The Eight-winged Golden Scale Python nodded slightly. "Don't worry, Boss. Dealing with this guy will be effortless. I'll show you what I'm capable of!"
Ye Tian knew the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python was powerful, so he didn't say much more. "Feifei, let's just stand aside and watch the show. I wonder what kind of expression that guy will make when he suddenly sees the Snake Centipede he's so afraid of."
"Brother Tian, this is going to be great! I wonder if he'll be scared out of his wits when he suddenly sees Ye Lin," Ye Feifei giggled.
At this moment, the middle-aged man's heart burned with intense fury. The large blade in his hand felt even heavier. He glared at Ye Tian and roared, "It won't be so easy for you this time, kid! Die!"
His figure flashed, leaving an afterimage as he charged toward Ye Tian. Yet, Ye Tian showed no intention of dodging, standing perfectly still.
Just as the middle-aged man was five meters away from Ye Tian, a piercing RUSTLE filled the air. It was immediately followed by a tremor, as if the very earth was shaking, and a gigantic, serpentine centipede appeared before him.
The sudden appearance gave the middle-aged man a terrible fright. His face instantly turned the color of pig liver, and his charge toward Ye Tian came to an abrupt halt. His body, propelled by inertia, stumbled forward a few steps, leaving him in a very sorry state.
He stared at the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python, his face filled with terror. "How is this possible? How is this possible!" he stammered nervously.
"HAHAHA! Aren't you supposed to be so tough? How come you're scared stiff just from seeing him? Didn't you want the Black Glaze Sword in my hand? Come and get it!" Ye Tian roared with laughter.
Seeing the expression on the middle-aged man's face brought him immense joy. 'This feeling is just too good.'
The middle-aged man was now thinking of escaping. His eyes darted around, searching for a possible escape route.
Ye Tian naturally understood the man's intentions. "Ye Lin, finish him quickly! The guy's trying to run!"
"Don't worry, Boss. I'll have some fun with him with a little lightning!" the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python said to Ye Tian.
Electricity crackled and sizzled on its two enormous antennae. Then, a powerful, arm-thick bolt of purple lightning shot toward the middle-aged man, its speed astonishing even to Ye Tian.
The middle-aged man hadn't expected the creature to unleash a lightning attack so suddenly and dodged to the side out of instinct. Little did he know, the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python had already calculated where he would move.
Just as the man's body arrived at that spot, another bolt of lightning was unleashed. He might have dodged the first strike, but he couldn't dodge the second. This one hit him directly.
It sent him flying several dozen meters, and he slammed heavily onto the ground, unable to get back up. From a distance, they could see black smoke rising from his body.
"Ye Lin, you didn't kill him with one strike, did you?" Ye Tian asked the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python.
"He's probably not far from it. I used my full power. No matter how strong he is, he's only at the Second Vein Fifth Layer Realm. Before me, he's utterly defenseless," the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python said.
Hearing this, Ye Tian's figure flashed, and he appeared where the middle-aged man had fallen. One look and he was startled as well.
The once-arrogant man's breathing was now as faint as a silk thread. His entire body was blackened, and the flesh in many places appeared to be scorched, emitting a pungent odor. Funniest of all, his hair was standing straight on end.
If he were still alive and walked out in the middle of the night, he'd definitely scare people into thinking they'd seen a ghost.
Ye Feifei came to Ye Tian's side. "Brother Tian, I didn't realize Ye Lin was so powerful. He nearly took the guy's life in a single blow."
But then she remembered that Ye Tian had also fought Ye Lin. 'If Ye Tian had been struck by Ye Lin's lightning, he might have ended up looking like this middle-aged man, or maybe even worse.' The thought sent a wave of lingering fear through Ye Feifei's heart.
At that moment, the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python shrank down and flew behind Ye Tian. "Boss, aren't I amazing! Dealing with him was a piece of cake! In the back mountains of this Lisha City, there isn't a single Demon Beast that dares to fight me. I'm the King here."
Ye Tian knew the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python was telling the truth. 'But if we're talking about no one daring to fight him... what about Elder Qing?' He chose not to burst the python's bubble, since its mentality was currently like that of a child.
"How can you be with a Snake Centipede? How could it possibly listen to you?" In a final flicker of life, the middle-aged man suddenly spoke.
Perhaps he would not have been able to rest in peace without saying those words. The light had already faded from his eyes, and he looked like he could die at any second.
"The Snake Centipede you're talking about is actually my underling! Even stranger now, isn't it? I might as well tell you, we have a Soul Contract. Understand now? Can you die in peace?" Ye Tian said with a smile.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man's heart seized. He wanted to say something more, his mouth gaping wide, but not a sound came out. He died just like that. Perhaps, having learned the answer he sought before his death, he had few regrets.
"Who was that man? I don't think he's from Lisha City. There's no one in Lisha City who doesn't recognize me, and no one who doesn't know of the Black Glaze Sword. Should we check his identity?" Ye Feifei suggested.
Ye Tian was also curious about the middle-aged man's identity. He glanced at the man and noticed a slight bulge under his clothes, as if he were carrying something.
He took out the Black Glaze Sword and lightly sliced the fabric. A black token appeared before them.
"What kind of token is this? It looks pretty valuable," Ye Tian said.
He then picked it up from the ground. It was still slightly hot, a testament to the power of Ye Lin's lightning.
Ye Tian held the token and examined it closely. He saw some black patterns and a few words written on it: Black Iron Guard!
Ye Feifei also saw the inscription. "Brother Tian, I think I've heard my father mention the Black Iron Guard. It's the title for a position in a very frightening organization."
"Oh? Are they good or bad? It seems this guy's background really isn't simple," Ye Tian said.
"I don't know much either. I heard from my father that there's a very powerful organization in the Imperial City called the Shadow Celestial Dragon Team. It's an assassin group with a very strict ranking system."
"The lowest rank is the Black Iron Guard, followed by the Bronze Guard, then the Silver Guard and Golden Guard. As for what's above the Golden Guard, I'm not sure."
"I just know that the Shadow Celestial Dragon Team is extremely powerful. As long as you have enough Spirit Stones, you can have them take anyone's life. They only care about money, not who they're dealing with," Ye Feifei explained.
Ye Tian was shocked to hear this. 'Still,' he thought, 'no matter how powerful the Shadow Celestial Dragon Team is, I doubt they'd dare to assassinate the terrifying figures from the Three Holy Lands. Their power is probably limited to the scope of the Imperial City.'
"Feifei, why do you think this Black Iron Guard suddenly appeared in our Lisha City? Could he have been here to assassinate someone?" Ye Tian asked…
(Show some support, everyone! If you do, I'll keep going after midnight!)