Why do I have so many masters?

Chapter 149 Tracking (2/2)

Wang Anfeng didn't know what had happened behind him, just as the master from One-Leaf Pavilion hadn't expected to brush past his obsession here.

The youth was following closely behind Baili Feng.

Having been vigorously trained under that master's hand, after encountering Qingfeng Edge's party, Baili Feng was wailing miserably as he finally advanced to a Ninth Rank Martial Artist a month prior, his Qi Sea brimming, and his fist and palm strength capable of wrestling lions and tigers.

With Wang Anfeng's previous Qinggong, it might not have been possible to hide from Baili Feng, but now he had switched to the cultivation technique of the Divine Thieves Sect, the agility of his movements was incomparable to before.

During this period, he ran unknown distances every night.

The Qinggong of the Divine Thieves Sect was not like the Vigorous Step Technique. Although the latter was the entry-level movement technique among many distinctive cultivation arts, and merely used by novice monks in the Shaolin Temple for daily water carrying tasks, for Wang Anfeng, who had already reached the third phase of the Golden Bell Shield, it cost him almost no inner strength.

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However, the Qinggong of the Divine Thieves Sect relied greatly on inner strength. If a customary person could obtain its true transmission, it could be beneficial for life, for the more the martial artist's inner breath surged ceaselessly, the faster his speed, so every time he returned to Shaolin Temple, his body's inner strength was already depleted, feeling weary in every muscle and bone.

As for his own improvement in movement techniques and speed, it had not been clearly demonstrated due to the lack of comparison.

As the proverb goes, it is darkest under the lamp; so says Buddhism about the barrier of perception.

At this time, to prevent Baili Feng from detecting him, Wang Anfeng had to use up to a hundred percent of his mental energy, and only then did he realize that his Qinggong had greatly transcended his past skills.

His toes barely touched the ground, and his figure, like a falling leaf or a flying goose, lightly swept forward, covering a distance of tens of meters in the blink of an eye. His speed was extremely fast, and his posture elegant and free as he moved, without even stirring the fallen leaves under his feet. His clothes fluttered, creating a celestial appearance, truly living up to the "showy" description by Hong Luoyu.

Meanwhile, a few hundred meters behind him,

several men dressed rather lavishly were using Qinggong, following Wang Anfeng closely.

The leader was the man previously guarding the entrance of Fufeng Academy. He had been disheartened, thinking that he could not accomplish the mission this time, but just as he was about to leave, fortuitously, he saw the keeper of the Fufeng Academy leave the academy, which initially startled him, then delighted him immensely.

Looking intently, it was exactly as the noble person had described, dressed in blue and carrying a wooden sword. Perhaps because he deemed his master would not care about ordinary things, in his eyes, this seemingly common wooden sword also carried an ancient charm, deep and unfathomable.

As he was ecstatic but slightly inattentive, the youth's figure was already far ahead, so without delay, he activated his Light Body Technique to pursue, thinking nothing of it.

Even though his cultivation ranked only passable among Ninth Rank Martial Artists, competing hand-to-hand against the youth would probably see him being poked in the throat by that wooden sword in just a dozen exchanges, and a life-and-death battle would end even quicker. However, when it came to Qinggong, he firmly believed he would not lose to him.

After all, that fellow's rank on the Constellation Ranking List included an assessment of ordinary Qinggong and extremely poor External Cultivation.

The man smirked slightly, his face full of confidence.

But within a few moments, that confidence began to shatter.

No matter how much he gathered his energy and executed his exquisite steps, that figure still steadily began to vanish from his sight. Encountering two subordinates searching elsewhere further ahead, the three of them knew that although they could keep up with the youth if they sprinted wildly, they would undoubtedly expose their movements. Therefore, they simply lifted their energy lightly, maintaining seemingly normal appearances, yet their steps quickened ever more.

Even though they exerted all the effort they would have used to drink milk in brothels, they still couldn't close the distance at all. Instead, because the youth seemed somewhat cautious and hadn't fully displayed his Qinggong, they barely managed to keep up without having to run furiously through the city streets.

One of the men, carrying two light swords, had a face slightly red from excess exertion, his voice tinged with breathlessness, as he turned his head and said,

"This, this person wasn't supposed to have just ordinary Qinggong, was he…"

The leader clenched his teeth and shook his head slightly.

