Chapter 523: Chapter 519: Rumor Has It

Tang Luo and Hua Ji, already adept at their jobs, adeptly worked together to significantly speed up the progress on the western side. The fact that they were able to verify fewer than two hundred people put a big smile on Tang Luo’s face.

Not only were the western martial artists superior to the eastern ones in terms of average spiritual power, but there were also more prodigies springing forth. From only two hundred people, a Marshal Star Pavilion member with a 1.2 spirit strength had emerged, leading Tang Luo to wonder just how many remarkable individuals there might be once they had screened the over four thousand people.

The team slowly advanced, and soon the turn of the Fang brothers came. The towering figure of Fang Xiong drew everyone’s attention in the crowd. To the malnourished martial artists among the common folk, the height of a two-meter tall martial artist was comparable to that of a giant, even exceeding Tang Luo’s current build.

Though towering, Fang Xiong’s presence was incredibly weak, making him resemble an old man on his last legs. As for his older brother Fang Yuan, the once gentlemanly small-eyed man, he resembled a drug addict now, his face as pale as a sheet, barely drawing breath.

This was the first time the Fang brothers made an appearance in front of Tang Luo, causing Hua Ji to furrow his brows, doubt filling his eyes, as if questioning, “Can these two emaciated figures even be considered martial artists?”

Judging by their current aura and complexion, they would have difficulty even moving a piece of furniture, let alone chopping wood. Thus it wasn’t surprising that Hua Ji was sceptical.

The brothers, however, appeared unperturbed. The small-eyed man gave a bow to Tang Luo and Hua Ji, speaking in a voice almost as faint as a mosquito’s: “Please accept Tang Tianjiao’s greetings. My name is Fang Yuan.”

Tang Luo glanced at Fang Yuan, then at Fang Xiong behind him, curiosity etched on his face, he asked, “Are you not afraid of death?”

Fang Yuan, already pale, blanched at these words, stuttering: “I…I don’t quite…understand.”

“Well, let me enlighten you,” he said with a smile. Tang Luo’s voiced lowered as he continued, “We sit among the crowd, practicing our internal energy while others practice theirs. I’ve caught on to the pattern, Tang Tianjiao is careful. Everyone is checked twice, once before they practice, and once after. After the first check, we utilize our internal energy, Qixi Gong, to control our spiritual power, and then release a bit before the second check. This way, they will assume we are Mortal Realm martial artists, and there is a good chance they will send us to Master Ou at Dong Feng. There, we are not far from our secret cave, where we can stock up on a few days’ food, and then sail out on a raft, returning to our mother’s homeland, where even birds fly freely and fish leap in the expanse of the sea. Then, we can truly be free!”

Fang Yuan’s face betrayed complete shock at this near-perfect mimicry. He even forgot to control his Qixi Gong, and a touch of red appeared on his pale face.

Tang Luo touched his ear lobe and said quietly, “You didn’t really think you were the only one capable of listening and understanding, did you? Next time, if you have a secret, write it down, or at least use some sort of secret communication. Do you understand?”

Swallowing nervously, the cold sweat soaking his back made Fang Yuan feel as though he were a peeping Tom who had just been caught out. The fear and helplessness almost threatened to consume him.

He cursed himself a thousand times in his heart, his mind racing to figure out the next step.

But was there another step to take? The unexpected turmoil within the team had already raised the suspicion of those further back. On hearing Tang Luo’s words, they quickly enclosed the two brothers.

The Du elders, Du Wei and Du Ling from the Du Family, locked their spirits onto the brothers, preventing the Mortal Realm martial artists from moving. They could only stand rigid in place.

The total lack of surviving chance left Fang Yuan thoroughly defeated, a sense of hopelessness and regret welling within him.

Martial artists who have yet to reach the unity of spirit and intent, once their spirits are trapped by a martial artist from the Fierce Realm, are almost as good as condemned to death. That sort of crushing pressure from a higher level of life is inescapable, not just about determination; the brothers were in desperate straits.

“Elders, please withdraw your spirits. Everyone else, return to the queue!” Tang Luo ordered with knitted brows.

The spiritual lockdown was an instinctive reaction from the elders. They hadn’t even considered how their actions would affect others.

If anyone was suffering the most from this now, it would be Hua Ji. The pressure exerted by the Fierce Realm martial artists, even if a minor part of it, was a great shock to Hua Ji, without any cultivation of his own.

Still, Hua Ji clenched his teeth and kept silent. If the elders kept up, who knew what would happen to the Fang brothers, but Hua Ji would surely faint. If that were to happen, what was there left to do here?

No longer in the spiritual lockdown, the brothers regained freedom, but dared not move as both Du Wei and Du Ling’s cold stares remained fixed on them. Those eyes seemed to be saying, “Make a move, and you die.”

Swiftly reformed under Tang Luo’s orders, the team’s order was restored. Those martial artists who had jumped out of line to see what was happening circled back to their original positions, fearful of falling behind.

Within a few breaths, order was restored again.

Tang Luo nodded approvingly, looking at the two brothers who were free but dared not move. He asked plainly, “Do I look like the foolish scion of a landlord’s family?”

Truth be told, he found these two brothers quite intriguing. While Hua Ji may find the task of remembering all that information daunting, to Tang Luo, it was just a simple case of repetition. He only needed to determine the number underscored in a potential candidate’s head and announce it.

Yet this simple task, which could not be interrupted, often led to boredom. Thus, naturally enough, his ears perked up to listen to the conversations among the common martial artists.

Hearing the tales and gossip of these lowly martial artists had its own charm, reminding him of the joie de vivre amongst ordinary people.

But this tapestry of ordinary existence was marred by the appearance of two brothers planning to escape. It was quite annoying.

Hence, he wondered who had given them the audacity to plan their escape. Or did he somehow resemble the simple-minded heir of a wealthy family? Was the cost of betrayal really so low?

Fang Yuan, cunning as he was, could sense the resentment in Tang Luo’s words and quickly denied, “How dare I think such a thing!”

Since they had not been killed on the spot, it meant there was a chance for survival. Fang Yuan hoped that the fifteen-year-old Tang Luo would be lenient. Otherwise, they really had no way out.

The pale, small-eyed man fell to his knees, his voice breaking with sobs, “Who in Xiling does not know of Tianjiao as a truly extraordinary prodigy? We brothers admire and look up to him. How could we possibly belittle him? On her deathbed, our mother entrusted my brother to me and repeatedly implored me to bring her ashes back home to Chaochang. At this time, when Xiling is facing a thousand year calamity, I didn’t want us to die here, unable to fulfill our mother’s last wish. This is why we contemplated escape.”

“My younger brother has always listened to me, and reluctantly complied only because he couldn’t resist my persuasion. All of this was planned by me alone and has nothing to do with him. Tianjiao, please spare him in consideration of his ignorance..”