Murderous intent emerges

Long Chen returned to the spot where he had left a marker, but his expression suddenly changed. He hurried forward, only to find the area in ruins, with hundreds of feet of land flattened.

The ground was crisscrossed with ravines, some stretching for several miles, and a terrifying pressure still lingered everywhere.

"A great battle took place here," Tang Waner said, looking at the ground in shock.

Long Chen's expression was grim. "It seems someone attacked Little Snow."

He reached out and touched a patch of ground; it was stained deep red, clearly eroded by blood. From the bloodstains, Long Chen could smell Little Snow's scent.

"The ground is crisscrossed with ravines, and some places were clearly carved out by Sword Qi. This wasn't done by a Demonic Beast. But who would attack Little Snow?" Tang Waner asked, puzzled.

Logically speaking, this was not the territory of the Branch Sect, so no experts from the Branch Sect would have attacked. If it wasn't someone from the Branch Sect, then it must have been outsiders.

However, there was no human habitation for over a hundred thousand miles around the Xuantian Branch Sect. No experts would ever come here.

As the king among Rank 3 Demonic Beasts, even though it was only at the Rank 3 Early Stage, ordinary experts at the Tendon Transformation Stage wouldn't dare to attack it rashly. Anyone who dared to lay a hand on Little Snow must be an expert at the Tendon Transformation Middle Stage or higher.

Long Chen walked forward a few steps with a gloomy face, finding more bloodstains and several footprints.

"It wasn't one person who attacked Little Snow, but three," Long Chen said, gritting his teeth as he looked at the footprints on the ground.

Long Chen was burning with anxiety. Little Snow would never attack others proactively; it was likely in danger.

Suddenly, Long Chen ran forward another few miles and discovered a huge pit. Inside the pit, there were many wolf paw prints.

"Little Snow was subdued here; it must have been restrained by something like a fishing net." Long Chen took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, but he felt he couldn't. His voice began to tremble, and at the same time, his Killing Intent spread unconsciously, making people shudder.

Tang Waner comforted him softly, "They captured Little Snow alive, which means Little Snow won't be in life-threatening danger for the time being. They probably covet Little Snow's talent and want to take it as a mount. We still have time."

Long Chen nodded and carefully examined the marks on the ground. "This must have happened two days ago. Let's search the surrounding area first and see if we can find any clues."

Tang Waner nodded, and the two began to search separately to see if they could find any clues.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the two had searched a radius of several dozen miles. Tang Waner shook her head, indicating she had found nothing.

After those people subdued Little Snow, they didn't know what tool they used, but they had taken Little Snow away without leaving any traces.

"Long Chen, did you find anything?" Tang Waner asked.

Long Chen opened his palm, revealing a piece of fabric—a scrap of cloth. "It was done by people from the Branch Sect. They are Law Enforcers."

Tang Waner was shocked. She looked closely at the cloth and discovered it was a scrap from a sleeve, with half of a Law Enforcer's emblem on it.

"Let's go. I want to see who has such guts."

Long Chen's eyes were overflowing with Killing Intent. This time, Long Chen was truly enraged. Someone had actually targeted Little Snow; this made him even angrier than if someone had stabbed him.

After returning to the Branch Sect, Long Chen went straight back to his Immortal Cave and gathered all the Disciples who were Cultivating.

He had them all go out and inquire about how many people had left the Branch Sect in recent days, or if there had been any suspicious activities.

At the same time, he notified Ye Zhiqiu, Song Mingyuan, Li Qi, and Luo Cang, asking them to have their subordinates investigate with full force.

Because they also had Disciples who went out on missions, perhaps they had seen or heard something.

Most importantly, some Disciples were assigned to patrol tasks in the surrounding areas; perhaps they might know something.

Little Snow had followed him since it was the size of a palm; it was like his own child. He could not tolerate such a thing happening.

"Senior Brother Long Chen, someone outside is looking for you." Suddenly, a Disciple ran in, panting.

Long Chen was overjoyed, thinking there was news about Little Snow. Just as he was about to speak, a familiar voice suddenly came:

"Why are you all so annoying? I want to see my Brother Long, don't stop me!"

He wasn't intentionally shouting, but his voice was like a booming bell, making people's eardrums ring. The voice was filled with dissatisfaction.

Upon hearing that voice, Long Chen couldn't help but be overjoyed. He hurried out of the Immortal Cave and saw over a dozen Disciples blocking a person.

That person was over a zhang tall, burly, and his muscles were bulging high, like an iron tower, like a volcano, filled with explosive power.

On his back was a huge mace; the part where one would grip it was as thick as a person's thigh, and the head of the mace was about the size of a water vat.

Standing there, he looked like a fierce god descending, his Aura monstrous. Although those dozen or so Disciples were surrounding him, their faces were pale, clearly frightened by the Aura on that person.

Tang Waner was also startled. It was her first time seeing such a terrifying person in this world. He was actually a head taller than Lei Qianshang, his arms were as thick as buckets, and his blood energy was surging terrifyingly, like a primordial beast.

"Aman!"

Long Chen looked at the giant in front of him, somewhat in disbelief. That person was indeed Aman, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

At Long Chen's call, Aman, who had been shouting at those dozen people, hurriedly turned around. Seeing Long Chen, he couldn't help but roar and lunged toward Long Chen.

