Chapter 65: It Was That Qin Army’s Hound!

“Well? Are they catching up to us?”

Yan Xicai, having sprinted several kilometers away from the cliff, finally stopped, panting heavily.

Besides Pu Wen, who had been with him the whole time, only eight Aurora City enforcers remained by his side. In their hasty escape, most of the others had scattered.

“No,” an enforcer replied after glancing back. “It should be safe here now.”

“Damn it... what good are the Aurora City officials?!” Yan Xicai cursed. “How could they let the Flame Usurpers infiltrate us? There must be accountability! This absolutely demands accountability! I want them to give me an explanation!”

As the group spoke, a figure hastily ran towards them.

“Is it a Flame Usurper?” Yan Xicai’s nerves tensed instantly upon seeing the approaching figure.

“No, it’s Xiao Jian,” an enforcer immediately said, recognizing the person’s face. “His leg isn’t good, so he runs a bit slowly.”

“He’s been lagging behind the group the whole time... couldn’t he have been replaced by a Flame Usurper?” someone in the crowd whispered.

At these words, everyone’s expressions immediately changed. They watched the sweating Xiao Jian warily, as if fearing something.

“Young Master Yan, wait for me...” Xiao Jian limped and stumbled from a distance, his face pale.

However, before he could get close, Yan Xicai spoke coldly:

“Stop!”

Xiao Jian froze in place.

“Who are you?”

“I... I’m Xiao Jian,” Xiao Jian stammered, startled. “My father is Jian Changlin, your family’s gardener... I even poured you tea this morning. Don’t you remember me?”

Yan Xicai narrowed his eyes and gave a look to the enforcer beside him, who immediately understood.

The enforcer drew a short knife from his waist and slowly walked towards Xiao Jian.

“Young Master Yan, what are you doing...?”

“Verifying your identity,” Yan Xicai said flatly. “You’re too slow; we can’t rule out the possibility that a Flame Usurper replaced you.”

“No! Young Master Yan! I truly haven’t!” Xiao Jian immediately panicked. “I run slowly because my leg is lame; I really haven’t been replaced...”

“Whether you’ve been replaced or not, we’ll know once we cut your face.”

The enforcer reached Xiao Jian, the cold gleam of the short knife reflecting on his face. Xiao Jian’s legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.

“Young Master Yan, please don’t cut my face... I beg you. I’m already lame; if you cut my face too, how will I ever make a living...?”

Seeing this, the enforcer with the knife hesitated. He looked back at Yan Xicai, who dismissively waved his hand.

“Why are you looking at me? Cut.”

“...My apologies, brother.”

The enforcer grabbed Xiao Jian by the collar, the sharp blade piercing his cheek, then slowly dragging downwards...

A piercing scream tore from Xiao Jian’s throat. His face twisted in agony, scarlet blood seeped through his skin, and a gruesome cut stretched across most of his cheek, revealing the flesh beneath...

Beneath the flesh, there was no other face.

The enforcer retracted his knife, stood up, and nodded slightly to Yan Xicai and the others. “It’s him.”

Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright, the crisis is over,” Pu Wen said, glancing towards the cliff. “Those Flame Usurpers didn’t pursue us; they must have another objective...”

“As long as they don’t provoke us, I don’t care what their intentions are,” Yan Xicai said gravely. “Once 24 hours pass, they’re dead for sure... Before then, we have more important things to do. To get you into the Ancient Treasury this time, I’ve exhausted all my connections and favors. If I still can’t step onto the Path of the War God, I’ll never be able to take charge of the Starfall Merchant Guild.”

“Let me make this clear beforehand: I can only use the Path of the Scholar God to help you absorb killing intent. Whether or not you can step onto the Path of the War God is none of my concern,” Pu Wen said, looking at him.

“I don’t need you to remind me.”

A ruthless glint flickered in Yan Xicai’s eyes. He waved his hand. “Let’s go, time is of the essence.”

Everyone followed behind Yan Xicai, heading directly into the depths of the Ancient Treasury. In the vast wilderness, only a figure with a bloodied face remained, lying on the ground like a corpse.

Xiao Jian struggled to get to his feet, a horrifying gash running across his cheek. He stared blankly at the receding figures, his eyes filled with despair.

A moment later, he finally regained his senses, gritted his teeth, and slowly followed in their footsteps...

“So this is the interior of the Ancient Treasury of the Martial Path...”

Beneath a bleak sky, Chen Ling, clad in a large red opera robe, stood alone in the desolate landscape, murmuring to himself.

Chen Ling did not pursue any of the factions. There was still ample time before the Ancient Treasury of the Martial Path fully reopened... During this period, it was better to let the conflicts escalate on their own. He believed this chaotic struggle was far from over; it was merely a temporary lull.

In other words, he decided to let things play out.

Chen Ling also needed some time to find a way to steal the Dao Foundation.

He clearly remembered the enforcer leading their group saying before they entered the Ancient Treasury that by finding resonance amidst blood and fire, and gathering enough killing intent through slaughter, one would have the chance to attract the Dao Foundation of the War God’s Path...

How exactly was this to be done?

As Chen Ling pondered, he climbed over a small hill.

Not far from the hill, a long, narrow gully was carved into the earth. Inside the gully, ten armored figures stood together, holding weapons, seemingly conversing.

Judging by their attire and weapons, they didn’t appear to be people from this era... Were these the ancient killing intent projections the enforcer had mentioned?

Chen Ling hesitated for a moment, then walked straight down the hill towards the gully.

The moment he stepped into the gully’s boundary, the ten armored figures seemed to sense something and whirled around.

They stared intently at Chen Ling in his red robe, as if he were their sworn enemy, and let out a roar.

The next moment, the ten figures charged at Chen Ling, bristling with killing intent, their long spears raised.

Chen Ling paused, then instinctively took a step back, withdrawing his foot from the gully. Immediately, the ten armored figures suddenly stopped, as if losing their target, and turned to walk back.

They put down their weapons, gathered together, and appeared to be discussing something.

Chen Ling: ...?

Thoughtfully, he stepped his right foot back into the gully. Instantly, the ten men’s eyes widened with rage, and they raised their weapons, charging at Chen Ling again!

Chen Ling pulled his foot back; they again fell silent and turned away... Chen Ling took another step in.

After repeating this several times, Chen Ling’s expression as he looked at the ten figures in the gully became incredibly strange... Weren’t these just NPCs?!