Before them stood a massive mansion, heavily guarded and bustling with activity.
Numerous banners fluttered around the estate, bearing the inscription "Wang Mansion."
"It seems this is the headquarters of the Wang family army!"
Zhou Yan's eyes flickered.
"It appears the Wang family army is determined to kill me. I must leave here quickly and go to another city to change my identity."
Zhou Yan mused inwardly.
His notoriety in the city was too great; the Wang family army must have targeted him.
Therefore, Zhou Yan decided to first find a hidden spot to conceal himself and then plan slowly.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Zhou Yan noticed a shop not far away, where a group of people were gathered, seemingly arguing about something.
"Could they be scouts from the Wang family army?"
Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes and crept closer stealthily.
After observing for a while, he noticed many people gathered around. They were all dressed in black tight-fitting clothes and had fierce expressions, clearly not to be trifled with.
"The Wang family army is actually so brazen. Is this bullying the weak and fearing the strong?"
Zhou Yan thought to himself.
"These scouts are specifically here to gather intelligence."
"It seems there's nothing special about this Wang family army headquarters."
"I'll go take a look first."
Zhou Yan's eyes gleamed as he crept closer.
He subtly opened his ears, preparing to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"We've already found out that Zhou Yan lives in the most desolate outskirts of the Wang family army's territory."
"It's a wild and desolate area. Unless someone guides them, no one can find him."
"We just need to lure Zhou Yan to the outskirts, and then capture him in one fell swoop. No one will suspect us!"
A member of the Wang family army snorted, his eyes filled with coldness.
"Good! Let's do as you said!"
Another member of the Wang family army chimed in.
"However, Zhou Yan is a ruthless character. We must proceed with caution."
"I suggest we send two elders of the Wang family, both at the early Divine King realm, to accompany us!"
"That way, Zhou Yan won't be able to resist!"
The Wang family army member said, pulling out a letter and handing it over. "Zhou Yan, may you fare well!"
"Let's go!"
The man snorted and was the first to enter the mansion.
The others also left one by one.
A moment later, only a middle-aged man remained in the luxurious courtyard.
This middle-aged man was none other than Wang Tianhai, the deputy commander of the Wang family army.
Wang Tianhai's gaze was cold as he swept his surroundings. Then, with a wave of his hand, he collected Zhou Yan's treasures into his storage ring.
"This good-for-nothing actually found some treasures!"
"But all these things combined are only worth two million gold coins. Not even a toenail of mine is comparable!"
Wang Tianhai sneered.
"Hmph, this time, the deterrence of the Wang family army will be enough to suppress that good-for-nothing and make him obedient!"
A cruel expression appeared on Wang Tianhai's lips. "With this, the prestige of the Wang family army will rise again, and our status will be elevated!"
"And I, Wang Tianhai, will receive great rewards for this and become the next city lord, hahaha!"
Wang Tianhai became more and more excited as he thought about it.
...
Zhou Yan ran, pondering how to escape.
Just then, a carriage drove past him.
"Huh? This carriage looks so familiar?"
Zhou Yan suddenly paused. "Could it be a Wang family carriage?"
"But why would a Wang family carriage be in a place like this?"
"Moreover, the carriage has 'Wang Family Army' written on it. Could this carriage belong to the Wang family army?"
Zhou Yan frowned.
The Wang family was indeed a colossal entity.
Not only were they powerful, but their strength was also formidable.
As far as he knew, the weakest member of the Wang family army in the Divine King realm was a Divine King realm elder of the Wang family.
"Whatever, I'll hide first!"
"Wang Tianhai can't catch me anyway!"
Zhou Yan's heart hardened, and he darted into a nearby alley to hide.
As soon as he concealed himself, the carriage slowly drove away into the distance.
This place was far from the city. The Wang family army did not dare to patrol openly on the streets.
Furthermore, the Wang family army had many scouts. If he were caught, he would be in danger.
"It seems I should be able to escape."
Zhou Yan breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking forward.
Unknowingly, he had reached the southern part of the city and entered a dense forest.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Zhou Yan stopped, his gaze flickering, and he looked around solemnly.
"Who is lurking and peeping at me?"
Zhou Yan vigilantly scanned his surroundings.
As a Soul Refiner, his senses were naturally sharp, and he quickly detected a faint presence.
"Where is this place?"
Zhou Yan's eyes narrowed.
He discovered that this was actually a valley of abyss!
Zhou Yan's eyelids twitched violently, his heart pounded, and a sense of unease washed over him.
He knew he had encountered something terrifying.
"No, I must leave immediately!"
Zhou Yan gritted his teeth and quickly rushed out of the dense forest, fleeing towards the distance.
"Rumble!"
"Rumble!"
Zhou Yan's speed was extreme. In the blink of an eye, he traversed thousands of meters and arrived at the distant mountain range.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
At this moment, the sound of something breaking through the air came from behind him.
Zhou Yan's face changed drastically. He quickly turned around and saw arrows, like a storm, whistling towards him.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
"Ah!!"
"Help! Help!"
Each of these arrows contained a strong spiritual energy fluctuation.
Although Zhou Yan's cultivation technique was fire-elemental martial arts, he had not yet mastered divine techniques, so he could not use fire-attribute true essence to block these arrows.
He felt his body instantly pierced with bloody holes, bleeding profusely.
"Bang! Bang!"
Finally, the arrows struck him and exploded.
"Pfft!"
Zhou Yan spat out a mouthful of blood and plummeted into a canyon.
The canyon was filled with dense fire elements and had extremely high temperatures. Even his clothes were scorched and melted.
"Where is this?"
Zhou Yan was terrified.
He never expected that by taking just one wrong step, he would fall into such a desperate situation.
"This shouldn't be Wang family army territory, and the Wang family army wouldn't know my whereabouts!"
Zhou Yan's eyes darted around, his mind racing: "Am I going to die?"
Not long after, the image of Wang Qingqing appeared in his mind.
"Qingqing, you must not blame me. It was Wang Tianhai who wanted to kill me."
Zhou Yan muttered, his face filled with pain and regret.
"If I had known it would end like this, I shouldn't have provoked you!"
His eyes were filled with resentment.
He was unwilling and extremely hateful towards himself.
"What a pity, I still have so many things left undone."
Zhou Yan felt unwilling, filled with regret.