The old man had good reason to try to kill Luo Yunyang. Besides the matter with Mr. Li, he still felt that, while Luo Yunyang was around, the authority of his word would be threatened.
However, he had never expected that, before he could even make a move, that son of a b*tch would actually take the initiative and strike first.
How could this be? Luo Yunyang shouldn't have dared make the first move. He was inferior compared to the old man, both in terms of status and cultivation base.
However, he had already sensed the direction the danger was coming from.
The old man turned his head and waved his arms around confidently. A wave of light shot out in the direction an item was flying straight over from.
Mu Xinghe was a grade-one martial master, so he could use source power to strike from afar. What harm could an insignificant ploy like this inflict on him?
His murky yellow source power quickly blasted the thing trying to launch a sneaky attack. Suddenly, the old man saw the object clearly.
It was a throwing knife!
The old man's lips curled into a sneer. His cultivation base was already so high that flying knives, guns and cannons would have little effect on him.
The only thing that could actually hurt him was source power.
"How is this possible?" Complete disbelief was written all over the old man's face. The throwing knife that he had assumed would be blasted into smithereens had actually swerved in mid-air just before the collision with his source power.
Then, its speed started increasing as it descended frantically towards his neck.
The throwing knife was no longer a throwing knife, but a dazzling white light. When he saw this white light, the old man instinctively shrunk back.
The knife-light collided with the source armor on the old man's body. The armor was cut through as thoroughly as a sheet of paper before the light flickered through the old man's neck.
How is this possible? Suddenly, all the old man could think about was the unbelievably frigid cold coming from the area around his neck.
He had yet to reach this sort of legendary realm, yet now that his neck was severed, only death awaited him.
Just as he got extremely frightened, a thought formed in the old man's mind. He finally understood what had happened.
"He's a telekinesis user! No, a telekinesis master! I actually offended a telekinesis master!"
There was only grief remaining in the old man's thoughts. I might not have liked you, but I would still have watched my words and actions and treaded carefully before doing anything. If you had said that you were a telekinesis master earlier, I wouldn't have offended you, no matter how displeased I was!
Mu Xinghe's mind suddenly froze during these last thoughts. Researcher Qin and many of the other soldiers thought that he must have been struck by invisible spears while he had been trying to save Luo Yunyang.
Luo Yunyang's knife had been really fast after all.
Plus, Luo Yunyang had been using his mind power to control the knife, so the direction it flew from had deceived most of them.
"Venerable Mu!" Researcher Qin shouted in alarm.
There was a heavy atmosphere among the other soldiers. Although the majority of them didn't really like Venerable Mu, he had still been the strongest man in their party, so he had been considered someone that the soldiers could rely on.
However, this formidable man seemed to have just taken his last breath in front of everyone. If that was the case, then would there be any other way of making it through what lay ahead?
Luo Yunyang was standing a short distance away on the public square, gasping for air. He wasn't pretending this time. He had really exhausted most of his mind power a few moments ago.
Breaking through a grade-one martial master's armor and beheading a grade-one martial master in the fastest way possible might have sounded simple, but it was actually extremely difficult.
Only after he had taken a few deep breaths did his head start feeling a little better. Although his 150-point Mind Attribute was very powerful, the wear and tear on his body was just as strong.
Luo Yunyang adjusted his Mind Attribute to 10 and raised his Constitution to 100. When this was done, he immediately felt much better.
"What do we do now, Researcher Qin?"
"This place is really dangerous. I think we should turn around and head back!"
"Yeah, if Venerable Mu is dead, what could people like us even do? I think we should turn back and ask the experts to help instead!" Several soldiers felt a lingering fear, which caused a noisy discussion to break out.
Although the soldiers didn't fear death, they didn't want to throw away their lives blindly. Not when they knew that death was the only possible outcome in this particular situation.
"No, we must keep going. The previous research team is still waiting for us!" Researcher Qin said firmly, wiping tears away from her eyes.
