Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Yang Ling sped through the forest, putting as much distance as he could between himself and Salvador’s rapidly cooling corpse. Even though he had killed one of the elite squads of his enemies, he believed that they would not let things end like that. As a precaution, he needed to maintain distance between them and himself at all times.

The Kanda Mountain Valley spanned thousands of miles. The deeper one delved into the forest, the lusher the trees became. The Germite Vultures had excellent eyesight, but even they might not be able to pinpoint his exact position.

Indeed, after spending a day diving deeper into the forest, truth confirmed his conjecture. Germite Vultures circled the air from time to time, and they sometimes flew low and close to the treetops, trying and failing to find his tracks.

The Germite Vultures could fly high in the air and had excellent eyesight, but their offensive and defensive capabilities were low. In just two days, Yang Ling’s Horned Bee Beasts had killed three of them.

In addition to picking off his aerial tracking detail, Yang Ling had also set up many traps to ensnare a few of his pursuers. He’d succeeded in killing a total of fifty-six black robed men.

Yang Ling had succeeded with each of his traps, but it was not without a price!

While he was killing the second Heaven-ranked Assassin, his enemy had inflicted a wound on his chest, nearly piercing his heart. While he was dealing with the third Heaven-ranked Assassin, an assassin had slashed his back. If not for the Horned Bee Beasts guarding his body dealing with the other party with its life, he might have become a victim himself.

His Horned Bee Beasts had also suffered heavy casualties, along with the spiders and Vampire Bats. Not many of any group had died, but there were many injuries. Those too injured to fight would not be able to help Yang Ling for some time while they healed. Lucky for Yang Ling, the white fog in the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda was miraculous, and he estimated that they would recover fully soon.

Yang Ling had paid a price, but it was not worth mentioning compared to what the pursuers had been through. Losing three Heaven-ranked Assassins took a heavy toll on the pursuers. Heaven-ranked Assassins were on the same level as Sword Saints and Magical Tutors, but they had lesser numbers and were hard to nurture. There were not many experienced Heaven-ranked Assassins on the whole of the Tailun Continent.

Eventually the pursuers learned that their losses would only increase, and they quit acting rashly. They quit pursuing him individually. This lifted the pressure from Yang Ling considerably, and allowed him to concentrate on getting to the Wilderness of Siberia, still a few hundred miles away.

Compared to the Kanda Mountain Valley, the Wilderness of Siberia was even more vast, spanning thousands of miles. Yang Ling believed that he would be a fish in the water when he entered the wilderness, given his abilities. His enemies might not be able to intercept him even with their numbers when he entered the wilderness.

Yang Ling knew exactly the benefits of quickly arriving in the Wilderness of Siberia, but the pursuers were not stupid either. They sent fighters to pursue him in the forest and deployed heavy manpower at the border between the Kanda Mountain Valley and the Wilderness of Siberia.

Grichie’s faction had also found a way to mobilize the soldiers posted at the border of the alliance, sealing off the customs as a means of blocking Yang Ling’s route of escape.

But no amount of people were enough when it came to dealing with the speedy Yang Ling and his lightning-fast Unicorn!

After breaching the other party’s line of defense and entering the Wilderness of Siberia, Yang Ling heaved a sigh of relief. He extended the distance between him and his pursuers by hundreds of miles in just half a day using his Unicorn. If there were no accidents, he should successfully arrive at the Aila Mountain Pass in just three more days. Then, he believed that none of the pursuers would dare chase after him.

Two days later, with the perilous Aila Mountain Pass in the distance, Yang Ling looked at the Unicorn that had been continuously running for two days, and decided to stop by a small lake that had not frozen over to rest the night before continuing on his journey.

After summoning a team of Horned Bee Beasts to guard the area, Yang Ling summoned Yuna and set up their two tents on the shore. He took out two bottles of rum, a packet of roasted meat and a bunch of dry firewood by moonlight. He conjured a small fireball from his fingertips and ignited the dry wood.

Over this period of time, as the Wizard Power in his body increased, his Magical Energy had also become richer. He had yet to master any powerful magic spells, but he had no problem making a few fireballs. He could also expertly speak the incantations. It wasn’t immensely practical on the battlefield, but it made making a fire simple and convenient, much more effective than a ZIPPO lighter.

“Brother Yang, has the wound on your back healed? Let me take a look at it!”

After skewering the meat and placing it on the fire, Yuna sat down beside Yang Ling. Since she learned of Yang Ling’s injuries, she insisted on checking the wound once every day, worried about infection.

