Chapter 2: Fleeing After Acting Tough Is Damned Exhilarating

　　Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

　　“Ahh!!! Pervert! You, you stop it right now!”

　　The girl let out a shrill shout. She would never have expected to be humiliated and taken advantage of in broad daylight, under the foot of her sect’s own mountain.

　　“You can scream all you like! I think you can even scream till your throat rips apart but nobody would come and save you…”

　　Xu Que squinted and smiled as he looked at her.

　　Of course, all this was done in an innocent bid to scare and embarrass her. This was repayment for chasing after him and trying to kill him.

　　“Sou! Sou!”

　　At this point, sounds could be heard from the sky as it tore through the clouds. Immediately after, three beams of light soared through the heaven and descended down upon this land like shooting stars.

　　“Scoundrel, you dare!”

　　“Stop it immediately.”

　　A pair of stern and harsh voices rang out as Xu Que felt their voice reverberate in his head like the deafening roars of thunder. A wave of immense pressure was exerted over his body as if mountains had been placed over his shoulders. He panicked and Xu Que’s face turned pale as he fell to his knees.

　　Immediately after, three old people appeared. Although their heads were full of white hair, their complexion looked extremely young, as if they upkept themselves very well.

　　One of the old women had a sinister and fierce glance etched across her face as she glared at Xu Que. Just this stare alone made Xu Que feel like he was being imprisoned within her eyes. It was almost as if his entire life was hinged at the tips of her fingers, as helpless as an insect.

　　Strong person!

　　Crap! These few old people are extremely formidable!”

　　He could feel the pressure emitted from their bodies, radiating out towards him. Xu Que knew at once that he wouldn’t be able to overpower them.

　　“What boldness! You dare to commit evil acts right under the mountain of our Celestial Sect? Today I shall administer justice.”

　　The old woman cleared her throat as she waved a palm in the air. A fiery snake was conjured as it slithered on her arm and flew towards at Xu Que, emanating a majestic, blazing aura around it.

　　“Screw this! Old woman, how could you be so evil? How could you attack without speaking a word or giving any warnings?”

　　Xu Que’s face turned, as he hastily invoked earth Qi from the ground and fused it together with his feet as they seemed to become one with the earth. His reflexes and speed increased tremendously as he darted to the side to avoid the blow.

　　The fire snake missed him on the first strike as it turned its head deftly, mouth wide open to launch a second assault. All of a sudden, it split into two snakes, attempting to block his retreat as the pair of fire snakes charged towards him.

　　Xu Que inhaled a deep breath of cold air. This old woman was really trying to kill him!

　　Damn it, who did I offend this time?

　　Xu Que was extremely unhappy and yet he had no choice but to run. If not, he would have to pay with his dear life.

　　“Sou!” He had nearly expanded all the earth Qi as he turned back to look at the pair of fiery snakes hot on his heels. Just as they were about to close in on him, he darted once again, and felt the pair of them nearly brush past his skin as he dodged their strikes by squeezing in between the two of them. An intense feeling of life and death welled up within his heart. He realized that his sweat stained back turned dry after that ordeal.

　　By dodging a pair of snakes, the three elderly looked at him in utter shock.

　　“How… How’s that possible?”

　　“He’s only at the tenth level of Qi Refining Stage, and yet could avoid the strikes of the fiery snakes twice in such a short span of time. How did he achieve such speed and agility?” The pair of elder beside the old woman spoke out in shock.

　　The old woman gave a cold harrumph, “Just now, I could feel earth Qi envelop his body. The people from Earth Nation are all good at using using the landscape to their advantage and fleeing in such a manner. He must be a spy from Earth Nation.”

　　“Master, wait a minute. That person claimed to be the Prince Consort of Fire Country. He even had a tile to prove it.” The girl hurriedly spoke out.

　　She knew that if he’s really the Fire Country’s Prince Consort and her teacher were to kill him, the Palace would use this as an excuse to attack Celestial Sect.

　　“Prince Consort? Ah, according to what I know, the Prince Consort of Fire Country has such exquisite innate talents that it was seen only once in a thousand years. At the tender age of eighteen, he stepped past the Golden Core Stage. He should be in secluded meditation now within the palace, how can he be compared to this little brat? Xue Ru, you’ve never descended the mountains alone and thus have little experience in this world. You have to remember, never to be so gullible and trust what everyone says.” The old woman looked at the girl adoringly.

