Wait, Just a Moment, Stop, Cease!

After being put on a bounty, one had to guard not only against the Federation, but also against other Transcendents and gene-modified humans looking to trade their life for money. With everyone wary of one another, it was naturally difficult for such people to join forces.

Avoiding a bounty was simple too: join one of the major factions and become a lackey for those big shots, and one would be exempted.

Strictly speaking, a Transcendent like Li You also counted as a Federation fugitive. It was only because he was not yet well-known that no bounty had been placed on him.

This was an utterly blatant scheme. A single decree made it difficult for independent Transcendents to grow stronger. Some mentally unwell Transcendents even took pride in having a high bounty, deliberately challenging people with higher bounties in order to raise their own.

"I've been looking for him for a long time. I never expected to run into him at Black Mountain today," Li Xiao said coldly.

"You have a grudge against him?" Gao Bancheng looked utterly confused. He had never heard of one.

Li Xiao lowered his binoculars. "No."

"Then you..."

"Hmph! He merely happened to kill the second-generation heir of some great family, yet he was given an eighty-five-million bounty—twenty million more than mine! There truly are no heroes in this age, letting such a brat become famous!"

Gao Bancheng: "..."

Bai Ye: See? One of the mentally ill ones had appeared.

"Li Xiao, I hired you not so you could pick fights everywhere!" Gao Bancheng said anxiously.

"Hmph, don't worry." Li Xiao snorted, his gaze disdainful. "Tyrant, one of the Ten Kings, is on his way. A mere Swordbearer is not enough to interest me."

Bai Ye found this rather strange. He had realized that this poser, Li Xiao, only had eyes for the Ten Kings. No one else even registered in his eyes. He rarely spoke normally, but whenever he opened his mouth, he was bound to mention the Ten Kings.

"Boss Gao, what do we do now? Take a detour, or..." Li Baitian asked.

Gao Bancheng's face broke into a beaming smile. "I'm a kind-hearted man. I can't stand the sight of blood, so naturally, we must go stop this conflict."

Deep within the gloomy forest.

The Swordbearer, Xiao Yi, dressed in a flowing ancient-style green robe, faced eight armed men with a calm expression.

"Everyone, I discovered this century-old ginseng first. I hope you will yield it to me."

"You say you found it first, so it's yours? I, Black Leopard, may have lost an eye, but this new metal prosthetic eye works better than a human one. I clearly saw it first—it was just that you beat me to it!"

A burly man holding a shotgun spoke viciously. One of his eyes was a metallic prosthetic, flashing with cold red light.

"Kid, as long as you hand over the ginseng, we won't have to fight."

Black Leopard did not immediately snatch it. Unlike Gao Bancheng, he was not particularly knowledgeable and could not gauge Xiao Yi's background. He only knew that anyone who dared come to Black Mountain alone could not be an ordinary person.

Under normal circumstances, he would never provoke someone like this. But profit moved the heart. That century-old ginseng was no ordinary medicinal herb—it was a mutated medicinal herb. Consuming it could increase one's vitality and blood, strengthen the body, and it was a rare, expensive commodity even on the black market.

With such obvious benefits before them, and with their side having numbers and no weaklings among them, they naturally had the courage to take the risk.

"Ah, then I suppose we'll have to fight." Xiao Yi rubbed his forehead, looking quite helpless despite his handsome face.

A vicious glint flashed through Black Leopard's eyes. The men exchanged looks and chambered their rounds. Just as they were about to fire—

Xiao Yi suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

"Hehe... now you know to be afraid..." Black Leopard had barely begun to laugh when his expression changed drastically.

Clang!

A crisp sword cry rang out. A streak of cold light suddenly shot out from behind Xiao Yi. It was a treasured sword forged by ancient methods, flying toward Black Leopard like a white ribbon.

The abrupt change left everyone stunned, because no one was controlling that sword. It was as though it had been fitted with autopilot, reaching Black Leopard in the blink of an eye.

Slash!

The shotgun in Black Leopard's hands split in two, severed cleanly down the middle.

The broken shotgun fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Xiao Yi smiled and beckoned with his hand. The treasured sword flew back into the scabbard on his back.

Looking at the stunned men, he smiled. "Still want to fight?"

Black Leopard's expression changed several times. "Despicable! You said 'wait,' then launched a sneak attack! That is the conduct of a petty man!"

"Not at all, not at all." Xiao Yi smiled and shook his head. "The 'wait' I said was not the 'wait' you understood. It was the name of this sword... its name is Wait."

"Fuck you—" Black Leopard flew into a rage, feeling thoroughly toyed with. His burly body suddenly tensed, the muscles across his body swelling continuously as a dense layer of black fur grew wildly over him.

He dropped onto all fours, his back arching high like a leopard crouched on the ground, ready to pounce.

At that critical moment, Bai Ye and the others appeared in the clearing.

Gao Bancheng jumped down from Xiao Kui's back and shouted, "Stop!"

Seeing so many people suddenly appear, caution and apprehension flashed through Black Leopard's eyes, and he halted his pouncing motion.

Xiao Yi also looked over and smiled as he nodded at Gao Bancheng and the others.

Clang!

Another treasured sword behind Xiao Yi instantly left its sheath, transforming into a streak of light as it shot forward.

"You still dare to sneak attack!?" Black Leopard's eyes nearly split apart. He had not expected Xiao Yi to be shameless to this extent, constantly thinking of sneak attacks.

But the shock and fury in his eyes quickly turned to terror, because that streak of sword light was rapidly expanding in his vision. The shadow of death instantly enveloped his entire body, leaving him briefly rigid.

Gao Bancheng's expression turned somewhat ugly. He had not expected Xiao Yi to show him so little respect.

Yet at that moment, something unexpected happened. The sword aimed straight at Black Leopard's head actually stopped, five centimeters from his eyeball.

Black Leopard snapped back to his senses as if waking from a dream and hurriedly retreated several steps. Then he saw that Xiao Yi had somehow appeared before him, his right hand gripping the sword hilt tightly.

"Whew..." Xiao Yi let out a long breath and said with lingering fear, "That was close. Good thing I made it in time."

His words left everyone baffled. What was he doing?

He turned around and gave Gao Bancheng a slightly resentful look. "You cannot casually shout the words 'stop.' This sword of mine is called Stop."

Gao Bancheng: "..."

What kind of freak was this!? Wait? Stop? What normal person named their swords like that?

Bai Ye was also dumbfounded. He did not understand why all Transcendents were so bizarre. Was it really because awakening after mental stimulation gave them all the potential to become lunatics?

Li Xiao loved showing off, Xiao Yi was an old schemer, and Li You was a complete idiot. Not a single one of them was normal!

"Your other two swords aren't named Just a Moment and Cease, are they?" Bai Ye blurted out.

Xiao Yi was startled. "How did you know..."

Clang!

Yet another sword flew out from behind him. He hurriedly pressed it down, his face turning red from the strain before he finally forced it back.