Chapter 443 - A Chance Encounter
Chapter 443 A Chance Encounter
“So there are dragons in the world? I saw one just now. It looked fierce and was rolling up and down.” Zi Yan pursed her lips, remembering the horrible dragon’s appearance and actions.
“Come on, take a closer look at it.” Zhang Han smiled and waved his hand to let the energy released just now return to the card.
Then the card flew back to Zhang Han’s hand.
“It’s coming out.” Zhang Han reminded Zi Yan, and then his eyes started to shine. Suddenly, the flood dragon soul came out of the card. This time, there was no wave, only the dragon’s body.
Although the dragon was only about the size of a palm, no one would deny that it was a giant monster.
The flood dragon soul flew to Zi Yan’s hand and began to revolve around her white and delicate palm. It was impossible to imagine how ferocious it was just now.
“It looks fierce, like a monster. It’s a little cool.” Zi Yan stared at the flood dragon soul and moved her left palm.
“It is an unconscious soul at the early stage of the Building Base, which is similar to the Grand Master Early-stage.” Zhang Han explained.
“How powerful is it?” Zi Yan looked at the flood dragon soul in surprise and then asked, “What’s the Foundation Stage? I only know of the Obvious Strength, Inward Strength, Peak Strength, and Qi Strength. And those at the Qi-Strength stage could be called masters, right? The level above them is Wu Dao Grand Master, like Uncle Long and Hu. I also know that you are at the early stage of the Building Base with Ten Inches Dantian, which is better than the perfect Building Base. Am I right?” Zi Yan asked and smiled at Zhang Han, looking forward to his praise.
“Yes, not even one word is wrong.” Zhang Han smiled, reached out his right hand, and patted Zi Yan gently on the head. “You remember it all clearly.”
“Of course.” Zi Yan replied with a smile, and then asked curiously, “Why are the classification levels you mentioned different from here? What did you say last time about the stages?”
“What I said last time was about the levels in the Cultivation World, which starts from the Qi Refining Stage.”
Zhang Han took back the flood dragon soul, put the card in his hand, and took Zi Yan’s hand and began to walk.
“A cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage is similar to a Qi Strength master here in terms of strength. They both have spiritual force in their meridians, and thus you can call them qigong masters. The Qi Refining Stage is the entry stage of cultivation in the Cultivation World, just like the Foundation Stage here.”
“Huh?” Zi Yan was stunned, “So you are still in the entry stage?”
“Yes.” Zhang Han smiled and said, “There is a saying that cultivators below the Innateness level are still ordinary people. The Innateness level is the beginning of cultivation, and then an Elixir is born in your Dantian, which will grow and advance to Yuan Ying. You won’t be killed unless your Yuan Ying dies, even if your body is destroyed. Above the level of Yuan Ying, there is the God Transformation level, and your soul sense will advance to divine sense. Then there is the Shadow Refining level, the Dacheng level, and finally, the Pass Tribulation level, which is divided into nine stages. When you reach the ninth stage of the Pass Tribulation level, you’ll get a chance to be an immortal.”
“So many levels…” Zi Yan blinked quickly while keeping all these levels in mind. Then she looked at Zhang Han and asked, “What’s your level before?”
“Your husband used to be in the ninth stage of the Pass Tribulation level. But he failed in the immortal test and was sent back by the thunder.” Zhang Han recalled the terrifying divine thunder over the sky and narrowed his eyes. Holding Zi Yan’s hand tighter, he continued, “It’s unprecedented, and I don’t know why. But I’m glad that I have a home when I get back.”
“Haha, mwah…” Zi Yan stood on tiptoe, kissed Zhang Han’s cheek, and then said, “My husband used to be the top man. You are already a grand master, so how powerful will you be when you advance to the ninth stage of the Pass Tribulation level?”
“Well…” Zhang Han thought for a while then replied, “I can destroy Singapore in one strike.”
“That’s too scary.” Zi Yan stuck out her tongue at Zhang Han.
They had gone deep into the grass, which was higher than their chest. Zhang Han suddenly took a look in front and said, “Not far ahead, someone is being surrounded and attacked by snakes.”
50 meters in front of him, Zhang Han felt a large group of snakes through his soul sense.
The flood dragon card in Zhang Han’s hand was so intimidating that as long as the snakes entered his scanning range, they would tremble and escape in panic.
“Let’s go and see. Be careful and observe whether or not they are bad guys.” Zi Yan looked forward with some vigilance.
