Chapter 696: Disappearance

After the young man finished speaking, he slowly raised his arm, causing Luo En and the others to instantly change expression; though the ropes still bound him, he was somehow able to channel his terrifying energy, lifting the ropes off the ground—even if he hadn't yet snapped them at their roots, merely achieving this proved he possessed an exceedingly fearsome strength.

This guy is terrifying, Luo En thought silently; he had faced many opponents before, but only this one could do such a thing—without these ropes, they could never have restrained him.

The man said.

"We should have killed you long ago."

Before he finished speaking, he unleashed the Phoenix Flame directly onto the young man; the flames roared fiercely, yet the young man's expression didn't change—he regarded the flames with calm indifference.

"Strong enough—it burns the soul—but clearly, it has no effect on me."

The man's face turned utterly grim; this was his strongest attack—yet both the Phoenix Flame and the Ten Thousand Souls Technique seemed utterly countered by the young man, and to this day, he could do nothing to him.

Luo En gripped the man's shoulder and said.

"Stay calm—this guy isn't ordinary; we can't judge him by conventional logic."

Then Luo En walked to the young man's side.

"I don't think we've ever met before, have we?"

Luo En said.

The young man looked into Luo En's eyes and smiled.

"Of course we've met—many times, in fact."

Luo En felt surprised; he had no memory of this man, and if the fellow's energy were truly this intense, he should have left a strong impression.

Luo En said.

"If you've met us before, then what exactly is the conflict between us?"

The young man shook his head, gazing ahead—then suddenly, his form began slowly turning transparent. Luo En's eyes widened in shock; he instantly realized the man intended to flee, but before he could react, it was too late—the figure vanished entirely, leaving only the slackened ropes draped over the chair.

Everyone grew tense at once; no one expected him to escape so swiftly under these conditions—his strength had reached an unimaginable level. The man sighed helplessly.

"So we should've killed him right then—now we've only invited more trouble."

Luo En frowned.

"But how can we kill someone without knowing the reason?"

Yet what surprised them was that the man didn't attack again—he simply vanished, and after waiting a long time, they detected no further assault; clearly, he had left the place.

What was going on? What did he mean? Luo En frowned deeply, unable to make sense of it; they no longer wished to fight—they were all lost, confused. The man had appeared suddenly, vanished suddenly, attacked suddenly, then suddenly stopped.

The girl who had been hiding in the castle all along now stepped out, approaching Luo En and the others, extending her hand to hand him a bead.

"He told me to give this to you."

Luo En took the bead in surprise; it was perfectly round, radiating a sharp aura, warm to the touch, and emitting a faint trace of energy—he was puzzled; this bead was no ordinary object, yet he couldn't fathom why the man wanted him to have it.

"Was it him?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes, it was him—but strangely, he didn't attack me; he just handed me this bead and vanished."

The man beside them shouted loudly.

"What the hell is this guy up to? What even is he? Why is he playing games with us?"

Luo En examined the bead closely, but no matter how he looked, it seemed nothing more than an ordinary bead storing energy—nothing special, and the energy within was utterly common.

The man stared at Luo En.

"Do you really think he left you a clue?"

Luo En said.

"He attacked us for a reason—but he clearly doesn't intend to tell us what it is."

The man laughed loudly.

"What reason? He's just mocking us. A master of his power could kill us in an instant—so why hasn't he?"

Luo En ignored the man entirely, continuing to study the bead—suddenly, his consciousness seemed to enter the bead, and he found himself as if floating within an ocean.