Chapter 43: Ambush
"What are you talking about?" Ximen Hao asked, confusion written all over his face.
"As I asked before, have you ever offended someone like that? Maybe a trash-like youth who couldn’t cultivate, some poor sod who had nothing to his name, or perhaps you snatched someone’s girlfriend or broke off an engagement with your wealth? Anything like that come to mind?" Wei Chen asked.
Ximen Hao began to get angry. What was this guy talking about? Stealing other people’s girlfriends? Destroying engagements? These were shameful acts, even if he had done them, he would never admit it.
"Are you trying to provoke me, Mr. Wei? I’ll have you know, even if you are in the Soul Transformation Realm, we of the Ximen Clan still—" Ximen Hao started but was interrupted by Wei Chen’s raised hand.
"No, Young Master Ximen, you misunderstand me. In fact, I’m trying to look out for you," Wei Chen said calmly.
Ximen Hao was clearly irritated. He was the type with a short temper and little patience. He had already tolerated Wei Chen’s rudeness in an effort to befriend him, but this time, it was beyond what he could endure.
Ximen Hao snorted and stood up from his seat. "Hmph! Even if I did those things, what of it!? Are you going to preach to me not to do such things? I’ll have you know, other than my father and grandfather, no one has the right to lecture me!"
Wei Chen shook his head and chuckled but said nothing.
"What are you laughing at?" Ximen Hao demanded angrily.
Wei Chen looked up at him. "You misunderstand again, Young Master Ximen. I’m not preaching to you about anything. Because it’s your ass that’s on the line here, not mine. I’m just repaying a favor by warning you."
"What I’m saying is.... if you’ve done those things, your actions are risky. They follow the kind of pattern that might awaken a Heaven’s Chosen. And if that happens, I assure you... whoever they are, they’ll come after you for revenge. The problem is..." Wei Chen paused to let his words sink in before continuing.
"It’s not just you who would be in danger, but your clan and all your loved ones. Especially if you’ve ever killed or harmed someone dear to a Heaven’s Chosen. Once their destiny awakens, Heaven’s Chosen are no joke... there’s a reason they’re called that."
Ximen Hao snorted. "Hmph! You don’t need to worry about that, Mr. Wei! The strongest in my clan is my grandfather. He’s at the peak of the Void Refining Realm! There’s no way some trash could threaten my clan, even if they grow stronger."
It was clear that Ximen Hao didn’t take Wei Chen’s warning seriously.
"Besides," he added, "from what I know, Heaven’s Chosen are rare. I doubt I’d just randomly offend one."
"I wouldn’t be so sure of that," Wei Chen said before taking out his U-Phone and opening his contact address for Ximen Hao to see.
"This is my U-Phone address. Use your U-Phone to scan it so you can contact me if something happens." Wei Chen gestured toward the spirit screen hovering in the air.
"I’ll take my leave first. Excuse me," said Ximen Hao, not even bothering to remember Wei Chen’s address.
Seeing this, Wei Chen shrugged and pocketed his U-Phone.
"At least watch my next broadcast. It might help you prepare," Wei Chen called out as Ximen Hao left the VIP room with his two bodyguards.
Outside, after leaving the restaurant, one of the bodyguards spoke.
"Young Master! That vagabond doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth! He doesn’t appreciate your kindness. Do you want me to—"
Before he could finish, Ximen Hao shook his head.
"You can’t take him on. From what we saw back in the Thousand Treasure Pavilion’s main hall, he might not be at the Soul Transformation Realm yet, but he could still defeat a Nascent Soul cultivator like you in one move. Besides, he has deep connections with Lady Mo and the Sky-Severing Demon Valley. Unless absolutely necessary, we shouldn’t offend someone like him," said Ximen Hao.
"Young Master is wise!" the bodyguard said, cupping his fists before continuing to follow his master.
—
After Ximen Hao left, the food finally arrived. Wei Chen thanked the waitress and began to enjoy the dishes before him.
Dongpo Pork, Beggar’s Chicken, dim sum, and sweet and sour pork, all of them were iconic Chinese dishes.
