Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1732 - 1769: Interrogation
The leading soldier heard Ding Fan’s words but didn’t care about what Ding Fan was saying. He had already noticed that the other party was only at the Early Nascent Soul Stage, and all these people were at that level. Therefore, the leading soldier wasn’t worried about Ding Fan and his group at all.
The leading soldier disregarded Ding Fan’s words and directly ordered the surrounding soldiers:
"Take them all down. If they dare resist, kill without mercy!"
"Yes!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Yes..."
The armored soldiers heard their squad leader’s command and immediately responded. Just as they were about to take action, Ding Fan urgently said with a tempting tone:
"We’re searching for Grade Nine Fire Spirit Grass. Don’t you want to know where the Fire Spirit Grass is? If you treat us roughly, we won’t tell you where it is!"
The soldiers hesitated after hearing Ding Fan’s words, momentarily pausing their actions and looking at the squad leader. Listening to Ding Fan, the squad leader was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected that the other party, merely a merchant, could remain so calm in such a situation, which was unexpected.
However, the squad leader quickly grew impatient and said to the soldiers:
"Don’t listen to his nonsense. We have important matters today, and all potential threats must be eliminated. Take action!"
Ding Fan was stunned upon hearing this, unable to believe that the other party was uninterested in the Grade Nine Fire Spirit Grass. This kind of spiritual material is extremely precious, and Fire Spirit Grass has varied uses. It’s in high demand in the Cultivation World.
The Grade Nine Fire Spirit Grass is especially valuable, often auctioned for astronomical prices, as Grade Nine spiritual materials are rare. Even with a huge amount of Spirit Stones, some cultivators may not find Grade Nine spiritual materials, let alone the highly demanded Grade Nine Fire Spirit Grass.
Ding Fan was shocked upon hearing the squad leader’s words. He knew the other party, although not high-ranking, must recognize the importance of the Grade Nine Fire Spirit Grass, yet seemed completely uninterested, which was unbelievable to Ding Fan.
Ding Fan desperately wanted to know what was so important to this mysterious unit that even the Grade Nine Fire Spirit Grass didn’t move them. It was truly unimaginable! At this moment, Ding Fan was also troubled, as he couldn’t act against them yet, because he still didn’t understand the situation entirely.
But being captured by them would certainly not be a good thing. As Ding Fan pondered his dilemma, Long Ren handed several Spirit Stones to the squad leader with a slightly ingratiating smile:
"Brother, please be accommodating. These Spirit Stones are rightfully yours. Please report to your highest-ranking officer for us."
The squad leader weighed the Spirit Stones in his hand, showing a sense of satisfaction:
"I’ll accept your intention, but don’t bother our deputy general. He’s busy with many things. Leave the mountain quickly. If we catch you again, no amount of Spirit Stones will solve the problem, understand?"
Long Ren was initially stunned by the response, then his face turned slightly persuasive as he said:
"Grade Nine Fire Spirit Grass is not an ordinary thing. I assure you your deputy general will be interested."
"..."
The leading soldier was momentarily speechless, feeling hesitant before finally saying:
"Fine, wait here. I’ll report it."
"Thank you." Long Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief and said.
Ding Fan, witnessing this, nodded at Long Ren, agreeing with his approach. However, Ding Fan was still a bit pessimistic about the outcome, suspecting that the unit’s presence at the Great Ocean Sect Mountain must be related to something vital involving the sect, unlikely to be distracted by a mere Grade Nine Fire Spirit Grass.
For Ding Fan, a Grade Nine Fire Spirit Grass was insignificant, not his ultimate goal. He just wanted to know why this unit appeared here and sealed the mountain.
Ding Fan knew that if he hadn’t let the Great Ocean Sect develop quietly for a while, the sect would not tolerate such mountain-sealing behavior. They would have likely sent people to drive this unit off the mountain long ago. Although a state military unit shouldn’t be underestimated, it is definitely not a match for a sect.
In this situation, Ding Fan had a vague sense that the Great Ocean Sect was facing some trouble; otherwise, they would not allow this unit to be present at the mountain’s base and seal the mountain, which seriously infringes on the sect’s authority.
Yet, Ding Fan didn’t see any disciples of the Great Ocean Sect here. He couldn’t believe that his brother Wang Hu wasn’t aware of this situation, but why no action had been taken was unknown to Ding Fan, leading him to think this unit wasn’t simple.
