Chapter 32: Tracking and Eavesdropping

Half a street away, Lei En saw the other's appearance clearly.

The person was not old—a young man about twenty‑three, with an ordinary face, a tall slender build, no mission weapon on his hand, wearing tight clothing; his movements were swift, deftly dodging pedestrians and obstacles while sprinting, and he easily kept up with the carriage.

Lei En discovered an Element in the other's soul called "Inner Qi", confirming that they were a fighter.

The Inner Qi Element originates from the demon soul of a Sparrow‑Tail Mantis, a rare Element that lets a transcendent individual channel bodily force into "Qi Power", unleashing massive destructive force in an instant during close combat.

A fighter's strength is built upon Inner Qi, excelling in close‑quarters combat, using the body as a weapon; every attack carries Inner Qi, combining speed with balanced offense and defense.

Fighters are rare, but each one is hard to deal with.

The fighter before him has, besides a Main Soul, a secondary soul that grants a common Element called "Balance", indicating a second‑tier professional rank, not to be underestimated.

"Such a young, promising fighter, and yet a follower of the evil god."

Lei En felt a quiet relief.

Fortunately he had spotted the target in advance; a surprise attack might have been too much even for a single punch.

Watching the fighter trail the carriage rapidly until it vanished from sight, Lei En finally relaxed a little. He could now confirm one thing: an evil‑god follower's sensing range for the Conflict Mark does not exceed a hundred meters, otherwise the fighter would have noticed he was no longer in the carriage.

Of course, the range could be even smaller; he just couldn't be sure.

The thought of the Conflict Mark gave Lei En a severe headache; there were more evil‑god followers than expected, and the mark on his body was like a time bomb that could explode at any moment.

Unless he stayed holed up at home forever, there was no point in a thousand‑day anti‑theft plan.

"We must find a way to eliminate the Conflict Mark."

Lei En made up his mind and began to ponder; removing the Conflict Mark had to start with the evil‑god followers themselves.

First, he needed to know how they sensed the Conflict Mark.

Besides worshipping the evil god, might there be another method?

If the problem couldn't be solved, then consider another angle: eliminate the one who raised the issue!

Strike first: purge a batch of evil‑god followers, reduce chances of encountering them, and even devour their souls to recharge himself.

Moreover, the fighter had probably already seen his appearance; if he reported it to other evil‑god followers or directly to the Shadow Blade Assassin Organization, that would be trouble.

Either way, that person must die!

Lei En has always been proactive, never passively accepting others' manipulation.

He no longer hesitated, turned around and headed back toward the Silver Star District.

The carriage he had just ridden came from the Silver Star District; shortly after crossing the bridge, the fighter must have also been tracking from the Silver Star District, and once he realized he wasn't on the carriage, he would certainly turn back to search.

The only route from Los District back to the Silver Star District is the bridge spanning the Feiregelun River.

Lei En soon reached the bridge, walked to the Silver Star side, and about two hundred meters from the bridgehead entered a bookstore and went up to the second floor.

He stood before a window overlooking the bridge, picked up a book, and leafed through it casually.

After less than twenty minutes, a familiar figure appeared on the bridge—it was the young fighter.

He walked over from the bridge, his gaze scanning around as if looking for someone.

"Hmph."

Lei En let out a silent hum in his mind; the evil‑god follower indeed wouldn't be content to lose the target, searching for him on the way back.

He activated the Sound of All Things and locked onto the target.

The whole world fell silent, most sounds filtered out, leaving only the fighter's footsteps,

amplified clearly in his ears; even without looking, he knew where the fighter was, as if right beside him.

When the fighter crossed the bridge into the Silver Star District, Lei En left the bookstore and followed from a distance.

He carefully kept more than two hundred meters away and never entered the fighter's line of sight from start to finish; unless the opponent possessed extraordinary senses, discovery was impossible. It was certain that the opponent's soul lacked any such super‑sensory Element.

The fighter walked at a steady pace, looking east and west all the way.

He never realized he was being followed, and the follower was exactly the person he was looking for.

Both acted covertly—one in the open, one in the shadows—walking and pausing for nearly an hour before the fighter finally gave up the search and entered a tavern.

Lei En halted far from the tavern, thinking to himself, "Sure enough, this isn't far from the Demon Soul Market; the fighter must have encountered me there and sensed the Conflict Mark."

He gauged the distance and moved a bit closer to the tavern.

Following the fighter's steps, the sounds of doors opening and closing and chairs being moved reached him; the fighter sat at a table, with many others drinking nearby, the atmosphere very noisy.

