Through the gaps in the leaves, Fen Tu Kuang Ge watched the position where Qian Jin was hidden, compelled to admire the courage and perception of this peer. According to the map, this area offered the widest field of vision in the forest, and based on Qian Jin’s intelligence regarding the movements of the Dark Division and the fugitives’ tracks, there were many possible directions for them to head toward the Zhence Dynasty, but the probability of them passing through this specific spot accounted for as much as twenty percent! Out of hundreds of routes, one spot held a twenty percent chance!

Fen Tu Kuang Ge initially refused to believe it, but after discussing with Qian Jin, he realized this young comrade seemed to possess profound mastery in matters of military strategy and warfare as well. Fen Tu Kuang Ge, hailing from a military family, had received excellent military training since childhood, yet he discovered that his current companion had dedicated even more effort to this field than he had. How was this possible?

Unless he spent his childhood reading military texts daily and possessed exceptional comprehension in that area! Fen Tu Kuang Ge forced a self-deprecating twitch of his facial muscles. Forget it!

This comrade was already a freak; since he knew so much already, knowing a bit more about military affairs hardly seemed strange. The three separated, hiding in different locations. Night quickly slipped away unnoticed, and as the east showed a hint of pale dawn—the soft sunlight spreading over the earth, presenting the tranquility of the break of day.

Fen Tu Kuang Ge suspected his sense of smell had malfunctioned. Hiding beneath the fetid, decaying leaves, tears streamed down his face from the stench. He genuinely wondered how Qian Jin, who had piled even more leaves onto himself, managed to endure it.

How much longer would he wait before emerging from concealment? Would the fugitives and the Dark Division truly come? Qian Jin lay motionless among the leaves, like a snake in deep hibernation.

During his time at the Fengyun Golden Body Extreme Ice Lake, he had learned partial control over his body temperature, and now even his temperature seemed as cold as a snake’s blood. Only his two eyes, dim and lusterless, scanned every movement around him. Shasha—shashasha— A sound of rapid running approached from not far away.

Qian Jin’s lusterless eyes seemed almost frozen by the ice. Three masked demons, clad entirely in black, gaunt figures carrying scimitars, appeared within the cold focus of his pupils. The Dark Division!

The Dark Division of the Demon Race! Fen Tu Kuang Ge forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart as he observed these members of the mysterious department whose very name could silence a crying child in the Demon territories. The three Dark Division demons reached the vicinity and quickly moved around, haphazardly tossing small iron spikes that they drove deep into the soil and tree branches with powerful force.

Three triangular iron spikes embedded themselves less than half an inch from Qian Jin’s eyes. Fen Tu Kuang Ge inwardly broke into a cold sweat. He truly admired Qian Jin’s composure; remaining in a corpse-like state under such circumstances was incredible.

He wondered if he could maintain this state if the spikes had actually pierced his body. After checking the area with their spikes, the Demon Dark Division members detected nothing. The caution in their eyes subsided slightly.

They exchanged glances, then pulled out copper wires, only slightly thicker than hair, from their bosoms and swiftly strung them between trees. Various throwing knives and sharp projectiles were connected to these wires; the slightest disturbance would instantly trigger the mechanisms to unleash tremendous lethality. Qian Jin observed everything the Demon Dark Division did with an expressionless face.

It seemed the Demon Dark Division was indeed as sharp and capable as rumored, not only possessing formidable strength but also excellent predictive and analytical abilities—they had calculated the two-tenths probability for this location as well. Once the three Dark Division demons set up their defenses, they began to conceal themselves. Two ascended the treetops, using the dense foliage for cover, while the action of the third caught Qian Jin’s particular attention.

It was a seemingly ordinary piece of cloth connected underneath to various iron supports. Pressing forcefully on one of the supports would cause the cloth to open completely, operating on a principle similar to an umbrella, only it opened much wider. Coupled with the color of the cloth matching the scattered leaves, when pressed to the ground, it blended seamlessly with the surrounding forest environment, appearing at first glance to be a large rock.

Yet, beneath this false rock, a Dark Division demon was concealed! Intriguing! Qian Jin’s stone-like face and emotions remained utterly placid, like solidified, cooled volcanic lava.

He absorbed everything in silence, quietly calculating the strength of the three demons he had just observed. The weakest of these three Dark Division members possessed the strength of a Third Battle Demon Subduer, one was an Eighth Battle Demon Subduer, and the last was a Ninth Battle Demon Subduer! They were utterly worthy of the title used to strike fear into people, whether in the Demon Race or the Zhence Dynasty.

If the scouts setting the advance guard possessed such strength, what level of power would the Seven Stars of the Dark Division wield? Thoughts raced beneath Qian Jin’s stone-like exterior, continuously forming various conjectures. Time ticked by, a full three hours passing, yet not a single person or beast moved through.

