Ye An was sure of it.
Tan Que remained clueless, kept in the dark.
These were all decisions made by the old men; it wasn't his place to intervene. So he didn't say anything, finishing his meal and heading back on the road promptly.
Once off Earth, Ye An felt the universe grow colder. But thinking of what lay ahead warmed his heart. During this time, he hadn't lost touch with Ji Qing. She always asked if he might return early, recounting the mundane details of her day as if each was painfully boring.
So Ye An didn't tell her he was coming back today, wanting to surprise her. There were still seven days until the Bright Sword Tournament officially began, and five days at the latest before reaching the Celestial Clan. There was no rush at all!
But the journey took a day.
With hopeful anticipation, Ye An disembarked again on Vermilion Bird Star, swiftly making his way home. Walking the rural path back, today's breeze seemed livelier than usual. It was mid-afternoon, not yet fully winter, with warm sunlight bathing everything in a serene atmosphere.
Everything was as peacefully usual.
Only three miles left to home, Ye An picked up the pace, a distance he could cover in seconds.
But then, in the next moment!
Ye An's pupils contracted.
"Whoosh!"
A piercing sound tore through from his left!
A sharp, black flying knife came at an unbelievable speed!
Swift as the wind!
He swiftly dodged, his face darkening as he stared in the direction the knife came from.
But in the next moment, he swiftly turned the other way.
Then came a "boom" of cannon fire from a corner of the field.
A giant energy rocket, nearly a meter in diameter, shot out, bursting with explosive energy!
Ye An's gaze turned cold.
He didn't even bother to dodge, calmly raising his right hand.
"Boom!"
A loud explosion.
The peaceful meadow was engulfed in elemental flames, fire raging on the grassland, smoke billowing!
At the spot where the flying knife attacked and where the cannon fired, figures appeared.
A man and a woman.
They stood up, bewildered, staring into the thick smoke at the center.
Ye An didn't dodge?
Did he get hit?
Suddenly, their pupils contracted, hearts pounding.
A figure emerged slowly from the smoke.
His short sleeves were already burnt, but his bronze body was unscathed, not a scratch, as if the rocket blast had never happened.
Ye An stared coldly at the woman who fired the cannon, expressionless, tearing off his tattered clothes and tossing them aside.
Then, he twisted his neck, a cold smile appearing on his lips, like a villain about to begin a slaughter.
Behind him, the boy who threw the flying knife sneered, "Is that all?"
"Fine."
He raised his hand, four flying knives shooting out again.
But Ye An didn't even turn his head, swiftly dodging left and right, continuing towards the girl.
Yet the flying knife boy raised his five fingers, a slight smirk as he subtly gestured back.
The four knives that had swept past Ye An's side suddenly reversed, deliberately avoiding his body.
In the bright sunlight, the boy's fingertips seemed to flicker with faint white light.
Four invisible transparent threads connected the four flying knives.
The knives were feints.
The threads were real attacks!
Four colorless transparent threads crossed Ye An's neck.
Yet Ye An still didn't dodge!
The flying knife boy looked puzzled.
Still not dodging? Is he looking to die?
The threads were about to decapitate Ye An.
But at that moment.
A faint deep yellow appeared around his neck.
The soil of Xuanwu covered him.
The threads cut through the earth but lost momentum, seemingly not sharp enough, only entangling around his neck, the image of his head falling to the ground not appearing.
The flying knife boy's face showed disbelief.
Are you kidding me?
Relying solely on his flesh to withstand his Divine Blade Cut?
His eyes turned fierce, five fingers suddenly exerting force, yanking back.
But at the same time, Ye An also raised his hands covered in yellow earth, grasping the Divine Blade Cut entangled around his neck, muscles bursting with power from the earth through his feet and into his arms.
Ye An swung fiercely forward!
The flying knife boy's pupils suddenly shrank, involuntarily letting out a painful cry, then losing balance, soaring in a beautiful arc in the air, finally crashing directly into the cannon girl in front of Ye An!
The boy sent the girl flying together.
Ye An's gaze remained indifferent, not holding back at all, the force in his palm continued, as if holding a long whip, the flying knife boy being the whip's head, continually crashing into the girl!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
After several impacts, the sensation in Ye An's palm disappeared.
Because the boy's innate rune had stopped spinning, the Divine Blade Cut disappeared.
"What the hell!" The boy cursed and stood up.
"Divine Blade Domain!"
"Open..."
"Boom!"
The boy's spirited shout at the end of the open tone suddenly shook.
Not just him.
The cannon girl beside her legs also shook, her face full of horror looking at Ye An in front of her.
Just now.
At the moment when the flying knife boy opened the domain, Ye An arrived between the two like lightning, landing a punch!
The girl's source energy rocket exploded in a flash of white rice green shade.
Ye An's punch directly caused this wilderness to collapse, the green leaves and red flowers all fell, turning into yellow earth ruins!
Sandstone rolled.
He stood in the center of the ruins.
The girl and the boy were sitting in front of him one meter away, one left and one right.
Ye An didn't punch their heads, but this punch hit the two of them in the middle.
But the terrible punch and the explosive power seemed to have already fallen on them, making them soft all over.
At this moment.
Ye An's figure was backlit, so in the eyes of the flying knife boy, he was full of shadows.
"I really like this wilderness."
"Now that this piece of land has been destroyed like this, I'm not happy."
"But I have urgent matters now."
"After I'm done, if this piece of land hasn't recovered, I'll turn you into nutrients for this wilderness."
Just as the boy and girl were full of anger.
Ye An pointed his finger at the distant woods and said hoarsely, "He can't save you either."
With that, he turned and left.
The boy and girl no longer had any anger, only shock.
The two turned their heads and looked at the woods, only to see an old man walking out of them.
The old man impatiently looked at his two disciples and said, "I told you earlier, just obediently follow orders."
"You had to test Ye An."
"Now it's great, even I, this old man, was scolded by him pointing his finger at my nose!"
"Do you know who's behind him?"
"Old Dao, I can't beat those monsters!"
Originally the flying knife boy who liked to talk back, at this moment felt a bit confused in his brain and couldn't say half a word.
After taking several deep breaths, he turned his head to look at his sister, trembling lips saying, "Why are you sweating so much?"
Sister also took a deep breath and looked at her brother, who was stunned for a moment, unconsciously answering, "You seem to be sweating more."