Chapter 135: Separation

The energy entered Rod’s body and instantly merged with his combat energy without any control. By the time Rod realized what was happening and tried to control his combat energy to resist, the energy had vanished completely—disappearing as if by magic. Frightened, he quickly sat cross-legged, ignoring where he was, and circulated his combat energy throughout his body, but found nothing unusual. Opening his eyes, he was filled with confusion.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” By then, Lucy had already arrived beside Rod. Worried by Rod’s sudden action after the battle, she thought something must have happened and hurriedly asked when she saw him regain consciousness.
“Nothing… nothing at all!” Pulling himself back, Rod smiled faintly at Lucy’s worried expression.
But Lucy’s eyes showed that she already suspected something. She looked at Rod doubtfully—she was sure something had happened; otherwise, Rod wouldn’t have appeared so tense. It was the first time she had seen such a reaction. Although he said it was fine, she noticed the hint of confusion and concern in his eyes.
“Really?” Lucy asked again, still worried.
“Mm, really. Don’t worry, nothing’s wrong!” Rod inwardly sighed. Lucy was truly perceptive—she had seen through him.
He stood up and slowly walked toward the severely injured and unconscious high-tier holy demon. As he approached, a bloodthirsty smirk appeared on Rod’s face. With a swift swing of his sword, blood sprayed everywhere. The demon didn’t even have time to let out a groan before being sent to the land of eternal bliss.
“If anyone’s to blame, it’s you for choosing the wrong path!” With a cold snort, Rod showed no trace of sympathy or mercy. His icy expression terrified Lucy standing nearby.
…
“That kid is not bad. Hehe, he has a bit of our dragon clan’s spirit!” Below the hill, those watching from afar couldn’t help but feel admiration for Rod’s actions. He was decisive, unhesitant, and showed the demeanor of a strong warrior. In this world of survival of the fittest, showing mercy to enemies was only cruel to oneself! Two middle-aged dragons spoke their admiration openly.
“Hehe, that guy from the Black Phoenix clan can’t hold back anymore. There might be some interesting action to watch!” Another middle-aged dragon said in a teasing tone, sensing a disturbance nearby.

At that moment, the member of the Black Phoenix clan who had been hidden before flew straight toward the hill, at a speed that was astonishing. It went without saying that he must be a martial cultivator from the Black Phoenix clan—a race among the four great clans, one of those left over from ancient times. Their talents were incredibly outstanding. Whether they were martial experts, magic experts, or those skilled in both martial arts and magic, it seemed as though heaven favored the Dragon clan and the Black Phoenix clan immensely, concentrating almost all talents and gifts in them.

“Who is there? Come out!” After dealing with the unconscious demon, before he could think further, he suddenly sensed a spatial disturbance. Rod shouted loudly with a serious expression.

He felt a powerful presence approaching rapidly. Still in that state of heightened awareness, his six senses were extremely sharp. Under normal circumstances, he might not have detected this subtle presence, but now, it was impossible for him to miss it.

“Black Phoenix clan, Hei Yao! Thank you for helping my lady escape danger!” A confident voice suddenly came from the void. Soon after, a figure transformed from an illusion into reality and stood in front of Rod in just a moment.

This made Rod break into cold sweat. The person had arrived so easily. If they were an enemy, he wouldn’t have had any chance to counterattack after making his move! There was no doubt he was a mid-level divine-tier expert—this could be felt from his aura. Rod guessed that he was skilled in both martial arts and magic, with magic that seemed to belong to the spatial category, combined with the sharpness and unpredictability of combat energy, making him terrifying.

“Black Phoenix clan!” Hearing this name, Rod’s heart sank. He turned to look at Lucy beside him.

“Uncle Hei Yao, why… why did you come only now? I almost got killed by those bastards!” Upon seeing the middle-aged man’s face, Lucy showed a hint of excitement and rushed forward, grabbing his hands and speaking coquettishly.

“Brother Rod…” She then turned back, looking at Rod awkwardly, not knowing how to explain herself. Fearing that Rod might get angry, she showed a slightly aggrieved expression.

