"You... You're a human!"

Ma Ming was fuming with rage, but also filled with astonishment.

Just like Yang Li and the others, he could hardly believe that there was also a strong warrior in the fourth realm among humans.

"In front of me, you insulted my race. I wish I could slice you into a thousand pieces!"

Xiao Mu expressed extreme anger.

No matter what, the priority was to seize the moral high ground.

After all, he was the first to take action, and moreover, the location was the Alliance's headquarters, so he needed to show some restraint.

However, he wasn't afraid.

From the stone sword, he had already gained quite an understanding of the Alliance's structure.

Even the Beast King, the strongest of the Beast Race, couldn't cover up the sky with one hand. Above him, there was the Human Emperor and the Divine Phoenix woman whose strength was in no way inferior to the Beast King.

Both the Human Emperor and the Divine Phoenix woman stood on the side of humans.

Therefore, Xiao Mu dared to make a move on Ma Ming.

Even if questioned by powerful beings, he could defend himself by saying that Ma Ming had insulted him hence he reacted out of indignation.

"You..."

Ma Ming was evidently aware of this too, staring at Xiao Mu furiously, for the moment unable to refute him.

Moreover, from the force Xiao Mu had just exerted, he also realized that Xiao Mu's strength was not low; if it came to a fight, he might not have the upper hand.

He glared hatefully at Xiao Mu, "Human, sooner or later you will pay for your actions today. Follow me!"

Having said that, he yanked the rope forcefully, and the two human maids' necks were strangled, immediately causing them to cry out in pain.

Seeing Ma Ming's hateful departure, Xiao Mu almost couldn't help but want to kill the other party on the spot.

However, he quickly calmed down.

Ma Ming must be removed, but not now. He should gather more information first.

Pity for the two human maids, they might not survive the night.

The humiliation that Ma Ming felt from him would surely be inflicted on them.

"You two stay in the house and don't go out. I'm going out to find out a bit of information."

After Ma Ming left, Xiao Mu instructed the two maids.

This place was the headquarters of the Alliance after all. Staying in the room was relatively safe, no one dared to cause trouble in someone else's room, or they would be punished.

Some of the rules of the Alliance still worked.

"Mr. Xiao, please be careful."

The two maids told Xiao Mu with trembling fear.

They were now tied to Xiao Mu's fate; if something happened to Xiao Mu, they definitely would not fare well either, so the two women unconsciously worried about Xiao Mu's safety.

Xiao Mu left the villa, casually closed the door, and headed towards the second district.

The second district was the living area of the mid-stage fourth realm strong warriors. The biggest difference from the first district was that it had a courtyard.

With a courtyard, one can arrange Arrays to prevent others from entering.

At number forty-nine, Xiao Mu found the stone sword and narrated the events that had just transpired.

"Ma Ming!"

Silently listening to Xiao Mu's narrative, the sword in the stone couldn't help but frown slightly, "Mr. Xiao, why did you have a conflict with him? This could be a bit troublesome."

Xiao Mu replied nonchalantly, "Is Ma Ming very powerful?"

Sword in the stone laughed disdainfully at his words, "Powerful? What's he worth? However, he has a friend who is as close as a brother to him, Niu Mang, who has attained Dao. His current strength has reached the peak of the mid-stage of the fourth realm, and he is about to break through to the late stage. This guy is hard to deal with."

"Oh!"

Xiao Mu's heart tightened slightly, "Is Niu Mang also on Broken Truth Mountain?"

Things did indeed seem troublesome. He hadn't yet encountered a mid-stage Fourth Realm powerhouse. If it came to a fight, he would most likely lose.

Stone Sword shook his head, "Not exactly. Unlike Ma Ming, Niu Mang still has ambitious aspirations. He chose to stay and protect a region in the human world instead of staying on the mountain."

Zhu Zhu had once told Xiao Mu that there were various choices for a Fourth Realm powerhouse: one choice was to choose to spend the rest of their days on a mountain, where they only needed to complete regular tasks. Another choice was to work for the Alliance long-term, either maintaining protection over a certain region or performing temporary tasks.

