Chapter 88: Keep Dreaming

　　Huff, huff…

　　Qi Ying rushed frantically through the forest, unleashing his Flowing Shadow Strike from time to time as a means to confuse his pursuers.

　　The rate at which he was expending True Energy was very fearsome, but he wasn’t concerned.

　　He was carrying a portable energy bank with him!

　　Even though it was a little inconvenient to carry Duan Gucheng around, Qi Ying could draw energy from his body whenever it was required!

　　After replenishing himself to a certain extent, he would let go of his hostage’s neck and save him for later.

　　Thump!

　　Boom boom!

　　The large hordes of people were still giving chase relentlessly.

　　Qi Ying was extremely fast, but with Duan Gucheng weighing him down, he was unable to shake off all of his pursuers.

　　He could only trust in his instincts and travel toward denser forestry.

　　After a short while, a small clearing suddenly appeared up ahead.

　　Whoosh!

　　Qi Ying suddenly came to an abrupt halt as his feet dug into the ground to arrest his momentum.

　　The path had concluded!

　　He had arrived at the edge of the cliff, and it was as if some omnipotent being had sliced a vertical rock face into the side of the mountain. There was a distance of close to a thousand feet before reaching the ground below, and a fall from such great heights would most definitely spell death for an Energy Martial Stage warrior.

　　Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

　　Dozens of warriors emerged from the forest.

　　The first one to arrive on the scene was Feng Hemu, followed closely by Duan Lang, the three Heavenly Monarchs, Sun Changyu, Sun Zhixing, and everyone else. Not only were there warriors from the three major families present, there were also a few other warriors who wanted to see if they could snag a few badges amid the chaos.

　　Qi Ying turned to the masses of warriors behind him with a cold expression.

　　Duan Gucheng was only hanging on to life by a hair’s breadth, and only a few wisps of True Energy remained in his body.

　　“You have nowhere to run!”

　　Duan Lang approached him with sword in hand.

　　Whoosh!

　　Feng Hemu suddenly rose into the air and forced Duan Lang flying with a palm projection. “He’s my prey!”

　　Whoosh!

　　Clang!

　　A series of swords and sabers were drawn, and the atmosphere became extremely tense.

　　“Hehe.”

　　A burst of laughter suddenly rang out.

　　Everyone turned toward the source of that voice with furrowed brows.

　　Qi Ying?

　　He was about to die, so what was he laughing about?

　　It was indeed true that none of the Energy Martial Stage warriors present could match him in a one-on-one battle, but there was no way he could take on everyone at once!

　　The path had cut off into a sheer cliff face, so he had been well and truly forced into a corner! Everyone had already turned on Duan Gucheng, so he wasn’t even an effective hostage anymore. Carrying him would only make Qi Ying a more sought-after target to everyone.

　　In such a desperate situation, what could he possibly be laughing about?

　　At that moment, Feng Hemu turned to Qi Ying and offered, “Give me all of your badges along with Duan Gucheng’s, and I can help you fight these people!”

　　The warriors from the three major families stirred upon hearing that.

　　Qi Ying was already extremely troublesome to deal with; how would anyone be able to bring him down if he were to join forces with Feng Hemu?

　　The latter was only one person, but he was a Spirit Martial Stage warrior. He could fly, and he possessed Spiritual Energy, which was far more powerful than True Energy… If he wanted to escape, no one in the entire hunting grounds could stop him.

　　Feng Hemu’s arm suddenly shot forth, and a ball of golden light erupted!

　　Bam!

　　The golden light exploded near a few Sun family warriors, flinging them into the air.

　　Sun Zhixing immediately roared with rage, “Commander Feng, are you trying to make us your enemies?!”

　　Feng Hemu completely ignored him and turned to Qi Ying again. “You can see that I’m sincerely offering you my help. In any case, you have no other alternative.”

　　“…”

　　Qi Ying stood silently on the spot and scanned across the surrounding warriors.

　　There was no way he would hand over his badges.

　　Furthermore, everyone in the tournament was fighting for themselves, so no one could be trusted.

　　Feng Hemu’s offer seemed genuine, but he was almost definitely going to ditch him as soon as he handed over his and Duan Gucheng’s badges.

　　At that moment, Sun Zhixing also stepped forward. “If you give the badges to me, my Sun family can protect you! Feng Hemu is just one person; how is he going to be able to protect you?”

　　A warrior from the Wang family also chimed in, “Give your badges to the Wang family, and we can protect you!”

　　Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

　　Over twenty warriors suddenly emerged near the cliff.

　　At the forefront of their group was a man clad in green armor with a saber in his hand, and he yelled in a loud voice, “I am An Shaoping of the An family! Brother Qi, hand over your badges and our An family will protect you! Please trust me!”

　　Three of the four major families had offered their protection to Qi Ying in exchange for badges.

　　The Duan family was the only one that had refrained from doing so!

　　Everyone knew that there was no way they would be willing to protect Qi Ying, even if he relinquished the badges to them.

　　…

　　Outside the hunting grounds.

　　An Ruyi stared intently at the screen with her hand over her mouth. Gu Shiwei and the academy elders were also assessing the situation with rapt attention. Everyone was waiting with bated breath to see how the situation would unfold.

　　What choice was Qi Ying going to make?

　　In the sky above, the five supervisors were gathered together.

　　Yan Beigui smacked his lips with an intrigued expression. “What an interesting guy.”

　　Qi Shun shook his head wistfully and sighed, “What a pity… He’s clearly the most talented warrior among all of them, but he’s unfortunately become the public enemy. Even if he hands over the badges, no one would be willing to spare him.”

　　“Young master, this world is unfair by nature!” Qi Kaiyang sighed and his musclebound body was trembling slightly, but his expression remained resolute, “Rules are rules, and they cannot be changed! Even if it’s a great shame that such a bright young prospect would die there, that was all pre-ordained by fate. Only those who could overcome all obstacles that appeared before they could rise above and beyond, to become truly powerful beings!”

　　Madam Butterfly turned and said, “Susu, you don’t look so good.”

　　Qin Susu didn’t give a reply. Instead, she was staring blankly down at the scenes unfolding below, and all of her attention was focused on Qi Ying.

　　He was very much like a cornered wild beast.

　　Was he going to retaliate and escape or be killed by the hunters?

　　If things took a turn for the worse, then even if she had to take a risk, she would have to save him.

　　…

　　On the cliff, everyone was awaiting a response from Qi Ying!

　　If they could obtain Qi Ying and Duan Gucheng’s badges, at least one additional member of their family would be able to enter the Yun Xiao Academy. In fact, it was quite possible that those badges would be enough to secure two spots in the top ten!

　　That was something that could change the fate of an entire family.

　　Gusts of cold wind continued to blow, sweeping up a few tree leaves, which descended slowly down along the vertical rock face.

　　Qi Ying turned to look at the cliff face behind him, before turning to look at the warrior before him, and he suddenly chuckled. “Heh.”

　　However, his expression then immediately cooled. “Ptui! Keep dreaming!”