Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Escape, The Menacing Emergence of the Heavenly Demon Disaster_1
By the time Wang Linchi escaped from the north gate of Lixi Prefecture, more than half of the city was covered by a blood-colored cloud, and his face also held a layer of gloom.
Of course, he was not the only one fleeing. In addition to ordinary people, there were many Awakeners.
By now, none of the five Morning Star-level Awakeners of Lixi Prefecture had made a move. Wang Linchi was no longer worried about these things.
He started to leave with the crowd.
Breaking away from the team was impossible. It would be too conspicuous.
However, the leading Awakeners seemed to be planning something, which made Wang Linchi feel uneasy.
Were they planning a rebellion too?
Wang Linchi looked at his large group; ninety-nine percent were ordinary people. The remaining small percentage of Awakeners were inconsequential. More importantly, the strongest among these Awakeners was only at the Elite Gold-level. Moreover, they were not Elite Gold-level Awakeners with strong backgrounds but merely regular Elite Gold-level ones. They were just peripheral figures even among the top echelons of Lixi Prefecture.
Had they been core members, they would have fled long ago, not waited until now.
They had not been far from the city when Wang Linchi sensed something was wrong.
"Brother, you seem like an Awakener too. How did you end up amongst us?" a middle-aged man approached, his eyes flashing.
"Bro, I think you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not an Awakener," Wang Linchi said, feigning bewilderment.
"I’ve seen you going to work at the Soul Kind Bureau every day," the man smirked, suggesting that Wang Linchi couldn’t fool him.
Seeing this, Wang Linchi was somewhat surprised. He had no recollection of this man but assumed he must be a local street vendor or something similar.
"Oh, and then?" Wang Linchi retorted.
"I want to ask..." The middle-aged man didn’t finish his sentence before he stood rigidly in place, lifeless.
Wang Linchi directly used one point of his spiritual power to create a mental monkey, causing the man to die on the spot.
The man probably thought Wang Linchi was an easy target, hence the threat. Had Wang Linchi not been resourceful, he might have succumbed.
Glancing at the body, Wang Linchi didn’t think much of it. However, when he took a closer look, he no longer cared about hiding and darted out of the crowd, running solo.
He did so because a large, dark cloud was closing in on them from behind.
Exactly. The Demonic Inheritance Successor within the Rebel Army had no intention of letting these small fry go and had dispatched blood-colored wraiths to hunt them down.
Staying with the group at this point only made one a target.
Seeing this, the other Awakeners also began to flee, paying no mind to the ordinary people or non-combat-type Awakeners present.
With their own lives on the line, how could they possibly care about such matters?
They had thought that once they escaped, it would be over. Little did they know there would be more to come.
Wang Linchi’s speed naturally didn’t compare to that of the powerful Awakeners who could fly and run with their strong physiques. However, he possessed an advantage: as long as he made it out of their sight, he could disappear using the Soul Kind·Soul Courtyard and Soul Kind·Hall of Thoughts.
I must incorporate an escape ability into the Soul Kind Pages.
Wang Linchi didn’t regret configuring his second Soul Kind Page as a storage space. Now, not only could he take all his belongings when he fled, but it also contained large amounts of food and daily necessities, so he didn’t need to worry about surviving in the wilderness.
Looking back, three blood-colored wraiths were hot on his trail. Fortunately, their power was not high; they were all at the Black Iron Level and couldn’t stop him with a single attack.
But he didn’t kill them right away.
He worried that they could sense each other. If he killed them now, ten Mountain Copper-level blood-colored wraiths might be dispatched. He could kill those too, but what if the enemy kept sending reinforcements?
The best solution was to run first and keep them trailing him until he was far away or they gave up on their own.
Counterattacking wasn’t always the best option.
Of course, it was also possible that they would send reinforcements, but the probability was small.
After all, sending a large group after a ’White Porcelain-level’ Awakener was plain overkill. Black Iron-level pursuers were more than enough.
The strength Wang Linchi displayed externally was still at the White Porcelain-level. He wasn’t concerned about revealing his breakthrough; in fact, appearing weaker made him less conspicuous.
As long as he didn’t encounter individuals like Yan Ming King or Xu Shou, he didn’t need to worry about his true strength being exposed.
As his Soul Kind evolved to the Epic-level, his innate ability to remain hidden also grew stronger. Now, even Elite Gold-level Awakeners couldn’t see through him.
If he couldn’t even manage this, his struggles would all have been in vain.
After running for another half hour, still luring the three blood-colored wraiths, Wang Linchi looked back and saw them turn around and leave.
