"You seem to be expecting us," said Tie Zong, the leader of the five-people squad. He was a bald man with tattoos on his head. His martial clothes were sleeveless, showing his bulging muscles and even more tattoos. He held a red halberd with his left, casually leaning it on his shoulder.
Wang Wei could feel the intense fiendish aura of his person along with the other four. He knew these people were individuals who lived their lives through battle.
"Mercenaries?" he asked.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Yes, especially since you're the type of person willing to become other people's pawn."
The five quieted down for a moment before three laughed out loud.
"Boss, the information was correct; this kid has a mouth on him," said Monkey, a thin man with a luxurious robe who looked like a monkey with squinty eyes.
"It seems so."
"Don't be careless," said Liu Tong, an ordinary-looking young man wearing all black. "Based on the information, this kid is not simple.'
The group immediately became serious after hearing this. Liu Tong was the advisor of their mercenary group; because of his strategic mind, they could strive in the mercenary business and survive many difficult situations.
Wang Wei noticed the shift in these people's state after the ordinary young man spoke. "You must be the leader?"
"I'm just a humble advisor."
Wang Wei observed the dynamic between these four people before looking at the only woman in the group. She wore a dress that revealed her shoulder and a little bit of her bosom. She was beautiful by all typical standards, but the most striking aspect of her image was the tattoo on her left shoulder, granting her a wild and enticing aura.
"I understand. The bald man is the group leader but feels threatened by your intelligence and capability. He wants to kill you but knows the group will not survive long, and the others will leave once they learn the truth.
"However, this is not the only reason he wants to kill: it's because of her. He loves, well, maybe not love. He considers her his property, but she has feelings for you. Meanwhile, you are aware of all of this, so you intentionally make yourself look ordinary and less impressive to not garner his attention.
"You love her too, but you dare not show or confess your feelings. Am I right?"
No one answered him because he was spot on. Even Monkey–the slowest person in the group–caught on to the weird dynamic of this group.
"The only thing I'm wondering is why you are still in this group. Why not kill the baldy and pursue your happiness? Or, at the very least, run away?"
Wang Wei had genuine puzzlement as he asked this question. He did not use any ability to find this information but simply deduced things based on these people's body movements, facial expressions, demeanor, and aura. His eyes were bright as he looked at these five, making them unconsciously shiver.
Their Heavenly Halberd Squad was famous in the Commerce Hub, known for accomplishing countless missions across hundreds of World Communities. However, only a few times have they felt such pressure and fear from one gaze, and the first time it came from a mortal.
"I figured it out: loyalty," said Wang Wei. "The baldy saved your life, so you swore you would follow him no matter what. So, you will abandon your happiness and live every day in fear to keep your word."
Wang Wei frowned, "Based on your reaction, I was partially wrong: you did swear loyalty to him but not because he saved your life."
Tie Zong and Liu Tong knew the reason for their odd relationship. When they were mortal, Liu Tong's poor mother fell sick and needed a lot of money for medicine, money that he did not have. Tie Zong was his neighbor and best brother. One day, the latter went to steal money in the City Lord's mansion and lost an arm in the process.
With the money, Liu Tong saved his mother and swore to always remember this act in his life. Later, they were both lucky enough to walk on the path of cultivation and even found a way to regrow Tie Zong's arm. These two sworn brothers were then fortunate enough to find a secret realm with a Dao Seed and become Dao Ancestors.
Unfortunately, things became complicated with the creation of the Heavenly Halberd Mercenary squad and the appearance of Ding Hua.
"If you think your words can affect our state of mind before this battle, you are gravely mistaken," said Liu Tong, who used all his experience to calm down and appeared unbothered.
Wang Wei shrugged his shoulders, not minding in the slightest. "If you guys tell me who hired you, I will pay you ten times their price."
"How generous of you," said Ding Hua with an obvious sneer. No women like their deep secrets being revealed–especially so casually.
"Not really. I will hunt you down afterward. If you can run away from me, the reward will be yours. If not, I will get my money back."
"Enough," said Tie Zong, veins appearing in his neck and bald head. "I hate cocky brats like you the most: born with a golden spoon in your mouth, flaunting your god-given talent and intellect. If not for your high birth, would you be anything? Would you have achieved your current strength and status?"
"Life is not fair, so you can only blame fate," shrugged Wang Wei. Tie Zong no longer wished to use any more breath on this brat. He held his halberd with two hands, gathering his momentum.
Wang Wei's lackadaisical attitude suddenly changed to be more serious; he did not underestimate these people as he knew their strengths were similar to his. The Dao Ancestor Realm 5-Root system is not a division of realm but of foundation.
To describe it with game terminology, it's like two game bosses at level 20: one is an ordinary boss, and the other an elite one. The regular boss represents someone with 3-Root and the elite with 5-Root. Nevertheless, they are still on the same level/realm.
Bang!
Wang Wei used his hand to block Tie Zong, but the force pushed him a few meters into the void, leaving a white mark on his palm.
'3-Root, 16% Grand Dao Source. Each root gives an extra 5% boost in battle strength, so his strength is on par with my 5-Root.'
Although technically weaker, he could make up the gap with his superior law and other tactics.
'The others should be equal or weaker than him,' he analyzed.
[Mount Heaviness]
Tie Zong wielded his halberd downward, borrowing the power of the Grand Dao Source. Wang Wei felt an intangible pressure, not from the attack but from the Grand Dao Source itself. This is a power that is inherently noble, reigning supreme above all others forms of power. As such, when he, a mortal, is facing it, he is naturally suppressed, making it harder for him to respond.
Luckily, this was not the first time he faced a Dao Ancestor, and he trained himself to react to even greater pressure.
Crack!
The sound of bones crashing echoed in the heavens, followed by a loud groan. However, the sound did not originate from Wang Wei but from Tie Zong. When the attack hit him, he rapidly switched his fate with Tie Zong, transferring the damage to his opponent.
And since he did not expect this outcome, he suffered a terrible blow.
Liu Tong acted swiftly; he waved his hand to manifest a healing talisman that restored his boss' injury. "Don't be rash; the information said he most likely cultivated Fate Dao.
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Meanwhile, Wang Wei was slightly surprised at Liu Tong's Talisman Dao. Any Profession Dao is extremely difficult to cultivate because of the immense resources required. The result of which is loose cultivators are less likely to become Professionals–let alone cultivated it as their primary Grand Dao Source.
All these thoughts flashed in his mind in less than a second. Then, he rushed toward these people; he would not let them calmly heal themselves.
"I won't let you," said Ding Hua as she rushed forward with unmatched speed. The Grand Dao Source of Wind flashed on her body as her speed surpassed infinity.
She turned into a gale as she flew around him, attacking all parts of his body with her claws. Her attack could not break his skin, but Wang Wei's reaction speed was slower than hers, rendering him incapable of catching her or responding.
Then, she suddenly stopped moving. Ding Hua had a shocked look, wondering what had just happened. Of course, Wang Wei would not tell her he used Order Dao to ban the use of elemental powers in his immediate surroundings.
Bang!
Wang Wei punched her face intending to explode her head. Unfortunately, a black shield appeared at the right time and blocked most of the force–but not all of it. Ding Hua flew backward dozens of kilometers before crashing on the ground.
Wang Wei then looked at the person who intervened: the group's fifth member. He was a muscular man holding a red shield in his hand.
