Chapter 256: Regret

Gong Caiyi's heart trembled.

She was a late-stage Core Formation cultivator! Even using only ten percent of her spiritual power, it was enough to form a defense that a Core Formation second-level cultivator would find hard to shake. Jiang Fan had actually... actually pierced through it. What terrified her even more was this: the purple beam still carried residual power and continued to attack her palm. She hastily channeled all her spiritual power to her palm. Only then did she manage to block it before her palm was pierced through.

As the purple beam dissipated, Gong Caiyi felt a burning pain in her palm; she knew, even without looking, that she had been injured! Her lips twitched slightly, revealing a hint of pain.

"Sect Master, are you alright?" Jiang Fan noticed the painful expression on her face and asked, surprised. "Did I injure you? No way? Am I that strong?"

Gong Caiyi quickly composed herself. How could she admit that she had been injured by a mere Foundation Establishment realm junior? If word got out, what would become of her reputation? Casually, she put her injured hand behind her back and said calmly, "What are you thinking? This level of strength cannot harm this Sect Master."

Jiang Fan didn't harbor much doubt. After all, there was an entire major realm difference between them. How could he possibly injure her? He couldn't help but praise, "Sect Master's strength is profound; this junior is truly impressed. I thought I might at least make the Sect Master take it a little seriously. Who knew you would just casually block it. I must work even harder from now on."

Impressed? Feeling waves of searing pain from her palm, Gong Caiyi wished she could give the guy a good beating! If she hadn't reacted in time, her palm would have been crippled by him. This guy is already so fierce at the Foundation Establishment realm; what will happen when he reaches the Core Formation realm?

She snapped, "Don't get ahead of yourself! The path of martial arts is like sailing against the current; you either advance or fall behind. You must guard against arrogance and impatience, understand? Come on, go receive the ten Thousand-Mile Condors you need to escort, and then get out of here quickly."

Jiang Fan was utterly bewildered. He blinked his innocent eyes. What did I do to get such a random scolding? A woman's mind is truly hard to fathom! Shaking his head, he followed Gong Caiyi out of the hall.

Gong Caiyi walked ahead, the pain in her palm increasing rather than subsiding, making her grit her teeth silently. With a slightly resentful tone, she asked, "Just what is your cultivation level anyway? To think he injured her palm this badly. It was utterly unreasonable."

Jiang Fan didn't hide anything from her. He said, "Foundation Establishment seventh level." He paused, then added, "No, that was before taking the Earth Phoenix Grass Marrow. Now I'm at Foundation Establishment eighth level."

What? Gong Caiyi froze abruptly, her steps stopping instantly. She turned around, disbelief in her eyes. Her beautiful eyes widened! Foundation Establishment seventh level? A month ago, when Jiang Fan participated in the Qingyun Sect's new disciple competition, he was only at Foundation Establishment fourth level! How could he be at Foundation Establishment seventh level in the blink of an eye? What kind of defying cultivation speed was this? And! After taking the Earth Phoenix Grass Marrow, he directly broke through a realm? In only two hours? Don't powerful spiritual items like that usually require many attempts to fully digest?

Jiang Fan was walking with his head down, deep in thought, trying to figure out why Gong Caiyi had just scolded him. He was completely unprepared for Gong Caiyi's sudden stop. By the time he noticed Gong Caiyi's feet, his head had already bumped into something incredibly soft and yielding. He froze for a moment. Only then did he realize what had happened and quickly backed away in alarm. He couldn't meet Gong Caiyi's eyes, turning his face away and repeatedly apologizing, "I'm sorry, junior... I wasn't looking where I was going."

In fact, Gong Caiyi wasn't looking at him either. A strange expression crossed her jade-like face. She quickly turned back, her voice unnaturally saying, "L-let's go." She subtly pressed her chest, which felt tingly and numb from the impact, feeling slightly annoyed. What was going on? Why did such awkward things always happen between her and Jiang Fan? It was one thing that she had embraced him in a moment of emotional abandon. He had even clearly seen her chest binding. And now he had even... Although it was unintentional, it gave Gong Caiyi a faint sense of suppression.

