Hu Lao on the side waved his hand cheerfully. "Don't worry," he said, "I will definitely stand by idly. After all, I've never been one to interfere with others' matters. Plus, you yourself said you're capable of standing up to a level 9 demonic beast, so naturally, you'll need to pull out all the stops. It could also give me a chance to see what the new generation is truly capable of. I surely wouldn't want it to be all talk and no action."

Now, Wang Zhan understood. This old man was just looking for entertainment.

However, even though the old man said this, Wang Zhan could still sense that he wasn't the type to do harm out of pure spite. If danger arose, the old man would certainly not just stand by idly. This realization gave him some reassurance. Moreover, he needed to encounter those tough demonic beasts soon. Only then could he quickly complete the System's refinement, improving his cultivation. Only after breaking through his current realm could he muster some courage to search for Xiang Tian and Luo Xue.

If not, without any strength, even if he wanted to inquire about something, others might not even pay attention to him.

"What's the matter, scared now?"

After taking a few steps, Hu Lao noticed that Wang Zhan, who was behind him, hadn't moved, so he squinted and asked.

Wang Zhan just walked over to his side, then revealed the Deep Fire Blade in his hand. He patted his chest, and the Fire Deity Armor silently appeared.

"With the support of these divine weapons and tools, why would I fear a mere level 9 demonic beast?"

"And even if I run into one of them, so what? They're just my grindstones."

"I was just thinking about something earlier, nothing more. You lead the way, Hu Lao."

Wang Zhan said with a smile.

Hu Lao eyed him for a bit, a slight, pleased smile touching his lips as he nodded approvingly. "I hope you stay this confident. You should maintain this composure even when you face a level 9 demonic beast shortly. I wouldn't want to look down on you."

Wang Zhan just shrugged nonchalantly, his face expressionless. In fact, he was getting a little excited. After all, if he encountered a level 9 demonic beast, his strength would also increase rapidly. He had already experienced such life-or-death struggles, so he wasn't that afraid.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them headed out of the courtyard. Hu Lao didn't even bother to lock the door, which made Wang Zhan hesitate. They weren't far from the city; wasn't he worried about someone coming in and burning his house down?

Hu Lao, as if picking up Wang Zhan's thoughts, squinted and laughed. "Don't worry, this mansion is precious to me. I absolutely won't let anything happen to it."

Hu Lao waved his sleeve, and much to Wang Zhan's astonishment, the mansion in front of him vanished instantly.

How could he just make an entire mansion vanish into thin air? This was impossible, right?

Obviously, Hu Lao's abilities had already far exceeded his comprehension!

Wang Zhan's eyes widened, and he quickly asked, "How did you do that?"

"If you can really handle a level 9 demonic beast, I'll teach you this method. It's a fair trade, right?"

Wang Zhan nodded earnestly. His purpose in leaving with Hu Lao was to deal with the level 9 demonic beast and elevate his cultivation. Of course, if he could also learn some secrets from Hu Lao, it might further aid his strength. When his strength improved to a certain degree, it would be a win-win situation.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but I can tell you're a very calculating fellow," Hu Lao spoke again. "We've only taken a few steps, and you already seem to be lost in your own schemes. But let me remind you, trying to scheme against me will be anything but easy. Furthermore, if you make even a slight misstep and displease me, and if I were to suddenly attack you then, you probably wouldn't even have a chance to escape."

"Then I'm very curious, what realm has Hu Lao's cultivation reached?"

Everything he had just seen flashed through Wang Zhan's mind.

The moment Hu Lao struck, he had easily subdued the Cat Demon Beast, a level 9 demonic beast, which couldn't even fight back against him. This clearly demonstrated Hu Lao's formidable strength.

However, Wang Zhan also wanted to know just how powerful Hu Lao truly was.

"Why are you so nosy? We're not enemies, so you don't need to pry into my strength. And you're no use to me, so I won't try to scheme against you either. All you need to do is use all your abilities to deal with that demonic beast."

