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In one of the darkest back lanes one could ever find.

“Li Mu?! Where are we going now?! What are we to do?!”

Xiao Jianfei looked at Li Mu, his eyes quivering with indecision and doubt.

“I think it’s best if we see you out of the city first,” said Li Mu.

Xiao Jianfei knew what that meant: Li Mu plans to get him out of the picture as quickly as possible and he intended to stay longer in this city—alone. “What courage is this? Is this recklessness?! Does this young man fear nothing?!”

“That won’t be easy. The Drakonids would be all scouring the city with a fine-tooth comb. But I know a few channels to get out of town—discreet and safe ones,” said Xiao Jianfei, pondering his options. More importantly, he wished to bring Li Mu with him. Li Mu just could not afford to commit more slaughter here. The more blood was spilled, the more difficult it would be for them to clear their names.

“What for? If it’s just getting out of the city, just go.”

Li Mu grabbed Xiao Jianfei by the shoulder and they left the alleyway. They stepped onto the streets now desolate and utterly devoid of human activity owing to the lockdown imposed by the Drakonids. They brushed past several patrolling squads and even champions, much to Xiao Jianfei’s chagrin and horror that eventually turned into amazement, and no one seemed to notice them.

Xiao Jianfei could barely tear his disbelieving stare off Li Mu’s back all the time.

They reached a remote part of the city’s outer peripherals, enjoying the shade that the city walls afforded. Li Mu placed a hand on the rough surface of the huge wall. It glistened with an aureate luster twinkling back at them—a defensive ward cast upon the stone-hewn walls to prevent their escape. But the powerful magic of the ward was like nothing before Li Mu’s might. Like cheese melting in a hot pan, a hole eventually opened right where Li Mu placed his hand.

Li Mu took Xiao Jianfei out of the hole with him and they exited Lauffeuer virtually unhindered and unopposed.

Xiao Jianfei was only even more flabbergasted by the repertoire of skills and techniques Li Mu has.

“A-Are you also a wardcaster?!”

He asked with apparent difficulty believing what escaped his lips.

He could only think of no one but wardcasters who could possibly possess the skills to accomplish the feat he just witnessed. For one to pass freely through a defensive ward as potent and mighty as the one now guarding Lauffeuer without so much as a noise or a rattle that might alert the Drakonids, Li Mu would have to be at least a Tier-Ten master wardcaster. Most lesser luminaries skilled in wardcasting would have already inadvertently triggered the magical wards the moment they got in contact with its magic.

They trekked for almost more than ten miles before they stopped somewhere in the wilderness outside the city.

The chilly night winds ran through their hair.

Winter was just around the corner and it was freezing.

Li Mu ignored Xiao Jianfei’s question and instead responded with a question of his own, “So? Have you thought about where would you be going now?”

Xiao Jianfei looked lost.

As an exemplary officer of the Military of Man, Xiao Jianfei has many times proven his valor and capabilities in the line of fire, completing missions of such difficulty and danger that few would envy. All that earned him his position as a lieutenant of the elite Trailblazer Corps where promotion into captaincy was only just a matter of time. Yet the trials he now faced were not only perilous but also unprecedentedly impossible and his foe was none other than the Military of Man itself—an institution that he could say with absolute certainty that he has served to his utmost and had nearly given his life defending. To say that the Military of Man was his life would not be an understatement. Yet to a man like him, take that away and here he was, a lost and discombobulated man not knowing what he should do, now that his conscience and his beliefs were all at odds with each other.

Clearing his name was all he ever wanted at the moment.

But right now, from where he was standing, it seemed unavailingly hard.

Li Mu decided on a change of subject. “You heard about this godhood thing before?”

Xiao Jianfei nodded at first, then he shook his head.

Champions of the human race in the Chaos Battlefield oftentimes elect to join different factions for the sake of survival and growth and the Military of Man is one such faction—the biggest one, in fact, with order, structure, power, influence, and capabilities that could rival those of a real empire. A huge engine made up of millions of tiny cogs and gears which were the soldiers and all other military personnel that worked and fought tirelessly to uphold its credibility and existence. But even they were not all, for the Military of Men was comprised also of various influential families and cliques.

But the Military of Men was also made up of a pantheon of so-called “gods”.

A lowly lieutenant of modest beginnings like Xiao Jianfei would never have the chance of witnessing the true greatness of godhood.

Lei Cang might have always regarded himself as a member of the said pantheon. He claimed it himself, as Xiao Jianfei heard with his own ears back inside the torture chamber, but the lieutenant knew little about the true significance of being a god.