Ma Ming had clearly chosen the first option, while Niu Mang had chosen the first of the second option.

Xiao Mu felt relieved as he heard this.

He knew the rules of the Alliance. Those protecting a territory cannot arbitrarily go back to the mountain hideout. If he returns without a valid reason, he would even be punished.

By the time Niu Mang could come back to the mountain, he might have advanced to the mid-stage of the Fourth Realm.

He was full of confidence that he would not fear anyone as long as they were at the same Realm.

Stone Sword seemingly guessed what Xiao Mu was thinking, he sighed, "The problem would be if Ma Ming, after losing to you, decided to go off the mountain to find Niu Mang."

"To my knowledge, Niu Mang was a prodigious individual as a Daoist Qing Niu. Especially his natal treasure, Tong Ling Demon Fork, is a priceless middle-grade artifact. Pouring power into it, a single jab would be enough to collapse a hill. Do not underestimate this power. While Ma Ming isn't anything to fear, if he goes to borrow this treasure from Niu Mang for revenge, it may be problematic."

"Oh!"

A glint of cold flashed in Xiao Mu's eyes, as he appeared deep in thought.

A middle-grade artifact was indeed powerful, something he was wary of.

Take note that the Yin Wind Carriage he had captured was but a low-grade artifact and a supportive one at that, but even so, it was enough for Ghost Servant to use even now without being outdated.

By the looks of it, it seemed that it could be used until the end of the Fourth Realm.

"Hehe, I know what to do now, thank you for sharing this information Brother Stone," Hitting an epiphany, Xiao Mu abruptly chuckled and rose to his feet to thank Stone Sword.

"Oh!"

Stone Sword looked slightly taken aback and asked, "Mr. Xiao, what do you plan on doing? Never mind, I won't ask. Judging by your expression, you already have a plan. However, remember not to start any conflicts in the Alliance headquarters."

Obviously, he had guessed something and reminded Xiao Mu offhand.

Xiao Mu bid him farewell and returned to his residence. Immediately, he instructed his two maids to closely monitor any changes on Ma Ming's end and to report to him immediately if anything happened.

Wang Ruoluan and Zhou Ying respectfully agreed, taking turns to keep watch by the window, keeping a close eye on any movements from Ma Ming's end.

The first thing Xiao Mu did the next morning was head to the hall to accept a task.

Those who were on duty in the hall were still Yang Li and others. They didn't dare to trouble him, but their gazes were somewhat hostile.

Zhu Zhu turned on the computer to let Xiao Mu select a task.

Xiao Mu started from the top.

"Guard Qingling City, reward of twenty energy fruits per month..."

"Search for and subdue the rogue corpse general in Baoyue City, reward of twenty energy fruits..."

...

The reward for the earlier tasks was small. Xiao Mu continued to scroll down, the further down he scrolled, the harder the tasks got and the higher the rewards.

Before long, a particular task drew Xiao Mu's attention.

"Investigate the Earth Seal disappearance event in March City and retrieve the Earth Seal. Reward: Half a Breaking Realm Pill."

"Breaking Realm Pill?"

Xiao Mu was instantly attracted by this task.

After entering the Fourth Realm, advancing to the next level, even if it's from the early stage to the mid-stage, or the mid-stage to the late stage, has become highly challenging. Unlike before, in the Third Realm and prior, where anyone could break through instantly once their power was sufficient, there's now a tough phase of breakthrough.

With the right methods, enough power, and the right opportunity, perhaps breakthrough could be achieved in one go.

However, if the method was wrong, power was insufficient and there were no right opportunities, one might never be able to break through in a lifetime.

This is why the Alliance had so many beginning stage Fourth Realm Mutated Beings. Many of them had the necessary strength, yet they were never able to break through.

The Breaking Realm Pill was similar to the Boundary Breaking Pill Xiao Mu used when breaking through from the Third Realm to the Fourth Realm. With such a medicinal object to assist, breaking through realms becomes as natural as eating or drinking water.

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