Nine Astra Skies 344 Ji Lei and Qing Yu

This place was not too far from the Wolven Kingdom and the Leo King's Palace's camps. 

At this time, many people were loitering and watching from a distance, deeply engaged in a discussion. 

"Who's this person? He offended those people from the Wolven Kingdom. I'm afraid he's done for." 

"Currently, among the five teams getting ready to enter the seventh level of the Soul Pagoda, the number of Daemon Kings and Godly Venerable combatants from the Wolven Kingdom is second only to Thunder Cliff. It's one of the most influential major factions here. This kid provoked the Wolven Kingdom without an ounce of self-preservation. He's practically seeking death." 

"I remember these people. They are Suo Mang and Suo Lang, the external affairs liaisons for the Wolven Kingdom. Both of them are top Mystique Rank combatants. The other three must be at mid-Mystique Rank at the very least!" 

Everyone could not help but feel sorry for Ye Chen. He was so young and inexperienced that he could not defeat these five Mystique Rank combatants. 

"We'll kill whoever plans to join the Leo King's Palace!" Suo Mang ordered in a cold voice. He wanted to exert his dominance. Like a giant bow, his body sprung forward. A sharp claw emerged from his right palm. "Whoosh", the claw swiped at Ye Chen's head. That remarkably sharp claw was like a steel blade. Just a light scratch could cut through silver arcanite steel with ease. 

"He's finished." 

Everyone thought in their heads when they saw Suo Mang pounce toward Ye Chen. 

Seeing Suo Mang pounce forward, Ye Chen remained calm. He ducked sideways and evaded the attack. His movement was extremely precise and he had mobilized his Celestial Chi to protect his body. 

"Celestial Chi cultivation, Mystique Venerable Rank!" 

The people who were watching the spectacle paled at the realization. They were astonished. If this person had Celestial Chi cultivation, he must be human. However, Ye Chen's appearance seemed to be a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth. Among the human species, being able to attain Mystique Venerable Rank at such a young age was considered a rare and formidable talent. 

Moreover, without a strong background, an ordinary person would not be able to attain Mystique Venerable Rank at Ye Chen's age! 

Although Ye Chen had altered his appearance, he still looked seventeen or eighteen years old. 

"I guess a wolf will always be a wolf. You only know how to use your claws and teeth!" Ye Chen mocked. He did not plan to hold back with these combatants from the Wolven Kingdom. 

Suo Mang's attack hit thin air. Upon hearing Ye Chen's taunt, he was further incensed. He turned around and lunged at Ye Chen. 

"You dare to insult the Wolven Kingdom, die!" Suo Mang's eyes flashed violently. There was only one thought left in his head, which was to kill Ye Chen. This was a common trait among the Wolven Kingdom. Once a murderous intention arose, they would not stop until they were dead. They no longer cared about Ye Chen's background. 

"Swish, swish, swish." Nearby, Suo Lang and the others also prepared to pounce at Ye Chen. 

The Wolven Kingdom's strength was group attacks. They did not care whether it was dishonorable or unfair. As long as they killed the opponent, they were the winners!

Seeing Suo Mang and the others rushing at him at the same time, Ye Chen's expression dimmed slightly. He had many ways to defeat these Demon Wolves, including the Storm Sword, the Heaven Rumbling Cauldron or using his Astral Body. However, if he released his Astral Body, Bi Lin would rush here in an instant. If he used the Storm Sword or the Heaven Rumbling Cauldron, his identity would be exposed because there was a group of combatants from the House of Storms in the area! 

The only option was to use Emperor Ming's Belt and summon the Immortal Dark Phoenix but that would expose his true abilities as a beginner Daemon King and attract the attention of the main factions. This would spoil Ye Chen's plan of sneaking into the Leo King's Palace's troop and finding Little Tanuki's clan members. 

Faced against one Mystique Rank combatant, Ye Chen would hardly break a sweat, but now that he had to face five Mystique Adept combatants simultaneously, Ye Chen had no choice but to use one of his hidden aces. 

When the five Demon Wolves changed tactics and pounced at the same time, everyone around them thought that Ye Chen would die for sure. 

In the center, Ye Chen evaded two of Suo Mang's attacks consecutively and got ready to summon the Immortal Black Phoenix using Emperor Ming's Belt. Once the Immortal Black Phoenix appeared, the five Mystique Adept Rank Demon Wolves would surely be burned to ashes by the black flames. 

A Daemon King, even a beginner level Daemon King, was not someone these five Mystique Adept Rank combatants could pick a fight with. 

Emperor Ming's belt flashed brilliantly as the Celestial Beasts' silhouettes loomed. Ye Chen was just about to summon the Immortal Black Phoenix when a burly figure soared through the air. The person's body was as solid as a tower and had ripping muscles everywhere. He also had a full head of fluffy hair. 

This person was also at Mystique Rank cultivation level. He soared across the sky and slapped Suo Lang. 

"Bang", there was a loud explosion like a bomb being detonated. Suo Lang was thrown five or six meters into the air. 

"Bang, bang, bang." While the newcomer was striking Suo Lang, his body endured the direct attack of the three Demon Wolves but merely trembled a little.

Unexpectedly, a back-up appeared. Black flames were just about to sprout from Emperor Ming's Belt, so Ye Chen forcibly smothered them. It was better not to expose his trump card unless necessary. 

Seeing Suo Mang pouncing at him yet again, Ye Chen clenched his fist. Multiple surges of Celestial Chi rose into the air. 

Usurper of the Welkin! 

After wielding Usurper of the Welkin, Ye Chen wielded Rage Against the Horizon. His palm swung down like a blade and contained scorching balls of fire. 