Ding Fan also had a relatively optimistic thought, that this unit was allowed to seal the mountain by the Great Ocean Sect, making them allies, not enemies. Regardless of which is true, Ding Fan was sure the Great Ocean Sect was encountering some situation.
While Ding Fan was pondering, the leading soldier returned from the camp, his face stern, saying:
"The deputy general has ordered you to leave here quickly, or you’ll all be thrown into jail!"
Hearing this, Ding Fan and the others couldn’t help but show uneasy expressions, especially Ding Fan, as this was not the outcome he hoped for. He helplessly said to Long Ren and the others:
"Let’s go."
Then, Ding Fan headed in the direction they came from, Long Ren and the others following behind, escorted by two soldiers.
Ding Fan and Long Ren both noticed the two soldiers behind them, and couldn’t help but exchange a knowing smile, clearly having the same thought in mind.
For Ding Fan, he hadn’t expected there would be two soldiers tailing them, but this was a good opportunity for him...
The two soldiers at the rear of Ding Fan’s group, with disdainful expressions, talked quietly among themselves:
"Do we really need to keep an eye on such merchants? What a waste of time!"
"Tell me about it, but orders are orders, and they must be followed..."
The two soldiers merely followed at the very back of Ding Fan’s group, showing utter contempt. Both soldiers were at the Late Nascent Soul Stage, a standout presence within the army, and they really couldn’t understand why it was necessary for them to escort these ordinary merchants...
It was apparent from their expressions that they found their superior’s orders foolish and viewed Ding Fan’s group with disdain.
While the two soldiers absentmindedly tailed Ding Fan’s group, they didn’t realize when Ding Fan had silently appeared beside them.
"What do you want? Get lost!"
A swarthy, brawny soldier was startled by Ding Fan’s sudden appearance and couldn’t help but shout at him.
Ding Fan stopped in his tracks. Although no one turned to look back, they all simultaneously halted, with Ding Fan smiling silently at the two soldiers.
"What are you up to! If you don’t want to die, then scram!"
"Big brother, no need to waste words with them. If they’re looking for trouble, let’s oblige them!"
One soldier shouted, to which the other agreed.
Ding Fan’s group showed no reaction to the soldiers’ words. Instead, they surrounded the soldiers, watching them with impatience. Long Ren’s group had long lost patience with those folks. If it weren’t for Ding Fan wanting to question them, they could have wiped out not just these two soldiers, but the entire army without much effort.
At that moment, the two soldiers were taken aback by the people surrounding them, feeling something was off. But upon closer inspection, they saw that Ding Fan’s group consisted only of cultivators in the Early Nascent Soul Stage, with the strongest merely at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, which they believed they could easily overpower.
Yet, the group’s expressions showed no trace of fear, unsettling the two soldiers...
"What are you planning?"
The brawny soldier asked Ding Fan’s group with some apprehension, his previous confidence evidently shaken.
"We’d like to ask you a few questions. It’s best if you answer truthfully."
Ding Fan said with a smile, still polite to the two soldiers.
"We have no obligation to answer your questions. Leave the mountain immediately, or don’t blame us for being rude!"
The brawny soldier mustered some spirit and addressed Ding Fan with mild authority.
However, what could Ding Fan say? It seemed the other party still hadn’t grasped the situation... He couldn’t help but reveal a faint, indifferent smile, while the elders of the Thirty-Six Caves found the soldiers’ words laughable...
Seeing the smiles on the faces of the group, the two soldiers grew enraged, with the brawny soldier harshly saying to the other:
"Brother, since they don’t appreciate our courtesy, let’s give them a beating! Go ahead!"
"Alright!"
The other soldier shouted in agreement, and the two of them drew their longswords and swung at the group indiscriminately!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With nimble finger flicks, a few elders broke the soldiers’ longswords into fragments with a crisp sound, scattering them on the ground.
The two soldiers were shocked by the sight, not expecting this at all. Before they could make another move, some elders struck them with several Qi Cyclones, knocking them to the ground, mouths bleeding, and clearly heavily injured...
By now, the two soldiers fully realized the severity of the situation. The opposing group had effortlessly left them heavily wounded, indicating the remarkable strength of the elders. Even the densest soldier could see that the opposing cultivators were concealing their true level of cultivation.
The two soldiers, being Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, immediately understood the high level of cultivation of Ding Fan’s group, realizing they were far beyond what the soldiers could handle, perhaps at levels beyond their imagination, possibly even at the Nascent Soul Late Stage and above.
It was even possible that they were facing cultivators at the very advanced Dividing Mind stage, a level they dared not even imagine...
