Apparently, the fighting had remained fierce over the past two-plus months.

Pei Ze looked toward the location of the Secret Silver Resource Point.

According to the notes, the resource point was still under the control of the Turin People.

Furthermore, the mission for it remained unaccepted.

’I wonder if no one’s taken the mission yet, or if some unlucky bastard already tried and failed.’

Pei Ze shook his head, put the matter aside, and began selecting a target.

Generally, the fortifications of the Turin People contained statues of Lady Frost. These statues both strengthened the garrisoned warriors and Priests and served as the power core for the Defense Array.

However, it was possible that some of the smaller fortifications lacked a Divine Statue.

Therefore, Pei Ze set his sights on fortifications that were confirmed to be garrisoned by a Second-Class Priest.

A fortification of that level was guaranteed to have a Divine Statue, so he wouldn’t have to worry about a wasted trip.

Of course, the garrison at such a fortification would be much stronger, but Pei Ze wasn’t particularly concerned.

He had been able to destroy a Turin fortification over two months ago. Now that his Spiritual Power level had more than doubled, he had even less to worry about.

Soon, Pei Ze had selected his target. After registering the mission at the counter, he left the mission hall.

On the way back, he detoured to a shop to buy some Gemstones for inscribing Magic Tattoos. While he was at it, he sent Su Ya and Peng Yan a message using a Communication Skill.

When he got back to his stone house, Su Ya and Peng Yan were already waiting at the door.

"Get ready. We’re heading to the battlefield tomorrow," Pei Ze said, getting straight to the point.

Peng Yan’s eyes lit up, his expression one of eager anticipation.

These past few days, all he’d done was train. His strength had soared, but he’d had no outlet for it. He was starting to feel rusty. Now, he could finally head to the battlefield.

Su Ya was more composed. "Sir," she asked, "what’s our target?"

"Fortification No. 17." Pei Ze tossed her the Magic Map. "See the details for yourselves."

With that, he entered the stone house to inscribe a new Thunder Burst Magic Tattoo.

He had been busy training for the last two-plus months and hadn’t had time to inscribe a new Magic Tattoo. Now that he was about to enter the battlefield, he had to be thoroughly prepared.

Only after watching Pei Ze enter the stone house did Su Ya open the Magic Map to examine it carefully.

"So? Is the enemy garrison strong?" Peng Yan asked, leaning closer.

"A detachment of the Sect Knight Order, four to five Winter Frost Priests, and one of them is a Second-Class Priest."

Su Ya looked up, her expression relaxed.

"Not bad. About the same as last time."

Peng Yan also broke into a relaxed smile.

Following the usual pattern, Sir Pei Ze’s power must have grown significantly after more than two months of training in seclusion.

If their lord could destroy Fortification No. 89 over two months ago, then this would be even less of a problem now.

"I’m fighting this time. I can’t just watch from the sidelines anymore," Peng Yan declared, brandishing his greatsword.

Su Ya pressed her lips together and gave a firm nod.

Just half a month ago, her All-Knowing Breathing Technique had broken through to the second level. Her power was now more than double what it had been two months ago.

Combined with her Dual Elements Power, she was now confident she could hold her own even against a Tier Two Legendary Knight.

And Peng Yan’s progress was even more remarkable.

Ever since obtaining the All-Knowing Breathing Technique, the barbarian bloodline within him was no longer a hindrance. On the contrary, it had become the very source of his rapid power growth.

He had reached the second level of the All-Knowing Breathing Technique a full month before she had.

’If not for her Succubus Bloodline giving her an edge in manipulating Elemental Power, the big lug would completely overwhelm her in a fight.’

...

The next day, the trio set out early.

After retrieving their giant eagle from where it was being stabled, the three of them mounted up, soared into the sky, and flew toward their destination.

Fortification No. 17 was farther away than Fortification No. 89.

It also happened to be just over eighty kilometers from the Secret Silver Resource Point.

Pei Ze decided to make it a quick battle. He wanted to avoid attracting the Winter Frost Priests stationed at the Secret Silver Resource Point and creating unnecessary complications.

"Sir, can I join the battle this time?" Peng Yan shouted.

Pei Ze turned his head and saw Su Ya looking at him with the same eager expression. After a moment’s thought, he agreed.

"Do as you wish. But when the fighting starts, stay far away from me so you don’t get accidentally injured."

