Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

General Hu led his men in pursuit. Although the pursuit was hampered, Wen Daoren, a master tracker, was still able to follow Zhou Qingfeng's trail all the way to Qiantang. He easily obtained information about Zhou Qingfeng from the inns along the way.

Dozens of people gathered in a wild bamboo forest.

General Tiger: "Zhou Silang is in Zebra Fortress, let's give chase."

Wen Daoren: "Wait!"

General Tiger: "What is it?"

Wen Daoren said, “There’s a trap! Zhou Silang has been traveling in secret, hiding his identity. Why would he easily expose his location? In my opinion, this is very likely a trap to lure you in. Qiu Chenghu, I know you are eager for revenge, but please act with caution.”

General Hu: "Zhou Silang only has one follower. Even if he has set a trap, what is there to fear?"

Wen Daoren said, “There must be something fishy about this. Zhou Silang is a cunning and treacherous man. How could he make such a low-level mistake? The fact that he can repeatedly escape our pursuit proves that his intelligence and methods are extraordinary. If this is a trap, then there must be a large number of ambushes. We must not walk into the trap willingly.”

"If this is another trick by Zhou Silang, then going there would be a waste of our time. In my opinion, since our first attempt to intercept him failed and we were outmaneuvered in the subsequent pursuit, we have already missed the best opportunity to intercept Zhou Silang. Zhou Silang will definitely hide even deeper, so we should stop the pointless pursuit and just wait for him near Lion Camel City. No matter how Zhou Silang changes his route, his destination will not change."

General Tiger: "What if he suddenly turned around and ran back to the Sword Tower?"

Wen Daoren said, "You're overthinking it. If Zhou Silang wanted to run back, he would have done so long ago. He's still heading towards Shituo Mountain. His intention is clear: he's determined to kill the demon spirit and won't give up easily. On the contrary, if we don't pursue him, he'll lower his guard and think he's safe."

"At that time, we will lie in wait and wait for him to appear, then capture and kill him with lightning speed."

Upon hearing this, General Hu frowned and remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Wen Daoren said, "Qiu Chenghu, if you don't believe me, you can send scouts to Zebra Fort to investigate. I think there must be an ambush. Even if there isn't, I'm sure I won't find any trace of Zhou Silang."

Upon hearing this, General Hu waved his hand and sent out several scouts to investigate the situation.

Two days passed, and several scouts brought back intelligence one after another. Sure enough, there were ambushes outside Zebra Fortress, but no trace of Zhou Qingfeng inside. Without hesitation, General Hu immediately prepared his men to board an airship and head straight for Lion Camel City, and notified the men lying in ambush in Lion Camel City to prepare in advance.

The journey was long, and General Tiger had no desire to sleep. So he took his wine jug and went up to the deck to enjoy the scenery and drink. Coincidentally, the Taoist was also drinking there.

Wen Daoren: "Can't sleep?"

General Tiger: "Hmm."

Wen Daoren: "Shall we chat?"

"Let's chat." General Hu tilted his head back and took a sip of wine, hunching over with his elbows resting on the ship's railing, looking at the passing scenery with a bitter and resentful expression.

Wen Daoren asked, "Why did you kill Zhou Silang?"

“I have a grudge against his master, Qiu Chengde.” General Hu said calmly, pointing to his left eye, which was covered by an eyepatch: “This eye was blinded by Qiu Chengde.”

After a brief pause, General Hu extended his right prosthetic arm again: "This hand was cut off by his master's own hand. Tell me why I killed Zhou Silang."

For cultivators like them who have mastered the rules, their bodies have become bodies of the rules. The only thing that can harm them is the power of the rules. And the wounds caused by the power of the rules are usually difficult to heal. Some rule-based techniques even cause permanent damage that can never be recovered.

Wen Daoren squinted and chuckled strangely: "If you can't beat the big one, you kill the small one. Qiu Chenghu, you have no martial ethics."

General Hu snorted coldly: "Hmph, what's the point of talking about martial ethics when it comes to revenge? If I can't kill Qiu Chengde, can't I at least kill his disciple? Everyone says that Zhou Silang is Qiu Chengde's last disciple and the one he favors the most. I'll just consider killing his beloved disciple as collecting interest."

Upon hearing this, the Taoist laughed heartily, and the shattered human skin mask on his face trembled.

Given his appearance, he certainly couldn't have boarded the ship, but Wen Daoren had his own methods to deceive the boarding inspection and the ship's personnel.

At this moment, a crew member came over and reminded Wen Daoren to keep his voice down, as it was already late at night and he should not disturb the other passengers on the ship.

