The two quietly made their way toward the source of the fighting, constantly mindful of their movements to avoid being discovered.
Reaching a protruding boulder, Evan Chu and Rhea Yang stopped, now only a hundred meters or so from the fight.
Peering out from behind the boulder, Evan saw that the fighters were actually dozens of Heavenly Dragon Academy students, including two very familiar figures—Gus Bullard and Lily Tang.
Rhea spotted them too. "Evan Chu, why are they fighting? Are they competing for something? Are you going to help? Those two are your friends, aren't they?"
"Of course I'll help. Look, Gus's side has seven people, the other side has nine—right now they're evenly matched. Let's watch a bit longer and only step in if they're in real danger. If we jump in now, people will say we're just taking advantage of the chaos." Evan turned and grinned at Rhea as he explained.
"Why would anyone complain if you help? If I were in trouble and someone helped, I'd be nothing but grateful. I really don't get how you think sometimes." Rhea found Evan's approach unconventional.
"Think about it: if they can handle it themselves, who'd want to split the spoils with two more people? If we go now, they'll just say, 'We could've done it without you.' Even if we get a share, there'll be gossip. But if they're in real danger, it's a whole different story. You know perfectly well what the benefit is—then our help is only natural."
"Oh, I didn't expect you to think so far ahead. You really are scheming!"
"How else am I supposed to make you fall hopelessly in love with me?"
"Who said I love you? You rogue!"
"Someone's fallen for me, hahaha!"
They kept their voices low so no one else would overhear, but right now Rhea's face was blazing red. She was so mad at Evan she wanted to bite him, but there was nothing she could do.
Suddenly, a thunderous explosion erupted, shaking even the stone Evan and Rhea were hiding behind. Evan saw at least five people blasted into the air on the spot.
"What was that? How is it so powerful?" Evan asked Rhea, hesitating.
"It looked like gunpowder exploding. How is there gunpowder here? Could there be Lei Clan disciples around?" Rhea was puzzled too.
In the melee, Gus—covered in dust—cursed, "Who ambushed me? Get out here and face me!"
Lily was furious too. "Lei Clan scum, other people might not know you, but I do! You actually used an Explosive Bolt on me? I'll make sure you die horribly!"
Of the five blasted into the air, three hadn't gotten up at all, while the other two were covered in blood. Two were on Gus's side, both still down; the other three were opponents. That explosion was seriously powerful.
"Is the Explosive Bolt really that strong? Lily, you know about it?" Evan asked.
"Of course! The Explosive Bolt is the Lei Clan's signature fire-weapon, just like my Yang Gate's Meteor Fire Rain. The Lei Clan is famous for their firearms too."
The Lei Clan is a force to be reckoned with in the Heavenly Dragon Empire, and they're actually connected to my Yang Gate—both are famous for their firearms. But this time they've actually bombed someone from the Tang Family. Things are about to get interesting." Rhea glanced at Evan, not seeming to care much about her friend Lily Tang.
"Is the Tang Family really strong? Who's more powerful, them or your Yang Gate?"
"The Tang Family isn't that impressive, just upper-mid tier at best. There are plenty of stronger families—like the Liu, Gusu, and Xuanyuan clans. Each of those has at least three Heaven Martial Realm experts; Tang might have only one."
"Heaven Martial experts? Does your family have any?" Evan asked after a pause.
"Trying to dig into Yang Gate's secrets? Not telling you." Rhea continued, "But if ten Heaven Martial experts tried to mess with Tang Gate, maybe one would make it out alive. Satisfied with that answer?"
"Impressive!" Evan chuckled, half amused, half speechless.
But in his heart, he couldn't help but think, "Ten Heaven Martial experts and only one escapes? Does she think Yang Gate has Divine Martial Realm monsters? She really doesn't think before she talks—total airhead."
Just then, a youth of about seventeen or eighteen walked over from a distance, a headband tied around his forehead, a quiver of strange arrows on his back, and a yellow longbow in his hand.
"That's Ray Lei from Ordinary Class Three. He's supposedly one of the best in the regular classes and is aiming for the Elite Classes. His fire-weapons are especially fierce," one student exclaimed.
Ray Lei stopped about twenty meters from Gus and the others, pulled an arrow from his quiver, and arrogantly called out, "So who's looking to settle scores with me, Ray Lei? Who wants me dead?"
The Explosive Bolt can kill a third-layer Earth Martial Realm cultivator outright, and it's almost as strong as Rhea's Meteor Fire Rain. Even a fourth-layer Earth Martial could be seriously injured. Ray Lei's words left everyone uneasy.
"I'm the one who said it! If you've got the guts, shoot another arrow—sneak attacks don't count for much!" Gus was furious; he'd been bombed and couldn't even complain. How was that fair?
"Ray Lei, don't get cocky. Do you even know where you are? You think you can run wild here just because you've got Explosive Bolts? I don't buy it!" Lily's 'mother tyrannosaurus' temper flared—she wouldn't back down for anyone, let alone Ray Lei.
The fighters on Gus's side were furious too. Their team had taken one dead and two wounded. This guy didn't even bother with a warning—just fired a sneak attack. Now he was aiming his arrow openly, acting like no one else mattered.
"Hey, I think we should put our own feud aside for now and deal with that guy first. We're only fighting over leadership, but he just killed three people. We have to get revenge!" suggested a youth in purple.
Gus glanced at Lily, then at his own teammates. "After we deal with him, we can settle things between us. But his arrows are too powerful—how do we handle that?"
Ray Lei realized that Gus's group had stopped fighting and were now eyeing him, clearly plotting something. It hit him—they were joining forces to take him down.
"Listen up! You've got one minute to drop your Magic Crystals and leave. Otherwise, don't blame my Explosive Bolts if you get hurt!" Ray Lei was confident in his arrows, even knowing Gus's side was about to unite against him.
"Everyone spread out—he won't know who to shoot. Then we slowly close in and surround him. I refuse to believe one guy can take on all of us!" said the youth in purple.
Everyone agreed it made sense and quickly scattered, leaving Ray Lei unsure where to aim first.
Rhea and Evan quietly watched the whole spectacle from behind the boulder. If Gus or Lily were truly in danger, Evan would jump in right away. But right now, he was puzzled—what use was there in stealing Magic Crystals bound inside a Redshine Stone?