Time moved slightly forward.
Not long after the Water Ape fell unconscious, Lerdri's guards found him.
Qin Ran then appeared there.
Then, he "saw" those traces.
Unlike the battlefield destroyed by the explosion, all the traces around the unconscious Water Ape remained intact.
It was not that the man tattooed with Eight Heads, Seven Tails had left any especially obvious traces.
In fact, he had done an excellent job concealing his tracks. Even Qin Ran did not think he could surpass him in that regard.
But such concealment was woefully inadequate before Qin Ran's Transcendent-level [Tracking], as obvious as an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
Qin Ran did not need to spend any more time searching. With a mere sweep of his gaze, he found the traces he sought.
All he needed to do was follow the clues, and he would surely gain something.
Yet the closer he came to reaping the rewards, the more cautious and vigilant Qin Ran became.
His brow furrowed slightly.
To Qin Ran, everything before him seemed somewhat deliberate.
Not the traces.
But...
The earlier battle!
Qin Ran believed the Snake School could not possibly have failed to anticipate such a massive explosion.
Since they had anticipated it, they would surely have factored his appearance into their plans.
Simply put, this was both a scheme against the Ape Faction and a trap set for him.
As for the dead man tattooed with Eight Heads, Seven Tails?
It might have been the other side's carelessness.
But more likely, it had been part of their arrangement.
Using one's own people's deaths as part of a scheme seemed insane, but most of the time, it was an effective method.
"Since that's the case..."
Qin Ran narrowed his eyes. After summoning Mary, he vanished from everyone's sight.