　　“So he’s a liar and a sham.” The girl looked at him wide eyed as her anger built up.

　　The old woman swept a glance across Xu Que, who was standing a short distance away. She seemed to be deep in thought. In the next moment, she flipped her palms and conjured a rope out of thin air. This rope glowed in bright gold and was radiating brilliant looking lights.

　　This caused Xu Que to gaze at the rope, wide eyed in astonishment. He admired the luster and brilliance of the rope. A treasure. That is definitely a treasure spoken of in fables!

　　“Xue Rou, master shall lend you my Immortal Trapping Rope. Use this to capture him.” The old woman instructed as the golden rope floated up into the air and dropped gently before Xue Rou.

　　Xue Rou was stunned. This was her master’s most precious weapon! Once this rope was used, even people who were at the Golden Core stage would fall prey to it quickly. It’s just that with master’s skills and proficiency, taking this person down would be only too easy. Why didn’t she do it herself then?

　　In a split second, she understood why.

　　With his master’s status and powers, it was inappropriate for her to attack him. Should word leak out, people would mock her for bullying someone so much weaker than her. However, lending Xue Rou her secret weapon was acceptable and doing that would also ensure that they would take down the pervert. She mused at how wise her master was.

　　At this point, Tang Xue Rou held onto the rope with one hand as her gorgeous looking eyes glared at Xu Que. She then shouted out, “Pervert, raise your hands up and surrender.”

　　Xu Que’s mouth twitched.

　　Surrender your sister! Your damned mouth already condemned me as a pervert. If I were to surrender, wouldn’t that mean death for me? You wish!

　　He rolled his eyes before laughing coldly, “I am the Prince Consort of Fire Country. Are you really using that stupid broken rope to take down the Prince Consort? You really think so little of me huh? If you have the guts, take another step towards me. I shall stand here and let you cast your stupid broken rope at me!”

　　Broken rope?

　　Not only Tang Xue Rou, but the old woman and the other two elderly people were shocked and their faces fell.

　　This Immortal Trapping Rope was crafted personally by their own sect leader and was a top quality weapon. Yet this scoundrel here called it a broken rope? It’s such an insult to Celestial Sect!

　　“All this trouble and your death is brought on by yourself!”

　　Tang Xue Rou gave a cry before she leapt into the sky. The Immortal Trapping Rope came alive like a deft snake. It struck as quick as lightning as it shot towards Xu Que.

　　“Ding! Host ‘Xu Que’ acting tough failed. No rewards shall be granted.”

　　“Your mother… Acting tough backfired on me! It’s better if I flee now.”

　　Xu Que scolded harshly before turning around to flee.

　　“Xue Rou, use your flying sword to close down on him.” All of a sudden, the old woman spoke out, using Xu Que as an opportunity to guide her disciple with the arts of battle.

　　Tang Xue Rou understood immediately as she activated her flying sword and charged towards Xu Que while standing on it.

　　Xu Que was extremely disheartened at this point and turned around to shout, “You old foggy, why are you so stubborn to defy death and still be alive at this age? Are you afraid your disciple cannot win me? I’ve already said that if you manage to capture me today, my surname isn’t Xue.”

　　“Don’t talk to my master that way!”

　　Tang Xue Rou retorted angrily as her flying sword gained ground.

　　The old woman’s expression was boiling with rage as well.

　　Xue Que hurriedly whipped out an item from the inventory within the system. It was the Beginner’s Divine Escape Emblem which was given to him at the start by the system. The moment he retrieved it, a fearless look appeared across his face. He then thought of an acting tough line and shouted out.

　　“The river flowed west for thirty years and flowed east for another thirty years. Just you wait. For bullying the weak and poor, I shall one day have you kneel before me as I vanquish you!”

　　As he spoke, the Immortal Trapping Rope was just mere inches away from his back. Just as it was about to close in on him and trap him, the emblem within his palms gave off a bright light. With a ‘sou’, Xu Que instantly vanished from sight.

　　The Immortal Trapping Rope lost its target and remained limp as it floated in the air.

　　Tang Xue Rou and the three elderly people stared as their mouth gaped in shock.

　　“What… What kind of treasure did he use?”

　　“Could it be the long lost Earth Shrinking Amulet? How… How could that be possible?”

　　“Hurry, dispatch men and search for him. He couldn’t have gotten far. This person has a treasure on him and we cannot allow such a precious item to remain in his possession!” The old woman shouted before transforming into a beam of light, soaring into the skies.

