He was quick to report the situation and after a few moments, Su Ru appeared in her white robe. Under the moonlight, her face was as beautiful as crystal, and as fair as white jade. "Zhao Ying, what happened to Chu Li?"
Zhao Ying recalled, "Chief, Brother Chu Li was trapped by three masked men who are all very skilled in martial arts, and I think they're from the Tempest Temple!"
"Hmm?" Su Ru's face changed and she frowned. "Where is it?"
"The jungle outside the town!" Zhao Ying answered.
"Will we be able to make it?"
Zhao Ying nodded firmly. "The sooner the better!"
Su Ru called out, "Old Man Lu!"
A green shadow flashed pass and stopped in front of the two of them. It was an elderly with white hair, flushed face, and there was a blinding light in his eyes that pierced. Zhao Ying's mental energy was suppressed by this pair of eyes and she could not focus on his looks.
Old Man Lu gave him a fist salute and greeted, "Chief Su Ru."
Su Ru said, "Old Man Lu, sorry to trouble you. Please bring her along and help Chu Li."
"Yes," Old Man Lu acknowledged.
He placed his right hand on Zhao Ying's shoulder and the two of them flew onto a boat. As his blue robe flapped with the wind, he waved his long and large sleeves backward to set the boat sailing. In the blink of an eye, the boat disappeared from Su Ru's view like an arrow released from the bowstring.
Su Ru furrowed her brows, believing that her arrangements should be fine.
If there was only one person hunting down Chu Li, that person might be a Grandmaster. Since there were three of them, it could only be Innate Masters. It would be unlikely for them to send three Grandmasters to go against Chu Li.
The Tempest Temple was arrogant and overbearing. However, Chu Li was an Innate Master himself. For them to send three Innate Masters against him was an act of throwing away their pride, a tantamount to admitting that no Innate Master of the temple would be able to defeat Chu Li.
Old Man Lu's Light-body Technique was top-notch. Moreover, he was a Grandmaster, so he would definitely be able to save Chu Li!
Lady Xiao Yueling's Congenital Godly Clairvoyant was very accurate and it did mention that Chu Li had the mark of longevity. Although the Third Lady believed it wholeheartedly, she was a little worried that it might be wrong.
As she thought of this, she stomped her feet in frustration. She had warned him not to leave the Public House, yet he did not listen to her. Now that something like this had occurred, she would make sure he gets a good scolding once he comes back!
Accompanied by the moonlight that shone onto the lake, making the lake's surface sparkled, she felt restless as she walked up and down the shore.
Zhao Ying showed the way while her and Old Man Lu went over the town wall like the wind. Soon, they arrived at the jungle.
Chu Li was sitting on the ground, with his back leaning against a tree. He was trying to regulate his breathing by taking long breaths. However, the three masked-men in black were lying on the grass, motionless. Their throats were all pierced by flying knives; all of them were dead.
"Brother!" Zhao Ying was trembling as she cried and rushed to Chu Li's side.
As she was just about to reach a hand out to examine if he was still breathing, Chu Li opened his eyes all of a sudden. "Junior Sister, why are you here? "
Zhao Ying gave a long sigh of relief. Then, she quickly supported herself with the tree when her body went limp. "You scared me to death! How is your injury? "
"Nothing serious." He laughed.
He lifted his head up to look at Old Man Lu. With some difficulties, he gave him a fist salute and greeted, "Old Man Lu."
Of course he knew the Protector of the Jade Guardian Island, Lu Chen the Grandmaster.
Lu Chen smiled and jested, "Chu Li, it's tough to take your life!"
One by one, he pulled away the cloth that was covering the three men's face, exposing the ringed scars on their bald head. He shook his head and sighed. "Monks from the Tempest Temple… This is amazing!"
The monks of the Tempest Temple were not easy to kill. The monks who could roam outside the temple were all tough guys, and since Chu Li was able to defeat three of them in one go, he truly lived up to his reputation as the best young fighter. If this news was to spread, it would definitely shock the whole martial arts world!
Chu Li gave him a bitter smile. "I was just lucky. Junior Sister, please bury them so that they can rest in peace! "
"Brother, are you really alright?" Zhao Ying asked, frowning.
