Trap

Before long, Xia Mo and the other two arrived at the scene of the incident.

Seeing that Sun Hao was nowhere to be found and that two corpses lay on the ground, Mu Yang looked at the Enforcement Team member waiting there and asked, "What happened? Where's the captain?"

"We were on patrol when we heard cries for help and came to investigate. Then we were attacked. The enemy was very strong, about as strong as the captain. They killed three of our team members. If the captain hadn't risked his life to protect me, I'd be dead too," the Enforcement Team member explained.

"Also, those two seemed to have spotted our signal. Realizing they couldn't succeed, they tried to flee. The captain chased after them. He may have already left Peace Town," he continued.

"Which direction?" Xia Mo asked.

"First Street," he replied.

"Hopefully, the captain has joined up with the Enforcement Team members on First Street. Wu Hao, Mu Yang, you two stay here and wait for the others. I'll go ahead and help Captain Sun Hao. Once the others arrive, the Dou Shi can follow. The Dou Zhe should stay behind," Xia Mo told them.

"I'm going with you," Wu Hao said coldly.

"No. I'm faster alone, and once we leave Peace Town, we don't know what might happen. It'll be easier for me to move alone," Xia Mo said. He faintly sensed that something was wrong. Two Da Dou Shi had attacked several Dou Zhe—although Sun Hao had protected them, there was no way anyone should have survived.

"Enough. I need to catch up with Captain Sun Hao. Wait until everyone is here before following. Remember to report this to the academy," Xia Mo said before running off.

Xia Mo ran swiftly and soon reached First Street. Seeing three Dou Zhe from an Enforcement Team squad waiting at the street entrance leading out of town, he hurried over to ask about the situation.

"Have you seen Captain Sun Hao?" Xia Mo asked.

"Captain Sun Hao took Li Hao and Niu Fei and chased the two culprits out of Peace Town. He told us to wait here and inform you that the Dou Zhe shouldn't follow," one of them said after seeing that Xia Mo was also an Enforcement Team member.

After hearing this, Xia Mo rushed out of Peace Town.

Following the marks Sun Hao had left behind, Xia Mo pursued them. After an unknown amount of time, he arrived outside a forested mountain range.

Xia Mo stopped and took out a waterskin from his Storage Ring. Just as he was about to take a drink before continuing the pursuit, he heard a burst of hurried footsteps.

Immediately after, a piercing whistling sound tore through the air, drawing nearer and nearer as a flash of cold light appeared.

An arrow shot straight at his brow! Xia Mo's pupils contracted slightly as he tilted his head aside.

With a boom!

The arrow struck a tree, its tremendous force punching straight through the massive ancient trunk.

"Courting death!"

Xia Mo's gaze turned blade-cold. Dou Qi circulated through his body as Purple Gold Armor covered him from head to toe.

Five masked men rushed toward him from ahead. One held a great bow drawn to its full extent, the arrow on its string humming as it trembled.

There was actually a Seven-Star Da Dou Shi among them, while even the weakest was a Seven-Star Dou Shi!

At once, four masked men charged forward with weapons in hand. Dou Qi surged around them, kicking up dust that filled the sky.

Roar!

When they were still more than ten meters away, Xia Mo struck, unleashing his full combat power.

Xia Mo threw out both fists at once. In that instant, it was as though a dragon and tiger had descended from the mountains; dragon roars and tiger howls shook the surroundings.

His purple-gold fists smashed into their targets, knocking aside a broadsword and sending its wielder flying.

At the same time, like a ferocious tiger pouncing on its prey, he instantly tore the second target apart, spraying blood into the air.

In the blink of an eye, he killed two men.

Without the slightest pause, Xia Mo shot forward. As he weaved left and right, two heads flew high into the air. He killed another two men, leaving headless bodies on the ground with blood gushing from their necks like fountains.

At the same time, a frigid killing intent descended upon him.

The arrow left the string, becoming a streak of cold light that reached him in an instant, aimed directly at his throat.

Xia Mo reached out, Purple-Gold Light flowing between his fingers as he caught the incoming arrow in one hand. The immense force drove him back three steps.

The arrow hummed and trembled in his hand, its tip only three inches from his throat, yet unable to advance even a fraction further.

"You... how is that possible?!"

The masked man stared in horror, as though he had witnessed the most unbelievable thing in the world. He immediately nocked another arrow and prepared to fire again.

Yet before he could fully draw the bow, Xia Mo's fist slammed into his body.

Too fast!

So fast that the masked man had no time to react before he was sent flying. His chest caved in, and he vomited blood.

"You think a Seven-Star Da Dou Shi like you, relying on ranged attacks, can kill me?"

Xia Mo stepped forward, planted his foot on the masked man's neck, and tore off his face covering. Beneath it was the unfamiliar face of a middle-aged man.

