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

When a beggar is poor, dirty, and emits a nauseating odor, most people will instinctively choose to stay away, not out of fear, but as an instinct to avoid the discomfort that contact might cause. This reaction stems from humanity's basic pursuit of cleanliness and safety, and has nothing to do with good or evil.

Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei are now two such marginalized figures.

They walked down the street, attracting almost no attention, as if they were invisible to the naked eye.

The two have now returned to their original appearances and no longer rely on human skin masks to conceal their identities.

For them, who were once cultivators, such exposure was not dangerous; even if cultivators of the same or higher level saw through their disguise, they usually would not provoke a conflict.

However, in order to better disguise themselves as mortals, they swallowed the Mortal Transformation Pill and deliberately changed their aura.

In this state, wearing an obvious human skin mask would seem out of place and could easily attract unnecessary attention.

There's no need to ruin one's appearance; a little disguise will suffice. After all, who cares about the appearance of a beggar?

However, Xiao Hongyun still suggested disfigurement for safety reasons, but Zhou Qingfeng rejected the suggestion.

With everything prepared, Zhou Qingfeng embarked on his long journey home.

He needs to trek thousands of miles to reach the next safe house, where a completely new identity and route await him.

Meanwhile, Xiao Hongyun quietly withdrew from public life, silently protecting everything like Zhou Qingfeng's shadow.

Meanwhile, news of the annihilation of the seven-man ambush team to the east quickly reached General Tiger's ears.

These subordinates all carried soul tablets, which shattered instantly upon death. General Tiger immediately sensed something was wrong and tried to contact them but received no response, making him realize the situation was dire. He then immediately ordered the encirclement to shrink and sped eastward.

When he arrived at the scene, the body was still warm.

Wen Daoren carefully examined his dead subordinates and the remaining traces around them, and said in a deep voice, "The attack was clean and swift, a single, fatal blow, clearly an ambush. Five team members attacked one person while the other two dealt with another target, but they were all pierced through the heart from behind, indicating the presence of a third party."

General Hu's face was as gloomy as the sky before a storm: "Was this the work of Zhou Silang?"

“That’s right,” Wen Daoren confirmed. “Zhou Silang’s scent and footprints are clearly visible here. But he only brought Jin Wei with him. Who is the third person? Could it be someone secretly protecting them?”

"So that's how it is..." Wen Daoren suddenly understood something, his eyes lighting up: "No wonder we could never catch him, and even this carefully arranged ambush failed. That third person must have been monitoring our actions all along, allowing Zhou Silang to get advance information and thus avoid our pursuit time and time again."

General Tiger remained silent for a moment, then knelt down and closed the eyes of each of his fallen brothers. A fierce rage burned in his single eye; these comrades who had fought side-by-side for years should have died heroically on the battlefield, but instead perished due to the enemy's cunning schemes, filling his heart with resentment and grief.

"Zhou Silang is truly exceptionally intelligent and resourceful, with flawless strategies." Wen Daoren exclaimed, "The leader of the new generation of Sword Tower is indeed worthy of his reputation. Even though we are a whole realm stronger, it is difficult for us to catch his trail, let alone intercept and kill him."

General Hu's anger burned ever brighter, and the words of the Daoist were like salt rubbed into his wounds, making it unbearable. Finally, he could no longer suppress his rage, abruptly stood up, and roared at the Daoist to shut up.

The ensuing punch, carrying immense force, sent Wen Daoren flying.

The lush green bamboo forests along the way were snapped by the powerful force of the punches, creating a devastating path that stretched for thousands of feet.

Wen Daoren took a punch that seemed fatal, but in reality he was not seriously injured. He lightly patted the ground and stood up as if nothing had happened. The human skin mask covering his face became even more broken, and some more skin flakes fell off the cracks. Then, he touched the ground with his toes and instantly arrived in front of General Hu, covering a thousand feet.

General Tiger's single eye blazed with fury as he pointed at Wen Daoren and said, "I've already told you, don't wait passively, don't wait passively. Passivity is a cardinal sin in warfare. Look at the result now! I've lost seven brothers. If I had known, I shouldn't have trusted your lousy plan."

"Now Zhou Qingfeng has escaped from under our noses again. All our efforts and countless miles of pursuit have been in vain. And you still tell me that Zhou Silang is too cunning and too clever? That's just an excuse and a pretext for your incompetence!"

Wen Daoren stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Impotent rage, I am just stating the facts and summarizing the reasons for our failure. There is nothing wrong with my plan. Even if both sides are playing their cards openly, it will not affect the overall success rate of the Ambush from Ten Sides plan. If there is a problem, it is because your brothers are too useless. Seven against three, and they can still be instantly killed."

Upon hearing this, General Hu immediately lost his composure. He reached down and took the long sword from his back, gripping the scabbard with one hand and the hilt with the other: "Wen Daoren, you can insult me, but insulting my fallen brothers is just asking for death."

As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of light appeared, and Wen Daoren was cut in two at the waist. However, Wen Daoren's figure quickly vanished into nothingness. The next moment, Wen Daoren stood on the tip of the blade with his hands behind his back. He looked down at General Hu, his dark golden eyes flashing with an eerie light: "So, things have come to a head. Well, if things have escalated to the point of fists and swords, there is no need to continue cooperating. Farewell."

Wen Daoren leaped backward, soaring into the air. He stood still in mid-air, turned to look at General Hu and his group, and flew away without looking back.

The reason he was able to give up so decisively and leave was because he had his own considerations.

There's no third time for everything. Having failed in his two best opportunities to ambush Zhou Silang, he figured it was impossible to kill him again. Rather than wasting time and energy with Qiu Chenghu, he decided to return to the Sword Tower as soon as possible to report back and make plans to see if he could find another good opportunity.

As for Qiu Chenghu and his gang, they can do whatever they want, whether they want to continue the pursuit or retreat, it's none of his business.

General Hu looked up as Wen Daoren flew away into the sky, and his face immediately darkened.

"General, what should we do next?" one of General Tiger's trusted men asked as he approached.

General Hu sheathed his sword and knelt down to pick up the body of one of his brothers, saying, "Let's bury our dead brothers first, and then continue the pursuit. He will definitely escape back to the Sword Tower. We'll chase him down along the way. I don't believe in evil spirits. Zhou Silang has three heads and six arms and always manages to escape safely."