Chapter Twenty-Nine: Encounter with the Demon Clan

The five senior and junior brothers and sisters were running toward the demonic aura when Yao Ye suddenly stopped in his tracks. “Hold on, everyone! Something’s not right ahead. I think I hear sounds of fighting. Let me go ahead and scout it out. Stay hidden and I’ll be right back!”

“Junior brother, let me go instead,” Peng Lei interjected, blocking Yao Ye. “I’ve been out on missions several times and my vigilance is high.”

“No, senior brother! My spiritual sense has already reached the level of a golden lotus in full bloom—let me go. It’s more suitable for me to scout ahead.”

“Let’s not argue, Yao Ye! We’ll both go. Zhao Mu, while we’re gone, you’re the strongest in combat, so I’ll leave the task of protecting Xiaoxiao and Liu Xin to you. Hide here and wait for us; Yao Ye and I will be back after we’ve checked things out.” With those words, Peng Lei and Yao Ye moved swiftly toward the front.

The two of them ducked behind a large tree. Yao Ye pointed ahead and whispered, “Senior brother, look! Those are people from the Martial Academy. But the ones opposing them are...?” As he spoke, Yao Ye’s demeanor turned furious.

Sensing Yao Ye’s agitation, his senior brother gently patted him, signaling him to retreat. They moved back a dozen meters, and Peng Lei looked at Yao Ye with curiosity. “Yao Ye, do you recognize those people on the other side? You seem unusually angry—what’s going on?”

Yao Ye’s eyes burned with vengeance as he stared ahead. “Those are members of the Demon Clan! The one leading them is Xiong Chen, the son of the new Demon Emperor. His Xiong clan led the rebellion that wiped out my Heavenly Demon Wolf lineage. Aside from me, there are no other survivors—I wish I could tear them apart with my own hands.”

Peng Lei stepped forward to console him. “Yao Ye, don’t act rashly. The greater cause is more important right now; you’ll have your chance for vengeance, and when you do, I’ll help you.”

Seeing the sincerity on his senior brother’s face, Yao Ye was deeply moved and nodded, acknowledging his words. “Let’s go. I’ll help out, but you’d better stay hidden in case the Demon Clan recognizes you. Watch from the shadows and don’t get involved.”

The two returned to the large tree, where the fight ahead had reached its climax. Peng Lei nodded slightly to Yao Ye, then sprinted forward and leaped into the air.

“Raining Feathers from the Sky!” Peng Lei shouted, attacking Xiong Chen, whose onslaught was the fiercest. The students from Fire Dance Academy, seeing reinforcements arrive, cheered and pressed their attack even harder. “Eagle Soars the Heavens!” Peng Lei descended like a hawk, instantly forcing Xiong Chen into a flustered retreat.

Under attack from both sides, Xiong Chen felt the pressure mounting and knew his defeat was only a matter of time. He executed a move to push his opponents back, leapt from their encirclement, and spat out, “You’re all quite something! I’ll settle this score with you sooner or later. Let’s go!” With that, Xiong Chen fled, and the others from the Demon Clan quickly followed.

A man approached Peng Lei and clasped his fists in gratitude. “Good brother, thank you for your help! We’re from the Martial Academy. My name is Li Qin, and these are my fellow disciples—Wang Ke, Zhang Wei, and Sun Kaide. May I ask your name?”

The group saluted Peng Lei together to express their thanks. “Greetings! I am Peng Lei from Divine Wind Academy. No need for such courtesy; our fates are now bound together, for better or worse. Helping you is only right. But I am puzzled—why did the Demon Clan attack you?”

“Brother Peng is right! We should work together to complete this mission. As for the Demon Clan, we don’t know either. We had just entered this area when they ambushed us. If it weren’t for your timely help, we likely would have been defeated.”

“Brother Li, you’re being too modest. I suspect we were ambushed because we’re nearing our destination. This incident is surely connected to the Demon Clan in many ways. Why don’t we join forces? We can watch each other’s backs.”

“Brother Peng, you have a point. Working together will reduce our risk. I remember your Divine Wind Academy sent several students here—where are they? Won’t they join us?”

“Oh, I sensed something amiss ahead and had them stay put while I scouted alone. Brother Li, please wait here while I go fetch them. We’ll move forward together.”

“Very well, we’ll wait here for you, Brother Peng!” Peng Lei saluted and flew off toward Zhao Mu and the others.

As Peng Lei left, Sun Kaide stepped forward and asked Li Qin, “Senior brother, are you really going to cooperate with the Divine Wind Academy? Don’t forget, our two academies have always been at odds. This time, the headmaster even said we could take the chance to kill a few of them.”

“Hmph! Do you really take me for a fool? Cooperating serves two purposes: first, it lowers our risk; second, we can use them as pathfinders. When the mission is done, we’ll strike first. As long as we take out that Peng Lei, I doubt the rest from Divine Wind Academy will put up much of a fight.”

“Brilliant, senior brother! Truly a plan that kills two birds with one stone.” Sun Kaide grinned maliciously...