Chapter 253: Chapter 241: Softhearted

In the valley, the sounds of battle were continuous.

Outside the valley, it was silent.

Zhou Leng took one healing potion after another, drank the tiger-striped bamboo water, glanced at the direction of the valley, then looked towards where the demonic screams were coming from, and made a swift escape.

Soon, a humanoid demon with a crow’s head and a two-foot-long white beak appeared, walking to the remains of Tian Wenhua.

It was a full three meters tall, carrying twelve bone spears on its back, each one covered with black feathers like its body.

The Crowman Envoy, an Innate Demon.

The Crowman Envoy looked in Zhou Leng’s direction, about to give chase, but suddenly sensed something unusual and stopped, searching carefully.

After a long while, it furrowed its brows and gave up the chase.

“Mrs. Xiyang’s aura… hmm?”

It suddenly turned, looking behind.

Two Innate Martial Artists were striding towards it.

“Where is Zhou Leng?”

One Innate Martial Artist attacked the Crowman Envoy, and another charged toward the valley.

After running far away, Zhou Leng burned his clothes with a magic potion, changed into new clothes, and repeatedly applied odor-removing agents and other magic potions, constantly changing directions to eliminate any potential threats.

When the sun rose, he headed towards the Xue family’s mine.

His leg was unbearably itchy and numb, with his bones recovering at an extraordinary speed, causing his gait to be slightly awkward.

Xue Family Mine.

Rao Mingxian walked towards Xue Chengsong, smiling.

Sunlight shone on Rao Mingxian, and his skin had a faint jade-like sheen.

Xue Chengsong was momentarily surprised and exclaimed, “You’ve advanced to the Early Vitality Stage?”

Rao Mingxian smiled slightly, trying hard to mask it but couldn’t hide his pride.

“Impressive,” Xue Chengsong praised.

“Where’s Zhou Leng?” Rao Mingxian looked around.

“He hasn’t come yet, but he should be here soon,” Xue Chengsong said.

“How’s the preparation going…”

The two started chatting slowly.

As they chatted, they talked about Zhou Leng.

Xue Chengsong remarked, “Zhou Leng has also advanced to the Vitality Stage, both of you have great fortunes.”

Rao Mingxian shook his head and said, “Compared to him, I’m probably much worse; our realms are similar, but my fundamentals and combat abilities are lacking.”

“He couldn’t really defeat someone in the Late Vitality Stage, could he? That’s nearly comparable to the Mountain and River Origin, the true top tier,” Xue Chengsong said.

Rao Mingxian said, “If he says he can, he definitely can. What if it were Zhang Xinglie, would you believe it?”

“Yes.”

“Then if it’s Zhou Leng now, it’s the same.”

Xue Chengsong said, “When I first met Zhou Leng, he was just a young prodigy. I didn’t expect such rapid growth in just a little over half a year. Previously, he lacked pills and wasn’t physically strong, with many weaknesses, but now, he has no weaknesses and should quickly ascend to the top tier of the new generation.”

Rao Mingxian sighed and said, “Indeed, he’s good at everything, but haven’t you noticed, he’s too merciful?”

Xue Chengsong thought for a moment, nodded, and said, “Now that you mention it, you’re right. He does have that chivalrous spirit, like trying not to use heavy hands in duels, and when facing challenges from people of the Dragon Country, he usually opts for skillful bouts rather than real combat. Also, he’s an external faction, so he emphasizes internal unity to reduce internal deadly fights.”

Rao Mingxian shook his head and said, “I disagree with his view on internal unity. Some people only believe in fists. If you don’t use your fists to make them submit thoroughly, it will bring endless trouble. I was a living example of that when I was young.”

Xue Chengsong said, “Perhaps everyone has their way of handling things, and actually, if you think about it, if all martial artists were like Zhou Leng, there would be much less conflict. It’s good news for us weaker martial artists and ordinary people. If all martial artists were so combative, it would be a purgatory for ordinary people, as you know from those small countries.”

“I don’t agree with that view. Zhou Leng is different from us; he is talented and capable, destined to become stronger, and he must be decisive and ruthless. If he remains merciful, he will easily suffer losses.”

Xue Chengsong said, “I support you from that perspective. Next time we drink, let’s advise him.”

“Alright.”

“Hmm? Zhou Leng is here.”

The two looked towards the door simultaneously, seeing Zhou Leng slowly walking in, his right leg somewhat immobile.

Their expressions slightly changed; both had witnessed how strong Zhou Leng was.

No matter how severe the injury, it shouldn’t hinder his movement; it must have affected his tendons or bones.

The two quickly went over.

“What happened? Do you need treatment?” Rao Mingxian asked loudly.

Zhou Leng said, “I encountered a few Vitality Stage demons, fought hard for a while, but it’s nothing.”

The two carefully observed Zhou Leng’s exposed hands and other areas and were secretly alarmed.

With Zhou Leng’s body, if it were ordinary minor injuries, the blood clots could dissolve within minutes.

But now, his hands were slightly swollen, even pounding against stones wouldn’t keep them swollen for so long.

Since Zhou Leng didn’t elaborate, the two didn’t ask more, and they engaged in simple conversation.

Zhou Leng hadn’t eaten yet, so the three went straight to the mine cafeteria for breakfast.

After eating, the three rested for a while before heading outside.

As they walked out of the cafeteria, a team hurried back, some with somber expressions, others with smiles.

Many nearby people paused their tasks and looked over.

This team was the squad sent out to gather intelligence.

Xue Chengsong loudly asked, “What’s going on?”

One of them walked over, while the others headed to Xue Tongming’s office.

The person whispered, “Young Master Xue, something big has happened.”

“What is it?”