After hearing this, Zhang Han was stupefied, and then couldn’t help laughing. “Your serious appearance is too cute.”
“We should be careful.” Zi Yan stuck out her tongue and laughed. “I just want to remind you. Anyway, I don’t care about safety because I’m the safest with you by my side.”
“Yes.” Zhang Han nodded and said, “I’m here, and I won’t let you get hurt.”
Then Zhang Han took Zi Yan’s hand and went on.
After walking for about a minute, they vaguely heard someone shouting in front of them. It seemed that the battle was very fierce.
“Stop! Snake-killing Talisman!”
“Look at yourself, you are so uncompetitive!”
“Fire Talisman! Burn you little demon snakes to death!”
“Fat Brother has enough talismans to exterminate you!”
After this somewhat pompous speech, there was a wave of energy coming from the front.
Then Zhang Han heard two other voices of a male and a female, and they were expressing their admiration to someone.
“Eldest martial brother is amazing!”
“Ah! Elder martial brother can kill a group of snakes at once, he is so powerful.”
“Well, of course. Your eldest martial brother has been collecting talismans for years and now I have ample scope of their abilities. Cool! Wait, what happened to the snakes? They are escaping! Stop! Come back! Damn it, you are good at assessing the situation,” that eldest martial brother shouted.
“Then let’s move on. Younger martial brother Lu seems to be not far ahead.” Another male voice arose.
“There seems to be someone behind us.” As soon as the woman’s voice came out, they were quiet.
Zhang Han took Zi Yan’s hand and walked more than 30 meters forward, and then a field with a circumference of 20 meters appeared in the grass. Three people were standing in the center of the field and looking at them.
Their leader was a fat man with a round face and a thick neck, while the other man was about 1.7 meters tall, well-balanced, and somewhat handsome. Next to them was a woman with a ponytail, who was only 1.6 meters tall with an above-average appearance.
With the help of his soul sense, Zhang Han knew that the fat man was a Profound-stage Master, who was obviously the eldest martial brother. The other two were both at the stage of Peak Strength.
The dozen talismans in the fat man’s hands had disappeared. Zhang Han found that there was a small cloth pocket at his waist, which should be a storage bag with independent space inside it.
“They are from the Heavenly Talisman Sect?”
Zhang Han confirmed their background, not only according to the talismans used by the fat man, but also because there was a small character “heaven” on the right arm of their clothes.
While Zhang Han and Zi Yan were looking at them, the three martial artists were also looking back at the couple.
The atmosphere was quiet.
A white talisman appeared in the hands of the fat man. After self-ignition, it turned into smoke and went into his palm, making the fat man’s eyes flash slightly.
“They don’t even have qi. Two green-hands at the Peak-Strength stage?”
He breathed a sigh of relief, for Peak-Strength martial artists were not a threat to them.
He was relieved and said with a smile, “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you,” replied Zi Yan.
“Er…” The man hesitated and asked, “Are you from the back?”
“Yes, we are passing by.”
“Wait, what are you doing?” The man’s eyes suddenly widened as he was attracted by the action of Zi Yan holding Zhang Han’s arm.
“What’s wrong?” Zi Yan said curiously.
Even Zhang Han was stunned. He didn’t know what the fat man was talking about.
“How can you hold each other?” The man was shocked, and began to look at Zi Yan carefully. Although the woman’s face was covered by a cap, he could still confirm that she was a beauty from the part of her exposed cheek.
“Er…” Zi Yan looked at Zhang Han, and her eyes suddenly flashed a sly light. Then she smiled and replied, “He just saved me, so I fell in love with him.”
“What? The hero saves a beauty? How come I’m not so lucky?” The fat man looks distressed.
“Well, elder brother.” His two companions reminded him with some embarrassment.
“Alas!” The fat man sighed again, thought about it, took out a dozen talismans, and handed them to his younger martial brother. “You go to meet them first, and I’ll try my luck by myself.”
Zi Yan and Zhang Han almost laughed, for they found that this guy really wanted to be a hero and save a beauty.
He seemed to have been looking forward to such a thing for a long time.
“Oh, brother!” The younger martial sister stamped her feet. “We must meet Junior Brother Lu first, and then go to find Elder Ao.”
“This…” The fat man hesitated for a while, and finally nodded his head in frustration. “Okay, Let’s meet Junior Brother Lu first. Well, brother and lady, do you want to go in, too? Together?”