Su Ya and Peng Yan were overjoyed and readily agreed.

In truth, they didn’t need his reminder. They would have stayed far away from the battle between Pei Ze and the Winter Frost Priest regardless.

The battle from two months ago was still vivid in their minds.

A power struggle of that magnitude was simply not something they could get involved in.

The slightest aftershock from the fight would be more than they could handle; they wouldn’t dare get any closer.

Just as the two were eagerly getting ready for a fight, they were cut short by Pei Ze’s solemn voice.

"Stop. Descend to the ground."

Su Ya and Peng Yan froze, not understanding the sudden order. But out of habit, they obeyed, quickly guiding the giant eagle to the ground.

After they landed, Pei Ze leaped from the giant eagle and turned to face the empty plains. A wry smile flashed across his face as he called out, "Stop hiding. You’ve followed us long enough. It’s time you showed yourself."

Su Ya and Peng Yan, who had just found their footing, were startled. They reacted instantly, drawing their weapons and assuming combat stances.

Before their astonished and wary eyes, the air over forty meters away began to distort, and a figure slowly materialized.

Pei Yonggao stared at Pei Ze, his expression dark. "You knew I was following you all along?" he asked coldly.

"Obviously," Pei Ze replied with a smile, though his words were anything but polite. "Your technique for masking your spiritual fluctuations is so crude, it’d be harder *not* to notice you."

Pei Yonggao’s face darkened further.

It wasn’t due to Pei Ze’s taunt, but rather the implication behind it.

Generally, besides Wizards who possessed special techniques, there was only one way a Wizard could easily penetrate another’s Mental Force Field shielding.

Their Spiritual Power level had to be far greater than the other Wizard’s!

A difference of at least 20 levels!

Pei Yonggao himself was a Wizard who had advanced using an Advanced Meditation Technique. His Spiritual Power level was much higher than that of an ordinary Level 1 Liquidation Wizard, having already reached level 31.

For Pei Ze to still detect his pursuit under these circumstances meant his Spiritual Power level had very likely surpassed 50!

At this thought, an uncontrollable wave of intense jealousy and hatred surged within Pei Yonggao.

He had clearly become a Wizard before Pei Ze, but now he had been surpassed—a fact he found impossible to accept.

In reality, however, while Pei Ze’s Spiritual Power level had indeed surpassed Pei Yonggao’s, it was still a long way from 50.

The reason he had noticed Pei Yonggao’s pursuit was because he had been habitually scanning his surroundings with the Eye of Omniscience and had discovered him by chance.

It was a pure coincidence.

His earlier words had been solely to shake Pei Yonggao’s resolve.

Then again, Pei Ze wasn’t surprised by Pei Yonggao’s appearance in the slightest.

"You’re even later than I expected."

Pei Ze narrowed his eyes, studying Pei Yonggao. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but there seemed to be a faint, unsettling aura about the other man.

Pei Yonggao’s gaze flickered. "You guessed that I would come for you?"

"Isn’t it obvious?" Pei Ze shrugged. "The Plane Battlefield is the only place you’d have the opportunity to make a move on me, and it’s also where I can kill you without any hesitation."

In the past, if Pei Ze had said to his face that he was going to kill him, Pei Yonggao would have definitely sneered at his audacity.

But after hearing of Pei Ze’s feat of single-handedly destroying Fortification No. 89, he could no longer bring himself to say such things.

Whether he admitted it or not, in terms of sheer power, the current Pei Ze had already surpassed him.

After a few seconds of silence, a frigid killing intent surfaced on Pei Yonggao’s face.

"If you think you’ve already won, then I’m afraid you’re..."

But before he could finish, Pei Ze cut him off impatiently.

"Alright, alright. I get it. You have a trump card."

’Pei Ze wasn’t an idiot. For Pei Yonggao to catch up so quickly after he’d left the city, he must have been monitoring my movements for more than a day or two.’

’That meant the guy must already know about my feat of destroying Fortification No. 89.’

’And yet, Pei Yonggao still dared to show himself. He must have an ace up his sleeve.’

’It was probably the source of that unsettling aura he’d sensed.’

Repeatedly taunted by Pei Ze, Pei Yonggao looked as if his eyes were about to spew fire. He took a deep breath to suppress his fury and glared at Pei Ze, his gaze brimming with killing intent as strange wisps of black mist began to rise from his body.