Heroes Return

"Strange? Have I been acting strangely lately?" Hearing Tian Xiaoshu's words, Lin Jie didn't react much: "No, I haven't changed much lately, have I?"

“No, you’ve changed recently,” Tian Xiaoshu suddenly said. “Or rather, you seem to have something on your mind. If it’s something troubling you, tell me about it. Just like before.”

"It's nothing, I just thought of someone after I got out. I used to travel all over the world with her all the time," Lin Jie said with a smile.

"Xiaoqian..." Hearing Lin Jie's words, Tian Xiaoshu couldn't help but say, "Six years have passed, and you still can't forget?"

“People have surprisingly good memories sometimes,” Lin Jie shrugged. “Come to think of it, we’ve been around this area before, haven’t we? That’s why we feel a bit nostalgic.”

“The past is the past, you should look forward more,” Tian Xiaoshu said to Lin Jie once again.

"I've always been looking forward!" Lin Jie interrupted Tian Xiaoshu, "Alright, it's about time you and Kuror went back. Let Glasses take you home!"

"Huh? Why? We had so much fun together!" Upon hearing this, Chloe couldn't help but ask.

“If we continue, there might be Salvation Army members around, and it will be very dangerous.” This time, it was Dong Xue’er who replied: “As heroes, we need to deal with those troubles.”

"...You're not trying to find an excuse to be alone with him, are you?" Upon hearing the other person's words, Kuroru suddenly grabbed Fuyuki's arm and whispered to Fuyuki.

"No...ah...no! Anyway, it might be dangerous if you continue to follow!" Faced with Kurul's question, Dongxue'er's attitude was surprisingly firm.

"Alright, let's go back. You guys be careful too," Tian Xiaoshu said to Lin Jie and the others. "We had a lot of fun here these past two days."

After saying this, Tian Xiaoshu took the little bird out of her chest and placed it back on the ground. Although Kuror was somewhat reluctant, she eventually followed Tian Xiaoshu to the side of the bespectacled man.

Watching the two disappear, Xiao Zhan finally spoke up and asked, "Isn't the location of the Xuanyuan Sword a few hours ahead? But with Lin Jie's abilities, he should be able to get there soon, right? You should just go and take care of them; I think that would save you a lot of trouble."

Faced with everyone's questions, Xiao Zhan suddenly spoke up. After the War of Annihilation, Xiao Zhan simply couldn't imagine what kind of person could be stronger than Lin Jie. If there really was someone stronger than Lin Jie, at least Xiao Zhan's imagination couldn't comprehend it.

However, precisely because of this, Xiao Zhan didn't seem to care much about the matter of going to Xuanyuan Sword to capture Romanor.

But to Xiao Zhan's surprise, Lin Jie didn't do that. He simply said calmly, "Let's just walk there. There's no rush. I'd rather enjoy the scenery around us."

With that, Lin Jie continued to stride forward, seemingly having no intention of dealing with the criminals in the first place.

Although the crowd found this scene a bit strange, they still followed along. Xiao Zhan even took out a bowl of soup and said to Lin Jie, "Come and try the broth I made last night."

"..." Looking at Xiao Zhan's bubbling broth, which emitted a strange smell, Lin Jie subconsciously took a step back. After spending so much time together, Lin Jie never expected that Xiao Zhan was actually the real master of culinary disasters.

If Zhu Xian'er's soup was explosives, then Xiao Zhan's soup was the real poison. Just before, the guy with glasses only smelled it and vomited for three whole hours; the scene was truly terrifying.

Even Lin Jie doesn't really want to get close to the thing in Xiao Zhan's hand right now.

……

Meanwhile, the battle inside the cave was finally coming to an end. Looking at everyone present, Wang Sicheng wore a victor's expression.

"I never imagined the legendary Indestructible Golden Body was this strong!" Long Shao, who had been directly knocked away, stared at Wang Sicheng in shock. Even an SS-level hero would probably only have this much combat power, right? Moreover, the experts in Wang Sicheng's family were all extraordinary individuals.

"I never imagined you possessed such hidden power." Spitting out a mouthful of blood, the Shangguan family head finally spoke. Now, only members of the Wang and Zhuge families remained standing. Although they had fought a bloody battle, and almost everyone was wounded, there was no doubt that Wang Sicheng had emerged victorious. Moreover, he had single-handedly overwhelmed the other four in terms of combat strength.

"Hmph, you so-called families are nothing special after all," Wang Sicheng said with a cold laugh to the other families present. "Do you really think I would cooperate with you guys without having many trump cards up my sleeve? From the beginning, I only wanted to use your strength to help deal with the Salvation Army. But I didn't expect the Salvation Army to retreat like this. That's quite unexpected!"

