“Lowly human, how dare you fight back,…” snarled the dark-skinned woman, angered by his actions.

　　Boom!

　　Suddenly, there was a massive crash as something exploded outside the prison, as if an enormous object had landed. Almost immediately, many screams arose from outside.

　　“What happened?” The woman was startled; so were the orcs behind her. They all turned to face the door. Xu Que too raised his gaze to the door, and, at the same time, released his Soul Strength to sweep the cell.

　　Beyond the gates, a potent spell had blanketed the large campground. It was as if the whole firmament was engulfed; a constant stream of lightning bolts descended from the skies. As if someone was crossing a calamity.

　　However, it was merely a Magic Art!

　　Boom!

　　The bolts shattered the ground with every strike, forcing the giant soldiers to run around, hands over their heads. Some unlucky ones got hit after running a few steps. They fell to the ground instantly and became a pile of mushy blood and meat. Some of them howled at the skies and used magic arts, trying to fight skywards. However, they were rendered defenseless by the prowess of the thunderbolts that fell from the sky.

　　“Gosh, this is powerful!”

　　Xu Que was astounded by what he saw. The power of this Heavenly Thunder Magic Art was much more powerful than it looked. After all, these giants were all at the Form Synthesis Stage! Without the Heaven and Earth Seal and the King of Tough-Acting Fist, even Xu Que himself could not injure them severely with a Basic Magic Art.

　　“How dare you wreak havoc at my camp! You’re asking for death!” The woman standing beside Xu Que threatened coldly and suddenly moved.

　　Swoosh!

　　She transformed into a blood-red beam and rushed out. The few remaining giants looked at each other but stayed behind. They stood guard to prevent Xu Que from running away.

　　“Isn’t it too cowardly, to have so many of you in the Form Synthesis Stage to guard against me, a single cultivator in the Void Training Stage? You should help them quickly. I promise not to run!” Xue Que persuaded them, smiling.

　　Alas, those giants refused to budge and ignored him. Like logs, they stood firmly right where they were. With an average height of ten feet, it was as if they were pillars. It was apparent that they had no intention of speaking, and there was nothing he could do. Xu Que shook his head and tried to look outside again.

　　However, there was a restriction placed in the prison cell. As such, Xu Que’s Soul Strength could only scan within the room and not beyond the door. Therefore, he could only physically strain his eyes to peer out of the door, trying to figure out who exactly is this powerful cultivator who is laying waste to the camp.

　　He was then quickly astonished by what he saw.

　　A silhouette suddenly leaped into the sky – it was the woman who called herself the female General. With a hurried expression, she leaped upwards to flee, only to be struck down by a golden magic art!

　　Bam!

　　A muffled bang and the dark-skinned woman fell straight out of the sky. She coughed out a lot of blood, and the ground cracked into a spiderweb when she landed.

　　Swoosh!

　　Right after, a shadow clad in red emerged and summoned a few bolts of lightning with a wave of her slender arm. They killed the female general instantly.

　　“Hongyan?”

　　Xu Que couldn’t help but call out in shock. The person who killed the dark-skinned woman was none other than Jiang Hongyan! She had killed a powerhouse at the Crossing Calamity Stage just like that, so effortlessly and without any hiccups! (Not to forget that Jiang Hongyan’s cultivation was just at the second stage of the Crossing Calamity!)

　　“You’re amazing, my big sis Hongyan!” Xu Que muttered under his breath.

　　Initially, he had thought that he had a clear idea of Jiang Hongyan’s strength. She was strong, stronger than those faction patriarchs in the Four Great Continents, but she was also just at the second stage of Calamity Crossing. At most, she would be on par with those powerhouses from the outside!

　　But who would have thought that she would be powerful enough to easily kill a cultivator at the Crossing Calamity Stage, no, at the peak of the Crossing Calamity Stage! With such overwhelming prowess, it’s very likely that she could even fight a powerful being at the Great Vehicle Stage!

　　“No wonder she dared to come over to the Xuanzhen Continent alone. With this strength, she’s on a par with me…no, I reckon that she’s even more powerful than me.” Xu Que smiled bitterly. He had been unbeatable for so long that he had underestimated Jiang Hongyan’s powers! Maybe before this, he had been indeed stronger than Jiang Hongyan. But after she had made it through all these tribulations and officially stepped into the Void Training Stage, the depth of her strength had become unreadable.

　　Especially so after she spent several years to attain awakening in the Immortal Hall, where her powers had not stopped growing since. Therefore, although she was still at the second stage of Calamity Crossing, she could already overwhelm most of her opponents!

　　“General!” The remaining Orcs in the prison cell suddenly cried out. Upon witnessing Jiang Hongyan killing the dark-skinned woman, their eyes had immediately became bloodshot.

　　Boom!

　　Consumed by fury, they whipped up a stormy wind as they barged out of the cell, forgetting all about Xu Que.

　　Outside, a calm and collected Jiang Hongyan awaited. On her fingers, a golden glow shone brightly.

　　Swish!