"I know that some of you are afraid, but we must do this for the sake of the Da Alliance!" Researcher Qin clutched her fists as she said this. "Got it? We don't have much time, so we definitely have to make the most of the opportunity we have been given."
"If we had the ability to keep going, we wouldn't even have flinched, Researcher Qin. We would have just charged ahead without hesitation. You have seen for yourselves the current situation, though. Even if we all put our lives on the line, it would still be very difficult to make it through." Xiong Ben's voice sounded cold and detached.
"That's right! We can't just throw our lives away!" someone chimed in.
Researcher Qin felt completely powerless as she looked at Xiong Ben and the other soldiers, who were all voicing their dissent. She had been pampered since birth and become a researcher at a very young age. Her position was actually the equivalent of a general in the army.
She was so valuable that people said that, if an even greater catastrophe occurred, researchers like her would be of a much greater use than generals.
Researcher Qin normally thought very highly of herself, but at this very moment, she actually felt the difference between a researcher and a general.
She couldn't give up now, though. She wasn't resigned to doing so!
"Aren't you all soldiers of the Alliance? If you really want to retreat, then go ahead. Even if I am the only one left, I will still go over there."
As she spoke, Researcher Qin strutted resolutely towards the platform as proudly as a white swan.
"Alright, all of you shut up! Researcher Qin is right. We are all soldiers of the Alliance, so nobody is allowed to retreat before our mission is accomplished!" Luo Yunyang's figure appeared beside Researcher Qin.
He gazed at the faces of Xiong Ben and the others as he said resolutely, "I know you aren't convinced by what I just said, but I shall convince all of you right now!"
"The only reason Venerable Mu died was to save me. I, Luo Yunyang, will never forget his kindness as long as I live!" Luo Yunyang added impassionately as he glanced at Researcher Qin. "I will help him finish the mission that he was unable to see through! I will realize that old miser's final wish! I will not let him die in vain!"
As he said all this, Luo Yunyang felt a secret delight. He suddenly realized that he could easily have become an actor.
Most people were unable to utter such shameless words so passionately.
Of course, the reason he had put on this performance was to completely get rid of any suspicion that he had murdered Mu Xinghe.
Although he still didn't know Mu Xinghe's status, it was better to let others think that he had lost his life trying to save Luo Yunyang rather than that he had gotten murdered by him.
Researcher Qin stared at Luo Yunyang's youthful, somewhat tender face. There seemed to be some kind of maturity there. The heavy burden she felt in her heart suddenly felt lighter. She felt grateful to Luo Yunyang for relieving her of that burden.
She was grateful that this young man had lent her a helping hand during this crucial moment. Just look at his resolute attitude and irrefutable words! Researcher Qin grinned as tears started falling down her face unconsciously. She used her hands to wipe away the tears. The fact that this young man had stepped forward so bravely had warmed her heart!
"Now that Brother Yunyang has put it this way, the Green Dragon Squad has nothing more to say. Worse comes to worst, we will greet death with open arms!" Lu Tiefeng declared loudly.
Xiong Ben glanced at Luo Yunyang as he chortled. "We will walk with you, our great hero!"
Now that they had a leader, the morale of the soldiers had improved. For a brief moment, their morale felt like a glowing rainbow.
Luo Yunyang once again expressed his desire to fulfill Venerable Mu's mission and start to scout the paths again. His and Mu Xinghe's original plan had been to succeed through failure. They had already scouted two paths, so there were 15 paths left to explore.
When he was one-third of the way in, Luo Yunyang encountered a large pit. He had already discovered it earlier, so he just backed away quickly and avoided the trap the moment that it appeared.
There were all sorts of traps and dangers along the paths that he followed, but each time, Luo Yunyang was able to detect them beforehand and bypass them one by one.
"Damn, this is really dangerous. If I were him, I would have been a decaying corpse by now."
"Yeah, there are thousands of hidden traps. The fella that designed this square must have been really capable. Luo Yunyang is really lucky!"
"Lucky? What do you mean? This is clearly a result of his strength."
