It had to be said that Xia Mu's combat experience was truly formidable, so strong it was unexpected, so much so that even Apophis, if in his shoes, acknowledged that he couldn't have matched Xia Mu's degree of insanity.

No sooner had his eyes closed than he suddenly realized he was in an unfamiliar environment. His first sight was Feng Yi, "Commander, where are we? Are you dead too?" Apophis blurted out, not even sure if he was dead or alive. To confirm this, he pinched himself hard, the pain sharply bringing clarity to his mind.

No, it couldn't be! Was his memory disordered, or was he having a mental split? Apophis was certain that just moments ago he had indeed been inside a Mecha, practically devoid of any survival capability. In that urgent moment, he couldn't even manage an escape, yet upon awakening, his body was unharmed, not a scratch on him, which was utterly illogical.

"Logically, you should be dead, and I won't be far behind," Feng Yi criticized internally. Just then, he spoke softly in response, "I broke the rules, pulled you out of the Mecha. Didn't I tell you before, who would run the Flame Legion if you died?"

Apophis was incredulous as if he had seen a ghost; he thought everything that had just happened was an illusion, a dying flicker of consciousness. It never occurred to him that it could actually be Feng Yi in the flesh. Even a hundred brains wouldn't help him comprehend, "Commander, how… how did you get inside my Mecha?"

"I don't want to reveal that secret for the moment. No DNA of yours was collected at the explosion site, so the higher-ups conveniently suppressed the matter. Go report in now and use light transmission as your escape excuse. You understand my meaning, right?"

Apophis quickly grasped it; the commander had considered keeping this secret, which was why he suggested using light transmission as an excuse. Although the Mecha Battle competition didn't explicitly forbid it, it did indeed carry a hint of rule violation. After all, a person with light transmission could effortlessly trap an opponent and escape at the moment of self-destruct initiation through light transmission.

Compared with his life, rules seemed trivial. After a brief farewell to Feng Yi, Apophis discreetly dodged public attention as best as he could and finally managed to report to the Federal Government's competition zone.

Everyone was still immersed in sorrow, each face etched with grief, little did they know that the person, who had supposedly died, would suddenly resurrect? After Apophis briefly recounted his story, the Military Department ordered him to stay out of public sight for a while, considering it a matter of saving face. They told him to keep a low profile for some time, and discreetly informed his family that he was unharmed, even arranging a special set-up through Star Domain Broadcast communication for his family to confirm with their own eyes.

Reluctantly, Apophis left with a tinge of regret; indeed, being alive was far better than being dead. Since there was no point in staying exposed under scrutiny, he continued his stay at the Dragon Gate space station. That afternoon, he secretly took a federal flight back to Mardis.

This time, he lost due to lack of experience, but he wouldn't allow such failure a second time in the 'Apophis dictionary.' Now, he was eager to face that cunning fox Xia Mu anew, to settle the score. Damn, that was a close call nearly killing him. Well, if an opportunity arose, just watch.

——

At the foot of Immortal Mountain, the scenery was picturesque, streets bathed in purple sunlight stretched straight and narrow... On either side of the street, taverns and inns sprawled in succession, adopting an ancient style that, though not luxurious, harmoniously matched the natural environment, making the passing crowd feel as if they were in a beautifully painted scroll.

With the quadrennial grand opening battle drawing nearer every day, after watching the Revenge Shadow Rider and Mirami battle the second day, Mingfei and Mengdie had already returned.

On the road, Mingfei occasionally still complained, "Hmph, I really don't understand that kid Feng Yi. Butterfly was so good to him, but why does he run away as fast as if he's seen a ghost whenever he sees you?"

Hearing this, Mengdie's eyes gleamed like colored glaze, casting a deep glance at Mingfei without any response.

Just as she arrived at the inn, Mingfei remembered something that made her increasingly angry, last time she was here, Butterfly was still an elder of life and death, yet she sat without any appetite. Through the changes in her eyes, Mingfei had long guessed the person sitting across from her, so on the way back she casually knocked on the wooden walls a few times.

On the Twin Stars, during his battle with Kexiao, if Butterfly hadn't intervened in time, who knows what would have become of that boy, the girl originally didn't have much private money, yet she didn't hesitate to use the light transmission to come directly to Mardis, what an assist that was! Yet he...

The girl even lost her status as an elder of life and death for him, nearly giving up her practice of the Wood Element of the Five Elements Technique to lift the seal, Mingfei truly felt it was unfair for Butterfly.

However, these thoughts were only in her mind, she rarely saw Mengdie respond to outsiders, Feng Yi was an exception, and she had no idea what exactly had happened between the two, asking Mengdie was basically hopeless, taking the opportunity last time, she had wanted to inquire closely from Feng Yi, who knew that boy turned around and disappeared without a trace.

How annoying, really annoying, Mingfei gently shook her head and decided not to think about it anymore.

What she needed to consider most now was the battle for chief, especially remembering the chief battle exchange four years ago, where Mengdie, with her peerless talent, outshone the chiefs of all major hidden sects and successfully secured the opportunity to learn the techniques of other hidden sects.

She learned the silk thread puppet technique at the Nangong Family, grasped the long-lost martial soul heart decision at Yanhuang Soul, and advanced her Gale Technique to the ninth level at Tianyin Sect, only neglecting the Western faction, the Holy Hall. In fact, the Western and Eastern ancient martial arts of Huaxia were originally two different branch cultures that can't be generalized, which was normal.

But the Holy Hall didn't think so, or at least nominally so, in the name of justice, the Holy Hall always had intentions of interfering in the Huaxia hidden sects, who knows what other missionary schemes those Western hidden sects will think of this year, huh, truly something to look forward to.

Each hidden sect had different demands, in the chief battle at the Jade Clear Sect, those who emerged victorious could visit all major sects and also learn a technique from another sect.

The Nangong Family valued bloodlines and talents, so when it came to winning the chief battle, they often poached from the inner disciples of other sects.

Yanhuang Soul, on the other hand, embraced the strengths of hundreds of families, not obsessed with materials or forms, often using equal exchange or collection methods to independently extend various low-level techniques, encompassing everything, claimed neutral, but actually played a leading role among the five great hermit sects.

Only Tianyin Sect acted mysteriously, during these hundred years, they sometimes sought people, at times read techniques, at times perused the history of various sects, and occasionally sought a magical treasure to examine.

For instance, the Linglong Tower of the Jade Clear Sect, the Golden Bodhi Tree of the Nangong Family, both could be classified among the top magical treasures of the hidden sects.

Especially the Nangong Family's Golden Bodhi Tree, it was said to have very powerful spiritual power, within its range, not a single person could escape from the Golden Pupil Technique environment under its powerful spiritual suppression, according to reports, those unfortunate enough to be afflicted either confessed truthfully or turned into madmen, they were even somewhat ostracized by other sects.

Because Mengdie dominated the last chief battle, this time the battle for chief would unfold at the Jade Clear Sect, however, there was a rumor that the Nangong Family seemed not planning to participate in this session's chief battle, according to tradition, even if not participating, they had to follow the conventional customs, this came as a surprise to Mingfei.

Huh, why bother about so much? Everything's fine, the mood when returning home was often filled with joy, stepping beyond the beat, the two walked into Immortal Mountain, disciples along the way bowed respectfully as a sign of reverence…

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