Imperial Scepter

The Gao Chun team and the Liu Neng team parted ways.

As Gao Chun watched Liu Neng and the others disappear into the distance, and saw them speeding straight towards the valley where the Xuan Boar was entrenched, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

Could it be that the black boar that Liu Neng's team is hunting is the same group that his team is targeting?

What exactly is going on? Is it a coincidence, or is Liu Neng's team just another training exercise arranged by Gao Laodie?

How could such a coincidence happen in the world? Gao Chun leaned more towards the latter, but he never dared to be certain.

The sun was already nearing the horizon, and the last rays of light were about to be swallowed by the night. This was clearly not the time to dwell on such things.

The four men's immediate priority was to return to the valley they had been in as soon as possible and wait for Old Man Gao to come and meet them.

Gao Chun quickly regained his composure and said in a deep voice, "Let's go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the group followed the trail of Liu Neng's team and hurried forward.

"In another quarter of an hour, it will be completely dark." Gao Chengzhi looked at the increasingly dark sky, his young face full of anxiety, mixed with a hint of fear that he could not hide.

After all, he was just a ten-year-old child, and it was inevitable that he would feel uneasy in the wilderness as night fell.

Wang Hu, perched on Gao Chun's back, was breathing much more steadily than before. His voice, though weak, was incredibly sincere: "Thank you all for your hard work. If it weren't for your help this time, I'm afraid I would have..."

"Don't talk nonsense." Gao Chun immediately interrupted him, his tone as firm as iron. "We are a team that will live and die together. Supporting each other is our duty."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Daoqiu suddenly stopped, his sharp gaze fixed on the dense forest to his left, and said in a deep voice, "Someone is following us."

Gao Chun's heart skipped a beat, and he stopped in his tracks instantly. A pale yellow aura of profound energy quietly circulated within his body, ready to fight at any moment: "How long has it been?"

"They've been following us ever since we left the valley, keeping a respectable distance. It looks like they're about to make their move."

Li Daoqiu's voice was extremely low, and he had already condensed a pale purple Xuan power, his entire body exuding a sense of vigilance.

Just as he finished speaking, five dark figures suddenly rushed out of the dense forest.

Each of them was dressed in black, with ferocious and terrifying masks on their faces. The various Xuan Qi fluctuations emanating from their bodies clearly indicated that they were all at the fourth-star Bronze Realm!

The leader was a burly man with a hideous scar etched on his mask, and his pale red attack energy was powerful and profound.

His eyes were fixed greedily on the storage bags at Gao Chun and the other three's waists. He roared, "Hand over your storage bags! I'll spare your lives!"

"They're bandits!" Gao Chengzhi's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in shock, "These people don't engage in production; they specialize in robbing others of their resources during their training!"

The five bandits closed in, pressing closer step by step, while the scarred man's lips curled into a cold smile:

"If you know what's good for you, hand over the storage bag now, or we'll have to take action. A few brats like you think you're worthy of owning four black oxen?"

Gao Chun quickly calculated in his mind: the five opponents were all at the four-star bronze realm, while on his side, Wang Hu was seriously injured and unable to participate in the battle.

Having just fought two fierce battles with Li Daoqiu and Gao Chengzhi, his profound energy had not yet fully recovered.

Moreover, apart from himself, the other two were already weaker than the bandit cultivators. With such a huge difference in strength, he had almost no chance of winning this battle.

At this critical moment, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from behind.

Liu Neng arrived with four teammates at breakneck speed, immediately blocking Gao Chun and his companions without a word. Various forms of profound energy erupted instantly: "You bandit scum, how dare you cause trouble here!"

"Liu Neng?" A hint of surprise flashed in the scarred man's eyes, followed by a sneer. "You brat from Liu Family Village, this has nothing to do with you. If you know what's good for you, get lost, or I'll take care of you all!"

Liu Neng grinned, a hint of arrogance flashing in his eyes: "They are my friends, whom I, Liu Neng, have taken as my own. If you harm them, you are going against my Liu Family Village!"

"My uncle is waiting for us not far away. Aren't you afraid he'll wipe you out?"

He turned to Gao Chun and whispered, "This bandit team isn't very strong. We've fought them before. The tricky thing is that their leader has mastered a spell."

Gao Chun felt a warmth in his heart; the previous competition had long since transformed into a deep bond in their joint fight against the enemy: "Thank you, Captain Liu."

