The Portal of Wonderland

“Dangerous!”

“Brother Bai, dodge it!”

The acquaintances of Bai Shi who had gathered around the ring called-out in alarm.

However, Shi Mu’s gaze was fixed on Lan Feng.

An average person wouldn’t have noticed anything when Lan Feng and Bai Shi had intertwined and passed each other. But, Shi Mu had detected several clues.

The bells hanging from the clothes of Lang Feng were a bit strange. Maybe, it was because of these bells that Bai Shi had remained standing on his spot.

Suddenly, Bai Shi’s body quivered and his facial expression returned to its normal state. He had lost his consciousness for a few moments. Lang Feng’s dagger had arrived in front of him, and was only one foot away from his chest.

Bai Shi’s complexion changed. Innumerable thoughts crashed into his mind. He quickly tilted his body. However, he didn’t draw his shoulder back. In fact, he turned to welcome the dagger. Suddenly, his right hand exuded shockwaves and a cold light emerged from his fingertips. Then, he swept his right hand forward and waved it at Lan Feng’s waist with the intention to launch an attack.

A trace of alarm flashed in Lan Feng’s eyes as she saw this. This unexpected and dangerous attack made her scream in her heart. But, she couldn’t stop her momentum.

They were about to suffer severe injuries when an orange light streaked from mid-air with a ‘whooshing’ sound.

The orange light turned out to be a group of fireballs; each of which was as big as the head of a person. The light was shot towards the floor of the ring at an incredibly fast speed; it then exploded there.

Bang!

Bai Shi and Lan Feng were sent flying as a giant airwave surged in their directions; they were pushed back several meters.

The audience was startled by these turn of events; so much so that they became stupefied for a moment. Then, they turned their gazes towards the direction from where that fireball had come.

They saw two people standing there side-by-side — Shi Mu and Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming’s complexion looked pale. His right arm was held out; it seemed to have assumed the posture of pointing forward. The residual of an orange light lingered on his fingertip.

“Brother Xiao, you…” Shi Mu was dumbstruck.

Xiao Ming looked around at astonished faces. Then, he took a deep breath and put down his arm.

“A magician…” someone shouted from the crowd. Then, the crowd exploded with excitement as people began to discuss among themselves.

Lan Feng’s face revealed an astonished look. However, Bai Shi didn’t look surprised. He glanced at Lan Feng, and then shifted his gaze towards Xiao Ming.

“Brother Bai, how could you risk your life for the sake of a single Flaming Demon Token?” Xiao Ming forced a smile on his face as he said.

Bai Shi wrinkled his eyebrows. But, he had to nod since things had got to this point. He turned towards Lan Feng and clasped his one hand in the other across his chest. He then said, “Miss Lan’s blood power is indeed remarkable. It’s quite difficult to deal with it. But, we should stop now since our fight has been interrupted.”

“Brother Bai regained his consciousness very fast; it greatly surprised me,” Lan Feng gave a perfunctory reply. The bells hanging from her clothes jingled as she turned around and stepped down from the ring.

Qu Kun and the golden-haired youngster had been watching the match from a distance. Their expressions changed as they saw this. Their faces revealed a pleasantly surprised look.

“I had never thought that there would be such talented people in this group of new disciples. That guy has learned some magic arts… but the induction force of his fire element was quite profound,” Qu Kun muttered.

He had barely finished speaking when the golden-haired youngster walked past him along with his two fellow disciples. Then, they advanced towards the ring.

Qu Kun’s complexion changed as he saw this. Then, he too strode towards the ring with his fellow men.

The new disciples were scared of Qu Kun. So, they hurriedly made way for him and the golden-haired boy when they saw them walking over with their friends.

Bai Shi had stepped down from the ring. He, Xiao Ming and Shi Mu were talking when they saw Qu Kun and the golden-haired youngster walking towards them.

Shi Mu felt a cold shiver in his heart as he saw Qu Kun and Huo Mao approach them. However, his facial expressions didn’t change.

”Brother Bai, I watched you compete that girl. It’s amazing that you have made such a terrific progress in such a short period of time,” the golden-haired youth greeted Bai Shi with a soft smile; he seemed to be familiar with him.

“Brother Jin is flattering me,” Bai Shi clasped his hands in front of the golden-haired youngster in obeisance. Then, he nodded to Huo Mao in greeting.

“This guy doesn’t seem familiar to me. Is he your friend?” the golden-haired youngster asked in a casual manner as he looked Xiao Ming.

Bai Shi couldn’t help but look at Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming’s complexion was still pale. He nodded after a little hesitation.

“This is my friend… Xiao Ming,” Bai Shi said with a smile.

“So… you are young disciple Xiao. I met you on the entrance day. Your extraordinary talent left a great impression on me. You are indeed different from an average disciple. But, I had never expected that you would possess magical powers. The induction force of your fire element was pretty impressive. I think your status in the Sect will be promoted as soon as your performance is reported to our elders,” Qu Kun managed to say with a smile.

The golden-haired youngster frowned as he saw this; his complexion darkened.

“Brother Xiao’s magical powers might’ve been exhausted now. I happen to be carrying this Spirit-Strengthening Pill that can supplement your magical powers. You don’t have to be polite… just accept it.” Qu Kun didn’t wait for Xiao Ming to say anything. He pulled out a delicate white bottle from his bosom and raised his hand to give it to Xiao Ming.

The golden-haired youngster’s facial expression changed again as he realized that the cost of the Spirit-Strengthening Pill wouldn’t be less than several thousand silvers. He hadn’t expected that Qu Kun act so desperately to get Xiao Ming into his group.

Xiao Ming’s complexion changed. He didn’t put out his hand to receive the pill. Instead, he gazed at Bai Shi with a puzzled and hesitant expression on his face.

“Hehe… the Blood Dragon Gang is very rich and overbearing. But, I’ve heard that Brother Qu forcefully seized a Flaming Demon Token from Brother Xiao when he entered our Sect. In fact, Brother Xiao had narrowly escaped that day. I wonder if this news is indeed true.” The golden-haired youth sneered as he hit Qu Kun’s sore spot.

The surrounding disciples rolled back the curtain of their memories as they heard this. Then, they started to recall the bitter experiences they had on the entrance day. However, they didn’t dare to reveal an indignant expression on their faces. They merely looked towards Qu Kun and his two followers in an unwilling manner.

Xiao Ming lowered his gaze.

Qu Kun noticed the changed look in Xiao Ming’s eyes. So, he knitted his eyebrows and slowly retracted his arm.

“Brother Xiao, we don’t need to be secretive. My name is Jin Huan. I’m a member of the Holy Spirit Association. Our group has several talented magicians like you. But, I don’t know if Brother Xiao will be interested in joining our association. I’m not a magician. But, there are many people in our association who could help to accelerate the speed of your progress,” the golden-haired youngster said earnestly.

“A splendid martial arts warrior like Brother Bai is also a rare talent. You’re welcome in our group as well,” the golden-haired youngster said as he turned to look at Bai Shi.

Shi Mu stood silently beside them as he listened to their conversation.

He had heard the name of the Holy Spirit Association multiple times in the last two months. As per his knowledge, this association was very powerful because of its several formidable Hou Tian Warriors. They had even recruited a few scholar level magicians. However, they didn’t have a harmonious relationship with the Blood Dragon Gang’s Qu Kun.