After a short moment, the violet light in Lu Chen’s eyes vanished, and they returned to calm.

He opened up the transmission jade slip and scanned it for a long time before a wisp of a pondering expression couldn’t help but appear on his face, and then he waved his hand and said, “Gao Lin, hand me the map.”

A thin and strong young man received his orders solemnly and passed a map over.

Swoosh!

Unlike other maps, as soon as this map was opened, it was like a scroll had been unfolded. The scene of numerous mountains, rivers, lakes, and cities that were in extreme detail and suffused with strands of divine radiance seemed to really exist within it.

Lu Chen casually pointed towards a spot and drew a winding line on the map. If one looked carefully, it was surprisingly the path from Southbridge Continent to Valiant Star Continent.

If Chen Xi was here, he would surely notice that the path Lu Chen had drawn out was actually exactly similar to the map that Liang Bing had meticulously prepared for him!

“Senior Brother Lu Chen, have you noticed the target’s tracks?” Gao Lin asked from the side in a low voice.

Meanwhile, the other Void Guards came over as well.

“Yes.” Lu Chen nodded and said with a calm expression. “Unfortunately, Junior Brothers Jiang Ning and Yue Zhen were a step too late, and the target has left Southbridge Continent and is heading towards Valiant Star Continent.”

“Valiant Star Continent?” The others were stunned, and one of them said with a bewildered tone, “What does the target intend to do?”

“He wouldn’t be intending to register himself for the Dao Emperor Academy’s recruitment test?” Another one of them frowned and faintly guessed something.

Lu Chen nodded again. “Indeed. The target is currently ranked at the 999th position on the Ascensio Immortal Rankings, and he just happens to possess the qualifications to register himself to join Dao Emperor Academy.”

Lu Chen paused for a moment and continued. “I suspect that this period of time he spent in Southbridge Continent was all used to prepare to register himself for the Dao Emperor Academy’s recruitment test. Only in this way would he be able to make the situation he’s in become safer to the highest degree. At that time, even the forces of our Zuoqiu Clan would find it difficult to eliminate him.”

A Void Guard said with surprise when he heard this. “So then could he have guessed we would move out against him?”

Lu Chen shook his head. “He’s a smart person. He’s able to guess that our Zuoqiu Clan would act against him, yet he wouldn’t be able to guess that it would be us who made a move against him.”

When he spoke up to here, he pointed at the map in his hand and said, “Look, amongst all the paths on the map, only this path through the Hundred Spring, Northill, Martial Illumination, Thousandwhirl, Cloudrest, and Autumn Plain continents is the fastest, and it’s capable of allowing him to arrive at Valiant Star Continent within three months of time.”

“If he chooses the other paths, then the target will miss his chance to register himself for the Dao Emperor Academy’s recruitment test. Thus, we must choose a location on this path to make a move against him.”

Everyone shot their gazes towards the pathway that had been drawn out, and they revealed expressions of contemplation.

“Senior Brother Lu Chen, where do you intend to make a move against him?” asked one of the Void Guards.

“Is there any need to ask? Since the target has definitely arrived at Hundred Spring Continent now, then we’ll head directly to Martial Illumination Continent and wait for him to fall into our trap before eliminating him in one go!” Before Lu Chen could open his mouth, someone else had answered the question.

This suggestion won the approval of many because as far as they were concerned, it was only a little fellow ranked at the 999th position on the Ascensio Immortal Rankings, and any one of them was enough to kill the little fellow with ease to the point it was easier than killing an ant.

Someone frowned instead. “That won’t do. Since the target is already vigilant, he’ll surely not stop on the way, and he’ll use the teleportation formations on the way to rush to Valiant Star Continent at full force. When we lie in wait for him, he might have already left a long time ago.”

“Haha, Junior Brother Xin, you overestimate the target.” One of them was indifferent and shot his gaze at Lu Chen and said, “Senior Brother Lu Chen, what do you think we should do?”

The others shot their gazes over in succession. They were clearly aware that no matter how much they discussed, it was Lu Chen who made the final decision.

“Ask Jiang Ning and Yue Zhen to pursue the target all along the way and constantly report the specific movements of the target, whereas we’ll stand guard before God Trove Mountain Range and wait for his arrival.” Lu Chen said directly, “Only in this way will we be fully certain of being able to deal with him before he arrives at Valiant Star Continent.

As soon as these words were spoken, the gazes of everyone descended onto Cloudrest Continent that was marked on the map because God Trove Mountain Range was the only path to Autumn Plain Continent from there.

If the target intended to head to Valiant Star Continent, then the target had to pass through God Trove Mountain. So Lu Chen’s strategy could be said to be very safe.

“Isn’t this action a bit too conservative?” One of them couldn’t refrain from saying. “What if he doesn’t choose this path in order to protect his life?”

“That would be for the best because perhaps he’ll be able to drag out his existence for some time, yet he’ll surely miss the period of registration to enter Dao Emperor Academy. At that time, we’ll have a great deal of time to kill him, and he won’t have any other chance to change the situation he’s in.”

