Exiled Because I Was Too Strong

Sima Ming thought for a moment, then nodded. “That works. It’s the most reasonable arrangement.”

With the approval of the two highest-ranking commanders, the others naturally had nothing to say.

Still, everyone looked at Chen Guan with an indescribably strange expression.

What was this supposed to be? Was he being banished simply because he was too strong?

“Do you have any objections?” Li Yan asked Chen Guan at last.

“None. I’ll follow the arrangements.”

Chen Guan answered without hesitation.

He was more than happy with this. If he stayed with the main force, he would have to worry about holding back and attracting too much attention. Besides, judging by Li Yan’s attitude, everyone on this side was weak. Acting alone meant he could level up for free by fighting monsters. Why wouldn’t he agree?

“Good.”

Li Yan nodded in satisfaction. He turned to Sima Ming and said, “Dean, I’ll leave them to you. Stay safe.”

“Don’t worry.”

After the brief handover, Li Yan jerked his head toward Chen Guan.

“Let’s go.”

With that, he turned and strode deeper into the floating island, heading in the opposite direction from the main force, toward the region shrouded in dense purple mist.

Chen Guan waved to An Changqing and the others in farewell, then immediately followed Li Yan.

The two figures—one tall and one small—soon vanished from everyone’s sight.

Chen Guan walked three paces behind Li Yan, neither too close nor too far.

His former teacher, now a general, walked on in silence. His mountain-like back alone exerted an intangible pressure.

The feeling made Chen Guan somewhat uncomfortable. Li Yan’s current strength was probably greater than that of the principal, Ren Ping.

After another ten minutes or so, the terrain suddenly opened up.

A massive cliff appeared before them. Beneath it lay a bottomless purple abyss, from which an unknown current of air surged upward, wailing like the cries of ghosts.

Across the cliff stood an even larger floating island. Strange crystal spires rose from its surface, radiating an ominous red glow.

Connecting the two islands was a shattered stone bridge made up of countless floating rocks of various sizes.

The rocks were separated by considerable distances. Even the narrowest gap was seven or eight meters wide, while the widest stretched for dozens of meters. They also drifted up and down along slow, irregular trajectories.

“This is Zone Two.”

Li Yan stopped at the edge of the cliff, his gaze sweeping over the enormous floating rocks.

“What do you mean, Teacher?”

Chen Guan followed his gaze.

“Most of the void beasts here are adults. They don’t travel in groups. Each one is an independent apex predator.” Li Yan pointed toward the opposite island. “Our goal is to cross this area and reach the signal tower over there.”

“Something called a Void Stalker lurks on those rocks.”

“They can briefly move between reality and the void, making physical attacks largely ineffective. They’re born assassins.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the air above a floating boulder about the size of a basketball court warped without warning.

A mantis-like creature more than three meters long materialized out of thin air. Its entire body was pitch-black, as though formed from shadows. It had no eyes, only a smooth, curved head. Its two forelimbs were bone blades gleaming with cold light, and purple patterns covered its slender body.

The instant it appeared, it locked onto Chen Guan and Li Yan.

“Heh heh, this thing is kind of interesting. It looks like a low-budget version of a Phase Spider.”

Baal’s voice sounded in Chen Guan’s mind.

Chen Guan’s eyes lit up.

“Woof.”

Baobao reacted even faster. It sensed the threat from deep within its bloodline and let out a low warning growl. Purple arcs of electricity crackled through its fur as it prepared to pounce and kill.

The Void Stalker seemed to sense Baobao’s hostility. It let out a silent hiss, its body blurring once more before vanishing from the spot.

The next second, it appeared behind Baobao. Its bone blades carved a black afterimage through the air as they slashed toward the back of Baobao’s neck.

But Baobao reacted even faster. It sensed the instant its opponent disappeared, and with an agile twist of its body, it dodged the fatal strike. At the same time, it opened its jaws and fired a concentrated beam of purple lightning.

Sizzle.

The lightning pierced the afterimage the Void Stalker had left behind and struck the distant rock wall, leaving a charred crater.

The Void Stalker had already merged with the void once more and vanished without a trace.

“It’s useless.”

Li Yan stood off to the side with his arms folded, showing no intention of intervening.

“It can remain in the material plane for less than a second. No matter how fast you are or how powerful your attacks are, they’re worthless if you can’t hit it.”

Baobao grew agitated. It could sense where its enemy was, but its opponent was as slippery as an eel, leaving Baobao with the helpless sensation of swiping its claws through water.

Although it could also prevent the Void Stalker from hitting it, the stalemate—neither side able to target the other—made it restless.

“Calm down.”

Chen Guan soothed Baobao, gently rubbing its head.

He raised his head and looked at the floating rocks drifting up and down. Then he glanced toward the spot where the Void Stalker had disappeared.

“Brute force won’t work.”

Chen Guan muttered to himself.

He lifted his eyes and swept his gaze across the floating rocks. His mental power spread silently, like invisible ripples.

Physical attacks couldn’t match the speed at which it moved through the void.

But what about the mind?

“Baal, you said it’s a low-budget version of a Phase Spider. Does it have the same weakness?” Chen Guan asked inwardly.

“Heh heh. More or less. Creatures that rely on innate talent to travel between dimensions can hide their bodies, but not their minds.”

Baal was utterly unconcerned. An opponent of this level posed no difficulty for Chen Guan, and Baal couldn’t even be bothered to watch.

Chen Guan had a plan.

This had also been recorded when he recruited Baobao.

He closed his eyes. A fluctuation imperceptible to ordinary people spread outward from Chen Guan like a drop of water falling into a still lake.

Baobao sensed something and stopped growling. Every muscle in its body tensed, the purple arcs of electricity gathering in its fur without being released. Its golden, slit-pupiled eyes stared fixedly at every inch of space ahead, waiting for its master’s signal.

Time passed second by second.

The Void Stalker was extremely patient. It lurked in the cracks between spaces, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

From its perspective, the two humans had stopped where they were. The taller one stood like an immovable mountain, while the smaller one had actually closed his eyes, as though he had given up resisting.

A perfect opportunity.

Its target was the one who had closed his eyes—the prey that appeared most vulnerable.

Silently, the air twisted.

A black shadow condensed out of thin air less than a meter behind Chen Guan.

Two bone blades gleaming with cold light descended toward the back of Chen Guan’s neck like the scythes of Death, without stirring even the slightest breeze.

Li Yan’s eyes suddenly sharpened. Lightning flashed across his heavily muscled arm, but he forcibly held himself back.

He trusted Chen Guan.

At the instant the bone blades were about to touch Chen Guan’s skin—

“Now.”

Chen Guan’s voice exploded in Baobao’s mind.

Almost simultaneously, the Void Stalker’s solidified body suddenly froze.

In its world, the prey had not been caught off guard. Instead, the moment it appeared, he had turned around, a strange smile spreading across his face.

In the next instant, tens of thousands of Chen Guans emerged from every direction. Each wore the same smile, reaching out toward it.

An endless illusion swallowed the Void Stalker within one one-hundredth of a second of its entry into reality.

Its mind was dragged into the abyss for a brief moment.