“Would it be possible for you to rush back home and bring your family somewhere safe alone?” Li Mu asked suddenly.

Xiao Jianfei fell silent for seconds before he finally replied, “T-There shouldn’t be any problem, I expect.” A look of dawning comprehension fell upon him. His face contorted with panic. “Wait, are you saying that the Military would go after my family?! Surely not! They might be detained for interrogation, but I don’t believe that they would be harmed in any way! I know the law. I’m sure of that!”

“But what if it’s Lei Cang?”

“Hold up, isn’t Lei Cang dead already?” Xiao Jianfei blurted without thinking. Then he realized something which made him gawk at Li Mu, “Wait. Are you saying that he’s still alive?! But how?! After all that—”

“His physical body might have been destroyed. But you heard him: so long as his name remained on the Roll of Gods, he would still be able to rebirth so long as his spirit remains intact,” said Li Mu, looking grimly into the far distance shrouded by the darkness of the night. “Of course, this is only just a guess. But it’s better to tread on the safe side and not put the safety of your family at such risk. Go. Go to your family and make sure that they’re safe.”

“All right,” Xiao Jianfei answered. He was beginning to look anxious and worried at the mention of his family. “B-But… I’m only afraid that I might be too late.” Passing through the wilderness alone would never be easy, even if he traveled both day and night, especially with the Military already having a head start and all the military checkpoints along the way.

And as a fugitive, he could not use the waypoints in all the big metropolises.

Li Mu whistled loudly.

A jet-black bolt of light zoomed across the wilderness.

It was Schwarzdrachen.

Li Mu had released it into the wild before he made his appearance at the Lord Governor’s court complex.

“Ride him; that way, you’ll reach before first light. Act quickly before the Military arrives. But be careful—our enemies might have more tricks hidden up their sleeves. You’re a Trailblazer, you know what to do,” said Li Mu.

Xiao Jianfei gazed at Li Mu, breathless with gratitude.

“He had thought about this already, for me…”

“Thank you so much, Li Mu,” Xiao Jianfei reverently bowed to Li Mu.

They had barely known each other. In fact, he had been nothing but baggage to Li Mu up until now and he wouldn’t have made it this far without Li Mu’s help. He knew that best of all and the feeling of being dependent made it all the more terrible.

Li Mu humbly accepted the gesture.

Xiao Jianfei straightened up and looked at the young man before him. He wished to speak to him; to ask him about what his plans were and how he should refrain from more killings, but he realized that it was not his place to tell Li Mu what to do. But more importantly, recent events have forced Xiao Jianfei into reassessing his own beliefs and values. He gave another bow, then he vaulted himself on Schwarzdrachen’s back and they cantered away.

Li Mu watched as Xiao Jianfei’s back slowly turned into a dot in the far distance. A smile formed on his lips.

As a soldier in the Military of Man, he has Li Mu’s approval.

The more he struggled with his scruples, the more it showed how order and discipline meant so substantially to him and this was what made Li Mu admire him so much.

If only everyone in the entire institution of the Military of Men shared such zeal in strength and honor. Then the Military of Men would be a force that could defeat whatever problems with trampling ease and supremacy.

To that end, Li Mu wished that Xiao Jianfei would survive this episode and progress far enough to make a difference to earn a place in the Military’s top echelon. He would do whatever it takes to make that possible.

“Uncle Jiang, what do you mean Li Mu’s gone?”

...

Ye Ying blurted with disbelief.

Everything Jiang Buping just told her sounded like a fairy tale out of a storybook. That a man would storm into the Lord Governor of Lauffeuer’s court complex virtually unopposed and unscathed, to say nothing of making short work of a pair of Divine-Realm champions in just the blink of an eye, was almost impossible. Few could have been able to pull off such an act and Li Mu, by Ye Ying’s reckoning, doesn’t fit the bill of one with that prowess or skillset.

Jiang Buping cracked into a weak grin. “I’m sure House Ye is privy to the contents of my report. You can read it yourself if you can’t believe what I just said.”

“I mean no disrespect, Uncle Jiang,” Ye Ying stammered hastily.

Risking her sister’s wrath, Ye Ying had agreed to all the conditions she imposed on her, just so that she could gain her permission to come here. She needed to see Li Mu, at least one last time. Even if she could not save him, she needed to hear his accounts from his own lips so that she could save him if and when the chance presented itself.

But it would appear that all her distress and anxiety had been for nothing.

She stood there, stunned into silence with shock and awe as she exchanged glances with her sister who came with her.

The look on Ye He’s face was astonishment as well.

