Once Hua Gwan had said his piece and all the soldiers around him had spotted Hua Yan, there was a moment of silence shared amongst them.

The Guard Colonel and Hua Yan locked eyes, forming silent evaluations of each other in their heads.

When Hua Yan observed the Guard Colonel, the most prominent thing that he noticed which stood out about the man, apart from his nicer clothing and finer weapon, was his build.

His body was actually very noticeably different from the other guards that he was standing next to. In fact, it was actually smaller and less bloated. It looked skinny and frail. It was like a stick placed in the middle of a bunch of trees.

Yet, even though this was the case and the Guard Colonel appeared more miniscule than his subordinates, there was an undeniable power coursing forth from his being that was simply absent from everyone else.

Hua Yan knew that this man was much more dangerous than the bigger men he was surrounded by, not just by a scale of one or two extra times, but by a magnitude in the tens!

And what was the reason?

It was because this Guard Colonel had already fulfilled the conditions for completing the Continuous Ballooning Stage and had officially stepped into the Complete Deflation Stage.

The level of power that existed in the gap between these two stages could not be underestimated.

If the Ballooning Stage cultivated the body, then the Deflation Stage cultivated the mentality.

It was not said without reason that those who could reach the Deflation Stage were actually total nut-jobs. The amount of training that they needed to go through for even the slightest increase in their cultivation levels was crazy. They were all battle-tested and courageous, and their cultivation bases were representative of this undeniable truth.

Now, facing a veteran of this stage, Hua Yan knew that the outcome of this battle would not be in his favour.

He needed to leave this place immediately!

As for the Guard Colonel, Hua Bim, he also noticed the peculiarity that was Hua Yan.

The boy obviously had no cultivation to speak of. Yet, considering the reports that his men had sent him about his previous feat of slaughtering 5 armed guards in a single stroke, Hua Gim had to re-evaluate the lad.

Hua Yan was by no means a simple mortal.

What a joke!

If someone that could kill 5 Ballooning Stage experts in a single blow was a simple mortal, then cultivators would be worth less than dirt.

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This Hua Yan obviously had his own share of secrets, and Hua Bim’s men had already informed him about the oddness of his sword style and the white light that was generated each time he threw out a swing.

Hua Bim was extremely inquisitive about Hua Yan’s mysterious power in his mind, but he didn’t dare to let his guard down because of it. He would try his best to not draw out the battle just because he wanted Hua Yan to show all his cards. He would not fail to deliver the critical blow at the most effective time, and he would not let any advantages go to waste just to sate his curiosity.

Even though, realistically speaking, he shouldn’t have put up any kind of defence against an ordinary mortal, since he had no need to, he couldn’t help but be cautious against Hua Yan.

After all, since Hua Bim could not really evaluate his level of power, he did not know exactly how deep and profound Hua Yan’s strength was. So that alone was reason enough for him to keep his shield up.

Hua Yan, however, was different.

He knew exactly how strong he was, and he also had a rough idea of how he would compare with a Complete Inflation Stage expert in battle. Though he was unsure of what kind of effects using his newly obtained sword would have in a fight, he did not want to test and see for himself.

He was already injured from his last fight and this battle, if he chose to engage in it, would not be a 1 on 1 fight. He would be surrounded and made quick work of if he tried a direct confrontation.

Moreover, even if he fought and won against this group, another group would come over and take his head. He was still in the Hua Clan, so it was impossible to win a war of attrition.

So, instead of wasting even more energy on this useless battle, he needed to flee before he got surrounded again and forced to make a move. If things got to that point, then it really would be game over for him, even if he had a dozen extra lives.

For now, he needed to divert the guards’ attention off of him.

They all had their eyes trained on him and were slowly nearing his position, so it would be impossible for him to evade them even in his wildest dreams. He needed to start a commotion elsewhere and get the guards to be momentarily distracted.

This would be enough for him to get away.

Though it was a risky gamble, he had a plan in his mind.

Looking over to the right, he got into a posture to run.

Immediately, he started bolting. But, instead of heading to his right like he had made everyone believe, he had changed his stance midway through and ran to the left.

Though this had slightly disoriented the guards, it was unable to get rid of them. They were not some kids that could be fooled by this low-level of play.

And Hua Yan understood this too.

This was all just a warm-up. He wanted to make their minds as confused as possible for his planned moment, so that when he finally pulled wool over their eyes, they wouldn’t even know the better until a little later.

Nearing a bend in the road, Hua Yan suddenly jumped in the air and spun around.

The guards that were nearing him who saw this were startled out of their minds. They immediately backed up, and some even fell back onto their bottoms in fear.

But Hua Yan was not planning on stopping.

Once he made this move, he turned around and continued running as if nothing had happened

The guards that had fallen on the ground were slightly embarrassed and started cursing Hua Yan, but they quickly picked themselves up and continued the chase at the sight of the Guard Colonel’s disapproving gaze.

As Hua Yan continued to run, he would frequently shout, or move around his blade, and a lot of the guards kept falling for his tricks and losing themselves in the moment. This made them subconsciously afraid of getting too close to Hua Yan.

Soon, however, it got to the point where they had become desensitized to his actions, and his bizarre moves no longer rustled them.

The Guard Colonel was watching this all coolly as he continued to follow after Hua Yan.

With his speed, he could have long since closed the distance between the two of them, but he chose not to because he was still wary of what tricks Hua Yan could suddenly pull.

Seeing Hua Yan’s horseplay, however, he began to second guess himself.

What was so special about this kid? All he was good for was playing a few petty and immature tricks. Why did he, as a dignified Guard Colonel, have to continue with this chase any longer? It was both humiliating and a waste of time!

As Hua Bim clenched his sword and got ready to go in for the kill, trouble had finally begun.

Around 10 guards and 3 guard captains were currently only a few metres away from Hua Yan. They got really comfortable with this distance after chasing Hua Yan for more than 10 minutes, so they really didn’t expect it when Hua Yan suddenly turned around and moved at a speed that was nearly teleportation.

One moment they had heads, and the next moment they didn’t!

A total of 13 guards had just lost their lives, and in the torrent of all the bloodshed, the remaining stupefied guards didn’t even notice that Hua Yan had disappeared.