He worried that opening his mouth would dissipate his inner breath and cause him to fall behind the youth. Baffled, he could only assume that the standards of a Ninth Rank Martial Artist listed in the Constellation Ranking List were different from his own.

In their view, what was considered ordinary Qinggong might seem like an extraordinary level of Qinggong to someone like him. With this thought, a sense of melancholy arose, feeling that although he was already over thirty, he was inferior to a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old, which was truly distressing.

But throughout, it never occurred to him that there might be an error in the Constellation Ranking List itself.

Or in his eyes, how could the compilers of the Constellation Ranking List possibly make such biased mistakes?

That was absolutely impossible.

Up ahead, Wang Anfeng's speed gradually slowed, and the three men behind him breathed a slight sigh of relief. The leader gestured and said,

"It looks like we're almost at the destination."

"You guys go notify the master, I'll leave marks along the route for you to follow."

The two men beside him responded in low voices, turned, and left, while he watched the figure ahead, secretly clenched his teeth again, strived to follow, kept his pace, and did not allow himself to run uncontrollably, yet he couldn't help but inwardly complain.

"How much longer is he going to walk?"

"How did he train such a movement technique..."

With this thought, he couldn't help feeling a bit envious.

Meanwhile, Wang Anfeng watched Baili Feng ahead of him, who was displaying his Qinggong, equally curious in his heart.

"Escaping the assessment, sneaking around like this, what is he up to?"

He originally had no intention of meddling in others' affairs, but Baili Feng was his good friend, different from the rest. He had many concerns in his heart, and at this moment, he slightly furrowed his brows.

Just now, there had been three sets of footsteps following behind him, none of which had strayed far.

Now, only one remained.

Was it merely coincidental, or was it a covert following?

With a light tap of his toes, his figure gracefully moved forward. The young man's right hand swiped past his waist, silently pinching three silver needles in his hand, all the while continuing to follow steadily behind Baili Feng. The latter was fully focused and hadn't turned around to look even once, which saved Wang Anfeng quite a bit of trouble.

............

After running for a moment longer, Baili Feng's steps finally slowed.

Letting out a breath, he sneakily hid in a corner of a wall, peering out to look at the red-dressed young girl standing in front of a courtyard; he had encountered Tuoba Yue today, who had also skipped the assessment and left the academy alone.

Because of what Wang Anfeng had said earlier, feeling uneasy at heart, he had sat in the examination room. The quieter his surroundings became, the more wildly his mind wandered, ultimately disregarding yesterday's Master's warning, and using the excuse of going to the toilet, he had escaped and followed Tuoba Yue.

Seeing her seemingly just standing there, dazed in front of the large courtyard, having encountered no trouble as he had feared, nor acting impulsively on any foolish thoughts, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As his mind relaxed, he once again thought about the consequences of missing the assessment, recalling the Mo Blade dancing in front of his nose by yesterday's Master, his mouth couldn't help but twist.

He was doomed...

Given his Master's temperament, a harsh scolding awaited him back home, and if his Master had a few drinks before scolding him, he feared that even his parents wouldn't recognize him when he returned.

However, speaking of which, his parents at home probably already had their sticks ready.

Thinking of his father's stick, Baili Feng suddenly felt his legs turn a bit weak.

He had earlier scoffed at the idea of Confucian scholars getting a good beating, yet today it had come to his turn.

What goes around comes around indeed, but this turn had come all too quickly.

The young man from the Military Family was filled with despair.

Meanwhile, several tens of meters away, Tuoba Yue looked at the now empty and tightly shut courtyard, her expression slightly dazed.

Unable to save her kin, she was filled with unwillingness; could it be that she wouldn't even see them for one last time?

............…

At the gate of Fufeng County City.

Still clad in a thin layer of clothing, Qibian Helie turned to glance back, the majestic Fufeng County City stood silent as usual, the soldiers in Mingguang Armor held Mo Blades, their right hands resting on the hilts at their waists, their expressions stern, like statues.

Yet it wasn't as suffocating as when he had arrived.

The midday sun scattered on his cheeks, bringing a slight warmth in this deep autumn, even the Inner Strength in his meridians seemed to circulate a bit faster.

Qibian Helie let out a breath.

The sound of the overseer cursing reached his ears as the foreign young man bowed slightly towards this towering city, his features resolute.

He turned around, took a step.

The sound of camel bells slowly faded, becoming more melodious on the vast road.

PS: Second release