Encounter with the Broad Wisdom Sect
With the news about the Broad Wisdom Sect's disciples surfacing, Yun Ye was expecting Zhang Baichi and the others to react to it rather seriously.
However, Zhang Baichi, and even Lu Zheng and Yu Hao didn't seem bothered at all. All three of them looked at her, then at each other, and Zhang Baichi simply nodded.
Meanwhile, the expressions on the two women from the Willow Tree Pavilion darkened. They had already expected to encounter the Broad Wisdom Sect someday, but that mental preparation didn't help them much.
"I see. Have they found our camp yet?", Zhang Baichi asked, his tone and bearing totally relaxed.
Seeing his indifference, Yun Ye was slightly flustered. "No. They haven't found us yet… They've been seen in the forest on the opposite side of the Dragon Peak"
This time, Zhang Baichi seemed confused. "What were our disciples doing there?"
Everyone had agreed beforehand that they would only hunt ad explore the northern parts of the Mystic Realm for the time being.
Realistically speaking, there as no reason for anyone to keep an eye on the other side of the Dragon Peak, much less scout out the forests surrounding it.
Lu Zheng and Yu Hao were naturally aware of this matter as well, both of them shooting Yun Ye weirded out glances.
"Huh?", Yun Ye was surprised by the question and grew slightly irritated. "Does that matter, anyways? We've just encountered the enemy! Shouldn't we do something?!"
"Calm down first, will you?", Yu Hao rolled his eyes. "We don't know if they're our enemies for now. The Sect Master and Pavilion Master Xiao only told us to be wary of them, and to work together should things go bad."
Zhang Baichi also nodded. "He's right. We don't have to trat them as enemies from the get-go; That will only make things more complicated."
Their attitude was so calm that Yun Ye couldn't help but be influenced by them. He stared at them and sighed. "Then, what should we do now?"
"Hm… You said they're on their way to the Dragon Peak, right? Let's meet them there, and see what they're up to.", Zhang Baichi reasoned. "Maybe they're just there for sightseeing."
"And if they aren't?", Xiao Xueling chimed in form the side. Her face was locked into a frown from the moment Yun Ye mentioned the Broad Wisdom Sect.
"Then we'll simply deal with them as necessary.", Zhang Baichi said off-handily. He had seen the Broad Wisdom Sect's disciples outside of the Mystic Realm and understood their strength quite well.
Every single one of their disciples was at the 10th Layer of the Body Forging Realm and all of them seemed to be cultivating the same rather powerful cultivation technique.
Among the line-up of the two other sects, only Xiao Xueling, Zhang Baichi, Lu Zheng and now Yu Hao could compare with them.
Even powerful disciples like Yun Ye and the other woman from the Willow Tree Pavilion could at most hold their own and make sure they're not defeated in the short term.
As for the remaining disciples of the two sects, they only qualified as cannon fodder if it came to a real fight.
Zhang Baichi looked at the people surrounding him and looked at Yu Hao and Xiao Xueling. "Let's go meet them. That'll be the fastest way to discern their motives."
Xiao Xueling looked at him as if he was crazy. "Just the three of us? We should rather send someone to scout!"
"And who would you send? Aside from the few of us here, anyone else we send might die if they get discovered. None of us are real scouts and the Broad Wisdom Sect's disciples are quite powerful.", Zhang Baichi rolled his eyes at her.
"You're crazy.", Xiao Xueling spoke in frustration. "Didn't your Master explain anything to you beforehand? They're most definitely after us! And you even provoked them before we entered the Mystic Realm!"
"So what? If they want to hold a grudge, they're free to do so. I'll just beat them until they change their minds. And if they're willing to cooperate, we'll have an even easier time in the Mystic Realm.", Zhang Baichi shrugged with a grin.
Xiao Xueling looked at him with a disgusted expression on her face and turned to Yu Hao. "Talk some sense into that lunatic, will you?"
"Haha!", with a laugh, Yu Hao turned to look at Zhang Baichi with a teasing expression. "I could use some exercise, too."
