Chapter Forty: Has He Always Been This Brave?

Seven flag demons converged from all directions, surrounding the entrance to Hack Village. Old Ma, holding the Soul-Calming Gong, took center stage, blocking the gate tightly.

“So what if you’re a sorcerer? My Qi Fireball should be able to blow you up! I don’t believe in this nonsense.”

Zheng Mengping bared his teeth, like a rabid hunting dog, and raised his hand, hurling two deep purple fireballs. Their target was none other than the massive, most conspicuous demon among the group—Lu Dashan.

The choice of Lu Dashan as a target was deliberate, not spur-of-the-moment. Zheng Mengping figured that this gigantic sorcerer spirit was a living, upright target, while the others were either small or could fly—far more agile, and much harder to hit compared to Lu Dashan.

The fireballs streaked through the air, trailing deep purple flames like parallel meteors, instantly engulfing Lu Dashan. With a muffled bang, the fireballs exploded against the armor covering Lu Dashan’s body, unleashing a violent gust of wind, like a passing hurricane ravaging with flames.

“It worked!”

Zheng Mengping’s face lit up with joy, convinced his attack had succeeded. But in the next second, a contemptuous voice rose from within the flames, turning Zheng Mengping’s expression sour.

“That’s all you’ve got?!”

With the emergence of the voice, the raging firestorm seemed to be dispersed by some invisible force, slowly fading away and revealing Lu Dashan, still cloaked in lingering flames. Inside the fire, Lu Dashan puffed out his cheeks and simply blew, dispersing the flames with a breath. Whether or not his strength was remarkable, his lung capacity was certainly impressive, befitting his giant form.

Not only that, as he blew away the flames, a trace of disdain and scorn appeared in Lu Dashan’s eyes—eyes reminiscent of Li Ronghao’s.

“How is that possible…”

Zheng Mengping was stunned, instinctively stepping back. If Old Ma with the copper gong had been unharmed earlier, it might have been due to Zheng Mengping’s poor aim, a misfire. But this time Lu Dashan, the giant sorcerer spirit, was struck head-on by the Qi Fireballs; escape was impossible. Moreover, Lu Dashan hadn’t even tried to dodge.

When did his Qi Fireball become so weak? That shouldn’t be possible. As a newcomer to the All Nature faction and the circle of the extraordinary, Zheng Mengping had always prided himself on the power of his innate ability—even Tu Junfang had praised its strength.

But today, a sorcerer spirit dispersed it with a breath. It made him doubt his own existence.

In truth, Zheng Mengping’s Qi Fireballs were indeed formidable. As an innate ability, their power and temperature could even rival the techniques of the Fire Virtue Sect.

However, perhaps he simply wasn’t thinking straight; his choice of targets was twice mistaken. First, he attacked Old Ma, protected by the Soul-Calming Gong, then Lu Dashan—the toughest tank among the flag demons. A fragile mage with no development or spell penetration, dreaming of instantly taking down a pure tank—what a pure fantasy.

Even Ye Yan, observing from afar, was amused. Watching Lu Dashan so easily blow away Zheng Mengping’s potent fireballs, Cao Jialiang beside him was equally astonished, unable to believe his eyes. He glanced at Lu Dashan, then at Old Ma, and finally at Jin Erpeng flying overhead. Something seemed to dawn on him, and his face changed dramatically.

He was about to speak, when suddenly, from the woods behind the flag demons, a man and a woman stepped out. Cao Jialiang didn’t recognize the woman, but the moment he saw the man, all his doubts vanished, and he inhaled sharply. A thoughtless phrase slipped out,

“Ye Yan… senior.”

Cao Jialiang was quite a character; though the words were blurted out, he managed to forcefully add “senior” at the end.

“Hm!”

Ye Yan was also surprised. He didn’t expect that among these three from All Nature, one actually knew him—interesting.

“Who are you?”

Ye Yan walked over to Lu Dashan’s side, giving Cao Jialiang a once-over from a distance.

Cao Jialiang hurried to introduce himself, “Senior Ye Yan, don’t you remember? It’s me, Cao Jialiang from All Nature. We met before in Jinmen. Back then, you were looking for Yuan Tao, and I asked him to help modify my motorcycle.”

“Cao Jialiang?”

Ye Yan mouthed the name, then shook his head—no recollection. But he didn’t bother to dwell on it; he knew plenty of people from All Nature, and many of them knew him as well. No need to get hung up on it.

Ye Yan said bluntly, “Since you recognize me, I’ll get straight to the point. I have a few questions; once you answer, you can go.”

“I promise to tell you everything I know.”

Cao Jialiang patted his chest, lowering himself as much as possible, humble to the point of sycophancy.

“Is Liao Zhong and his group inside?”

“They are.”

“Are they alive?”

“Yes.”

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

“What’s their condition?”

“They… have started the Three Corpses.”

Cao Jialiang responded to Ye Yan’s questions with slick proficiency, answering directly without unnecessary words or mistakes. But when it came to their condition, uncertain of Ye Yan’s stance, he hesitated slightly, yet still answered truthfully.

“I see.”

Ye Yan’s reaction was calmer than Cao Jialiang expected; he didn’t fly into a rage. Seeing this, Cao Jialiang, head bowed, quietly breathed a sigh of relief—his palms were already clammy with sweat.

Standing before him was the renowned night watchman, Ye Yan, who had defeated All Nature’s top expert, Ding Shuang’an. He could beat ten of him with one hand. To say there was no pressure would be a lie.

Cao Jialiang wasn’t a rookie like Zheng Mengping. Only the ignorant are fearless, and he had long outgrown that phase. Despite appearing as a weathered, rough uncle, the tempered Cao Jialiang was even more slippery than he looked. He knew well when to be tough, and when to yield. Bowing his head was the essential survival rule of the extraordinary circle—a law. As for those without power or backing who liked to make a fuss, most had long since been picked clean, nothing left but bones, unable to survive to this day.

The reason Cao Jialiang immediately changed his attitude upon recognizing Ye Yan was simple—he couldn’t beat Ye Yan, and didn’t want to die here.

Ye Yan, of course, couldn’t fathom the richness of Cao Jialiang’s inner world; he couldn’t read minds and had no time to observe the expressions of a minor character.

After a moment’s thought, Ye Yan asked, “Final question: where is Tu Junfang?”

“In the village.”

Cao Jialiang had no qualms about betraying his teammate, pointing toward the village behind him.

But as soon as he spoke, Zheng Mengping beside him protested, jabbing a finger at Ye Yan’s nose,

“Who the hell are you, acting so high and mighty? You think you can just meet our Boss Tu whenever you want?”

“???”

Ye Yan turned his head, baffled, and looked at Zheng Mengping, then turned back to Cao Jialiang and asked, “Is he always this brave?”

Cao Jialiang: “……”