"Who are you? Why did you attack me?" Xia Mo asked.

"Because you... you're a student of Jia Nan... Academy," the middle-aged man said.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Xia Mo pressed down with his foot and snapped the middle-aged man's neck.

Before dying, the middle-aged man's eyes widened as he thought, Aren't you supposed to keep questioning me? Don't you want to know who I am, where I came from, and why I was here to ambush Jia Nan Academy students?

Unfortunately, he would never know that Xia Mo had already realized this was a trap. They had merely lured the Enforcement Team students out of Peace Town before ambushing and killing them. He had no interest in learning anything else.

The plan may have been crude, but it was still effective. They just hadn't expected a freak like Xia Mo to appear.

Xia Mo searched the bodies of the few men. Aside from a Storage Ring on the middle-aged man, there was nothing else of value.

He continued tracking them. There should still be a chance, he thought. Sun Hao and the others should not be far away.

Sure enough, before long, Xia Mo found them and saw the five of them locked in battle.

Sun Hao was fighting the gorilla-like Da Dou Shi, while Li Hao and Niu Fei were keeping the skinny bamboo-pole Da Dou Shi occupied.

Seeing this, Xia Mo immediately charged toward the skinny bamboo-pole Da Dou Shi. Why him? Simply because Xia Mo found him unpleasant to look at.

Since the skinny bamboo-pole Da Dou Shi was being held back by Li Hao and Niu Fei and could not disengage, he could only condense Dou Qi Armor and take the attack head-on. It should be fine, right?

Xia Mo quickly closed in on the skinny bamboo-pole Da Dou Shi. Twisting his waist and lowering into a bow stance, he shouted inwardly, Eight Level Collapse! His right hand clenched into a fist, his arm bent, his waist twisted, and his stance lowered—three simple movements completed in an instant as smoothly as flowing clouds.

Boom!

His fist smashed into the skinny bamboo-pole Da Dou Shi's back. The man had no time to react and was sent flying. His back caved in, and he vomited blood in great mouthfuls. He clearly would not last much longer.

Sure enough, just as the skinny bamboo-pole Da Dou Shi tried to lift his head and see who had attacked him, his neck tilted to one side and he died on the spot.

When the gorilla-like Da Dou Shi saw the skinny bamboo-pole Da Dou Shi fall, he was startled. His concentration wavered, exposing an opening that Sun Hao seized at once, striking him hard enough to make him stagger.

The gorilla-like Da Dou Shi quickly steadied himself and resumed defending against Sun Hao. His strength had been lower than Sun Hao's to begin with; he had only held out this long due to his earth attribute. Now that he had revealed an opening, he definitely would not be able to endure much longer.

Xia Mo searched the skinny bamboo-pole man's body. As expected, Poison Masters were wealthy—this one also had a Storage Ring.

Xia Mo took out its contents, gave some gold coins to Li Hao and Niu Fei, and then sent the two away. The fact that Lord Xia Mo had shared even a little with them was already in consideration of their hard work.

Everything else belonged to him. Xia Mo looked through it: the Profound-tier low-grade cultivation method, Withered Bone Art—trash, sell it. The Profound-tier mid-grade poison-attribute Dou Technique, Withered Wood Palm—he would ask Xiao Yi Xian whether she wanted to learn it when he returned. If not, he would sell it.

There was even a Profound-tier mid-grade wood-attribute cultivation method. Though he had no idea where that fellow had obtained it, it was a bargain for him. There were also some Monster Cores and Medicinal Herbs, most of the latter being poisonous herbs. He would let Xiao Yi Xian take a look at them, Xia Mo thought.

Sure enough, before long, under Sun Hao's fierce assault, the gorilla-like Da Dou Shi was severely injured and collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this, Xia Mo and the other two walked over. Sun Hao was questioning him, "Which faction are you from?"

"Magic Flame Valley," the gorilla-like man said.

"Damn it, it's those bastards from Magic Flame Valley again," Sun Hao said hatefully. With that, he directly finished off the gorilla-like man, as though he was already used to it.

"Thanks, Xia Mo. If you hadn't come, and someone else had come instead, something might have gone wrong. I was too impulsive," Sun Hao said. It seemed he too had realized this was a trap.

"Let's not talk about that. We should head back first. There might be other ambushes," Xia Mo said.

"Has the matter been handled?" A calm voice came from the man's mouth.

"They're all dead," the person opposite him replied in a low voice.

"Very good." The man nodded lightly. This time had been easy; it had actually been completed so quickly.

"I mean our people are dead. Those Enforcement Team students are all still alive," the other person added, his expression rather ugly.

"What did you say?" The man's voice sank several degrees. The ones who had died were their people?

"Forget it. Dead is dead. We'll find another opportunity next time. We only wanted to disgust them anyway," the man said indifferently.