Chapter 856: Chapter 854: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
"That’s not what I meant."
After Qiu Yinshan stepped forward and grabbed Wang Zhan by the arm, he finally smiled and said, "You must’ve misunderstood."
"I just feel you came not too early, but just in time."
"Coincidentally, I happen to need some extra hands at my side right now to help me with something."
"If you’re willing to help, that would be ideal."
Wang Zhan nodded without even thinking, folded his arms, and said, "Go on, let’s hear it. What do you need me to do?"
"I wonder, would you be interested in another clash with the people from Skyfire Mountain?"
Qiu Yinshan went straight to the point. "I assume the people of Skyfire Mountain are currently scrambling around to rope in reinforcements. That means quite a few experts will be leaving Skyfire Mountain during this period. For us, that’s an opening."
"If we can intercept and wipe them all out on the way, we can hit Skyfire Mountain hard to some extent."
"It’s just that I don’t know if you’re willing to step in and help."
Wang Zhan said with a grin, "I was just thinking about how to clash with Skyfire Mountain again and wash away my previous disgrace. I didn’t expect you to hand me such a good idea. No matter how you look at it, I don’t have any reason to refuse."
"Excellent."
Qiu Yinshan patted Wang Zhan on the shoulder, a satisfied smile at the corner of his mouth. He said directly, "Looks like I really didn’t misjudge you. So young, yet you have this level of strength and this kind of fire in your blood. You’re quite the rare talent."
"Here’s how it’ll be—I won’t have you helping for nothing."
As he spoke, Qiu Yinshan’s gaze fell on Xiang Tian and Luo Xue. Smiling, he said, "I can tell your relationship is very good, so I actually have a pretty decent cultivation spot here that can help your friends quickly提升 their cultivation. If you feel at ease, you can leave them here."
"Of course, you can also choose to take them along to hunt down the people from Skyfire Mountain."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Tian subconsciously walked to Wang Zhan’s side and spoke firmly, "I want to go with you. Just let Luo Xue stay here alone to提升 her cultivation."
"What do you mean?"
Luo Xue’s expression changed. "I have to stay by Brother Wang’s side as well. And right now my strength should already be above yours. If any of us really needs to提升 our strength, it should be you, not me."
"Be good."
Xiang Tian rubbed Luo Xue’s head, looking like he was coaxing a child, then said softly, "We’re not going out to sightsee. Staying here will probably be safer. If you come with us, Brother Wang will have to split his attention to take care of you. Aren’t you afraid you’ll cause trouble for him then?"
Luo Xue shot Xiang Tian a resentful glare.
After all, their strength was about the same. If she could become a burden to Wang Zhan, then what about Xiang Tian?
Seeing Luo Xue’s expression, Xiang Tian awkwardly shook his head and turned his gaze to Wang Zhan. "Brother Wang, we’ll leave the choice to you. Whoever you decide should stay by your side, that’s who will go with you. We definitely won’t go against your intentions."
A faint smile tugged at Wang Zhan’s lips. "I actually think it’s better if both of you stay here. You just said it yourselves, we’re not going out to have fun. There’ll naturally be danger involved. So if you can stay here, it’s also a kind of benefit for you."
"All right."
Seeing Xiang Tian about to speak, Wang Zhan waved his hand at him and said, "It’s decided."
Off to the side, Luo Xue covered her mouth and laughed.
This outcome wasn’t bad at all for her.
After all, no matter how you look at it, Wang Zhan was unlikely to take them along.
Since that was the case, she might as well have Xiang Tian stay here to keep her company. Wouldn’t that be perfect?
Xiang Tian pulled a bitter face, sighed helplessly, rolled his eyes at Luo Xue, and then pointed at her. "If you hadn’t been making a fuss just now, I’d already be leaving with Brother Wang. You’re really annoying."
"You..."
Seeing the two about to start quarreling, Wang Zhan swept them both a glance, then said in a low voice, "Enough, cut it out. This is the Profound Ice Pavilion, not our home. No need to make a scene and let others laugh at us."
Wang Zhan’s voice was very soft; only Xiang Tian and Luo Xue could hear it.
The two of them looked at each other, then nodded.
After settling the two of them, Wang Zhan turned his gaze back to Qiu Yinshan and asked bluntly, "What do you need me to do next?"
"Hmm..."
Qiu Yinshan pondered for a moment, then said, "It’s very simple."
"I’ll arrange several teams, two people per team, and you’ll head out together to carry out the mission."
"Of course, you’ll naturally be paired with Xuan Yu. After all, you two are at least somewhat familiar with each other and have been working together for quite a while, so I can more or less believe in your teamwork."
