If Heaven hadn't given birth to me, I would be arrogant.

After some thought, the black-robed man had already formed his own guesses about Zong Ze's origins. He knew that of the dozens of factions in the entire Sacred Word Outer Continent, only a few top-tier factions possessed a single tactic, and most tactics could only be found in the God Realm! He had heard the old monsters of his own faction say that there were many tactics in the God Realm, and every subordinate god might possess one!

Therefore, tactics can only be possessed by top-tier monsters in the outer continent of the Holy Word or by gods in the divine realm. However, this young man actually used tactics in front of him, and they were tactics that he had never heard of before. Therefore, the man in black robes mistakenly believed that Zong Ze was related to the divine realm!

This is understandable. The man in black robes was actually a master from the Holy Word Continent. After breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage in the outer continent of Holy Word, he was sent back to his homeland by his own forces to protect the current emperor. So, he was even less likely to know about the actual situation in the Jade Kingdom, let alone other planes. Therefore, he would never have guessed that Zong Ze was from another plane!

In his view, Zong Ze was either a disciple secretly sought out by an old monster from a powerful force in the Sacred Word Continent, or he was directly a disciple of a subordinate god in the God Realm! If it was the latter, then Zong Ze's identity would be terrifying—he was a divine messenger! If Zong Ze was indeed a divine messenger, and the subordinate god behind him was also very powerful in the God Realm, even the leaders of the major forces in the Sacred Word Continent would have to treat him with utmost respect!

Thinking of this, the man in black robes cursed himself inwardly: "Idiot, I rushed out without thinking it through. I was obviously following their tactics. If they are a divine messenger, I'll be useless no matter how many lives I have!"

But there was no other way. Now that he was out, he had to figure out how to clean up the mess! That's why the man in black robes was so arrogant when he was talking to Lan Qizhan, but now he was incredibly gentle when he spoke to Zong Ze!

"Little guy, can you tell me where you got the tactics you just used from? Do you know that tactics are not allowed to appear or be used on the Holy Word Continent?" the black-robed man asked in a low voice.

This is also where the man in black robes is clever. Every word he says reveals a little bit of concern for Zongze. Even if someone really causes trouble for him in the future, he can make an excuse that he only appeared to warn Zongze because he was concerned that Zongze had been deceived!

However, even the cleverest fox can't compare to an old hunter, let alone when he's facing an old monster who's lived for over 500 years.

From the black-robed man's words, Zong Ze had already discerned that he was very interested in his Five Ancestors Staff Technique. Moreover, the other party referred to the Five Ancestors Staff Technique as some kind of tactic. So naturally, Zong Ze's mention of a subordinate god was just to deceive the man in front of him. Nonsense, no matter how bad the God of Light was, he was still a Great Luo Golden Immortal. The so-called subordinate god was just his direct subordinate. Could a little guy in the Nascent Soul stage be a subordinate god?

"Ah, a god! I've finally met a god! God of Light above, you actually sent your god to receive me?" Zong Ze was filled with excitement and longing. If that expression were on Earth, it would be a shame if he didn't win an Oscar!

"Ahem!" The man in black robes coughed lightly. Although he was certain that he was an invincible being on the Holy Word Continent, he dared not impersonate a subordinate god of the God of Light: "Little fellow, I am not a subordinate god, I am just a humble servant of the god!"

"A servant of the gods?" Zong Ze's face first showed confusion, then turned into resentment. He suddenly gripped the iron rod tightly: "You're not a god? Are you a demon? Otherwise, why did you first say that His Majesty the Emperor of the Bright Empire was your subordinate, but then you denied that you were a god? Although you are very powerful, if you are really a demon, I will fight you to the death!"

"Haha, little guy, you've misunderstood!" The man in black robes laughed heartily. Under Zong Ze's perfect performance, he confirmed one thing: this Zong Ze was very likely a disciple of some god. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so devout to the God of Light!

If the black-robed man before him knew that Zong Ze had already seen through everything and was just putting on an act, he might be so angry he'd vomit blood: "Although I am not a god, I am indeed the superior of the Emperor of the Bright Empire. He and I are both servants of the gods, but even among servants of the gods, there are ranks and levels! Do you understand?"

“Of course I understand that!” Zong Ze fully displayed his acting talent: “But these few words are not enough to prove your origin! Unless you tell me where you come from?”

“I’m not lying to you!” The man in black robes shook his head helplessly. “I can tell you that my name is Karu, and I used to be a citizen of the Rune Empire. Now, I am here to guard the Rune Empire by divine decree. But as for where I come from, I cannot tell you that!”

"Hmph!" Zong Ze pouted, looking just like a young boy who was arguing and bickering with someone, without any guile. "It's not like I don't know if you don't tell me. I feel that your strength is higher than my grandfather's, so you must be a Martial Venerable. But there is absolutely no Martial Venerable on the continent. That can only mean one thing: you ran away from the Sacred Word Outer Continent!"

At this point, Zongze seemed to suddenly remember something: "Damn it, you actually dared to disobey the divine decree of the God of Light and sneak back from the land beyond the Holy Word! I will pray to my God and tell him about this!"

The moment Zong Ze mentioned the Sacred Word Outer Continent, a murderous glint flashed in the black-robed man's eyes. The Sacred Word Outer Continent was a secret; apart from a few key figures and those who had broken through to the level of Martial God or Grand Magister, no one else could possibly know about it. Yet now, the young man before him had casually mentioned this place!

The man in black robes also had another task: to eliminate witnesses. Throughout the entire Rune Empire, anyone who broke through to the Martial God realm but didn't go to the Sacred Word Outer Continent, or who leaked information about it, was to be killed. Several individuals or families who had reached the required level but didn't go to the Sacred Word Outer Continent, or who leaked information about it beforehand, were personally eliminated by him, Karu!

However, Karu clearly misunderstood the boy before him. Especially after Zong Ze accused him of sneaking back from the outer continent of the Holy Word, Karu became even more certain of his analysis. He believed he knew Zong Ze very well and would never tell such a big secret to his grandson who was only a teenager!

"Oh! My dear little fellow!" Karu smiled broadly, and if you looked closely, there was even a hint of flattery in his smile. "I didn't sneak back. I came back from the Sacred Word Outer Continent with a mission! But I'm really curious, how did you know about the Sacred Word Outer Continent?"