Chapter 240: Provocation
Hearing Xia Army's voice, Long Ao and Dugu Bai looked over.
Just then, Huo Teng walked over with about a dozen people.
Huo Teng snorted coldly, his voice brimming with confidence. "Dugu Bai, Xia Army, Long Ao. You three had better watch your backs. I won't let you leave this place alive."
Dugu Bai said disdainfully, "You think you're a match for us?"
"Hahaha, we'll see about that. Let's go." Huo Teng and the dozens of people from the Flame Sect quickly departed, soon disappearing into the sea of people.
Xia Army seemed puzzled. "Can either of you tell me, has Huo Teng lost his mind? I really don't get what's giving him so much confidence."
Waving a hand, Dugu Bai said gravely, "Xiaojun, something isn't right. We both know what kind of person Huo Teng is. He's arrogant, but he's not an idiot. Haven't you noticed? During this Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking competition, Huo Teng has been targeting us at every turn."
They hadn't thought about it that way, but now that Dugu Bai mentioned it, both Long Ao and Xia Army felt that something was off.
Although Long Ao hadn't interacted much with Xia Army, he had a relatively good understanding of Huo Teng's personality. Just as Dugu Bai said, the man was arrogant, but he certainly wasn't a complete moron.
Long Ao really couldn't figure it out. 'Why is Huo Teng always looking for trouble with me? Is it really just because I rejected him once?'
"Brother Dugu, are you saying Huo Teng is provoking us on purpose? I don't get it. What good does that do him?"
Xia Army truly couldn't wrap his head around it. He continued, "The three of us, united... on the entire Celestial State Wind and Cloud Ranking, who could possibly be our match? I refuse to believe Huo Teng is strong enough to beat us."
Xia Army was completely confident. Forget the three of them teaming up; any single one of them was more than a match for Huo Teng.
Dugu Bai couldn't figure it out either. "This is indeed strange," he said. "Brother Long, Xiaojun, Huo Teng is deliberately causing trouble. You both need to be careful."
Xiaojun and Long Ao nodded. As the saying goes, it's not the frontal assault you fear, but the knife in the back.
The seven hundred-plus people from Kyushu who entered the Red Heaven Realm didn't immediately start fighting each other. Instead, with a tacit understanding, they scattered in all directions. According to the rules of the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking competition, no fighting was allowed on the first day in the Red Heaven Realm. When the second day arrived, everyone from Kyushu would begin the great battle, slaughtering one another.
Because of this, aside from being wary of Huo Teng, the trio wasn't particularly worried about anything else after entering the Red Heaven Realm.
In the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking competition, the Celestial State had the weakest contingent.
Finding a secluded spot, the three of them rested for the time being, preparing for the battles to begin the next day.
"Brother Dugu, the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking competition officially starts tomorrow. I believe everyone will be fighting like mad. Should we meet them head-on, or should we pick them off one by one?"
Among the three of them, Long Ao's strength was certainly the greatest. Although his Realm was lower than Dugu Bai's, Long Ao was one hundred percent confident in his abilities.
However, Long Ao greatly respected this Brother Dugu, so he always asked for Dugu Bai's opinion on matters concerning the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking competition.
"Brother Long, Kyushu is filled with countless geniuses. The figures on the Wind and Cloud Rankings of the other eight states include many powerful individuals. What's more, this is a melee with over seven hundred people. If we choose to meet them head-on, it might not be a good thing."
"Then we pick them off one by one."
"Exactly, we pick them off one by one. And it's as Xiaojun said: if the three of us team up, as long as we don't run into some heaven-defying monster, we can absolutely handle any challenge."
"Brother Dugu is right. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'd like to see who's blind enough to provoke us."
Long Ao had a rough understanding of the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Rankings.
There were nine Wind and Cloud Rankings in Kyushu. Although the Celestial State's was the weakest, the strongest figures on the other eight rankings would not surpass the Taoist Ancestor Realm. In other words, among the nine hundred people on the nine Wind and Cloud Rankings of Kyushu, there were no Void Martial Artists.
Hearing this news, Long Ao breathed a sigh of relief.
Long Ao was very confident in his own strength, but he also knew his limits. With his current power, he was no match for a Void Martial Artist, and the same was true even for a Void Hundred Tribulations Martial Artist.
"Brother Long, although countless people are killed or injured in every Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking competition, you have to admit that it's an excellent training opportunity for a Martial Artist. Only by constantly experiencing moments of life and death can one's strength continuously improve."
Long Ao agreed with this point as well.
Never mind others; if he himself hadn't experienced countless life-or-death moments, his strength would never have improved so quickly.
In just a few short months, he had grown from a good-for-nothing in Red Fire Town into his current status as an Earth Emperor Martial Artist. Long Ao was fully confident that this achievement was enough to look down on the entire Celestial State.
"Huo Teng, are you fucking looking to die?"
Seeing Huo Teng and his group appear, Xia Army's expression instantly darkened. Their repeated provocations were simply intolerable.
Long Ao and Dugu Bai's expressions weren't much better. Just as Xia Army thought, Huo Teng had provoked them again and again. If they continued to endure it, their opponent would think the three of them were afraid.
"You three, calm down. I've come looking for you this time mainly because someone asked me to. So, sorry, but you three must die. And you must die right now."
"You and what army?"
Contempt was written all over Xia Army's face. Huo Teng had seventeen people in total. Aside from Huo Teng, who was an Earth Emperor Martial Artist, the rest were all just Human Kings. 'And he thinks he can cause trouble with these small fries?' Xia Army sneered. Although he was reluctant to admit it, he was absolutely certain that Huo Teng must have been provoked or gone crazy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come here just to throw his life away.
Waving a hand to stop the furious Xia Army, Dugu Bai said, "Huo Teng, our patience is limited. For the sake of us both being on the Celestial State Wind and Cloud Ranking, I won't hold this against you for now. Scram."
Dugu Bai was very arrogant, but Huo Teng and his followers all knew he had the right to be. He was number one on the Wind and Cloud Ranking and a Taoist Peak master, which was equivalent to having one foot in the Void Realm. Once he achieved the Void Realm, Dugu Bai would become even more arrogant.
However, Huo Teng paid Dugu Bai no mind.
"Dugu Bai, who the hell do you think you are, daring to speak to my Senior Brother like that? Let me be clear, we came here to take your lives."
"Hahaha!" After three cold laughs, Xia Army stared daggers at the person who had just spoken. This guy was only ranked thirty-sixth on the Wind and Cloud Ranking. His status and strength were on a completely different level from theirs.
"If you've got the guts, then step forward. Don't just hide in the back and run your mouth. You're a disgrace to our Celestial State. Oh, that's right, I almost forgot—the Flame Sect has no discipline to begin with. No wonder it raises a bunch of ill-mannered animals."