Condemning the Heavens

Ouyang Yan was not a reckless figure. He knew that those three youngsters had to have some kind of backer to be able to afford the Rainbow Pills.

He was only one person, and he was only a fourth layer Ordinary Knight. Although the others had seemed weaker, they held the advantage of numbers; not to mention that Ouyang Yan was nothing but a normal member of the Ouyang family. If he had been important, he would not need to go to a border country like the Chengzi Kingdom for mere One Color Rainbow Pills, nor would he be traveling alone.

Since he had a lot to take into consideration, he hesitated. And yet for some reason he could not stop his own body from moving, trying to catch up with the young men he had seen before.

Unfortunately, when he exited the Medicinal Pill Workshop, he found that there was no sign of the three of them. They had vanished completely into the crowd.

Considering what to do, Ouyang Yan pondered for some time, but he ultimately came up with nothing. He had no connections in this kingdom and he knew that his family would be against him using his background to intimidate and force others into assisting him.

Sighing, he shook his head. “If it’s fate, then we will meet again,” he stated. With a last glance at the crowd, he decided it was time to leave the city. It held no more interest to him.

Although Ouyang Yan had not seen them, Xue Wei had actually not gone far. The group was not in a hurry and were slowly strolling back to the hotel. Although the city had hated Xue Wei at the start, no one paid attention to him anymore. The three great sects continuously kept all his movements under strict watch.

The Cerulean Starlight Sect was aware that they had messed up earlier. The Grand Elder of the sect who had been hostile towards Xue Wei had been punished for his behavior. Today, a new Grand Elder had arrived to take over the branch.

They were, however, aware that it was too late to mend the relationship with Xue Wei as he had not even once tried to find their sect in the time he had been in Cloudsoar City.

Since he had cut all contact with the Cerulean Starlight Sect, Xue Wei was suddenly all alone against the three great sects. Although he was excessively prideful after the hatching of his dragon spirit, he also understood that right now the safest place was close to the Golden Chambers.

Even if the three great sects would not want to become enemies of the Golden Chambers and considering that they had already used their influence to pressure them, it was clear that they would go the extra mile for Xue Wei.

“If he wants to lock himself up within the city, then let him. We cannot act against him, but he is also incapable of acting against us.” This was the general opinion of the three great sects.

It was true that a formation master was important and revered. A formation master would be respected and tried to be won over, but since they already had bad blood between each other, the sects believed it would be best to get rid of him before he became a problem.

The three great sects were all famous and continent-spanning because they were a place where everyone could join, granted that they had a talent for cultivation. They were places where one could be provided with resources that their background could not afford, and in the end they could end up accomplishing great things.

There were many of their disciples who had come from remote areas. As a result, the sects had grown in strength and influence over the years. However, there were still factions even they could not afford to insult.

The Golden Chambers was one of them. The Ouyang family was another. Right now, the Golden Chambers was protecting Xue Wei so they could only back down.

It has to be said that despite backing down for now, they had no intention of letting Xue Wei and his companions go. While he might not be able to command the wind and the weather right now, if he continued to grow as he did, one day he might have enough influence to be able to become a thorn in their side. Although they believed that he would not seek to directly obliterate their branches and bases and murder their disciples, he could still heavily injure their sects foundations, be it financially or reputationally, if he set his mind to it.

Xue Wei himself was perfectly well aware of this fact.

“We’re going to leave this city soon, right?” Hei Gou asked curiously. Xue Wei shook his head. “Cloudsoar City will be our base for some time,” he said apologetically. “While I would love it if we could leave right away, I am afraid that it’s not possible. If we leave, the three great sects are going to hunt us down, and then we will be in for a world of pain. If we manage to survive, we’ll have been incredibly lucky.”

Bai Tianyi nodded his head, his eyes gleaming dangerously. “Three great sects, more like three-legged cats,” he snorted. “They tried chasing us out of the city by turning the public opinion against us, but they totally failed. Now they are just biding their time.”

“So when can we leave?” Hei Gou asked. Xue Wei pondered the question. Finally, he sighed. “The stronger we are, the better. But we need to be at least at the Ordinary Knight level, maybe even at the Earth Knight level.”

A grimace flitted across Hei Gou’s face. He had only recently broken through to the Heavenly Warrior realm. Becoming an Ordinary Knight was not something he could just pull out of a hat. In fact, it would take him quite some time, maybe even years!

Xue Wei was also not happy about it. In fact, he was annoyed that he had been caged like a beast inside Cloudsoar City. Although humans officially did not permit murder among each other, the truth was that the stronger experts would do anything that benefited themselves. If getting rid of Xue Wei was in their best interests, then he would be removed at the first possible moment.

