Clear Moon City

Half a month later

Beside a stream near the outskirts of the mountain range, Ye Chen sat on a bluish stone, washing the wounds on his body with clean water.

Over the past half month, Ye Chen had gone through dozens of battles, sometimes fighting several times in a single day. Many of those encounters had been perilous, so it was only natural that he had sustained all kinds of injuries.

Some of those wounds had been inflicted by Magical Beasts, but quite a few had been caused by people...

Several times, Ye Chen had nearly died at the hands of cunning Magical Beasts and despicable people. Fortunately, Hu Tian had been watching from the shadows and always managed to save Ye Chen at the most critical moment.

Especially—

There was a terrifying wound on his abdomen. That time, he had truly stood at death's door, and Hu Tian had only managed to save him because he had been prepared.

That wound had not been left by a Magical Beast, but by an exceptionally cute Girl.

"I must have been blind to believe that all her friends had been killed, leaving only her behind, wounded..." Even now, thinking of what had happened a week ago still filled Ye Chen with lingering fear.

That Girl had looked far too kind and pure. When those round, wide eyes stared at you, it was impossible to harbor any ill intentions toward her.

Well, more importantly, she had a truly enormous chest. Combined with her girlish innocence, it had completely muddled Ye Chen's mind.

When Ye Chen found her, the other four men and one Girl whom she called her companions had already died. She alone had appeared before him, looking like a frightened little deer...

At the time, Ye Chen had thought his Protagonist Halo had kicked in, that heaven had delivered him an opportunity to play the hero and save a beauty. Following the usual routine, wouldn't she also have some ridiculously impressive background...

Unfortunately, it had all been an illusion!

He still remembered how thoughtfully he had refined medicine to treat the little girl's injuries. And every night, that frightened little deer had needed Ye Chen to hold her before she could fall asleep peacefully...

Each day, seeing the Girl's tranquil sleeping face had filled Ye Chen with delight. He had secretly sighed that he truly was the Protagonist, with such excellent luck in love! But after two days of that life, on the third day...

The Girl, who had been sleeping quietly in Ye Chen's arms, suddenly drove a dagger straight through Ye Chen's completely unguarded abdomen...

Immediately afterward, Hu Tian struck from the shadows. A single Dou Qi Blade severed the woman's knife-wielding arm along with her shoulder.

Enraged by the betrayal, Ye Chen smashed the woman's head apart with one slap, then burned her to ashes with a fire.

In fact, on the very first day she had appeared, Hu Tian had already noticed that something was wrong with her. The person who had likely killed the so-called companions she spoke of was that woman herself!

If she had not been severely injured at the time and lacked confidence in killing Ye Chen, she probably would not have played along with him for three days...

And the reason Hu Tian had not directly revealed his discovery was so Ye Chen could experience it personally and thoroughly remember this lesson.

It was just that Hu Tian had apparently not expected the lesson to be so severe...

No matter what, Hu Tian had achieved his goal this time. After learning that lesson, Ye Chen no longer fell for the tricks of ill-intentioned people. Nor did he hesitate when he acted—regardless of gender, he simply killed them!

By the stream, Ye Chen reflected on his experiences over the past half month while taking a medicine bottle from his Storage Ring. He removed a Healing Pill, crushed it, and sprinkled the powder over his wounds.

Fortunately, they were only superficial injuries. Though they looked rather miserable, they were actually nothing serious. After using the Ye Family's special wound medicine, not even scars would remain.

After wrapping the wounds simply, Ye Chen changed into a clean set of clothes, then immediately ran toward the edge of the Mountain Forest.

Since he had now reached the outskirts of the mountain range, the Magical Beasts he encountered were growing weaker and fewer in number...

By the time the sun had passed noon, a broad road had appeared before Ye Chen.

A Human Figure flashed, and Hu Tian appeared beside Ye Chen. Looking toward the distant end of the road, he said in a deep voice, "Follow this road for another thirty li, and you'll reach Clear Moon City..."

Having left the Mountain Forest, this first round of training was considered over. Next, the two of them would travel to Clear Moon City, so Hu Tian no longer hid in the shadows and instead accompanied Ye Chen openly.

Thirty li was not far for Ye Chen and the other. They arrived in only a quarter of an hour.

Clear Moon City was unlike Ye City, which had the Ye Family, a colossal force backed by the Pill Tower. Its scale was therefore much smaller.

Though it was not large, Clear Moon City was still prosperous. Its City Lord, Lin Qingyue, was also a Four Star Dou Zong, considered an expert in this region.

After all, during the early stages of the Dou Po era, when Central State was still relatively peaceful, Dou Zun experts were essentially the ceiling of combat power and rarely appeared.

A Four Star Dou Zong was already enough to support a city's survival in this region.

Of course, Lin Qingyue's ability to keep Clear Moon City standing for decades by herself was not due merely to her strength...

Passing through the bustling crowd, Ye Chen and the other entered through the city gates.

Naturally, Ye Chen did not react to the City Guard collecting entrance fees at the gates and simply paid them.

After all, it was only a few Gold Coins. He was not an idiot; he would not waste his time tangling with such people for no reason.

Just as Ye Chen was considering whether he should visit an inn or a medicine shop first, many people carrying sabers and swords suddenly began running in one direction, excitement written across their faces...

This sight left Ye Chen somewhat confused. He casually grabbed a man passing beside him and asked, "Brother, did something happen ahead? Why is everyone heading that way?"

The man Ye Chen had stopped looked to be in his thirties or forties. He had a face full of beard and fierce features, clearly not someone easy to deal with.

Especially after discovering that the one holding him was merely a Da Dou Shi, his eyes immediately widened like bronze bells, and he opened his mouth to curse...

Unfortunately, the moment he opened his mouth, an immense pressure descended upon him from above, nearly making his legs buckle as he fell to his knees!

Turning his gaze toward the handsome Youth beside him, the bearded man saw only a thin old man giving him an indifferent look...

With that one glance alone, the bearded man felt as though he had fallen into hell!

Fortunately, Hu Tian had merely given him a small warning to prevent the brute from speaking rudely. Otherwise, for someone not even at the Dou Wang level, facing the pressure of Hu Tian, a Half-Step Dou Zong, would likely have scared him to death!