Once, twice, thrice…
By the 10th time this happened, everyone was watching Luo Yunyang calmly. They weren't worried about him, as they had already gotten used to his power by now.
Every time there was a danger, Luo Yunyang would evade it by the smallest of margins.
"This fellow is insanely lucky. I think that he might be the illegitimate son of the God of Luck!" Zhang Hu lamented as he looked at Luo Yunyang with glowing eyes.
———
No danger, no danger… Just like before, there was no danger ahead anymore.
When Luo Yunyang managed to reach the huge palace, the reserved Researcher Qin and the other soldiers all cheered jubilantly at the same time.
Xiong Ben and the others, who were all crack troops of the Da Alliance's various armies, hadn't wanted to be labelled as deserters. Now that all the dangers had finally been eliminated, they could all see the hope of continuing onwards.
Luo Yunyang followed his original path as he walked back slowly. Suddenly, Researcher Qin threw herself at him.
Luo Yunyang froze up. He unexpectedly felt the two arms on his body actually lift him up in the air and twirl him around a couple of times.
"Once more!"
"The princess' hugs are the best!"
Everyone's rowdy jeering made Luo Yunyang feel a little foolish. Luo Yunyang unconsciously sensed a very nice smell coming from Researcher Qin's body. It was a faint, light fragrance as intoxicating as the scent of a pomelo.
Researcher Qin's surprising move had caught Luo Yunyang off guard. Her two delicate-looking arms were actually full of strength. As they clutched onto Luo Yunyang's waist tightly, Luo Yunyang felt unable to breathe. He opened his mouth wide and gasped with great difficulty. Before he could even manage to see anything, he heard Researcher Qin whisper in his ear, "You really are remarkably heavy."
When he heard her, Luo Yunyang felt like smashing a table. What was this about? I didn't even want you to hug me, alright?
"Luo Yunyang has discovered a safe path. Everyone follow me. Make sure to not take a single wrong step. You have to remember that you aren't just responsible for your own lives right now, but for your comrades' lives as well."
Researcher Qin took a deep breath before she said loudly, "Move out!"
The old man had good reason to try to kill Luo Yunyang. Besides the matter with Mr. Li, he still felt that, while Luo Yunyang was around, the authority of his word would be threatened.
However, he had never expected that, before he could even make a move, that son of a b*tch would actually take the initiative and strike first.
How could this be? Luo Yunyang shouldn't have dared make the first move. He was inferior compared to the old man, both in terms of status and cultivation base.
However, he had already sensed the direction the danger was coming from.
The old man turned his head and waved his arms around confidently. A wave of light shot out in the direction an item was flying straight over from.
Mu Xinghe was a grade-one martial master, so he could use source power to strike from afar. What harm could an insignificant ploy like this inflict on him?
His murky yellow source power quickly blasted the thing trying to launch a sneaky attack. Suddenly, the old man saw the object clearly.
It was a throwing knife!
The old man's lips curled into a sneer. His cultivation base was already so high that flying knives, guns and cannons would have little effect on him.
The only thing that could actually hurt him was source power.
"How is this possible?" Complete disbelief was written all over the old man's face. The throwing knife that he had assumed would be blasted into smithereens had actually swerved in mid-air just before the collision with his source power.
Then, its speed started increasing as it descended frantically towards his neck.
The throwing knife was no longer a throwing knife, but a dazzling white light. When he saw this white light, the old man instinctively shrunk back.
The knife-light collided with the source armor on the old man's body. The armor was cut through as thoroughly as a sheet of paper before the light flickered through the old man's neck.
How is this possible? Suddenly, all the old man could think about was the unbelievably frigid cold coming from the area around his neck.
He had yet to reach this sort of legendary realm, yet now that his neck was severed, only death awaited him.
Just as he got extremely frightened, a thought formed in the old man's mind. He finally understood what had happened.
"He's a telekinesis user! No, a telekinesis master! I actually offended a telekinesis master!"
There was only grief remaining in the old man's thoughts. I might not have liked you, but I would still have watched my words and actions and treaded carefully before doing anything. If you had said that you were a telekinesis master earlier, I wouldn't have offended you, no matter how displeased I was!
