Chapter 68: Who’s the Oriole

AGM 0068 – Who’s the Oriole (check TN Notes)

Logan and his party froze upon seeing Qin Wentian’s speed. Not willing to put himself in danger, Logan pointed to a skinny youth in a green robe and commanded, “Go deal with it.”

That skinny youth nodded his head and released one of his Astral Souls. The Astral Soul he released was condensed from a tree-type constellation, with many vines growing out of its trunk. At the same time, several vines materialized, wrapping themselves around his body as his body was shrouded by Astral Light. Evidently, this tree-type Astral Soul belonged to the control-type category that could be used to deal with cultivators who depended on speed.

“The two of you, go kill that fatass.” Logan instructed. Qin Wentian held an extraordinary position in the academy, so without a doubt, he would be under the protection of the academy’s elites. If he wanted to kill Qin Wentian, he had to extinguish any potential leaks, which meant they needed to kill Fan Le.

The two cultivators from Logan’s party moved towards Fan Le. Upon witnessing this, Fan Le immediately retreated with breathtaking speed. After all, his cultivation was at the 2nd level of Arterial Circulation, which was lower than either of his opponents. Not only that, he specialised in long-distance combat. There was no way he would be willing to engage in a close quarters fight.

Logan and the rest of his party members surrounded Qin Wentian, not bothering to mask their killing intents.

“You think you’re all-powerful because you killed Murong Feng? Although his cultivation is at the 4th level of Arterial Circulation, his methods were too soft, let alone his martial heart.” Logan coldly stated as a terrifying sharp Qi gushed forth from his Axe-type Astral Soul.

“Do it.” At Logan’s command, the tree-type cultivator waved his hands, sending vines to lock Qin Wentian in position. Logan took a big step forwards and chopped downwards with his Astral Axe, wanting to smash Qin Wentian into pieces.

Qin Wentian stomped on the ground countless times in an instant, his feet never ceasing their movements. Dodging towards the side, his body transformed into a blur of shadows that avoided the axe chop and long vines.

“Swoosh!” A cold ray of sword light flashed by, moving parallel to the sword user’s swift, wind-like steps. At the same moment, the fist of the last party member exploded out alongside the cries of a demonic bull, flying with great power towards Qin Wentian.

In a single breath of time, Qin Wentian executed the Garuda Movement Technique to its utmost limits while continuously dodging the three attacks. His movements were beyond exquisite, causing those who see it to sigh in envy. As for the fourth attack, the fist exploding forth with the might of a demonic bull, Qin Wentian shifted his body slightly before summoning the Astral Energy within his body, and sending out a Diamond Imprint palm strike that broke apart the faint shadow of the demonic bull hovering behind the fist.

The time it took for him to send out his palm strikes proved long enough for the Astral Axe and sword light to target him again. A sense of impending danger tingled his spine and yet, Qin Wentian was still incomparably calm. It was as though he could hear every movement in the wind.

At the instant before his head was crushed by that mighty axe, his body flickered like a phantom as he drifted away in retreat. The axe strike split the air next to him but the sword light had actually manage to draw blood, which dripped down from Qin Wentian’s wound. Under the onslaught of the four members’ attacks, not even Qin Wentian could remain unscathed. The level of difficulty was far from the fight he had with Murong Feng; every moment was filled with incomparable danger!

In the next exchange of blows, the sword actually pierced into Qin Wentian’s body. Choosing to sacrifice his mobility for a chance to lessen the immense pressure, he decided to go for a dual exchange. A white light flashed by, and the next instant, the sword user had a dagger through his throat. The sword user released the hold on his sword and retreated rapidly, mumbling incoherently as blood flowed in great torrents between the fingers of the hands that he wrapped around his throat to stem the bleeding. However, it was too late for him.

Qin Wentian had no time to witness the death of the sword user. Pulling the sword out from his body and flinging it away, he dashed away with a coldness radiating from his eyes. The dagger had always been hidden on his body, perfect for instant kills. Once revealed, he had the element of surprise on his side, which enable him to kill the sword user in the lightning-fast exchange of blows.

Logan and the rest frenziedly chased after Qin Wentian, the scenes of the sword user dying with both his hands stained in blood still fresh in their minds. This was already the second member to die in the hands of Qin Wentian.

At the start of the battle, Qin Wentian had pulverised the heart of one of their members. And just a few moments earlier, he stabbed another through the throat.

The remaining three glared at Qin Wentian with hatred, their gazes akin to poisonous snakes.

Blood was dripping out from the wound in Qin Wentian’s chest, dying his robes red. The earlier sword strike had managed to injure Qin Wentian, despite of utilizing the Garuda Movement Technique.

“Fascinating.”

At this moment, the voice of a stranger rang out. Qin Wentian and Logan’s party members froze, as they looked towards the direction of that voice, only to see Fan Le dashing out in a sorry state. Traces of blood could be seen from the corner of his mouth, and his sleeves were torn, revealing the concealed arrow underneath. This meant that despite of using his hidden weapon, Fan Le had still been injured.

“We were betrayed.” Fan Le spat out a mouthful of blood as he arrived at the side of Qin Wentian. Behind him, other than the two cultivators with whom Fan Le had fought, there were two other students close behind.

One of the two other individuals was a skinny looking youth with cold eyes and a long face that gave off a ruthless feel. At this moment, his lips were curled up in an unpleasant smile. This person was precisely the one who had spoken the word “Fascinating” just now.

Seeing the other person standing beside him, Qin Wentian narrowed his eyes when he realized who it was.

“Zero.” Qin Wentian coldly stated. Zero shifted his gaze over and exclaimed coldly, “Don’t blame me, you were the one was heartless.”