Wang Zhan nodded.
He had absolutely no objections to any of this.
Qiu Yinshan, standing to the side, looked over at Xuan Yu and then asked, "You don’t think your teammate is a bit weak, do you?"
"How is that possible?"
Xuan Yu spoke up instinctively, "You didn’t see this guy when he was fighting someone. He was basically in a state of throwing his life away. If I hadn’t shown up in time, I’d bet he would already have gone head‑to‑head with Skyfire Venerable. And I also don’t believe he’d be killed by Skyfire Venerable. The final result would most likely have been mutual destruction."
After hearing this, Qiu Yinshan gave Wang Zhan a few more looks, then nodded, smiling in satisfaction as he said, "I didn’t expect someone so young to have such courage. It seems I really underestimated you. In that case, I’m actually looking forward to your performance this time."
"Alright..."
Once everything was settled, Wang Zhan and Xuan Yu walked out together.
Qiu Yinshan, meanwhile, started making arrangements again.
After all, in order to give Skyfire Mountain a heavy blow this time, he had already laid out a thorough plan and absolutely would not allow any mistakes.
The moment he stepped out of the room, Wang Zhan saw Xiang Tian and the other two standing off to the side. He walked up to them and then asked, "Why are you still here?"
Xiang Tian shrugged and said, "They haven’t assigned us anything yet, and we don’t know where to go. So we could only wait here for you to come out."
Luo Xue, beside him, also nodded.
Xuan Yu gave an awkward laugh, quickly saying, "My bad, I actually forgot something this important."
"Here, I’ll go arrange it right now."
As he spoke, Xuan Yu was already leading the two of them off to the side.
Wang Zhan remained where he was. When he saw the Sword Spirit slowly walk out, he finally said, "I really don’t know what’s going to happen this time."
"Are the people from Skyfire Mountain really that terrifying?"
The Sword Spirit didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He nodded directly and said, "Those guys are far more terrifying than you can imagine. And from what I know, Huo Yuan of Skyfire Mountain seems about to break through to Star System level. When that happens, it’ll probably be a war for the ages."
"Star System level?"
That was already an extremely terrifying level of cultivation.
If he managed to break through again after that, Wang Zhan simply couldn’t imagine how vast the gap between himself and Huo Yuan would be...
Thinking of how he was only at mere Stellar-level strength, Wang Zhan could only let out a helpless sigh.
Back in those lower planes, he had always been the overwhelmingly dominant powerhouse.
No matter what kind of powerful enemy he encountered, he could dominate the battlefield and even lead the people around him to safety.
But now it was completely different. This place really was just like the Sword Spirit had said—experts were everywhere. One careless misstep and he’d fall into an irrevocable situation.
The Sword Spirit seemed to see what was on Wang Zhan’s mind and said, "Things aren’t as bad as you’re imagining. And I believe it won’t be long before you also step into the ranks of Star System level experts. Add in the trump cards you have on you, and even if you run into Huo Yuan, you’d still have the strength to fight."
"Just use this period to temper yourself. Maybe this hunting mission will actually be of tremendous benefit to you. What do you think?"
Wang Zhan nodded. He knew very well that only through endless battles could he raise his strength as quickly as possible.
But during this period, the System had been unusually quiet, never appearing, and his cultivation had remained at a standstill.
It seemed that after reaching Stellar-level, he had already hit a bottleneck. If he couldn’t take this next step, his progress would become slower and slower.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he was directly left behind...
By then, never mind carving out a Star Domain of his own here—just staying alive would be extremely difficult.
"Also, you don’t need to worry that Huo Yuan will come seeking revenge."
The Sword Spirit said with a smile, "You must have just heard Qiu Yinshan mention it. Even though Skyfire Mountain has experts sitting in town, there are still powerhouses here in Profound Ice Pavilion as well."
"That would be the Pavilion Master of Profound Ice Pavilion. That person’s strength is unfathomable. In my view, he can even suppress Huo Yuan of Skyfire Mountain."
"And besides..."
As he spoke, the Sword Spirit glanced at the room not far away, then said in a low voice, "That Vice Pavilion Master from just now is also unfathomable. He claims to only be a Stellar-level expert, but I get the feeling he has already broken through to Star System level and is deliberately hiding his strength."
"And I can sense that he seems to have some sort of secret treasure on him, so once he actually fights, his strength can’t be underestimated."
Wang Zhan shook his head with a smile. "I didn’t expect this little Profound Ice Pavilion to have so many experts. It really is a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons..."
