The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

In the narrow alley behind the auction venue, the north wind carried the stench of blood.

A soldier was gripped tightly by the neck with a large hand and lifted into the air like a chick.

His face was drained of color, his legs kicked in vain, and he gasped for breath. He tried desperately to pry Yan Lie's fingers off, but it was like an ant trying to shake a tree, and he couldn't budge them.

"Hmph, trash."

Yan Lie slightly tightened his fingers, and with a crisp "crack" sound, the soldier's struggling movements suddenly stopped.

Yan Lie chuckled and casually tossed the corpse aside.

More than twenty soldiers' corpses lay scattered in the surrounding alleys, their blood trickling down the cracks in the stone slabs, its crimson color stark against the backdrop of the remaining snow.

Ji Zhu was also standing there, her brows furrowed as she looked at Yan Lie, a hint of disgust in her eyes.

"Tell me the specifics of how to do it."

Yan Lie wiped the bloodstains from his hands, looked at Ji Zhu, and spoke casually.

Upon hearing this, Ji Zhu patiently took out a roll of plain silk from her sleeve. After unfolding it, a portrait of Yuan Yao was revealed on it.

"In a moment, more than a hundred outlaws will rush into the venue from all directions, burning and looting goods and creating chaos. Your mission is to take advantage of the guards being unable to attend to everything, follow the route map we have given you, quickly enter the venue, and kill Princess Yuan Yao, who is by the side of King Bilin."

Yan Lie glanced sideways at the little girl in the portrait, a disdainful smile curving his lips. He sneered, "After all this time, you want me to kill some brat who hasn't even been weaned yet? That's so boring. If you ask me, wouldn't it be more satisfying to just rush in and slaughter the king of Bilin Kingdom as well?"

Hearing Yan Lie's arrogant words, Ji Zhu's expression changed, and she shouted sharply, "Yan Lie, your mission is to kill Princess Yuan Yao, do nothing else!"

The eldest princess's order was to kill her own sister, not her father. Ji Zhu was genuinely afraid that Yan Lie, this madman, would do something unnecessary, which would truly cause chaos.

Ji Zhu suppressed her anger and took out another portrait, unfolding it: "This is one of your targets, Lin Qin, the commander of the royal guards. He's in there. If you want to kill someone, you can kill him."

Upon seeing Lin Qin's portrait, a fierce glint flashed in Yan Lie's eyes. He licked his chapped lips, finally showing some interest.

But his interest didn't last long. His eyes lit up: "This Linqin is indeed my target, but what I really want to kill is the auspicious beast, the White Deer. There's an auction going on inside right now, and many royal nobles are there. The palace's defenses should be at their lowest point, right? Why don't I break into the palace now and kill the White Deer?"

In Yan Lie's heart, the auspicious white deer was his true target, more important than Lin Qin; nothing else mattered.

Ji Zhu said with a gloomy face, "Yan Lie, Bai Lu will let you kill him, but your current task is to follow orders."

"Follow orders?"

Yan Lie sneered, stepped forward with his double-edged axe, and looked down at Ji Zhu.

"I don't remember when I became your subordinate. Woman, you'd better watch your tone. I only agreed to help you kill one person, but I didn't say whether I would help you kill the person first or after killing Bai Lu. The order is not up to you to decide, it's up to me."

Ji Zhu's face turned ashen with anger at Yan Lie's words. She knew this madman wouldn't obey orders so easily.

Just as the atmosphere between the two was tense, a figure holding a precious medicine swiftly flew over from not far away. It was Fu Xiao, who was ordered by Yuan Shuying to lure Qi Ji out of the palace.

Fu Xiao, sweat dripping from his temples and panting heavily, said, "It's done. Bai Lu... Bai Lu is chasing after us."

Upon hearing this, Ji Zhu's tense expression suddenly relaxed, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, felt half relieved.

With Bai Lu around, Yan Lie, that madman, can finally obey orders.

Yan Lie didn't know Fu Xiao, but Fu Xiao's words did indeed make his eyes gleam with ecstatic joy.

Yan Lie looked in the direction Fu Xiao had come from and saw a snow-white figure leaping towards him from the far end. The deer's hooves pounded the ground silently, and the speed was astonishing.

Yan Lie's pupils contracted, and the next second he burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, it's here, it's finally here! The auspicious white deer, this time I will definitely not let you escape again!"

Yan Lie's shouts shook the alley walls, making Ji Zhu both angry and anxious. What an idiot!

"Yan Lie, keep your voice down! There are still many soldiers around the auction venue. Do you want to lure them all over before the plan even begins?!"

Yan Lie was completely oblivious to Ji Zhu's words; his mind was entirely focused on Qi Ji.

Holding the Mountain-Splitting Axe, Yan Lie stomped his foot and charged directly towards Qi Ji.

"That bastard!"

Ji Zhu was so angry at Yan Lie's behavior that her fingertips were trembling.

Such a lack of discipline, and the plan hasn't even started yet.

