At noon, Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan arrived at the foot of Wolf Tooth Mountain.
The dangerous peak before them, seemingly chiseled by knives and axes, pierced the clouds. The sheer cliffs surrounding the mountain were studded with rock spurs. Only a narrow, steep mountain path allowed ascent; it was intensely treacherous.
"No wonder Sky Wolf Camp has remained unscathed after several sieges. The environment here is indeed blessed by the heavens."
Luo Feng slowed his horse slightly, squinting as he gazed at Wolf Tooth Mountain before them. Bing Ruolan nodded. Such treacherous mountain peaks would indeed be impossible for a sizable cavalry force to charge.
"Luo Feng, wait a moment."
As Luo Feng was about to move forward, Bing Ruolan reined in her horse and took out a blue silk scarf to tie up her hair.
"How is it? Do I look like a man?" Bing Ruolan looked at Luo Feng, blinking as she asked.
Luo Feng glanced at her, amused. He stopped his horse and chuckled, "You do resemble a pretty young man. I’m actually a bit jealous."
Bing Ruolan’s face flushed a little at Luo Feng’s teasing, her delicate nose wrinkling as she said, "I’m asking you seriously!"
Luo Feng nodded and chuckled, "Why are you doing this?"
"It’s more convenient for wandering the Jianghu this way; it can reduce unnecessary trouble," Bing Ruolan replied.
She still held a grudge about the incident at the Coming Dragon Inn.
Just as Luo Feng was about to say something, his eyebrows suddenly twitched, and he looked ahead.
"It seems like someone is coming to greet us. Let’s go."
A few figures rushed out from the mountain path ahead, shouting as they approached.
Luo Feng gently spurred his Fire Cloud Horse towards the mountain path.
"Who goes there! How dare you trespass on Wolf Tooth Mountain!"
The five or six horsemen, upon seeing Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan, immediately drew their swords and shouted in gruff voices.
Luo Feng didn’t spare these bandits a glance. He spurred his horse, and together with Bing Ruolan, they accelerated past.
One of the Sky Wolf Camp’s fierce bandits, seeing that the two didn’t even acknowledge them, flew into a rage. Slapping his steed, he roared and charged forward to attack.
Several figures violently collided. Screams rang out one after another as a few bandits were thrown from their horses, their conditions unknown.
"They’re experts! Hurry and inform the two Chieftains! Archers, get ready! Don’t let them up the mountain!" a bandit leader in the distance, terrified to see several of his comrades killed in an instant, roared.
WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH...
Suddenly, countless heads popped out from both sides of the mountain path. They drew their bows, and a swarm of arrows, like locusts, shot toward Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan.
"Ignore these small fries! Let’s go up the mountain!" Luo Feng grunted. He and Bing Ruolan leaped off their horses. Employing their Light Martial Arts, they rushed directly up the steep mountain path towards the summit.
The dense volley of arrows, like locusts, landed behind them.
"Are they human or ghosts? Such incredible speed!"
Only when Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan’s figures had completely disappeared did the Sky Wolf Camp bandits guarding the mountain pass recover from their shock. Recalling the duo’s ghostly speed, they quietly clicked their tongues, a chill running down their spines.
Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan reached halfway up the mountain in one breath. Along the way, many people tried to block their path, but none of them were particularly strong. The strongest among them, a minor leader at the mid-stage of the Iron Bone Realm, was killed by Bing Ruolan with a single sword thrust.
Halfway up Wolf Tooth Mountain, there was a huge hollow. Before it lay a plaza, manually chiseled out of the mountainside. At the far end of the plaza stood the Sky Wolf Camp’s fortress!
The fortress, nearly ten meters high, was built against the mountain. Constructed entirely of huge rocks, it looked extremely formidable. From a distance, it resembled a small city.
At that moment, the stone fortress gates were wide open. On the fortress walls, Sky Wolf Camp Martial Artists stood guard, their armor gleaming and their weapons reflecting a dazzling, cold light in the sun.