Seeing the lineup of food, Wei Chen smiled. These were the same dishes he had eaten with his Ex in his previous life when they went on vacation in China. He ordered them purely out of nostalgia.
Although he sometimes craved cheeseburgers, weisswurst, bratwurst, or pizza, those foods didn’t exist here, so he settled for the next best thing, the nostalgic dishes.
After finishing the meal, he circulated his spiritual qi to help digest it all and felt satisfied. In truth, cultivators didn’t need this much food to sustain themselves; they ate only for pleasure, not survival.
He also knew that cultivators preferred food made from precious ingredients taken from spirit beasts, as such meals could slightly aid in their cultivation.
But Wei Chen’s values differed from those of the people in this world. He didn’t care much for such things, and it wouldn’t help him anyway, since his damned black hole core required an absurd amount of spiritual qi to advance.
After eating his fill, Wei Chen left the restaurant and wandered through the streets, hesitating between returning to the Thousand Treasure Pavilion or staying the night at an inn.
While walking, his spiritual sense picked up that someone was following him. He remembered the warning Ximen Hao had given him.
If he were a protagonist from some hot-blooded novel, he would have led the stalker to a deserted place to confront them. But since he wasn’t, he chose instead to head toward the Thousand Treasure Pavilion.
At that moment, he sensed a sharp intent directed at him, a provoking intent, as if someone had challenged him.
The urge to turn around and accept the challenge began to rise within Wei Chen’s heart.
—
Lie Ren was in a foul mood. This was the first time one of his ambush plans had gone so wrong. Why wasn’t this guy following the usual logic!?
He had locked onto his current target, Wei Chen, a Soul Transformation Realm vagabond.
This was supposed to be a very lucrative and low-risk job, the perfect target to make a name for himself and earn a fortune at the same time.
He had caught sight of Wei Chen as the man walked out of a mortal restaurant. Lie Ren stalked him and deliberately let out his presence so that this Soul Transformation Realm vagabond would notice him.
This should have been a simple and easy job. The strong, especially those in the Soul Transformation Realm and above, usually led their stalkers to a deserted place, thinking they could handle the situation themselves.
When that happened, Lie Ren had just the thing to guarantee a kill, provided the target went somewhere isolated.
But... who would have thought this bastard would ignore him and walk straight toward the Thousand Treasure Pavilion, heading into a place full of people like some helpless mortal who felt he was being followed!? Just like those ants who run toward safety!
Wasn’t he supposed to find a quiet place to try to eliminate his pursuer!?
Lie Ren continued to follow his target, growing increasingly anxious. In the end, he used his intent to provoke the man.
And it worked! Wei Chen paused and looked around, trying to discern where the intent came from. As expected! no true cultivator could ignore a challenge.
If they did, their Dao heart would waver, and their cultivation path would be shaken. To walk far along the path of cultivation, one must possess the mentality of the strong.
No one could ignore that!
Lie Ren stood on the roof of a nearby building, deliberately revealing his location. This was no longer an ambush, it was a direct challenge!
"Now! Come to me! I challenge you!" Lie Ren muttered under his breath as his eyes locked with his target’s.
"What!?" Lie Ren blurted out in disbelief.
He saw his target rush toward the Thousand Treasure Pavilion without even turning back the moment their eyes met.
Didn’t this guy have the dignity and pride of the strong!? Why was he suddenly running away!?
Lie Ren gritted his teeth and followed behind him.
His target was getting closer and closer to the Thousand Treasure Pavilion, leaving no opening for an ambush. At this rate, his plan might completely fail.
"Damn it!" Lie Ren cursed, then took out a Blood-Red Eight Trigram Mirror, an artifact he often used to ambush stronger opponents, especially those with higher cultivation than himself.
"Open! Eight Trigram Blood Arena!" Lie Ren shouted, aiming the mirror at Wei Chen.
In that instant, with a flash of light, both Wei Chen and Lie Ren were transported into a small arena surrounded by mirrors on all sides, with no way to escape.