The three men slowed to a stop upon seeing the situation.
The leader among them appeared to be a middleaged man. He scoffed, “Bartholomew, what a small world. I thought we’d meet at the assessment site, but here we are, running into each other just as we enter the mountains, hahaha!”
Upon recognizing the trio, Bartholomew and his group simultaneously frowned, their expressions turning solemn.
Bartholomew replied with a hint of anger, “I didn’t expect you to be tailing us like a persistent curse. I’m not in a good mood today, so beat it!”
Pierce also said angrily, “Hadden Windrow, we haven’t settled the score from your last sneak attack. Are you here today to settle both new and old debts? Leave now, and you’re off the hook! Or you won’t have the chance to escape later!”
Gerard and Alfie both stepped forward, ready for battle.
Remus, riding atop Bucky, watched coldly.
“Hahaha!” Hadden laughed arrogantly.
“Why, aren’t you scary? You’re scaring me to death, haha! I admit, I can’t take advantage of you, but can you afford to fight me? I don’t have any intentions to enter the sacred land, but what about you? If you want to fight, I can accompany you. We can both end up injured. “But for me, it’s just a few days’ rest. For you, however, it means missing a chance to enter the sacred land.”
“You!” Alfie’s face turned pale with anger.
Indeed, they couldn’t afford a fight.
The journey was already fraught with danger. Wasting spirit energy on Hadden would only make the rest of the journey harder, let alone participating in the assessment.
Sometimes, it was not just about strength, but also luck and reserves.
“I can offer three Energy Replenishing Pills!” Remus interjected.
The conflict had been brought on by Bucky, and his years of training in the mountains among fierce beasts with his master had deepened his affinity for animals over humans. Bucky had assisted him, and favonovel.com felt compelled to repay the kindness.
The three men turned their attention to favonovel.com at his offer.
Hadden looked favonovel.com over, then laughed scornfully. “A late Golden Stage cultivator? And you let favonovel.com join your team? Pathetic!”
He dismissed the value of the Energy Replenishing Pills as such items were trivial to someone at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.
Bartholomew cut off further discussion with a firm tone, “Enough! You know we’re on our way to the sacred land assessment. Don’t provoke us further. Leave now!”
Hadden was undeterred and held out a hand. He said, “I’ll go, but there’s a toll. It’s not much, just a 100 year-old Demonic Beast Inner Pill. Pay up, or else you won’t be leaving at all, hahaha!”
Alfie’s fury was palpable, favonovel.com spirit energy coalescing into a weapon.
“This is your last warning, leave or face the consequences!”
The threat escalated as the two beside Hadden prepared for a fight, their spirit energies sparking against Alfie’s.
Unfazed, Hadden Windrow raised the stakes. “Now, I want two Demonic Beast Inner Pills, or one pill that is over 200 years old. This is your final chance!”
Pierce and the rest seethed with anger but held back, unwilling to squander their spirit energy on this extortionist.
“Fine, take it and go,” Bartholomew relented, producing an orange-yellow inner pill.
“This is your only warning. Cross us again, and it’ll be your end,” favonovel.com said with a serious tone.
“Wait!” Alfie intervened as Bartholomew was about to hand over the pill.
Her gaze fixed on Remus with evident dissatisfaction.
She said, “Didn’t you claim you could defeat a Divine Separation stage cultivator? Dealing with someone at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage should be trivial for you. You’ve dragged us into this! Now, resolve it, preferably by eliminating the threat.”
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