In the forest region of Gyuran, Baek Wu and Baek Long are seen flying towards Yi Shan's location.

"Baek Wu, get ready. We'll reach Baek Meng's location in a minute or so."

"Take out the clan artifact before that and prepare it."

At Baek Shen's orders, Baek Wu pulls out a hexagonal pyramid from his robe. The apex of the hexagonal pyramid emits a peculiar light.

Baek Wu looks at the hexagonal pyramid with interest.

'What kind of heaven-defying artifact did my dad give me?'

He falls into deep thought as he remembers the words his dad told him.

Baek Clan, Clan Leader's Quarters.

The Clan Leader's quarters consist of a colossal hallway. Massive pillars, carved with coiling dragons, support the ceiling. A long pathway, draped in a red carpet from the entrance, stretches toward a grand throne.

The person sitting on that throne is the current Clan Leader, who is also the father of Baek Wu.

"Wu Er, although I am disappointed in the way you acted with the martial artist, you are still my son, and a loss of your face is equally a loss of mine."

With that, Baek Wu's father closes his palm, crushing the armrest of the throne.

"However, my patience is reaching its limit. You've spent a week looking for the martial artist, and the only news I've heard is that your Uncle Mo was beaten up."

He sighs before continuing.

"He's been recuperating for a while now."

"Remember to check up on him later; he helped you in your search. A good clan leader always keeps the well-being of their members in check."

"I understand."

"Anyhow, this is my last warning. If you do not capture the martial artist this time, I'll give the right of succession to your younger brother. Understood?"

"Understood, father."

"Now, begone. Before you go, take this. Use it with the help of your Uncle Baek Meng to capture the martial artist this time—no excuses."

The Clan Leader waves his hand, and the clan artifact floats down towards Baek Wu, landing inside his robe.

"Thank you, father."

Baek Wu cups his hands and bows before leaving the quarters.

After Baek Wu leaves, the Clan Leader heaves a sigh.

"What am I going to do with that kid?"

He places his palm on his forehead and sighs before calling out.

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"You can come out now."

"Yes, Clan Leader."

"I have a mission for you. Keep watch over them to avoid any mess-ups. I want this to be the last chase."

With that, the Clan Leader waves the individual away.

"I shall get to it."

With that, the individual disappears as soon as they are called.

The scene changes to Baek Meng standing next to the Core Formation barrier.

"Why hasn't that brat Baek Wu shown up yet?"

Baek Meng clicks his tongue as he wonders why Baek Wu hasn't arrived.

'How long has it been anyway?'

Baek Meng traces the celestial energy, and a frown appears on his face as he realizes that only two minutes have passed since his rescue of Baek Shen.

"Tsk, I still have a minute before they arrive."

Baek Meng tenses up a bit before remembering his opponent's odd behavior.

'He could easily kill me from what I gathered. So why is he running around frantically for no reason?'

Baek Meng's gaze focuses on Yi Shan, who is seen running everywhere except Baek Meng's location.

Baek Meng's gaze lingers on Yi Shan for a moment before he pulls it away and returns to preparing the formation.

This time, the formation has three Jade Tablets arranged at the corners of an invisible triangle. They hover in place, constantly rotating around their respective positions, maintaining the triangular shape.

Around Baek Meng are twenty other tablets that support the three main jade tablets.

Swoosh!

Yi Shan is seen darting all around the forest.

"Come on, they have to be here."

He dashes to a nearby boulder, rolls up his sleeves, and begins to lift it.

"Huff!"

He looks underneath the boulder and is unable to find what he is looking for.

"Not here."

Yi Shan stops to think for a moment.

'Where would I find the other pieces of my sword?'

He pauses in thought, then leaps onto a nearby tree, using it to survey the surrounding area.

'Is that where I fought Baek Shen?'

Yi Shan starts jumping off different trees in the forest, moving towards the spot where he fought Baek Shen.

Step, step.

He lands near the spear handle that Baek Shen threw at him during their fight.

He looks around and finds another silhouette.

This one resembles a smiling woman, someone whose smile Baek Shen was deeply familiar with.

'Min Hua? What's she doing here?'

"Oi, Min-i, get out of he-"

Giggle.

Before he can finish his sentence, the smiling woman lets out a soft giggle and vanishes into thin air.

Yi Shan rubs his eyes and looks back at the spot where Min Hua was.

"Where'd she go? Am I having Spirit Ox meat withdrawal?"

Yi Shan curses the Baek Clan again for his troublesome week.

"Darn you stingy coots; you own half the Gyuran region. Can't you leave some charity for the rest of us?"

Yi Shan begins to move towards the spot where Min Hua stood.

He arrives at the spot and finds the same piece of his sword that was chipped off.

"Huh?"

He squats down to pick up the piece and starts to rise.

Swoosh.

Before he can fully rise, a wooden staff almost makes contact with his face.

He barely dodges the attack and uses the brief moment of respite to look at his assailant.

A tall, burly man with giant bulging veins on his bald forehead stands before him.

'Whoa, he's seen better days, right?'

The tall man swings his staff sideways towards Yi Shan.

He jumps up, lands on the edge of the wooden staff, and comments,

"You know, for a man so big, I expected a lot more than just random swings."

The tall man's veins bulge even more at Yi Shan's statement.

"Ragh!"

The tall man slams his staff onto the ground with incredible force.

"You do know that isn't going to work, right?"

"You have to treat your weapons with care, or else they'll break."

The tall man freezes as Yi Shan appears behind him, delivering those words.

"You're a much easier prey than Baek Meng or Baek Shen."

"Only one constellation, I suppose?"

The man becomes even more aggravated by Yi Shan's statement and begins swinging with increased force.

He thrusts his staff toward Yi Shan, but Yi Shan swiftly sidesteps the attack and counters by striking his chest with a punch infused with Gang Qi.

"Huh?"

He looks at the tall man, who seems unfazed by his punch.

The tall man strikes Yi Shan with his gigantic fist.

"Argh!"

Yi Shan is sent flying backward, but his short flight is abruptly halted when he crashes into a tree.

Yi Shan coughs up a mouthful of blood and looks at his opponent.

"All brawn and no brains, I see."

A smirk appears on Yi Shan's face as he prepares to fight the burly individual.

"Let's dance, shall we?"

Thousand Demon Blade (3)