“If you had remained behind earlier, I’m afraid you would have already become a dead man.” Qin Wentian calmly replied, “I only wanted you to leave here temporarily. When I obtained the Ember Blood Fruits, I would have given some of them to you, but to think that……”

“Say whatever you want.” Zero icily replied.

“Why are you still wasting your time on this piece of crap. We protected him during our training session in the Dark Forest and even shared half of the demonic cores with him. Even so, he betrayed us without a word. Excellent.” Fan Le coldly exclaimed, as Qin Wentian shook his head in resignation. Fan Le was right, there was no need to explain anything to a person of such character.

“Hehe.” The youth standing beside Zero coldly laughed. “Logan, Young Master Luo is nearby. I’ve already sent men to inform this of this. Do you know what you have to do now?”

“Luo Qianqiu.” Logan’s countenance froze as he shot icy stares at Zero. This bastard actually went to inform the Luo Qianqiu’s lackey.

Since Luo Qianqiu already knew about the Blood Ember Fruits, they would have no more chances left. Now, Logan could only try to maximise his own gains.

“Franklin, I’m willing to give these Blood Ember Fruits to Young Master Luo. However, several of my brothers died trying to obtain the fruits. Could you spare a fruit for each of my surviving brothers?” Logan inquired.

“There are only so many Blood Ember Fruits, and you want Young Master Luo to give them to you?” Franklin pointed to the Blood Ember Tree, to which Logan shifted his gaze. Instantly, as his gaze landed upon the trees, his legs involuntarily shuddered, as if he saw something inconceivable. His countenance grew extremely unsightly.

“Franklin, there’s still someone here.” The expressions on Logan’s face was extremely ugly to behold. On the Blood Ember Tree, there were only a few of the spiritual fruits remaining; the rest of the fruits had already been stolen by a mysterious party.

“What the f*ck happened? Someone stole the fruits while we were fighting!?”

“I don’t care about other variables. These Blood Ember Fruits, are you sure you still dare to keep them?” Franklin forcefully asked.

Logan’s face became unsightly as he fiercely screamed in his heart. Luo Qianqiu’s lackey was too domineering. But still, protecting his own life now was more important. After all, Luo Qianqiu was someone he couldn’t afford to antagonise.

“I’m willing to give all of the fruits to Young Master Luo.” Logan gritted his teeth as he forced the words out, causing Franklin to smile in satisfaction.

Qin Wentian and Fan Le were watching by the side. When Logan said that the fruits were stolen, puzzlement couldn’t help but shine on their faces.

“I think I should be included in the discussion, no?” Qin Wentian calmly added.

As the sound of his voice faded away,the gazes of both Logan and Franklin landed on Qin Wentian. Logan silently remarked in his heart. Is this person an idiot? Meanwhile, a cold smile broke out on Franklin’s face.

“Is he also a student of the Emperor Star Academy?” For half a year, Franklin had followed Luo Qianqiu as he ventured into the Dark Forest for cultivation, so he had never returned to the academy during this period of time.

“The number one ranked out of all the new students, Qin Wentian.” Logan explained.

“So that’s the case.” Touching his chin, Franklin asked Qin Wentian, “Since you are a new student, you should learn how to respect your seniors. Are you going to give up your claim on the Blood Ember Fruits or not?”

“Fine, all the fruits belong to you.” Qin Wentian spread his hands out. Casting a glance at Fan Le, both of them turned around and walked away. Witnessing this situation occurring, Logan was dumbstruck. When did this fellow became so easy to push around?

But at this moment, they could see a snow white puppy climbing the trunk of the Ember Blood Tree and plucking off a Ember Blood Fruit with its paws. Moments after that, it extended its head out and adorably glanced at the people under the tree, blinking its eyes in confusion as if it was somewhat depressed at being discovered.

“F*ck, so the fruits were stolen by that beast.” Logan angrily shouted.

“That’s Qin Wentian’s pet.” Zero frantically exclaimed.

“Little Rascal, as for the remaining fruits on the tree, you can have them. Be sure to enjoy your meal.” A voice drifted over from far away, and upon hearing the command, Little Rascal threw the Blood Ember Fruit into its mouth and expanded in size. With a speed that defied logic, merely a few breath later, the remaining Blood Ember Fruits disappeared one by one into Little Rascal’s mouth.

“Quickly stop that little bastard!”

Franklin’s countenance transformed into something exceedingly fascinating to behold as he sped towards the Blood Ember Tree. However, they were too late. By the time they arrived, the entire hoard of the remaining Blood Ember Fruits had been eaten by Little Rascal. Turning into a blur of shadows, Little Rascal sped away, rushing down the mountain. As Logan and Franklin and the rest of their members chased after it, they could see that inside the mouth of Little Rascal was a bag filled with the previously stolen Blood Ember Fruits.

“Evil Beast.”

“Little Bastard.”

Upon seeing this, Franklin and Logan hollered with rage, and they frantically increased their speed. Little Rascal had purposely slowed itself down to taunt them earlier, but now that its mission had been accomplished, Little Rascal upped its speed to another level as its body flickered, disappearing from view.

Somewhere far away, Qin Wentian and Fan Le displayed brilliant smiles on their faces and laughed uproariously while imagining their pursuers’ outrageous reactions.

This little fellow, what a useful pet!

TL Note: I WANT A PET LIKE LITTLE RASCAL TOO

洛千秋 Luo Qianqiu, 洛(luo)= its a surname. 千(qian) = Thousand. 秋 (qiu)= Autumn. Luo Qian Qiu – Luo Thousand Autumns.

The title is a direct reference to this chinese idiom: 螳螂捕蟬, 黃雀在後 (picture) The Mantis stalks it’s prey, unaware that it’s being preyed upon by the Oriole.

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From now to the end of this month (30th June), for every two sponsored chapters, I will add an additional bonus chapter.

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