The Fire Saint, Zhou Yuan

They had arrived in a hurry, and they left just as quickly.

The group ran back the way they had come in complete disarray, as if they wished they had two fewer legs.

"Run! There's a Velociraptor!"

Some of them shouted as they ran.

On the road into the mountains.

The mayor of Fulong Town looked like a thin, middle-aged man in his forties, with a slightly receding hairline. His clothes were rather formal, and his expression was extremely solemn.

He had rushed over as soon as he got the news, but plenty of people had already gone into the mountains.

If someone else got their hands on some rare treasure, he would be in serious trouble.

"Move faster!"

The mayor spoke in a low voice.

The soldiers behind him quickened their pace.

But they had not gone far when the mayor suddenly stopped. "Wait!"

His expression turned grave.

Before long, a commotion came from the forest ahead.

"On guard!"

A soldier behind the mayor suddenly called out, and all the soldiers immediately surrounded him.

Moments later, the people who had gone into the mountains came running out in a panic, looking utterly bedraggled.

When they saw the mayor and his group, the few in front barely managed to stop themselves. Two level-five warriors were at the very front.

Level-five warriors were considered powerful in Fulong Town, so they naturally knew the mayor.

"Li Shan, Zheng Fang?"

The mayor frowned at the two level-five warriors leading the group. They were both on his watchlist and counted as strong fighters, yet now they looked so disheveled.

Could there be something dangerous in Fulong Mountain?

Like the other people of Fulong Town, he believed that Fulong Mountain was famous not for being dangerous, but for its countless low-level magical beasts. It was practically a hunting ground for warriors.

These low-level magical beasts were also one of the pillars of Fulong Town's development.

"Mayor, quick! Run! There's a Velociraptor!"

One of the level-five warriors gasped for breath, his eyes filled with terror.

He was a level-five warrior with exceptional physical prowess. A short run was nothing to him; he could probably run a hundred kilometers without much trouble. Yet after only this short stretch, he was in such a state. That showed just how panicked he was.

At the warrior's words, the mayor's expression tightened. "A Velociraptor?!"

The warrior nodded hastily, glancing back now and then as if afraid the Velociraptor would catch up. "And—whew—it's a fully grown Velociraptor!"

The others nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, the lower-level warriors were still running out, especially the ones who had been sprayed with white smoke by the Velociraptor.

One man ran straight into the distance, screaming, "Aahhh!" He paid no attention to why everyone else had stopped. He had only one thought: get away from Fulong Mountain, get away from Fulong Town!

Several other low-level warriors ran along with him.

Only the somewhat stronger warriors stopped in front of the mayor.

"My lord, what do we do now?" a soldier beside the mayor asked cautiously.

He was also a level-five warrior. If it really was a Velociraptor, going up against it would be suicide.

Even the mayor, a level-six warrior, would fare no better. There was a qualitative difference between levels six and seven, and even a level-seven warrior wouldn't dare claim they could beat a Velociraptor.

Magical beasts of the same level were stronger than humans.

The mayor was in a difficult position. If it really was a Velociraptor, it would certainly be a serious problem for him.

"Hold your position. From this moment on, no one is to enter or leave Fulong Mountain without permission."

The mayor quickly gave the order, then prepared to report the situation to his superiors.

The appearance of a Velociraptor was already beyond Fulong Town's ability to handle.

As the mayor made his report, a fiery-red figure streaked toward Fulong Mountain from the not-so-distant horizon. The figure moved so fast that it left afterimages in the sky.

The fiery-red figure made no attempt to conceal its presence, and many people saw it at once.

"A Saint-level expert!"

The people of Fulong Town were the first to spot the fiery-red figure, and they immediately grew ecstatic.

Flight was an ability of Saint-level experts. It was also the standard by which people judged whether someone had reached that level.

Every Saint-level expert had a vast following on Blue Star.

So when people saw the fiery-red figure, they were even more excited than they had been at the sight of the pillar of light. They had expected the phenomenon to attract the Empire's attention, but they had never imagined that a Saint-level expert would come in person!

It was an honor for Fulong Town.

A hundred years from now, this might well be remembered as the town's most famous story.

Many people even began running toward Fulong Mountain on the ground, following the fiery-red figure.

Fang Yun was no stranger to the afterimage streaking across the sky.

After becoming a Highgod, he had easily scanned the entire world with his divine sense. He knew every Saint-level expert on Blue Star like the back of his hand.

This fiery-red Saint-level expert was the pillar guarding the southwestern frontier of the Yanhua Empire, and the one closest to Fulong Mountain.

He had reached the Saint-level fifty years ago, making him the youngest Saint-level expert in the Yanhua Empire. But in Fang Yun's estimation, his strength was only at the entry level of the Saint-level.

Blue Star had developed rapidly over the past ten thousand years, but once beings reached the Saint-level, their cultivation slowed. Advancing beyond the Saint-level was far more difficult than reaching it.

"It's the Fire Saint!"

Liu Xiaomao grew excited when he saw the figure.

The Fire Saint was the title people had given the fiery-red figure. Every expert who reached the Saint-level was given a unique title based on their distinguishing characteristics, and even the Empire recognized those titles. It was a sign of respect for Saint-level experts, and a recognition of what they deserved.

He was called the Fire Saint because he cultivated fire-attribute battle qi and seemed like a deity of flame. He had once used fire to effortlessly burn a level-nine magical beast to death, making his name known throughout the world.

To other Saint-level experts, killing a level-nine magical beast was nothing remarkable. But to ordinary people, it was the sort of feat worthy of being recorded in the history books.

That was how the fiery-red figure earned the title "Fire Saint."

"Brother Yun, did you see? It's the Fire Saint, Zhou Yuan! The Fire Saint, Zhou Yuan!"

Liu Xiaomao was beside himself with excitement. "The Fire Saint, Zhou Yuan, has come to Fulong Mountain!"

Then, without waiting for Fang Yun to answer, Liu Xiaomao saw the Fire Saint flying toward Fulong Mountain and couldn't help running after him.

Fang Yun couldn't help marveling at it. People on Blue Star were even more fanatical about Saint-level experts than people on the Yulan Continent.

It made sense, when he thought about it. The Yulan Continent had god-level experts, so no matter how powerful Saint-level experts were, most people didn't consider them the most invincible beings.

Then there were the circumstances of Blue Star's development.

There were no gods on Blue Star. To all its inhabitants, the Saint-level was the highest realm of existence.

And with video equipment available, ordinary people knew far more about the abilities of Saint-level experts than people on the Yulan Continent, where they had only vague descriptions to go by. Seeing for themselves on video as Saint-level experts destroyed mountains and boiled oceans was an impact that words could never convey.

Flight.

Long lifespans.

The power to scorch the heavens and boil the seas.

The abilities possessed by Saint-level experts were beyond the imagination of mortals.

So, in the minds of ordinary people on Blue Star, Saint-level experts were practically gods.

It was only natural for ordinary people to react with such fervor when they saw a living "god."