Mu Xinghe's mind suddenly froze during these last thoughts. Researcher Qin and many of the other soldiers thought that he must have been struck by invisible spears while he had been trying to save Luo Yunyang.
Luo Yunyang's knife had been really fast after all.
Plus, Luo Yunyang had been using his mind power to control the knife, so the direction it flew from had deceived most of them.
"Venerable Mu!" Researcher Qin shouted in alarm.
There was a heavy atmosphere among the other soldiers. Although the majority of them didn't really like Venerable Mu, he had still been the strongest man in their party, so he had been considered someone that the soldiers could rely on.
However, this formidable man seemed to have just taken his last breath in front of everyone. If that was the case, then would there be any other way of making it through what lay ahead?
Luo Yunyang was standing a short distance away on the public square, gasping for air. He wasn't pretending this time. He had really exhausted most of his mind power a few moments ago.
Breaking through a grade-one martial master's armor and beheading a grade-one martial master in the fastest way possible might have sounded simple, but it was actually extremely difficult.
Only after he had taken a few deep breaths did his head start feeling a little better. Although his 150-point Mind Attribute was very powerful, the wear and tear on his body was just as strong.
Luo Yunyang adjusted his Mind Attribute to 10 and raised his Constitution to 100. When this was done, he immediately felt much better.
"What do we do now, Researcher Qin?"
"This place is really dangerous. I think we should turn around and head back!"
"Yeah, if Venerable Mu is dead, what could people like us even do? I think we should turn back and ask the experts to help instead!" Several soldiers felt a lingering fear, which caused a noisy discussion to break out.
Although the soldiers didn't fear death, they didn't want to throw away their lives blindly. Not when they knew that death was the only possible outcome in this particular situation.
"No, we must keep going. The previous research team is still waiting for us!" Researcher Qin said firmly, wiping tears away from her eyes.
"I know that some of you are afraid, but we must do this for the sake of the Da Alliance!" Researcher Qin clutched her fists as she said this. "Got it? We don't have much time, so we definitely have to make the most of the opportunity we have been given."
"If we had the ability to keep going, we wouldn't even have flinched, Researcher Qin. We would have just charged ahead without hesitation. You have seen for yourselves the current situation, though. Even if we all put our lives on the line, it would still be very difficult to make it through." Xiong Ben's voice sounded cold and detached.
"That's right! We can't just throw our lives away!" someone chimed in.
Researcher Qin felt completely powerless as she looked at Xiong Ben and the other soldiers, who were all voicing their dissent. She had been pampered since birth and become a researcher at a very young age. Her position was actually the equivalent of a general in the army.
She was so valuable that people said that, if an even greater catastrophe occurred, researchers like her would be of a much greater use than generals.
Researcher Qin normally thought very highly of herself, but at this very moment, she actually felt the difference between a researcher and a general.
She couldn't give up now, though. She wasn't resigned to doing so!
"Aren't you all soldiers of the Alliance? If you really want to retreat, then go ahead. Even if I am the only one left, I will still go over there."
As she spoke, Researcher Qin strutted resolutely towards the platform as proudly as a white swan.
"Alright, all of you shut up! Researcher Qin is right. We are all soldiers of the Alliance, so nobody is allowed to retreat before our mission is accomplished!" Luo Yunyang's figure appeared beside Researcher Qin.
He gazed at the faces of Xiong Ben and the others as he said resolutely, "I know you aren't convinced by what I just said, but I shall convince all of you right now!"
"The only reason Venerable Mu died was to save me. I, Luo Yunyang, will never forget his kindness as long as I live!" Luo Yunyang added impassionately as he glanced at Researcher Qin. "I will help him finish the mission that he was unable to see through! I will realize that old miser's final wish! I will not let him die in vain!"
As he said all this, Luo Yunyang felt a secret delight. He suddenly realized that he could easily have become an actor.
Most people were unable to utter such shameless words so passionately.