It seemed everyone had miscalculated this route. No one moved, nor did any demons stir; time continued to crawl by. The clouds above the sky finally could bear the silence no longer.

A massive, elongated bolt of lightning seemed determined to tear heaven apart, followed by an explosive thunderclap that rolled in, as if the sky truly collapsed, causing the earth to tremble faintly under the force of the booming sound. A drop… then another… Rainwater began falling sparingly at first, but in the blink of an eye, it turned into a torrential downpour. Large, bean-sized drops smacked the ground, splashing up countless mud clods.

Watching the violent downpour, Fen Tu Kuang Ge even doubted whether the highly sensitive copper wires would be triggered by the impact of the raindrops, activating the traps capable of turning heavily armored warriors into pincushions. Qian Jin’s location would surely be exposed. Amidst the sound of the rain battering the ground, Qian Jin suddenly heard the sound of heavy objects landing and mud splashing nearby.

Through the curtain of rain, a young human appeared! Holding two jagged, serrated blades, he sprinted forward with a staggering yet swift gait. He’s here!

Qian Jin was slightly surprised; the one being hunted by the Demon Dark Division was a human! He looked no older than eighteen or nineteen. His two black eyebrows slanted upward sharply, like swords.

Though his black eyes clearly showed profound exhaustion, they still managed to give the impression of distant stars on a dark night. His high nose bridge and thin lips formed features that were exquisitely handsome. The delicate appearance was complemented by an imposing heroism, containing not a trace of effeminacy; it was the kind of look that most attracted women.

The young warrior’s close-fitting metal armor was tattered and bloodstained even under the washing rain. The wrist shield on his arm, half a foot in diameter, was already riddled with cracks, and the edges were ragged like saw teeth. One could tell just from his attire the kind of fierce combat this young warrior had recently endured.

Staggering yet fast, he reached the area where Qian Jin and the others were ambushing. The young warrior suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, as if an arrow had been forcefully pinned into the mud. He halted abruptly, his weary eyes sweeping the surroundings.

“Come out,” the young warrior flicked the two broken swords in his hands, coldly surveying the area. “The heavy rain cannot wash away the repulsive, rotting stench emanating from you.” While the rain poured, the three Dark Division members did not budge. If he hadn't seen the three Dark Division members earlier, Fen Tu Kuang Ge might have assumed this young warrior was overly tense, but now he could only admire his composure; even while clearly fleeing for his life, he maintained an exceptionally sharp judgment.

“Since you won’t come out—” The young warrior cast a cold glance around, shifted both swords to one hand, vigilantly watching his surroundings, and fished out fragments of iron from his waist, suddenly flinging them toward the surrounding trees. The nail-sized iron pieces, thrown with full force, shattered countless raindrops and shot out wildly, striking several different large trees. Boom-boom-boom… The sharp-edged iron fragments collided with branches before embedding firmly into trunks and limbs.

Clang! In the heavy rain, the sharp sound of metal striking metal was unusually distinct. The sparks generated by the collision of the short blades and the iron fragments vanished before they could bloom their brilliant light, extinguished by the downpour.

One of the Dark Division demons jumped down from a tree. He could no longer endure it; the last iron piece had coincidentally flown toward his forehead. If he continued to endure and remain hidden, he would eventually be discovered.

Rather than be injured and exposed, he chose to strike first offensively. Eighth Battle Demon Subduer! The demon dropped from the tree with arms spread like a hawk pouncing on a rabbit.

The short blade in his hand shot straight toward the young warrior. He swept his jagged longsword horizontally, parrying the attack of the short blade. His eyes, black as stone, suddenly ignited with blood-red intensity, sparkling like rubies illuminated by a spell.

Kacha… kacha… shua! A sound reminiscent of bone snapping echoed from the young warrior’s back as a wing, half a meter long and shimmering with black light, suddenly burst forth from behind him! A Demon!

A bloodline warrior of the Demon Race! Furthermore, one of the Demon Race’s three ultimate bloodlines among the Demon Martialists—the Royal Bloodline, the Fallen Angel Bloodline! In an instant, the young man’s power surged to the peak of Ninth Battle Demon Subduer.

The longsword in his hand emitted a sword cry akin to a dragon’s roar, and even under the torrential rain, the sword light flared violently! The Fallen Angel Bloodline? Fen Tu Kuang Ge could not suppress the shock in his heart.

This was one of the Demon Race’s most powerful three bloodlines among the Martialists! Why was he here? And why was he being pursued by the Demon Dark Division?

What in the world was happening? He had clearly appeared as a human just moments ago… “Who is it!” The Third Battle Demon Subduer closest to Fen Tu Kuang Ge, positioned in a tree, flicked his short blade and sent it flying toward Fen Tu Kuang Ge, who was buried beneath leaves near the rock! In just an instant, Fen Tu Kuang Ge’s focus experienced shock, causing a slight ripple in his body, which was immediately detected by a member of the Dark Division.