Ambush

At the military base, Li Wei was discussing with the two Advanced War Generals beside him whether they should intercept and kill Liu Yun.

"The tracker's already been installed. No matter how far he goes, we'll be able to find him. But, young master, is this really worth it?"

Advanced War General Kalon spoke as he held a radar display. It clearly showed that the distance between Liu Yun and them was growing.

Pan Ya seemed to agree to some extent. After all, Liu Yun had only used a trick to cripple two of their lackeys, and he was still a formidable fighter. Was the price of doing this really worth it?

The mixed-race Li Wei stood atop an overturned bus, his expression grim.

"Hmph. I think Liu Yun's behavior is far too outrageous. Wang Huifeng and Xia Lin only said a few things to him, yet he actually went so far as to cripple them!"

As Li Wei spoke, indignation welled up inside him, and his expression grew especially dark.

"I say we teach him a good lesson! Anyone who dares lay a hand on my men should expect me to take revenge. Well? Don't tell me you're scared?"

He had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had never had to put up with the slightest insult. Now that someone had dared to challenge him, he naturally wanted to deal with him properly.

"There's no way I'm afraid of him!"

The burly white man Kalon shook his head and tugged off his undershirt, revealing a handspan of chest hair.

Martial Artists sought breakthroughs on the brink of death; they couldn't be afraid of plotting against an enemy. Sometimes, tracking down and killing an enemy mattered even more than hunting monsters.

Seeing that the other two had made up their minds, Kalon gave it no further thought. He focused instead on how to take Liu Yun out with as little effort as possible.

"I watched him during the assessment. He killed more than a dozen H-Class Monsters, but his footwork was still terrible."

Kalon was talking about Liu Yun's performance during the Martial Artist Combat Assessment. That clumsy display was still fresh in his mind.

At least by their standards as Advanced War Generals, Liu Yun's footwork was awful. If Kalon had been there, he was sure he could have killed nearly a hundred H-Class Monsters with a single slash.

"Let's not alert him. Once he's camping out in the wilderness, we'll close in little by little. We'll be sure to catch him completely off guard!"

That was Kalon's plan, and he'd gauged Liu Yun's abilities with great precision. After all, Liu Yun's strength mainly came from piling up stats; his actual cultivation still hadn't received enough training.

So they settled on waiting until Liu Yun let his guard down while resting in the wilderness. Then they would strike together, making sure to kill him in one blow without leaving any loose ends.

Liu Yun drove his off-road pickup down the highway through the wilderness until the road ahead was completely blocked by rubble. With no choice but to pull over, he decided to continue on foot. The setting sun cast its glow over the broken road as he took his backpack from the truck and carefully checked his gear. He left behind the machine gun and rocket launcher, then hid the vehicle in a tangle of bushes.

"If the base were fully built, I should be able to construct a stealth airship!"

He couldn't help looking forward even more to completing the base. Once it was finished, he wouldn't have to rely on outdated tools like an off-road vehicle, and his chances of surviving in the wilderness would improve dramatically.

Liu Yun knew that the road ahead would be full of unknown dangers, but as a War God Level Psychic, he was confident and well prepared.

Just as he was about to set off on foot, a faint electromagnetic pulse caught his attention. As a Psychic, he was exceptionally sensitive to such subtle changes. Liu Yun immediately closed his eyes and focused, sweeping the area with his Psychic Power as he tried to pinpoint the source of the unusual pulse.

He found a black signal transmitter beneath the license plate of his off-road vehicle, and couldn't help but be startled.

"Someone's tracking me?" Liu Yun's heart tightened, but he quickly regained his composure.

He didn't know who his enemy was, but the tracking was certainly no friendly gesture. They might even have something truly malicious in mind.

Still, Liu Yun had no idea that Li Wei was tracking him. He had no mortal enemies for now, so he couldn't guess who had planted the tracker.

Holding the tiny black tracker, Liu Yun's expression darkened. Just then, a strange, large white bird—apparently a monster—flew up nearby. Using his Psychic Power, Liu Yun deftly transferred the tracker in his hand onto the bird as it spread its wings and soared away.

The bird seemed not to notice anything unusual. It continued flying freely through the sky, the tracker clinging beneath its feathers as its flight carried it farther and farther from Liu Yun.

"Go on, chase that beast! I've still got a phoenix to hunt!"

Liu Yun reminded himself that the mission came first. This was his first time carrying out a mission, and he couldn't let a mere tracker throw him off. He continued toward the location given in the mission details, paying the minor matter no further attention.

Meanwhile, Li Wei, Kalon, and the others waited anxiously for the tracker's signal. They had expected to find Liu Yun easily and carry out their ambush, but the tracker had suddenly gone haywire.

Li Wei furrowed his brows, staring at the dot on the radar display as it jumped around and drifted farther and farther off course. A sense of unease welled up inside him. He turned to Kalon and asked nervously, "Why did the tracker suddenly change direction? Did Liu Yun tamper with it?"

Kalon looked just as confused. He shook his head and replied gravely, "That's unlikely. Our tracker is the latest model and extremely well concealed. Even a Psychic wouldn't be able to detect it easily, unless..."

"Unless what?" Li Wei pressed urgently.

"Unless his Psychic Power is already as strong as a War God's. This tracker's specifications mean it can't evade the Psychic Power of a War God." Kalon made a guess, a trace of apprehension flickering in his eyes. As an Advanced War General, he knew how powerful and mysterious a War God Level Psychic could be.

If that were true, they wouldn't have to worry about anyone calling them cowards. They'd be better off turning around and leaving while they still had their lives.

"What do we do now? Keep tracking him?" Pan Ya asked from the side, sounding hesitant.

Li Wei pondered for a moment, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. "Keep after him! I don't believe Liu Yun is that powerful. He's so young—there's no way he's a War God Level Psychic! At most, he spotted the tracker by chance. If we have to, we'll wait for him at his mission location."

Kalon and Pan Ya both nodded in agreement. They knew the mission had already gone beyond what they'd initially expected, but since they had decided to act, there was no turning back.

Li Wei had used his parents' influence to learn that Liu Yun had taken a mission to hunt a phoenix. He knew where Liu Yun was headed, so there was no need to worry about losing track of him. At worst, they'd just have to spend more time.

Obviously, they were only tracking a bird soaring through the sky. For the time being, Liu Yun had shaken off those few tails. He was shrewd enough to plan to finish the mission and return to the base without wasting a moment.