A cool breeze swept into the mountain forest. Branches swayed, dusk swallowed the woods, and killing intent suddenly stirred in the gloom.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several surges of dense Saint Power burst from the ground. Dark figures darted, and the wind rose sharply!
Dozens of masked warriors in black leaped from tree trunks, bushes, and beneath the earth. Their staggered steps formed an encirclement in an instant, sealing off the ground beneath the Ancient Tree where Li Yun stood.
The tall leader's aura was deep and steady. He stood at the peak of Middle Sage, several times stronger than Xu Jinfeng had been. Five Middle Sages flanked him, while the remaining thirty-odd were all Lower Sages.
Such a force could sweep aside more than ninety percent of the lone warriors around Falling Star City. Even an ordinary escort team would be wiped out.
The leader looked up toward the treetop. His rasping voice rang through the woods, edged with bone-piercing killing intent. "You've hidden long enough. Time to come down, don't you think?"
Li Yun flickered down from the canopy and landed lightly. His gray cloth robes stirred in the breeze. With his aura restrained, he appeared to be only at the peak of Middle Sage. He calmly swept his gaze over the men surrounding him and spoke.
"You've gone to all this trouble to ambush a nobody like me. Isn't that a bit much?"
"A nobody?"
"Heh. You're no nobody."
"Your name is Li Yun. Not long ago, you concealed your cultivation and joined the Hu Hai Escort Agency, becoming a member of Escort Team No. 79 under the newly appointed escort captain Xu Jinfeng."
"But you're no newcomer. You're actually a Middle Sage stronger than Xu Jinfeng. The Hu Hai Escort Agency had you pose as a rookie