What Is He Talking About?

Harvey's face turned deathly pale, completely drained of color.

His body trembled slightly, and his hands gripped the reins so tightly that his fingers were cut, leaving faint, thin wounds.

He could never have imagined that this seemingly unremarkable “Healer” actually possessed such terrifying strength, capable of instantly killing even a mid-stage Practitioner Heavy Armored Knight in a single blow.

The retainers behind him were scared out of their wits, frantically backing away in a panic.

Some instinctively yanked their reins to turn their horses and flee, but their hands shook so violently from panic that they couldn't even hold the leather straps steady.

Others held their blades with trembling arms, their eyes darting around, utterly torn between charging forward or retreating.

Still others kept their eyes locked onto the staff in Bai Xuan's hand, their gazes filled with absolute dread.

To them, that seemingly ordinary staff now looked like a weapon forged by death itself.

“Go! All of you, go!” Harvey roared hysterically, his voice turning shrill with fear.

“Surround him! He's only one person, what are you afraid of!”

The retainers exchanged hesitant, terrified glances.

Yet, under Harvey's fierce, menacing glare, they dared not disobey. Steeling themselves, they brandished their sharp weapons and rushed toward Bai Xuan in small, scattered groups.

But their footsteps were sluggish, lacking even a shred of momentum.

One retainer who reached Bai Xuan first showed a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes, swinging his long blade down toward Bai Xuan's shoulder.

Bai Xuan sidestepped slightly, easily evading the attack, and swung his staff in a fluid motion, smashing it heavily against the man's chest.

With a dull groan, the man was sent flying backward.

He crashed hard against a tree, slid to the ground, and curled up while clutching his chest, unable to get back up.

Seeing this, the next man tried to launch a sneak attack from the side, lightening his steps in an attempt to strike while Bai Xuan was off guard.

But the moment he drew near, Bai Xuan swept his staff outward with fierce momentum, striking him hard on the waist.

A sickening crack of breaking bones echoed clearly through the woods.

Screaming in agony, the man flew sideways and crashed heavily into the nearby bushes, falling completely silent.

Seeing how badly things were going, the remaining retainers lost all courage to step forward. They hurriedly turned their horses, desperate to seize the chance to escape.

With a flick of his wrist, Bai Xuan threw his staff. It shot through the air like a shooting star, striking one fleeing rider squarely in the center of his back.

The man groaned, tumbled straight off his horse, and hit the ground. After a few weak twitches, his breath faded entirely.

The rest of the battle ended in the blink of an eye. In less than two minutes, all of the retainers Harvey had brought with him lay sprawled on the ground.

Only a chorus of agonizing groans echoed through the woods, mingled with the sharp snaps of broken branches, grating on the ears.

As Harvey took in the scene, the arrogant sneer on his face froze instantly before deflating like a punctured balloon.

Panic surged in his heart once more. He had never imagined that the elite guards he had meticulously selected would be so utterly useless.

He abruptly pulled his horse back a couple of paces, his palms slick with cold sweat, with only one thought left in his mind.

Escape!

But just as he was about to dig his heels into his mount's flanks, he caught sight of Bai Xuan out of the corner of his eye, still standing calmly in the exact same spot.

His expression was completely indifferent, as if the people before him were nothing more than bugs he could crush at a whim.

This sheer nonchalance viciously punctured Harvey's remaining pride, igniting the deep-seated arrogance in his bones.

With a furious roar, he drew his sword. The blade caught the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees as he lunged fiercely at Bai Xuan.

“How dare you look down on me!” Harvey's eyes were bloodshot. His swordplay was frantic and swift, every strike backed by his absolute limit.

Yet, Bai Xuan merely tilted his body slightly, effortlessly dodging the frantic onslaught. Not even the hem of his clothes brushed against the tip of the blade.

Harvey's breathing grew ragged, and his arms began to tremble from the continuous exertion. The panic in his heart intensified, rapidly transforming into a bone-deep sense of powerlessness.

Gritting his teeth, he relied on his combat instincts to frantically maneuver his horse, barely managing to evade a casual swing of Bai Xuan's staff.

Harvey knew deep down that he was no match for Bai Xuan.

Every single dodge drained his energy to the limit, while Bai Xuan's counterattacks loomed over him like a mountain, slowly crushing his resolve bit by bit.

Just as Harvey swung his sword to strike back once more, Bai Xuan casually raised a hand. The thrown staff instantly blurred, flying straight back into his palm.

Before Harvey could even recover his stance, Bai Xuan flicked his wrist, sending the staff whistling through the air to slam directly against the sword.

