Amid the respectful salutes from the surrounding serpentfolk, Goku arrived at the city gates. There, a striking serpent-woman dressed in a fiery and provocative outfit stepped forward and respectfully bowed.
"Lord Goku! Are you heading out?"
By now, Goku's name had spread throughout the Serpent Tribe. He was known by all, revered by all.
"Yeah. Cai Lin and the others are stabilizing their cultivation, and I've got nothing else to do. Thought I'd take a walk." Goku replied with a casual smile.
"In that case, I won't delay you. Open the gates!" the serpent-woman bowed again, then barked an order to the guards.
The city gates creaked open. Goku stepped outside and looked at the endless sea of sand stretching before him. He muttered to himself, "Xiao Yan, oh Xiao Yan… where are you? …Got you."
With that, his figure shot into the sky and vanished over the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Goku hadn't forgotten his promise to Xun'er.. This outing was for one reason only—to obtain the Flame Mantra from Xiao Yan.
What surprised him, however, was discovering Xiao Yan's aura located within the Magical Beast Mountain Range. It seemed the boy had already left his clan to begin training on his own.
Goku wasn't in any hurry. Cai Lin and the girls would need at least ten days to half a month to fully stabilize their new realms. That gave him plenty of free time to explore. As such, he didn't use Instant Transmission to immediately teleport to Xiao Yan's side.
As for the little sprite, Goku had left her behind with Cai Lin and the others. After all, as a living Imperial-Rank pill, her presence would be a huge help to them during this critical time.
Flying leisurely through the sky, Goku soon arrived above the outer region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Glancing down, he could see various mercenary squads hunting magical beasts.
It was midday, and the sun blazed fiercely overhead. Even the air seemed dry and scorching. Since he was here for leisure, Goku descended into the forest to enjoy some shade under the dense canopy.
Wandering a forest path, he suddenly paused. "Huh? Sounds like there's a fight going on."
He followed the commotion, curious. Soon, he came upon a mercenary squad battling a first-rank magical beast. It looked like a giant hamster—but was the size of a full-grown man. Despite its intimidating size, it wasn't particularly strong, and the mercenaries were handling it without much trouble.
---
"Who are you?" Goku's sudden appearance immediately drew the attention of the group. A middle-aged man stepped out of the fight, staring at him warily.
Among mercenaries, the number one rule during battle was: no outsiders. Interference could mean death for everyone. Their tension was understandable.
Hearing the man's shout, a young girl who had been circling the battlefield also stepped out. Sword in hand, she pointed directly at Goku and barked, "Stop right there! One more step and we'll treat you as an enemy!"
She had a clear, assertive voice—but her awkward stance betrayed her lack of combat experience.
"Relax. I'm just passing through." Goku smiled faintly, waving his empty hands in a gesture of peace. He looked entirely harmless.
The girl snorted. "Don't you know the rules? You're not allowed to approach mercenaries while they're in combat! Are you trying to steal our kill or something?"
"You're overthinking it." Goku continued walking forward, unfazed.
The middle-aged man frowned. "Please, young man, don't come any closer. If you need to get through, we'd appreciate it if you took a detour."
"Yeah! What's with you? Have you no manners at all? If you take one more step, I won't go easy on you!" the girl added in an arrogant tone that far exceeded her actual strength. Her face carried a perpetual pout of pride that made her instantly unlikable.
The surrounding mercenaries, growing tenser by the second, began attacking the beast more aggressively.
---
"Oh? I'd like to see what you mean by 'not going easy on me,'" Goku said with a playful smirk, still walking forward.
"You leave me no choice, then!" The middle-aged man grew grim. His strength wasn't amazing, but he carried the aura of someone who had survived countless life-or-death encounters. He let out a sharp yell, then swung his massive broadsword at Goku, a faint green Dou Qi trailing behind the blade.
"I should warn you—if you attack me, you'll have to deal with the consequences," Goku said calmly, still walking forward like he hadn't even noticed the incoming attack.
"What a rookie! Doesn't even know how to dodge?" the girl scoffed.
The middle-aged man, however, began to feel a growing unease. That calm, almost bored expression… it wasn't right. Driven by instinct, he poured even more strength into his swing.
Just as the blade was about to land, Goku slowly raised his hand—and caught the broadsword barehanded.
No blood, no injury. The blade didn't budge an inch, no matter how hard the man pushed. His face turned white in shock.
The girl stared in disbelief. "H-He caught it… with his hand?!"
The mercenaries fighting the beast also paused, momentarily distracted by the scene. That was all it took. With a fierce screech, the beast lunged, slamming a claw into one of them and sending him flying with three bloody gashes across his chest. He collapsed, gravely wounded. The others quickly refocused, fighting with full alertness once more.
As for Goku, he lightly flicked his finger against the blade with a soft ding—and the sword instantly shattered into fragments.
