87: free

“This guy is the one who attacked Knight, right? It'll be interesting to see him defeated by the same Knight,” Ning thought.

“You!” Ashius remembered who the person in front of him was and said, “I came to catch you that time.” As he spoke, he summoned his monster.

Ning was about to see a gorilla, but what came out was a large green praying mantis. “What? These guys again? Where's the gorilla?” Ning exclaimed in surprise.

He had forgotten that outer disciples could register up to two beasts in a match and switch between them. Now, he knew.

“That mantis is high-ranked, isn't it?” He was surprised, remembering that the monster he had just fought was not weak. He quickly checked its cultivation and name.

Green Reaper Mantis - Third Qi Condensation Realm.

“Hush, it's actually very high-ranked, just like Knight, and it's also very fast.” Ning was a little worried now. “If things get too bad, I hope the elders will come to stop it.”

“Fight!”

The mantis immediately rushed forward, swinging its scythe-like arms, and slashed at Knight. However, Knight flew up and dodged. Then, he rushed up at incredible speed to scratch the mantis, but the mantis was not slow either.

It dodged and shot towards Knight.

“Wind Blade,” Ashius screamed from the side. Suddenly, the mantis crossed its scythe-like arms and swung through the air with astonishing speed. Suddenly, the “wind” in front of the mantis flew towards Knight; it was sharp enough to injure Knight.

“Oh no, that looks like my Qi Blade,” Ning realized and immediately ordered Knight to fly far away. With astonishing speed, Knight flew out of the direction and range of the flying blade, completely missing it.

“Dazzling Scent” “Air Twister”

Two commands were issued simultaneously. Knight began to emit bursts of chilling air towards the mantis, hoping to blind it, while the mantis began to spin rapidly, hoping to create a small tornado.

Due to the tornado, the gusts of wind never reached the mantis, and Knight was skilled in flying and would not be affected by such a breeze.

They were now at a stalemate. Ning began to worry if he could hurt the mantis. “Knight must get close,” he thought. To be honest, Ning didn't know how Knight fought; he only judged based on Knight's skills.

“He hunts by himself every Night, I should…” he thought.

“Counterattack!” Ya Zi screamed, and suddenly, the mantis pounced towards Ning.

“What?” Ning was startled and was about to defend himself when the mantis suddenly changed direction, jumped, and leaped towards Knight, truly intending to stab Knight in the back.

Ning was terrified and was about to say something when Knight flew out of the spot by himself with incredible speed. “Oh, thank goodness, of course, it knows how to fight by itself.”

“Knight, fight by yourself,” Ning finally said without hesitation.

As if he had finally been given the freedom to do whatever he wanted, Knight immediately accelerated, flying around the arena until it became a dark blur in the sky.

“You… you… I know you. You're that bird from last time,” Ashius said, finally remembering the black blur.

Knight suddenly changed direction and flew towards the mantis. Ning felt like he saw something. As if it were an afterimage left by incredible speed, there seemed to be a dark judgment trailing behind Knight.

Clang!

A metallic sound rang out, and the dark claw was blocked by an elder's sword. “The battle is over, you win,” the elder said, pointing at Ning.

“Ah…” Ning hadn't seen when the elder moved; Knight alone was already too fast to track, but now the elder was basically teleporting.

“Goodness, how strong can cultivators be?” he wondered.

“Come back, Knight.” he said. Knight flew back to him and began to complain, “Bad guy, foot, pain, again.”

“Hmm…” Ning said as he checked Knight's foot, finding that Knight's skin had cracked from the elder's impact. “How fast did he run?” Ning wondered.

“Sigh, I don't have energy to waste, buddy. We'll have to heal you the old-fashioned way. I could go to the beast caregiver, but I really want to visit the City again. Maybe go find those Buddhist healers,” he said.

He was now in the top 16. If his cultivation foundation was at the Fourth Qi Condensation Realm, he could have become an inner disciple. However, he hadn't reached that level yet, and since there were no prizes beyond the top three, he decided to withdraw from the competition.

He told the elders about it and then left the arena, and in fact, he also left the Mist Origin Sect itself, arriving at the City gates a few minutes later.

He held his Mist Origin Sect identification and walked in without paying any money. He walked on the familiar streets of the City, a City he knew like the back of his hand.

Soon he reached the City center, where he found the Physicians Guild. The different guilds were clustered around each other and were very close to the Pure Sect.

He saw the Beast Tamer Guild, but he still walked into the Physicians Guild because he needed a healer first. He walked to the reception, where a bald young man was patiently waiting for people.

“Hey, do you also help injured beasts?” he asked.

“Of course, dear customer. We help everyone who needs help,” the receptionist said.

“Oh,” he said, quickly summoning Knight from his stored beast skin bag, “His leg is injured, can you heal him?” he asked.

“Of course, let me call someone to take you inside,” the bald man said, and Ning waited.