This startled everyone, as they thought he was going to harm Long Chen, but Long Chen rushed toward Aman with wild joy.

The two hugged each other tightly, and Aman even had tears streaming down: "Brother Long, Aman finally sees you!"

"Good brother, don't cry. Didn't we agree that even if we shed a lot of blood, we wouldn't cry?" Although he said this, Long Chen couldn't help but choke up.

Aman was like his own brother. Being suddenly reunited in this Branch Sect, a world without much affection, was even more moving.

Aman hurriedly wiped away his tears and said with a simple and honest expression, "Mm, mm, Aman listens to you."

Separated for several months, Aman was still as simple and honest as ever. Long Chen patted Aman's thick arms, feeling shocked in his heart.

The current Aman was a whole circle larger than before. His muscles felt like they were about to burst, and his blood energy was even more terrifying than that of a Rank 3 Demonic Beast.

"Brothers, no need to be nervous. Aman is my brother. Everyone, disperse." After saying this, Long Chen brought Aman into his Immortal Cave.

He introduced Aman to Tang Waner and Qingyu. Both of them were extremely uncomfortable at first; Aman looked too terrifying, just like a giant, exerting too much pressure on people.

It felt like a casual wave of his hand could flatten a person into a meat patty. However, later, seeing that Aman was always very simple and honest, they gradually adapted.

"Aman, how have you been lately?" Long Chen asked.

When he arrived at the Branch Sect, Long Chen had asked Tu Fang about Aman. At that time, Tu Fang only said Aman had gone out with someone, but he never said exactly where.

"I'm very well. I went out with the old man, and I eat very full every day," Aman scratched his head and said, very satisfied.

"Who is the old man?" Long Chen couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, he seemed to have said what his name was, but I can't remember. He told me to call him Master," Aman shook his head and said.

"You took a Master?" Long Chen was overjoyed. If he was accepted under a powerful Elder, Aman would be very fortunate.

To have a powerful Elder giving him special training—no wonder his body was so formidable. It seems this is the legendary saying: the foolish have foolish fortune.

Tang Waner and Qingyu were also greatly shocked. One must know that the Branch Sect's rules were strict. Ordinary-level Elders were not allowed to accept Disciples directly, as that would break the fairness of competition among Disciples.

For an Elder to accept a Disciple, they must have the Sect Leader's approval, and those who are accepted as Disciples cannot participate in competitions; they are sponsored individually by that Elder.

However, to be able to forget even his own Master's name, that was truly bizarre. Tang Waner and Qingyu couldn't help but have strange expressions.

"Yeah, the old man said if I take him as my Master, I will never go hungry! He really treats me well; I eat full every day," Aman nodded and said.

Tang Waner finally couldn't help but interrupt, "Is your wish just that simple? Just being able to eat full is enough?"

"Yeah, I was scared of hunger when I was little. If Brother Long hadn't taken me in back then, I would have starved to death. As long as I can eat full, I am satisfied," Aman said with a simple and honest smile.

Long Chen smiled slightly. The reason Tang Waner was shocked was that she didn't know how terrifying Aman's appetite was.

"Let me check your body."

Long Chen pressed his large hand on Aman's shoulder, and his Soul power probed out. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that nearly thirty percent of the cells in Aman's body were now activated.

Furthermore, in Aman's blood, some strange things were starting to appear. They looked like little tadpoles, but each tadpole was different; it seemed to be a type of rune.

Yet those runes were actually alive, swimming around non-stop in his blood.

From those tadpole-shaped runes, Long Chen felt a terrifying pressure, as if every rune carried earth-shattering energy.

Although it was still just a prototype, it already possessed a terrifying pressure. It was like a lion cub; on the outside, it was only the size of a puppy, but in the future, it would grow into a terrifying Lion King.

And the runes in Aman's body made Long Chen feel very terrified. In the future, his growth would definitely not be just a Lion King, but a primordial beast.

For some reason, an image suddenly surfaced in Long Chen's mind: the beast he had once fought in his dream, which also wielded the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art.

Long Chen couldn't help but be startled. Could it be that Aman would grow to be as powerful as that beast in the future?

The scene of that battle in his dream was something Long Chen could never forget: one punch shattering the Void Realm, one roar causing stars to fall—that was simply world-destroying power.

If that were really the case, what was Aman's origin that he was so terrifying?

Long Chen asked about Aman's recent living conditions, and Aman said he just followed the old man hunting and eating meat every day.

If he could beat them, he would fight; if he couldn't, the old man would help. He was given enough meat to eat every day.

"Aman, how much meat do you eat a day?" Tang Waner finally sensed something unusual and asked the key question.

"If it's a Rank 3 Demonic Beast, if it's a bigger one, I eat three a day. If it's a Rank 4 Demonic Beast, one is enough," Aman said honestly.

Tang Waner and Qingyu gently covered their cherry lips with their jade hands, their beautiful eyes filled with shock. Eating three Rank 3 Demonic Beasts a day, and they had to be the larger ones, and he could even eat Rank 4 Demonic Beasts—those were existences on the same Rank as an Elder!

"Senior Brother Long Chen, we have found news about Little Snow."

Suddenly, a Disciple ran in, panting as he spoke to Long Chen. Long Chen stood up immediately, Killing Intent surging in his eyes.