CH 013 Is This An Opponent?

Dawn approached, the sea of ​​clouds was roiling, and the high peaks stood tall and rugged amidst the clouds.

A giant tortoise as big as a palace slowly swam out of the sea of ​​clouds and stopped at the mountain cliffs.

"Why are you so late? I'm nearly late to morning class." A female cultivator rushed onto the turtle's back holding a booklet bound by white jade and complained.

"It's cold." The cloud tortoise opened its huge mouth and said slowly.

"It's cold, we are also cold!" The cultivators who came up behind also voiced their complaints, "It really delays our cultivation."

"That's right, Elder Bai's class! If we arrive even a little late there won't even be any ground to sit on, we can only find a spot on the pine branches!"

"At least empty pine branches means that it is not too late. But I bet we can only listen to the lecture at the foot of the mountain now."

"Senior Brother, I already said that we can't be stingy with money! Cloud tortoises have no concept of time."

"If it weren't for the other fast-moving ones already taken, I wouldn't have chosen cloud tortoises."

"If you need to hibernate, then don't come out to do transit!"

The cloud tortoise calmly remained parked next to the cliff, turning a deaf ear to the complaints.

After a few breaths, the people on the cliff had all arrived, and a faint light radiated from the periphery of the tortoise shell, enveloping the entire crowd. The cloud tortoise shook its head and tail, swimming slowly towards the distant sea of ​​clouds.

After about an hour, the cloud tortoise stopped at another lush mountain peak.

"That will be 5 spiritual coins." The cloud tortoise said.

The crowd on the turtle's back had no time to complain, one by one they went up to place their passenger fees in a cavity in the tortoise's shell. They all gracefully jumped down from the tortoise's back, and along with the other passengers getting off from the surrounding cloud tortoises they all rushed to the top of the mountain in the distance.

"Aren't you going?" The cloud tortoise turned its head and asked the last passenger still sitting on its shell, "Elder Bai only holds a lecture once a year. It's a pity to miss it."

The young man glanced enviously at the distant mountain top, then retracted his gaze: "I have other important things to do. I am going to Yangshuo Peak, please transport me a while longer."

"I like the word 'please' that you said. Those little brats are not polite at all," The cloud tortoise moved its body with satisfaction, meandering among the clouds, and said leisurely, "Looking at the vast and beautiful world, how can one be anxious about everything and ignore the scenery around us?"

The young man nodded and praised: "Mr. Tortoise, you have a long life span, so you naturally follow your heart's way. After all, the life span of my senior brothers and sisters is short, and it is common to be anxious occasionally."

"That's true. Us cloud tortoises live for tens of thousands of years. It's a pity," The cloud tortoise sighed faintly. "The world is difficult and dangerous. No matter how long the lifespan is, it can't be matched by the greed of the world. Life can be long but fortune can never last long. Of those in my tortoise clan, how many have actually died of old age?"

"You must be joking with me, are you not ten thousand years old, Mr. Tortoise? You have a strong cultivation base, and will live for another 100,000 years." The young man said sincerely.

"What's the use of living long? In regards to cultivating, your human race is blessed, like the Sect Leader, who is but a thousand years old, and yet could already easily kill Great Sages of the spirit demon race a hundred years ago. Indeed, it is the truth that the heavens are always fair." Even though the cloud tortoise said this, he was still a little proud of his race's talent, "but why do you want to go back to Yangshuo Peak, child? After entering the inner peaks, you little brats rarely return to the outer peaks."

"We will set out from Yangshuo Peak for the Foundation Establishment competition, and I am going to participate in the competition." He said politely.

"The Foundation Establishment competition… I remember that the inner peaks have someone to send you off, why didn't you go with those birds?" The cloud tortoise wondered. Kun-Lai provide spiritual birds and cloud tortoises for Foundation Establishment disciples who have yet to reach the Golden Core Formation Stage and couldn't fly far on their own power. It's just that the cloud tortoises were much slower, but relatively, also much cheaper.

"I am Feng Qingxiu." The young man smiled, not embarrassed by his strange way of gaining fame, "I have not yet entered the inner peaks and cannot ride for free. It is too expensive to pay directly, and I must be frugal."

