Zhou Leng exchanged intelligence with the Demon Spirit Master and rushed back to the human camp to pass the information to Li Yuanhe.

Li Yuanhe didn't say much, only mentioned that Miller from the Eagle Alliance is very strong, advising Zhou Leng to pay attention.

However, Miller left the camp without meeting Zhou Leng.

Rao Mingxian walked over.

The two exchanged smiles, sizing each other up.

Rao Mingxian said: "You haven't been around for a few days, and your physique has gotten stronger. Your aura... tsk tsk, starting to look like a master."

Zhou Leng said: "Don't just talk about me. You've grown at least an inch taller since you came in. Look at your shoulders, they're bulging with muscle."

"Alright, let's stop praising each other. How's it been since you got here?"

The two chatted.

After a while, Rao Mingxian suddenly turned his head to look to the left front and then turned back, his expression unchanged.

Zhou Leng curiously looked over, and there stood a person.

He'd seen him on the youth ranking, ranked over a thousand, Rao Mingjun, the top of Rucheng's Vitality Stage.

Rao Mingxing's brother.

Their eyes met, and Rao Mingjun nodded slightly, while Zhou Leng nodded back in return, then looked at Rao Mingxian.

Rao Mingxian ignored it and continued as before.

Zhou Leng felt a heaviness in his heart and chatted absent-mindedly.

"Do you want to form a team?" Rao Mingxian asked.

Zhou Leng shook his head and said: "I'm used to going solo. Besides, I have other things to do, so I can't form a team."

Rao Mingxian regrettably said: "Alright, you do your thing."

Zhou Leng said: "There might be a big battle with the Demon Alliance next. I might not participate, so be careful. If you can't win, it's no shame to run."

"Don't worry, I'm not the stubborn kind."

"I'll find a place to cultivate. After that, I'll investigate the traces of the Demon Alliance and talk to you later."

Zhou Leng said goodbye to Rao Mingxian, found a secluded place in the camp, set up his tent, entered, placed the Star Conch, and began cultivating.

Zhou Leng had developed a habit of surrounding himself with Star Conchs during cultivation.

Outside the tent, Rao Mingxian walked to Rao Mingjun's side.

"Is that Zhou Leng?" Rao Mingjun asked.

"Yes, that's him."

"You're right, he's very strong. As the top of Rucheng, when I saw him, I felt not an ounce of confidence. It's quite strange." Rao Mingjun said.

"After all, he is our senior brother." Rao Mingxian looked at Rao Mingjun, hoping he would turn hostility into peace.

"Find an opportunity to continue to probe his intentions and see his attitude towards the Rao Family. You mentioned that the Ancient River Sect might recruit disciples in the future, and I could have a chance. Does Zhou Leng have veto power?" Rao Mingjun stared at Rao Mingxian.

"I'm not sure. By then, it will be cooperation between the Ancient River Sect and human forces, so he shouldn't be able to casually veto." Rao Mingxian said.

"It's wise to be cautious. Xiaoxing didn't come in; it's possible he secretly intervened."

"Brother, that's unlikely, Second Brother simply doesn't have the talent for martial arts."

"You do." Rao Mingjun hated anyone saying his brother couldn't.

Rao Mingxian blushed with embarrassment, saying nothing.

Rao Mingjun sighed and said: "Mingxian, it's not that I'm targeting Zhou Leng. It's just that the Rao Family is now in a precarious situation, so caution is necessary. Ten years ago, when the Zhao Family was at its peak, would I have worried about Zhou Leng or Zhou Re? Even if he was Innate, I wouldn't spare a glance. But things aren't what they used to be."

"I understand."

"Find time to probe further. If he shows hostility towards the Rao Family, I must plan ahead, right?"

Rao Mingjun stared into Rao Mingxian's eyes.

Rao Mingxian nodded silently.

Rao Mingjun turned and left, while Rao Mingxian reluctantly clenched his teeth, slowly letting go.

Zhou Leng finished cultivation, feeling refreshed.

In recent days, he consumed many Medicinal Fruits, allowing the bones injured by the Strange Snake Leader to recover fully.

Stepping out of the tent, he did some warm-up exercises, slowly performed some boxing techniques, feeling increasingly comfortable.

Especially when using Overlapping Waves Palm, the palm technique connected divinely, bringing forth a completely new understanding.

It felt like returning to simplicity.

Each move seemed unchanged from before upon first glance, but using it felt completely different.

Under the dual effects of cultivation technique and Medicinal Fruits, progress was clear.

Though there's still a gap between Li Shenkong and Deep Dark Fury, Zhou Leng has reached the pinnacle of the top tier.

The gains from the Ancient River Trial are unimaginable.

Zhou Leng had a simple drink of nutrient fluid, then began jogging as morning exercise.

Soon, Rao Mingxian caught up, and the two jogged side by side.

At first, neither spoke.

As the sky brightened, Rao Mingxian asked, "Zhou Leng, have you encountered any difficulties recently?"

"Yes, many. For example, I realized that not only are the Three Sons of Ancient River despairingly strong, but even Deep Dark Fury, who is weaker than Li Shenkong, can't be caught up to in a short time. I constantly feel my own strength isn't enough, and cultivation is too slow."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Strive to cultivate, grow little by little, catch up step by step. There's no other way. What about you?"

"Me? I'm used to difficulties in martial arts, knowing my achievements are limited. My greater challenges come from... my surroundings."

"Perhaps my life is relatively simple, and my surroundings aren't as complicated as yours." Zhou Leng said.

