Chapter Thirteen: The Four-Stage Dragon

  "At the beginning, we were completing a task in the Taihang Mountains. Unexpectedly, we ran into Mu Feng and his men who came to do the same task. Our relationship has always been bad, so we exchanged sarcastic remarks with each other. Since Mu Feng is slightly stronger than our Qing Bang leader Ning Xuan, we left, but unexpectedly, they from Hu Bang have been following us."

  Two days later, we met a four-clawed dragon under a waterfall. It was eating at that time and didn't notice us, so we were ready to leave. Unexpectedly, the tiger gang members opened their mouths and said they wanted to slaughter the dragon! Then they ran away themselves, but we became scapegoats and were hated by the dragon, chasing and killing us all the way. Fortunately, we knew there was a cave nearby, so we hid in it.

  "When we thought the dragon had left, we wanted to leave, but just ran a short distance and heard the dragon's roar! After trying twice, we found that the dragon was always guarding not far away! So the third time, we divided into two groups, they attracted the dragon's attention, while I went out to find you. If nothing unexpected happens, they should be in the cave ahead now!"

  After listening to his explanation, Xu Hua finally understood the whole story! A four-stage Jiaolong is much stronger than an ordinary four-stage demon beast. The Jiaolong has the blood of a true dragon flowing within its body, and in terms of combat power, it is absolutely the strongest among those of the same stage. Some powerful Jiaolongs can even kill fifth-stage demon beasts when they are at the fourth stage, their strength is self-evident. Xu Hua had no idea how strong this Jiaolong was, he had no confidence in being able to defeat it, and could only lure it away in order to rescue his second brother and older sister!

  "Xu Xue-di, can you really defeat that Jiaolong?"

  "It's impossible, I'm not even its match!"

  "Why are you still coming here to seek death?"

  "My second brother and elder sister are here, I must save them? Moreover, I won't die so easily. Although I can't defeat the fourth-stage Jiaolong, I think I can still escape. So later, I'll lure away the Jiaolong, you take them back to the school quickly. As for the Hu Bang, we'll talk about it when I get back!"

  Before long, Xu Hua and the other finally arrived at the cave entrance. However, what caught their eyes was that twenty-odd-zhang-long dragon, which was lying asleep at the entrance of the cave. Seeing it, Xu Hua knew that the problem was more serious than he had imagined. This was a dragon that was about to break through the fifth stage, and Xu Hua was absolutely no match for it!

  The dragon suddenly raised its head, looking towards the place where Xu Hua was. It had clearly discovered them. Now it was extremely disgusted with such small human insects, so when it saw that there were still people here, it immediately pounced on Xu Hua.

  "Remember my words!" With that, Xu Hua immediately headed towards Jiaolong.

  Seeing Xu Hua not running away, the giant python felt its dignity being challenged. It must let this little insect know its power. Next time it sees him, run? No! He won't have a next time, I will eat him now.

  As Xu Hua and Jiaolong were only about ten zhang apart, Xu Hua immediately turned around and ran away. Jiaolong saw Xu Hua running away and was actually quite happy in his heart, so he hurriedly chased after him.

  After Xu Hua and Jiaolong left, a person quietly ran towards the cave, while several people in the cave also heard the movement outside the cave, got up one after another to look outwards, but found that Jiaolong was gone.

  "Boss, I'm back! Let's hurry up and go! Xu Xue has already lured the dragon away."

  Ning Xuan, Xu Hui, Xu Lang, and Zi Yi were thrilled upon hearing his words! Xu Lang was the first to jump up with excitement. However, Xu Hui spoke seriously, "Junior Brother Jiang, did my third brother say he had a way to escape?"

  "Xu Xue said he was no match for this python, but he said he could escape!"

  Upon hearing his words, Xu Hui finally let out a sigh of relief. At this moment, he fiercely gave Xu Lang a knock on the head! "Aren't you worried about Third Brother at all? What if something happens to that terrifying dragon, can you be responsible for Third Brother?"

  "Sister, I know I was wrong, I just believed in Third Brother!" Xu Lang's expression may always be one of playing the fool, but his concern for Xu Hua never changes!

  At this time, Ning Xuan looked at Han Hui and Han Lang and said: "This time, thanks to you three brothers, otherwise we would not have escaped."

  "Ning, you're being too serious, let's just hurry back now. After all, the mountains are not a safe place."

  Ning Xuan nodded, and the group quickly left.

  After they left, two figures wrapped in black robes suddenly appeared near the cave.

  "San Shao has also arrived, what should we do now?" This was a woman, who was seen looking in the direction where Xu Hua had left.

  The companion beside her said, "His Majesty has given orders, we only need to protect the young lady and the second young master, we don't have to worry about the third young master's affairs. Moreover, the third young master's strength is not weak now, even if he can't deal with that little worm, escaping should be no problem."

  The girl nodded, and the two suddenly disappeared on the spot, as if they had never appeared before.

  Far in the south of the Tian Nan Prefecture, Mu Feng and his group had already entered the Academy.

  "Big brother, this time the Qing Bang is finished. Even if Ning Xuan is lucky enough not to die, he'll have to peel off a layer of skin." Next to Mu Fang, a man who looked dignified and extraordinary, with an air of joy on his face.

  "He Kuang, this time you'll be credited with the first achievement for annihilating the Qing Bang. Once your strength improves, I'll let you become the vice leader." Mu Feng looked at He Kuang with a delighted expression, what a talent! That move of framing and deceiving was truly brilliant, such a talent deserves to be greatly utilized.

  "Thank you, Master. I, your subordinate, will definitely work hard for the Tiger Gang until death." He Yuan was equally excited, but the greedy color in the depths of his pupils went unnoticed by everyone.

