The War Heaven Alliance warrior waved the fan in his hand, and a fierce wind dragon—teeth bared and aura overwhelming—burst forth immediately. Accompanied by a piercing dragon cry, it hurtled across dozens of zhang in an instant, lunging toward the warrior standing dazed in a corner of the valley, his face flushed crimson.
No one knew which faction this warrior belonged to. He had apparently been skulking about, up to something. Believing everyone was absorbed in their comprehension—the perfect chance to pull a fast one—and fairly confident in his knowledge of formation arrays, he had been contemplating whether he could set one up near the valley, so that when the Red Candle Fruit ripened, he would have an extra layer of protection when scrambling to seize it.
Little did he know that not everyone here was immersed in meditation. Some remained ever-watchful of their surroundings. The moment he made his move, a War Heaven Alliance warrior spotted him immediately.
His furious roar jolted most of the warriors awake. Under the collective gaze of the crowd, the would-be schemer flushed crimson. Before he could even attempt an explanation, the massive wind dragon was already upon him. Its body was composed entirely of razor-sharp wind blades; its gaping maw radiated killing intent as it prepared to swallow him whole.
The warrior was no pushover either—without sufficient strength, he could never have made it to the third layer. He thrust out a streak of scarlet light directly into the dragon's open jaws, then retreated with a look of horror on his face.
With a thunderous boom, the scarlet light detonated inside the wind dragon's body, unleashing devastating force. Crimson radiance sprayed in all directions, and the wind dragon's near-solid form flickered, distorted, then shattered completely.
"You dare fight back?!" Among the War Heaven Alliance, Qu Changfeng rose to his feet with a savage grin. He extended his large hand and seized at the man from across the distance.
An invisible force abruptly bound the warrior, preventing him from retreating any further.
The War Heaven Alliance member wielding the wind dragon artifact let out a dark chuckle and swept his massive fan once more. Another ferocious wind dragon surged forth, closing the distance to the formation-setter in a heartbeat and swallowing him whole.
A scream rang out. Though the man possessed strength at the third stage of the Saint King Realm, against the combined assault of Qu Changfeng and his fellow disciple, he was utterly powerless. After struggling for only a few moments, he was sliced into mincemeat by the countless wind blades within the dragon.
The stench of blood soared skyward. Severed limbs and chunks of flesh littered the ground.
After dispatching the man, Qu Changfeng and the fellow disciple beside him immediately turned their cold, hostile gazes toward a nearby hill.
Three Saint King Realm warriors stood there with dark expressions. The one who appeared to be the leader stepped forward and shouted: "Qu Changfeng, what do you think you're doing? Even if my Wei Fire Alliance disciple did something wrong, that doesn't give you the right to kill him! Are you trying to start a war between the War Heaven Alliance and the Wei Fire Alliance?"
"Heh, start a war?" Qu Changfeng sneered. "Don't try to slap some grand label on me—you're not qualified. Why don't you ask your junior brother here about creeping around setting up formations in secret? Do you think the rest of us would stand for it?"
The speaker turned to look around, only to discover that every warrior on the surrounding hills was glaring at him with open hostility. His heart sank—he realized his fellow disciple's actions had provoked the fury of everyone present.
The Red Candle Fruit was about to ripen, and someone had dared to secretly set up a formation array to gain an advantage? How could anyone tolerate that?
So even though Qu Changfeng had a poor reputation and questionable character, everyone stood on his side in this moment—or rather, everyone was defending their own interests.
After Qu Changfeng's sharp command, warriors rose from hills all around, making it clear they were ready to press the attack.
The three Wei Fire Alliance members' faces changed dramatically. They dared not say another word, knowing there was no place for them here anymore. They seethed with hatred for Qu Changfeng's ruthlessness, but they were also consumed with regret.
Their fellow disciple's decision to set up the formation had been a group agreement. They had all agreed it was the perfect opportunity—who could have guessed he would be discovered immediately, leaving them in such a passive position?
If they didn't leave now, they would likely be hunted down and killed to the last.
With that thought, the Wei Fire Alliance disciple nodded and said: "Fine. Qu Changfeng, I'll remember you. The debt for killing my fellow disciple will be repaid one day. And as for all of you who went along with this—right now we're the ones being driven out, but sooner or later you'll meet the same fate. Heh, I hope you enjoy it while it lasts... Let's go!"
With those words, he led his two remaining companions away swiftly, without looking back.
Seeing their decisiveness, Qu Changfeng was slightly taken aback—but he was not foolish enough to give chase. Now was not the right time. He had only managed to kill one of their members so quickly because it caught them off guard. Three remained, all at the third stage of the Saint King Realm. Killing all of them was simply unrealistic.
They were all at the third stage of the Saint King Realm. Even if there were gaps in their strength, they were not the kind of soft targets you could push around at will.