“We set off at dawn, originally heading straight to Tian Wenhua’s mine to gather intelligence. But midway, we encountered an Innate Major from the Human Race battling an Innate Demon.”

“We didn’t dare make a move, so we hid in the dark.”

“In the end, the Demon fled. Our captain happened to know that Innate Master—he’s the son of the boss’s friend—so he ran out to ask what was going on.”

“Then we followed that Innate Master into the valley inside.”

“I won’t go into the details, but once inside, we discovered that crazy Tian Wenhua had actually sacrificed his own people to become an Ascending Demon Innate.”

“Then, some unknown master interrupted the demon ascension ritual, killed Tian Wenhua, and heavily injured him, forcing him to escape.”

“Finally, the two Innate Masters cleaned up the Demons in the valley and rescued dozens of people.”

Zhou Leng listened with an impassive face.

Xue Chengsong asked, “Who was that mysterious master who killed Tian Wenhua?”

The person shook his head.

“Even those two Innate Masters don’t know?”

The person said, “The two of them… seemed a bit strange. They briefly investigated the scene and inquired about all the techniques used by that mysterious expert. When they learned about the Eight Trigrams Step, Overlapping Waves Palm, Flying Cloud Leg, and Mountain Charging Fist, they issued a gag order forbidding us to talk about that mysterious expert.”

Xue Chengsong asked, “Did the mysterious master say anything? Any other information?”

The person thought for a moment and said, “They didn’t say anything… oh, right, at first they even asked us if we had seen Zhou Leng. None of us knew him.”

Zhou Leng’s mouth twitched, “Why is this person’s mouth so quick?”

Xue Chengsong and Rao Mingxian turned their heads together, staring blankly at Zhou Leng.

Then, they looked at Zhou Leng’s injured leg and swollen fists.

Zhou Leng calmly said, “It might be a coincidence that two military Innate Masters were looking for me and just passed by there. It’s very likely that some other Innate Master killed Tian Wenhua.”

Xue Chengsong and Rao Mingxian were speechless for a long time. Finally, Xue Chengsong reluctantly nodded, glanced at the person, and said, “Remember, from now on, say it was an unknown Innate Master who killed Tian Wenhua, understand?”

“Huh? Yes.” The person looked at Xue Chengsong and Zhou Leng doubtfully, not believing that someone so young could have killed Tian Wenhua.

“You may return to your team.”

“Yes.” The person said as he quickly left.

“We understand; this matter, it has nothing to do with you,” Xue Chengsong said.

Zhou Leng said, “It really has nothing to do with me.”

Rao Mingxian stared at Zhou Leng, his gaze deep and mysterious, his lips moving slightly, unable to speak for a long time.

Xue Chengsong said, “In the future, we wouldn’t dare to call you soft-hearted anymore.” Saying this, he glanced at Rao Mingxian.

Zhou Leng sighed and said, “It seems you all misunderstood. I have always been soft-hearted.”

“Heh…” The two of them sneered simultaneously.

At this moment, Xue Tongming led a large group of people rushing out in a hurry.

“Get in the vehicles and go to Tian Wenhua’s mine; let’s take them down in one go!”

“Everyone, gather!”

The crowd ran towards the vehicles.

Xue Tongming glanced over the crowd, noticing Zhou Leng, a strange look flickering on his face. He surprisingly ran over quickly, carefully examining Zhou Leng’s body, becoming more and more shocked as he looked.

When he got closer, he smiled and said, “Zhou Leng, are you injured? Stay at the base to recover; Chengsong, you stay here with Zhou Leng.”

“Alright.” Xue Chengsong nodded.

Xue Tongming then looked at Zhou Leng, saying, “If you have any requests, just tell Xue Chengsong. This mine is all thanks to you; we’re all family, don’t feel shy to ask.”

“Alright.” Zhou Leng said.

“Then I’ll leave first. You all stay here and wait for news.”

Xue Tongming led a group of Vitality Stage and Body Refining Stage, along with a large number of Blood Transporting Period wielding Demonized Crossbows, and sped away in a convoy of vehicles.

Xue Chengsong and Rao Mingxian exchanged a glance, evidently realizing that Xue Tongming had also guessed.

The two looked at Zhou Leng, who remained calm, acting as if it was none of his business.

Rao Mingxian suddenly burst into laughter, like a child, saying, “Now I feel reassured.”

Xue Chengsong nodded slightly, mixed emotions in his heart.

The three found a room, chatted for a while, and started a game of “Fight the Landlord” with a deck of cards.

At noon, the convoy returned.

Xue Chengsong glanced at his phone, then looked up at Zhou Leng, putting down the cards.

“My dad and the others are back. I’ll go check and come back to tell you what’s going on.”

“Alright.”

The two remained in the room chatting.

Xue Chengsong walked briskly into his father’s office, filled with both standing and sitting Vitality Stage Martial Artists.

Seeing Xue Chengsong enter, these usually unruly Martial Artists showed friendly smiles.

Xue Tongming got up, bade farewell to the others, and walked with his arm around his son’s shoulder to the empty room next door.

“Dad, was it really Zhou Leng?” Xue Chengsong eagerly asked.

Xue Tongming said, “When we got there, one of the Innate Masters was still at the valley. I’ve met him several times; he’s the child of a friend of mine. I mentioned your relationship with Zhou Leng, and also talked about my collaboration with Zhou Leng. He didn’t say anything. Later, I heard that Zhou Leng was safe here, and he only said one thing: don’t forget to invite Zhou Leng to the victory banquet.”

“He’s hinting at you,” Xue Chengsong commented.

“Do you know what else they said? They said it was Brigadier General Chen, Chen Shouhu, who asked them to find Zhou Leng.”

“Chen Fenghu? The one who was once among the Innate Top Ten, who just got promoted to Grandmaster?” Xue Chengsong asked.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep