It could be said that the Sect had done too much for Wu Guang's heroic reputation, and so only five from the over fifty elders and disciples decided to follow the order.

Regretfully for them, the four clan heads decided to believe in Lan Yanzhi's explanation and so, even before the five could move out, they were restrained. No, it wasn't the explanation itself, but more than all the clans had been suspicious of the Sect during these last weeks, and this situation simply confirmed their thoughts. Indeed, with no enemies on the island, why just not drop down the formation and return the refugees to their homes? Why continue having them live in ramshackle camps in the Wildlands? Why call the Clan heads to the ceremony here now? Why a so-called grand ceremony was hardly comprised of only fifty-odd Sect members?

And the Snake clan patriarch, the one that moved first, had another reason. He despised Rui Qingkai and the Sect for not informing them about the battle to take place near his clan hometown, and as he had found later, asking the Wolf, Bear, and Boar clans to do the same.

***

"Incompetent ingrates!" Xiong Yating roared while observing that his two apprentices could not do anything right. That the clans even before interrogating the idiot that was sent to check on the second part of the plan already restrained some of the Sect's personnel. That probably they would start acting, and while they were no threat, there was always the chance for some information to leak out.

And so, Xiong Yating had to act himself...

***

An aura of enormous strength, one that most of the present had never experienced suddenly encompassed the entire area. Not only it was hostile, suppressing everyone's ability to use qi and freezing them on the spot, but it also carried killing intent, one that allowed even the slowest cultivator to understand that probably no one would leave it alive.

The only two to remain unaffected by it were Teng De and Rui Qingkai, and it wasn't because Xiong Yating did not want to kill the two of them for allowing such a perfect plan to be derailed. It neither was because he felt something about his two personal disciples. No, he simply knew that he would need at least some Sage realm cultivators at his disposal, and this two were the ones that he had.

Wu Guang's was also only slightly affected, with the formation he had created not only powered by the energies from a peak Soul realm cultivator, allowing it to function for a few hours but it also infused with some of Kass Shaa'r presence, allowing it to withstand even a warrior lord pressure.

Everything was going more or less as he had expected it to. Still, now he had to make sure that Xiong Yating's fury was directed at him, to not allow him to kill everyone present right away.

"Oh, so the late, excuse me, retired headmaster decided to take the matters into his hands? Having two such incompetent disciples seems to be pretty hard" Wu Guang said while shaking his head. He even added some sympathy to his voice, as if he was indeed feeling for the old man.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" Teng De had been on the verge of breaking for some time now, and such words, especially now that his master was about to take action...

He gathered an enormous amount of qi in his right fist and ignoring Rui Qingkai's attempt to stop him, shot from the spot, intending to destroy or at least damage the formation.

But he did not make it, as just a moment before he arrived, the back of his master appeared in front of him.

"Stop, you will just be rebound" Xiong Yating said without even turning to face him.

As Xiong Yating examined Wu Guang and the formation that protected him up close, the latter did the same in response.

________________________________________________________________________

The old headmaster looked anything except impressive. Granted, his cultivation had slowed down his aging, and he would live up to three hundred years as a 1st level Warrior Lord, but he had obtained it slightly too late. And judging by the purplish tone of skin, lack of any hair, and slightly misty eyes, he had obtained it at a great price to his lifeforce. Not that it was surprising, after all, Xiong Yating's original cultivation method peaked at the Mid Sage realm, and it was the best one available in the Sect. One that he had only shared with his two disciples. Every level after the limit was an enormous challenge and one that could kill or cripple a cultivator.

________________________________________________________________________

Both of them remained silent for some moments before Xiong Yating said

"You don't fear me"

"And why should I?" Wu Guang responded.

"The Formation Master, no Greatmaster that made your formation is definitively the best one currently alive. Even I can not even glean a weak point. Still, even such a grand formation can not resist absolute power" As Xiong Yating said these words, he simply waved his hand, and just from that, Wu Guang's formation began wavering.

Wu Guang did expect such a thing to happen. After all, no matter how advanced his knowledge was, there was a limit to what a formation created by someone who was not even a Sage realm could resist.

He quickly made a slightly panicked expression and took out something that resembled a 'Blood Connecting Orb'.

"Oh, you don't!" Xiong Yating wickedly smiled and with another wave eliminated the formation, his aura locking Wu Guang right away, suppressing him entirely and forcing him to drop the orb.

*Plop*

Wu Guang paled and was forced to one knee from the increasing pressure enforced on him.

"Now you will die, and be buried like the nice young hero you are" Xiong Yating said vilely and commanded his aura to crush Wu Guang.

"Every cultivator dies at some point of his martial path" Suddenly Wu Guang spoke up, and before Xiong Yating could attempt anything, he continued, ending with a shout

"Not that it's mine right NOW!"

***

Xiong Yating never saw it coming, even so, he was an experienced cultivator. Granted, his control over his current power, as Wu Guang suspected, was not absolute, but he had fought and lived through thousands of encounters in his almost 60 years before seclusion, and so his instincts made him react to the extremely quick approach of an aura not weaker than his.

Not that he could do anything else than block the sudden punch that pushed him several dozens of feet to the side.

"What?! An Earth realm cultivator?! Who are you?!" He felt the aura, and the strength behind the punch wasn't weaker than his own, no, it was even stronger.

Albeit he questioned, the figure dressed in the same type of cloak and hood as Wu Guang did not say anything, launching into melee.

With each attack, from which none missed Xiong Yating, forcing him to block them all physically, the old headmaster understood that he had been played. He did not know who was helping Wu Guang, as even his senses could not break through the strange aura around the opponent. But he knew that this cultivator was extremely strong, and held an advantage in close quarters.