　　…

　　At the same time, the skies opened up as another beam of light could be seen. A Daoist descended from the skies onto the ground. It was Xu Que.

　　“Shit! This amulet was pretty useful! Haha! Those death-defying old people failed in their plans. It was so damn exhilarating to act tough before fleeing!”

　　Seeing that he was temporarily safe, Xu Que burst out in laughter as he heard the system go off in his head.

　　“Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully acting tough. The reward is one act tough point.”

　　“Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Xu Que’ for successfully completing ‘act tough and flee’ with good results. The reward is ten act tough points.”

　　Xu Que paused in amusement before breaking out into laughter. “Haha! It was extremely worth it to act tough that way!”

　　He was in extremely high spirits as he stood up and observed his surroundings.

　　He noticed many chests— large and small, scattered all around. It was giving off a certain fragrance and was an extremely strange sight to behold.

　　Xu Que was overjoyed. Just as he was about to take a step forward to examine it, he raised his head and looked up. He saw a signboard hung overhead with inscriptions of dragons and phoenixes flying. There seemed to be several words written as well— Celestial Sect’s Treasure Room!

　　Holy shit. How did I accidentally end up in their treasure room?

　　This… What an embarrassing situation! I am not usually a thieving person as well!

　　Xue Que then looked at the chests greedily before shooting off for the nearest chest.

　　He then opened a squarish chest to reveal a crimson red sword which was glowing brightly. Red energy seemed to be circling around the sword. Just a look was enough for him to know that this wasn’t any ordinary sword.

　　“I’ll take it. I have to take it.”

　　Xu Que was overjoyed. He then operated the system by controlling his mind and opened the inventory before placing the sword into it.

　　He then opened a second wooden chest. He saw several vials encased within. The vials were labelled as Energy Accumulation Pills.

　　“I’ve struck it rich!”

　　Xu Que once again kept several vials into the inventory within his system before scooting off to the next chest.

　　Only after more than half of the chests had been opened— its contents taken and stored within his inventory, that he realized there was a limited amount of space within. Every item that was different occupied a square block, signifying a single item slot. Hence he knew that it was impossible to store every item here within his inventory.

　　“That’s damned embarrassing! There are still so many treasures left. If I don’t take them, I would suffer the wrath of heaven!”

　　“No, I definitely won’t waste all these treasures here. I have to think of a way…”

　　Xu Que sat down on the floor in contemplation.

　　Several moments later, a gleam came into his eyes as he stood up in excitement, “I’ve got it. I shall consume all the pills. Then I shall be able to keep all the remaining treasures.”

　　Immediately after he finished speaking, Xu Que opened his inventory and took out every single pill from within it. He then noticed an entire section of unused item space. He then started to fill it up once again with the remaining treasures.

　　Before long, all the remaining space were occupied as well. There were slightly over ten chests left, which contained a variety of magical pills and potions.

　　Xu Que thought to himself and knew that such pills cannot be taken rashly. He decided to try a single pill of each before deciding.

　　Thus, he opened the ‘Energy Accumulation Pills’ and poured out a single black pill. He then shoved it into his mouth. He chewed on it like a candy but couldn’t detect the faintest trace of flavour or taste.

　　“Gulp!” He swallowed down the remnants of chewed up pill and furrowed his eyebrows. “Strange. Not only does it not have any taste but I don’t feel anything different as well. Could it be that it’s past its expiration date?”

　　“Maybe I should eat another…”

　　In between his own mumblings, he opened the second vial of Energy Accumulation Pill…

　　The third vial…

　　The fourth vial…

　　All the way up to the tenth pill, the only feeling experienced by Xu Que was that he was slightly full and yet he still couldn’t feel anything different about his body.

　　“I don’t believe this. Maybe I should try these Origins Pills. Oh, there’s still the Physical Tempering Pills…”

　　He then started going crazy and swallowed every single pill he laid his sight on. Pill by pill, vial by vial.

　　“Ka-da!”

　　All of a sudden, the doors to the treasure room was pushed open. A youth dressed in fresh robes and a sword hanging from his waist appeared at the door.

　　Xu Que paused in shock as the both of them stared at each other.

　　The youth : “…”

　　Xu Que : “…”

　　At this point in time, everything was still.

　　“Gulp…”

　　Xu Que’s throat moved as he swallowed down the last few pills in his mouth. He looked up at the youth before giving a long and loud burp.