The middle-aged man coughed up blood and was sent flying, crashing into a tree before falling to the ground.
"I told you—I'm just passing through. Was that really necessary?" Goku said with a sigh. He casually walked around the edge of the battle, choosing not to finish off such weak opponents. They weren't even worth the effort.
"Father!" the girl cried out, running to the fallen man. She helped him sit up, panicked. "Are you alright?!"
"I'll live… He held back… or I'd be dead," the man rasped.
"I'll avenge you!" she declared angrily, setting him down and charging at Goku with her sword drawn.
"Ling'er, no—!" her father cried, but it was too late.
"You bastard! Take this!" she shouted, stabbing at Goku's back.
Goku's brow furrowed.
'I made myself pretty clear… so why won't she give up already?'
He gave a light flick of his robe. Before Ling'er even got close, a gentle pulse of force sent her flying.
She should've landed easily—but she clumsily stepped on a loose rock, twisted her ankle, and went down with a yelp. Face-first. Her eyes teared up in pain.
Goku shook his head. "I've seen clumsy, but this… this is a new level."
Under the protection of his soft inner force, she hadn't been hurt—but she'd still managed to fall flat on her face. Goku was speechless.
He turned to leave.
But before he could take more than a few steps, a scream echoed behind him.
Goku spun around—just in time to see the magical beast slip past the distracted mercenaries and lunge at Ling'er. Its razor-sharp claws gleamed in the sun, aiming straight for her throat.
Just as Ling'er was about to meet a bloody end, the mercenaries screamed and rushed toward her. But they were too far away—too slow.
"Troublesome," Goku muttered.
His form blurred—and in the next instant, he stood before Ling'er.
His palm moved like a blade.
Crack!
With a dull boom and a piercing cry, the beast's massive body smashed into the ground, carving a deep trench before going still. Blood poured from its mouth—it was completely dead.
The mercenaries stood frozen, eyes wide with disbelief. This was the man they had just tried to confront? A man capable of annihilating a magical beast in one blow? They had no idea how out of their league he was.
A woman in a green dress hurried over and helped the dazed Ling'er to her feet.
"Ling'er, are you hurt?" she asked with concern.
"I… I'm okay…" Ling'er murmured. She turned to look at Goku with guilt, her head drooping like a child who knew she'd misbehaved.
Goku gave the woman a brief glance, then turned to leave.
"Wait! Young master!" a weak voice called out.
The middle-aged man Goku had injured was now being helped over by two mercenaries. He bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for saving Ling'er. I sincerely apologize for earlier. It seems… we were mistaken. Please forgive us."
Goku waved it off and kept walking.
He wasn't petty enough to hold grudges against low-tier mercenaries. Besides, he could sense that Xiao Yan's aura was getting closer by the second. No time to waste. The Flame Mantra was his real goal.
As Goku's figure disappeared into the forest, the man—Ka gang—sighed heavily and turned to look at the now-dead magical beast.
Ling'er bit her lip, watching Goku vanish from sight.
'He saved me… and didn't even say a word to me. Do I really come off as that annoying?'
Goku continued through the forest, heading in a very specific direction. After seven or eight minutes, he finally saw his target.
A young man in black robes, wielding a massive black greatsword.
His aura was deep and intense—far beyond his age. His body was drenched in sweat, and his clothes clung to him from exertion. Every swing of his sword carved through the air with force as he battled a first-rank magical beast with deadly focus.
Goku narrowed his eyes in surprise. "Only ten days, and he's already a Two-Star Dou Practitioner? The main character buff really is something else. Too bad... you had to go and fall in love with the same girl I did. Otherwise, as fellow transmigrators, we might've been friends."
__
"Who's there?!" Xiao Yan shouted, swinging his heavy sword to drive the beast back. He turned toward the forest path, his eyes narrowing.
"Well, well. Nice instincts," Goku chuckled as he walked forward.
"It's you!" Xiao Yan's voice was laced with fury. The words came through gritted teeth, his eyes burning with hatred.
After all, Goku had stolen Xun'er right out from under him.
At the same time, Yao Lao's solemn voice rang out in Xiao Yan's mind.
"Run! Get away from this man immediately! You're not his match—I'm not even his match!"
Xiao Yan's heart skipped a beat. Yao Lao was a mystery even to him, yet now… he was telling him to flee without hesitation?
Still, Xiao Yan didn't panic. Despite the storm inside him, his expression remained composed.
He looked around quickly—no sign of the person he was hoping to see.
His gaze returned to Goku. "Where's Xun'er?"
"At home. Taking care of our child," Goku said blandly.
"What did you do to her?!" Xiao Yan roared. The calm he'd held onto evaporated, his breath ragged with emotion. If he had the strength, he would've already charged.
Goku grinned. "Xun'er's my wife now. What do you think I did?"
____
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