The middle-aged man’s words left everyone in the field dumbfounded!
Damn it!
Whether the Dao Boundary was hospitable or not entirely depended on your strength!
Ye Xuan was stunned too.
He’d thought this guy would relentlessly try to kill him!
Turns out, no!
This wasn’t following the script at all!
At that moment, the middle-aged man looked at Ye Xuan and smiled. “Little brother, interested in coming to our Dao Boundary?”
Ye Xuan hesitated. “How should I address you?”
The man replied, “Zhongshan King!”
Ye Xuan frowned slightly. “Zhongshan King?”
The man nodded. “I’m the Zhongshan King of the Dao Nation—Dao Nation. Ever heard of it? Oh, of course you haven’t, but no worries—I can explain. Our place is called the Dao Boundary, and our Dao Nation is named after it… Got it now?”
The crowd: “…”
Zhongshan King looked at Ye Xuan and smiled. “Little brother, this world is too limited, and its martial civilization is too low—hardly a place for growth. How about coming with me to the Dao Boundary?”
He glanced at Gu Chou. “You can come too!”
Gu Chou hesitated, then asked, “All of us can go?”
Zhongshan King shook his head. “I can only take three people!”
Three people!
The crowd’s expressions turned odd.
Was this guy here just to handpick people?
Gu Chou looked at Ye Xuan. “You going?”
Ye Xuan turned to Zhongshan King. “Can we choose not to go?”
Zhongshan King smiled. “Of course! But I should warn you—you killed that old man earlier… Do you know who he was? He’s from the Dao Enforcement Sect. It won’t be long before they come, and when they do, they won’t be as reasonable as I am!”
Gu Chou was shocked. “Wait, you’re not with them?”
Zhongshan King said seriously, “Of course not!”
The crowd: “…”
So this guy wasn’t even allied with that old man!
Ye Xuan hesitated, then asked, “Senior, what would you take us to the Dao Boundary for?”
Zhongshan King laughed. “I think we’re wasting time here! I’ve got to remind you—half a quarter-hour from now, the Enforcement Sect will arrive. When that happens, you’ll be facing multiple super powerhouses!”
Gu Chou’s face darkened at that.
Zhongshan King looked at Ye Xuan. “Especially you. If they find out you killed their guy, they won’t let you off! But if you come with me to the Dao Boundary, I can smooth this over for you!”
Ye Xuan and Gu Chou exchanged a glance. Gu Chou said gravely, “I’ll go!”
Zhongshan King turned to Ye Xuan. “And you?”
Ye Xuan gave a bitter smile. “Do I have another choice?”
Zhongshan King grinned. “Doesn’t seem like it!”
At that moment, Fan Jian spoke up. “Your Excellency, don’t you have one more spot?”
Zhongshan King sized her up. “You want to go?”
Fan Jian nodded.
Zhongshan King smiled. “Give me a reason!”
Fan Jian glanced at Gu Chou and Ye Xuan. “Why’d you pick them?”
Zhongshan King pointed at Gu Chou. “Because he’s a rare genius. With a little guidance from me, he could become a super talent for the Dao Nation!”
Fan Jian pointed at Ye Xuan. “And him?”
Zhongshan King glanced at Ye Xuan and chuckled. “He’s got someone behind him! If you’ve got someone backing you, you can come too!”
The crowd: “…”
Fan Jian’s expression grew awkward.
Then, a Fate-Knowing Sage behind her spoke up. “Your Excellency, if you had to pick just one of them, who’d it be?”
Gu Chou?
Ye Xuan?
All eyes turned to Zhongshan King.
Suddenly, he waved his right hand.
*Boom!*
The sage who’d spoken was instantly erased!
Zhongshan King laughed. “What a piece of trash—zero strength, yet daring to stir trouble in front of this king. Unbelievable!”
The remaining sages behind Fan Jian didn’t dare utter another word!
Zhongshan King looked at Ye Xuan and Gu Chou and smiled. “Time’s running out! Let’s go!”
Gu Chou turned to the Evil Clan members. “From this moment, Gu Bo will take over as clan leader!”
The Evil Clan members wanted to protest, but Gu Chou cut in, “This is my choice. Don’t worry—I’ll come back!”
The Evil Clan members exchanged glances, then knelt in unison. “We bid farewell to the clan leader!”
They knew this was a life-changing opportunity for Gu Chou!
And if Gu Chou’s fate changed, so would the Evil Clan’s!
It was a great thing!
Gu Chou nodded slightly, then turned to Zhongshan King. “Let’s go!”
Zhongshan King smiled. “Good!”
With that, he led Ye Xuan and Gu Chou toward the sky.
Watching them leave, Fan Jian and the others’ faces sank, lost in thought.
Xue Linglong stared at Ye Xuan in the sky, just watching…
…
After entering the stone gate, the three began swiftly traversing space.
Ye Xuan suddenly asked, “Senior, why did you kill the Snow Mountain King?”
