As Wang Qi's longsword fell, a dazzling expanse of stars filled the vision of Wang Zhan and the others. To see the stars of the night sky in broad daylight—what a bizarre scene.

"The Dream Shadow Sword Technique is a martial arts technique that utilizes mental energy and the surrounding Spiritual Energy. Even among earth-level martial arts, it's considered exceptionally powerful," Zhou Yi continued to explain.

"Mental energy?" This was the first time Wang Zhan had heard this term.

"When a Martial Artist breaks through to become a Warrior, besides physical strength and Essence Energy, mental energy is also indispensable," Zhou Yi said. "It's too early for you to know this now. When you reach level 7, your mentor will explain it to you."

Hearing this, Wang Zhan could only suppress his curiosity for the time being and focus on watching Wang Qi's performance.

The Mammoth Beast was already enveloped by the starry expanse. Within that unique darkness, sword light flickered intermittently, accompanied by the Mammoth Beast's pained screams, creating an exceptionally eerie scene.

Thankfully, this strange scene didn't last long. The darkness dissipated in just over ten seconds.

The Mammoth Beast was lying on the ground, not yet dead, but clearly on the brink of death. Wang Qi, on the other hand, was panting heavily as she sat atop the Mammoth Beast. The surrounding Pool had returned to its original swampy state due to the Mammoth Beast's defeat.

"Sister Qi!" Yue Xinyue was the first to run out. With a few light leaps, she reached Wang Qi's side and helped her back to Wang Zhan and the others.

Only now, up close, did Wang Zhan realize Wang Qi was covered in numerous small wounds. They didn't look fatal, but their sheer quantity was shocking.

"Sis, didn't you say you weren't hurt? What happened?"

"This is the consequence of using mental energy before becoming a Warrior." Wang Qi's voice was weak. She let Yue Xinyue tend to her wounds as she explained, "Mental energy can cause the Essence Energy within the body to go berserk. These injuries were all caused by my own Essence Energy raging within my meridians."

Wang Qi shook her head slightly. "I'm still too weak. The Mammoth Beast's defense is too high. Without using the Dream Shadow Sword Technique, I simply can't kill it. It might have seemed like I had the upper hand just now, but I was far from truly winning."

Seeing Wang Zhan's worried expression, Wang Qi was suddenly at a loss for words. For years, she had been fighting on her own. She had endured so much hardship and pain that she had grown accustomed to it, but facing Wang Zhan in her current state felt rather awkward.

"What's there to look at? It's just a few superficial wounds," Wang Qi muttered, turning her face away. She didn't want her image to collapse in front of her younger brother. She had always maintained a strong front before Wang Zhan; when had she ever appeared so weak?

Before Wang Zhan could speak, Yue Xinyue said with a dissatisfied look, "So, Essence Energy going berserk inside your body is just a superficial wound? I've learned something new today."

"Shut up!" Wang Qi glared fiercely at Yue Xinyue.

Just then, Zhou Yi's expression suddenly darkened.

"Friend, that's not very proper, is it?!"

Zhou Yi's voice immediately caught everyone's attention. As they followed his gaze, they saw a woman in a martial suit had appeared beside the Mammoth Beast's corpse.

This woman, her face masked, completely ignored the group. She casually reached out, ripped open the Mammoth Beast's head, took the level 8 beast core, and then turned to leave.

"Stop!" Zhou Yi shouted. His body flickered into an afterimage, and in the next instant, he appeared behind the woman in the martial suit. "Snatching someone else's spoils of war without a word isn't a good habit."

"Scram!" the woman in the martial suit said curtly. With a light tap of her foot, she leaped up, her body drawing a perfect arc in mid-air to evade Zhou Yi's attack. Then, she nonchalantly kicked Zhou Yi in the chest.

Zhou Yi was sent flying backward even faster. Huang Pufeng reacted quickly, catching him to break his fall.

"COUGH, COUGH! She... she's so strong." Zhou Yi's face was pale, and his coughs were tinged with blood.

Yue Xinyue, at his side, hurriedly lifted his clothes, revealing a large, dark bruise already forming on his chest.

"Internal energy that can even penetrate a soldier-level suit," Wang Qi murmured, her eyes narrowing slightly. She then stood up to face the woman in the martial suit.

"Leave the beast core, and we won't make things difficult for you."

"I'll say the same to you. Stay where you are, and I won't make things difficult for you all," the woman in the martial suit replied, her voice cold. "If you weren't injured, I wouldn't be your match. But you're seriously injured internally now. Don't try to act tough."

At these words, Wang Qi's expression darkened considerably. She had just forced herself to stand, hoping to intimidate the woman. But the woman had seen through her bluff immediately.

"Damn it, not this again!" Huang Pufeng and Song Dongming looked indignant. They had been robbed not long ago and didn't expect someone else to snatch their prize again.

"Sister Qi, what should we do?" Yue Xinyue looked at Wang Qi.

Wang Qi was silent for a moment, then finally sighed. "Forget it, let her have it. It's just one level 8 beast core."

