Chapter 171: The Sea Turns to Void

“Huh…”
Seeing Leng Shi leave, Chen Xiao let out a long sigh of relief. By now, everything he needed to do and arrange had been completed.
On the Continent of Origin, in the netherworld, in the world of supernatural powers, and in the underwater world of Atlantis, Chen Xiao had his own forces. Though not large, they had already become a spark—once the wind blew, it would spread like wildfire, sweeping through all major forces.
But the only thing that worried Chen Xiao now was that mysterious force guarding Earth. In the world of supernatural powers, not a trace of that force could be seen at all. Yet Cassius wouldn’t lie—gods who tried to take control of Earth had all been killed, which couldn’t help but make Chen Xiao worried.
“Never mind. With my current strength, I’m probably not even worth their attention. Why worry so much? But Shui Miao is right too. If I rashly accept the powerful warriors under Cassius, with so many outsiders around, it’s impossible not to draw attention. That would be extremely troublesome.”
Cassius’ own forces, though just a small group on the periphery of the Continent of Origin, would be enough to sweep everything away once they arrived on Earth.
Chen Xiao sensed his mental power slightly. He was currently at the peak of the sixth rank, with no sign of breaking through. There seemed to be a huge gap between the sixth and seventh ranks. If Chen Xiao were to make up his mind and use all his faith power, it might help him break through, but that would make his foundation extremely unstable, doing no good for his future development.
“It seems breaking through from the sixth to the seventh rank requires a major opportunity. Just practicing alone won’t suffice.” Chen Xiao clenched his fist before laughing dryly. “How long has it been since I entered the world of supernatural beings? I’ve already become a sixth-rank powerhouse and dominated a region. What more could I ask for?”
“Fuyun.” Chen Xiao immediately contacted Fuyun.
“Young master.” In the blink of an eye, Fuyun appeared before Chen Xiao. As someone who mastered the laws of time and space, his speed was unmatched.
“I need to leave for a few days to protect my grandfather,” Chen Xiao instructed.
“Yes, young master. If anything happens to the old man, Fuyun is willing to sacrifice himself,” Fuyun said firmly.
“I tell you, it’s better if you don’t even think that way,” Chen Xiao snorted. “Don’t worry about what will happen if an accident occurs—prevent accidents from happening in the first place.”
“Yes, young master.” Fuyun immediately bowed his head.
Currently, Chen Jianzhou was secretly controlling the Temple of Glory. He was essentially the brain of the entire temple, issuing all decisions and orders. But this also made it extremely dangerous—anyone who observed carefully would notice.
That’s why Chen Xiao ordered Fuyun to act as Chen Jianzhou’s personal bodyguard now.
“Hmm, how’s Fei Zha?” Chen Xiao suddenly remembered the free hunter Fei Zha he had given earlier.
“Fei Zha?”
At the mention of Fei Zha, Fuyun subconsciously licked his lips before saying, “He’s great. Handsome, excellent, very manly.”

Chen Xiao was stunned. Only then did he recall Fu Yun’s unusual preferences, and he smiled bitterly inwardly. It seemed handing over Fei Jia to Fu Yun was nothing short of sending a sheep into the tiger’s den.

“How is he now? Take me to see him.” Chen Xiao shook his head. He had originally intended to keep Fei Jia for himself—a sixth-tier abler and a free hunter, someone of great status in the world of abilities. But now, after seeing Fu Yun’s state, he could easily imagine what Fei Jia would become under his control.

Now, this vast underground world had been initially built up, with rooms, corridors, and halls intertwined in complexity. Coupled with Fu Yun’s domain power and the protection of the divine artifact temple above, ordinary people who entered here would likely get lost forever and never be able to escape.

When Chen Xiao and Fu Yun opened the door to one of the secret rooms, they saw Fei Jia, looking depressed yet with a flushed face. As soon as Fei Jia saw Fu Yun enter, he instinctively curled up in the corner, but upon seeing Chen Xiao enter as well, he somewhat relaxed.

“You, Chen Xiao! You wretched bastard! A warrior can be killed, but not humiliated! How dare you use such methods to torture me, a noble free hunter! Do you even still have the honor of a free hunter?!”

The moment Fei Jia saw Chen Xiao, he started screaming loudly. But having witnessed Chen Xiao’s tactics and with Fu Yun by his side, he wouldn’t dare even move.

“Huh? Fei Jia, Little Claw, you look quite content—why are you cursing me now?” Chen Xiao was slightly stunned by Fei Jia’s flushed face. Instinctively, he thought Fei Jia also had unusual preferences, just like Fu Yun.

“You… I can’t live anymore!” Hearing Chen Xiao’s words, Fei Jia sat down on the ground. As a sixth-tier abler and a noble free hunter, he burst into tears.

“Ahem… Young master, I was afraid he would try to kill himself, so I placed a restriction on him, constantly supplying him with spiritual energy and sealing his meridians. Now, he can’t even die.”

Fu Yun said apologetically. The moment he saw Fei Jia, he instinctively licked the corners of his mouth, looking unsatisfied.

In front of a powerhouse at the fifth level of the domain, it was impossible for a sixth-tier abler to even die.

Chen Xiao sighed slightly. He understood that Fei Jia was now useless. Although his physical strength hadn’t been diminished, his spirit had been severely damaged. If Fu Yun hadn’t removed the restriction, Fei Jia would have died immediately. Even if he survived, he would be nothing but a walking corpse.

“Never mind. Just treat him as Fu Yun’s toy.”

A golden light emerged from Chen Xiao’s hand, forcibly absorbing Fei Jia’s faith power to gain his allegiance.