Zi Yan did not speak, but looked at Zhang Han and pretended to be obedient.
The fat man’s facial muscles trembled a few times, and he felt even more desperate.
“When can I save a beauty as a hero?”
Zhang Han looked at Zi Yan and nodded. “Okay.”
If Zhang Han came here alone, he would not be interested in communicating with the people he met. Instead, he would go treasure hunting directly because of the limited time. But this time, he wanted to go sightseeing with Zi Yan, and having more friends would make her happier.
The fat man had let down his guard since the testing talisman just now told him Zhang Han and Zi Yan were both at the Peak Strength stage. He decided that since they had the same destination, he would take these two people with him. Otherwise, if they also met a group of snakes, it might be difficult for them to escape.
So the five people formed a temporary team, and the fat man took out two talismans and threw them forward. The two talismans began to drift forward slowly, releasing a gust of wind, blowing open the grass that was almost overhead, and opening up a five-meter-wide road for them.
The team advanced rapidly into the depths of the grassland.
“Are you in love now?” asked the fat man, somewhat surprised.
“Yes, we are in love. We’ll be together when we go out and in the future.” Zi Yan gave Zhang Han a hug. .
“? ? ?” The fat man’s expression froze.
The corners of his mouth twitched with despair and envy.
“Just answer yes or no. Why do you tell me the details?”
“Brother, where did you save her? How did you save her?” the fat man asked politely with a respectful gesture and expression, as if he were consulting an elder.
Zhang Han took a look at Zi Yan and chuckled. “I found that she was trying to hide from some snakes, and it was very dangerous. So I killed the snakes and decided to pursue her since she is pretty.”
“And then?” the man asked in a hurry.
“There’s no follow-up. She promised to be with me.” Zhang Han smiled.
“So fast? Hiss! So fast! Ugh!” The fat man covered his face with his right hand and was very distressed.
“Brother Ma!” The younger martial sister was ashamed and hurriedly reminded him.
“Well,” the fat man cleared his throat and said with a smile, “I’m Ma Di, and they are my younger martial sister and brother. May I know your names?”
“I…” Zi Yan looked down and thought for a moment. Then she looked up and said with a smile, “I’m Zi Yue and he is Han Yang. Our names match so well, and maybe we are destined to be a couple.”
“Puff… Cough.” Ma Di choked on a mouthful of saliva, looked ahead, and murmured, “Then who should I save, Sister Niu? What a profound question.”
“Poof…” Zi Yan laughed out loud.
“Haha, I’m sorry!” Ma Di made an obeisance and gave them two talismans. “We shall cherish this chance acquaintance. These two talismans are for you, and they can help you not only defend the sudden attack of the snakes, but also prevent mosquito bites. I’m not trying to trick you… By the way, could you use qi? If you haven’t learned how to use a talisman yet, you are unable to activate the two of them.”
“Yes,” Zhang Han replied. Zi Yan took the talisman, smiled, and said, “Thank you.”
“You are welcome.” Ma Di smiled.
Zi Yan picked up the palm-sized talismans and began to study them carefully. These two pieces of paper were light blue and felt a little hard, like gold paper. There were yellow patterns like traditional Chinese characters on the paper, but all the strokes were crooked or distorted.
Zhang Han poured his spiritual force into a talisman to activate it.
All of a sudden—
The talisman began igniting in Zhang Han’s hands.
“Wow.” Zi Yan was shocked.
When the talisman was about to burn out, it began to shine like the stars, forming a light circle around Zi Yan, and then the light faded away.
“It’s strange.” At the end of this amazing experience, Zi Yan moved her right hand and put the remaining talisman in her pocket.
Ma Di took a glance at her, and his mouth was trembling slightly.
“Is she that kind of silly, innocent, and sweet girl? Though she is beautiful and has a little qi within her, indicating that she is at the late stage of Peak Strength, she is still surprised as if it were the first time she has seen a talisman. Why can’t I encounter such a lovely girl? But it’s no wonder, this brother is a little more handsome than me…”
“Brother Han Yang and beauty Zi Yue, are you locals?” the younger martial brother asked.
“Well, we should be locals, but we usually live in Hong Kong,” Zi Yan answered.
In fact, she had exposed her real relationship with Zhang Han because she said “we”.
But her audience was focused on other things and didn’t find the flaws in her words. Ma Di laughed and said, “We live very close. We are disciples of the Heavenly Talisman Sect in Haizhou.”
“…”
In this way, they chatted casually and walked forward quickly.