"Our two friends from afar, our Chieftains invite you in!" From atop the fortress wall, a Sky Wolf Camp Martial Artist with thick eyebrows spotted Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan and called out in a resonant voice.
Luo Feng rubbed his nose, glanced at the wide-open fortress gates, then turned to Bing Ruolan and chuckled, "It seems our hosts are very hospitable, opening their gates to invite us in."
Bing Ruolan’s fine brows furrowed slightly. "It’s probably a trap," she said coldly.
WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH...
As the two were preparing to enter the fortress, the sound of rushing air suddenly echoed from the mountain path behind them.
"Senior Brother Yuan, judging from the traces on the mountain path, it appears someone has beaten us to it, coming for the heads of One-eyed Wolf Qin Tai and Flower Faced Civet Xu Huan." A woman’s voice drifted in with the wind.
"Hmph! I’m just three academic credits short of exchanging them for the Yellow Rank, Superior Grade Martial Art, Azure Cloud Swordsmanship. I won’t let anyone else take the heads of Qin Tai and Xu Huan!"
"Senior Brother Yuan, you seem very eager to obtain Azure Cloud Swordsmanship. Could it be you’re preparing for the New Talents Tournament in three months?"
"That’s right! My Light Martial Art, Wild Goose Feather Step, has already reached the Great Achievement Realm. If I can obtain Azure Cloud Swordsmanship, my strength will rise by several levels! At the New Talents Tournament, there will definitely be a place for me, Yuan Jiankong!"
The sound of rushing air intensified, and three figures landed on the platform. Two men and one woman, all dressed in cloud-patterned white uniforms.
Students from Tianlan School’s inner courtyard? Luo Feng glanced at the cloud-patterned uniforms on the three, his brows twitching slightly.
Bing Ruolan, beside him, also frowned.
Among the four great academies, Tianlan School ranked first, while Purple Sun School ranked last. Students from Tianlan School were typically arrogant, so Purple Sun School students disliked encountering them the most when traveling.
"So, it was students from Purple Sun School who got here first." The elegantly dressed young swordsman at the front glanced disdainfully at Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan, a hint of arrogance in his slight smile.
"Purple Sun School is not bad compared to ordinary academies. However, compared to our Tianlan School, it’s hardly worth mentioning. Are you two waiting here because you’re afraid of One-eyed Wolf and Flower Faced Civet and dare not enter?" another youth with thick eyebrows and a long saber on his back laughed heartily.
The female disciple from Tianlan School, who had an ordinary appearance, looked at the swordsman beside her with a smile and urged, "Senior Brother Yuan, let’s go in. I’ve heard that the ’Whisked Fish with Wine Pouring Flowers’ at the Watching Moon Tower in Panlong City is quite special. Once we’ve dealt with these two villains and completed the sect mission, let’s go and have some fun, alright?"
"Heh, I’ve also heard of ’Whisked Fish with Wine Pouring Flowers.’ Since we’re here, we should naturally go and try it." Yuan Jiankong smiled faintly and, without sparing Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan another glance, started walking towards the fortress.
Bing Ruolan had long known that Tianlan School students were arrogant and usually ignored their taunts. But seeing the three of them ignore her and Luo Feng and attempt to enter the fortress, she became annoyed and moved to block their path.
"There’s a certain order to things, isn’t there? First come, first served."
The three of them stopped, Yuan Jiankong looking somewhat displeased. The female student, observing the situation, glanced condescendingly at Bing Ruolan and sneered, "We’re just trying to help you. Look at yourselves: one is at the mid-stage of the God Bravery Realm, and the other... is probably not even in the God Bravery Realm. With your strength, you probably can’t even defeat Flower Faced Civet Xu Huan. Going in would be suicide. Why bother trying to be brave?"
Luo Feng cultivated Teng Dragon’s Step, causing his Meridian Wheel to take on a dragon form, making his aura as deep as an abyss. Unless one’s cultivation was significantly higher than his, it would be impossible to see through his true strength.
