Above the soaring heights! The colossal Thunder Eagle finally reached the zenith above Lingxiao Peak!
"There are people below." Xingye quickly spotted the mangled ruin of Lingxiao Peak, the solitary, upright figure standing on the open ground, and the other body lying quietly upon the earth!
"The one standing there is Yueying." Jidu also clearly saw Yueying, his expression detached, positioned amidst the devastation.
"The one lying on the ground is Old Man!" Xingzhan exclaimed, "Go down quickly."
The immense Thunder Eagle descended slowly!
But no sooner had the Eagle touched down than Xingye and Xingzhan leaped impatiently from the cockpit!
Rushing to Xingchen's side!
"Old Man, wake up quickly." Xingye hastily lifted Xingchen, but alas, Xingchen remained completely unresponsive. Xingye's face paled in terror; he quickly checked for breath: "Still breathing. Old Man is still alive."
"It's good that he's alive," Xingzhan also let out a cold sweat of relief!
Yueying surveyed the group with an impassive countenance!
Lan Ye had already confirmed the files of Xingye, Xingzhan, and Jidu—they were allies, not foes!
The handover complete! Yueying, who had returned the biochemical warrior, vanished!
Whoosh! A dazzling streak of light flashed, and Yueying's towering silhouette instantly disappeared!
Xingye, Xingzhan, and the others were long accustomed to Yueying's bizarre manner of appearance and vanishing.
In a sense, Yueying was no different from the Taoist priest's summoned beasts, capable of traversing the rifts in spacetime at will.
Lan Ye, residing within Xingchen, was not only the primary control program governing Yueying but also the nano-space that housed him. Only there could Yueying find proper rest and recuperation!
Without a summoning command, Yueying would not appear easily!
The scene was a chaotic mess, clearly indicating a fierce battle had taken place. Based on the situation, Xingchen and Yueying must have defeated Zhanlang. /./
However, Zhanlang’s corpse was nowhere in sight, suggesting Zhanlang might still be alive! This left the group unsettled. With Old Man unconscious and Yueying returned to the nano-space, if Zhanlang were to reappear, they would truly be in deep trouble!
"Let's take Old Man back first," Xingye suggested.
In the 29th year of the Divine Calendar, Zhanlang, the Ancient Hero who manifested on the Mafa Continent in his Destroyer form, was finally repelled by the combined might of the Jiuyue Shenzhen and the Guardian Hero Yueying!
But Zhanlang, defeated and fleeing, disappeared without a trace!
This news spread rapidly!
The continent’s populace plunged into panic! However, the anxiety soon subsided upon recalling that Zhanlang had indeed been defeated by the Jiuyue Shenzhen and Yueying.
On another front, to support the Jiuyue Shenzhen in eliminating the invading Ancient Hero Zhanlang, the nation’s Dove Groups mobilized actively to search for Zhanlang's whereabouts! Even the Ranger World issued the highest level of Ranger Quest!
The power of the Ranger World was unleashed to actively seek out Zhanlang.
For a time, the continent was teeming with people; it was effectively a nation mobilized for war.
He awoke again ten days later!
The forced elevation provided by the Kaioken came at a terrible price for Xingchen. Though he was awake, his physical injuries were severe; the meridians throughout his body were nearly completely shattered.
Fortunately, the miraculous efficacy of the Nine Dragons Body Protection was excellent at restoring damaged flesh, which brought Xingchen considerable relief! However, recovering to peak condition would require at least another two months.
This fact worried Xingchen; if Zhanlang were to strike during this recuperation period, both Xingchen and Yueying might lack the strength even to defend themselves!
In the room, Long Xin peeled a pear while analyzing, "Given the circumstances then, Zhanlang must have been severely wounded, otherwise he would never have let slip the chance to kill you."
"Perhaps so." To this day, Xingchen was still somewhat hazy about exactly how they defeated Zhanlang. But one thing was certain: although Zhanlang’s Sky-Splitting Slash was formidable, their combined Thunderous Strike with Yueying seemed even stronger.
This meant that in terms of combat power, their combined strength was enough to defeat him! Based on this premise, Zhanlang would not easily reveal himself until he found a way to counteract it.
"If Zhanlang's injuries are indeed severe, recovering won't be easy for him either; he certainly won't be at full strength for some time," Yin Shuang mused thoughtfully!
After the previous battle, Xingchen had a solid understanding of Zhanlang’s strength. Cooperating with Yueying, he shouldn't lose to him, and Xingchen believed Zhanlang was aware of this too.
But this was precisely what worried Xingchen the most.
One must remember that Zhanlang’s persona was that of a terrorist dubbed the 'War Maniac'!
The people of the Mafa Continent might not understand what a terrorist was, but Xingchen, hailing from the modern era, was acutely aware of the harm terrorists inflict upon nations and societies!
Especially someone like Zhanlang, possessing immense martial power and extensive experience! He would never be foolish enough to engage in a head-on fight with an opponent he couldn't overwhelm!
If he intended to cause devastation, there would be absolutely nothing they could do to stop him!
"Lan Ye, can you detect Zhanlang's movements?"
"No anomalies on the biological radar," Lan Ye reported. "Unable to determine Zhanlang's location."
"Cunning bastard. He must have suppressed his aura," Xingchen said with a headache.
"Affirmative," Lan Ye confirmed. "The long-range detection radius of the biological radar can only register life-force fields stronger than level 3 within a twenty thousand square kilometer range. If Zhanlang is outside this range, or if his life-force field remains consistently below level 3, the biological radar cannot locate him."
Troublesome! Did he have to engage in a game of hide-and-seek between a policeman and a thief!
Yin Shuang was long accustomed to Xingchen's odd reactions: "Does Lan Ye have any suggestions?"
"None. I can't sense the fellow's presence at all," Xingchen admitted helplessly.
"All we can do now is strengthen the defenses across the continent. Once he is spotted, immediately dispatch you and Yueying to apprehend him," Yin Shuang suggested.
"But this approach is too passive," Xingchen countered.
"Yet it is the only viable method," Long Xin reasoned. "Keep the Spatial Division on immediate standby. That way, the moment he is sighted anywhere, you can track him down in the shortest possible time."
"Spatial Division." Xingchen's spirit lifted. "That's right. If he makes a move and exposes his target, with Instantaneous Movement, we should be able to track him down in time."
The spatial teleportation afforded by the Memory Set was far faster than his and Yueying's flying speed!
In the time that followed, Xingchen focused on recuperating while patiently waiting for intelligence to arrive from across the continent.
Yet, two months passed. The continent remained peaceful, with absolutely no news of Zhanlang surfacing.
Just as Xingchen began to feel impatient and restless, Lan Ye in his mind suddenly captured a powerful fluctuation in a life-force field!
"East Longitude XX.XX, North Latitude XX.XX—Suspicious target detected. Life-force field strength: 120!"
"It's Zhanlang," Xingchen shot to his feet.