At the same time, they felt a chill run down their spines. A four-star bronze realm cultivator who had mastered magic was someone they were not currently capable of contending with.

"Let's retreat to that valley immediately. I expect my uncle will be waiting for us there," Liu Neng quickly instructed. "If they catch up, I'll handle the leader, and you can keep the rest occupied. We'll fight our way back!"

Liu Neng actually took on the most troublesome opponent himself, and this act of loyalty changed the way Gao Chun looked at him.

This person is indeed loyal and righteous.

Li Daoqiu couldn't help but admire him. Although Liu Neng was arrogant and warlike, he was indeed impeccable when it came to loyalty and righteousness.

Only Gao Chengzhi's gaze towards Liu Neng remained hostile, showing no goodwill even though Liu Neng had stepped forward at this moment.

In his view, if it weren't for Liu Neng's team's persistent harassment, they wouldn't have fought here, wouldn't have encountered the Xuan Niu herd, and naturally wouldn't have attracted these bandit cultivators.

All of this trouble stems from Liu Neng.

Wang Hu subconsciously clenched his fists. Such a loyal person deserved his attention and respect, especially since Liu Neng was a genius with three-colored Dao seeds.

"Let's retreat!" Liu Neng ordered.

"Want to leave? Hand over all your storage bags before you go!" The bandit team immediately launched an attack.

The battle is imminent!

Liu Neng leaped forward, charging towards the scarred man first. His pale red fist, accompanied by the sound of wind breaking, slammed directly into the man's face.

Scarface snorted coldly and activated his spell without hesitation.

"Defense Technique: Earth Wall Shield!"

In an instant, the pale yellow profound energy surging from his palm flickered and flowed, condensing into a sturdy shield covered with mysterious runes. The runic energy swirled around it, exuding majesty and weight.

"Bang!"

As their fists and shields collided, Liu Neng was sent flying backward by the enormous impact, spitting blood as he landed, leaving a deep furrow in the ground.

Scarface remained unmoved, his eyes filled with disdain: "You ignorant brat!"

The power of magic was terrifying; dealing with Liu Neng, who had not yet mastered magic, was as easy as cutting melons and vegetables.

Seeing that Liu Neng was seriously injured and collapsed in one round, Gao Chun's heart sank.

We must not let this leader escape, otherwise none of us will be able to leave.

He gritted his teeth. If he didn't step forward now, who else could?

He is the team captain, so he should have this responsibility.

"Daoqiu, take Wang Hu away!"

Gao Chun helped Wang Hu onto Li Daoqiu's back and then urgently instructed Gao Chengzhi, "You two are both purple-grade Dao Seeds, so you're fast. Forget about Liu Neng's team, just take Wang Hu and go!"

At this moment, he no longer cared about morality.

The first priority is to protect the brothers in your team.

He owes Liu Neng's team a debt of gratitude, and he will repay it personally.

Even if it meant unsealing his four-star cultivation, exposing the secret of the five-colored Dao Seed, or even sacrificing his life... he was willing to do it all.

However, he did not lose his composure and did not immediately break the seal and unleash his full strength as a four-star bronze realm expert.

He needs to weigh the leader's capabilities first.

A pale purple aura instantly flowed into his legs, and his figure moved like a ghost to appear behind the scarred man. Then, a pale red aura condensed in his fists, and he slammed them hard into the back of the opponent's heart!

"A sneak attack? Useless!" Scarface turned around abruptly, and his yellow magic shield instantly turned towards Gao Chun.

"Bang!" Gao Chun was also thrown backward by the shock, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, and another deep ditch appeared on the ground.

"The magic is so powerful!" Gao Chun was greatly surprised.

He already knew that the magic was extraordinary, but he never expected that the shield formed by the magic could directly crush their fighting style of attaching profound energy to the surface of their bodies.

Gao Chun felt his blood surging in his chest, a lingering metallic taste in his throat, and he barely managed to steady himself by digging his fingertips into the cold soil and gravel.

As his gaze swept hastily across the battlefield, Gao Chun's heart sank.

Li Daoqiu and Gao Chengzhi did not evacuate as he had instructed!

The situation was completely out of control, and even if he broke the seal and unleashed his cultivation at the fourth-star bronze realm, he would be powerless to reverse it.

What should I do? What should I do?!

What should we do in this desperate situation?