At this moment, Ji Zhu truly regretted her actions. Had she known that Yan Lie was so arrogant and unpredictable, she should have risked her life to advise the princess against using this madman.

Qi Ji followed the scent of the precious medicine all the way to the back of the venue. Just as he was thinking that the person leading the way was quite fast with his lightness skill, he suddenly heard a loud, arrogant laugh coming from ahead.

"Wait, isn't this guy...?"

Qi Ji looked at Yan Lie ahead, surprised that this guy was here.

Memories of being surrounded and intercepted by a large number of humans in the mountains and forests flooded back to Qi Ji. Among them, the one that impressed Qi Ji the most was undoubtedly this muscular giant wielding a giant axe, whose strength and defense far exceeded those of ordinary martial arts practitioners.

When Yan Lie initially entangled Qi Ji, more than a dozen skilled fighters took the opportunity to harass him, nearly causing Qi Ji, who was already exhausted, to suffer a serious injury.

Although people from the Qingyang Dao Sect came to help afterward, Qiu Qiji would never forget that incident.

Now that old enemies have met again, it's a good time to settle old scores.

Seeing Yan Lie rushing towards him, Qi Ji's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"You muscular bastard (#｀皿´), I was too exhausted to fight you back then, but you won't be so lucky if we meet again."

Qi Ji's limbs sank slightly, and with a swift movement, he transformed into a white shadow and charged towards Yan Lie.

"Haha, that's it, good timing!"

Seeing this, Yan Lie was even more delighted and shouted, channeling all his power into his arms.

He spun the mountain-splitting axe halfway in his hand, then, using the momentum of his forward charge, he cleaved it down fiercely from top to bottom. The fierce wind pressure made the air emit a piercing shriek at that moment.

Qi Ji had seen this move, "Splitting Mount Hua," before. He wasn't afraid then, and now that his strength has greatly increased, he's even less likely to be afraid.

However, Qi Ji didn't hesitate and directly consumed 1 Spirit Point to unleash the skill [Agile Burst].

A surge of power erupted from his limbs and bones, and Qi Ji's antlers gleamed as he fiercely rammed into the axe blade.

"Bang!!!"

There was no crisp metallic clang, only a dull, thunderous explosion.

A visible shockwave exploded from the center of the collision, instantly turning the remaining snow on the ground into a white mist. Two or three old trees nearby snapped in response, with half of their trunks and branches flying out and crashing onto the rooftops and the ground.

Yan Lie felt an overwhelming force coming from the axe handle, two or three times stronger than when they met in the mountains last time.

Yan Lie's arms were bulging with muscles and veins, and he tried his best to suppress the force, but he only felt a sharp pain in his hands and felt like he couldn't hold the axe handle.

"How is this possible?!"

The excitement and arrogance in Yan Lie's eyes were instantly replaced by shock.

How long has it been?

How could this white deer be so powerful?!

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Yan Lie was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string. At the same time, his double-edged axe was completely released from his hand, spinning and flying horizontally, the axe blade gleaming coldly as it shot towards the auction venue.

"Splash—"

The carved window frame on the second floor was smashed to pieces by the giant axe.

The double-edged axe, accompanied by a whistling wind, slammed heavily onto the high platform in the center of the venue, interrupting Su Yanji who was in the middle of the auction.

"The auction is about to begin... Ahhhhh!"

"Boom!"

A loud bang startled everyone.

The hairpin at Su Yanji's temple was knocked askew by the strong wind from the axe blade hitting the ground. She stared in astonishment at the huge axe blade that was deeply embedded in the high platform. Her mind went blank for a moment, but then she came to her senses and a surge of anger and fear welled up from the bottom of her heart.

Which bastard dares to disrupt her auction?

If the angle of that giant axe had been any slightly different, she would have been in serious trouble.

Was this a complete assassination attempt on her?

This is absolutely outrageous!

The bidding noise that had been rising and falling from the audience came to an abrupt halt at that moment.

"!"

The entire room fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a low murmur.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the menacing giant axe, momentarily unable to comprehend what had just happened.

On the main seat, King Bilin's face darkened, and he abruptly stood up, his aura suddenly becoming heavy.

Yuan Shuying's fingers tightened suddenly as she looked at the axe, inwardly cursing it as a fool.

She thought Yan Lie was launching an attack as planned, but she never expected him to use such a crude and foolish method, throwing the weapon directly into the venue.

This isn't just creating chaos; it's making it clear to everyone that there are assassins outside the arena.

Just as everyone was in a state of panic, a manager from the Wanhua Chamber of Commerce stumbled and crawled in from backstage, his clothes disheveled, his face covered in blood, and he screamed in a terrified voice:

"President, something terrible has happened! A large group of armed martial arts practitioners have stormed in through the main gate, slashing at anyone they see. Several employees have already been injured. And there are also many martial arts practitioners appearing from the direction of the warehouse at the back; they're looting goods!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the previously composed meeting room erupted into chaos...