bang –

A powerful aura erupted, instantly reaching the peak of Nascent Soul.

Wang Yuanan lifted his hand and pressed forwards.

Heaven and earth spiritual energy gathered, condensing into a seal. It was square with rounded corners, containing the potential of the skies and land.

“This is Lord Yuan Jingzhe’s secret technique!”

Several people in the inn immediately cried out.

Although no one moved to help, they were all paying close attention to this conflict.

Qin Yu stepped forwards and the ground collapsed. Without trying to dodge, his body seemed to become a mountain-splitting saber that slashed down at the seal.

There was a loud crack, one that caused everyone’s ears to ring. The seal stiffened for a moment before completely disintegrating.

Qin Yu didn’t stop. He approached Wang Yuanan, lifted his leg, and kicked out.

The air exploded with crackling sounds. action

Wang Yuanan’s complexion changed. He crossed his arms defensively in front of him but he gave a stuffy cough as he was kicked away, sent crashing into a column in the hall.

The column itself remained intact, but the jade urn placed behind it was crushed to dust.

Puff –

Wang Yuanan spat out a mouthful of blood. He stumbled to the ground, his eyes filled with shock. When he first arrived at the Beast Hunting Battalion, although Qin Yu was powerful, he could only be considered one of the stronger ones amongst the group. Now, with his uncle helping him, he had obtained several treasures from the Beast Hunting Battalion and his cultivation had increased by leaps and bounds.

Even so, he wasn’t a match at all.

There had to be a secret on Qin Yu’s body!

His thoughts racing, Wang Yuanan suddenly shouted out, “Qin Yu, you dare injure me!? Men, seize him!”

Several armored cultivators rushed in from outside the inn. They frowned, but they didn’t seem to have any intention of refusing.

From his uniform, the one leading them was a lieutenant. His aura was at the peak of Nascent Soul and his body was wreathed in slaughter energy. He was far from being comparable to Wang Yuanan.

He grasped out in a probing strike. Then with a look of surprise, that grasp turned into a palm that collided with Qin Yu’s fist.

Blood energy tumbled in his chest. He looked at Qin Yu who had only taken a step back and whose complexion hadn’t changed, and his eyes suddenly brightened. He coldly said, “You dare to resist arrest?”

Qin Yu had no expression. “Why are you arresting me?”

The lieutenant didn’t answer. He gestured his hand and the armored cultivators behind him all raised black crossbows. “Surrender, or be executed here and now!”

The bolts flashed with a cold metallic gleam. In particular, the blue points made one shudder. These were poison-tipped bolts used by the army. Not only was their shooting strength incredible but they had the attribute of breaking past defensive barriers. If a Divine Soul cultivator had several of these crossbows aimed at them, even they wouldn’t dare to move.

Wang Yuanan’s eyes flashed with joy. It seemed as if he was recklessly mobilizing his uncle’s forces to publicly capture someone, but as long as he had Qin Yu in his hands, he could slowly chisel open his mouth.

For Qin Yu’s strength to rise to such a degree in such a short period of time, this secret must be astonishing. Even if he was scolded by his uncle, it was well worth it!