The growing list of feats accomplished by Li Mu was expanding beyond belief that even the female prodigy of House Ye found herself feeling strangely impressed. The shoot of her curiosity in Li Mu was budding and oddly enough, she too was beginning to want to meet this Li Mu fellow.

“What kind of man he is, that the beautiful and yet aloof sister of mine—dubbed by many in the Military as the ‘Ice Queen of the Trailblazers’—would go crazy for him? What kind of monstrosity is he, that despite his age, even Jiang Buping, an experienced veteran that many in the Military held with such respect and fear, was defeated by him?”

Of Lei Cang, Ye He knew enough.

...

She could not bear to approve of his ways, but she understood full well that the only fresh acolyte the Sons of Lightning had taken in for what seemed like almost a decade was a figure that no one would gladly like to make an enemy of. Yet for all his might and skills, from what Jiang Buping just told her and her sister, he was singled-handedly crushed before he was slain by Li Mu.

A strange feeling told Ye He that given enough time, all of mankind in the Chaos Battlefield would learn the name Li Mu.

What a pity that his fate was sealed the moment he was pegged as an enemy of mankind by the Military of Man. His precipitous rise into prominence would be as swift and fleeting as his doom.

“WHO GOES THERE!?”

Jiang Buping snarled all of a sudden, his glare now transfixed upon a tree at the far corner of the enclosure. “Show yourself!”

Nothing moved.

With a snort, Jiang Buping was about to attack.

“Oy, oy, oy! Wait a minute! It’s me, Uncle Jiang! It’s me! Heh heh heh…” a figure leaped off the boughs of the tree, sniggering ridiculously.

“Lin Jingxin?! You brat! Why on earth are you—“ A mask of astonishment spread across Jiang Buping’s face before he managed to react, “Are you also here on account of this Li Mu?”

“Your moniker as the Fist of Flames is well deserved, Uncle Jiang, heh heh heh. So easily you’ve divined my purpose for being here,” Lin Jingxin stroked his blonde hair as he giggled.

“Fist of Flames? Fist of Shame, more like. That friend of yours easily doused my flames with ice, causing me enough damage to both body and pride. I guess I’m grown old… Forget whatever fists I am, the future belongs to you younglings, as tonight had clearly shown us.”

Lin Jingxin was sensitive enough to hear the hint of frustration in the older man’s voice. “Heh, I’m sure that’s only because you’ve been soft to him on my account. Or else, Li Mu would not have been able to escape unscathed.”

Jiang Buping snorted and grumbled, “And what is Lin An thinking about leaving you here?! I thought you should be a long way from here already?! Anyway, you heard me: Li Mu’s fine. Now go. This is the Lord Governor’s court, not the taproom of you Trailblazer rednecks. I’ll deal with your uncle when I see him next time.”

“All right. I’ll say good luck to my uncle if I ever meet him. Off I go then, hahahah!”

He arrived just in time to listen in to the conversation and he had heard enough to know that all has been fine with Li Mu and Xiao Jianfei. He was just on his way to slip away when Jiang Buping discovered his presence, so this would be a good time for him to quickly take his leave.

But something else occurred to Jiang Buping. “WAIT,” he barked at Lin Jingxin.

The Trailblazer captain swiveled around with a weak smile, “Yes, Uncle Jiang?”

“Get out of Lauffeuer this instant and don’t let me catch you anywhere near the city before winter. Keep your hands and eyes away from what happened at the staging station—at least not until you have the power and influence to do so. You’re old enough to know how much is at stake, so listen to your uncle. He only has your best interests at heart, you know?” Jiang Buping muttered sternly.

The final sentence brought warmth to Lin Jingxin. “Understood, Uncle Jiang. I hear you loud and clear.”

“That goes to you as well,” Jiang Buping said to Ye Ying, “I know you younglings are hot-blooded and it’s a good thing. But let’s not kid ourselves; you need more than just excitement and fervor to get things done. You need brains, not just brawns, and that means you are still unqualified to get involved in messy businesses like this.”

Ye Ying stood there, quiet and impassive for seconds until she finally relented and nodded, “I know, sir. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“As you were then,” Jiang Buping spun on his heels and began retreating back to his chambers.

What a frustrating and terrible evening this had turned out to be.

Lin Jingxin and Ye Ying both traded knowing glances before they made ready to leave.

Just then.

“LEAVING, EH? NO ONE’S LEAVING TONIGHT.”

A voice, frigid and steely, reverberated all over the court complex, booming loud and imposing enough to send the whole place quaking. Lightning flashed in the rolling dark clouds overhead as an indomitable presence descended upon the enclosure; a dome-like forcefield encompassing the entire court complex cutting it off from the rest of the world.