The stone hall was spacious and majestic; but due to the corrosion of time, itâd collapsed a little. Several huge stone pillars laid around the main hall in crumpled heaps. It gave off the feeling of an ancient ruin.
Several human figures were spread around the ruin-like hall. Only at the center of the room was there a small gathering of about a dozen or so people. There was an air of oppression about the hall, though the others in the room didnât dare to show their opinions about it. They were well-aware of the Lion Tiger Regiment â it was one of the top adventurer parties in the area. Furthermore, both leaders were present, so no one dared to test their luck.
A 2-foot-tall stone statue stood at the end of the hall. The statueâs feet were mottled and it glared with wide eyes as it emitted a violent aura. It was so detailed that it looked as if it was actually alive.
Two nicks were carved into the rams of the stone statue.
Under the state was a beautiful, sexy, yet ice-cold girl. She wore a frigid expression that was filled with anger.
âLittle beauty, if you donât hand it over, then donât blame us for not knowing how to be tender.â A roguish smile passed through the Lion Tiger Regiment. The leader drooled as he passed his eyes over the ice beautyâs tender and full features and he felt a demonic fire ignite in his heart. Her figure was too good.
The ice queen standing before the Lion Tiger Regiment was Li Qing, of course. âDonât go too far. You guys already snatched away one my Spiritual Artifacts, and youâre still not satisfied?â she growled through her teeth with an ice-cold expression.
She wanted to kill all the despicable men in front of her, but she knew that she was only a Quasi-Heavenly Transform Stage; the leaders of this Lion Tiger Regiment were on the same level. On top of that, they had two Quasi-Heavenly Transform Stage experts. And they had numbers. The subordinates glared at her like tigers watching their prey. She definitely wouldnât be the one to benefit from a fight.
That middle-aged man of the Lion Tiger Regiment stepped forward and raised his arm. A dark red bracelet appeared on his wrist. It was shaped like a scarlet red dragon â the head and tail linked together to form a circular bracelet. A powerful Spiritual Energy rippled from it and one could hear the faint roars of a dragon.
The glow from the Draconic Spirit Bracelet nearly engulfed the body of the middle-aged man.
All eyes in the stone hall were fixed on the Draconic Spirit Bracelet. Expressions of greed flashed over their faces. When the odd signs of an emerging treasure first showed in the stone hall, Li Qing had been the first to notice. Something strange was happening to the statueâs wrists, so sheâd reduced the areas on those wrists to dust.
As the clay fell away, everyone saw the spiritual light bloom from the gashes. The statue was wearing a pair of dragon-shaped bracelets that flickered with spiritual light. The roars of dragons echoed through the hall.
Those definitely werenât ordinary Spiritual Artifacts. Guesses were that the Draconic Spirit Bracelets were a High Rank Spiritual Artifact.
High Rank Spiritual Artifact.
Those four words were enough to make many eyes turn red. A High Rank Spiritual Artifact could easily auction for millions of Spirit Coins back in White Dragon City. And now, the High Rank Spiritual Artifacts â the Draconic Spirit Bracelets â had appeared. Of course, it caused no small commotion.
Everyone stood paralysed in wonder, but Li Qing was the first to break from the trance. She acted first and seized one of the Draconic Spirit Bracelets without hinderance.
But the moment she snatched up the Draconic Spirit Bracelets, the two leaders of the Lion Tiger Regiment also saw their chance. The two of them joined hands and forced Li Qing to retreat. Theyâd also stolen one of the Draconic Spirit Bracelets.
However, those two hadnât been satisfied with that; they could tell that the two Spiritual Artifacts were a set, which meant that their true might could only be unleashed when used together. Thatâs why they refused to let the other Draconic Spirit Bracelet fall into Li Qingâs hands.
The middle-aged man gently caressed his Draconic Spirit Bracelet and smiled at Li Qing. âHand over the other Draconic Spirit Bracelet. We promise not to hurt you.â
This man was one of the Lion Tiger Regimentâs two leaders â Cheng Hu. He was well-known in the White Dragon Hillock.
Li Qing grounded her teeth and her charming eyes seemed to erupt with flames. These people from the Lion Tiger Regiment were being too much.
âIf you want to steal the Draconic Spirit Bracelet from my hands, youâre welcome to try!â Li Qingâs voice was icy-cold. She wore only one bracelet shaped like a fire-dragon on her jade-like wrist. A wild Spiritual Energy influenced the natural Spiritual Energy caused it to shake.
âHaha. Do you think you can confront our Lion Tiger Regiment all alone?â Cheng Hu coldly smiled. He wasnât bothered by whether or not the bystanders would gossip about them of taking advantage with numbers. As far as he could see, there was only benefits to be had from this situation. What would he care about gossip?
