No one knew that, beyond being a terrifying fire cultivator who had earned the Extreme Flame Python's favor across time, space, and the void, he was also a Heavenly Prodigy Rank talent in the Sword Dao.
"A sword and fire dual cultivator?"
Feeling the razor-sharp sword intent radiating from Xiao Runhua, Xia Baihe was utterly shaken. She had never imagined he had concealed himself so deeply, cultivating spiritual flames openly while hiding his sword's edge.
Had he intended to lie dormant like a hidden dragon in the depths, then reveal everything at the Demon Heaven Sect's Recruitment Ceremony and astonish the world with a single cry?
The Nether Forest was rarely visited. To conceal their movements, Xia Baihe, Xiao Runhua, and Xiao Chen had all instinctively drawn toward a patch of shadow screened by enormous boulders before making their moves, hiding themselves there.
The reason was exceedingly simple. The approaching Recruitment Ceremony's rules were unknown, its opponents undecided. Before the great battle, they would avoid revealing themselves wherever possible.
Of course, Xia Baihe and Xiao Runhua believed dealing with Xiao Chen would pose no difficulty. Once they attacked, they would surely crush him.
Originally, the two had worried that Xiao Chen would refuse to cooperate and move elsewhere.
Who would have thought he would be so willing? Before either could pressure him, he had obediently moved into the shadows.
"A sword cultivator?" Xiao Chen's expression shifted slightly. He had never expected the arrogant young man before him—who lusted after women as though his life depended on it and could not walk past a scantily clad beauty with heaving breasts—to be a young sword cultivator like himself.
For a moment, he felt deeply uncomfortable.
In his heart, the sword pressed ever forward, would rather break than bend, and possessed an unyielding