Above the Great Dao
Chapter 90 - 55: You Sit at the Kids’ Table (New Book Requests Monthly Votes)_2

Chapter 90: Chapter 55: You Sit at the Kids’ Table (New Book Requests Monthly Votes)_2

There were still some offal-like meats, deemed too dirty, left behind, amounting to about a hundred pounds or so.

The women, having packed everything neatly, left with the rhinoceros meat, surrounding Zhao Ziyu.

Chen Shi and Li Tianqing had finally attained something worthwhile—a Xuan Guang Turtle. The turtle was small, also one of the mutant beasts that lived in the mud. With a flash of mystic light, it would burrow and escape.

Black Pot discovered this turtle. From a distance, Li Tianqing activated the Six Yin Jade Wheel, but the Xuan Guang Turtle noticed and escaped underground. Eventually, Chen Shi pounded it into the ground with two punches, knocking it out cold.

The two men had to dig into the earth to retrieve it, which could be considered a modest achievement.

As they roamed around the mountain, intending to search for more spiritual beasts, Black Pot sniffed the air and suddenly barked twice.

"Black Pot found something!" Li Tianqing perked up.

Chen Shi shook his head, "Black Pot is saying there’s the smell of blood ahead. Let’s be careful and check it out."

Li Tianqing was baffled, not knowing how Chen Shi understood the dog’s barking. It was just two barks, no different from usual. How could it convey different meanings?

The two quickly arrived at the valley ahead where the smell of blood grew more pungent. Chen Shi and Li Tianqing each activated their Divine Altar, assuming a mutant beast was lured by the smell. But upon sighting them, it quietly retreated, not tempted by the prospective food.

They decided not to pursue the mutant beast and looked ahead, only to find more than ten bodies on the ground, gruesomely dismembered and terribly dead.

Li Tianqing, fighting off discomfort, turned over a body that was face-down. It was a child of about thirteen or fourteen, a year or two older than them, with a face frozen in horror and eyes wide open.

Due to the blood loss, his face was deathly pale.

There were a few other bodies, similar in age to them.

Li Tianqing furrowed his brows, "Who are they?"

"They are students from the private school in Bridge Bay Town," Chen Shi replied.

He approached a pool of blood and flesh, paused, and said, "He is the teacher of the private school in Bridge Bay Town, named Ye Hongqiu. I called him Teacher Ye. When I saw him last, he asked if I wanted to participate in this year’s county examination. He said he could manipulate the examiner to give me an entry spot."

Chen Shi would always sneak to the private school whenever he went to town with his grandfather.

That place held his dreams.

His world wasn’t vast; like other country folks, he believed the only way for a country child to rise was through studying, through taking exams, and becoming a Scholar.

He held immense respect for Ye Hongqiu, a man who could impart knowledge and change his fate.

Such people were called teachers, or ’sir.’

Looking at the bodies strewn across the ground, these were country children like him, also hoping to change their fate through education.

But now, they couldn’t.

Li Tianqing squatted down, touched the bodies on the ground which were still warm, then touched the offal of the Fire Rhinoceros, which were also somewhat warm.

"The killer shouldn’t have gone far, the mountain paths are difficult, they could have only gone about two miles,"

He closely examined the traces left by spells, identifying each one, "There were twelve assailants, using the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword and Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique. Anyone who has ever studied would know the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword, but the Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique is a unique Foundation Establishment Technique of Zhao family of Xinxiang. Though unique, it has also spread, and my Li family has collected it. This technique isn’t as powerful as the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword but has the advantage of versatility."

As he spoke, drawing his conclusions, Chen Shi approached the dissected remains of the Fire Rhinoceros, picking up a short sword from the ground.

This short sword seemed to have been fashioned from a broken long sword, slightly wider than a normal dagger and thinner. It was about 1.2 inches wide, nine inches blade-length, and six inches handle-length, with an iron-cast handle engraved with cloud patterns to enhance grip.

The sword guard was a thick iron slab, and the mouthpiece was brass, attached to the blade.

Chen Shi wiped the blood off the sword, held it in his hand, swung it, but didn’t find it very comfortable. Reversing his grip, it felt much better in his hand.

He found a piece of hemp cloth on the ground, tore it into long strips, and carefully wrapped it around the iron handle, wrapping it round and round.

