Ye Tian hadn't even given flight a second thought. Although he'd broken through to the Five Veins Power Realm, it was already time to leave, and he hadn't yet had a chance to comprehend the method of borrowing the Power of Heaven and Earth to do so.
"Fly? I can't do that yet. A carriage is nice, isn't it? Don't worry, I won't make you drive. You can just sit inside!" Ye Tian said with a smile, though he felt a bit frustrated that he hadn't yet comprehended how to borrow the Power of Heaven and Earth for flight.
"Heh, you might not have a choice in the matter! You really think you're going to be driving the carriage?" Zhang Xinlan retorted. Her figure then flashed as she sped forward.
Ye Tian scrambled to catch up, and in the blink of an eye, they were in front of the carriage. Zhang Xinlan's words had left him completely baffled. He asked, "Xinlan, what on earth did you mean by that? You've got me all confused! You think I can't drive? Let me tell you, I drove the carriage all the way here to Linyuan Academy!"
"Idiot," Zhang Xinlan said. "I'm saying we're in trouble. Use your Divine Sense and scan the area carefully. There are quite a few people hiding around here. Needless to say, they're all here for you. So, you still think you'll get a chance to drive?"
Ye Tian's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected this. He and Zhang Xinlan had been very discreet about leaving Linyuan Academy, precisely to avoid any trouble. 'To think trouble would come knocking on our door anyway... how annoying.'
Ye Tian hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings before. But now, with his power having increased so much, he could easily get a crystal-clear read on the strength of those hiding nearby.
Over twenty people were lying in ambush within a several-mile radius. The strongest were four individuals in the Four Vein Realm. Ten were at the Three Veins Realm, and the rest were at the Second Vein Realm.
To Ye Tian and Zhang Xinlan, this group wasn't even worth a second glance. Either one of them could slaughter all these people alone. However, they weren't far from Linyuan Academy. A massacre of this scale would surely have repercussions for the academy, and he didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble for Xiao Wenjie and Guan Tianshui.
"The carriage is still useful," Ye Tian said. "We have to lure these people away before we can kill them. I don't want to do any killing here. You understand what I mean."
After speaking, Ye Tian climbed onto the driver's seat, while Zhang Xinlan settled inside the carriage. They prepared for a swift departure.
"Are we just going to let them go?" one middle-aged man in black asked another. "We've been waiting for days. Now that they've finally shown up, if we don't strike now, when will we?"
"Of course not," the other man in black replied. "We're too close to the academy. That Ye Tian has some skill. If we try to kill him here, we'll easily alert the academy, and he might even get away. For the sake of a foolproof plan, let's tail them for a while before we make our move."
Ye Tian and Zhang Xinlan drove the carriage at a slow pace. They were, after all, worried that their pursuers might not be able to keep up and lose the trail. They planned to find a safe, secluded spot to stop.
"There's a dense forest just ahead. It's a good place to stop the carriage," Ye Tian said to Zhang Xinlan, who was sitting inside. "I'm eager to see which people aren't afraid of death and have dared to come looking for trouble with me."
"That Instructor Lu you injured is among them," Zhang Xinlan said. "There are a few others I don't recognize, but they must be your enemies as well. The rest are just minions and followers, nothing to fear."
Before long, Ye Tian brought the carriage to a stop. He and Zhang Xinlan then entered the dense forest together.
"Old Lu, why did they stop?" a man in black said. "Could it be a trap? We should be careful!"
"A trap?" another man in black sneered. "I see this forest as their burial ground! I was just worrying about finding a good place to finish them, and they've delivered themselves to our doorstep. They're dead for sure this time!" It went without saying that this man in black was Instructor Nalu.
"Ye Tian, let me handle them," Zhang Xinlan said. "You've just had a breakthrough; it would be better for you to take some time to stabilize your new Realm. Besides, I also want to see how different my own power is now."
"I'm afraid I can't agree to that," Ye Tian replied. "You want to test your current Power Realm, and I want to test my current power as well. How about this? We'll both slaughter these guys and see who kills more."
Ye Tian's words were chilling. He wasn't thinking of his opponents as people, but as Demon Beasts to be hunted, his goal simply to see how many he could kill.
"Fine, have it your way. I can never win an argument with you," Zhang Xinlan said. "They're here. Should we hide?"
"No need," Ye Tian said. "I'd like to see who else besides Instructor Nalu wants me dead. When the opportunity arises, I will uproot every single one of their families. Opposing me, Ye Tian, does not lead to a good end."
Ye Tian and Zhang Xinlan stood only a few meters apart. Soon, several figures appeared before them, forming a circle and trapping them inside.
"Ye Tian! You've refused the open road to heaven and chosen to barge into a gateless hell!" a man in black snarled. "This place will be your tomb!"
"Who are you people? I have no grudges against you, so why do you want to kill us?" Ye Tian asked calmly, showing no trace of anger. "Even if I'm to die, at least let me know at whose hands I'm falling." He was stalling, because he knew some of their party had yet to arrive.
"Still playing dumb, kid?" the man in black sneered. "As if you don't know who you've offended! Since you want to know so badly, we'll make a point of not telling you. It's getting late, time to send you on your way. In your next life, I hope you learn that some people are not to be crossed!"
Soon, the rest of the men in black arrived, enclosing the pair in a tight circle. Breaking out would have been difficult for anyone else. However, these men had gravely underestimated Ye Tian and Zhang Xinlan.
Both of them were currently concealing their true strength, appearing to be merely at the Three Veins Power Realm. To their attackers, cultivators at such a Realm posed no threat whatsoever.
"HAHAHA! You don't have to say a thing. I already know who you are," Ye Tian laughed. "Instructor Lu, I deliberately let you off the hook last time, but you just don't know when to quit. Do you really think I'm a pushover? Since you're so eager to die, I'll be happy to oblige."
"And as for the members of the Sima Clan and the Murong Clan," Ye Tian added with a smile. "If you hadn't come seeking revenge, you might have lived out your days in peace. But since you seem to think you have too long to live, I suppose I'll have to do a good deed and help you with that!"
"You're a clever one, kid," Instructor Nalu roared. "And since you know who we are, we have even more reason to kill you. Die!" The Weapon in his hand shot rapidly toward Ye Tian, as several others also drew their Weapons and charged at the pair...