From time to time, Ma Di took out several talismans to pave the way, but they didn’t meet any snakes along the way, which made Ma Di very confused.
They walked for more than an hour. Zi Yan walked by herself in the first 20 minutes, and then ask Zhang Han to carry her on his back, which aroused the admiration of Ma Di and his companions.
Soon after, they clearly felt that they were going uphill. After another minute, their vision suddenly widened.
“Wow, what a big forest!” Ma Di said in a loud voice.
There was a large forest in the distance in front of them, and they couldn’t see its edge on the left and right sides. The trees in the forest were very high, and they found themselves standing on a high slope with grass under 20 cm, as if they had just stepped out of a corn field.
Although the forest seemed close at hand, they still had a long way to go. At the previous speed, it would take them half an hour to reach the edge of the forest.
Standing on the slope, they could see a lot of people running to the forest from the left and right sides.
While most of them were alone, a few of them formed teams of three or five.
Suddenly, the younger martial sister’s eyes fixed on the distance below. “There’s a fight over there!”
“Huh?” Ma Di looked in that direction and found that a group of three was fighting against a group of five. “Didn’t Junior Brother Lu form a team with two people? It’s not them who are fighting, is it?”
A golden talisman appeared in his hand, and in a moment, it turned into starlight and disappeared. Ma Di’s expression soon became serious.
“That’s them, let’s go!” Ma Di screamed and hurried down the hill.
“Let’s go and have a look.” Zhang Han looked at Zi Yan, encircled her waist with his right hand, and followed Ma Di forward.
Ma Di and his companions were running fast, but Zhang Han, with Zi Yan in his arms, kept following them five meters behind.
They ran for seven minutes and saw what was going on.
On one side were five black men attacking with knives and swords, and their leader was using nunchakus.
Junior Brother Lu and his two companions were defending. They kept throwing out talismans one by one, but because of the strength disparity, they were still at a disadvantage.
When they came near, they heard the small-eyed black man, who was the leader of the group, shout indifferently, “Give me all the talismans, and I won’t destroy your corpses.”
“You are courting death!” Ma Di roared and rushed at them. With a shake of his hand, four talismans appeared, which were put between his fingers and thrown forward with great force!
These four talismans flew at the five people and turned into fireballs or ice cones to attack them.
The faces of the five changed as they quickly backed away to avoid the attack. After discovering the other side’s helper, they knew that they could not fight anymore, and the man with small eyes cursed, “All of you from the Heavenly Talisman Sect will be killed here soon or later.”
After that, the five men turned around and ran quickly to the forest.
“Elder martial brother Ma, if you came later, we would not be able to hold on. They are five Profound-stage martial artists,” said the pale-faced Junior Brother Lu, panting.
He was a Qi Strength Master and his two companions were at the stage of Peak Strength. Therefore, he had been fighting with the enemies as the main force, waiting for Ma Di’s rescue.
“Who are they?” Ma Di frowned and asked.
“They come from the Evil Wind Sect in Indonesia with one of their branch leaders. They saw us before and intended to kill us. When we got here, they were already waiting for us.” Junior Brother Lu took a long breath.
“Evil Wind Sect? Last time, when we were competing for the Lanxin Flower, they killed the Eighth Elder of our sect. We haven’t gotten our revenge yet, and they still come to challenge us?” Ma Di gnashed his teeth in hatred.
“We need to join Elder Ao as soon as possible. Elder martial brother Hu is on the right side of the forest. Let’s go to find him first.” Junior Brother Lu suggested.
“Okay.” Ma Di nodded his head. When he was about to take the lead to leave, he saw Zhang Han and Zi Yan not far behind, so he stopped. After thinking about it, he went over to them and handed a dozen talismans to Zi Yan.
“Brother Han Yang and Beauty Zi Yue,” Ma Di said, “the forest should be the central area and it must be more dangerous. With your strength, you’d better wait here and not take any risks. These talismans are for you, and most of them are used for defense. I hope you can cherish this chance acquaintance and do not refuse them.”
After finishing this serious speech, Ma Di looked at Zi Yan and added, “If you want to thank me… If you have any beautiful sisters, don’t forget to introduce them to me. I left my phone number on the back of the talismans.”
With that, Ma Di smiled, turned around, and ran to the right with his team.
Looking at the talismans in her hand, Zi Yan felt it so funny, but at the same time, she was moved.
“The martial arts world is very dangerous, but there are also many kind people.”