Xiong Yating activated a movement skill and attempted to break distance, but his opponent did not allow it to open even slightly, immediately equaling the speed and launching punches on the go.

Taking air did not help either, no, it even made the situation worse.

*CRASH*

A heavy body tackle, one which actual force went even though Xiong Yating's defense made him crash into the ground.

"DAMN YOU!" Seeing that he wasn't being even given a single opportunity to open distance and use anything that could work against a Warrior realm cultivator, Xiong Yating roared and called for his weapon, which he had stored in a Storage ring. An enormous, almost six feet long saber, with just half of the length being a thick and wide edge instantly appeared in his hands.

Called 'Kirin's Demise' it was a Spirit weapon, one that he had been gifted almost 80 years ago by his own master, Xiang Zexi, the founder of the sect. This gift and the reason behind it were part of Xiong Yating's, Xiang Yating's hate for the empire. After all, it was his master and father's last gift. Xiang Zexi had never acknowledged their relationship until he was asked to go on some kind of mission, and then killed off by the Empire, at least by the rumors. Still, that did not change the fact that he had trained and taken care of Yating for dozens of years. Neither it did change the fact that he was used and then discarded by the so-called Emperor. Probably even killed on the latter's order.

"I don't care who are you, I will kill you, I will kill Wu Guang, I will kill the imperials, I WILL KILL EVEN THE EMPEROR IF HE DARES TO APPEAR!" The old headmaster crazily shouted and slashed at the approaching opponent.

*Rip* *Clang*

His saber cut through the aura, the cloak, but then something hard, akin armor, repelled the edge.

Not that Xiang Yating had any time to think about it, as his opponent suddenly released five qi blades from his right arm aimed directly at his face.

***

Wu Guang would have wanted to follow the slowly distancing Kass Shaa'r and Xiang Yating, but he had his own opponents. Indeed, while Teng De was frozen on the spot after seeing that there was someone who could fight against, or maybe even was slightly stronger than his master present, and helping Wu Guang, Rui Qingkai decided to use the fact that there was no formation left and deal with the main problem once for all.

He did not use any technique or skill, preferring to silently and stealthily inch closer, and then suddenly launch towards Wu Guang.

Rui Qingkai was sure that he would kill the youngster with a simple punch, considering the sheer difference in cultivation.

*Puchi*

And so he did not expect Wu Guang to not only react, but also avoid the punch, and even to counterattack. And not even in a nightmare he could have expected that Wu Guang's simple extended left hand would ignore his aura and penetrate into his body as if Rui Qingkai was a simple mortal.

*Blergh*

He vomited a copious amount of blood and slowly began falling to the ground. Inwardly he just kept asking, what had happened? Why he could not sense or use any qi? Why a simple attack that hardly was deadly even for a Soul realm cultivator was so deadly for him, a 6th level Sage realm one?

"Did your master forget to teach you to sense the ground that you trod upon?" Wu Guang asked as if knowing what thoughts filled Rui Qingkai's mind.

The latter gathered his strength and turned his head slightly, just to see the golden radiance of another formation, right on the spot he had just stepped on, and cleverly concealed by the debris from the rock, earth, and other attacks they had used.

*Cough* "Th... That?" He could only ask.

"A formation meant to negate any cultivation under the Earth realm for a single moment" Wu Guang simply said while watching how life abandoned his friend? enemy? victim? eyes.

________________________________________________________________________

Wu Guang would never feel good about what he had done with the three captured people. Not that he felt bad about the matter to say the truth. The 'Life Absorbing Execution', a formation forbidden in most of the powers of any middle or upper plane had allowed Wu Guang to absorb everything from the two peak Soul realm and 2nd level Sage realm. One of the first was used to heal Wu Guang's body, not entirely, but at least to allow him to regain his cultivation by providing three fake meridians, while he searched for a method to heal his right arm. The other one was used to fuel the 'Encompassing Protection' formation destroyed by Xiang Yating.

And the last one, the Sage realm cultivator energies powered this, 'Heavenly Judgement of Mortality' formation. And even though it was by far the biggest amount of energy, it only allowed Wu Guang to use it for a single instant.

He had disguised it as a blood connection orb, and let it fall when Xiang Yating had restrained him before. Hoping that either Teng De or Rui Qingkai would attempt to kill him in close, and it had worked out as intended...

________________________________________________________________________

"Everyone escape before headmaster Teng recovers his bearings and begins killing!" Not allowing himself to lose a moment, and now that Xiang Yating was far enough for his aura to restrict anyone, Wu Guang sent a qi transmission to most of the Clan heads, as well to Lan Yanzhi, Yuan Taotu, and Lang Zheng.

"And you?" Lan Yanzhi was the first to ask.

"Will try to hog his attention for a bit. Don't worry, I should be able to escape"

"No" Suddenly a voice sounded, and a few seconds later, Lang Mu and the other three clan heads stepped forward. After a moment, Lang Zheng shouted

"Everyone run! Those men will definitively try to silence everyone who saw their true face"

And also stepped forward.

"What are you five planning to do?" Wu Guang could not help but ask an obvious question.

"You saved the Wildlands and now entered this battle to save us again. What kind of Clansmen would we be if we allowed you to risk yourself even more?"

"HAHAHA" A barking laughter interrupted the speaking Lang Mu, and everyone turned towards its source, Teng De.

"No one will leave and no one will be spared" Bloodshot eyes looking at Wu Guang, Teng De growled...