As Wang Sicheng spoke, he walked towards the Xuanyuan Sword: "Unlike you old fogies, my Wang family will become the number one family in the world!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Sicheng reached for the Xuanyuan Sword. He wanted everyone to see him wield it before he killed the family elders. But after he finished speaking, his hand grasped at empty air. It was as if he were trying to grab at thin air; he couldn't grasp anything at all.

"How is this possible? I can't even touch it?" Looking at this scene, Wang Sicheng's face showed a puzzled expression. Then his gaze fell on the nearby formations: "It must be the effect of these formations! Help me set up explosives and find a way to destroy all these formations."

Just like what Romanoer had been doing here before, Wang Sicheng's men began trying to destroy the formations. However, the result was still futile. No matter what method they used, the formations simply could not be destroyed.

"Damn it! This is a really tough formation." Wang Sicheng looked on with a grave expression as the family experts tried various methods but failed to break the formation. Only then did he notice that despite the extremely intense battle they had just fought, the entire cave remained completely intact; they hadn't even damaged a single natural stone pillar.

This is already enough to be called bizarre.

"What are you doing, Zhuge Nan?" Just as Wang Sicheng was thinking these things, Zhuge Nan had already appeared next to the Xuanyuan Sword without him noticing. However, Wang Sicheng immediately called out to him.

"I think if it were someone else, we might have run into it, after all, it's the King of Men's Sword," Zhuge Nan said weakly.

"Even if I can't touch it now, it's not your place to try! Only the capable can take the Xuanyuan Sword!" Wang Sicheng said coldly upon hearing the other party's words.

"As expected, you still don't understand! You don't possess the qualities of a king, which is why you can't obtain the Xuanyuan Sword." Upon hearing his words, Zhuge Nan suddenly spoke up and sneered at Wang Sicheng.

"What kind of attitude is this? I, Wang Sicheng, am certainly qualified to take it." Turning to look at Zhuge Nan, Wang Sicheng's expression instantly changed: "So, you're planning to betray me?"

"Everyone thinks they're qualified to pick it up. But in the end, it's all just wishful thinking! After all, there can only be one true king." Zhuge Nan sneered as he reached for the Xuanyuan Sword. But the next second, Wang Sicheng appeared beside him and threw a punch at him.

However, just as the punch was about to land on Zhuge Nan, Zhuge Nan grabbed Wang Sicheng's arm. Instead of competing in strength, Zhuge Nan used the force of Wang Sicheng's punch to send him flying backward. Wang Sicheng instantly felt as if he had punched a feather.

At the same time, Zhuge Nan's hand seemed to be stuck to Wang Sicheng's body, and no matter what force he used, he couldn't shake Zhuge Nan off.

Suddenly, two streams of black and white energy rose from Zhuge Nan's hands, one black and one white. Wang Sicheng, who was being held, instantly felt as if the world had turned upside down, and then he was blasted away by a strange force. Almost simultaneously, he also felt a tremendous force pierce through his body.

At this moment, Zhuge Nan, who was in the distance, slowly stretched out his palm.

"Do you really think you are the strongest among the eight families?" Zhuge Nan said calmly, before looking at the Xuanyuan Sword again.

"Fine! You've been lying to me all along! No, you not only fooled my investigation, you fooled everyone!" Looking at Zhuge Nan, Wang Sicheng suddenly stood up. He sneered and charged at Zhuge Nan again. But in the next instant, a look of shock appeared on his face.

Because the instant he charged forward, all the experts from the Wang family were instantly killed. That's right, instantly killed. A group of powerful figures appeared out of thin air and wiped out the entire Wang family on the spot almost instantly.

"Actually, I just wanted to use your strength to deal with some of the troubles I'm facing." Zhuge Nan sneered, and once again met Wang Sicheng's palms with both hands.

With a strange force, Wang Sicheng was once again sent flying. This time, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Zhuge Nan's power had actually pierced through his body, causing horrific damage to his internal organs.

"Alright, all the trouble is gone now." Zhuge Nan said to himself, "I made all these arrangements to deal with the Salvation Army. But I didn't expect the Salvation Army to disappear. If I had known, I would have just come over quietly."

His original plan was to gather the strength of Wang Sicheng and the other families to deal with the Salvation Army, then use Wang Sicheng to fight against the other families, ultimately obtaining the Xuanyuan Sword with minimal losses. After all, he wasn't considered strong by those people, and he didn't have any overt power.

