Chapter 136: Da Xia

Su Mengyao, as a member of the Tianshu Bureau, naturally understood the Bureau’s stance toward Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan was merely a collaborator with the Tianshu Bureau, not a member; their connection was not deep. If they wished to request his aid, from what angle should they approach him?

This time, Ye Xuan came—so next time, when another city faces a beast surge, should they continue to beg him to come?

The Tianshu Bureau was established to protect the people’s safety, not to act as a middleman between itself and Ye Xuan, shunting all responsibility onto him.

If the threat was beyond their capacity—like the Deep King of Bibo City last time—then of course they could do so; but a beast surge with only third-rank mutated creatures? They could handle it themselves.

So, it was unnecessary.

Ye Xuan learned of the events in Qingshan County only because, while meditating on heaven and earth through the Emperor Armor, he sensed spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from Qingshan City and came out of instinctive awareness.

As for the deeper meaning in Gu Che’s words, he understood perfectly.

Just as during the first Spiritual Tide’s beast surge, when Zhong Lao chose to stand idle, he had seen the old man’s intention.

Return Da Xia’s future to Da Xia itself—under the guarantee of upright light, let this land grow by its own strength, not by reliance on so-called gods.

His power was simply too immense.

If he intervened, whether Zhong Lao acted or not became irrelevant.

Perhaps because he understood Ye Xuan’s nature, Zhong Lao had never delved deeply into this matter with him.

Of course, even if he had, it would be useless—what to do, what to think, he had his own mind; he needed no one to instruct him.

Ye Xuan suddenly turned, his gaze fixed on the direction of Qingfeng Mountain. Gu Che and the others followed his line of sight, their faces filled with confusion.

From afar in Qingfeng Mountain, beast roars rose in waves; the ground trembled slightly, trees shook violently, and the sound of countless claws shattering dry branches could be faintly heard.

The commotion grew louder, drew nearer—as if a vast horde of mutated creatures were surging toward them.

“They’re… coming back again?”

Lin Ruoxi widened her eyes in disbelief, her voice tinged with absurdity.

They hadn’t chased them into Qingfeng Mountain and slaughtered every last one. After fleeing, those mutated creatures had barely survived—why weren’t they hiding in relief? Why had they gathered and returned?

Who gave them the nerve?

The Tianshu Bureau soldiers around them also noticed the noise. Instinctively, they tensed their bodies and gripped their weapons tighter—until they caught Ye Xuan glancing at them.

All tension vanished instantly; their bodies relaxed without thought.

They had forgotten—Ye Shen was still here.

He was Da Xia’s only sixth-rank at present. Even if his power stemmed from the Flame Dragon Armor, even in his normal state, he was one of only two fifth-ranks in Da Xia—a godlike force.

Beast surge? Come as many as you like—die as many as you come.

They were almost glad the mutated creatures had returned. If they’d all fled back into Qingfeng Mountain, it would’ve been harder to deal with—they couldn’t possibly bomb Qingfeng Mountain or massacre every living thing on its slopes.

But now, they had come back on their own, and Ye Shen was here—perfect. They could wipe them all out in one sweep.

Before their eyes, a dark tide of beasts surged forward. At the forefront were three massive mutated gorillas, their aura of pressure even stronger than the third-rank creatures they’d faced before.

Lin Ruoxi frowned, a sense of absurdity stirring in her chest.

On the Qingshan County battlefield, she had personally slain no fewer than two third-rank mutated creatures. Shen Mo and Gu Che had each encountered more than one as well. And now, three even stronger ones had appeared?

“These mutated creatures have no Celestial Treasures—how can they so easily break through to third rank?”

In Da Xia, and indeed across all human nations, every known third-rank being was a holder of a Celestial Treasure.

Though they had awakened abilities, they were already Celestial Treasure holders before their awakening.

To date, no pure ability user has reached third rank.

Is it that certain mutated creature species possess greater innate talent in cultivation? Or are these third-rank mutated creatures rare prodigies within their kind?

Both possibilities seem plausible.

Just as human society produces prodigies, so too must mutated creatures harbor beings of extraordinary cultivation talent—even ones whose innate potential surpasses that of humans.

If humanity can birth a prodigy as terrifying as Ye Xuan, why not mutated creatures?

The only difference is that Ye Xuan possesses a Celestial Treasure, while they do not.

“Three third-rank mutated gorillas—we each take one?”

Gu Che looked at Shen Mo and Lin Ruoxi.

Before either could respond, Ye Xuan shook his head and said calmly:

“I’ll handle them.”

“Afterward, one remains for you two.”

One remains?

Gu Che, Shen Mo, and Lin Ruoxi were puzzled. They were about to ask—when they saw Ye Xuan step forward.

They swallowed their questions and held their breath in unison.

To this day, they had never seen Ye Xuan fight at full power.

Whether fighting him themselves, facing the first Spiritual Tide’s beast surge, or confronting the Deep King of Bibo City—it seemed no matter the opponent, he always crushed them effortlessly.

They had never seen Ye Xuan truly unleash his full strength.

Now, with this overwhelming beast surge—even Ye Xuan would need to use at least thirty percent of his power, wouldn’t he?

But what power would he use to eliminate them?

The Heaven-and-Earth Sword from the Wangquan Hegemony template? The flames like those beside Xizi Lake, amplified by the Flame Dragon Armor?

Or something else—some ability they didn’t know?

Speaking of which, what was that blue dragon silhouette circling the sky earlier? They’d never seen Ye Xuan use it before.

As their thoughts raced, they saw Ye Xuan suddenly produce a tachi in his hand. The moment the blade appeared, Shen Mo’s Hyōrinmaru trembled violently.

“Hmm?”

Shen Mo glanced at Hyōrinmaru, puzzled by its sudden agitation.

“Sword!”

“Sword!”

“Look at his sword!”

Hyōrinmaru’s consciousness kept urging Shen Mo to focus on Ye Xuan’s blade.

“Sword?”

Shen Mo instinctively turned his gaze to the blade in Ye Xuan’s hand.

A deep purple hilt, an oval tsuba, a brown scabbard—a common tachi, nothing special about it.

But when had Ye Xuan started using a tachi?

Didn’t he always wield the sword engraved with “Wangquan”?

A tachi? Unless he’d obtained Hyōrinmaru, he wouldn’t have even…

Wait. Tachi. Hyōrinmaru.

Shen Mo realized something. His pupils shrank instantly as he stared fixedly at the tachi in Ye Xuan’s hand.

(End of Chapter)