After leaving the group of Polar Bear Nation cultivators behind, Zhao Xuan did not continue deeper toward the inner city of the Life City.
Instead, he stayed on the outside and began rapidly circling the entire inner city perimeter.
His goal—
Was naturally to locate Hawkins and his group as quickly as possible.
Before long, another series of thunderous booms echoed from ahead—the unmistakable sound of battle.
Zhao Xuan immediately rushed over.
However—
Unfortunately, the group hunting the Silver Guards this time was still not Hawkins' team.
There were ten of them.
Originally, Zhao Xuan had no intention of creating unnecessary trouble before dealing with Hawkins.
But—
These blond, blue-eyed "golden-haired monkeys" clearly had no intention of letting him go.
About three minutes passed.
Those three minutes referred to the time Zhao Xuan spent rushing over after hearing the battle.
If he had wanted to—
If he had been willing—
He could have arrived in mere seconds.
But that would have required entering Dragon-Man form.
And in that state, the aura radiating from Zhao Xuan would already exert pressure on the foreign prodigies within the city.
That would expose his strength prematurely.
Which was the last thing he wanted.
To keep the city's cultivators as relaxed and careless as possible, Zhao Xuan not only avoided Dragon-Man form—
He didn't even enter Partial Dragon Transformation.
He advanced entirely in normal human form.
That was why it took him three minutes to arrive.
Three minutes—
Not long, but not short either.
And combined with the fact that the Western team numbered ten—
And that anyone qualified to enter the Life City Ruins was a top genius from their nation or a major organization of the Endless Sea—
Even if their cultivation level was only Seventh Rank—
Even if many of them were merely low-tier Seventh Rank—
If they fought ordinary mid-tier or peak Seventh-Rank cultivators from the outside world, those so-called "low-tier" prodigies could easily counter-kill them.
Thus—
Facing the sudden assault of ten such prodigies, even though the Silver Guard squad numbered fifteen and had formation coordination—
They still fell quickly.
Three minutes.
That was all it took for the ten to annihilate the entire Silver Guard squad.
And at that exact moment—
Zhao Xuan arrived nearby.
One had to remember—
Zhao Xuan carried a one-hundred-billion bounty on his head.
Split evenly, that was ten billion per person.
And more importantly—
Zhao Xuan's realm appeared far too weak to them.
Though they were only one rank above him—
The gap between Sixth Rank and Seventh Rank was a chasm.
And this was the ruins.
No witnesses.
No consequences.
So when they saw Zhao Xuan, they didn't hesitate for even a second.
No caution.
No restraint.
They charged straight at him.
Zhao Xuan didn't hesitate either.
He instantly entered Partial Dragon Transformation, activated the One-Second Technique, turned—
And ran.
Fight?
Impossible.
This, Zhao Xuan was absolutely certain of.
Yes, they were unprepared.
Yes, with their complete lack of vigilance, Zhao Xuan was confident he could instantly kill two of them.
But—
There were ten.
Kill two, eight remained.
Eight fully alert Seventh-Rank prodigies, if coordinated properly, could even threaten an Eighth-Rank mid-tier King.
Let alone Zhao Xuan.
That said—
If Zhao Xuan were willing.
If he truly threw caution to the wind.
If he swallowed the entire divine stone bamboo shoot in one go—
And relied on the endless flood of life energy to adopt a suicidal, trade-life-for-life mad-dog fighting style—
There was indeed a very real chance he could slaughter all ten.
But—
There was no need.
Because—
That would be an absurd waste.
…
With the explosive power of Partial Dragon Transformation and the One-Second Technique, Zhao Xuan vanished around a distant street corner in the blink of an eye.
By the time the ten charged over—
He was already gone.
"Damn it!"
"That brat's not strong, but he sure can run!"
"Not simple—being able to burst out that kind of speed!"
"Hmph, decisive too—used a forbidden technique immediately!"
"…."
Staring at the empty street, regret and frustration surfaced on their faces.
"Forget it. He got lucky."
The leading woman snorted coldly.
Then, under her command, the ten returned to the battlefield and efficiently collected their spoils.
Meanwhile—
In a distant alley.
Supported by life energy, Zhao Xuan's body rapidly recovered from the weakness caused by the One-Second Technique.
"Very good. Very good indeed."
"Just wait. Just wait for me. I've memorized you all."
As he spoke, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
He directly opened the entrance to the Desert Spatial Ruin and stepped inside.
The next second—
He emerged again.
Along with him came a giant golden rat.
"This task is simple," Zhao Xuan said, pointing in the direction he had just fled from.
"Remember the scent of the people in that direction. There are ten of them."
The giant golden rat sniffed the air a few times, then chirped:
"Ji-ji! (Done!)"
"Good."
Satisfaction surfaced on Zhao Xuan's face.
"You can go back and rest now. I'll call you again later."
"Ji-ji!"
The rat nodded and vanished in a flash, returning to the Desert Ruin.
Zhao Xuan closed the spatial entrance and looked coldly toward the direction of those ten.
His smile slowly turned icy.
Killing intent surged.
Zhao Xuan had never considered himself generous.
He was petty.
Or more accurately—
He was vengeful to the extreme.
"Just wait. Not a single one of you will escape."
Muttering to himself, Zhao Xuan flashed away again, continuing his search for Hawkins' group.
His top priority—
Still remained Hawkins and the other seven.
He continued circling the inner city at high speed.
Minutes later—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent combat sounds echoed once again.
Zhao Xuan rushed over immediately.
Then—
Before long—
"Zhao Xuan!"