He wasn’t sure if they had reached the limit of their controller’s range or if they decided it wasn’t worth chasing a ’White Porcelain-level’ Awakener.
Either way, Wang Linchi breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn’t stop running, though, and it was another half-hour later when he finally stopped to rest in the wilderness.
He pulled out some water, added a bit of salt, stirred it briefly, and gulped it down.
Damn, Lixi Prefecture is gone. Where the hell am I supposed to run to now? Wang Linchi felt helpless.
There wasn’t much danger in the wilderness itself; the only real threats in Great View came from the Court and Awakeners.
Besides, the wilderness was so desolate he didn’t even know exactly where he was.
He had been too focused on fleeing to remember his route, which hadn’t been a straight path north. He had taken several detours attempting to shake off the three blood-colored wraiths.
In the end, he had to consult the formation records of his Thought Mirror. After further deduction, he finally got a rough idea of his current location.
If I continue heading north for about three hundred kilometers, I’ll reach the Dragon Brilliance School, one of the three major sects in Yi State? By combining his itinerary with a map, Wang Linchi pinpointed his destination.
As I recall, the Dragon Brilliance School is for those with Transformative Soul Resemblances and Physical Body Type Soul Resemblances. As long as you meet one of these conditions, have a Potential of 5, and are under eighteen years of age, you can join.
The core requirement is that their Soul Kind is the Dragon Man Bloodline, allowing them to transform into a Dragon Man with a powerful physique.
Once they have embedded the Dragon Man Bloodline Soul Kind, their Transformative Soul Resemblance will be twisted into a Dragon Man transformation of the corresponding attribute, granting special abilities. Those with a Physical Body Type Soul Resemblance become Attribute-less Dragon Men; they lack special abilities but possess an even stronger physique.
A Potential of 5, huh? That means they only recruit those from extraordinary family backgrounds, unlike the Peacock Sword Sect, which only requires a sword or sword-related Soul Resemblance.
The Peacock Sword Sect accepts ordinary Awakeners as long as their Soul Resemblances meet the requirements; there’s no demand for a specific Potential. However, the Dragon Brilliance School is different. Those who can reach a Potential of 5 inevitably have distinguished origins.
But they can afford to be selective, with a Morning Star-level ancestor presiding over the sect. They clearly prefer quality over quantity.
After pondering a while, Wang Linchi decided to seek refuge at the Dragon Brilliance School.
Staying at the foot of their mountain would suffice.
Like the Peacock Sword Sect, the Dragon Brilliance School, despite being a sect, also has sect-owned towns. Otherwise, how would its disciples be fed and clothed?
An organization of that scale must have sufficient industries, and the best industry is naturally owning its own city. Only then can it support the great sect’s expenditures.
As a result, these cities not only have to pay taxes to the Court but also have to hand over sufficient resources to the sect.
The actual administrative power lies with the sect, but nominally, it is still the Court’s territory, and they must offer money and resources as tribute.
Thus, the exploitation is naturally more terrifying, as they are squeezed by both sides.
The Court will not reduce your taxes just because you are managed by a sect; on the contrary, it will demand more, thereby weakening the people’s livelihood.
Ordinary people were barely left with any options to survive.
The Dragon Brilliance School doesn’t seem very stable either. I need to get to Xuan Spirit Heaven as soon as possible. After all, Lixi Prefecture, guarded by five Morning Star-level Awakeners, fell just like that.
The Dragon Brilliance School only has one. If the Rebel Army attacks, they probably won’t be able to hold out. Seeking refuge there would, at best, only be a brief respite.
To reach Xuan Spirit Heaven, I’ll have to take illegal routes, Wang Linchi sighed to himself.
He couldn’t take the legitimate paths. But even to take illegal routes, he still needed channels.
Looks like I can only try my luck at the Dragon Brilliance School first. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll have to wander through other prefectures. And if I still can’t find a channel...
Wang Linchi figured he would just have to drift through various prefectures. As long as he didn’t directly encounter the Rebel Army or the Demonic Inheritance Successor, he probably wouldn’t be in much danger.
Oh, right, and the Court’s people. After all, the Court is no less ruthless than the Rebel Army and the Demonic Inheritance Successor. Otherwise, how could Lixi Prefecture have fallen, its people’s souls extracted and turned into blood-colored wraiths?
It now seemed highly likely that Lixi Prefecture had been abandoned. Otherwise, how could the five Morning Star-level Awakeners have stood by and watched the prefectural capital be massacred without making a single move?