Carrying these unidentifiable emotions, she led Jiang Fan to the foot of the Spirit Beast Sect mountain. Ten swift horses were each pulling a wide, wheeled wooden platform. On each platform, a single human-sized black bird of prey was placed. It had a golden pointed beak, wings a zhang wide when spread, and sharp talons like knife tips. The horses pulling it kept their heads obediently bowed, not daring to make a sound. Such was its intimidating presence.

"Master, Junior Brother," Yuan Ziyu greeted them, coming forward. She was somewhat surprised to find that the atmosphere between her Master and Jiang Fan seemed off. The former was expressionless, lacking her usual warmth and joy towards Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan also maintained his distance from Gong Caiyi. She secretly felt suspicious. Could something have happened between them? Of course, she dared not ask. She could only pretend not to notice and said to Jiang Fan, "Junior Brother Jiang, these are the Thousand-Mile Condors. Here are the keys to the chains on their feet; keep them safe." She handed a set of keys to Jiang Fan.

It was then that Jiang Fan noticed that each Thousand-Mile Condor's ankle was bound by a chain of dark, ink-black profound iron. This was to prevent the Thousand-Mile Condors from disobeying orders and flying off on their own mid-journey. "Understood." Jiang Fan tucked them into his robe. Then he looked at the ten horses and felt a little troubled. He could handle three to five by himself. But with ten, if they encountered an enemy attack, he would be unable to tend to all of them.

As if seeing his concerns, Yuan Ziyu reminded him, "Junior Brother, this mission is for a team of four. You can carry it out alone, or you can find three more teammates. It won't affect your merit points. Unfortunately, I already have a mission, otherwise I'd definitely try to get a spot as your teammate!" She showed an expression of helplessness mixed with envy.

At the mountain gate, many Spirit Beast Sect disciples had gathered. Among them were Qin Caihe, Chu Xingmeng, and others who hadn't left yet, as well as Yi Lianxing, who wanted to see Jiang Fan off. Even Lu Xinghe was still at the foot of the mountain. Hearing this, Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng couldn't help but be tempted. This was a super mission worth four hundred merit points. Who wouldn't be tempted? However, this was far from a mission suitable for Foundation Establishment fifth-level disciples like them. So the two exchanged bitter smiles. They were well aware of their limitations and suppressed the thought in their hearts.

To their surprise, Jiang Fan looked around, and upon seeing the two women, he waved them over: "Junior Sister Chu, Senior Sister Qin, what are you waiting for? Come and help me escort these Thousand-Mile Condors."

Qin Caihe pointed at herself, "Are you saying you want us to participate in this mission too?" Chu Xingmeng waved her hand in refusal immediately, "No, no, how could we be qualified? Junior Brother Jiang, you should still find powerful partners."

Jiang Fan smiled gently, "Aren't we teammates? Come on." With such tempting rewards, he had no worries about finding powerful teammates. The problem was, this journey was dangerous, and he couldn't trust others. Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng had been his partners all along, and their character was reliable. Although their strength was a bit weaker, it was enough for them to guard the Thousand-Mile Condors. He could handle the enemies himself.

The two women hesitated for a moment before slowly moving their steps to approach Jiang Fan. Chu Xingmeng said with an unconfident expression, "Senior Brother Jiang, I... I'm worried I'll be a burden." Qin Caihe also hesitated, saying, "Why don't you find someone else?"

Jiang Fan didn't give them a chance to argue. He led Chu Xingmeng to the fourth horse: "You're in charge of horses number four, five, and six." Then, he had Qin Caihe take position by the seventh horse: "You're in charge of the last four horses." Having assigned the two women their roles, Jiang Fan was about to bid farewell.

Just then, a figure rushed over hesitantly and said sheepishly, "Junior Brother Jiang, what about me? I'm a member of our team too!" The person who came was none other than Lu Xinghe! Seeing two junior sisters, whose strength was far inferior to his own, receive a super mission worth four hundred merit points, he couldn't sit still!