"Ai, you are the unlucky person who was taken off the Dao Disc. On this matter, Ji Mingyu has gone too far. A lot of people are discussing this," The cloud tortoise said with contempt. "Earlier, that Ye Han had actually grabbed a firebird and declared that he wanted to make a spiritual pet contract with it and was almost burned into a crisp by the firebird."

Feng Qingxiu was slightly surprised: "Why did that happen, did no one tell him that the spirit demon races are not beasts?"

When Kun-Lai was first established, many spirit demon races were captured by the Sect Leader and contracted as servants. Those who performed well later had their contracts cancelled and allowed to go back home.

However, these spirit demons felt that Kun-Lai had very good benefits and they did not want to leave, so they eventually stayed.

Many of these spirit demons were even now negotiating with Kun-Lai high-level cultivators for their descendants to participate in the Dragon-Phoenix Selection, and there were often small-scale conflicts regarding this matter.

Although the firebird race was small, their speed was comparable to Nascent Soul cultivators, and they were widely used and paid. So Ye Han was truly lucky not to be burnt to death from trying to make a master and pet contract.

"His nostrils are stuck higher up towards the sky than even the ox spirit demon clan. Who wants to even talk to him more than necessary." The cloud tortoise snorted with disdain, "It's not easy for us to find work in Kun-Lai, so we can't antagonize other people because of him."

"That's why I found you for transit." Feng Qingxiu smiled.

"That’s true. Earlier, us cloud tortoises weren’t so slow. It’s just that in recent years, many little ones have grown up and are not greedy, willing to transit passengers for just a coin. Ai, with the chaotic prices, no one can make much of a living. So some slack off," The cloud tortoise complained, "I heard that those birds have a similar situation. Recently, they have all begun to carry goods as well."

"It should be fine, they can't carry too many goods." Feng Qingxiu comforted.

"I hope so," The cloud tortoise didn't want to continue talking about this either, and changed the subject, "By the way, is the secret realm you mentioned the one in Wuling Sea?"

"Exactly, do you know about it Mr. Tortoise?" Feng Qingxiu asked curiously.

"Of course, when I was a tender young tortoise, the secret realm was already there. Great Xuan still existed. Wuling Sea was a Great Xuan prince's territory. Later, he was killed by the spirit demon clans and his tomb was built there. That’s why it’s called Wuling Sea.” The cloud tortoise said proudly, “That secret realm was first opened at that time, and many Xiu Cai came to take the test. It was very lively back then.”

"Mr. Tortoise is really knowledgeable!" Feng Qingxiu exclaimed.

"If you live a long time, you naturally know a little bit more." The cloud tortoise looked left and right checking whether there were any other people. He felt that this child was indeed pleasing to the eye, so he said a few more words, "Later, when the Wuling Sea Secret Realm was discovered, I went there together with the first team of Kun-Lai investigators because I knew somewhat about it. I can tell you a little bit about what to pay attention to."

"This is not good, it's better to not say more about it." Feng Qingxiu refused.

"What's not good, that Ye Han will also go and he must know more than you. Let me tell you, you go and kick the butt of that entitled brat who can't even distinguish between spirit demons and spirit beasts, understand?" The cloud tortoise stretched his neck and turned his head one hundred and eighty degrees.

"This…" Feng Qingxiu still hesitated.

"Then, from the entrance of the secret realm, there is..." The cloud tortoise spoke slowly, elaborating on the situation inside the secret realm.

Feng Qingxiu also listened carefully.

Two hours later, the cloud tortoise stopped on the cliff of Yangshuo Peak.

Feng Qingxiu thanked him and prepared to pay the fee.

"No need, just teach that brat a good lesson." The cloud tortoise put away the money on his back.

"I will try my best." Feng Qingxiu walked down the cloud tortoise, thought for a moment and then took out a small bag, saying sincerely, "This is the Azure Rice of Shennong Peak. It has the effect of unlocking wisdom. You can take it back and give your grandchildren a taste, Mr. Tortoise."