Of course, the reason he had put on this performance was to completely get rid of any suspicion that he had murdered Mu Xinghe.
Although he still didn't know Mu Xinghe's status, it was better to let others think that he had lost his life trying to save Luo Yunyang rather than that he had gotten murdered by him.
Researcher Qin stared at Luo Yunyang's youthful, somewhat tender face. There seemed to be some kind of maturity there. The heavy burden she felt in her heart suddenly felt lighter. She felt grateful to Luo Yunyang for relieving her of that burden.
She was grateful that this young man had lent her a helping hand during this crucial moment. Just look at his resolute attitude and irrefutable words! Researcher Qin grinned as tears started falling down her face unconsciously. She used her hands to wipe away the tears. The fact that this young man had stepped forward so bravely had warmed her heart!
"Now that Brother Yunyang has put it this way, the Green Dragon Squad has nothing more to say. Worse comes to worst, we will greet death with open arms!" Lu Tiefeng declared loudly.
Xiong Ben glanced at Luo Yunyang as he chortled. "We will walk with you, our great hero!"
Now that they had a leader, the morale of the soldiers had improved. For a brief moment, their morale felt like a glowing rainbow.
Luo Yunyang once again expressed his desire to fulfill Venerable Mu's mission and start to scout the paths again. His and Mu Xinghe's original plan had been to succeed through failure. They had already scouted two paths, so there were 15 paths left to explore.
When he was one-third of the way in, Luo Yunyang encountered a large pit. He had already discovered it earlier, so he just backed away quickly and avoided the trap the moment that it appeared.
There were all sorts of traps and dangers along the paths that he followed, but each time, Luo Yunyang was able to detect them beforehand and bypass them one by one.
"Damn, this is really dangerous. If I were him, I would have been a decaying corpse by now."
"Yeah, there are thousands of hidden traps. The fella that designed this square must have been really capable. Luo Yunyang is really lucky!"
"Lucky? What do you mean? This is clearly a result of his strength."
Once, twice, thrice…
By the 10th time this happened, everyone was watching Luo Yunyang calmly. They weren't worried about him, as they had already gotten used to his power by now.
Every time there was a danger, Luo Yunyang would evade it by the smallest of margins.
"This fellow is insanely lucky. I think that he might be the illegitimate son of the God of Luck!" Zhang Hu lamented as he looked at Luo Yunyang with glowing eyes.
———
No danger, no danger… Just like before, there was no danger ahead anymore.
When Luo Yunyang managed to reach the huge palace, the reserved Researcher Qin and the other soldiers all cheered jubilantly at the same time.
Xiong Ben and the others, who were all crack troops of the Da Alliance's various armies, hadn't wanted to be labelled as deserters. Now that all the dangers had finally been eliminated, they could all see the hope of continuing onwards.
Luo Yunyang followed his original path as he walked back slowly. Suddenly, Researcher Qin threw herself at him.
Luo Yunyang froze up. He unexpectedly felt the two arms on his body actually lift him up in the air and twirl him around a couple of times.
"Once more!"
"The princess' hugs are the best!"
Everyone's rowdy jeering made Luo Yunyang feel a little foolish. Luo Yunyang unconsciously sensed a very nice smell coming from Researcher Qin's body. It was a faint, light fragrance as intoxicating as the scent of a pomelo.
Researcher Qin's surprising move had caught Luo Yunyang off guard. Her two delicate-looking arms were actually full of strength. As they clutched onto Luo Yunyang's waist tightly, Luo Yunyang felt unable to breathe. He opened his mouth wide and gasped with great difficulty. Before he could even manage to see anything, he heard Researcher Qin whisper in his ear, "You really are remarkably heavy."
When he heard her, Luo Yunyang felt like smashing a table. What was this about? I didn't even want you to hug me, alright?
"Luo Yunyang has discovered a safe path. Everyone follow me. Make sure to not take a single wrong step. You have to remember that you aren't just responsible for your own lives right now, but for your comrades' lives as well."
Researcher Qin took a deep breath before she said loudly, "Move out!"
