CHAPTER 498: CHAPTER 196: I CAN FLY NOW!

At this moment, within Zhang Feng’s field of vision.

They seem frozen, yet their whole bodies are actually in motion.

It’s just that Zhang Feng transferred the strength from their arms to their legs using Spiritual Qi as a medium, to counterbalance each other.

Again in this high-speed calculation and leveraging.

Zhang Feng now can barely spare a hand, at most he can control one more person.

Moreover, he cannot cast any Magic.

Because offensive Talismans consume more Spiritual Qi than control ones, and also more than locator Talismans and Spiritual Sense.

After all, offensive actions expend Spiritual Qi externally, while remaining Spiritual Sense and locator Talismans stay within oneself.

Given his current total Spiritual Qi, he can only deploy two single-stroke offensive Talismans.

If he fails to kill them, he himself will die.

A dozen people with a Constitution of 50, plus a leader with nearly 60 Constitution.

Zhang Feng feels that ’killing’ is not the solution.

Besides, there’s apparently no animosity among them.

And at this time, as Zhang Feng contemplated what opening statement would make them take him seriously,

"The immortal grandfather has manifested!" the man straightforwardly broke free of his colleagues’ restraints on either side and knelt in worship.

The two colleagues had no time to manage the man, left dazed in place.

Meanwhile, the leader and others were also awakened by the man’s shout and pleaded for mercy in unison.

"Great Mage... True Man..."

"Senior! We have realized our mistake..."

"I was just transporting for the government... but had a moment of disrespectful thought, please forgive us, Senior..."

They anxiously begged for mercy, with others also kneeling in succession, kowtowing repeatedly.

’This Great Mage must be nearby...’

However, the leader didn’t believe in immortals or divine descent, but thought there was an expert not far away.

Or perhaps, this statue indeed contained a treasure and some Cultivator was guarding it here.

Zhang Feng, on the other hand, didn’t concern himself with them. Upon seeing them beg for mercy, he dispersed the Spiritual Qi and used air vibrations to produce a voice resembling wind howling,

"Leave... this place..."

The voice was indeterminate in age and blurred, as if coming from outside and reverberating within the dilapidated temple.

’There’s indeed an expert!’ The leader, upon hearing it, knew his guess was right.

This expert might truly be protecting some treasure, or perhaps this was his shrine.

But regardless of the reasoning, seeing as the expert hadn’t killed them, they naturally dared not speak further, and hurriedly grabbed the boxes and fled.

The reason they still remembered to carry the boxes was that if they lost them, they’d also be pursued by the government.

The leader was surprisingly bold, or maybe it was an instinct developed from wandering the jianghu.

Before leaving, he respectfully asked into the dilapidated temple, "May I ask the esteemed one’s name?"

In the jianghu, people liked to broadcast names or find opportunities for revenge, so asking for names was common practice.

Of course, more often than not, the person asking for the name might get a knife, which was also normal.

But it generally wouldn’t happen. In some historical records of the Tang Dynasty, the rules for heroes of the jianghu had already become a sort of tradition.

This is why so many famous names and events emerged from the Tang Dynasty.

Otherwise, upon seeing someone smarter or better than oneself, they’d cut them down with a knife.

That would mark the end of any civilization.

Zhang Feng previously thought of an alias precisely to guard against this. Now, he naturally replied:

"This humble daoist is Cyan Mountain."

Zhang Feng, having experienced several worlds of the jianghu, naturally understood as well.

’Cyan Mountain Daoist?’

In the rain-soaked night.

The leader and others, upon hearing this daoist title, exchanged glances, none having heard of it.

But regardless of whether they had heard it or not, the next moment they all paid their respects simultaneously and then hurried through the rainy night.

After seeing them leave, Zhang Feng also felt a sense of relief. He then cautiously left the statue, preparing to find another place to hide.

Something like a few feet underground would be suitable.

Starting life unprotected as an orphan requires more caution.

...

Three days later.

Outside the Zhang family’s estate in Xuanhu City.

The guards on duty at the gate all had a Qi Cultivation level and a Constitution of 80.

The Zhang family was the premier family in the state’s capital.

Their contemporary Family Head was a Golden Core cultivator of Great Success famed throughout the state capital.

This made many commoners who passed by the Zhang family estate quicken their steps, not daring to make noise.

In fact, unless it was imperative, they preferred to take a longer route rather than pass by the Zhang family gate.

All because the Family Head Zhang’s son was a spoiled and reckless youth.

Frequently relying on his father’s status as a great cultivator to arbitrarily beat and insult those he took a dislike to.

Just like when someone laughed heartily while passing before the Zhang family gate.

If Young Master Zhang saw it, a harsh beating was inevitable.

The Family Head Zhang disregarded it.

Because, first, the son was born late in life; second, Young Master Zhang had a highly gifted talent for cultivation. Furthermore, the Family Head often wasn’t home, traveling everywhere slaying demons and honing his Daoist skills.

So over time, he let things slide.

From the Family Head’s point of view, with his protection, nothing else seemed to be a problem.

But today.

Inside the Zhang family study.

Sixteen-year-old Young Master Zhang was kneeling in defiance.

The white-haired Family Head Zhang was sternly seated on an ancient wooden stool.

By now, he’d already reached three hundred and twenty-six years of age.

Yet facing the somewhat defiant child.

The Family Head Zhang also asked testily:

"Even though Zhang Feng was a nameless orphan picked up by our family and not a blood relative of the Zhang family.

He was given a name by the clan elders, making him half a member of the Zhang family.

Why did you order someone to abandon him?"

"He was too noisy." Young Master Zhang looked up at his father, "Father, you don’t need to scold me anymore. I didn’t kill him; I just left him at an old temple.

That old temple sometimes has people coming to burn incense, who’s to say he hasn’t already been picked up."

He said confidently,