Ch. 1503 - A Hawk Behind

When the four left the Flame Gate, there was nobody left to stop them. The entire Ancestral Flame Realm was collapsing. Almost all the Fire Keepers were tied up holding off the Fire Venom Beasts and had neither the time nor the strength to chase down the four intruders.

The four moved with practiced ease and fled outward. They all knew that if the Fire Keepers discovered what had happened, those guardians would abandon their battle with the beasts and recklessly attack the thieves.

“Move,” Li Zhengfeng said, using the sword aura of ten thousand blades to clear the way ahead as the others followed. Eventually the four left the vicinity of the black hole and returned to the outside world.

“Where do we go?” Wang Dong asked.

“Where doesn’t matter. Get far away, the farther the better,” Wang Qiang suggested. “Those guardians will probably go mad.”

After they agreed, all four fled toward the far north. They had only gone some distance when the Fire Keepers began to notice something wrong. Ordinarily the Ancestral Flame Realm was scorching, but now that the fire had been taken the temperature was cooling.

“Chief! The Ancestral Flame has been stolen!” a guardian screamed with a voice full of grief.

“Impossible!” Fire Chief staggered in the middle of battle, nearly losing his footing. “There’s the Flame Gate, without my permission, who could have entered?”

“But the fire is truly gone, we saw it,” the guardian shouted.

Fire Chief was dazed. He let his guard drop for a moment and a Fire Venom Beast charged, knocking him flying. As he hit the ground, a flash of realization struck his mind. “Those humans!” he cried. “Can you still find those humans?”

“They’re gone,” someone shook their head.

“Now, immediately, mobilize every guardian! Intercept those humans!” Fire Chief roared. “Whether they’re of the Fire God Race or human, they must die.” At his command, the guardians began to withdraw. They no longer tangled with the beasts; instead the space-jump formations were all activated and they escaped. The Fire Venom Beasts could do nothing to stop them.

Meanwhile, Li Zhengfeng and the other three kept running, elated. “With this flame, we’ll definitely become Saint Sovereigns,” Wang Qiang said happily.

“No, higher than that,” Li Zhuang said eagerly.

“But this fire only benefits your Fire God Race. What about my share?” Li Zhengfeng asked. As a human, the Ancestral Flame was useless to him, so he had to think about how to get anything out of this venture, otherwise it would have been a thankless risk.

“Don’t worry, Brother Li. If we find a legacy, we’ll give it to you,” Wang Dong laughed. “If there’s no legacy, we’ll compensate you with whatever valuables we have.” Li Zhengfeng could only nod. He had suspected before entering that the treasures here would be most useful to the Fire God Race; for other races it was uncertain. He had prepared himself accordingly.

While they ran, Wang Qiang glanced at Li Zhuang and then at Wang Dong. The three exchanged a look. After they had put some distance between themselves and the black hole, Wang Dong moved first, suddenly rising up and attacking Li Zhengfeng.

He was fast, and Li Zhengfeng had no warning. He was struck directly and hurled through the air. When Li Zhengfeng stood up, his chest had been caved in and his body was bleeding profusely.

“What are you doing?” Li Zhengfeng shouted in fury.

“Brother Li, just go on and be at ease,” Wang Dong said with a smile. “These are the Ancestral Lands of the Fire God Race, what business does one human have here?”

“You intend to take the fire for yourselves,” Li Zhengfeng realized instantly.

“How could we keep it all to ourselves?” Wang Qiang said with a smile. “We’ll split it three ways anyway. Brother Li, it’s of no use to you.”

“The Grand Heaven Sword Sect will not let this go,” Li Zhengfeng said coldly.

“My Fire Cloud Palace isn’t to be trifled with either,” Wang Qiang replied in a low voice.

“Li Zhengfeng, we’re not children, threats with backing won’t scare us,” Wang Qiang continued, his aura surging outward with thundering force. “If we needed to rely on our allies to deal with you, that would be pathetic.”

Xu Zimo smiled. “I’ll fight you with one hand, while you four come at me.”

“Who are you insulting?” Wang Qiang snarled and leapt, flames exploding as he charged at Xu Zimo. He moved with terrifying speed; the flames around him seemed to burn through the void and form a figure of fire. Meanwhile Li Zhuang and Wang Dong looked toward Li Zhengfeng and said with smiles, “Brother Li, there are outsiders here. How about we join forces? Set aside grievances and deal with them first.”

“Ridiculous. Do you think I’d trust you?” Li Zhengfeng sneered.

“Believe it or not, it doesn’t matter,” Wang Dong explained. “The point is, if we die, he’ll kill you as well. You won’t survive either. Better to team up and deal with them; we’ll let you go.”

Li Zhengfeng considered for a moment. The logic was undeniable. He didn’t trust Wang Dong and the others to actually let him leave, but he had his own plan. “Fine, I agree,” Li Zhengfeng said as he pushed himself up.

At that moment, applause sounded. “Good, before we even start, you’re already turning on each other. Saves us a lot of trouble,” someone said.

“Who?” Wang Qiang and the others turned to look.

Xu Zimo and his party walked out of the void, unhurried. “Who are you?” Wang Dong demanded.

“From the Chaos Fire God Realm,” Li Zhuang recognized them and his expression grew serious, then he gave a light laugh. “What are the elites of the Chaos Fire God Realm doing here?”

“Hand the item over,” Xiao Anshan said directly.

“What item?” Wang Qiang stepped back with a laugh.

“Cut the act, just speak plainly,” Xu Zimo said. “We left the flame markings and we helped you get the Ancestral Flame. Do you really think the likes of you could have broken into the Ancestral Flame Realm on your own?”

“Oh, it’s you,” Wang Qiang and the others’ faces darkened.

“What do you mean by this? Using a borrowed blade to kill?” Wang Qiang asked.

“You’re not even fit to be accused of ‘using a borrowed blade.’ But you’re right about one thing,” Xiao Anshan replied. “Thanks for helping bring the fire out for me.”

“You all seem to have forgotten, this is the Ancestral Lands, not the Inferno Crucible Heaven. We’re not intimidated by the name of your Chaos Fire God Realm,” Wang Qiang said, his might surging in ripples around him. “If we still needed to rely on bullying with backing to handle you, that would be embarrassing.”

Xu Zimo smiled. “I’ll face all four of you with one hand.”

Wang Qiang scowled and attacked. The fierce flames flared as he charged at Xu Zimo. Li Zhuang and Wang Dong turned to Li Zhengfeng and suggested forming an alliance to deal with the newcomers. Li Zhengfeng, having just decided to cooperate, rose to his feet.

Comments