Lu Chen stood up as he spoke, and his gaze was indifferent as he swept everyone by his side and said, “Everyone, this is the first time our Void Guard has left to carry out an assignment. Since the Young Master entrusted this to all of us, we naturally have to accomplish perfect success in this mission. So if any one of you dares to be careless and affect the mission, then I’ll personally end his life.”

His voice was calm, yet emanated a cruel and icy cold feeling of resolution.

The hearts of everyone trembled as they solemnly accepted their orders.

“Begin the mission.” Lu Chen put the map away, and his clothes fluttered as he transformed into a flowing ray of light that flew off into the distance.

...

Hundred Spring Continent, Coldstar City.

Om!

A wave of vast fluctuation arose before a tall figure appeared within the teleportation formation. He wore green clothes and possessed an extraordinary bearing. It was Chen Xi.

As soon as he left the teleportation formation, he sized up the surroundings before directly flying towards the distance, and he didn’t have any intention to enjoy the scenery on the way.

His objective was extremely simple: the Valiant Star Continent, Dao Emperor Academy.

His time was limited, and he only had around three months left. So before he arrived at his destination, it was utterly impossible for him to have any thought to waste time on the scenery on the way.

Jadify City... This city is beside Coldstar City, and if I’m in time, then I’ll be able to arrive at Jadify City at dawn two days from now to seize a position in the first group of people that are transported via the teleportation formation. Chen Xi flew as he pondered in his heart. The teleportation formation was activated three times a day, at dawn, noon, and dusk, and it just happened that he could enter Northill Continent through the teleportation formation in Jadify City.

He’d flown out of Coldstar City without noticing, and he’d entered a boundlessly vast and luxuriant sea of trees.

But right when he’d been flying for an entire day and night, and he was only less than half a day away from Jadify City, a wave of clamorous argument suddenly sounded out from afar, and it disturbed Chen Xi’s deep contemplation.

He raised his head to look and sat a man and woman arguing in the distant sky. The man was tall, handsome, and wore a gold colored luxurious robe; the woman was pretty, graceful, and possessed a noble bearing.

“Qing’er, could it be that you still don’t know my thoughts? Why do you keep avoiding me?” The man pleaded bitterly.

“That’s enough, Wei Tian, don’t act as if I don’t know your intentions. You intend to use this to be united with my Xue Clan through marriage? Don’t even dream about it.” The woman frowned and spoke with displeasure.

Chen Xi couldn’t help but shake his head when he saw this, and he was just about to go around them when a voice suddenly resounded by his ears. “Friend, please lend me a hand, and I’ll compensate you satisfactorily in a moment.”

Her voice was pleasing yet revealed an irrefutable and superior tone as if she was instructing a servant.

Chen Xi was stunned and hadn’t reacted to what this meant when he saw the woman approach him. As she flew, she said apologetically to the man, “I’m sorry, but my fiancé has arrived.”

As she finished speaking, she’d arrived by Chen Xi’s side and said with a gentle tone. “Why have you come so late? I’ve been waiting for so long.”

Chen Xi couldn’t help but be slightly astounded when an unknown and beautiful woman approached him out of nowhere and called him her fiancé. But when he saw the terrifying and gloomy expression of the gold robed young man in the distance, he instantly understood that he’d been taken to be a shield.

As he looked at the beautiful smiling young woman by his side and as he recalled what she’d said earlier, Chen Xi grunted coldly in his heart while a strand of detestation arose in the bottom of his heart.

This woman’s dressing obviously showed that she was of rich or noble background, yet she was too self-centered and didn’t care about others at all. She didn’t even ask him before using him as a shield, and she thought that everything would be alright if she paid some compensation. However, she never considered that she could just walk away from this, but how could that golden robed man possibly let him off?

This sort of self-centered women really think too much of themselves.

“Qing’er, when did you have a fiancé?” The young man approached with a gloomy expression, and he swept Chen Xi with his gaze before he said indifferently, “Haha, the perfection-stage of the Heavenly Immortal Realm. Qing’er, your very picky, so how could you possibly choose such trash?”

The woman called Qing’er said indifferently, “At the very least, he’s ten thousand times better than you.”

“Ten thousand times better? Haha! A passerby you pulled over casually is actually ten thousand times better than me, Wei Tian?” The young man couldn’t help but roar with laughter, yet his voice was extremely icy cold as he stared at Chen Xi and said, “Friend, do you really think fortune descended from the heavens? What’re you still standing there for? Quickly vanish before this Young Master’s eyes!”

Chen Xi took a deep breath and finally decided not to make a fuss about it with them. He stared emotionlessly at the woman before directly turning around and leaving.

If he were to waste time here like this, then he would surely miss the chance to enter the teleportation formation at dawn tomorrow, and he would absolutely not allow that to happen.

After all, time was too precious to him now, and he could practically be described as racing against time.

With these thoughts in mind, he decided not to make a fuss about it with this pair, otherwise, with his disposition, how could he possibly let them off like this?

“Stop! Did you not hear what I said earlier?” However, before Chen Xi could leave, Qing’er frowned and berated him while her expression was filled with fury. She was extremely displeased that Chen Xi didn’t fully carry out her instructions from before.