He took a deep breath to steel his nerves. He was likely to get himself killed, but... well, it was partly his fault. He didn't think he could live with himself if Ao Jiao died because of him.
Like an ethereal spirit, he weaved between agitated disciples and foreign visitors, ignored and unhindered, until he reached the exit. He slipped out of the building and then broke into a run in the direction indicated by the glowing needle of his tracking talisman.
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Mountain trolls were particularly nasty creatures. There were several subspecies, but all were large, three-zhang-tall humanoids with tough leathery hide and supernatural regenerative abilities so powerful they could reattach severed limbs simply by holding them to the matching stump for a few breaths. The most numerous and infamous subspecies was the forest troll, which had vivid green skin and roamed throughout the vast forested expanse in the north. As Wei Zian watched a group of trolls strut through the sect grounds, smashing spirit formation pillars and howling unintelligibly, he reflected that it was fortunate the acrid smoke from the nearby burning buildings masked his scent. According to cultivation manuals, a forest troll's sense of smell was frighteningly keen.
Normally, he would have wondered what such a large gathering of forest trolls was doing in the middle of a cultivation sect, relatively far from their native territory, but the blades and maces they were carrying told him everything he needed to know. Those were weapons too advanced to have been crafted by the trolls themselves, who were highly primitive and lacked sophisticated metal refining skills. They were war trolls. Someone had armed these creatures and unleashed them upon the sect.
Once they had passed, Wei Zian relaxed slightly and tried to determine his next course of action. He was such a fool. Why, oh why did he rush out without seeking assistance from the Elders first? Then again, he had assumed the flares were the only danger, in which case reaching Ao Jiao wouldn't be a problem, assuming a stray flare didn't strike him. Instead, he found the sect overrun with spirit beasts and monsters. This wasn't some kind of terrorist attack as he had initially assumed; it was a full-scale invasion! Sadly, the option to return to the Grand Hall was no longer available, many of the invading forces were converging toward the central sect grounds, cutting off his retreat path. With that in mind, Wei Zian continued toward Ao Jiao's location. He kept to the shadows, knowing the invaders would quickly notice anyone caught in the open, such as that disciple standing... over... there...
Is that Zhao Hong?
"Over here!" Zhao Hong shouted, waving his hand in the air. "I'm over here, you stupid beasts! Come and get me!"
Wei Zian gaped at the reckless stupidity he was witnessing. What in the name of the Heavenly Dao was that idiot doing!? No matter how talented a disciple he was, there was no way Zhao Hong could stand against the kind of monstrosities that were stalking the sect at this moment. But it was too late to do anything, attracted by Zhao Hong's shouting, the trolls came running back, giving a single collective battle cry before charging at the disciple foolish enough to attract their attention. Wei Zian could tell from Zhao Hong's posture that he intended to fight the trolls, which seemed utterly mad, what could he do against creatures that regenerate from virtually any wound inflicted upon them? Only fire and corrosive techniques could do lasting damage, and they didn't—
Zhao Hong grasped his staff firmly in his hand, his other hand extended toward the charging trolls, a roaring fireball erupted from his palm and exploded right in the middle of the troll formation. When the flames cleared, only charred corpses remained.
Wei Zian was shocked. A proper Raging Inferno technique like that was a third-tier cultivation art, requiring a substantial amount of spiritual energy to perform, much more than any third-year disciple possessed. Even Wei Dai could not have executed such a technique when he was Zhao Hong's age. Yet not only had Zhao Hong successfully performed it, he didn't even appear drained from the exertion. Indeed, when a flock of iron-feathered ravens attacked soon after, raining their deadly plumage at the young master, Zhao Hong simply erected a Spirit Shield Formation, a genuine Spirit Shield!, around himself and peppered the birds with tiny fireballs that homed in on their targets like spiritual darts made of flame. Wei Zian was so transfixed by the sight of his fellow disciple effortlessly fighting off hordes of monsters single-handedly.
So much so that he almost failed to notice one of the frost wolves attacking Zhao Hong had stealthily broken off from the main pack and was sneaking up on him. Almost. Thankfully, some primal instinct alerted him to the danger, and he threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the creature's deadly pounce.
Wei Zian cursed himself as he watched the frost wolf reorient itself with startling ease for something so large, ready for another pounce. He really should have expected to be targeted, considering the amount of attention Zhao Hong was drawing to himself. He should have used Zhao Hong's fighting as a distraction and fled while he had the chance. Now it was too late, Wei Zian knew he was not fast enough to outrun a frost wolf, and he had no combat techniques with which to defend himself. Or rather, no talismans or formation arrays. If he survived the evening, he would definitely learn a few combat techniques, obsolete as they might be. It was a big if, though.
A shining bolt of spiritual energy slammed into the frost wolf's head, causing it to explode in a gory mess of blood and bone fragments. Wei Zian didn't know whether to be disgusted that he was showered by some of the bloody mess or relieved he would live for a little while longer. He also noted that the effects of the bolt were much stronger than a regular Spirit Missile technique. He supposed this was just another example of Zhao Hong's baffling proficiency with combat arts.
"Wei Zian? What in the name of the Heavenly Dao are you doing here?"