"Hogan, didn't you say you'd be quick back from the Demon Soul Market? Why did it take so long?" a woman's voice asked.

The fighter called Hogan sounded a bit glum and replied after a few seconds, "Nothing much, I found an interesting target."

"What target? Tell me," another man asked, his voice low; from his tone, he seemed of higher rank than Hogan.

Hogan seemed reluctant to speak, and the low‑voiced man let out a displeased, cold snort.

"Fine, I'll say it," Hogan said reluctantly, lowering his voice, "I ran into someone in the market, they have the Conflict Mark." He whispered the words about the Conflict Mark in the lowest voice, almost inaudible.

"What?" the woman exclaimed, her voice breaking.

"Carida, silence," the man warned, then pressed, "The Lord's Mark, are you sure it's correct?"

"Of course."

"And the person?" the man continued.

"Lost them," Hogan said, lacking confidence.

"Such an important target, and you lost them? You're a veteran, you shouldn't need me to tell you what to do, at least you should find a way to inform us to act together—what's the result?" the man scolded loudly.

"Sorry, Weierte," Hogan explained, "the situation was urgent; that person just left the Demon Soul Market, got on a carriage and left, and I didn't have time to inform you."

"Hmph, don't think I don't know your thoughts," Weierte said, not accepting the excuse, his voice deep: "A few days ago, Teriver was found at a manor outside the city; not only was he killed, several of his brothers died as well, and the Lord's Altar was destroyed."

"The person you found is likely the culprit who desecrated the Lord's Altar."

"I know you want to earn merit and please the deity, but the opponent managed to kill an entire squad of Teriver; with your abilities, could you even be a match?"

Hogan gave no rebuttal, muttering a few sounds before falling silent.

The three fell silent for a moment; Weierte sighed and asked, "You saw what that person looked like, right? Can you identify them?"

"I saw him, but I've never seen anyone like that before," Hogan hurriedly replied, describing, "He's a male, very young, probably under twenty, looks… hmm, extremely handsome, the kind that women love, I can't put it precisely, but once you see him once, you'll never forget."

"Under twenty? Are you sure?"

Welt was somewhat doubtful; a transcendent that young usually has only a rank‑one profession—does he have the strength to kill Trevor, that rank‑two shadow warrior plus the Iron Guard?

Hogan swore solemnly that he definitely didn't mistake him, and that the Conflict Mark on the target was real.

Afterwards, the three speculated about Lei En's identity; Welt wanted Hogan to sketch an image, but he couldn't draw it, not even describe it clearly.

Lei En eavesdropped in the tavern for a long time; hearing others discuss oneself felt rather strange.

Especially when a few talked about his handsome looks, he felt a secret thrill.

But recalling that these three cultists of the Dark God intended to kill him, that bit of narcissistic pride vanished into the void, turning into outright displeasure.

It wasn't until evening that the three finished their conversation and left the tavern, parting ways.

Lei En thought it over and decided to keep following fighter Hogan, since only he had seen him; the other two could be set aside for now.

Hogan didn't notice anything amiss, returned all the way, and soon arrived at his home—a house by the river on the east side of Silver Star District.

Lei En noted the address and slipped away quietly.

Riding back to his apartment in Los District, Lei En set down the glass jar in his hand, still thinking about the three cultists of the Dark God.

It was clear that Hogan was still hiding something from his companion.

When tracking the carriage in the afternoon, he realized he wasn't on the cart, so he might have attacked the driver, demanding his address.

At that time, he hadn't told the driver the exact apartment address, only said he was heading to Keshom Street.

Keshom Street is one of the most crowded streets in Los District, with many rental apartments; at least five or six thousand tenants live there, so finding a specific person is not easy.

However, by sensing the Conflict Mark, Hogan visited Keshom Street several times; even just by luck, he could likely locate him.

"This Hogan didn't tell the whole truth; he still wants to act himself, kill me to obtain the Conflict Mark and please the Dark God."

"The apartment can no longer be lived in."

Lei En felt a sense of urgency; perhaps by midnight Hogan would come looking for him.

Although it's only a possibility and the odds aren't high, that Hogan doesn't seem like a meticulous thinker, yet he doesn't want to take that risk.

But before leaving the apartment, he must first kill the gold‑eating ants, contain their demon souls with a spirit stone; otherwise carrying them around is inconvenient and easily draws attention.

Lei En picked up the glass jar, looked at the gold‑eating ants inside, and suddenly felt at a loss.

He had no suitable tool; killing the gold‑eating ants seemed a bit difficult…