　　She waved her hand casually, and magic ensued. Lightning arrived at the ceiling of the dome and on her command, struck down at the land!

　　Crack!

　　With a stifled crash, the bolts launched those giants to the sky; their huge bodies cracked open and bloody. Then, a golden gleam slit past their throats, and a few struggles later, they lost all signs of life. At that moment, the whole camp became deathly quiet.

　　Xu Que had surprise plastered all over his face. Till now, he could not wrap his mind around what had happened. The strength that Jiang Hongyan had displayed was beyond his wildest imagination.

　　Swoosh!

　　Jiang Hongyan lifted her hand again, this time pointing toward Xu Que.

　　Thunk!

　　A crisp and metallic clank. The Immortal Suppression Steel Chain binding Xu Que all this while had been severed by the golden gleam, and Xu Que was once again a free man. The corners of Xu Que’s mouth twitched. The Immortal Suppression Steel Chain was almost indestructible; even though he would have broken it easily once he reached the Form Synthesis Stage, he would never have thought that Jiang Hongyan could cut it by merely raising a finger.

　　Wait, hold on. Didn’t this mean that he had just wasted 5,000 Acting Tough points?

　　“System, System, come out now! I want a refund! I don’t need you to break the Immortal Suppression Steel Chain anymore!” Xu Que shouted to himself. The System replied coldly, Ding! “After analyzing the situation, the dismantling progress of the Immortal Suppression Steel Chain stood at 60%. Therefore, only 2,000 points will be refunded!”

　　Xu Que felt a little better hearing that. So the chain was already 60% destroyed when Jiang Hongyan arrived! That’s more reasonable than her cutting it with a single point of her finger. Otherwise, she would be too powerful!

　　“Little one!” Jiang Hongyan stood before him, her eyes boring long and deep into his.

　　Xu Que felt guilty and touched the bridge of his nose uneasily. He understood what she was expressing with her gaze. She wanted to say that he shouldn’t have come, but could not bring herself to berate him.

　　“Eh, Hongyan, is this the Xuanzhen Continent? It’s indeed quite amazing. The humans here are tall like pillars!” Xu Que quickly changed the topic and pointed at the giants sprawling on the ground.

　　“They are from the Heaven Orc Tribe.” Jiang Hongyan shook her head and answered softly.

　　“Heaven Orc Tribe? Are they children of humans and demonic beasts?” Xu Que asked.

　　He had heard the dark-skinned woman mention that they were from the Heaven Orc Tribe. He had also sensed a tinge of demon beast aura from those people. Nevertheless, he still felt something amiss. In both the Five Elements Mountain and the Four Great Continents, he had seen many who had descended from humans and demonic beasts, such as Su Ling’er. However, their aura had been slightly different.

　　“No, they aren’t pure-blooded demonic beasts. They had just been fed blood of both humans and demonic beasts since young, and they had never absorbed any Spiritual Qi from heaven and earth. Instead, they strip the true cores of other demonic beasts and humans, and that’s why they tend to be physically powerful,” said Jiang Hongyan, her face slightly icy. She seemed to bear some ill feelings against the Heaven Orc Tribe.

　　Xu Que was also surprised. He didn’t expect that there would be people who cultivate in such a brutal and senseless way – drinking the blood of demonic beasts and humans. They had essentially evolved into a new species by robbing the cultivation of others. Does this count as an unorthodox genetic manipulation?

　　“How do they rob the cultivation of others?” Xu Que asked seriously.

　　He remembered what that dark-skinned woman had tried to do earlier. Maybe she had wanted to strip him of his practice by Paired Cultivation.

　　Jiang Hongyan just shook her head, “They have a lot of ways to do that. When I woke up just now, they had tried to slice my arteries with a knife. I stopped them before they could do it. Have they done anything to you?”

　　“Me? I’m fine, of course! That dark-skinned woman lusted over my handsome face and wanted to force herself on me, but all I could think about was your safety. So I rejected her firmly!” Xu Que answered righteously.

　　Jiang Hongyan couldn’t resist smiling at his words, as if she was happy to hear that Xu Que was worried about her safety.

　　“When you’re caught in such a situation next time, protect yourself first!” She said quietly.

　　“That won’t do! What meaning do I have left to live for should anything terrible happen to you?” Xu Que patted his chest and said quickly.

　　Jiang Hongyan was surprised speechless, then came to realize why Xu Que had insisted on coming into the Xuanzhen Continent with her.

　　What meaning do I have left to live for should anything terrible happen to you?

　　That sentence kept echoing in Jiang Hongyan’s heart….

　　After a while, Xu Que looked around and asked, confused, “Hmm? We made such a ruckus. Why isn’t anyone coming to help them?”

　　Jiang Hongyan recovered from her thoughts and spared a light glance at the outside. She replied, “They’re all dead!”

　　“Huh?” Xu Que’s eyes got wide. “You mean, everyone in this camp are all dead?”

　　“Yup!” Jiang Hongyan nodded calmly.

　　“You killed them all?”

　　“Yup!”