These three were all inner courtyard students of Tianlan School. Yuan Jiankong was the strongest, his aura profound and already at the peak of the God Bravery Realm. The other two had cultivation at the late-stage God Bravery Realm, so naturally, they didn’t give Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan a second thought.
"You...!" Bing Ruolan’s gaze turned icy, and she was about to retort when Luo Feng stopped her.
"Heh-heh, this young lady is truly perceptive. We were just worried that we weren’t a match for the two bandit leaders. Since the three of you are here now, we naturally wouldn’t dare to overstep," Luo Feng said with a smile.
"That’s more like it." The female student from Tianlan School shot Bing Ruolan a smug look.
Yuan Jiankong waved his hand. "Let’s go in."
The trio then proceeded towards the fortress.
"Luo Feng, those three are so detestable! Why did you speak up for them?" Bing Ruolan looked at Luo Feng, slightly annoyed.
Luo Feng smiled faintly, watching the retreating figures of the three Tianlan School students. "They are no match for One-eyed Wolf Qin Tai. Since they insist on taking the lead, we can use them to probe the strength of Sky Wolf Camp’s two chieftains. Why stop them?"
"How do you know they’re no match? Have you met Qin Tai before?" Bing Ruolan asked, surprised.
Luo Feng had not met Qin Tai, of course. However, he could already sense an uncommon aura emanating from the fortress. This aura felt similar to that of Han Tie, whom he had killed. It was very likely a master in the seventh level of the Essence Storage Realm! Having fought Han Tie, Luo Feng knew very well how powerful an Essence Storage Realm Martial Artist was! Back then, if Han Tie hadn’t underestimated him, it was still unknown whether Luo Feng could have killed him. Killing Qiu Bichi was also due to catching her off guard. Although these Tianlan School students were strong, they were definitely no match for a seventh-level Essence Storage Realm expert.
"Just a guess," Luo Feng smiled faintly, rubbing his nose.
With that, he headed towards the fortress.
"You’re just being mysterious! I’ll see if what you said is true or not," Bing Ruolan muttered to herself and followed him.
Behind the fortress gates was a large plaza, where dozens of Martial Artists were currently gathered. These Martial Artists were powerfully built, their gazes sharp as blades. They all exuded a bloodthirsty aura, like a pack of hungry wolves, emitting a terrifying presence.
In the middle of these Martial Artists sat two figures.
The one on the left had delicate features, with red lips and white teeth, resembling a scholar, though his face was pathologically pale.
Beside him sat a burly man. The burly man wore a dark brown martial robe, his short hair standing on end like bristles. His square face was crisscrossed with scars, and his left eye was just an empty socket, making him look quite terrifying. His bones were large, and his body nearly filled the chair. He exuded a savage aura, and his single remaining eye glinted with a sharp, cold light.
The burly man was the Chieftain of Sky Wolf Camp, ’One-eyed Wolf’ Qin Tai, and beside him sat ’Flower Faced Civet’ Xu Huan.
"Who dares trespass into my Sky Wolf Camp!" Qin Tai sat imposingly, his one eye sharp and fierce, scanning Luo Feng and the others.
"Yuan Jiankong, inner courtyard student of Tianlan School! The one who has come to take your head!" Yuan Jiankong stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Tianlan School, Tian Lan!"
"Tianlan School, Han Shan!"
"Purple Sun School, Bing Ruolan."
The five of them introduced themselves.
"Hahahaha... I’ve heard that Purple Sun School and Tianlan School have always been at odds. I never thought you’d join forces just for someone’s head," Qin Tai laughed heartily, his eyes glinting as he looked at Luo Feng and the others.
Yuan Jiankong stepped forward, drew his sword, and stood proudly. "A mere Jianghu bandit dares to be so arrogant!" he said coldly. "To kill a villain like you, I, Yuan Jiankong, am more than enough. Will you end your own life, or shall I personally take your head? Choose one!"