"Who?!"

August startled, his gun trained on the surrounding darkness, his heart pounding with shock. This base was built atop a cliff, and the only exit was a path carved through the cliffside. He had it under lockdown. To get in, an intruder would have to kill all his men first.

But August was confident that his men would have sent a signal before anyone could make a move. Moreover, even the Divine Envoy hadn't sensed the slightest anomaly.

"Hehe, who am I?"

A light chuckle floated through the air, followed by a sharp whistling sound. August was still confused, but the Divine Envoy beside him suddenly shot backward.

"Be careful!"

After they fell back some distance, August finally managed to steady his nerves, only to make a horrifying discovery: an extra head now lay on the ground. The man's face was frozen in an expression of pure terror, as if he had witnessed something horrifying in his final moments.

"A Silver Guard!" August cried out, his voice trembling.

Silver Guard was a rank of strength within the Divine Envoy's organization. Below the Divine Envoy were Gold, Silver, and Bronze Guards, with the weakest rank being the Hidden Guard. Even August himself was only slightly stronger than a Hidden Guard, still a great distance from a Bronze Guard. A Silver Guard was already a formidable existence among the Knights, yet this one had just been decapitated.

"Stop playing tricks and get out here!"

Seeing the Silver Guard's head, the Divine Envoy's expression turned grim. He had just dispatched this Silver Guard to Huaxia to assassinate that man. He never thought he'd be slain just moments after departing.

As the Divine Envoy finished speaking, he thrust a palm toward a certain direction. A brilliant light beamed from his hand, drifting forward. It looked gentle and powerless, but it contained tremendous force.

"The Divine Envoy's power!" August gaped, his eyes filled with fear and envy. This was the power bestowed upon the Divine Envoy by God.

"Such trifling magic, and you dare embarrass yourself in front of me!"

The words had barely faded when a fierce beam of blade energy came whistling through the air, striking the Divine Envoy's light. A grating sound that set one's teeth on edge rang out as the light instantly melted away like snow under a scorching sun. However, the blade energy continued unabated, howling toward the Divine Envoy. It tore deep gouges into the ground and shattered stone wherever it passed.

"This..." The Divine Envoy's pupils shrank, and he backed away frantically. But there was a wall behind him; there was nowhere left to retreat.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He reached out, grabbed August, and shoved the man in front of him as a human shield.

"No..." August screamed in terror, but he couldn't break free.

The beam of blade energy descended, instantly slicing August's body in two down the middle. Blood sprayed everywhere, drenching the Divine Envoy. But he had no time to wipe it away and scrambled toward the cave entrance.

"Hehe, now that you've run into me, where do you think you're going?"

A disdainful sneer echoed through the air, followed by the crushing arrival of a terrifying force.

"Heavenly Emperor Nine Steps—One Step, Rivers Shatter!"

As the voice fell, the entire cave trembled. A figure emerged from the depths of the cave, catching up to the Divine Envoy in the blink of an eye.

"You're not leaving!" As soon as the man appeared, he clawed at the Divine Envoy's back.

Sensing the rushing force behind him, the Divine Envoy's face filled with terror, and he turned to throw two black grenades.

"Hmph, mere child's play!"

The man snorted coldly, twisted his wrist, and swung his long blade, neatly slicing both grenades in half.

"This..." Staring at the bisected grenades, the Divine Envoy's eyes finally filled with terror. But what shocked him even more was his opponent's appearance.

"You're an Easterner?!"

He had only one arm, and in his hand, he held the Heavenly Punishment Blade. It was none other than Li Xiaotian, who had traveled thousands of miles from his homeland!

Li Xiaotian smiled faintly. "You have some insight."

Although he was smiling, his speed was anything but slow. The Heavenly Punishment Blade slashed out, aiming straight for the Divine Envoy's head. His original mission from his Master was to travel overseas and take the head of Jack from the Blood Rat Mercenary Corps. He never expected to run into this so-called Divine Envoy, who was plotting to have his Master assassinated. Li Xiaotian could never allow such a thing to happen. The moment the Silver Guard had departed, he had decapitated him with a single stroke.

These so-called Silver Guards were only on par with a Huaxia Martial Artist at the Initial External Strength level. As for this Divine Envoy, even with the strength of the Internal Energy Peak, he stood no chance against Li Xiaotian, a Half-step Grandmaster.

The Divine Envoy's heart was filled with horror as he retreated frantically. But he had underestimated Li Xiaotian's strength, and even more so, he had underestimated the Heavenly Punishment Blade.

"HA!" The Divine Envoy let out a low shout, his body erupting with a radiant glow. The glow gathered in his palms, and he clapped his hands together, attempting to catch the Heavenly Punishment Blade between them.

CLANG! He successfully trapped the Heavenly Punishment Blade, but before he could rejoice, a terrifying power surged from the blade itself.

The Divine Envoy screamed, trying to release his hands, but a sizzling sound erupted where they met the blade. To his horror, he found he couldn't do it. He felt as if all the strength in his body was being siphoned away by the Heavenly Punishment Blade.

"What kind of Demon Blade is this?!" the Divine Envoy shrieked, his face a mask of terror.

"This blade is called Heavenly Punishment!" Li Xiaotian smiled proudly. He flicked his wrist, and the Heavenly Punishment Blade sliced upwards.

The Divine Envoy's body shuddered, and he froze in place. Then, a thin line of blood appeared on his forehead. His body abruptly split in two and collapsed, lifeless.

Li Xiaotian sheathed his blade, looked coldly at the corpse on the ground, and with a great stride, flew directly out of the cave entrance.

Some ten minutes later, a few survivors in the cave slowly staggered to their feet. They ran to the entrance and peered out into the vast darkness, but there was no trace of Li Xiaotian. The survivors exchanged glances, then hastily knelt and kowtowed in the direction Li Xiaotian had left, calling him "Divine Envoy."

「At the Blood Rat Mercenary Corps base」

Li Xiaotian held a phone, speaking respectfully to the person on the other end. "Master, the matter has been taken care of."

Ba Di and his men were kneeling on the ground, trembling, too afraid to even raise their heads.

"Hmm, now that things are done, come back," Lin Mu's voice came from the other end of the line.

Li Xiaotian hesitated for a moment. "Master, I'd like to train here for a while."

Worried his Master might be angry, Li Xiaotian quickly explained, "I've reached a bottleneck in my cultivation. Training here for a period of time would greatly help my breakthrough to Grandmaster."

Upon arriving, Li Xiaotian had discovered this was the ideal training ground for him, which was why he decided to stay.

"Good!"

On the other end of the line, Lin Mu said only that single word, signifying his agreement.

Li Xiaotian was overjoyed that his Master had agreed. This boosted his confidence. He was certain that if he trained here, he could step into the Grandmaster realm within three years.

He suddenly remembered something and quickly added, "By the way, Master, there's one more thing. A woman named Alice seems to have already gone to River City, apparently for you."

"Hmm?" Lin Mu showed no surprise. "I know."

After hanging up, Li Xiaotian looked down at the kneeling Ba Di and said indifferently, "Are there any formidable people nearby?"

Ba Di: "..."

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