Chapter 67: Token

In the chaos, three Enforcers happened to strike vital points, absorbing the killing aura that the soldiers transformed into upon disappearing.

Their eyes instantly brightened, and it was as if something was growing within them. Their original fatigue vanished without a trace, their backs even straightening involuntarily, and a heroic spirit appeared in their brows.

"What are you waiting for? Come out!" Yan Xicai repeated.

Everyone immediately walked out obediently.

"After all this time, only three killing auras have been absorbed," Yan Xicai said displeased. "At this rate, when will we attract the attention of the Way of the War God?"

"The attention of the Divine Way varies from person to person," Pu Wen explained appropriately from the side. "Some people are naturally suited to the Way of the War God; they can attract the Divine Way even if they only kill one person. Others are not suited to it and may not attract the Divine Way even after accumulating dozens of killing auras..."

"I know, I know," Yan Xicai said, waving his hand. "That's why I invited you here... If dozens aren't enough, then absorb a hundred, two hundred! I refuse to believe that I, Yan Xicai, have no connection to the Way of the War God!"

After speaking, he pointed to the three Enforcers who had absorbed the killing aura.

"Quickly use your skill to transfer their killing aura to me."

Pu Wen shook his head. "The number of 'Swallow' characters is limited. It's best to wait until they've accumulated more killing aura before using it; otherwise, the efficiency will be too low."

"...Alright, then let's first find a place with more killing aura projections, and then slowly..."

Boom—!

Before Yan Xicai could finish speaking, the ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled!

Everyone was startled. They saw the clouds dissipate, and a black serpentine ribbon extended from the sword hilt, falling straight towards a nearby point...

Witnessing this scene, Yan Xicai's eyes widened in shock.

"The Way of the War God?" he exclaimed. "How long have we been here? Someone is already about to step onto the Way of the War God?!"

"This shouldn't be..." Pu Wen mused. "Is there really such a genius among this group of Enforcers? Could it be Lu Xuanming?"

"Let's go, let's take a look," Yan Xicai immediately said. "We can't afford to provoke Lu Xuanming, but if it's someone else... that's a different story."

They hurried off, heading towards where the Divine Way descended.

"Number 8, someone has already attracted the Divine Way."

A Flame Usurper spoke immediately, seeing the distant scene.

"I see it," Number 8 said, his gaze following the black ribbon upwards until it finally rested on the dark red gem on the sword hilt. "Is that the Dao Foundation of the Way of the War God..."

"The Dao Foundation is on the hilt? How are we supposed to steal it? Climb up there?"

"We can't," Number 8 shook his head. "The place we are in is just the outermost, smallest area of the Ancient War Treasury. It was chosen as a trial ground for the Aurora Realm precisely because it's simple and harmless. However, the closer one gets to that sword, the more dangerous the areas inside become.

"It is said that in the depths of the Ancient War Treasury, there are several extremely ancient and powerful beings... Let alone us, even the Saint of Thieves wouldn't be able to get near that sword."

"Then how do we steal the Dao Foundation?"

"We can't touch the Dao Foundation directly," Number 8 replied, "but we can wait for the Dao Foundation to extend itself and touch us."

Number 8 raised his hand, pointing to the black ribbon extending from the Dao Foundation. "That is our medium for touching it, and also our only chance to steal the Dao Foundation..."

"To steal the Dao Foundation, we must first attract the Way of the War God," someone mused. "So we also need to gather killing aura like those Enforcers to attract the Dao Foundation's attention?"

"That's the safest method."

As they spoke, they arrived before a larger gully.

In the center of the gully, more than fifty armored soldiers were gathered, lined up facing forward, exuding a chilling killing aura.

Seven Flame Usurpers stood still before the gully, exchanged glances, and nodded slightly.

The next moment, they simultaneously charged into the gully!

Ten-Man Trench.

The black ribbon extended directly above Chen Ling, and an aura of solemn majesty suddenly descended.

"...The Way of the War God?" Chen Ling remembered. When he had attracted the attention of the Way of the War God in the manor, something similar had appeared.

The difference, however, was that the ribbon back then was thicker and more solid, like steps extending down from the sky, whereas this one before him extended from the gem on the hilt of the giant black sword.

"This attracted the Way of the War God?" Chen Ling asked in surprise. "It's that simple?"

Hadn't it been said that even entering the Ancient War Treasury, gaining the recognition of the Way of the War God was extremely difficult?

Hadn't it been said that less than one-tenth of participants in each trial could step onto the Way of the War God?

Chen Ling was a bit bewildered. After all, he had just casually chosen a Ten-Man Trench and cleared it quickly. He never expected to attract the Way of the War God so easily; it had been less than an hour since he entered the Ancient War Treasury.

This Way of the War God... is it really so unreserved?

Why does it come rushing over every time I just casually provoke it?

"So, that's the Dao Foundation of the Way of the War God?" Chen Ling's gaze fell upon the source of the black ribbon, the gem embedded in the sword hilt. He tried to reach out, wanting to touch the gem through the Way of the War God itself.

But before his fingertip could even touch the black ribbon, it suddenly trembled violently!

Then, as if it had seen something terrifying, it rapidly retreated backwards... Chen Ling reached out with one hand, but grasped only empty air.

Chen Ling: ...

He turned to look at the void behind him, where pairs of scarlet eyes gradually faded. The oppressive presence of the "Audience" had directly scared away the Way of the War God, giving him no chance to touch it at all.

Sure enough, even after entering the Ancient War Treasury, the outcome was still the same.

"The Divine Way runs away as soon as it sees me... This is troublesome."

Chen Ling's brows furrowed.

If he couldn't even touch the Divine Way, how could he steal the Dao Foundation?

This way, perhaps he could only snatch it from the Flame Usurpers. It wasn't realistic for him to single-handedly kill six Flame Usurpers; he could only use others to do his bidding. But right now, the Enforcers and the Flame Usurpers weren't interfering with each other. How could he speed things up and make them fight again?

Just as Chen Ling was pondering, a black shadow suddenly fell from the retreating Way of the War God, plummeted through the dim, long sky, and landed precisely in front of Chen Ling.

Thud—

Chen Ling was drawn by the muffled sound. He saw a blood-stained token lying quietly on the ground.

He cast a puzzled glance at the Divine Way, which had retreated back to its Dao Foundation. He stepped forward, picked up the token, and examined it carefully in his hand.

This was a very ancient-looking token. It felt cold to the touch, like some kind of metal. Through the dark, thick bloodstains, he could barely make out two characters beneath. They were not the simplified characters Chen Ling was familiar with, but rather resembled seal script.

Chen Ling couldn't understand seal script, but the first character, from its outline, looked very much like "白" (bai).

Chen Ling immediately thought of Bai Ye, the Saint of Thieves, whom Number 8 had mentioned on the train. But the second character didn't look like "也" (ye) at all, and furthermore, this token had a considerable sense of history; it certainly wasn't a modern product.

Chen Ling stared intently at the mysterious second character, drew and redrew on the ground for a long time, then hesitantly sketched out another simplified character that closely resembled it...

On the grayish-white ground, the two characters came together, forming a name that made Chen Ling's heart tremble—

Bai Qi.