　　“Just like that, with what you did just now, you’ve killed them all?”

　　“Yup!”

　　“Wow….”

　　Xu Que can’t help but be amazed once again.

　　This camp, to say the very least, would have had several hundred powerful cultivators at the Form Synthesis Stage. But Jiang Hongyan had killed them all like they were ants.

　　Even that female general at the peak of the Crossing Calamity Stage was no different. In front of Jiang Hongyan, she could, at most, withstand a few rounds of attack before losing in an instant! Her strength is really out of this world.

　　That would most likely be what he could do, without the aid of the Heaven and Earth Seal and the Tough-Acting Fist, when he stepped into the Form Synthesis Stage in the future. He would probably only be on par with her or use much more effort than she did!

　　:As I thought!” Xu Que let out an emotion-filled sigh.

　　Jiang Hongyan was confused. “What?”

　　Xu Que gave her a radiant smile. “As the old saying goes, know a man from the company he keeps! Little Hongyan, after all this while that you’ve followed me, your strength has finally improved! I’m reassured!”

　　Jiang Hongyan couldn’t contain her laughter. “Little one, quit speaking like an old man!”

　　“Hey, I’m just mature! Come on, little lady, give me your hand; Brother Xu Que will lead you as we roam the world!” Xu Que laughed, and, without asking, took up her hand and stepped out of the prison cell.

　　Jiang Hongyan smiled slightly and followed him naturally, as if she’ s already used to him holding her hands like this. Her eyes shone warmly.

　　Then, she reminded him softly, “This is where the Heaven Orc had set up their battlefield outpost. They have hundreds of camps here. If you’re planning to walk out like that, I’m afraid that we can’t leave that easily.”

　　“What?” Xu Que stopped in his tracks, and asked incredulously, “You mean that we are in the middle of their turf? Why would you make such a large commotion then? What if they surrounded us after finding out what happened?”

　　“I was worried about your safety!” Jiang Hongyan looked at Xu Que, calm as usual.

　　A light and seemingly simple answer, but for some reason, it warmed Xu Que’s heart.

　　He tightened his grip around Jiang Hongyan’s little hand, and smiled. “No worries. You rescued me from the cell just now, so it’s my turn to lead you out of here!”

　　“Okay!” Jiang Hongyan beamed and nodded, agreeing with him unconditionally.

　　Xu Que was happy at her change.

　　After listening to her description, Xu Que had a rough idea of the situation of this Heaven Orc Tribe battle outpost. The whole battle outpost consisted of tens of Form Synthesis Stage Orcs and hundreds of Void Training Stage powerhouses. There were one or two Generals, all of them at the Crossing Calamity Stage. Their overall strength was no joke!

　　Almost all the camps are connected. As such, camps would be alerted once something happened in other camps nearby. Jiang Hongyan had caused a great commotion just now but did not raise the alert of other camps. Looks like she had astoundingly good luck on her side.

　　Sitting at the very end of the mountains, the camp that they were taken to was disconnected from the others due to the terrain. That was the reason why the other camps had not discovered them yet. However, there was only one way to return to human territory. They had to cut through all the hundreds of camps in front of them, for if they had walked further in, they would have entered too deep into the lair of the Heaven Orc Tribe. That would be akin to sending a sheep into a tiger’s mouth.

　　But cutting through hundreds of camps was difficult.

　　Even Jiang Hongyan could not win easily against hundreds of Crossing Calamity Stage powerhouses, no matter how strong she was.

　　“Looks like we need to stir some trouble…. Pooh, no, I mean we have to win using our brains!” Xu Que’s eyes shone as he smiled cheekily.

　　“Have you got an idea?” Jiang Hongyan laughed.

　　“Yup. When your enemy greatly outnumbers you, the best way to deal with them is to…dissolve them from the inside!” Xu Que nodded as his smile deepened. He had thought of a wicked idea.

　　One characteristic of the Heaven Orc Tribe was that the males tended to be muscular, mostly hovering around 10 feet, with some reaching even more; while for the females, the more petite they were, the stronger; the darker, the mightier. The intensity of their demonic beast scent represents the degree of their powers!

　　On that very day, Xu Que created two High-Class Disguise Puppets and altered both their appearances, including their scent, to be precisely the same as the Heaven Orc Tribe. They blended in so well with the Orcs that no one could tell the difference. Then, he took out hundreds of pieces of black paper from the female General’s tent. The kind of paper commonly used by the orcs. Fishing out a pen, he mimicked the Heaven Orc Tribe language and began to write fluidly:

　　“I am Buttface, hailing from the Exploding Heavens Faction. I was killed during The Great War between Immortals and Demons tens of thousands of years ago. My opponent threw my body into a river and escaped. I have condensed tens of thousands of years worth of resentment into this letter. When you see this, please pass it to four other people. Should you fail to do that, your mother will die in 30 days, and a demonic beast will devour your father. If you follow my instructions, the person you like will return your feelings, and your dreams will come true! I’m sorry. I’m not Buttface. Just that this message is just too vicious, so I had no choice but to send it to you!”