âBig Brother, weâll act together and capture her. Weâll see how long she can act tough!â The other leader of the Lion Tiger Regiment, Cheng Shi, coldly proposed. He was the one who Mu Chen had fought before.
If the Draconic Spirit Bracelets had only been Middle Rank Spiritual Artifacts, then perhaps they wouldnât have cared so much. Such a Spiritual Artifact might be tempting, but it wouldnât be something that they absolutely had to get their hands on. But this was a different story with a High Rank Spiritual Artifact.
Even though there was only one difference between ranks, the power difference was like that between heaven and earth. If they obtained that High Rank Spiritual Artifact, they wouldnât even need to fear a Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phase expert. They could even use their connections to suppress their opponent.
In the White Dragon Hillock, the decently-strong forces all possessed Middle Rank Spiritual Artifacts. But none other than the three major forces the amount of forces that possessed High Rank Spiritual Artifact wouldnât exceed the fingers on one hand.
Above the High Rank Spiritual Artifacts were Peerless Rank Spiritual Artifacts. However, artifacts of that level were objects that exceeded their imaginations. Itâs said that Spiritual Artifacts of that level possessed their own intelligence. Profound and boundless with the power to move mountains and split seas. Forget about the White Dragon Hillock, there werenât even that many forces on the entire Northern Heavens Continent that possessed Peerless Rank Spiritual Artifacts.
Cheng Hu nodded as he stared at Li Qing with a dark and cold expression.
Everyone else in the stone hall inwardly smacked their lips. So the two leaders were going to gang up against Li Qing. The Lion Tiger Regiment was dishonorable, indeed.
Li Qing now wore a different expression, as well; however, the rage in her eyes hadnât diminished. She tightly clutched her Draconic Spirit Bracelet. Sheâd already decided that she wouldnât let them steal her half of the treasure so easily, even if that meant risking both parties to be injured.
âMove!â
The two brothers didnât give a second thought about the shushing from the crowd around them. With a shout, they rushed Li Qing together. Two powerful Spiritual Energies rippled out. The members of the crowd of less strength urgently fell back from the powerful Spiritual Energy pressure.
Li Qing grounded her teeth at the attack. She was prepared to use the Draconic Spirit Bracelet, even though she still wasnât very familiar with it.
But, before she could act, a familiar voice mockingly called from somewhere else in the stone hall. âThe Lion Tiger Regiment should be a pretty well-known force in the White Dragon Hillock, right? So why are their actions so shady?â
âWho?!â
Cheng Hu and Cheng Shi halted their rush and directed their gaze to the mocking voice. Their eyes quickly found it near the broken gate. The slender and handsome youth â staring at them with a sneer â standing in front of it.
âItâs that kid!â
Cheng Hu and Cheng Shiâs faces changed as they immediately tried to peer into the corridor behind Mu Chen. When they realised that they couldnât see Su Xuan, they breathed out sighs of relief. As long as that girl â who seemed so gentle yet made them feel such pressure â wasnât present, then they had nothing to fear.
âMu Chen!â
The rage in Li Qingâs beautiful eyes was replaced with a look of delight. But that was quickly replaced by an expression of worry when she, too, realised that Mu Chen was alone.
She knew that Mu Chen was a book not to be judged by its cover, but the members of the Lion Tiger Regiment werenât the usual enemies they dealt with.
âBrat, I advise you to scram while you still can. You should try not to invite disaster upon yourself.â Cheng Hu slowly said as he stared at Mu Chen with a dark expression.
Mu Chen only smiled, tapped his foot, and shot across the stone hall, landing next to Li Qing. He couldnât care less about the dark looks coming from Cheng Hu and his experts. He looked at Li Qing with a clam smile and asked, âSenior Sister Li Qing, are you alright?â
A grateful look flashed through her beautiful eyes as she lightly shook her head. âWeâll wait for the opportunity and make a break for it. Weâll wait until we can join up with Su Xuan and the others. Then, they wonât dare to act like this anymore.â
Mu Chen nodded and replied, âYes, we definitely have to leave. But first, weâre going to take your things back.â
He turned around to look at Cheng Huâs group, then extended his hand with a smile. âTrash of the Lion Tiger Regiment, hand it over and scram.â
All of the faces in the stone hall changed to brilliantly peculiar expressions. Did that brat purposely show up to cause trouble? Did he really think that the Lion Tiger Regiment was still going to let him off?
The bystanders looked back at the two brothers and confirmed that their expressions had, indeed, darkened. Sharp bloodlust showed in their eyes.