Wen Daoren stared at the sailor, his dark eyes suddenly turning a deep gold: "You misheard. Go away, pretend nothing happened."

"Yes, I misheard." The crew member's eyes suddenly glazed over; he had fallen under an illusion and walked away in a daze.

General Hu took in the whole scene and said coldly, "Wen Daoren, I have said what I needed to say. Shouldn't you also tell me who sent you?"

Wen Daoren lightly touched the railing of the ship with his toes, swaying as he stood on it. He tilted his head back, drank his wine, and let out a strange, cackling laugh: "Someone in the Sword Tower wants him dead. It was that person who asked me to contact you and help you intercept Zhou Silang. As for who it is, you can only guess for yourself. I definitely can't tell you."

General Hu snorted coldly: "What are you guessing for? Are you a child? You're so boring. Say what you want, just don't get in the way of my revenge."

"Ox and horse, you are neither ox nor horse. Ox and horse, you toil so hard, covered in wounds, where is your home..." Wen Daoren shook his head and hummed a strange little tune. His feet wobbled on the railing, sometimes jumping, sometimes spinning, as if he would fall off the empty ship at any moment.

The man who heard the truth continued to dance unsteadily, as if the whole world were his stage.

General Hu stood quietly to the side, watching all of this, the heaviness in his heart seemingly dissipating with the night breeze.

On the other hand, when the pursuers were heading to Lion Camel City on an airship, Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei also encountered a small incident. They were clearly swindled out of two thousand magic coins at the Zhishan Inn. The innkeeper could have easily robbed them, but instead, he gave them a room to stay overnight.

This wasn't about the two thousand coins; it was about Zhou Qingfeng's inability to swallow his anger. A person lives for pride, not for material gain. In the Sword Tower, with its strict rules and the constant attention he received, he had to behave properly. But when he was disguised and training in the wilderness, there was no need to follow the rules.

Anyone who dares to bully me will have to pay the price.

Zhou Qingfeng is no longer one of the four young masters of the Sword Tower, but a chivalrous and righteous rogue swordsman named Tian Xingyi.

Since that's the case, let's play the role of a swordsman to the very end, robbing the rich to help the poor!

So the next morning, after most of the guests had checked out and left, Zhou Qingfeng took the hood and went downstairs, with Jin Wei following behind him.

Zhou Qingfeng stopped in front of the counter, his expression cold, and pointed to the door: "Close the door!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Wei quickly stepped forward to close the door and put on a black hood.

"What are you trying to do?" the innkeeper asked in surprise. "Don't do anything reckless. Let me tell you, although this is not in the main city, there are still soldiers here. If there is any disturbance, the soldiers will arrive very quickly. Don't be reckless, or you'll be arrested and thrown in jail. I have connections in the government. Think carefully, you outsider!"

"Officials and bandits are in cahoots, ganging up to rob people, huh? Fine, so this is how you play it? Then don't blame me." Zhou Qingfeng sneered, casually putting on the black hood he was carrying, all for the sake of a sense of ceremony. He kicked over the counter and dragged out the shopkeeper: "Damn it, who doesn't have a side hustle these days!"

The arguing and the sound of the counter collapsing quickly attracted the inn's waiter and cook.

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng grabbed the shopkeeper with one hand, summoned the Blood of the Devourer, and turned it into a blood sword, holding it to the shopkeeper's neck, saying, "Now, it's time to rob you. Get down and put your hands up. Don't meddle. The money is the shopkeeper's, but your lives are your own. I'm robbing the rich to help the poor today. This is none of your business."

Jin Wei raised his hand and hooked the Truth Sword, which instantly moved in front of the waiter and the chef: "Lie down and raise your hands."

Upon seeing this, the waiter and cook were terrified and scrambled to their feet. They couldn't believe that someone was robbing them in broad daylight, but their lives were more important. The man wasn't wrong; the money belonged to the shopkeeper, but their lives were their own. There was no need to risk their lives just to earn a little money to live on. At worst, they could find another job.

Zhou Qingfeng threatened, "Shopkeeper, hand over all the money, or I'll kill you."

The shopkeeper was terrified, almost wetting himself with fear. He never expected to run into such a tough guy. Trembling, he led Zhou Qingfeng into the storeroom, opened the locked money box, raised his hands, and cried with tears streaming down his face: "Hero, spare my life! The money is all here, take whatever you want. I know I was wrong, please spare my life, I will never dare to do it again."

Zhou Qingfeng placed one hand on the money box and put it into his holy ring. Then, his cold eyes stared at the innkeeper of Zhishan Inn, and he sneered: "Heh, no, you don't know you're wrong, you know you're going to die. Stop talking nonsense. I won't be satisfied until I kill you with my own hands!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Qingfeng swung his sword without hesitation and killed the innkeeper of Zhishan Inn, then walked out without looking back.

