Noticing something was amiss, Xiao Yan braced one hand against the ground, his body half-bent.
Perhaps Yao Lao knows something? Xiao Yan wondered. Could the Roland Empire, the Zhongyuan Empire, and the Church of Light have secretly made some kind of deal?
After thinking it over for a long while without figuring anything out, Xiao Yan simply sprang to his feet.
Never mind. If the sky falls, someone tall will hold it up. My only goal now is to keep accumulating Dou Qi and break through to the Saint Domain as soon as possible. Once I reach the Saint Domain, none of the things troubling me now will be worth worrying about.
Once I emerge from seclusion, great scholars will argue the classics on my behalf.
...Cultivation knew no years; in the blink of an eye, several years passed.
One day, on the mountain behind Panshi Town, a slender figure in a green robe sat cross-legged atop a boulder. Above his head, the fiery-red elements of heaven and earth had nearly condensed into solid form, becoming a deep-red vortex.
As the young man breathed in and out, the fiery-red elements of heaven and earth within the deep-red vortex turned into thin strands of red light and entered his body, where, after circulating, they became pure magical energy and Dou Qi.
After who knew how long, the young man opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.
"After four years of cultivation, I've finally reached the peak of the ninth level. At most, I'll break through to the Saint Domain within a month!" The young man's confident voice rang through the woods. It was Xiao Yan.
"It's time to leave, too." Xiao Yan looked down at Panshi Town, where lights twinkled below. "I'll slip away quietly tonight."
Xiao Yan murmured to himself. In the darkness, his appearance shifted, returning to his original face, and he left alone.
From that day onward, the famous one-armed hunter Yang Guo of Panshi Town went permanently offline, while Xiao Yan, missing for four years, came back online.
"Giddyup! Giddyup!"
An elite cavalry unit galloped swiftly along a desolate road in the suburbs. William, dressed in an exquisite golden-threaded robe, led the way. Behind him, dozens of elite knights followed close at hand.
"Are you certain Xiao Yan went in this direction?" William asked the five men behind him, all dressed in deacon robes, his expression cold.
"My lord, according to the information from Blackstone City, Xiao Yan headed this way after killing the black-robed bishop there!"
A trace of coldness flashed through William's eyes. "What nerve. He offended the Church and should have hidden himself away, yet he actually dares to come out and kill again!"
"Giddyup!"
William angrily lashed his horse. Hooves thundered, kicking up a cloud of dust, and in the blink of an eye they had covered a great distance.
Several hundred meters ahead of William and the others, Xiao Yan walked at an unhurried pace, seemingly waiting for something on purpose.
Noticing the commotion behind him, Xiao Yan's lips curled.
I hope the fish that takes the bait is a big one. A cold glint shone in Xiao Yan's eyes, and a hint of killing intent showed at their corners.
With Xiao Yan's speed, he could have made it from Panshi Town back to Starfire City by dawn if he'd set off in the evening and traveled without restraint.
But Xiao Yan hadn't chosen to do that. Instead, he deliberately stopped and started along the way. Especially in crowded places, he would even go out of his way to join the bustle. In some of the larger cities, he often stayed for several days.
Because of Xiao Yan's deliberate detours, a journey that should have taken half a day had stretched to more than a month, and he still hadn't covered half the distance.
Don't disappoint me!
Recalling the Church of Light's mass arrests four years ago, Xiao Yan knew they hadn't caused him any actual losses, but that didn't mean he wasn't angry.
He had endured it before because he lacked the strength. But now... it was time to collect the debt.
The fish had taken the bait, and Xiao Yan couldn't be bothered to keep up his poor act. He stood calmly where he was and waited.
William and the others soon spotted Xiao Yan.
"He's just ahead! Quick, pursue him!" William cried with delight. He sprang from his horse and, with a few leaps, landed in front of Xiao Yan.
The five special deacons behind William followed suit, jumping after him and landing in positions that blocked Xiao Yan's escape routes from every direction.
"Let's see where you can run now," William said coldly.
As he spoke, the hoofbeats suddenly grew more urgent. Dozens of knights charged in from behind and completely surrounded Xiao Yan.
"You're only seventeen, yet you managed to kill a level-eight black-clad bishop. I have to admit, Xiao Yan, you're a genius. But you should never have chosen to make an enemy of my Church of Light!" William declared arrogantly, believing he had the situation completely under control.
Xiao Yan cast a cold glance at the many knights surrounding him.
Only then did Xiao Yan turn his gaze to William. "It's him!... Hm?"
At first, he hadn't thought much of it, but one look made his previously relaxed heart tighten. His strange gaze swept over the other five special deacons.
Their expressions seemed lively enough, but deep in their eyes lay utter indifference. On closer inspection, they didn't feel like living beings at all, but rather weapons—biological weapons that knew only slaughter.
There's no mistake. They don't feel human at all! Xiao Yan realized.
Xiao Yan suspected that all six men before him, William included, were angels who had descended into the Material Plane.
Such descended angels were limited by the strength of their bodies and generally only reached level nine.
But these level-nine angels had mastered the Angel Battle Formation. When the six joined forces, no level-nine warrior who hadn't comprehended a Law could stand against them.
And if they truly encountered danger, these level-nine angels could unleash their full potential in a final, desperate battle, erupting with Saint Domain strength. Though they could only manage a few attacks, combined with the Angel Battle Formation, their power was formidable—perhaps even on par with an ordinary Saint Domain peak expert.
Thinking of the angels' formidable combat strength—
"Kill!" Xiao Yan didn't hesitate any longer. He had to strike first and couldn't let them form their battle formation.
Xiao Yan's figure darted and shifted, appearing behind one of the level-nine angels. His hand flashed, and a black dagger instantly pierced the angel's head.
In an instant, he killed an angel.
"No!" William only reacted after the dust had settled.
Looking at the dead angel on the ground, William's face filled with disbelief. "You actually killed him!"
"Don't rush. He's only the first." Xiao Yan wiped his short blade, his expression utterly cold.
"You're courting death!" A sacred radiance shone from William's face. "The intelligence was wrong. Xiao Yan is far stronger than an ordinary level-nine warrior. Everyone, prepare to return to the embrace of the Lord God."
"Yes!" The remaining four angels showed not the slightest hesitation when they heard William's order.
Sacred light flickered across their faces, and a pair of wings of light unfurled behind each of them. To the knights' astonishment, they rose straight into the air and looked down at Xiao Yan.
At the same time, the four angels' bodies began to break down, streaks of blood appearing across their skin.
"Kill!" Knowing they couldn't waste time, they charged at Xiao Yan with all their strength.
Facing their encirclement, Xiao Yan slowly raised his head from below, the corner of his mouth curling upward.
"Had this happened half a month ago, I might not have been your match."
"But now, you see me as you would a god!"
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