Chu Li smiled to reassure her. "Go."
Zhao Ying reluctantly dug a pit. She was someone who drew a clear line between whom or what she hated or loved, so she held no good feelings for these monks who hunted down Chu Li.
Old Man Lu threw the bodies of the three monks into the pit and covered it up with soil. He then made a tombstone on it while he sighed and shook his head.
The three monks must be quite skilled in martial arts. Despite that, even the strongest in the martial arts world would inevitably end up like this. This made him mourn for the death of the other martial art masters .
When Chu Li stood up slowly, Zhao Ying immediately rushed to aid him but Chu Li declined her help with a wave of his hand. "I am not that weak!"
"Don't force yourself!" Zhao Ying chided.
Their fight just now was too peculiar — they hit him with a fist and he responded back with a slap. Furthermore, they did not even dodge at all! It would be strange if he was not injured!
Chu Li smiled without saying a word.
When they got out of the woods, Chu Li was already able to use his Light-body Technique. With that, the three of them returned to the Public House.
Chu Li had Zhao Ying leave first while he and Lu Chen went back together to the Jade Guardian Island.
Su Ru was pacing beside the lake. When she saw the two of them appeared, her face turned angry abruptly and she stared sternly at Chu Li. 'Why aren't you dead?!"
She turned around and walked off after she said that. Her white sleeping robe flapped in the wind as she disappeared from his line of sight in a blink of an eye.
Chu Li laughed. Su Ru was angry and this showed that she cared about him; the thought of this warmed his heart.
Lu Chen patted Chu Li's shoulder, smiled and walked away too.
So, Chu Li passed through a small jungle and returned to his small courtyard.
In the brightly lit courtyard, Xue Ling was sitting in the small pagoda. The small red clayed furnace was making a whistling sound with white vapor coming out of it. She was looking at the night sky, deep in her thoughts.
Chu Li pushed open the door and the sound startled her. She quickly ran over to him and asked, "What's the matter?"
Chu Li brushed off her question in a dismissal gesture. He walked towards the Glory's Will Tree and sat on the blessed farmland.
Xue Ling furrowed her eyebrows. She quickly ran into the house and took out a white cattail hassock.
Chu Li glared at her, stood up and sat on the cattail hassock instead. The mud from his body dirtied the cattail hassock but Xue Ling did not care. She stared at him and asked again, "You look bad. Are you injured?"
Chu Li let out a long sigh. As the pure spiritual force of the Glory's Will Tree gushed into him, he felt his heavy and tired body became lighter in an instant. Not only was the spiritual force of the Glory's Will Tree pure, it also had a great healing effect.
Xue Ling did not give up. "How did you get injured?"
"I met the monks from the Tempest Temple!" Chu Li shook his head. He then ordered, "Make something tasty for me. I need nourishment!"
"Very well." Xue Ling conceded but after that, she reprimanded with a frown. "You must have gone out. You do know that the monks of the Temple are out looking for you!"
"It was an emergency." Chu Li smiled and finally told her what had happened.
Xue Ling frowned throughout the story. After hearing the whole recount, she was speechless.
It would not be Chu Li if he had backed away from the Tempest Temple's hunt when faced with a situation like that. He was a carefree and daring person. It was impossible for him to withdraw from fear.
"Go and prepare some food!" Chu Li waved her off.
Xue Ling quickly got up and went into the kitchen.
With her nimble hands, four gourmet dishes were served in a short while. Chu Li devoured the food happily. After that, he sat beside the Glory's Will Tree again to heal himself.
From the side, Xue Ling's bright eyes stared at him without blinking. He turned a blind eye to this and continued to heal himself.
Seeing that he was fine, Xue Ling went back to her room to practice the Crescent Cryptic cultivation technique.
By the next morning, when the sun had not even risen, Xue Ling was practicing the eight forms of Crescent Cryptic in the courtyard. The gate of the small courtyard was pushed open and Su Ru strolled in, her apricot gown flapped in the wind.
"Chief!" greeted Xue Ling who stopped her training.
Su Ru waved her hand and asked, "Where is he?"
"He is still sleeping. He healed himself until very late last night," she explained and asked in hesitation, "Do you want me to... wake him up?"
