Xia Xiaoyi stared in disbelief at the routed army. It had only been a short time since she last saw Wang Hao, yet he possessed such strength, which completely shattered her understanding of the world.

"How are they? Can they walk? We have to lead them to Tianfeng Valley." Wang Hao squatted down and asked in a deep voice.

Xia Xiaoyi was a little confused and said, "Why retreat? Now is the perfect opportunity to wipe them out and severely damage the Li family. Mengqi has been harassed by the Li family a lot during this time."

A fierce killing intent flashed in Wang Hao's eyes, but he restrained himself and said solemnly, "I sensed the aura of a powerful Earth Realm expert heading in this direction. If we don't leave now, we won't be able to leave."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Xia Xiaoyi's expression changed drastically. She tried to get up, but her injuries were too severe. If Wang Hao hadn't used his true energy to seal her wounds, she would probably be unconscious by now.

Wang Hao couldn't wait any longer, so he hoisted her onto his shoulder and sped off towards Tianfeng Valley.

"Big brother, can you be a little gentler? I'm still injured!" Xia Xiaoyi exclaimed, and with a few leaps, the two disappeared.

Not long after Wang Hao carried Xia Xiaoyi away, the ground began to shake violently, as if the earth were trembling.

"Boom!"

A one-horned leopard, over eight meters tall, charged up from below the mountain ridge, smashing down trees and causing massive damage.

A third-tier savage beast, a one-horned golden leopard, whose strength rivals that of a martial artist at the Earth Realm.

On the back of the golden unicorn sat a tall man who looked to be in his fifties. He was 1.9 meters tall, wearing a 300-pound black thick armor, with arms as thick as buckets. He held a 24-foot-long halberd, like a war god descended to earth.

He glanced at the carnage on the mountain ridge, and roared coldly, "You have completely disgraced the Vulcan Army! Even when we attacked Tianxing Wanmo Ridge, we didn't suffer such heavy casualties!"

Li Xing walked out of the army, wiped the dirt off his face, and said, "Uncle Hong, it's my fault for being careless. I didn't expect the other party to be a master of formations."

"Formation masters? It seems the Burning Lamp Academy is determined to obtain the Dragon Transformation Scripture this time." The tall man, known as Uncle Red, murmured slowly, then continued, "Where did they go?"

"They've run into Tianfeng Valley!" Li Xing said.

Looking at the marks on the ground, Uncle Hong rode his Golden Leopard and charged out, heading towards Tianfeng Valley. Retrieving the Dragon Transformation Scripture would be a great achievement, so how could he let this opportunity slip by?

Li Xing gathered the uninjured soldiers together, about a thousand men, and they also headed towards Tianfeng Valley.

Wang Hao was indeed fast, but how could he compare to the third-tier savage beast, the unicorn leopard? He was quickly caught up by Li Hong.

"They're catching up!" Xia Xiaoyi said anxiously.

Wang Hao looked ahead. They had arrived at the foot of Tianfeng Valley and would be able to rush into the valley in a short while.

But will the Earth Realm expert chasing behind them give them even a moment's time?

"Let's give it our all!"

Wang Hao took out the longbow and three purple thunder arrows he had just captured from his storage ring.

"Bang bang bang!"

Three thunder arrows were shot at Li Hong's head, heart, and mount respectively, with great accuracy, and the sound of them cutting through the air was deafening.

Li Hong sneered, not even bothering to dodge. The two thunder arrows aimed at his head and heart struck his thick armor, producing two loud metallic clangs, and he was bounced away.

The thunder arrow that was shot at the one-horned leopard was caught in the leopard's mouth and swallowed whole.

Upon seeing this, Wang Hao's expression changed slightly. Although those three arrows were shot using martial arts cultivation, even a master at the Great Perfection of the Profound Realm would not be able to withstand them.

But unexpectedly, they were so easily defeated in front of a powerful Earth Realm expert.

"Kid, your archery is not bad, but it's a pity your strength is not enough." Uncle Hong laughed loudly and ran forward, and the distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer.

Li Hong leaped from the back of the unicorn leopard, wielding a 24-foot-long halberd, and thrust it with tremendous force towards Wang Hao's back.

Before the halberd could even fall, Xia Xiaoyi, who was being carried on the shoulder, felt a sharp pain all over her body. The sharp force felt like a knife cutting into her, and bloody marks immediately appeared on her fair arms.

Just as Xia Xiaoyi was about to close her eyes and await death, two gaseous dragon shadows suddenly appeared beneath Wang Hao's feet, their speed increasing dramatically in an instant as they charged directly into Tianfeng Valley.

"How is that possible? His speed reached 90 meters per second. Why did it increase again just now? Could it be a high-level movement technique?"