With a sharp clang, the sword was knocked clean out of Harvey's grip, flying through the air and embedding itself into the dirt nearby.

Before Harvey could process what had happened, the residual force of the staff swept across his mount.

The warhorse let out a pitiful shriek, its legs buckling as it crashed heavily to the ground.

Caught completely off guard, Harvey was thrown violently from the saddle and slammed onto the hard earth.

A searing pain flared in Harvey's chest. A mouthful of blood welled up in his throat, but he forced himself to swallow it back down.

He struggled to crawl to his feet, only for an agonizing pain to shoot up his right leg. The impact of the fall had snapped his bone, leaving him entirely without strength.

At this moment, Harvey's hair was a disheveled mess, his clothes were covered in dirt, and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. The arrogance in his eyes had vanished completely, replaced by utter despair and terror.

His mental defenses were thoroughly shattered, leaving him without even the courage to look up at Bai Xuan.

Bai Xuan walked over with slow, measured steps. An invisible, suffocating pressure grew heavier by the second, completely enveloping Harvey.

Bai Xuan came to a stop, standing tall as he looked down at Harvey.

His black leather armor gleamed under the dappled sunlight of the forest, and the staff hanging at his side still radiated a heart-stopping pressure.

Harvey struggled to raise his head, staring at the young man who exuded a chilling aura. Suddenly, the memory of their meeting at the Inner Wall flashed through his mind.

Back then, he had looked down on this seemingly ordinary Healer, warning him with an arrogant, dismissive tone.

But now, their roles were completely reversed. He was the one kneeling miserably on the ground.

Meanwhile, the person he had once looked down upon stood right before him, so intimidating that Harvey barely had the courage to look him in the eye.

“You... who on earth are you?” Harvey's teeth chattered as he spoke, his face a mask of terror and confusion.

“What are you trying to do, disguising yourself as a Healer?”

Bai Xuan looked down at him, his expression remaining perfectly calm.

“Let me give you a piece of advice,” his voice rang clearly in Harvey's ears.

“Next time you chase someone, make sure you know your own limits first. Dragging so many people out here based on a mere suspicion... do you think this is a game?”

Harvey's face instantly flushed a deep purple, a volatile mix of rage and terror twisting his features.

He slowly raised his head. Beside the fear in his eyes, there was a surge of resentment, fury, and a twisted, desperate madness.

“Enjoy your arrogance while you can,” he rasped, his teeth grinding together. “Once Lord Zane learns of what happened here, there will be absolutely no escape for you!”

Bai Xuan's raised hand paused. He slowly turned his gaze onto Harvey's pathetic figure.

“No escape for me?” He tilted his head slightly, his lips curving into a cold sneer.

“Still stubborn even on the brink of death. When you relied on numbers to bully the weak, did you ever stop to think you'd end up like this?”

Harvey looked as though he had been stung, but in the next second, his twisted madness flared up again.

“My lord's power is far beyond anything you could ever imagine!” His voice grew increasingly agitated, culminating in a hysterical screech.

“He is the genius of our Cross family! In the future, he will reshape the entire world! In his eyes, you are nothing but an ant to be crushed at will!”

Bai Xuan couldn't help but let out a low chuckle, his tone dripping with mockery.

“This genius of yours,” he said slowly, his gaze growing razor-sharp, “how many strikes of my staff do you think he can take?”

Harvey froze for a second, then laughed even more hysterically, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

“You? With your pathetic strength, you aren't even fit to carry Lord Zane's shoes! Just you wait, my lord will find you, and he will—”

“Oh?” Bai Xuan sneered, cutting him off.

“That powerful? Judging by your tone, surely he must have already broken through to the Hero Rank?”

He paused, adding a touch of casual indifference, as if he were merely making idle conversation.

“If he really has reached the Hero Rank, that would indeed be a bit troublesome.”

Harvey's words instantly caught in his throat. He looked as if someone had pressed a pause button on him, his mind completely short-circuiting.

He stared blankly at Bai Xuan, the madness and arrogance on his face freezing into a look of sheer, unbelievable bewilderment.

Did he have a Hero Rank powerhouse backing him up, or... did he simply have no idea what the Hero Rank actually represented?

“What... what nonsense are you talking about!” His voice lost its previous stubbornness, tinged with a hint of panic.

“Even if my lord hasn't reached the Hero Rank yet, with his Transcendent Rank strength, crushing you would still be as easy as pie!”

Bai Xuan's heart stirred slightly, and his fingers twitched, but his face remained completely calm, betraying not a single trace of emotion.

Transcendent Rank—that meant a minimum strength of Level 8.

Zane, who used to bow and scrape so submissively before the Mulan family, was actually a Transcendent Rank expert?

