It turns out, they were the main characters.

Mu Zhian's condition is really bad right now; if we don't stop him, he might really die a violent death.

However, at that moment, Bai Ruoxi suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Not only Ye Yu, but Mu Zhian's originally depleted spiritual energy is also slowly recovering, and the recovery speed is much faster than Ye Yu's.

Ye Yu's sword was deflected by Mu Zhian's sword.

The two longswords landed simultaneously, and Mu Zhian punched Ye Yu in the abdomen. A wave of energy emanated from Ye Yu's abdomen, causing the leaves of the large tree behind him to rustle and startle the birds in the forest.

Ye Yu was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the tree roots behind him.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, struggled to lift his head, and stared incredulously at Mu Zhian, only to see him open his mouth.

Mu Zhian had a Rejuvenation Pill that he had just refined not long ago in his mouth.

"Young Master Ye, since when did you start to have the illusion that you are the only one who can recover from illness?" Mu Zhian said calmly.

A Rejuvenation Pill?!

Ye Yu clutched his chest, staring intently at Mu Zhian, his eyes filled with disbelief.

As an alchemist, he naturally understood the value of the Rejuvenation Pill. Even the Mu family couldn't possibly find the Beast King Vine... But what Mu Zhi'an was taking now was precisely the Rejuvenation Pill!

Behind her, Bai Ruoxi stepped forward and whispered, "Are you alright?"

Mu Zhian shook his head and said, "I was lucky, I'm fine."

As he spoke, he glanced at Bai Ruoxi again, lingering on her beautiful face for a moment.

He had just thought of something extremely interesting.

If I hadn't stopped Ye Yu from buying the bronze piece at the auction that day, would Ye Yu be able to use that bronze sword now?

Based on the inference, the bronze sword was most likely passed down from the Bai family's ancestors.

However, Ye Yu is the chosen one, and judging from his desire for the bronze fragment at the time, he is very likely to be able to activate its power.

If that were the case, the person standing there now wouldn't be Mu Zhian, but Ye Yu.

The bronze sword that Bai Ruoxi used at the time was as powerful as a peak Qi Refining cultivator even when it was only one piece. When the two pieces were combined, its destructive power reached that of a cultivator in the Divine Refining Realm.

Isn't this the kind of growth-oriented cultivation technique used exclusively by the 'protagonist'?

Thank goodness I'm a pay-to-win player... No matter how lucky Ye Yu is, as long as you have money, the only one who will ultimately be able to buy the bronze fragment is me...

Mu Zhian sighed inwardly and silently watched the boy get up again and take a few pills.

Bai Ruoxi frowned slightly and said softly, "That's enough, Ye Yu. There's no deep-seated hatred between you two. There's no need to fight to the death. This competition is over."

"Finish?"

A faint smile appeared on Ye Yu's face. When he raised his head again, a strange glint appeared in his dark eyes.

During his battle with Mu Zhian, the old man who had been sleeping inside him was also awakened. If he were to make a move, not only Mu Zhian, but even if Mu Zhian and Bai Ruoxi joined forces, they would not be a match for him.

Although the old man was seriously injured, his current strength was at least at the Refining God Realm!

"I'm leaving it to you, Master," Ye Yu said to himself.

The old man's chuckled voice rang out to Ye Yu, saying, "If I were to intervene, I couldn't guarantee the child's safety. Have you thought it through?"

Ye Yu remained expressionless, simply nodding in response.

In that instant, a terrifying spiritual energy, completely different from before, erupted from his body. The pressure of that spiritual energy caused the magical beasts in the forest to let out terrified howls, and the cries of jungle birds filled the air.

Bai Ruoxi frowned and whispered, "Be careful, there's something strange about him..."

Mu Zhian chuckled and said, "It's normal for things to be strange... It would be strange if they weren't strange."

He's the chosen one, after all. These days, how can you call yourself a 'protagonist' without some kind of cheat code or special abilities?

However... once the supporting characters have intelligence, there won't be any scenes where they are defeated by the protagonist in a 1v1 situation.

Mu Zhian looked up and saw Ye Yu, who was some distance away from him, and smiled, "Changed?"

Ye Yu slowly said, "This is also one of my trump cards, so don't blame me, Young Master Mu."

As long as we can get rid of Mu Zhian, it's worth it no matter what we do.

Mu Zhian nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. In any case, the result is the most important thing. As long as we win, that's enough."

"Whether there was cheating in the process is not important."

As Ye Yu slowly stepped forward, Mu Zhian suddenly changed the subject, saying, "However, has Young Master Ye not considered something?"

Ye Yu paused slightly, his brows furrowed, and for some reason, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

He stared at Mu Zhi'an expressionlessly, his body radiating killing intent. He took a step forward and raised his hand to grab at Mu Zhi'an.

Mu Zhian remained standing still and said calmly, "Why do you have the misconception that only enemies of the same realm will bother you when you are at a certain level?"

"Times have changed, Young Master Ye."

Almost the instant the words fell, Ye Yu felt an unprecedented sense of crisis coming from mid-air. He looked up sharply and saw a mysterious man wearing a straw hat falling from mid-air and throwing out a chain.