General Li Hong gritted his teeth, staring at the backs of Wang Hao and the other man, feeling utterly incredulous. However, he only hesitated for a moment before his gaze hardened again. He leaped onto the back of the unicorn leopard and chased after them into Tianfeng Valley.

“Kid, you’re just asking for death by running into the valley…” Li Hong stood on the back of the golden leopard, looking at Wang Hao who had stopped with a puzzled expression.

His expression immediately darkened as he stared at the two young and beautiful women standing not far away and asked, "And who are you?"

A charming smile appeared on Yan Qin's pretty face, her breasts trembled slightly, revealing two rows of snow-white teeth, and she said, "You actually asked us who we are."

"We also want to know who you are, daring to hunt down a disciple of the Burning Lamp Academy. You must have a death wish."

Li Hong was slightly taken aback when she saw Yan Qin. She hadn't expected to encounter such a stunningly beautiful woman in this desolate wilderness.

"Judging from her tone, she seems to be a disciple of the Burning Lamp Academy. So, the person who stole the Dragon Transformation Scripture is indeed a spy from the Burning Lamp Academy."

Even if she's a student of the Burning Lamp Academy, so what? In this desolate wilderness, even if I sleep with her, how would the Burning Lamp Academy know? At worst, I'll just sell her to the black market afterward.

Once sold into the black market and becoming a prostitute or slave, no matter how prestigious your status, you can forget about escaping.

Moreover, once the theft by the Burning Lamp Academy is confirmed, it will face suppression from multiple forces. Even if the Burning Lamp Academy does not disband, it will definitely suffer a great loss of strength.

Then Li Hong looked at Qing Ran, suddenly frowned, and whispered, "Hmm, you look familiar...aren't you...?"

"Whoosh!"

Qingran drew his sapphire blue battle sword directly, and with a flick of his arm, invisible sword energy surged from the sword, transforming into wind blades that slashed towards Li Hong.

Dozens of wind-blade sword energies struck Li Hong's armor, making "bang" sounds and leaving white sword marks on the armor.

"This armor is quite extraordinary." Qingran narrowed his eyes, his whole body exuding a chilling killing intent.

Li Hong was startled and put away her contempt. Just now, Qing Ran had only flicked his sword, yet he had already unleashed dozens of sword qi wind blades.

This kind of skill is not something that ordinary Xuan Realm martial artists or Qi Refining cultivators can possess; only those who have made it onto the Xuan Ranking can do so.

"This woman has black hair, a cold expression, and this aura is so familiar..." Li Hong's expression kept changing as she stared at Qing Ran's stunning face, and suddenly exclaimed.

"I remember now, you are..."

Qingran's expression changed slightly. Holding the blue sword, he took the Nine Steps of Wind Control. The first step was one meter off the ground, and he rushed forward more than ten meters. The second step was two meters off the ground, and he rushed forward more than twenty meters.

When she took her third step, she was already on top of Li Hong's head.

At this moment, Qingran held the sword with both hands, continuously pouring spiritual energy into the sword body, dragging out a seven-meter-long blue sword light, and slashed down.

Seeing this, Li Hong had no choice but to fight back, wielding her halberd to block the attack.

"Bang!"

The power emanating from the blue sword was astonishing, causing Li Hong's arms to go numb and the halberd in her hand to feel as if it were about to fly out of her grasp.

Seeing that Li Hong had blocked her sword, Qingran immediately changed her move and slashed down diagonally, aiming directly at his neck.

"Bang!"

The sapphire blue sword slashed fiercely at Li Hong's neck, sending him crashing to the ground from the unicorn leopard.

Li Hong rolled on the ground before quickly getting to his feet, his eyes filled with horror. He touched his neck and found that his heavy armor had been slashed, leaving a long bloody gash on his neck. It was just a hair's breadth away from decapitating him.

"I remember now!" Li Hong exclaimed, staring at Qing Ran.

But just as he was about to continue speaking, Li Xing arrived with a thousand Vulcan soldiers. He looked at Li Hong on the ground, and then at Qing Ran, who was holding a long sword not far away.

Li Xing's face darkened immediately, and he said coldly, "Mao Tu, what are you doing? Do you want to betray the Li family? Don't forget, you were able to enter the Burning Lamp Academy only because the Li family used their connections."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hao, who was standing nearby, felt a chill run down his spine. He picked up Xia Xiaoyi, whom he had just put down, and quickly stepped back.

Yan Qin, standing to the side, looked at Qing Ran with some confusion and surprise.

"What...what are you talking about? I am a disciple of the Burning Lamp Academy, not some rabbit as you're describing!" A hint of panic flashed in Qingran's eyes.

Wang Hao glanced at Qing Ran, then at Yan Qin. He realized he could no longer trust either of them. He hadn't expected that the Li family's secret guards were right beside him.

Xia Xiaoyi had already fainted. She was already seriously injured, and Wang Hao had been carrying her around like a sack of potatoes. There was a good chance she fainted from anger.