Su Ru snorted. "It's fine! This Nine Transformation Revival Pill heals injuries!"
She pulled out a bottle from her pocket and handed it over to Xue Ling.
Xue Ling accepted it and thanked her. "Thank you, Chief!"
Su Ru grunted. "That troublemaker! Did his injury worsen?"
Xue Ling shook her head and answered, "He looks much better now… Lady Su Ru, how many monks were after him last night?"
"Three." Su Ru went to the pagoda and sat down.
As Xue Ling brewed some tea for her, she continued to speak, "Master was able to flee from three monks and I think that's pretty awesome. They are, in fact, monks from the Tempest Temple!"
With Tempest Temple's reputation, their disciples were no doubt excellent and talented.
Su Ru sipped a small mouthful of tea and shook her head. "He killed the three monks!"
'Ah!" Xue Ling was stupefied.
Last night, she did not dare to distract Chu Li when she saw him healing himself. She assumed that he escaped from the three monks' chase, but she had no idea that he had killed the three monks.
Su Ru sighed. "Now, the Tempest Temple is even more determined to kill him… Don't tell anyone about this!"
"Understood," Xue Ling promised.
She understood right away that if the news about this spread and everyone became aware of it, the Tempest Temple will not let Chu Li live as with regards to their reputation.
Su Ru held her teacup motionlessly; she was lost in her own thoughts.
The Tempest Temple would not let it go that easily. They will be sure to send Grandmasters out for Chu Li the next time.
Although Chu Li was strong, he would not be able to make up for the gap between the two realms — Grandmasters and Innate Masters.
At that thought, she shook her head and frowned.
"Chief, does that mean that Master will not be able to leave the house from now on?"
"Well, he will need to have a Protector with him when he goes out."
Xue Ling chuckled lightly.
Su Ru shook her head. "Fortunately, he's a rank five Scribe. It's normal to have several Protectors with him."
"Chief," Chu Li opened the door and greeted Su Ru with a smile.
Su Ru sulked. "You can still laugh? You are truly have a big heart!"
Chu Li laughed. "Chief is worried about the Tempest Temple?"
"Aren't you?"
"Who here has the best Light-body Technique in our Public House?"
"Sometimes, no matter how good your Light-body Technique is, it may not be practical," Su Ru replied coldly. "In a situation like this, will you be able to escape?"
She got the details from Zhao Ying and worked out that Chu Li was unable to escape because of the two girls. He could not put aside the two girls while he fled alone nor could he flee with the two girls. He would never be fast enough even with the best Light-body Technique.
Once the Tempest Temple had found his weakness, they would not need to ambush him anymore. Next time, they just had to snatch the women away and Chu Li would go to them himself.
"I was unable to escape because my Light-body Technique is not good enough." Chu Li shook his head. "The joint attack of the Tempest Temple is very powerful!"
Su Ru nodded. "Those of them in the Tempest Temple knows the Formation."
"Formation?" Chu Li frowned. "The Formation skills were not lost?"
He had read an introduction to formation before in the Wisdom Tower, but up until now, he had yet seen a book on the formation.
The study of formation purely depends on one's talent. If your talent was not good enough, you would never learn the rudiments of formation even though you had devoted your whole life to it. Therefore, the Wisdom Tower did not have the Formation Codex, for fear that someone would waste their lifetime learning it.
As a result, hundreds of years had passed and formation study was lost.
"The Tempest Temple only retained minimal formation studies." Su Ru shook her head. "The formation study has been lost elsewhere, which is also the reason for their secured status and position."
"What about the royal family?"
"The royal family has Formation books, but none of the royalty was successful in learning it."
"In this whole dynasty, no one knows Formation?"
"You have experienced how powerful the Formation can be and you think the royalty won't mind?" Su Ru said sardonically.
Chu Li nodded his head slowly.
The power of formations was remarkable. Two people could display the power of four people, while ten people could exhibit the power of thirty people. Moreover, the power of formation was a major threat to the dynasty. It was likely that the loss of formation study might be the work of the other dynasties as well.
Su Ru said, "Well, speaking of Light-body Technique, the best in the world is the Shrinking Ground."
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