"As for other matters, it's best you keep them to yourself; you don't need to explain them to me. Anyway, I've already told you what to pay attention to. If you don't follow my words, you'll be the one to get hurt in the end, and it won't affect me in the slightest."

Hu Lao said with a smile.

Wang Zhan's face filled with embarrassment. Was this the harshest warning delivered in the gentlest tone?

As they spoke, the two had already entered the dense mountain forest, with towering trees all around them.

Even the visibility around them had decreased considerably.

Wang Zhan cautiously observed his surroundings. Although Hu Lao showed no concern, Wang Zhan naturally couldn't compare himself to him. After all, there was a significant gap in strength between them. If a powerful demonic beast attacked, it definitely wouldn't target Hu Lao. Instead, he would likely become the easy prey in the beast's eyes.

Therefore, he had to be fully prepared now, lest a demonic beast catch him off-guard.

"Usually, there are quite a few youngsters around here. But today, it's unusually quiet. Some big guy must have appeared, and those kids have probably all hidden themselves, too scared to show their faces."

"But the quieter it is, the more careful you must be. These youngsters nowadays have no respect for the martial code and love resorting to sneak attacks."

"So, in my opinion, those demonic beasts sometimes seem more sensible than humans."

Hu Lao muttered to himself.

Wang Zhan, however, paid no attention to him. Right now, he needed to focus all his attention on his surroundings; after all, there were definitely extremely powerful demonic beasts lurking in this forest.

Wang Zhan squinted, his gaze sweeping over the mountain forest not far away. Suddenly, he spotted a figure darting past with incredible speed—clearly far exceeding his own capabilities.

Wang Zhan was startled. He quickly pointed to where the figure had appeared and said in a low voice, "Hu Lao, we'd better be careful. I just saw a demonic beast flash past us."

"That was just a small fry. I wouldn't even bother to make a move. Surely you're not worried you can't handle it?"

It turned out Hu Lao had already been aware of the figure's presence but hadn't reacted at all.

Wang Zhan understood. The reason the figure had been following them but hadn't attacked was because it feared Hu Lao.

Of course, it wasn't just demonic beasts that would react this way. Even he would have to think carefully if he encountered someone as powerful as Hu Lao. After all, Hu Lao's strength far exceeded his imagination. If they truly clashed, it wouldn't benefit him in any way, so naturally, he had to be cautious.

Even he thought this way, let alone those cunning demonic beasts.

"It seems you come here often, so you know everything about this place?"

Wang Zhan squinted, looking at Hu Lao beside him.

"I'm a lonely old man with nothing much to do," Hu Lao chuckled and nodded. "So, I often come to this mountain forest for fun. But there are no powerful creatures here, so I usually just bully the weaker ones."

"Over time, I've become too lazy to bother. If that Cat Demon Beast hadn't killed so many people right before my eyes, I wouldn't have planned to deal with it. Isn't it better to let it live peacefully?"

"We humans have sentience, but don't demonic beasts also possess it?"

Hearing Hu Lao's words, Wang Zhan shook his head, clearly disagreeing.

"That's not right. Hu Lao, don't you know how vicious those demonic beasts are?"

"And they've killed many humans. If we encounter such demonic beasts and don't eliminate them, I'm afraid more of our companions will die at their hands in the future."

The image of Luo Tianhong immediately surfaced in Wang Zhan's mind, and his expression instantly turned grim.

He had always considered Luo Tianhong his companion, but he hadn't expected Luo Tianhong was merely using him and had even tried to harm him, nearly killing him on several occasions.

But, it had to be said, Luo Tianhong had indeed taught him a valuable lesson.

With this thought, Wang Zhan relaxed and stopped dwelling on Luo Tianhong.

"That's not the right way to put it," Hu Lao suddenly continued. "Indeed, demonic beasts have killed many humans, but haven't humans also wiped out many demonic beasts? Everyone is just trying to survive. And here, you'll find many humans who are even more terrifying than demonic beasts. Therefore, before doing anything, it's always prudent to be fully prepared to avoid being schemed against by others."

"This... is the principle of survival on the Star War Battlefield."