I Shall Go and Return!

Mu Zi did not have to wait long. Only half a month later, she received a message from Lu Tong.

Without the slightest hesitation, Mu Zi immediately stepped into the Great Thousand Pavilion and arrived at its core, where she saw the grave-faced Gray-Robed Old Man behind the counter.

"Someone from the Great Thousand Palace sent word. They were attacked by the Extraterritorial Evil Clan on the Secluded Shadow Continent. It was a large-scale operation, and there are signs that a Demon Emperor may be behind it."

Though Lu Tong's tone was grave, there was not too much urgency in it. Having guarded the Great Thousand Pavilion for many years, while he would not say he often encountered intelligence like this, it did happen from time to time.

"The Extraterritorial Evil Clan has been moving more and more frequently over the years. They carry out raids like this from time to time. Judging by the scale this time, the force behind it may be one to two Secluded Demon Emperors."

Lu Tong explained. The Demon Emperors of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan were divided into three ranks: Heaven, Profound, and Secluded, corresponding in order to the Saint, Immortal, and Spirit grades of Heavenly Sovereign.

The strength of two Secluded Demon Emperors was not much of a threat to Mu Zi, who had defeated the Battle Emperor. In fact, they were suitable targets for Mu Zi's first battle.

Thus, the moment Lu Tong received the request for aid from the Secluded Shadow Continent, he notified Mu Zi.

"Two Secluded Demon Emperors, is it?"

Mu Zi said softly, her gaze calm. Then she looked at the Gray-Robed Old Man.

"I will handle it."

Lu Tong could naturally hear the confidence contained beneath Mu Zi's calm tone, but from the experience of someone who had been there before, he hesitated for a moment before still speaking up to remind her:

"There is no need to force yourself to kill the Demon Emperors. Though the enemy's strength is inferior to yours, if they find themselves outmatched, they can retreat back to the Demon Domain at any time. They are not that easy to eliminate completely."

Seeing that Mu Zi did not show the slightest change in expression because of his discouraging words, Lu Tong weighed his tone and tried his best to take Mu Zi's pride into consideration.

"The methods of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan are strange, and their vitality is extremely tenacious. They are far more troublesome than ordinary Heavenly Sovereigns. Over the years, the Great Thousand World has held the advantage in strength in some encounters with the Evil Clan, but the number of times we have truly managed to kill a Demon Emperor can actually be counted on one hand."

It had to be admitted that the powerhouses of the Great Thousand World usually fell into a disadvantage when facing Extraterritorial Evil Clan members of the same level. Even the stronger ones, even if they paid the price with their lives, could mostly only seal the enemy and rely on the power of time to wear away their life source.

Even when one was a realm higher, if the other party could flee at any time, killing them on the spot was still an extremely difficult thing.

To say something dispiriting, the current Great Thousand World was wholly disadvantaged against the Extraterritorial Evil Clan. It simply did not possess the strength to contend with them on equal footing.

Basically, they were only turtling inside the World Barrier, relying on their geographical advantage and on the Great Thousand World's suppression of the Demon Clan to barely maintain the current situation. They were utterly powerless to counterattack the Extraterritorial Evil Clan and reclaim lost lands.

Therefore, before a once-in-eternity figure like the Immortal Great Emperor of ancient times appeared, the powerhouses of the Great Thousand World, as a whole, held a pessimistic attitude and would not harbor too many expectations. The current Lu Tong was the same.

"It will already be a very good result as long as you repel the enemy. Even if you ultimately cannot keep the other party's Demon Emperors behind, there is no need to take it to heart. Your own safety comes first in everything."

Lu Tong's tone was gentle, and his words carried much consolation. Clearly, he believed that although there was a chance Mu Zi could make some gains in her first contact with the Demon Emperors of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan, that chance was not great.

Thus, he reminded Mu Zi beforehand, telling her to relax. Successfully stopping the Evil Clan's attack would already count as fulfilling her duty; there was no need to take risks.

"Mm, I understand."

Mu Zi said softly and did not say much more. She knew Lu Tong was speaking out of kindness. Perhaps every newcomer went through this. She only needed to let the facts speak for themselves; that would surpass a thousand words.

"Mother, take down those devils!"

Ling Er, who was at the side, had absolute confidence in Mu Zi. She excitedly waved her little fists, cheering Mu Zi on, as though the one about to slaughter all sides was the little girl herself.

"Be good, Ling Er. Mother will go and return."

Mu Zi smiled as she looked at Ling Er. Then, under the gazes of the old man and the child, she turned and left.

Where he stood, Lu Tong looked at the Black Clothes Girl sitting across from him and could not help but say with a smile:

"You truly have complete confidence in Martial Ancestor."

"Hmph! Need you even ask?" Ling Er first tilted her head and glanced at the Gray-Robed Old Man, then proudly planted her hands on her hips and said:

"With Mother's strength, no matter how many Secluded Demon Emperors come, she'll wipe them all out!"

Seeing Lu Tong looking at her with an expression that seemed to say he did not believe her and would quietly watch her brag, Ling Er pursed her little mouth slightly and directly brought out the facts to reason with him.

"When we were on the Tianxuan Continent, Mother had already dealt with the Extraterritorial Evil Clan. That Otherworldly Demon Clan never came back once they fell into her hands. This is all small stuff now!"

Hearing those words, Lu Tong's expression immediately changed somewhat, and there was a moved look in his eyes.

"There was actually such a thing?"

He had not expected that the Lower Plane Mu Zi came from had actually suffered an invasion by the power of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan. To a Lower Plane, the power of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan was far too terrifying. Even the weakest branch was enough to sweep through all Lower Planes.

And yet Mu Zi had actually relied on her own strength to forcefully crush the invasion of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan. Such an inconceivable feat was the only case in tens of thousands of years in the Great Thousand World.

"Impressive, impressive."

Lu Tong sighed and said "impressive" twice in succession. In truth, if it had been him in that situation, he absolutely would not have had the ability to accomplish such a thing.

Now, it seemed that Mu Zi resolving two Secluded Demon Emperors really did have no small chance of coming true.

"Heh, I hope she can broaden this old man's horizons."

Lu Tong chuckled, and expectation began to rise in his heart. If he could see a Demon Emperor fall, that would naturally be an excellent result.

Across from him, Ling Er did not let Lu Tong sigh for too long before pointing at the chessboard set between them with her finger and saying indifferently:

"Old man, are we still playing or not?"

Hearing Ling Er's completely impolite tone, Lu Tong's aged face could not help but twitch. During this period, the two of them had gradually become familiar with each other, and the little girl's way of addressing him had also gone from "old senior" at the start to the current "old man."

Moreover, when Lu Tong saw that the chessboard before Zi Ling had already become flat and smooth as before, as though nothing had happened, some thought seemed to come to mind, and a strange look immediately appeared in his eyes.

"Ahem, another game... is fine."

A pondering look appeared in Lu Tong's eyes. In any case, with Mu Zi handling the Secluded Shadow Continent, she probably would not be able to return in a short time. The two of them might as well play a few games here while waiting for her result.

"You go first." Ling Er stared at the Gray-Robed Old Man across from her, signaling for him to place the first piece.

Lu Tong stroked his white beard and did not refuse.

Whoosh!

A force shot over through the air, carrying a chess piece as dazzling as a star, and placed it onto the chessboard arrayed like a field of stars.