"Sister Ran, you..." Yan Qin's expression was somewhat complicated. She had heard of the Li family's secret guards, and the three people who assassinated Wang Hao were secret guards sent by the Li family.

Qingran took a deep breath, her eyes gradually hardening, and said coldly, "The Rabbit is a thing of the past. Now that I have killed you all, I can officially break free from your control."

"Hmph, you really don't know what's good for you, actually trying to devour your master! As a pawn, you should have the awareness of being a pawn! Now that Brother Li Xu is in seclusion, let me teach you a lesson!"

Li Xing's expression turned cold, and then his hands rapidly formed hand seals, emanating a profound energy from his hand gestures.

"Clang."

Qingran's longsword fell to the ground. Her expression was one of immense pain; she clutched her head and said with difficulty, "Yan Qin...don't let him form the hand seals..."

Yan Qin hesitated for a moment, but still rushed towards Li Xing. At this moment, she still chose to trust Qing Ran.

"Stop her!" Li Xing shouted. Li Hong and the former Vulcan Army rushed forward without hesitation. Even though Yan Qin was strong, she was unable to escape for a while.

"Soul Control Spell?!" Wang Hao immediately recognized the magic seal Li Xing had cast, and then looked at Qing Ran, who was lying on the ground in pain, and his expression changed.

Li Xing sneered and said, "Kill him!"

At this moment, Qingran's delicate body trembled violently, her face was extremely pale, and the light in her eyes was gradually disappearing. However, her will was quite strong.

She struggled to take out a jade bottle from her storage ring, intending to pour the pills inside into her mouth.

"Hmph!" Li Xing's expression hardened, and he bit his tongue, shooting out a stream of blood. The talisman in front of him became even more crimson, radiating an eerie light.

"Ah!" Qingran screamed, and the jade bottle in her hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. A crimson pill rolled down in front of Wang Hao.

"Quickly give that pill to Sister Ran. She once told me that if she ever goes crazy, just feed her the red pill she always carries with her!"

Yan Qin spoke as she fought fiercely.

Wang Hao naturally knew this, and quickly put Xia Xiaoyi aside, picked up the red pill on the ground, but at this moment, a sword aura suddenly attacked, slashing straight at his right hand.

"laugh!"

Wang Hao quickly withdrew his hand, but there was still a clear wound on his wrist, though it wasn't very serious. He looked up and saw Qing Ran standing not far away with lifeless eyes.

She already held a sapphire blue longsword in her hand, her black hair cascaded down her back and flowed in the wind, and there were two tear tracks at the corners of her eyes. Unfortunately, her beautiful eyes had lost their color.

"Hahaha, a pawn is just a pawn. Go, kill him and take back the Dragon Transformation Scripture!"

Li Xing laughed heartily, feeling extremely happy.

Before going into seclusion, Li Xu handed over the authority of the Dark Guard to him, including the Soul Control Spell, which Li Xu taught him. Clearly, Li Xu was grooming Li Xing as a confidant.

"Whoosh."

Qing Ran was like a whirlwind, instantly traversing dozens of meters to stand in front of Wang Hao. Mechanically, she raised her longsword and unleashed a sword aura nearly ten meters long.

Without a second thought, Wang Hao took out the Yin-Yang Profound Iron Sword Embryo and raised his hand to block.

"Bang!"

Wang Hao felt an overwhelming force surge towards him, causing his body to uncontrollably retreat seven steps. With each step he took, a crack appeared in the ground beneath his feet.

"Give me ten minutes!" Seeing that things were not going well, Yan Qin changed her usual playful face, exuding a terrifying chill, and her expression became much more solemn.

She broke through the encirclement of the Vulcan Army with a single sword strike and then headed straight for Li Hong.

"Hmph, do you really think Realm experts are made of paper? Cloud-Piercing Halberd!"

Li Hong wielded his halberd with both hands, putting all his strength into a thrust at Yan Qin who was charging at him.

Yan Qin turned gracefully, took three steps to the side, and then, with lightning speed, thrust her sword towards Li Hong's head.

"Swish!"

In an instant, a vortex of ice and snow formed within a ten-zhang radius centered on Yan Qin's body, completely engulfing Li Hong and the one-horned leopard.

In an instant, eight or nine figures of Yan Qin appeared simultaneously, some slashing diagonally, some horizontally, and some thrusting straight.

A few breaths later, the vortex dissipated, and Yan Qin flew down from the back of the unicorn leopard. At this moment, Li Hong was still sitting on the back of the unicorn leopard, holding a long battle halberd in her hand, her body motionless.

"Whoosh."

A gust of wind blew by, and Li Hong's head rolled off her neck like a ball. Instead of hitting the ground, it was blown out of Tianfeng Valley by the hurricane, leaving a trail of blood.