Rao Mingxian sighed, saying, "I've encountered a dilemma, two options, which seem fine, yet I don't want to choose either. Do you have any advice?"

"I don't know exactly what it is, giving random suggestions might mislead you," Zhou Leng said.

"Then don't give suggestions, sharing your thoughts would suffice," Rao Mingxian replied.

Zhou Leng pondered for a moment, gazing ahead. Under the sunlight, the mountains stood like a forest, and the grass gleamed faintly.

"I suspect it might be something related to your family. Do you know what crossed my mind when you asked me this question?"

Rao Mingxian shook his head.

"I remember when someone was about to jump off a building, people who tried to persuade them would always say things like, 'Think of your family, think of your parents, think of your children.' I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those words, but whenever I encounter such a situation, I'm always puzzled."

"Why does no one ever persuade the jumper to think about themselves?"

"I'm not some kind of life coach. If I have to say something, I can only share my feelings from reading Saint Zhao's collection on the hospital bed last year."

"Saint Zhao said that martial arts and life are alike."

"Cultivating martial arts deeply requires looking inward, whether it's introspection in the physical sense or inner awareness in the mental sense."

"People are like this too. Often, you need to consider your own feelings first; you don't need to care about what I think, or even what your grandfather thinks. First, understand what you truly want, and then go for it."

"You should be living for yourself first. If you're not even living for yourself, as a friend, I would be very saddened."

"If I must make a suggestion, it would be to treat yourself better; everything else comes second."

Ever since Zhou Leng learned about Rao Mingxian's past, he wanted to say some words, but he never had the chance. Today was the perfect moment to speak up.

Rao Mingxian turned his head, gazing sideways.

After a long pause, he turned back, smiled, and said, "I don't fully understand, but I get a bit of it."

"I only understand a bit too," Zhou Leng responded.

The two ran for another half hour before heading back.

Zhou Leng had breakfast, bid farewell to his friends, and set off alone.

Rao Mingxian followed Rao Mingjun, forming a large team with many people, beginning their treasure hunt and demonic creature hunt.

Until dusk, Rao Mingxian's team spotted a group of people emerging from the foothills ahead.

Both parties stopped and looked at each other.

Rao Mingxian's side was purely Human Race.

On the opposite side, besides the Demon Worship Sect's demonized martial artists, there were also some Sea Sirens and Demons.

The humans pretended to remain calm, but their hearts were pounding.

The demons whispered among themselves.

Then, Shen Jun took out a demonized loudspeaker, smiled, and greeted the human team.

"Hello, human friends. You have quite the numbers. I've calculated; our strengths are evenly matched. If we fight, both sides will suffer. Why don't we each retreat instead?"

The humans quickly discussed, and Rao Mingjun also took out a demonized loudspeaker, saying, "Great minds think alike. Both sides are intelligent beings; it's unnecessary to risk combat for the so-called pie above."

Shen Jun chuckled, "Our invincible Deep Dark Fury is openly recruiting heroes, preparing to charge the highest mountain. If you're interested, you can contact us. At least, before we strike the highest mountain, we can shake hands in peace."

"Alright, I'll relay this message to the Human Race everywhere."

Both sides stored away the demonized loudspeakers and retreated slowly.

Rao Mingxian walked for a while, secretly switched to stealth mode, and glanced at a string of new messages on his demonized watch.

He focused on the last sentence.

"After the youth battle, cooperate with our actions. Your whole family needs to pledge allegiance and return to the Demon Worship Sect. This is an order."

Rao Mingxian turned off the demonized watch and silently continued with the team.

Rao Mingjun glanced at Rao Mingxian and kept walking.

Not far away, the Demon Worship Sect's team also turned around to retreat.

Azure Scale asked, "How's it going? Any news about Zhou Leng?"

Shen Jun replied, "Zhou Leng is still in the human camp today. The direction he left in is roughly that way; it's uncertain whether he's changed direction."

Shen Jun spoke while looking at the map, pointing in a direction.

Azure Scale said, "It seems like that's towards the Beastman camp. Hopefully, he doesn't get killed by them first."

Shen Jun asked, "Should we go?"

"Let's go take a look, we have time."

The demon team headed towards the Beastman camp.

After leaving the human camp, Zhou Leng first ran to a nearby mountain, wanting to test his strength against sporadic exotic beasts.

However, the exotic beasts were tricky; they either didn't come, or when they did, they appeared in groups of hundreds.

Zhou Leng turned and fled.

Luckily, the exotic beasts needed to guard the summit, and after running a while, they stopped chasing.

Zhou Leng tried several mountains, but the exotic beasts all behaved the same without honor, and he had to give up.

As night fell, Zhou Leng jogged slowly, searching for demons. If he found none, he'd go to the highest mountain to gather intelligence.

Suddenly, the ground slightly shook.

Zhou Leng realized it was a battle and headed towards the source of the tremor.

Passing through undulating terrain, he reached a high point and looked ahead.

In the dark night, one team fought while retreating, and another pursued aggressively.

The two were quite far apart; previously, Zhou Leng couldn't see clearly.

Now Zhou Leng was at the Peak of the Vitality Stage, able to see everything clearly even in the night from afar.

The retreating group was a humanoid mixed team comprised of Giants, Dwarves, Demon Spirit Masters, and Tree-men.

Among them were quite a few old acquaintances.

Mountain River Oak and Molten Hammer were present, along with several Tree-men he had helped before.

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