He couldn't help but think of Anna, who stood beside Amelia, and Lorrain, the Level 9 half-elf who had been trapped by a curse.

But how could Zane Cross—a man who lorded over the borderlands and seemingly conducted experiments on commoners—possibly possess Transcendent Rank strength?

There had to be some dark, hidden secret behind this.

“Transcendent Rank?” Bai Xuan maintained his casual, mocking smile, as if speaking of something entirely insignificant.

“And here I thought he was actually formidable. So he's just at the Transcendent Rank. I've seen plenty of Transcendent Rank experts back in Myriad City.”

Harvey's face flushed a deep crimson, his entire body shaking with rage.

“What do you know!” he blurted out, his tone filled with urgency and frustration.

“Lord Zane has a special method of advancement! The speed at which he grows stronger is completely beyond the imagination of ordinary people like you!”

Bai Xuan's eyes narrowed, his casual demeanor fading slightly.

A special method...

He leaned down slightly, testing the waters. “Is that so? Just how special is it? More special than that so-called ‘Gemstone’?”

Harvey's expression froze instantly. His lips parted as if he wanted to speak.

But the words died in his throat, and he forced them back down, unable to utter a single syllable.

Bai Xuan took a step forward, the atmospheric pressure around him dropping slightly as his gaze locked onto Harvey.

“That so-called ‘Gemstone’,” his voice deepened as he asked point-blank, “what exactly is it?”

Harvey snapped his mouth shut and turned his face away, clearly refusing to cooperate.

Bai Xuan slowly squatted down to look Harvey in the eye, his gaze devoid of any warmth. “Not going to speak?”

Harvey kept his lips sealed tight, turning his head even further away, refusing to even make eye contact.

Bai Xuan wasted no more words. He raised his hand and brought the staff down. With a sharp crack, one of Harvey's bones shattered.

A bloodcurdling shriek instantly pierced the silence of the forest.

Immediately after, the Holy Light Catalyst in his hand flared with a brilliant golden glow, its gentle light washing over Harvey's injury.

The golden light flashed and vanished. Harvey's broken bone knit back together, and his wound healed completely.

Yet in the very next second, Harvey's body suddenly tensed, and an agonizing, strangled scream tore from his throat.

Sweat instantly drenched his clothes, and his entire body shook uncontrollably.

“How does that feel?” Bai Xuan's voice was completely flat, even carrying a hint of dark amusement. “Isn't it very ‘comfortable’?”

Harvey panted heavily, his eyes remaining unfocused for a long time before slowly centering. He looked up at Bai Xuan weakly, his lips trembling as he finally squeezed out a few words.

“That ‘Gemstone’...” His voice was so raspy it was barely audible. “As long as we obtain it, the future will belong to Lord Zane... Our Cross family will become the new royalty of this world...”

Having said this, he seemed to have depleted the very last of his energy. His head lolled to the side, and he collapsed completely onto the dirt.

Bai Xuan stood up, remaining silent on the spot as a trace of solemnity flickered in his eyes.

A new royal family.

Zane's ambition was far greater than he had ever imagined.

“What else?” he asked again, a hint of impatience in his voice.

But Harvey refused to speak another word. No matter how much Bai Xuan questioned or prodded him, he kept his lips tightly sealed.

Bai Xuan tried threats and enticements several more times, but aside from painful screams, Harvey did not utter a single syllable.

It was useless. He would never speak again.

Bai Xuan slowly stood up and raised his staff high.

Sensing what was coming, Harvey slowly closed his eyes. There was no fear on his face, only a numb sense of relief.

The staff came down. After a dull thud, Harvey's screams cut off instantly, and his breathing ceased forever.

Bai Xuan looked down at the corpse on the ground and stood in silence for a long time, a complex mix of emotions stirring in his heart.

Ever since Harvey had warned him back at the Inner Wall, this man had been like a thorn lodged in his heart.

Initially, he had only wanted to save people and make a bit of quick money, never expecting things would end this way.

Shaking off his thoughts, he squatted down and quickly searched Harvey's body for valuables, stuffing the gold and silver coins into his coat without taking the time to count them.

Afterward, he went to search the bodies of the other retainers.

He found a substantial amount of gold and silver coins, particularly on the Heavy Armored Knight.

A rough count revealed a total of thirteen gold coins and over three hundred silver coins.

“Truly, murder and arson bring a gold belt,” Bai Xuan murmured to himself with a touch of helplessness.

Though the saying was crude, in this dog-eat-dog world, it was sometimes the absolute reality.

Packing away the loot, he gave a soft call toward the hiding spot.