The only pleasure that Xue Wei had was that his stay in Cloudsoar City had caused the three sects to gnash their teeth in anger and impatience as they waited for him to leave. Just as they had imprisoned him, he had answered by annoying them in his own way.

“We have enough resources to do what we need to do,” Xue Wei said after a bit of silence as they walked back to the hotel. “We should be able to spend a few years here. But once we reach the Knight stage, we will make a run for it.”

By the time Xue Wei finished speaking, they arrived at the hotel. This time he paid for a full year in advance. His straightforwardness made the Golden Chambers and the three great sects aware that he had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

“I have to warn you,” Bai Tianyi said after they entered Xue Wei’s suite and closed the door.

“Rainbow Pills are seen as being wonderful magical pills; the most outstanding of all the pills because they are created by energy alone, not medicinal herbs.”

“Unfortunately, this also means that it’s kinda hard to know what to expect.”

“You could get a pill that increases your spiritual energy or you could get one that increases your Qi. You can even get one that increases your physical strength. It is hard to say.”

Xue Wei frowned. “Then are they not quite a gamble to consume?” he asked. Bai Tianyi flashed a wide smile at the other male. “It is, but when you get it right, you really get an astronomical increase in strength.”

“So if it is a gamble, how come you were lucky enough to have it increase your spiritual energy?” Hei Gou asked, puzzled. “Were you just very fortunate or do you have some kind of trick?”

Bai Tianyi gave Hei Gou a look that clearly displayed that he had never thought that this dog could be smart.

“Good question,” he said teasingly. Hei Gou, who had sensed the gaze, snorted but did not say anything as he wanted answers. “I am created from spiritual energy,” he began the explanation. “I am a sword spirit. Because of this, I have no physical strength, and I have no Qi.”

“It is impossible for the Rainbow Pill to enhance something that does not exist. As a result, all I can get is spiritual energy.” Bai Tianyi smiled excessively as he explained his situation.

“So you can eat as many Rainbow Pills as you please and all of them will increase your spiritual energy?” Xue Wei was the one to ask with a raised eyebrow. Was this not a little unfair?

“I can.” Bai Tianyi nodded his head affirmatively, his smile widening even further so much so that the corners of his lips almost touched his eyes.

“Well, take two of the Rainbow Pills then,” Xue Wei sighed. “Since they are guaranteed to increase your strength, it is better for you to consume them than for us to risk them being wasted. Hei Gou and I will take one each.”

Bai Tianyi did not decline and accepted the two snow jade vials. With a nod to the other two, he swaggered out of the room, looking extremely pleased with himself.

Hei Gou and Xue Wei both chuckled slightly and shook their heads. Bai Tianyi was an old demon, a man who had stood at the apex, but now he was nothing more than an eccentric, slightly petty, child.

“Well then, excuse me, I will go and see what my luck brings me!” Hei Gou said seriously as he tightly grasped the vial in his hand. Excitement shone in his eyes.

Xue Wei nodded his head and said his farewells before he too sat down on the floor in his room on a cushion and looked at the red colored pill in his hand.

This was a One Color Rainbow Pill. A Seven Color Rainbow Pill on the other hand was the pinnacle of pill-making; they were heaven-defying and as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

However, even if they existed, it was impossible to buy such pills with mere money.

Rolling the pill around in the palm of his hand, Xue Wei pondered what to do. Finally after a few seconds, he raised it and placed it in his mouth, curious as to how it would react compared to normal pills.

The moment it came into contact with his tongue, the pill started to melt into liquid energy that slowly spread down from his throat into the rest of his body.

For a second, Xue Wei thought he was floating as the energy gained in momentum like the waves of a storm, crashing against the azure dragon in his dantian.

The dragon swayed in this current of energy as a small boat would in the ocean’s fury. But only until it opened its mouth. As if a black hole had manifested in his dantian region, the dragon started swallowing the energy almost ravenously.

There was no telling when this would end; the dragon kept sucking in the waves of energy like a bottomless pit.

The extra energy that the suction force could not take in did not go to waste. As soon as the excess energy touched the dragon’s body, its scales and body absorbed it, but not as cleanly as when it was swallowed. Still, the color of the Azure Dragon’s scales and body deepened and solidified. It was as if the more nourishment it received, the deeper the color of its body would become and the more it seemed like a real thing, no longer ethereal.

Xue Wei was unaware of how much time had gone by. When the crashing waves of energy died down and he tried to stand up, his entire body was stiff and sore. He had clearly been sitting in the same position for an exceedingly large amount of time.