With a faint bitter smile, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of shock. Although he had already guessed from various signs that this little girl, Lucy, was no ordinary person, he never expected her background to be so powerful. The Black Phoenix Clan was known as the most mysterious race among the Sources of Darkness, and like the Dragon Clan, it was regarded as an extremely powerful race with a profound heritage—something even the Demon Clan couldn’t compare to. It was also evident that this girl held a high status within the Black Phoenix Clan; she was by no means an ordinary member. As two immensely powerful races, both the Black Phoenix Clan and the Dragon Clan had retained their strength since ancient times. Without reaching the upper divine realm, they couldn’t take human form, unless they used the extremely rare and precious Transformation Grass.

Even for these two great clans, the Transformation Grass was exceedingly scarce. Only those assigned important tasks within the clan or holding special status were eligible to use it; others simply couldn’t obtain it. This further indicated Lucy’s high status within the Black Phoenix Clan.

“It’s okay. It’s just right—someone’s come to pick you up. Go back quickly!” With a sigh, Rod said to Lucy with a bitter smile. As the moment of separation arrived, he still felt a bit reluctant. Though they had only spent a few short days together, those days had made Rod accustomed to having her by his side. Now that she was leaving so suddenly, he felt somewhat sad.

“Brother, thank you for taking care of Miss Lucy these past few days. We saw what happened just now. Hehe, the Black Phoenix Clan owes you a favor. If you ever encounter any problems or need help solving something, come to our clan. We will do our utmost to assist you. Keep this token—it will guide you to our clan’s stronghold.”

The middle-aged man beside him looked at Rod with great friendliness. After expressing his gratitude for taking care of Lucy these days, he took out a black phoenix-shaped token from his bosom and tossed it in front of Rod.

If anyone else were present at this moment, they would surely be filled with envy and jealousy. The promise of the Black Phoenix Clan was something hard to come by. Within the Sources of Darkness, it seemed there was nothing the Black Phoenix Clan couldn’t solve! Receiving their promise meant gaining a tremendous guarantee. Moreover, this token had significant significance—it was an identity marker for the Black Phoenix Clan members, and now Rod had become an outer member of their clan!

It could be said that with this token in hand, Rod now belonged to the Black Phoenix clan, and they would protect him! This item was extremely precious within the Source of Darkness—only three people in history were said to have obtained it! Now, Rod became the fourth in thousands of years, highlighting its rarity. “Thank you!” Without hesitation, Rod gladly accepted it and said softly, then glanced at Lucy and the man before sighing. “We’ll be leaving now. By the way, be careful of those from the Purple Wing Thunder Eagle clan—they already see you as a thorn in their side!” Leading Lucy, the middle-aged man had no intention of staying longer. Before leaving, he reminded Rod that the incident from a few days ago hadn’t gone unnoticed by their spies. If not for certain reasons, they wouldn’t have stayed idle and bullied Lucy—just that was enough to anger the Purple Wing Thunder Eagles. “Hmph, Uncle Onyx, that young leader of the Purple Wing Thunder Eagles is really bad. They’re getting more and more arrogant. If we do nothing, we’ll be laughed at by others!” Lucy immediately complained discontentedly. Women truly are the most vindictive creatures. “Alright, we’ll handle this. The Purple Wing Thunder Eagles will eventually be dealt with, but not now! Young man, be careful! Hehe, perhaps the Dragon clan can offer you some help!” With a meaningful look at Rod, the middle-aged man continued, giving Rod the impression that he knew much more than he let on. “Brother Rod, we’re leaving first. You… come visit me when you have time!” Following the middle-aged man as they turned to leave, Lucy looked back at Rod, who was still smiling at her. Her heart ached—she really didn’t want to leave. She had enjoyed her time with Rod, but since the matter wasn’t resolved and her strength wasn’t enough, at least for now, she couldn’t stay by his side! With another sigh, she quickened her pace, afraid she might soften her heart and stay. Watching the two leave and feeling the cold wind, Rod sighed inwardly. He was back to living alone. With two and a half months left, he needed to train hard to reach at least the mid-stage of the quasi-divine level, or even advance to the later stage! A year was short—he couldn’t afford to waste even a moment.

“Aren’t you guys planning to come out yet?” Just as he was about to turn and leave, as if remembering something, Rod’s gaze turned cold as he turned to look at a tower at the foot of the hill and spoke in a cold tone. During the previous battle, he had vaguely sensed something was wrong there, but due to the urgency of the situation and the lack of a threatening presence, he didn’t pay it much attention at the time. Later, with the appearance of Hei Yao from the Black Phoenix clan, he didn’t have the time to deal with it either, and almost forgot about the matter.