Who Exactly Was He?

"Old man, what the hell are you doing?"

Stone glared at the Old Bishop in dissatisfaction, clearly unhappy.

"We're not going on a picnic. What's the point of bringing along some delicate young lady?"

"What's the point?"

Hearing Stone use that strange phrase he had learned from Fang Zheng, the Old Bishop could only roll his eyes helplessly.

"There's one point! Don't forget, there's a Space Barrier over there. Without this young lady's help, even if you find the man, how are you going to come back? If you don't use Starpath, are you planning to travel a thousand miles back from Shadow Canyon?"

"Fine, if that's the case, I have no objections."

After hearing the Old Bishop's answer, Stone had nothing more to say. He knew he was incapable of breaking out of Shadow Canyon, and under the Space Barrier, ordinary methods could not possibly get them out. So if they wanted to return safely, it seemed necessary to bring this delicate young lady along.

Thus, Stone wisely shut his mouth and led Fang Zheng into the teleportation circle. The girl followed them in shortly afterward. Perhaps because Stone looked rather frightening with that sour expression, or perhaps because she had met Fang Zheng before, the girl stayed closer to Fang Zheng and watched Stone cautiously.

"All right, it's up to you now, little girl."

Stone clearly did not care about such a trivial matter. He took a deep breath, and his expression turned serious.

"Let me see where you can send us."

"Okay... I understand..."

The girl answered weakly, then closed her eyes. Soon, Fang Zheng saw points of azure light quietly appear around her. They were linked by straight lines, forming something like constellations in the sky as they surrounded the three of them.

"So this is Starpath?"

Fang Zheng watched the flickering Astral Sign before him with great interest. It really did resemble the high-tech holographic projections from his previous life. He knew a little about Starpath. Simply put, on this continent, Starpath was more like a natural phenomenon, similar to tides. Fang Zheng did not really understand the principles behind distance. He only knew that it was a technique that seemed to overlap oneself with the projection of a constellation before folding space for teleportation... Its principle was probably similar to a wormhole?

It was precisely because Starpath was a natural phenomenon that it was not restricted by spells or barriers that sealed space. On the other hand, summoning Starpath required extraordinary talent and immense computational power, so very few people could use it. It seemed this soft and delicate girl was hiding more than she appeared to be.

"I found it..."

At that moment, the girl suddenly spoke. Her eyes remained shut, and her brows were slightly furrowed.

"A life star... is about to disappear... The coordinates are fixed... Now!"

As soon as the girl finished speaking, Fang Zheng saw a Great Hole appear above himself and Stone, as though space had suddenly been torn apart. Before he could react, a powerful suction force dragged Fang Zheng and Stone inside.

It was an incredibly strange experience.

After entering the void, the first thing Fang Zheng saw was endless stars and a vast, boundless universe. He felt as if he were floating in space. But soon, Fang Zheng felt as though he had boarded an invisible slide, rapidly slipping downward in a certain direction. His speed grew faster and faster, while the scenery before his eyes began to change. Dots of starlight stretched into bands before him, then receded farther and farther away until they merged into a pure white expanse...

"Bang!!"

In the next moment, Fang Zheng felt as if he had finally reached the end of the slide, then was flung out and landed hard on his backside.

"Ugh..."

Landing flat on his rear was no pleasant feeling, but Fang Zheng had no time to care about that. The instant he hit the ground, he heard a low growl beside his ear. Then, the sharp whistle of a weapon cutting through the air suddenly came from behind him!

"What the hell!"

At that moment, the experience Fang Zheng had gained in the free Dungeon finally came into play. He instinctively rolled across the ground, dodging the attack. Then he reached to his waist and drew the Skyrending Sword before looking ahead. The sight made him freeze in surprise.

Before him stood more than a dozen Skeleton Soldiers, clutching weapons and wearing tattered armor. Scarlet light glowed within their eye sockets as they formed a semicircle around Fang Zheng. Not far from him, a knight lying on the ground stared wide-eyed at the young man who had appeared out of nowhere.

Who was he?

No wonder the knight was asking himself that question. Just moments ago, he had been preparing to fight these undead to the death. Yet just as he had steeled himself to make his final stand, a flash of light suddenly appeared before his eyes, followed by this young man materializing in front of him.

Fang Zheng was only an apprentice Guardian Knight, not an official member of the Holy Temple. Therefore, unlike Stone, he was not wearing the Holy Temple's standard armor. Instead, he still wore the noble attire he had arrived in Starmoon City with. Because of this, the knight did not recognize Fang Zheng's identity. Still, no matter what, Fang Zheng did not seem to be his enemy. However, when the knight saw Fang Zheng draw his weapon and prepare to counterattack the undead, he could not help calling out a warning.

"Careful, those are unde—"

But before the knight could finish, Fang Zheng had already moved.

Holy Light erupted from the Skyrending Sword. Facing the undead before him, Fang Zheng stepped forward, sweeping his blade horizontally and sending a dazzling golden arc of sword light crashing into their bodies. Immediately afterward, golden cross-shaped patterns appeared and exploded across the undead, blasting them away in an instant.

Crusader Strike!

Having landed a hit, Fang Zheng naturally would not miss such a good opportunity. He swung his sword forward and pointed it ahead. Three crimson Greatswords burst from the ground, completely scattering the Skeleton Archers behind the undead. Then faint Holy Light suddenly appeared around Fang Zheng. In the next moment, he gripped his sword in both hands and charged into the ranks of the undead like a tiger unleashed from its cage.

"Bang!!"

Before the leading Undead Warrior could raise his weapon, Fang Zheng beheaded him with a single stroke. He raised his sword high as streams of light seemed to be drawn toward him, gathering at his side and forming dozens of dazzling Blades of Light. Then the Swords of Light leveled themselves, aiming at the enemies who had already surrounded him. They howled, spun, and spread outward, ruthlessly tearing apart the bodies and souls of the undead like a meat grinder.

Holy Storm!

The unfortunate, heavily wounded knight was already dumbstruck. It was not as if he had never seen similar powers before, but Fang Zheng's powerful swordsmanship—so flashy, so full of dazzling light and visual effects—left him utterly shocked. Fortunately, within the Holy Light Fang Zheng unleashed, the knight did not sense the aura of undeath or evil. That reassured him somewhat—at least for now, Fang Zheng did not seem to be an accomplice of these undead.

Even so, when the knight looked at Fang Zheng's young and handsome face, he could not help drawing in a sharp breath. He had not seen Fang Zheng's face clearly before, but now he was utterly astonished. As a knight directly under the Holy Temple's Bishop Council, he had naturally seen many powerful people. However, most of them were rather old, and even the youngest had already passed middle age. But this young man before him... Was he even twenty?

Who exactly was he?

Could he be the descendant of some reclusive family?

What was he doing here?

While the knight solemnly speculated about Fang Zheng's identity, he saw the young noble put away his weapon, walk over, and extend a hand toward him.

"You're a knight of the Holy Temple, right? Looks like I didn't arrive too late..."

"...Huh?"

Hearing this, the knight froze for a moment, then looked up at Fang Zheng.

What was going on?