Simply Trading

By the time that he returned to the lecture, the one giving it was already done. The group of participants was already outside, and gathered near the main gate of the camp.

The rest of the people taking the trials were looking at him with an almost predatory gleam in their eyes. Which was enough to tell him that Lei Kongwei's warning had not been too far off from the truth. Some of them were clearly anticipating catching him out in the open on his own.

Well, he could understand that. So long as they got rid of him, they would have one less competitor in the running. Not to mention the fact that they would have a chance to swallow up the storage ring that was in his hands as well. That should be temptation enough for everyone there.

Of course, the question was, was he really that easy a prey as they thought?

Qin Feng pressed his lips together, forming a grim smile. These fools were nothing but a waste of time. He could dispose of them easily, if he wished. But what would be the point of that? It wasn't going to grant him any extra points, if he snatched their rings away. And it was clear that they were only out to reduce the number of those who were competing to get a rating with the Changqing City Army.

So he ignored them and their silly preparations to accost him. Did they think that it would be that easy, when they didn't even bother to hide their intentions from his eyes? He had several methods at his fingertips already, if he wanted to get rid of them, once and for all. And plenty of other tactics that he could employ, if he merely wished to stay out of their reach.

Ordinarily, he would have taken the opportunity to teach these idiots a lesson, by snatching away their own trial rings like they were intending to do to him. But he knew that it would only make things worse. And the barbarians were already making preparations, weren't they? The Kingdom would need more couriers - even idiotic ones! They might not be able to fight the enemy, but their efforts would certainly make things easier for the real soldiers.

So he simply took a deep Breath, the moment that the signal was given. And slowly channeled his zhenqi to his legs, letting it build up in his lower limbs. The Flowing Wind Steps that he had been practicing all this while had a rather unusual effect, and he was going to show it off at once. And give these fools no chance to put their idiotic plans into action!

After all, this was supposed to be a competition for posts in the Marquis' forces, and the fact that he did not wish to embarrass Li Changhai - which would certainly be the case if he lashed out at this bunch of idiots, Qin Feng decided on the course of action that he would take.

He didn't need to crush these fools, in order to get what he want.

By then, the rest of the Adjutant's men had already arranged for the group to gather outside the entrance of the camp, ready to set forth for their respective targets. There were three other camps that the participants were supposed to be headed to, and Qin Feng had picked the most easily identifiable of them all.

After all, he was more than aware of his deficiency in map-reading, and making sense of directions in the wild. Which was why he had picked the most obvious, and most open, of the three target camps.

It was located next to a river, which was just about two li to the North from where they were. And another one hundred or so li further upriver from there. So it should not give him any trouble; all he had to do was the follow the water towards its source, and he should be able to find the camp easily enough.

So he chuckled softly, as he adjusted the short sword at his belt once again, adjusting it so that it lay horizontally across the back of his waist. It would offer the least resistance, he knew, if he wore it like that. And not get in the way of his movements.

He didn't really need it, and was about to refuse the sergeant's good intentions for a moment, before he realized that the older man didn't know about his peculiarities, and the focus of his martial arts. And he wasn't about to tell his Lei Kongwei about it, at their first meeting.

So he had simply accepted the one and a half foot long sword, and quietly attached it to his belt, before returning to join the rest of the participants. Luckily for him, the briefing was already complete, so he didn't have to waste any more time sitting there in the musky, sweat-scented tent.

The scruffy-looking soldiers all around them merely sneered at the whole group, and went about their own business. Clearly, they were not impressed with the participants of the Trials at all.

"You have a day, to get to your target camp and back again. If you return after sunset, as I had mentioned before, points will be deducted from your score!" the one who had been briefing the lot of them reminded, as he stepped to the fore, and turned to face the group of ten or so participants.

The look on his face didn't hold any enthusiasm for the competition at all. Which was no surprise to Qin Feng, to tell the truth. The soldier was already in the Initial Core Formation Realm, while most of the participants in the selection were only in the Qi Accumulation Realm. It was expected, he supposed, to have the soldiers look down on all of them.

"Enough talk! Let us begin! You can go now!"

There were a few shouts, mostly from the younger members of the group, as they started charging off at once. Most of the others moved a lot more slowly, as they eyed their so-called opponents. But Qin Feng was the one who drew the most attention, when he simply remained standing where he was, at the entrance of the camp, and looking at the position of the sun in the late morning sky.

Then he began to walk slowly, ignoring the looks that he was attracting from those who had already fixed him as a target in their minds. Some of them were already starting to run from the entrance of the camp, towards their respective targets, although there were still a good number who were staring at him. No doubt, they were curious why he had not begun to move yet.

But he continued to ignore them, and persisted in ensuring that his inner zhenqi was at its peak, before he slowly bent his knees, and tilted his body in the direction that he was supposed to be headed towards.

Then, with a soft cry, he kicked out, sending himself away from where he was standing in what seemed to be a gust of wind! Within moments, he was already leagues away, and sprinting off towards his target camp!

And he hid his laughter in his heart, as the echoes of their loud cries reached his ears.

Let them come after him, if they could!

His Flowing Wind Steps should be more than sufficient to leave them all breathing in his trail dust for the next three to four hours, if they could keep up!

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