"This is good, this is good!" The cloud tortoise stretched out his head and accepted the small bag with great satisfaction. Shennong Peak planted many grains for humans but few grains suitable for spirit demons. There were only so many quotas for Azure Rice every year. The spirit demon race had many descendants and it took a lot of effort to buy all that they need, "I won’t delay you. Next time you need my help, come to Yushou Peak to find me, just ask for Gui Qi. My granddaughter has just grown up and is at the perfect age to act as your transit. No money is required. Just feed her some food. I can also introduce you to any spirit demon clan you like, so remember to come."

"I will definitely go to visit." Feng Qingxiu nodded and agreed.

The cloud tortoise had already zoomed off, as if he was afraid of Feng Qingxiu regretting giving that small bag of Azure Rice.

Feng Qingxiu smiled slightly, and ticked off the strategy "Ask an elder of the spirit demon race for the details of the secret realm" in his head.

The results were gratifying, and it was not in vain that he waited a whole night for the oldest cloud tortoise.

Walking up to Yangshuo Peak on the ancient bluestone road again, he saw many disciples rushing towards morning class by shortcut, flying and leaping up the cliffs. From a distance, it was like a pilgrimage of a hundred birds. This was a famous sight in Kun-Lai. Looking back on the past, Feng Qingxiu felt a bit nostalgic.

He walked to the familiar main hall, and as he expected, the hundred or so Foundation Establishment disciples of his class had already arrived in advance.

When they saw him, their expressions were complex, some sympathetic, some gloating, but only two were willing to come forward and talk to him. After all, he was now a person who "offended the daughter of the Sect Leader" and those who did not have a strong friendship with him would not take the initiative to invite trouble.

Feng Qingxiu didn't mind, and chatted with the two friends about the current situation, reassuring them that he still had a chance. Soon they started to talk about which peaks the surrounding senior brothers were recently.

And then examined the characteristics of each peak one by one... Before, when he first got the Net Charm, he did a lot of homework to select the peak most suited for him, pondering on his future for several months long. For example, the senior sister on the right had just entered Yushou Peak. They would choose a favorite beast for protection in the early stage, and if one had no backing, the choice of beast were usually insect or reptilian beasts like bees, scorpions, and snakes. They were cheap and didn’t need too much food. Moreover, upgrading them was also easier and even if they died one wouldn't feel too much heartache. They were the first choice for novices… so he had brought a lot of realgar today.

As for the two friends who had been chatting with him, he had beaten them too many times, so he didn’t need to be familiar with their fighting style.

He did not see any newcomers, except for…

"Thump!" 

A young man in a fancy robe jumped off a huge firebird and landed in the open space in front of the entrance. The firebird didn't waste any time, turning and flying away immediately.

"It's better for you guys to give up early," The young man looked arrogant, exerting his spiritual aura over the crowd, the pressure of a full level Foundation Establishment cultivator pressing down on everyone without reservation. "This time's competition, I will be taking first place!"

Those who had reached low or mid-level Foundation Establishment were already considered very good for their age, but in the face of his peerless talent, they couldn't help but be overshadowed.

But like this, it undoubtedly stoked everyone's ire.

"Ye Han, I’m surprised the firebird was actually willing to carry you just now, you must have had to pay a lot of money, right?" Someone laughed.

"I hope you can still say the same when we are in the secret realm." Ye Han glanced at the speaker coldly, and then turned back towards Feng Qingxiu again.

Feng Qingxiu smiled. He did not mention the previous agreement that the other should avoid him.

Ye Han snorted, and said to the presiding teacher who had just entered the door next to him: "Call me when we depart!"

Then he walked out of the door.

The surrounding Foundation Establishment disciples immediately gathered around Feng Qingxiu.

"What a rude person!"

"Senior Brother Feng, you must teach him a lesson this time!"

***

Feng Qingxiu nodded his head in agreement while exchanging brief words with them. He had a good demeanor and along with their past acquaintance, everyone naturally chatted happily with him.

"A group of inferiors using each other, nothing more than that!" Ye Han looked at them from outside coldly and disdainfully said, "Only power is everything!"

His voice was not small, and they were all cultivators so they naturally glared at him in displeasure.

Feng Qingxiu sighed in his heart, he couldn't feel any pressure at all~

Ye Han made it so easy, it truly took away any feeling of accomplishment.