Zhongshan King smiled. “That guy was too arrogant and full of himself. Keeping him around was pointless!”
Gu Chou said, “People with some ability tend to have a bit of pride!”
Zhongshan King smiled faintly. “You’re right, but in our eyes, he didn’t really have much ability!”
Gu Chou gave a wry smile. “I think he was better than me!”
Zhongshan King shook his head. “Not necessarily. He cultivated far longer than you. If you were from the same era, you wouldn’t lose to him! Plus, your character’s better!”
Ye Xuan suddenly said, “What about me?”
Zhongshan King glanced at him. “You’re a mystery—I can’t see through you.”
Ye Xuan asked, “Then why bring me to the Dao Boundary?”
Zhongshan King laughed. “Let’s call it forming a good connection!”
Ye Xuan was about to speak when three powerful, terrifying auras suddenly emerged in the distance!
Seeing this, Zhongshan King quickly said, “You two—don’t say a word later. I’ll handle it!”
As soon as he finished, three black-robed elders appeared before them.
The lead elder looked at Zhongshan King. “So it’s Zhongshan King!”
Zhongshan King smiled. “And it’s Elder Gu Yi from the Enforcement Sect!”
The elder named Gu Yi glanced at Gu Chou and Ye Xuan, then asked, “Zhongshan King, who are these two?”
Zhongshan King laughed. “You mentioning that reminds me—you three are heading down below, right?”
Gu Yi nodded. “One of our people died down there! The three of us…”
Zhongshan King cut in, “I’ve already killed the culprit!”
Gu Yi looked at him. “You killed them?”
Zhongshan King nodded. “It was that so-called Snow Mountain King. You should know him too—arrogant enough to claim he’d take resources from our Dao Boundary. Truly courting death!”
With that, he opened his palm and wiped it lightly. An image appeared before them.
It was the scene of him killing the Snow Mountain King—though without sound!
Seeing Zhongshan King slay the Snow Mountain King, Gu Yi and the other two exchanged glances. Finally, Gu Yi said gravely, “Was it really this Snow Mountain King who killed our man?”
Zhongshan King nodded. “Yes!”
He sighed softly. “It’s a pity I arrived too late! Otherwise, I could’ve saved your guy!”
Gu Yi glanced at Ye Xuan and Gu Chou. “And these two are…?”
Zhongshan King smiled. “Two interesting little guys with decent potential. You know how the Dao Nation’s been short on talent lately! So, I had no choice…”
Gu Yi nodded slightly. “Understood!”
Zhongshan King hesitated, then smiled. “So… since I avenged your guy… shouldn’t you show some gratitude?”
Ye Xuan and Gu Chou’s expressions turned odd.
Damn it!
What’s with this guy?
Gu Yi and the other two looked just as strange. Gu Yi hesitated, then said, “Zhongshan King… you…”
Zhongshan King laughed. “Not much—just ten divine veins. That’s not too much, right?”
Gu Yi’s face changed. “Zhongshan King, you’re really opening your mouth wide! Killing some guy from below for ten divine veins? Why don’t you just rob us? You…”
Zhongshan King said, “Fine, five then!”
Gu Yi snapped, “Impossible! Zhongshan King, we didn’t ask you to kill anyone—you did that on your own!”
Zhongshan King was about to argue, but Gu Yi waved his sleeve. “Farewell!”
With that, he and the other two turned and vanished at the horizon’s edge.
Zhongshan King stared into the distance, silent.
Gu Chou asked, “Senior, still worried?”
Zhongshan King murmured, “That old guy kept glancing at you two earlier…”
He turned to Ye Xuan. “Little guy, I might not be able to protect you. They’ll definitely investigate below, and when they find out you killed that old man, it’ll come out!”
Ye Xuan stayed quiet.
Zhongshan King said, “You need to leave!”
Ye Xuan gave a bitter laugh. “To where?”
Zhongshan King said gravely, “The only force that doesn’t fear the Enforcement Sect is Spirit Mountain. You need to go there. If you can join Spirit Mountain and they’re willing to protect you, you’ll be fine!”
Ye Xuan frowned. “Spirit Mountain?”
Zhongshan King nodded and handed him a letter. “I know an elder there named Yan Banshan. Find her and try to become her disciple. If you can get under her wing, you won’t have to fear the Enforcement Sect!”
Ye Xuan was about to speak when Zhongshan King suddenly said, “Little brother, we’re off!”
With that, he vanished with Gu Chou!
Left alone, Ye Xuan stood there, dumbfounded.
…
On the other side, Gu Chou said gravely, “Senior, why…?”
Zhongshan King sighed softly. “It’s not that I don’t want to protect him—I can’t! Your brother’s no ordinary guy, especially that sword of his. It doesn’t just surpass your world below—it surpasses our Dao Boundary too!”
He glanced back and murmured, “I’d love to latch onto his thigh, but I’ve got too many people behind me. I can’t gamble with their lives… Let him go wreak havoc on Spirit Mountain instead!”
…