However, to Zhuge Nan's surprise, the anticipated great battle did not erupt. The Salvation Army so easily abandoned the Xuanyuan Sword.

Despite his doubts, Zhuge Nan still reached out towards the Xuanyuan Sword. But unsurprisingly, he missed again.

"Damn it! Am I not qualified either? If even I'm not qualified, then who in this world is qualified to pick you up?"

"The world no longer needs the Xuanyuan Sword!" A voice rang out beside Zhuge Nan. It was the group of experts Zhuge Nan had ambushed. The moment Zhuge Nan touched the Xuanyuan Sword, all his subordinates suddenly attacked him.

Chapter Fourteen

Five swords pierced Zhuge Nan's body from five directions at the same time. Although Zhuge Nan wanted to immediately endure the pain and fight back, there was no doubt that he was no longer able to retaliate.

Because the five swords that pierced Zhuge Nan were not ordinary swords at all.

"The Five Spirit Swords!" Wang Sicheng, lying on the ground, stared in shock at the scene before him. Five spirit swords pierced Zhuge Nan simultaneously. The powerful force of the five elements tore Zhuge Nan's body to pieces.

Without a doubt, this was malicious intent from Zhao Lei!

"From now on, the last member of the Zhuge family who wasn't part of the Salvation Army has been eliminated," one of the assassins said calmly. "Who could have imagined that the Zhuge family would be so thoroughly infiltrated by the Salvation Army? In the repeated internal struggles, those in the Zhuge family who weren't part of the Salvation Army were gradually wiped out. As for Zhuge Nan, Zhao Lei saw his ambition and intelligence, and gradually created a situation suitable for Zhuge Nan to achieve his ambitions. However, just when Zhuge Nan's plan was completed and he was riding high, Zhao Lei and the Salvation Army took everything back."

This is the fate of villains. At least in the eyes of the Salvation Army, Zhuge Nan was a villain, a scumbag who needed to be eliminated. He was completely consumed by desire and family infighting. As the leader of the Salvation Army, Zhao Lei demanded that these guys be personally told that everything was just a pipe dream when they were about to achieve their goal. This was to do what Zero had done in the past—to destroy them with overwhelming force when they thought they had succeeded!

Of course, it wasn't just Zhuge Nan; all the families present would become targets for their elimination. In fact, for a group of people whose strength had been severely weakened by internal strife, killing them now was no different than killing chickens.

The Ouyang family was the first to be pierced by the Fire Spirit Sword. Next, Wang Sicheng of the Wang family was pierced through the chest by a fragment of a sword. Then, the head of the Li family was pierced through the abdomen by the Wood Spirit Sword.

However, just as they were about to attack Long Wenfeng and the Shangguan family head, the five people simultaneously stopped what they were doing, neatly placed the five spirit swords on the ground, and then disappeared from the spot.

The Shangguan family, having escaped unscathed, then fell unconscious. As for Long Wenfeng, he had witnessed everything from beginning to end, until the five people disappeared. About half an hour later, Lin Jie finally arrived at the cave.

"Holy crap! What's going on with these guys?" Looking at the scene before him, Xiao Zhan couldn't help but exclaim. His gaze then fell on the spirit sword on the ground: "Holy crap! Isn't that your Fire Spirit Sword? Why is it here?"

"This is...this is our Dong family's Water Spirit Sword?" Dong Xue'er and Dong Xiaoye were both surprised when they saw the Water Spirit Sword on the ground.

"So, the other three aren't the Wood, Earth, and Metal spirit swords, are they?" The bespectacled man, who had returned by then, couldn't help but ask the crowd.

"Those are the three swords. I didn't expect them to be here." Lin Jie said to the crowd with some surprise.

"What about this one?" Xiao Zhan said, touching the Xuanyuan Sword, but grasping at empty air. "Holy crap? Is it a projection?"

“No, this is the Xuanyuan Sword.” Lin Jie’s answer was simple: “But I think we shouldn’t talk about this now. I think we should get these people out of here first. Xiao Zhan, is your communicator still working?”

"Don't worry, the communicator signal is good." Xiao Zhan nodded.

"Wait..." Just as everyone was preparing to move the person, Long Wenfeng's hoarse voice rang out. His voice was somewhat weak, but everyone still noticed it.

"Young Master Long?" Looking at Long Wenfeng in front of him, Lin Jie smiled and asked, "What happened?"

"Well... cough cough cough!" Long Wenfeng started coughing incessantly as he said this. Seeing this, Lin Jie patted Long Wenfeng on the back, then took the soup that Xiao Zhan had made: "Have a sip of soup, and speak slowly."