Xiao Xueling finally couldn't take it anymore and left in anger, pulling the other disciple from her sect back with her. "Count me out! You can go risk your lives on your own!"
The remaining four disciples from the Fleeting Storm Sword Sect waited in silence, before Lu Zheng spoke up. "Is this fine? The Sect Master asked us to look after them."
"It doesn't really matter. We were asked to help in case the Broad Wisdom Sect is scheming something. We'll meet them to find out and deal with the matter ourselves if necessary.", Zhang Baichi said in a calm tone.
Lu Zheng hesitated for a moment before speaking up again. "Will you two be alright on your own?"
Zhang Baichi had said that he wanted Yu Hao to go with him to meet them, but not Lu Zheng. Now that Xiao Xueling had left, he was wondering if Zhang Baichi would need more assistance.
"I would deal with them by myself if Yu Hao didn't need to get used to his new strength.", Zhang Baichi said.
Lu Zheng shook his head. "Fine. Yun Ye and I will keep order in the camp, and you do what you must. I'll keep everyone ready for combat, so just run here if you need assistance."
"Will do.", Zhang Baichi and Yu Hao nodded, then went off towards the Dragon Peak without any further delay.
It did not take long for them to arrive, but there were no signs of the Broad Wisdom Sect on this side of the Dragon Peak. The two of them wandered around the mountain for quite a while, pretending to look at the murals.
In a bit over two hours, they reached the south-eastern side, where they finally made contact with the Broad Wisdom Sect's disciples.
"It's you!" One of them stared at Zhang Baichi in anger, obviously recognizing him, but he was stopped by one other disciple, who seemed to be their leader.
"You are Zhang Baichi, right?", the disciple in the lead asked in a cold tone. His built was similar to Lu Zheng's, but he was even taller, and his voice was much more pleasant, even with his cold tone.
Zhang Baichi mustered him quickly; He was certainly at the 10th Layer of the Body Forging Realm and about as strong as Yu Hao was now.
Of course, that was only because Yu Hao was not used to his own strength at the moment.Hao Once he grew accustomed to it, Yu Hao might be able to fight their whole group on his own.
Again, Zhang Baichi wasn't sure how he could so accurately gauge their strength, but it just felt that way to him. He attributed it to his own Special Constitution, and just accepted it as fact.
He nodded his head with a friendly smile and nod. "That's right. I'm Zhang Baichi, the personal disciple of Sect Master Jian Wubai of the Fleeting Storm Sword Sect. And you are?"
The young disciple mustered Zhang Baichi and Yu Hao before narrowing his eyes. "You have guts. It's rare to find people that dare to insult us like you did. Granted, you don't even know who we are."
Zhang Baichi smiled and spoke lightly. "You don't plan on introducing yourself first?"
The disciples of the Broad Wisdom Sect were already spreading out as he spoke, all of them ready to draw their weapons.
Their leader clasped his hands behind his back and looked down on Zhang Baichi and Yu hao in a mocking fashion. "You're not qualified to make me introduce myself."
With a casual smile, Zhang Baichi looked at the disciples surrounding him and Yu Hao in a half circle and shook his head. "Is that so? Then I guess that also means that we won't solve this peacefully?"
Without waiting for the disciple to reply, Yu Hao took a step forward with a toothy grin. A disciple from the Broad Wisdom Sect jumped in front of him with a sabre in hand and rushed into attack.
Not even dodging, Yu Hao spun his Spiritual Qi into action and caught the sabe with one hand.
Shock and disbelief filled the disciple's eyes, but he didn't have the chance to speak before Yu Hao sent him flying with a merciless punch, causing him to vomit blood mid-flight before heavily crashing into a nearby boulder.
"Kill them.", the leader of the Broad Wisdom Sect's disciples spoke in a chilling to, thoroughly enraged.
Yu Hao drew his sword with an indifferent expression, but blazing fighting spirit in his eyes, while Zhang Baichi unhurriedly took a few steps back, not interested in interfering.