Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 201 A Powerful Enemy Approaches

The city gates of Jingzhou were heavily guarded, and everyone entering or leaving the city was checked, especially those heading west out of the border, where the checks were even more stringent.

Without a pass issued by the city lord, one cannot leave the city gate. Therefore, all outsiders who come to Jingzhou from other places will go to the office set up by the city lord as soon as possible to pay a handling fee and obtain a pass.

However, these rules and regulations are aimed at ordinary people and merchants with average cultivation levels.

For a master like Mo Yuming, who is at the peak of the Earth Rank, it is generally difficult for ordinary city guards to stop him. Not long after Mo Yuming quickly broke through the city gate and made his way out.

Two black-robed warriors suddenly appeared at the city gate, their powerful aura suffocating. The city guards who had been knocked to the ground by Mo Yuming scrambled to their feet, disregarding their disheveled appearance, and lined up in order on either side of the city gate, bowing their heads in unison to the two men.

"Old City Lord, City Lord, greetings!"

"Who on earth dared to force their way into my city gates just now?"

The old man in black standing in front asked.

"It was a boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in tattered civilian clothes. He conjured a protective shield of spiritual energy in front of him, forcefully knocked us away, and fled through the door."

The leading soldier said with shame.

"A bunch of useless trash! They couldn't even stop a teenager!"

The old man in black shouted.

"Are you sure that guy is just a teenager?"

"The middle-aged man standing behind the old man in black asked."

"That's right. He even spoke with us when he came to the city gate. Because he didn't have a pass rune, we stopped him and tried to arrest him, so we had some contact. We can confirm his exact age. Judging from his physique and tone of voice, he wasn't disguised."

The garrison leader said that having been stationed at the city gate for many years, they had seen all sorts of people, so these soldiers were very good at judging people, and they were quite confident in their judgment.

"Guard Ban, how high is your cultivation level now?"

The middle-aged man asked.

"Reporting to the city lord, I have just advanced to the third level of the Earth Rank this year."

"Are you sure he just knocked you away? He didn't use any other moves or weapons?"

The old man in black asked doubtfully.

"At that time, there were ten of us surrounding him in the middle, only a few steps away. I and Deputy Guard Hu were standing directly in front of him. Guard Hu was already at the peak of the second level of the Earth Rank."

Deputy Guard Hu and I both pointed our knives at him, but he didn't even raise a hand before charging at us. We were instantly repelled by the protective spiritual energy he had gathered around his body, leaving us with no chance of fighting back. The profound spiritual power he unleashed in that instant was probably comparable to that of the city lord.

The guard answered truthfully.

"How is it possible for a young boy to have such a high level of cultivation? Even the prodigy of the royal family was only at the fifth level of the Earth Rank when he was fifteen years old. Although he was two levels higher than the Class Guard, it was impossible for him to easily repel the Class Guard with just his own protective spiritual energy. He would have to be at least at the seventh level of the Earth Rank to have that ability."

The middle-aged man said skeptically.

"Guard Ban, lead your men to surround me in the same formation as before, and I will recreate the scene."

The middle-aged man walked to an open space and stopped.

"Yes!"

The guard surnamed Ban led ten soldiers to surround the middle-aged man, following the previous formation.

"Bang, bang..."

Ten soldiers guarding the city were knocked away one after another by the protective spiritual energy emanating from the middle-aged man's body. They fell painfully into the distance.

"But that's how it is!"

The old man in black looked down and asked the guard who had collapsed beside him.

"Almost, except that the city lord's protective aura is cyan metal elemental energy, while that person's is yellow earth elemental energy."

The guard struggled to his feet.

"How is that possible? I just used 50% of my power, which is at least equivalent to a full-force attack from the peak of the eighth level of the Earth Rank. How could someone so young possibly have reached the strength of the eighth level of the Earth Rank!"

The middle-aged man had an expression of disbelief on his face.

"Heh heh, a young man at the peak of the Earth Rank! If word gets out, it would be no exaggeration to say it's earth-shattering!" the old man in black said with a sinister laugh.

"What should we do? Chase after him? If we chase now, we should still be able to catch up. The road he's on is more than a hundred miles away before there's a fork in the road, and both roads lead to the Central Plains City. Moreover, the border is heavily guarded, and the garrison soldiers there are all seasoned warriors, many times stronger than these garrison soldiers. He won't get through so easily."

The middle-aged man asked the old man.

"Could that kid be the same devil who's been giving Wu Ji such a headache?"

"Probably not. According to the information obtained by our scouts, that prodigy in Shangyuan City rarely goes out, and each time he does, he is accompanied by at least two Heavenly Rank old servants. If he has such high-level profound skills, why would he need servants to protect him at all times? It is said that that prodigy also likes to show off, and often goes out wearing gorgeous clothes and exquisitely crafted gold masks. He would definitely not go out alone to take risks, and he would not be wearing cheap commoner clothes."

"Then who is this kid? Could he be a disciple or offspring of some reclusive master? To have such high cultivation at such a young age, the power behind him must be extremely strong."

The middle-aged man said,

"You mean we're just going to give up like this? Let them tarnish our reputation?" the old man in black roared angrily.

"Of course not. Since this kid dared to embarrass us, we have to teach him a lesson. But considering the power behind him, we can't leave any trace. We have to do it cleanly to avoid getting into trouble," the middle-aged man said.

"Just do it already, so there's no way to prove it. No matter what kind of power he has behind him, what can he do to me!"

The old man in black spoke to the middle-aged man following closely behind him as he flew forward.

About twenty miles from Jingzhou City, there was a quiet and peaceful little village. At the entrance of the village, Commander Yu and Ah Hao were anxiously waiting for Mo Yuming to appear.

Previously, the three of them had arranged to meet in this small village, and then, together with the pass runes prepared for them by the innkeeper, they would successfully pass through the checkpoint and return to Zhongyuan City.

At this moment, Commander Yu and Ah Hao were dressed exactly like the local citizens of Zhenglan Kingdom.

Commander Yu wore a magnificent yet understated long robe, disguising himself as the steward of an ordinary wealthy merchant; Ah Hao, on the other hand, wore a simple short-sleeved shirt and trousers, looking like an ordinary attendant.

Beside them was a slightly worn but still sturdy carriage, which was obviously rented from a car rental company.

Such an ordinary and unremarkable combination would hardly attract attention wherever they went, let alone arouse suspicion from others.

For this reason, even though the two had been waiting in the simple teahouse by the post road at the village entrance for nearly an hour, no one had ever come up to ask about them or paid any attention to them.

However, just as the two were becoming increasingly anxious and restless, a soft sound suddenly reached their ears—it was a voice transmission from inside the carriage.

Mo Yuming lowered his voice and said:

"The situation has changed! You two turn the car around immediately and head towards the city center."

Although Commander Yu and Ah Hao were very confused after hearing these words, out of trust in Mo Yuming and the urgency of the situation, they did not hesitate at all. They quickly got up, paid for the tea, jumped onto the carriage, skillfully turned the horses around, and whipped them to gallop towards Jingzhou City.