"Dog Nose, are we not there yet?"
Ten miles behind the three martial artists, on a luxuriously decorated carriage, Gou Fugui personally drove while a languid voice came from inside the carriage.
"Young Master Zhu, that lad sure knows how to run. But rest assured, this lowly one’s nose will never mistake the direction!"
Gou Fugui’s face was all smiles.
In fact, his nose was not that mystical; rather, the three martial artists from the Marrow Refinement Realm carried specially made sachets that left a lingering fragrance in the air for a long time after they passed by.
All Gou Fugui needed to do was follow the scent.
He was also a martial artist from the Bone Refinement Realm, only his strength was relatively weak, and he was not good at running.
Therefore, he conspired with the other three martial artists—he was responsible for tracking treasures while the other three were tasked with taking action.
"Alright then, Young Master will take a nap first and call me when we’re closing in."
Within moments, light snores came from the carriage, and it was only then that Gou Fugui frowned and murmured, "What’s the matter with those three? They can’t even catch up to the lad after so long? Judging by the scent, there’s at least thirty miles left! If he makes it to the Heavenly Book Academy and someone else discovers the Black Jiao Snake, there will be no more opportunity!"
In truth, he was not a member of Polar Treasure Meeting; he merely used the name to intimidate some new martial artists who were new to the imperial city.
He targeted Lu Chen, of course, because of the Black Jiao Snake.
But more importantly, Lu Chen only appeared to be at the Bone Refinement Realm on the surface.
If Lu Chen had agreed to the trade, he would have lured Lu Chen to a secluded corner, and then his three accomplices would have robbed him.
They had done this many times and never ran into any trouble.
They lived off such tactics, earning quite a few Yuan Stones.
...
"How long are you going to follow me!"
After another twenty miles, Lu Chen ran into a wooded area.
He was irritated and abruptly halted, his right eye cold as frost, staring intently at the girl.
"Giggle," the girl didn’t take it seriously and instead laughed charmingly, "I’m just worried about you with only one eye, running so fast; what if you don’t see clearly and hurt your head?"
"You!"
Lu Chen was nearly fuming with anger, not because the girl was teasing him about his single eye but because he was afraid that Gou Fugui would catch up.
"What ’you’?," replied the girl, turning around, "We’ve been running for about fifty miles now, which is just the right distance from the academy—if murder occurs, those old men in the academy won’t discover it!"
"What do you mean?"
Lu Chen was startled and furrowed his brow.
"You’re also a martial artist of the Bone Refinement Realm, aren’t you? Given your looks, you must have been through some brutal killings. Don’t you know you’re being followed?"
The girl sounded like a lecturer, and then she continued, "Once I’ve killed those three, if you still think about following me to the Heavenly Book Academy, I won’t allow you to follow!"
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes. Indeed, at that moment, he heard footsteps approaching.
Looking carefully, it was three martial artists wielding ghost-face knives!
Without saying a word, two of them surrounded the girl while one raised his knife and slashed toward Lu Chen!
"Hmph, dare to make a move? You’re seeking death!"
The girl’s pretty face turned cold as she met them with her bare hands.
Lu Chen couldn’t watch, as mere martial artists from the Bone Refinement Realm didn’t concern him at all—he didn’t even need to remove his eyepatch!
He reached back and grasped the Heavenly Inquiry Spear, and as his body half-turned, he drew the spear straight out and thrust it forward!
Spear Strikes Like a Dragon!
This thrust, Lu Chen didn’t even utilize any Spiritual Power.
Besides it being unnecessary, he remembered the girl’s words just now—she turned out to be from the Heavenly Book Academy!
Zhao Chang had said that the students of Heavenly Book Academy were all extraordinary, and Lu Chen knew that in a strange place, it was better to hide his skills.
Besides, his intention in going to the Heavenly Book Academy was just to learn more about the Heavenly Abyss, and he didn’t need to get overly involved with others!
Although he didn’t use Spiritual Power, Lu Chen’s spear still pierced straight through the attacking martial artist!
The ghost-face knife was not as long as the Heavenly Inquiry Spear and couldn’t even reach Lu Chen before he was impaled through the chest!
"You... you..."
The martial artist couldn’t believe it. The opponent was also clearly in the Bone Refinement Realm—how could he not block a single attack?
"Hmph!"
Lu Chen snorted coldly and pulled out the Heavenly Inquiry Spear.
He had already fought against those in the Visceral Refinement Realm and killed dozens of tough-skinned beasts in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain!
Mere martial artists from the Bone Refinement Realm with such glaring weaknesses, if he couldn’t kill them with a single strike, he might as well smash his head against a block of tofu hung on the tree!
Lu Chen then propped his spear and turned to look toward the girl, only to see her nimble body dodging between two ghost-face knives, moving like a graceful yellow butterfly in dance.
"Old Four is dead; no point entangling further!"
One of the martial artists forcefully slashed his ghost-face knife, driving the girl into the distance, then reached into his bosom, pulled out a pouch of powder, and flung it at the girl’s face!
The girl, unsuspecting, inhaled some of the powder, and her face instantly turned pale as she cried out in alarm, "Despicable, resorting to such dirty tricks!"
Suddenly, she collapsed to the ground, devoid of strength.
Lu Chen took a step forward and said with an amused smile, "Being a martial artist of the Heavenly Book Academy yet lacking even this much vigilance! If I help you out of this encirclement, you better not follow me anymore!"
As his words fell, the two remaining martial artists charged toward Lu Chen!