Out of the city, to Black Mountain!

Elder Qian was a Gold Tier expert too?

Surprise showed on Lin An's face. All this time, he had thought his bargain-bin father was Shenglin City's only Gold Tier expert. He had never expected there to be a second.

But considering that he had been nothing more than a common soldier in his previous life, it was perfectly normal that he had not known about this.

Moreover, when Shenglin City fell in his previous life, Lin Xiao had chosen to self-destruct to stop the Sin Beasts.

But from what Lin An knew of Lin Xiao, he would not have chosen to self-destruct so easily. After all, he still had a son-Lin An's predecessor.

Since Lin Xiao had chosen to self-destruct, he must have already arranged an escape route for his predecessor.

That escape route was probably Elder Qian, while he chose to self-destruct to buy time for the escape. Lin An quickly figured it all out.

Then he smiled. "With Elder Qian accompanying me, I can hunt Sin Beasts with an even freer hand."

With a Gold Tier expert accompanying him, he certainly would not refuse. After all, he was going to hunt Sin Beasts, not throw his life away.

With a Gold Tier expert there, he would not have to worry about his escape route.

"Don't get too excited, brat. Since you're going out to fight Sin Beasts, Elder Qian won't intervene unless your life is in danger," Lin Xiao said.

"I understand."

"When do you plan to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"So soon?"

"The sooner I hunt Sin Beasts, the sooner I can break through."

"All right. Go back and prepare first. I'll make the arrangements, and you'll leave tomorrow morning."

Lin An nodded and left the training ground, while Lin Xiao summoned Ji Yuan and began making arrangements.

Early the next morning.

After having breakfast with his father, Lin An arrived at the training ground, where Ji Yuan was already waiting with a hundred personal guards.

All hundred guards wore armor, and beside each stood a horse covered in dark red stripes.

Blood-Patterned Horses-warhorses specially bred with resources expended by the City Lord's Manor. Each could travel a thousand li a day, and even ordinary Black Iron Tier experts were no match for them.

In his previous life, Lin An had only seen such warhorses from afar and had fantasized about when he might get a magnificent horse like that.

He had never expected to own one outright in this life.

"Elder Qian, sorry for the trouble this time."

Lin Xiao looked at Qian Hai as he spoke. Although his cultivation realm was higher than Qian Hai's, he still held great respect for this old man who had watched him grow up.

"Rest assured, City Lord. I will bring the young lord back safe and sound," Qian Hai said with a smile.

"An'er, be careful out there. If you're unsure about something, ask Elder Qian," Lin Xiao said, turning to Lin An.

"I understand, Father." Lin An nodded.

"All right, off you go."

Lin Xiao wanted to say more, but ultimately held back and waved them off.

"Move out!"

Lin An swung himself onto his horse. As his words fell, everyone headed out of the manor.

Watching Lin An's departing figure, countless thoughts filled Lin Xiao's mind.

"This is the first time An'er will have been away for so long since he was born."

For all these years, he had hoped every moment that his son's illness could be cured.

But now that he was cured and had even revealed monstrous talent, his son was also going to forge a new world for himself.

At that moment, Lin Xiao was just like any ordinary father, worrying about his child.

"Elder Qian, where are we going to hunt Sin Beasts?"

After leaving the City Lord's Manor, Lin An looked at Qian Hai beside him and asked.

"I heard from the City Lord that you want to hunt large numbers of Sin Beasts, young lord. In that case, our best option is to leave through the east gate and head toward Black Mountain."

"Black Mountain stretches endlessly, with vast numbers of Sin Beasts hidden within. There are more than five Gold Tier Sin Beasts alone."

"But we don't need to enter Black Mountain," Qian Hai said. "We only need to hunt outside it. There are plenty of Black Iron Realm Sin Beasts there too."

Black Mountain!

Lin An's eyes flickered. In his previous life, it was the Sin Beasts pouring out of Black Mountain that had caused Shenglin City's fall.

"With so many Gold Tier Sin Beasts in Black Mountain, what if they all attack Shenglin City together?" Lin An asked.

"There's no need to worry, young lord. Shenglin City has powerful formations and a garrison defending it, with the City Lord overseeing everything. Even Gold Tier Sin Beasts would find it difficult to breach Shenglin City."

"Besides, although there are quite a few Gold Tier Sin Beasts in Black Mountain, they don't all get along. Only if a Platinum Rank Sin Beast emerged and united all of Black Mountain could they pose a threat to Shenglin City."

"But how could a Platinum Rank Sin Beast emerge so easily?" Qian Hai said with a smile. "Shenglin City has stood for hundreds of years, and no Sin Beast of that level has ever appeared in Black Mountain."

Lin An put on a look of realization, but inwardly, he understood that Shenglin City had probably fallen in his previous life because a Platinum Rank Sin Beast had appeared in Black Mountain.

A Platinum Rank Sin Beast couldn't emerge in such a short time. That means the Sin Beast has already reached Gold Rank Ninth Grade at this stage, and in another year, it will advance to Platinum Rank.

A sense of urgency rose in Lin An's heart again. He only had a little over a year. If he wanted to protect Shenglin City, he would have to reach Platinum Rank too.

Platinum Rank in a year-was that possible?

For the natives of Sin Abyss World, that was indeed a pipe dream, but for him, with his player traits, it was not without a chance.

With their destination decided, the group rode to the east gate. After they presented their identity tokens, the garrison opened the city gates.

As he stepped out of Shenglin City, Lin An felt a cold wind sweep over him.

Even the sky grew a little dimmer, and an oppressive atmosphere filled the air.

Compared with the bustling city, the world outside seemed like another world entirely.

Lin An turned to look back at Shenglin City. At that moment, it seemed like a solitary island in this vast world.

"Young lord," Qian Hai called.

He said nothing more. This was the young lord's first time leaving the city. As Shenglin City's future city lord, he would have to get used to the world outside sooner or later.

"Move out."

Lin An spoke. It was not his first time leaving the city, either, but in his previous life, he had done so as a common soldier.

In this life, however, he was Shenglin City's young lord, accompanied by a hundred personal guards whose weakest members were in the Bronze Realm, as well as Qian Hai, a Gold Realm expert.

"Sin Beasts, huh? The roles of attacker and defender have reversed!"