Regarding the command given by the Man in Black, Wuming was utterly baffled from the bottom of his heart. After all, the two of them were meeting for the very first time—how could such wild and unreasonable words come out of his mouth?
No matter what, Wuming still asked with a puzzled tone, "Senior, where are you taking me? Could you please make yourself clear?"
"Quit talking nonsense, you little brat, you'll find out when the time comes," the Man in Black replied impatiently.
Upon hearing this, Wuming immediately felt that the situation was taking a bad turn. How could he possibly trust the words of a complete stranger? Yet, he still could not figure out what was really going on.
Even so, Wuming maintained his courtesy and explained, "Senior, I cannot go with you just yet, otherwise my master will worry if he comes back and doesn't see me. Besides, since you wish to see my master, please don't rush off."
"You little brat, are you asking for a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit? When I tell you to come, you must obediently come with me. Why are you being so long-winded today?"
Before he even finished speaking, the Man in Black abruptly reached out to grab the youth's collar, clearly intending to drag him away by force.
Seeing that the Man in Black was resorting to coercion, Wuming was extremely displeased. After all, he had never encountered anything like this before. He felt that this Man in Black was being completely unreasonable, actually taking his good intentions for granted.
Realizing there was truly no other way, Wuming could only sidestep to dodge the Man in Black's grab.
Since things had come to this, Wuming did not find it appropriate to lose his temper over the Man in Black's barbaric behavior, as the man was, after all, a senior. Therefore, Wuming continued to explain, "Senior, I promise you, the moment my master returns and nods, I will immediately go with you. I give you my word."
"Why are you such a nagging little jerk? If you refuse to show respect, don't blame me for getting rough. I'll send you straight to the netherworld right now!"
Without waiting for the youth to reply, the Man in Black drew the precious sword from his waist. In the blink of an eye, the bone-chilling sword tip thrust straight toward the youth's glabella.
Seeing this scene, Wuming was startled. He had not expected the Man in Black before him to strike with such venom, actually resorting to such a fierce and ruthless move.
From Wuming's perspective, he truly could not fathom why the Man in Black would want to deal a fatal blow to him. He concluded that the Man in Black must have some unresolved grievance with his master, and since the master was nowhere to be found, the man intended to kill him to vent his anger. But what kind of grudge could there possibly be between their older generation?
No matter what, Wuming still felt that he could not fight back against a senior, or it would be a failure of etiquette on his part as a junior. Yet on the other hand, how could he simply ignore such a vicious attack? He certainly could not just stand by and watch the Man in Black kill him!
No, Wuming decided he could not sit and wait for death; preserving his life right now was of the utmost importance.
Faced with the sudden assault, Wuming hurriedly executed the "Shift Steps to Change Scenery" technique. With a flash, he completely vanished, reappearing behind the Man in Black in the blink of an eye, leaving the Man in Black striking at empty air.
Seeing his attack fail made the Man in Black even angrier. He had not expected this little punk to be toying with him, acting as if they were playing hide-and-seek with a three-year-old child.
Even so, the Man in Black had no intention of giving up. He instantly spun around and unleashed a move called "Venomous Bodhi Spits Core", aiming straight for the youth's heart.
Although the Man in Black unleashed one fierce attack after another, Wuming continued only to evade without counterattacking, constantly dodging and darting around—now in front, now behind, now to the left, now to the right—to sidestep the sharp edge of the onslaught.
After all, he was the junior, and he had to endure it while the senior was throwing a temper tantrum, lest his master return and hold him accountable, making it impossible for him to explain himself.
After more than a dozen consecutive strikes, every single one of the Man in Black's moves was easily neutralized by the youth.
Seeing this, the Man in Black could not help but feel a secret surge of astonishment. He had never imagined that this wet-behind-the-ears brat would be so cunning, constantly dodging and weaving without ever taking a blow head-on.
To be honest, he was already a seasoned veteran of the pugilistic world; how could he possibly tolerate this wet-behind-the-ears punk playing tricks right in front of him? If word got out, it would truly cause him to lose all face.
At this thought, the Man in Black flew into a rage and discarded his sword in favor of his palms. He immediately unleashed a major technique, "Palm Cleaves Heaven and Earth", though to conserve his core internal energy, he only used thirty percent of his arm strength.
Why use a butcher's cleaver to slaughter a chicken? He firmly believed that once this move was executed, the little brat would undoubtedly die. Let's see if the little brat would still dare to bounce around alive in front of him then.
As the Man in Black thrust out his massive palm, a rushing gale surged forth with the motion. It was as if mountains were crumbling and the earth splitting—truly fierce beyond compare.
Faced with the palm wind of the Man in Black, Wuming knew it could not be underestimated. He had to instantly conceal his form and avoid the sharp edge of the attack, or he would be instantly smashed to pieces in a gruesome fate.
Despite evading, Wuming was still blown far away by the palm wind, crashing heavily into a towering ancient tree. Fortunately, his physical body sustained no injuries.
Wuming still could not wrap his head around the Man in Black's unseemly behavior—why on earth was this total stranger so determined to put him to death?
Suddenly, Wuming thought that perhaps this wasn't so bad after all. Once all the grievance in the Man in Black's heart was completely spent, perhaps he would no longer go looking for trouble with his master. After all, for a disciple to bear the blows on behalf of his master was as good a thing as any.
Seeing that the little brat was still completely unharmed, the Man in Black flew into a rage, wishing he could immediately grab the punk and tear him limb from limb to see if he would still dare to act so arrogant and disrespectful.
Thus, the two of them carried on: one pursuing fiercely, while the other playfully dodged and evaded.
They chased each other in this playful manner, turning what should have been a fierce clash into a comical game of tag within the forest.
After pursuing for quite a while, the Man in Black noticed that the little brat was still full of vigor, proving that his moves simply could not harm the youth at all.
He never expected that his own illustrious and invincible reputation would be ruined in the hands of such a punk today.
At this thought, the fierce momentum of the chase entirely vanished from the Man in Black. Panting heavily with exhaustion, he had no choice but to halt his utterly ineffective pursuit.
Even so, the Man in Black still roared angrily, "You little brat, you wait! Just wait and see how I deal with you!"
With that, the Man in Black flashed and vanished into the night.
"Senior, safe journey."
Watching the receding figure of the Man in Black in the distance, Wuming still shouted out loudly.