Jin Wei said, "Whether they kill us or not, they've already seen our faces."

"Heroes, we didn't see anything! We're just employees. The shopkeeper's heartlessness has nothing to do with us!" the waiter and cook shouted hurriedly.

Zhou Qingfeng glanced sideways, patted Jin Wei on the shoulder, considered for a moment, took out the shopkeeper's money box, took out two sums of money and threw them to the waiter and the cook. Then, he bent over with his hands on his knees and stared into their eyes: "Take the money. I will not harm the innocent. We sword cultivators are all chivalrous and righteous people who are quick to avenge wrongs. Today, he met us, which is his fate. It has nothing to do with you."

"I just hope that once you've taken the money, you'll keep your mouth shut. Of course, if you insist on reporting us to the authorities, that's fine too. But the money you received is considered illicit and will likely be confiscated by the government. So, think it over carefully: do you want to pretend you didn't see anything and take the money to find another job, or do you want to report us?"

The waiter and the chef lay on the ground, nodding frantically: "Understood, understood, sir. We didn't see anything and don't want to cause trouble."

Zhou Qingfeng withdrew the Blood Devourer, squatted down, and patted the two on the shoulders: "You're sensible."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Qingfeng gently tapped the back of the neck of the two men, knocking them unconscious. He then got up, removed his black hood, and quickly left the Zhishan Inn with Jin Wei, heading towards the outside of the air transport area. A moment later, Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei were far away from the air transport area.

The two were now walking in the wilderness, with no one in front or behind them. Jin Wei then said, "Young Master, why have you changed?"

Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly: "What has changed?"

Jin Wei said, "You are not steady, you act impulsively, you don't care about the consequences, and you treat the law and rules as nothing. This is the second time you have killed someone over a trivial matter."

Zhou Qingfeng chuckled lightly, offering no explanation. Back in the Sword Tower, he was the fourth young master of the Sword Tower, holding a high position and great power. Who would dare to provoke him? He never encountered any disgusting or absurd things, and he was surrounded by 'good people'. But now, he was no longer the fourth young master of the Sword Tower; his false identity was that of a lone, isolated swordsman.

So, does a rogue swordsman have to always swallow his anger? No, even as a rogue swordsman, Zhou Qingfeng would not swallow his anger. Even if he lost power, he still had a sword and strength in his hands. He would kill anyone who dared to bully him. He was just seeking to settle scores and have his mind at peace.

Anyway, the one who killed him was the sword cultivator Tian Xingyi, and it had nothing to do with Zhou Qingfeng of the Sword Tower.

At the Sword Tower, for the sake of the bigger picture, for his future, for his family, and for everything else, Zhou Qingfeng had to abide by the rules. Otherwise, he would lose his right to sit at the table in this game of power. He had to suppress his nature, restrain his impulses, weigh the pros and cons, and be careful in every way, for fear of taking a wrong step and falling into the ice.

But things are different now. He can live life as he pleases, break free from the constraints of rules, and enjoy this rare experience of the martial arts world without having to weigh the pros and cons.

Even though the process was very short, perhaps only a few months, it still allowed Zhou Qingfeng to release his pent-up negative emotions. He felt refreshed and energetic, as if he had returned to being 18 years old.

"Where is the Flaming Mountain?" Zhou Qingfeng asked.

Jin Wei took out a map, examined it carefully, and pointed to a direction in the distance: "The Flaming Mountain is in that direction, within the territory of Lion Camel City. The straight-line distance between us and the Flaming Mountain is only six hundred miles. There are two border checkpoints along the way. After passing through these two checkpoints, we will soon arrive at the Flaming Mountain."

"Alright, let's not waste any more time. Let's hurry on our way while it's still early." Zhou Qingfeng lightly touched the ground with his toes and flew towards the Flaming Mountain.

Jin Wei and Zhou Qingfeng flew at a steady speed, which wasn't very fast, and they were flying close to the ground. However, they still encountered an attack from a fierce ghost and a wolf demon on the way. They also encountered a sudden attack from underground by a Fiend-level earth-burrowing dragon. They were almost swallowed up by the earth-burrowing dragon, which was very dangerous.

However, this is normal; it would be strange if there were no dangers in the wilderness.

After stumbling and falling, encountering and slaying demons and ghosts, and overcoming all obstacles.

Zhou Qingfeng finally arrived at the Flaming Mountain he had been longing for.

"Words that slay demons, I'm coming."