Suo Mang could not prevent the surge of Celestial Chi from Ye Chen's body from hitting him. With a loud "thud", Suo Lang collided with an iron beam. When he saw Ye Chen's palm coming down, he quickly waved his sharp claw to brace for the attack. 

"Boom!"

There was a rumbling explosion. Blazing flames covered the sky and the earth. Suo Mang was hit and went backward several meters, and was grievously injured. All the hair on his body was scorched and his arm was severely scarred. He growled in discontentment. How could this be? Ye Chen's cultivation level was only at Mystique Venerable Rank, how did his abilities increase suddenly? Ye Chen's martial arts techniques must be at least at Tier Seven or Tier Eight. Even a top Venerable Rank master like Suo Mang found them extremely difficult to block!

Usurper of the Welkin was certainly a topnotch martial art technique. Wielding another martial art technique after Usurper of the Welkin would increase its power by several folds. In addition, after cultivating Palm Shattering the Milky Way, Ye Chen also made some improvements to his Rage Against the Horizon technique. Right now, his Rage Against the Horizon technique was at least a Tier Eight martial art technique. 

A Tier Eight martial art technique was extremely rare. Even an external affairs liaison of the Wolven Kingdom like Suo Mang could only cultivate a few Tier Five or Six martial arts techniques. As for secret techniques, if one did not reach Daemon King Rank or at least have Daemon King relatives, they would not qualify to learn them. 

"It's Ji Lei from Leo King's Palace!" 

"The number one prodigy from Leo King's Palace, a top Mystique Rank combatant second only to a Daemon King! According to rumors, if he breaks through to Daemon King Rank, he might become the next Leo King!" 

"No wonder he can handle four Mystique Adept combatants at once!" 

Ye Chen shot a glance toward Ji Lei. Ji Lei was more than two meters tall and held some resemblance to Tong Tian the Leo King. Perhaps he was a relative of Tong Tian the Leo King. If not for Ji Lei's help, Ye Chen would have been forced to reveal his true abilities. 

Despite fighting against four Mystique Adept Demon Wolves at the same time, Ji Lei did not appear to be in trouble. On the other side, Suo Mang was launching a retaliatory attack at Ye Chen. It seemed that Ye Chen's maximum exertion was only enough to fight Suo Mang on equal footing. After all, Ye Chen's Celestial Chi cultivation level was only at beginner Mystique Venerable Rank. 

A few moments later, more people had joined in the fight. All of them were from the Leo King's Palace and had come with Ji Lei. 

Suo Mang threw a sideways glance and sulked grudgingly. "Retreat!" His eyes glared at Ye Chen with intense hatred. "The Leo King's Palace can protect you for now, but they can't protect you forever. Next time, you better watch out!" 

Five figures soared into the sky. 

"Ji Lei, how are you? Are you injured?" Five distinctly different-looking people crowded around them. All five of them were at Mystique Adept Rank. 

Out of the five, three were young men who looked like they were in their twenties. There were two girls - one of them looked eighteen or nineteen years old. Her appearance was graceful and she wore a white silk dress. Her eyes were looking at Ye Chen in an assessing manner. The other girl was only fourteen or fifteen, but was strikingly beautiful, like a Lolita. 

Ye Chen could sense that they were not human. All of them were transformed mystical beasts. 

"I'm fine!" Ji Lei grinned good-naturedly. He turned to Ye Chen. "Brother, are you alright? You're very brave to challenge five Mystique Adept combatants from the Wolven Kingdom all by yourself." 

"It was not intentional on my part." Ye Chen shrugged his shoulders. 

"I heard people say that you want to join the Leo King's Palace team? Why don't you follow us?" Ji Lei offered without hesitation. "I'll introduce you, this big beauty is Fei Yin, from the Ferret Clan." 

"Hello." The eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl gave Ye Chen a brief nod. 

Ye Chen glanced at her and noticed her fair skin and glowing radiance. He did not expect that a girl from the Ferret Clan was so beautiful. She was comparable to Little Tanuki in terms of beauty. Of course, Little Tanuki's position in Ye Chen's heart was irreplaceable by anyone. Ye Chen merely took one look and withdrew his gaze. 

"Hello." Ye Chen returned the nod. 

"This little beauty is called Ye Qiu, a pureblood Purple Flame Avian." Ji Lei continued to introduce with a smile. 

Ye Chen looked at the beautiful young girl, but she pouted at him and did not speak. 

"Little Qiuqiu, don't be rude." Ji Lei continued to introduce the remaining three people. 

Ye Chen's gaze fell on an implausibly handsome young man. His body exuded a familiar energy. Ye Chen instantly detected that he was from the Tanuki Clan! 

"Hello, my name is Qing Yu, from the Tanuki Clan." When the young man from the Tanuki Clan sensed Ye Chen's gaze on himself, he smiled and introduced himself in a friendly manner. 

"May I ask which Tanuki Clan you came from?" Ye Chen asked the young man. 

Upon hearing Ye Chen's question, Qing Yu appeared mystified but he nonetheless replied with a smile, "You may have not heard about the place before. I come from a small rural kingdom, the Xiwu Empire's Lianyun Mountains Tanuki Clan. However, that place has now been reduced to ashes." Qing Yu's eyes revealed a tinge of sadness. 

It was the Xiwu Empire's Lianyun Mountains Tanuki Clan! Ye Chen's heart leaped. He touched the Illusory Pearl on his chest through his clothes. Finally, he found someone from the Lianyun Mountains Tanuki Clan. They were Little Tanuki's clan members. 

With his dashing looks and his graceful behavior, Qing Yu was very likable. Ye Chen wondered how this young man was related to Little Tanuki. 

Chapter end