  On this road, members of Hu Bang also heard some news.

  Jiàn chén tiǎo zhàn xuè jiàn huáng chéng gōng le.

  Translation:

  "The Sword Dust Challenge Blood Sword Emperor was successful."

  "Xu Ning's whereabouts remain mysterious till now!"

  "A newcomer who has just entered the school actually completed the task of a bloody butcher."

  "A student named Xu Hua broke the record of Gemini with an attack intensity of over 40,000."

  "Hut Gang framed Xu Xuechang's second brother, big sister! Now Xu Xuechang wants to avenge the Hut Gang with blood!"

  ……

  One by one, the messages were unbelievable. Mu Feng heard all this and had a bad premonition. Someone's strength was actually stronger than Jian Chen and Xu Ning, and they also had a grudge against Hu Bang. Things were getting serious! But he was just one person, and yet he dared to try to destroy Hu Bang - wasn't that just asking for death? Even if Xu Ning and Jian Chen joined forces, without mobilizing the members of Sword Gate and Gun Hall, they still wouldn't have that kind of strength! Still, it was better to be cautious.

  "He Jiong, remind everyone recently not to go out."

  "Boss, are we afraid of that little rascal?" He Jiong said with his mouth, but his mood was very heavy. After all, the idea of framing the Qing Bang was his, and if he wanted revenge, he would find him first.

  Mufeng is not a fool to have his current strength and achievements, he glanced at He Jiong and said: "Although I haven't seen him, the news from the school won't come out of thin air. To take a step back, even if he's not as strong as the rumors say, he won't be weaker than me, otherwise do you think he has the qualifications to have such a big impact on the school? Recalling the helpers is just to prevent them from being retaliated against, no matter how powerful he is, he's still one person. If we stick together, he'll definitely have no way to deal with us."

  "Go investigate that kid's identity right now, I don't want an enemy with unknown origins."

  "It's okay, Master, I'll take care of it!" He Jiong said respectfully.

  Murphy nodded, he still trusted He Jiong's abilities.

  ……

  Taihang Mountains, in a forest, monsters fled and the scene was chaotic. The roar of various monsters did not stop, and the cause of this disturbance was Xu Hua and a 20-zhang-long Bi Huo Jiao (Emerald Fire Python).

  Five whole days have passed, in other words, Xu Hua has been chased by this crocodile for five days. Although Xu Hua has the essence of life to recover his physical strength, his mental strength cannot be restored. At this moment, he is extremely exhausted, but he dare not stop. The crocodile behind him is also extremely exhausted, but it stares at Xu Hua with a gaze that seems like it will not rest until one of them dies.

  Five days have passed, and at this moment, they have already left the territory of the Jiaolong. In other words, the Jiaolong and Xuhua have now entered another terrifying creature's territory. The consciousness of a demon beast's territory is very strong, if discovered by the big demon here, the Bi Huo Jiaolong will absolutely be in a life-and-death confrontation, yet the Jiaolong still pursues, unwilling to give up. As for Xuhua, to those big demons, he is just an ant, and they won't put him in their sights at all.

  "Jiaolong, we're not sworn enemies for life and death. If we keep chasing each other, what if we run into a powerful demon here? With your current state, can you handle it? Let's go our separate ways, one to the south of the mainland, how about that?"

  In response to Xu Hua, a massive dragon roar shook the ground! The huge roar not only triggered a riot among the demons in this place but also attracted a tiger's mighty roar from afar!

  Xu Hua's heart was filled with joy, and he listened to the tiger's roar, which must have been a fourth-stage great demon. At this moment, the earth dragon had entered its territory, causing it dissatisfaction, but due to the dragon's aura, it had not yet made a move, only expressing its discontent and warning. If the dragon did not retreat, Xu Hua believed it would take action, and when that happened, two strong forces would clash, resulting in one death. Not only could Xu Hua escape the dragon's pursuit, but he might also be able to reap the benefits as a fisherman!

  "Jiaolong, you'd better escape quickly! Otherwise, that tiger will come and kill you, it's not worth it! Why lose your life to avenge me?" Xu Hua said breathlessly, but his pace quickened by several degrees.

  As expected, the Jiaolong did not retreat but instead became furious! As a proud Jiaolong with true dragon blood, it was being threatened by someone at this moment, and it got angry!

  Roar! Roar! Roar!

  The Jiaolong's eyes blazed with fury as it stared at Xu Hua, while accelerating its speed.

  Roar! Roar!

  In the distance, several tiger roars echoed again. Xuhua could feel the anger in the voice! Xuhua knew that the good show was about to begin, and it would be best if the two tigers fought each other to the death!

  As he ran, Xu Hua saw a black demon tiger over ten zhang tall rapidly approaching from the front, while the Jiaolong behind him had stopped chasing Xu Hua and was staring at the demon tiger instead!

  Xu Hua took the opportunity to run far away, hiding his own shadow, and stared at the two big demons with his eyes fixed. The black demon tiger Xu Hua recognized was also a kind of mutant species, called the Shocking Heaven Tiger, which was born as a third-level existence and became a fourth-level great demon when it grew up.

  Roar, roar! The tiger shook the sky and bellowed, as if saying something.

  "This is my territory, leave at once!"

  Hmph! The dragon ignored the Heaven-shaking Tiger's threat and let out a loud roar, as if saying...

  "Kitty, you'll be dead meat if you show off in front of your master!"

  Although the Thunder Tiger was furious, it still had some reservations. After all, this Jiao Long possessed a hint of true dragon bloodline, and its realm had already reached the peak of the fourth stage, only one step away from crossing the thunder tribulation to become a fifth-stage demon lord, so it couldn't be careless with it.