“Ugh…”

Pain appeared on Fei Jia’s face. He was only at the mid-sixth tier and a martial warrior, his mental strength far weaker than Chen Xiao’s, who was at the peak of the sixth tier. After just a slight struggle, his faith was forcibly taken away.

“God… Are you a god?!” Fei Jia looked up in disbelief at Chen Xiao. “Fei Jia meets his god!”

Fei Zhuo is a sixth-tier supernatural being. Very little information comes back to him from his faith—only that Chen Xiao is a deity. The power of faith obtained from Fei Zhuo is now almost useless to Chen Xiao, a mere drop in the ocean. “Fei Zhuo, I ask you—does the Hunters’ Guild have any extremely dangerous and challenging missions?” Chen Xiao asked. To find an opportunity for breakthrough, Chen Xiao needed to put himself in great danger, so he turned his attention to the Hunters’ Guild. Moreover, Chen Xiao had been working in isolation before, with little contact with other forces. This was a good chance for him to explore the supernatural world. “Yes,” Fei Zhuo nodded. “In the Free Hunters’ Guild, there are numerous top-tier assassination missions every year. Most of these missions involve assassinating supernatural beings from other countries, with the lowest tier being at the seventh level.” Now that Fei Zhuo was Chen Xiao’s follower, all his previous negative emotions had vanished, which was something Chen Xiao hadn’t expected. Hearing Fei Zhuo’s words, Chen Xiao nodded slightly and said, “Very good, Fei Zhuo. Give me your supernatural ability card to break the mental bond.” Upon hearing that Chen Xiao wanted his ability card, Fei Zhuo hesitated none and took it out right away, broke the mental bond, and handed it to Chen Xiao. In the supernatural world, the ability card not only served to enter that world but also functioned as an identity proof. Chen Xiao now intended to use Fei Zhuo’s identity to enter the Hunters’ Guild, take those top-tier assassination missions, and hone his mental strength in search of a breakthrough to the seventh level. Only by facing immense danger could he unleash his potential and have a chance of advancing to the seventh level. “Fuyun, I’m leaving the temple now to head to the Hunters’ Guild. I’m leaving the temple’s affairs in your hands—protect my grandfather well,” Chen Xiao said to Fuyun. “Don’t worry, young master. Nothing unexpected will happen,” Fuyun nodded. Only then did Chen Xiao feel at ease. He left the temple silently and arrived in City of Glory. “It seems that in this Flaming Soul Domain, there’s only the former Flaming Soul Domain Supernatural Beings Association left. There are no other branch associations, not even a branch of the Hunters’ Guild here. It seems there’s still a long way to go before this Flaming Soul Domain can become the core of the supernatural world,” Chen Xiao thought to himself. Then he went to the teleportation array and used it to reach the Crimson Mist Domain. The moment he stepped onto the teleportation array, a blue light flashed across his body. By the time he stepped out, he had taken on Fei Zhuo’s appearance. “Huh? Isn’t this Fei Zhuo? He was tasked with capturing Chen Xiao last time. After such a long time, it seems he failed.” As soon as Chen Xiao appeared in the Crimson Mist Domain, he heard someone speaking to him. Only then did he remember that he was still the target of pursuit by the hunters in the supernatural world. Although Leng Shi had now pledged allegiance to Chen Xiao, those two extremely costly missions were still ongoing. “Chen Xiao is extremely slippery. How could he be caught so easily? I, Lord Claw, need money, so I’ll take a few other missions first.”

Chen Xiao imitated Fei Zha’s tone and emphasized his reply. As a free hunter and a sixth-tier powerhouse, Fei Zha was highly renowned in the world of hunters.
As he spoke, Chen Xiao headed toward the Hunter’s Guild. He was using Fei Zha’s identity to act, but he didn’t really know much about Fei Zha. If he continued talking to these people, it would be easy for him to expose himself.
Seeing that Chen Xiao ignored them, those people naturally didn’t want to embarrass themselves.
“Hey, Lord Claw, you’ve arrived.”
As soon as Chen Xiao entered the Hunter’s Guild, the receptionist there spotted him at once and hurried over.
“Are there any special missions available lately? Lord Claw, I’m short on money—could I take on a few missions to earn some star coins?” Chen Xiao said to the receptionist with a smile.
“Special missions?” The receptionist was stunned. Such missions weren’t something someone like him could decide on.
But he didn’t doubt Fei Zha’s strength. Although Fei Zha was only a sixth-tier martial artist, he was extremely skilled at hiding and launching surprise attacks. He had once killed a seventh-tier powerhouse through a surprise attack.
“Lord Claw, please wait a moment. I’ll go inform the guild elders.” With that, the receptionist rushed upstairs.
“Fei Zha… hehe, long time no see.”
At that moment, a slightly hoarse voice reached Chen Xiao’s ears.
Chen Xiao’s heart stirred—he knew it was someone Fei Zha knew. But he wasn’t afraid; he just wouldn’t talk much to them.
It was a young man with a pale face, devoid of any color, appearing to be in his early twenties. He was thin and gave off an ill-looking impression, as if he might collapse at any moment.
Chen Xiao simply turned his head to look at him without saying anything.
“Oh, that’s the young master of the Canghai family from the Hunter’s clan—Canghai Chengkong!” Sure enough, the hunters around immediately identified the young man.
“Rumors say that not long ago, Canghai Chengkong had a confrontation with the bandit lord Fei Zha. The two fought fiercely, and Canghai Chengkong lost by just a hair’s breadth to Fei Zha.”
“With these two meeting now, there’s bound to be a fierce battle.”
Hearing the conversations around him, Chen Xiao’s expression shifted slightly. He instantly realized that Canghai Chengkong must be here to seek revenge.