Hearing Wang Qi's words, the woman in the martial suit nodded at her, then turned and left.

But no one noticed that Wang Zhan's expression had frozen. He had been crouching in the grass all this time, so no one had seen his face. But when the woman in the martial suit was about to leave, Wang Zhan couldn't stay still any longer.

"Yao Yao?!"

The people around them were all stunned. The woman in the martial suit, who was some distance away, also stopped abruptly. When she turned her head and saw Wang Zhan, her exposed eyes clearly showed her pupils constricting. Then, surprisingly, she turned and fled even faster than before. This reaction all but confirmed Wang Zhan's suspicion.

"Stop!" Wang Zhan instantly pushed his speed to the maximum. With an agility attribute of nearly 1,000 points, his speed was comparable to, if not exceeding, that of ordinary level 8 Martial Artists. For a moment, Wang Qi and the others were too shocked to react.

"Don't go after her! That woman is very strong!" Wang Qi shouted anxiously.

"She's my classmate!" Wang Zhan explained hastily, having no time for details.

The woman in the martial suit and Wang Zhan, one fleeing and the other pursuing, covered a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

Seeing Wang Zhan closing in, the woman in the martial suit hurriedly shouted, "I'm not Yao Yao! Stop chasing me!"

"What's the use of changing your voice now? Your build, your voice, even the look in your eyes are the same. And your reaction when I called your name... do you still think you can fool me?"

"Stop chasing me! Please, I beg you, don't chase me!" The woman's voice was now tinged with desperation.

"What on earth happened? How did you become so strong? Why are you afraid to meet me? Weren't you out training with the Martial Artists from the Martial Arts School?" Wang Zhan was filled with questions. If Yao Yao had genuinely progressed far on the Martial Arts Path, Wang Zhan would only be happy for her. But Yao Yao's current situation was clearly not right! They had met only a month ago! How could a level 1 Martial Artist now be capable of overpowering Zhou Yi, a senior? Zhou Yi, despite specializing in speed, was a level 6 Martial Artist! What happened? What is it that you can't tell me?

"Stop chasing me, Wang Zhan! Don't chase me anymore! Go, quickly!" Yao Yao's voice was choked with sobs. "Take your companions and go! Go!" She practically screamed the last few words.

Wang Zhan's heart clenched. He didn't understand why Yao Yao was acting this way, but an inexplicable pain gripped his heart.

But just then, Wang Zhan suddenly sensed extreme danger. The hair on his body stood on end, and the terrifying aura almost made him lose his footing.

Ahead of him, Yao Yao had stopped. She pulled down her mask—it was indeed Yao Yao. But her face was filled with utter despair.

"No! Don't touch him!" Yao Yao screamed, her voice breaking.

Almost simultaneously, Wang Zhan felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. The pain itself wasn't intense, but an overwhelming weakness spread through him with alarming speed. He looked down to see a sharp weapon had pierced through his abdomen.

"Wha... when?" Wang Zhan instinctively turned his head and saw a man in black standing behind him.

The man in black ignored Wang Zhan's shocked gaze, his eyes fixed on Yao Yao, looking right past Wang Zhan. "Yuan Shijiu, you know him?"

"Don't kill him! I've already agreed to cooperate! Don't kill him!" Yao Yao cried, her voice heart-wrenching. Her worst fear had come to pass. Wang Zhan had caught up to her, but he didn't understand that she wasn't free. An overwhelmingly powerful enemy had been secretly following her.

Wang Zhan felt the sharp weapon being pulled from his abdomen. He lost all strength and crumpled to his knees, silently clutching the wound in his stomach. How... how did it come to this? How did Yao Yao get involved with the original organization? Wang Zhan silently watched the black-clad man who had injured him stand beside Yao Yao, powerless to do anything.

Meanwhile, Wang Qi and the others finally caught up.

When they saw Wang Zhan on the ground, covered in Fresh Blood, Wang Qi's eyes instantly turned red. She charged directly at Yuan Shisan.

"I'll kill you!" Wang Qi was utterly enraged. Her own brother had been so grievously injured; how could she care about her own wounds anymore?

Unfortunately, no matter how exceptionally talented Wang Qi was, she was ultimately too young.

Yuan Shisan emotionlessly kicked out, sending Wang Qi flying. She crashed heavily to the ground.

"A level 8 Martial Artist, severely injured, yet still able to exhibit the strength of a level 9—impressive," Yuan Shisan commented. "But it's still not enough. Far from it, in fact."

As he spoke, Yuan Shisan turned his gaze back to Yao Yao. By now, Yao Yao's face was streaked with tears. She was shaking her head continuously, muttering pleas.

But in Yuan Shisan's eyes, all of this was utterly laughable. "You've already joined the organization, yet you're still hung up on past relationships?" Yuan Shisan's face twisted into a sneer.

Yao Yao seemed to realize something.

But before she could speak, Yuan Shisan continued, "Since that's the case, to ensure you can focus on serving the organization, I'll help you sever these ties."

"No! Don't do this!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.