"Black Pot, where did the people go?" he asked.

Black Pot sniffed the scent of Fire Rhinoceros flesh and began to stride along the trail.

Li Tianqing was squatting in front of Mr. Ye’s corpse, meticulously assessing the subsidence of the nearby ground, and said, "Moving Mountain Talisman, Five Mountains Talisman, Taishan Talisman, none of them would create this kind of pressure. The pressure of a talisman acts on the human body, but the surrounding ground has also been heavily compressed... Divine Embryo Realm doesn’t have this capability! It’s the Golden Core Realm!"

He saw Chen Shi followed Black Pot forward hastily and said, "Little Ten, stop! There are twelve of them in total, and one of them is a Golden Core Realm expert!"

Chen Shi didn’t stop, so he had no choice but to catch up, jogging all the while and saying, "Calm down for a moment. The gap between Divine Embryo Realm and Golden Core Realm is even bigger than that between Divine Altar Realm and Divine Embryo Realm! It’s an insurmountable chasm! We need to think long-term!"

Chen Shi didn’t stop walking, and nor did Black Pot, who only focused on running forward.

"The strength of the others is also extraordinary, eleven top experts of Divine Embryo Realm!"

Li Tianqing, somewhat irritated, grabbed Chen Shi’s hand and scolded, "Don’t be stubborn! Do you know the Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique moves? Do you know how many among them have cultivated the Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Technique, or the Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique? You know nothing! Stop and let us discuss."

Chen Shi stopped, discerned their geographical location, and said, "They aren’t familiar with the path and took a longer route; we’ll take a shortcut to get ahead of them. Tianqing, don’t rush, take it slow. I’m listening."

Li Tianqing breathed a sigh of relief, followed him on a shortcut, and said, "It’s good you’re not rushing. I inspected the wound on the body and figured out what Spell they used. Among them, seven people used the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword, and four closely related to the Zhao family’s young master used the Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique. These four women have higher cultivation levels, we need to be cautious when facing them."

Chen Shi arrived at a high ground on the hillside and looked down.

Zhao Ziyu and those eleven maids appeared in his sight, still a few hundred yards away, with the rugged mountain roads, it would take them some time to reach here.

Li Tianqing observed those twelve from a distance and continued analyzing, "We should first find out which of these eleven women has cultivated the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword and which have cultivated the Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique; remember their faces, body traits, and their positions. I will observe, as I am more detail-oriented."

He crouched down, observing the positions of Zhao Ziyu and those eleven maids while saying, "From their walking posture and their Divine Altar traits, we can distinguish which cultivation techniques they have practiced. They will switch shifts later on, and we can observe that."

Chen Shi said, "They are coming over."

Li Tianqing continued observing, saying, "Don’t rush. We are just observing this time. After I finish observing, I will formulate a detailed strategy. This group has come out to seek food, killing for food, it’s probably not their first time. If there is a first time, there will be a second time. They will definitely come out again. As long as they do, we can set up an ambush, using our hunted game to lure them into action. But Zhao family’s young master who has achieved Golden Core is a bit tough to deal with..."

Chen Shi felt anxious: "They’re passing by. No, I have to act!"

Li Tianqing, somewhat angry, said, "I told you not to rush! Listen to me first! Golden Core Realm is no small matter; we must be utterly cautious! Today, there will be no action!"

Chen Shi frowned, surveying Zhao Ziyu in the midst of the women, who had not invoked either Divine Altar or Divine Embryo, and appeared leisurely, relaxed without a hint of vigilance.

Clearly, being surrounded by the women made him less cautious.

These people had already walked past the hillside, the girls carrying meat, also very relaxed.

Even the four maids on guard were chatting and laughing.

They must be very close to their living place, hence the relaxation.

This opportunity was too rare!

"Tianqing, have you ever killed someone?" Chen Shi suddenly asked.

Li Tianqing shook his head, "No. But my thoughts are meticulous, I excel at planning and using the weak to overcome the strong..."

"Then why waste words? You and Black Pot stay here!"

Chen Shi powered off, shooting down like an arrow released from the bow, charging at the crowd below!

— New book is live, urgently need monthly ticket support! Today, three Chapters totaling 11,000 words have been dropped; next Chapter tomorrow morning at 11!