Chapter 676: Chapter 402: Devoured by Grief and Anger
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Li Xiaopeng was completely consumed by grief and rage. He furiously decided to turn his anger towards the beasts, even though they were not directly responsible for her death.
Watching the battle unfold before him, Yan Xiaobao slightly raised his head, surprised to find that Wan was struggling to handle the enraged Li Xiaopeng. "I guess the injuries she sustained yesterday were far worse than I anticipated," he remarked. Beside him, Cai Jie nodded. "Makes sense," he agreed. "The Crusaders ranked as Saints are certainly not easy to deal with."
"Yet you managed to take down two without getting hurt," Yan Xiaobao pointed out. A topic he found deeply intriguing suddenly arose. "I focused on killing the Crusaders," Cai Jie shrugged. "It took some time, but they have a weakness. If you manage to destroy it, they collapse. It’s a small energy point that allows them to move and remain intact, even when they should have long crumbled into dust. This tiny energy node is placed within them to keep their bodies from disintegrating."
Hearing this, Yan Xiaobao was stunned. It was undoubtedly invaluable knowledge, yet he couldn’t understand why Cai Jie would talk about it so casually. If anything, it seemed like it should be a pivotal secret.
Noticing the surprise on Yan Xiaobao’s face, Cai Jie smirked smugly. "You want to know why I’m telling you all this, don’t you?" he asked. Yan Xiaobao nodded truthfully. "Well, it’s really simple," Cai Jie said, his face adorned with a shameless grin. "I want An Hee to suffer as much as possible. I want trouble for him. The more Crusaders that die, the better I feel. By telling you how to kill them, I’m ensuring that you can eliminate every Crusader you encounter. The more you kill, the better I’ll feel."
"What did he do to make you hate him so much?" Yan Xiaobao asked curiously, his eyes never leaving the two Saints locked in combat before him. Li Xiaopeng managed to shove Li Meilin aside, forcing her away from the fight, but he still carried the same unrelenting fury as before. His bloodshot eyes and labored breathing revealed his anger clearly. His chest was still wrapped in bandages; it was obvious that he hadn’t fully recovered from the injuries he sustained in their previous battle.
Though he hadn’t fully healed from his wounds, neither had she. Or rather, she had successfully recovered from her fight with Li Xiaopeng, but not from her skirmish with the Holy Cross Army. Bird and man were locked in relentless exchanges of attacks—dodging, striking with beaks, teeth, claws, and high-level abilities in their battle.
Watching the battle unfold, Cai Jie’s gaze turned hazy, as though he were staring at something only he could see. The longer he stood there, the tighter his lips pressed, and a murderous aura began to billow outward, his golden eyes darkening like a storm.
Cai Jie clutched the Golden Man’s shoulder with one hand and suddenly snapped back to the present, flashing Yan Xiaobao an apologetic smile. Despite his composed demeanor, it was clear that he was still haunted by the memories he had just been dwelling on.
"I can’t live in the same world as An Hee," he finally sighed. "He needs to die for all the terrible things he’s done, time and time again." Yan Xiaobao spoke, knowing how Lan Feng shared the same sentiment about An Hee.
"One day, I’ll kill him," Yan Xiaobao said with such determination that it caused Cai Jie to look at him in a new light. Initially, Cai Jie was surprised, but that expression quickly shifted into an arrogant smirk. "Unless I kill him first," he remarked, his eyes once again fixed on the battle before them.
Hearing the words spoken by the Golden Man beside him, Yan Xiaobao couldn’t help but laugh. "I think I can allow you to follow me now," Yan Xiaobao added, raising an eyebrow as he observed Li Xiaopeng launching an attack on Wan Qiao. The maneuver stunned him. This time, Li Xiaopeng’s assault was imbued with extraordinary levels of martial power, transforming into rope-like strands. The strands of martial power wound tightly around the massive eagle, immobilizing her. As she tried to unleash all the strength in her body to break free, her wings trembled. What seemed eternal lasted only a fraction of a second before the golden ropes shattered into thousands of fragments.
"She’s incredibly strong, this lady of yours," Cai Jie commented as he watched the battle in front of them unfold. He completely ignored what Yan Xiaobao had said earlier, and the white-haired young man didn’t make any effort to bring it up again. He knew Cai Jie had heard him, and the Golden Man would make his own decision. Whether he chose to follow Yan Xiaobao or not, it wouldn’t matter. Yan Xiaobao didn’t care either way. While he was deeply curious about the Golden Man, he simultaneously knew that getting to know him would not be easy.
Yan Xiaobao and Cai Jie observed the battle with intense interest. Wan Qiao now launched a ferocious attack, heading directly for Li Xiaopeng’s head. As she hurtled toward the short-statured man, a piercing shriek escaped her mouth.
"Did you know that the Crusaders have four holes in their foreheads?" Yan Xiaobao asked curiously, watching the eagle dive downward. Her descent grew faster and faster, her talons suddenly lunging forward, her wings pausing midair. Li Xiaopeng enveloped himself in martial power before raising his sword. Wu Wei surged into the sword itself, making it gleam brilliantly. It was as though a miniature sun had emerged at the sword’s tip—a tiny sun formed as Qi poured into the blade. He stood ready, facing the eagle, his sword held firmly by his side, waiting to swing it at the bird the moment she came within reach.