Yang Ling took a sip of rum and looked at Yuna, alluring in the moonlight. He smiled and shook his head, and allowed her to roll his shirt up gently. As the green life force in his body had become more powerful, his wound had recovered quickly. In just a few days, all that was left of the wound was a faint scar.

After ascertaining that no danger would come from Yang Ling’s wound, Yuna sighed with relief. “Brother Yang, you must be careful the next time you are in danger. If you really cannot avoid it, you must remember to summon me to help you!” She looked at him seriously.

“Alright, no problem!” he laughed. He finished the rum in his flask and then walked to the lake’s edge, scooping up a bottle full of the clear water and tasting it.

The water was perfectly clear, and held a natural sweetness. But for some reason, Yang Ling could feel that something was wrong. He felt a growing sense of danger.

Could it be that the enemy had set up an ambush at this small lake before he got here?

Out of caution, Yang Ling quickly unsheathed his sharp Blood Elf Dagger and carefully took stock of the area.

Ever since he picked up the weapon of the Heaven-ranked Assassin Salvador, he had involuntarily taken a fancy to the dagger that came equipped with a weakening, numbing and slowing spell. He had taken a fancy to this weapon that every assassin should be equipped with.

The lake was small, not any bigger than the pond he reared fish in when he was young. There were reed-like aquatic plants growing by the lake, and Yang Ling could not find anything suspicious about them; around them was a level field, completely empty save for a few smooth black stones. There was no way that an enemy could hide in such a place.

That’s weird. Could all of this be just my imagination?

After making his way around the lake once, Yang Ling shook his head in doubt. Even though he could not pinpoint why exactly he felt that something was off, the sense of danger in his heart not only failed disappear, but instead grew more intense. At the same time, the pagoda shaped mark between his brows became hotter and hotter as it throbbed in agitation.

The water of the lake, the clear water of the lake!

Stroking the pagoda shaped mark, then looking at the clear water of the lake, Yang Ling shuddered, suddenly realizing what was wrong.

Along the way, he had come across several lakes that had not been frozen, and no matter the size, there were always various fishes swimming in the lake. But the lake before him was too strange. There was no aquatic life at all: no little shrimp, no fish. It was very strange.

Could it be that there is poison in the water?

Yang Ling sniffed the water in his flask and detected a faint odor. The feeling was as if someone had put a teaspoon of salt into a gallon of water, or someone had put a drop of sesame oil into a pot of porridge! If not for the fact that he had reached the level of mid level Earth Wizard and had a sense of smell far more keen than an average person, he might not have been able to detect the scent at all.

“Let’s go, Yuna, quickly!” he said, all hesitation evaporating. He poured out the flask, and pulled Yuna toward the Unicorn, who was resting nearby.

Yang Ling had been swift and decisive, but it was too late!

An icy laugh rippled through the air. A tall masked figure appeared before them, blocking their path.

“Who are you?” Pushing Yuna behind him, Yang Ling cautiously lifted the Blood Elf Dagger in his hand.

He could not feel any Battle Energy or Magical Energy coming from the masked man. This meant that the other party’s abilities were beyond comprehension. He would either have to be at sage level like the Elder Klive, or he was using some special method to mask his energy. No matter the circumstance, it meant that the masked man before him was dangerous.

Furthermore, not knowing if it was his imagination or some other reason, Yang Ling felt as though he had seen this masked man before. But to his frustration, he could not think of where no matter how hard he tried.

“My real name has long been forgotten by the people. Now, they call me Flowing Venom!” The tall masked man was not in a hurry to take action. He exuded confidence. He looked with interest at Yang Ling, who for his part was not flustered in the face of a crisis. “This is unfortunate. Not many Summoners could train to reach your level. I did not expect to meet another Ancient Summoner again after eighty years!”

“You… You are the old man that bought the Heart of the Ocean?”

The masked man had a raspy voice, and Yang Ling had immediately recalled the Purple Crystal Auction Hall in Montson and the elder dressed in ancient chinese robes that bought the Heart of the Ocean. The man’s voice had given away his identity.

Back then, in order to find a way to obtain the precious Heart of the Ocean, he had intentionally paid attention to the other party’s voice, appearance and physique. To think the other party had materialized before his eyes even before he paid him a visit. Nor did he expect the elder dressed in ancient chinese robes that he had thought to be a wealthy merchant to actually be a terrifying, world-renowned killer!