Without any chance to react, the chains quickly bound Ye Yu.

The chains quickly bound Ye Yu, and the dark light completely enveloped him, forming a cocoon.

Then, a sphere emitting a milky white light slowly floated out of the cocoon.

The Qi of Heaven!

"My Heavenly Dao Qi... Who are you? Who are you?!" Ye Yu roared in terror from within the cocoon. He never expected that his Heavenly Dao Qi would escape from his body. It had clearly chosen him, so why did it escape on its own?

"Your Heavenly Dao Qi?"

The man in black robes sneered: "He's just got a little more luck than the average person, does he even deserve to possess the aura of the Heavenly Dao?"

"The power of Heaven will only choose those with the best fortune. Your fortune is very good, but it is only limited to this Tianxuan City."

The man in black robes extended his pale hand from his robes and reached out to grasp the Heavenly Dao Qi that was suspended in mid-air.

"The one who should truly possess the aura of the Heavenly Dao is me."

The man in the black robe spoke with utter indifference, as if stating a fact.

As his tentacles moved, the spherical aura of the Heavenly Dao emitted a faint light, seemingly resisting the man in black robes.

However, the man in black robes seemed to have been prepared, as he took out another jade bottle and directly absorbed the Heavenly Dao Qi into it.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Bai Ruoxi was completely caught off guard and stared at the scene with a slight sense of astonishment.

The man in black robes turned to look at the pale-faced boy standing not far away, and sneered, "Thank you for your cooperation, Young Master Mu."

Despite his still somewhat pale complexion, Mu Zhian maintained a gentle smile: "This is the compensation we agreed upon from the beginning. There's no question of cooperation or not."

Upon hearing this, the man in black nodded slightly and said, "Young Master Mu is indeed a man of his word."

He then changed the subject, saying, "So, I've decided to give Young Master Mu a surprise."

As he said this, a hint of ruthlessness appeared in the black-robed man's eyes.

"Oh?"

A look of surprise appeared on Mu Zhian's face. He asked, puzzled, "Surprise? What is it?"

"The surprise is that Mu Zhian secretly invited Ye Yu to spar in the Dragon Head Forest, but for Bai Ruoxi, he ruthlessly killed Ye Yu, forced himself on the Bai family's daughter, and ultimately died tragically in a beast tide in the Dragon Head Forest."

The man in black robes said in a sinister tone.

"...You're framing me?!" Mu Zhian showed a look of "fear".

A cold smile appeared on the lips of the man in black robes, and he was about to speak.

At this moment, Mu Zhian suddenly changed the subject and said:

"How about I give you a surprise too?"

Chapter 38 Translation: What exactly is a "f***ing surprise"?

As soon as Mu Zhian finished speaking, the man in the black robe was startled.

Then, when he saw the old man who had quietly appeared behind Mu Zhi'an, he hesitated for a moment, then his unease slowly subsided, and he sneered, "So the so-called surprise refers to him?"

Ren Lao, a guest of the Mu family.

This is the Mu family's open trump card, and also the trump card within the black-robed man's intelligence.

As for how to deal with this old man... he had already prepared his strategy.

A cultivator at the Refining Spirit Realm is indeed troublesome.

But it's not too difficult.

At least for him, who was prepared in advance, this was not a troublesome matter.

The man in black robes regained his composure, but his eyes, fixed on Mu Zhian, were filled with a deep, chilling light. He slowly spoke:

"The Mu family's guest elder actually escorted you all the way to Dragon Head Forest... It seems that Young Master Mu doesn't trust me very much."

Mu Zhian looked the man in black robes up and down as if he were a lunatic, and said, "Would you trust an outsider who wouldn't even reveal his name?"

The man in black robes was clearly taken aback, then burst into laughter: "That's right, hahaha, I always thought of you as a good-for-nothing young master who was obsessed with beautiful women. It seems I underestimated you. Even a good-for-nothing knows how to make a thorough plan."

"I went through so much trouble to help you win over Miss Bai, and Young Master Mu really doesn't know how to be grateful."

"The girl I pursued, the effort I put in, how did it become your achievement?" Mu Zhian laughed.

Who are you sending it to?

The man in black robes had a cold glint in his eyes as he slowly raised his hand: "It seems that Young Master Mu is not very satisfied with the surprise I just gave you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the black-robed man unleashed an astonishing killing intent. Mu Zhian suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, and he stared intently at the black-robed man.

Suddenly, the figure of the man in black robes twisted, and then, a mysterious man dressed in black robes slowly walked out from behind him.

Unlike the man wearing a straw hat, he was still dressed in a black robe, exuding a cold aura. His pair of cold, vertical pupils were like those of a venomous snake, giving people the feeling of staring at a ferocious beast at first glance, making them shudder.

"A demon?!" Bai Ruoxi blurted out.

The aura emanating from this man in black robes was the chilling aura that only demons possess.

In this world of immortals and heroes, the demons are among the strongest forces. The Liangyi Sect is located in the Eastern Continent, while the demon kingdom is in the Northern Continent. The two sides have been constantly clashing on their borders.

But Tianxuan City is not far from the foot of Liangyi Sect's mountain!