You Bastard, I Knew You Were Up to No Good!

Meltbone's speed was ridiculously fast.

The surrounding scenery instantly stretched into countless blurry bands of color, with the walls and gates of the Sacred City, along with the lined-up cannon fodder legions, flashing past the edge of his vision in an instant.

Before the wind pressure could even hit his face, the heat radiating from Meltbone's body burned it into a distorted wave of air, leaving only the sizzling sound of flames scorching the atmosphere in his ears.

By the time Ethan realized what was happening, the two of them had already dashed dozens of miles away.

“Ahem, Lord Meltbone,” Ethan quickly spoke up.

“Hmm?” Meltbone did not stop, the dirt beneath his feet sizzling from the heat.

“Um, we're going the wrong way.”

“Ah? What's wrong?” Meltbone turned his head, his dark red eyes filled with confusion.

“The direction. We're going the wrong way. Lord Energy-Eating Insect's mission is to fetch water from beneath the World Tree.”

Meltbone's footsteps ground to a sudden halt.

He stood in the dense forest, still slinging his arm around Ethan's shoulder, the cracks on his dark red skin flickering several times.

“Ah, hahaha, you should have said so earlier.” Meltbone let out a dry laugh, letting his arm slide off Ethan's shoulder and slapping him on the back.

This slap sent Ethan staggering forward a couple of steps.

Meltbone pretended not to notice, grabbing Ethan by his back collar, spinning around, and running back.

Well, the direction was correct this time.

Carrying Ethan by his back collar, Meltbone bounded over to the foot of the World Tree in just a few strides.

Only when his feet touched solid ground did Ethan clearly see his surroundings.

The root system of the World Tree spread out in all directions from the base of the trunk. Each root was as thick as a house, with extremely faint emerald-green patterns flowing across the dark brown bark.

The gaps between the roots were wide enough for a dozen people to walk abreast, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves, feeling as soft as stepping on cotton.

Less than a hundred meters straight ahead, there was a clear spring.

The spring pool was not large, only about three or four meters in diameter.

The water's surface was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the thick branches and layers of leaves overhead.

The water was pale blue and extremely transparent, allowing one to see the fine sand and pebbles at the bottom at a single glance.

A very thin layer of mist hovered over the water, drifting only within the confines of the spring pool and never spreading outward.

An indescribable sweet aroma filled the surrounding air.

Taking a breath felt as though his lungs had been thoroughly washed.

Standing around the spring pool were over a dozen Amons Priests dressed in dark green robes, holding bone-white short staffs.

They formed a semicircle, guarding the spring pool behind them.

Meltbone made quite a racket when he landed.

Flames radiated from beneath his feet, scorching the fallen leaves within a radius of dozens of meters into off-white powder.

The surrounding air warped slightly under the high temperature, and a heatwave rushed toward the Priests.

The leading Priest looked up.

Her intricate facial markings trembled slightly in the heatwave, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her short staff. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

Meltbone turned his head and cast a glance at her.

Just a single glance.

The Priest's short staff slipped from her hand and clattered onto the fallen leaves.

Her entire body froze on the spot, the facial markings on her face dimming inch by inch.

The surrounding Priests lowered their heads in unison, their long, pointed ears pressing tightly against the sides of their heads. A few stepped back, and one fell directly to her knees.

Meltbone withdrew his gaze.

“Kid, hurry up, don't dawdle.”

Ethan retrieved the green gourd from his ring.

He dipped the mouth of the gourd into the spring water.

A tiny ripple spread across the water's surface.

A gurgling sound echoed from inside the gourd, and the water level dropped at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Although the gourd did not look large, it took a full hundred pounds of water before it was barely filled.

Ethan secured the stopper and returned the green gourd to his ring.

Meltbone leaned against one of the roots with his arms crossed, his dark red eyes staring at the silent, head-bowed Priests.

He tapped his fingers against his arm, and after tapping about a dozen times, he turned his head to look at Ethan.

“Done?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Alright then.”

Meltbone straightened up, but he showed no intention of leaving immediately.

Ethan stood in place and waited.

Meltbone coughed.

“Ahem.”

He took a step forward, then stepped back. The cracks on his dark red skin flickered several times, and his lips twitched repeatedly before he finally spoke.

“Kid, the benefits at my Melted Blood Corroded Bone Academy are way better than what that old geezer Blood Bone offers. Want to come over?”

Ethan was taken aback.

Seeing that Ethan did not refuse immediately, Meltbone grew excited.

He leaned half a step closer, lowering his voice. “Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. I'll borrow you for two years first, then assign you a few missions, and you can transfer your affiliation completely out in the open. Once you're on my side, your resources will double, and you can choose any mentor you want. That stingy old geezer Blood Bone is so cheap he won't even give his students a decent meditation method. My place is different. As long as you come, I'll give you a High-Level Meditation Method directly. There are also body refinement secret techniques. You like body refinement, right? My Melted Blood Corroded Bone Academy specializes in body refinement, ranking in the top three among all the Three Rings academies. What can those Necromancy-playing fools at Blood Bone Tower even teach you about body refinement?”

Ethan quickly bowed. “My Lord, Blood Bone Tower has been very good to me, really—”

“Ah, kid, that's completely different.” Meltbone waved his hand, cutting him off. “Let me tell you, although that old geezer Blood Bone is my friend, I know exactly what kind of person he is. If you stay with him, the absolute best you can ever hope to be is an apprentice who ranks first on the Battle Merit Ranking. If you come to my side, I will guide you personally. A talent like you is wasted at Blood Bone Tower. Do you know how much resource quota my Melted Blood Corroded Bone Academy gets a year? Do you know how many Second-Tier Wizards I have who specialize in teaching disciples? Do you know—”

Before he could finish, a streak of bloody light shot straight down from the sky.

The bloody light arrived incredibly fast—so fast that before Meltbone's words could even settle, it crashed down less than three meters in front of him.

The fallen leaves on the ground were swept up by the shockwave of the bloody light, swirling in all directions.

As the bloody light dissipated, Blood Bone stood beside the spring pool.

His dark red hair still fluttered slightly, and his blood-colored eyes glared fixedly at Meltbone.

His face was expressionless, but the corners of his mouth twitched downward in a tiny scowl.

“You bastard, I knew you were up to no good!”

With that, Wizard Blood Bone raised his hand and blasted out a streak of crimson bloody light.

Meltbone reacted extremely quickly.

The instant the bloody light appeared, he took half a step back, opening his right hand as a dark red pillar of fire erupted from his palm.

The pillar of fire collided with the residual bloody light on Blood Bone's body, exploding into a cloud of white mist.

Before the white mist could even dissipate, Meltbone had already fled.

A ring of fire erupted beneath his feet as he transformed into a streak of dark red light, charging straight into the depths of the Azure-Dyed Forest. He moved so fast he left only an afterimage behind, the echo of his voice still lingering in the air.

“Blood Bone! You're so stingy!”

Blood Bone stood on the spot, raising his right hand and opening his fingers.

A clump of squirming dark red flesh appeared in his palm. It rolled around twice before exploding.