"Hahaha—walking one hundred billion!"
"Our luck is incredible!"
"Don't run!"
Boom boom boom!
Forced yet again, Zhao Xuan activated Partial Dragon Transformation and the One-Second Technique, easily shaking off another group of seven bounty hunters.
In a nearby alley—
"Damn it! Just you wait!"
"And you bastards who placed the bounty on me at the Sky Star Island black market—wait for me too!"
"In a few days, I'll bring the golden rat and steal your homes clean!"
As Zhao Xuan muttered coldly, the life energy stored in his bones surged out, driving away his weakness and restoring him rapidly.
Then—
He opened the Desert Ruin again and summoned the golden rat.
"Another easy task."
Pointing in a direction, Zhao Xuan said,
"Remember the scent of the people in that direction. There are seven of them."
The rat sniffed and chirped:
"Ji-ji-ji? (Anything else?)"
"Not for now."
The rat immediately returned to the Desert Ruin.
"You'd better wait."
Zhao Xuan closed the entrance, cast one last cold glance in that direction, and left.
Over the next half hour, as he continued moving near the inner city—
He encountered two more groups of foreign cultivators hunting Silver Guards.
Perhaps because Zhao Xuan appeared far too weak without using the Azure Dragon Fruit—
Both groups showed intense greed upon sensing his presence.
One group of eight black cultivators even pulled a member away from their Silver Guard battle just to chase Zhao Xuan.
At that moment—
Zhao Xuan was genuinely furious.
Damn it.
Everyone really thinks I'm a fat lamb, huh?
He nearly killed the lone pursuer on the spot to vent his anger.
But—
Small impatience ruins great plans.
He endured it.
After having the golden rat memorize yet another group's scent, Zhao Xuan cursed under his breath:
"Where the hell did Hawkins' group run off to?"
"I've circled the inner city wall for over half an hour!"
"I could've slaughtered four or five Silver Guard squads in that time!"
Yet—
He didn't give up.
Strike first—or suffer later.
Others only wanted his bounty.
Once his true strength was exposed, most would give up.
But Hawkins was different.
Hawkins had blood hatred with him.
Zhao Xuan had killed his brother.
Mocked him publicly.
They were sworn enemies.
Once Hawkins learned Zhao Xuan's true strength—
He would do everything possible to kill him early.
That was why Zhao Xuan was so desperate to find him first.
…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Somewhere in the Life City—
Heavy clashes erupted again.
"This is the sixth group I've encountered near the inner city. This time, it has to be Hawkins, right?"
"Amitabha! God bless! Amen! Three Pure Ones above—please let it be Hawkins!"
Praying inwardly, Zhao Xuan rushed over.
Finally—
After more than half an hour—
He found them.
When Zhao Xuan arrived nearby, Hawkins' group had nearly finished ambushing the Silver Guards.
In just two to three minutes—
The fifteen-man Silver Guard squad was completely wiped out.
Their speed was even faster than the previous ten-man team.
Which spoke volumes of their strength.
They quietly and efficiently looted the corpses.
Suddenly—
Hawkins raised his head and looked west.
A cold, vicious grin appeared on his face.
Killing intent burst forth.
"Swish swish swish!"
The other seven stopped looting and followed his gaze.
"Hawkins? What is it?"
"Someone here?"
"…."
"Yes," Hawkins said coldly.
"But it's just an ignorant little brat who doesn't know his place. No need to be nervous."
He stepped forward.
Step. Step. Step.
Walking toward a dark alley.
His teammates were no fools.
They instantly knew who he meant.
Smiles spread across their faces.
Their vigilance vanished completely.
They returned to looting.
Meanwhile—
Hawkins quickened his pace.
Within seconds, he reached the alley entrance a hundred meters away.
He stopped.
Full of mockery.
"Come out, brat. I've already found you."
Silence.
"You were pretty arrogant before. What—scared now?"
Still silence.
"So you won't come out on your own?"
Hawkins sneered.
He raised his fist.
Roaring flames surged from his body.
A massive fireball formed overhead.
"Then I'll force you out."
The fireball slammed into the alley.
BOOM!
Flames exploded, filling the entire alley.
Then—
Whoosh!
A fierce wind burst out.
A shadow shot from the alley and fled at top speed.
"Extreme technique?"
"Hmph. Fast—no wonder you killed my useless brother."
"But—"
Watching Zhao Xuan flee desperately, Hawkins sneered.
"Today, even the heavens can't save you."
He stomped the ground repeatedly and vanished, chasing after Zhao Xuan.
One chased.
One fled.
Soon they were kilometers away.
Then—
Zhao Xuan's aura suddenly destabilized.
His speed dropped.
Any fool could tell—
Backlash.
Hawkins closed the distance instantly.
BOOM!
A punch smashed into Zhao Xuan's back.
"Pff!"
Zhao Xuan spat blood and was sent flying.
Rolling dozens of times before slamming into a wall.
Barely alive.
"Trash."
Hawkins snorted.
Then—
He saw Zhao Xuan open a spatial rift—
And shakily pull out a stone bamboo shoot overflowing with terrifying life energy.
"That is—?!"
Hawkins' eyes widened.
"Divine medicine! A complete divine medicine!"
Ecstasy exploded in his heart.
He saw Zhao Xuan trying to shove it into his mouth.
"Stop!"
Hawkins roared and charged.
Ten meters.
Eight.
Six.
Four.
Two.
At two meters—
Zhao Xuan swallowed the piece already hidden in his mouth.
And finally—
He released the life energy he had been suppressing inside his bones.
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