After saying that, he skillfully poured the soup into Long Wenfeng's mouth. Long Wenfeng, living up to expectations, didn't stop after drinking the soup and went straight to the other side. Seeing Lin Jie's smile, Xiao Zhan couldn't help but take a step back.

"This thing doesn't seem to have made it! Should we bury it on the spot?" Lin Jie said to his teammates as he turned around.

"Are you out of your mind? What did this guy ever do to you? Do you really want to kill him?" Hearing Long Wenfeng's words, she couldn't help but stand in front of him.

"Tch. I was just helping my sister out of a problem." Lin Jie scoffed helplessly at the bespectacled man's words.

Ultimately, at the request of the man with glasses, Long Wenfeng was carried out and joined the others who had collapsed to await rescue. Several of them were clearly beyond saving.

"What do we do? It seems you've destroyed our only clue. Speaking of which, what exactly happened here? Were they all defeated by the Salvation Army?!" Xiao Zhan looked at the people lying on the ground with some confusion. But his gaze immediately fell on Lin Jie, who seemed to be plunging the Five Spirit Swords one by one into a certain place in the cave.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Zhan asked, looking at Lin Jie.

"Close the cave entrance. The Five Spirit Sword seems to be the key to the cave entrance."

"Wait a minute, are you really not going to try? That's the Xuanyuan Sword." Xiao Zhan sighed helplessly and said to Lin Jie, "If there's anyone in this world who can wield that sword, it's probably only you, right? Even if what you said before is true, there should still be a way for you to lift the Xuanyuan Sword, right?"

"When did you get the illusion that I can do anything?" Lin Jie said helplessly, "Okay, I can indeed get the Xuanyuan Sword, but do I really need to get the Xuanyuan Sword? I don't want to be a leader or an emperor, so what would I do with the Xuanyuan Sword? Use it to buy lottery tickets every day?"

As I've said before, this world doesn't need a king, so it's better to leave the Xuanyuan Sword here. A sword of unparalleled power, in an era that doesn't need kings, it's good to quietly reside here.

As Lin Jie spoke, everything around them began to change. First, flames ignited at the cave entrance, then a golden gate appeared, followed by the simultaneous emergence of water and plant roots, and finally, the soil inside the cave began to heal. Five barriers slowly materialized.

However, just as Xiao Zhan was about to close the cave, a stunningly beautiful woman appeared inside.

With just one thing, Xiao Zhan was almost completely captivated. It was a beauty so stunning it was unforgettable. Even though Xiao Zhan had seen beauties of Zhu Xian'er's caliber, when facing that woman, his entire being was unconsciously drawn in.

Truly breathtaking beauty, truly devastatingly beautiful—these words perfectly describe this woman. She wore flowing, elegant ancient palace attire, radiating endless charm simply by standing there. Even though it was only for a few seconds, Xiao Zhan felt an overwhelming urge to rush back and bring this beauty out.

However, all the barriers were about to close, and the beautiful woman in the cave simply bowed to the two of them from afar, as if to express some kind of gratitude.

"Hey! Open the door! Can't you see this? You have a stunning beauty here! Are you really going to lock such a beauty inside?" Xiao Zhan immediately shouted at Lin Jie.

“That’s the sword spirit of the Xuanyuan Sword,” Lin Jie replied calmly.

"A sword spirit? It's so beautiful! Just for this sword spirit, I want to go back and try to get the Xuanyuan Sword again." Xiao Zhan couldn't help but say, "And is it really okay to keep such a beautiful woman locked up here for so long without seeing the light of day?"

“Didn’t you see she was thanking us? It’s obvious she doesn’t want to be disturbed right now.” After saying that, Lin Jie began to pack up the Five Spirit Swords.

"Lin Jie, are you even a man? You seem attracted to beauties like that?!" Xiao Zhan stared blankly at Lin Jie's unresponsive face. "This isn't the Lin Jie who was admiring girls with me just a moment ago!!!"

"Wake up, the person who attracts you isn't a beautiful woman." Lin Jie suddenly slapped Xiao Zhan across the face, sending him flying.

"Holy crap! Ouch! That hurts!" Xiao Zhan, who had been sent flying, sat down on the ground, but he was somewhat sober by then: "Holy crap, that beauty seemed to have magic! I was almost completely attracted to her. I'm supposed to be someone who's talked about countless beauties."

"What attracts you isn't actually the beautiful woman," Lin Jie emphasized to Xiao Zhan again. "What attracts you is the power of the kingdom, the endless authority and supreme status. You're actually attracted to that."