In the chaos, three Law Enforcers happened to chop at vital spots, absorbing the Killing Intent the soldiers turned into after vanishing.
Their eyes instantly brightened. It felt as if something was growing in their hearts. Their previous exhaustion vanished completely, and they even unconsciously straightened their backs. A heroic spirit was added between their brows.
"What are you still standing there for? Come out!" Yan Xicai spoke again.
The crowd immediately walked out obediently.
"After so long, we've only absorbed three streams of Killing Intent... At this rate, when will we ever attract the gaze of the Way of the Soldier God?" Yan Xicai spoke with displeasure.
"Things like the gaze of a Divine Path vary from person to person." Pu Wen explained timely from the side. "Some people are innately suited for the Way of the Soldier God. Even if they only kill one person, they can attract the Divine Path. Some people aren't suited for it, and even if they gather dozens of streams of Killing Intent, they might not necessarily attract it..."
"I know, I know." Yan Xicai waved his hand. "That's why I invited you here... If dozens of streams aren't enough, then we'll absorb a hundred! Two hundred! I refuse to believe it. Is my, Yan Xicai's, destiny really that lacking with the Way of the Soldier God?"
After saying that, he pointed at the three Law Enforcers who had absorbed Killing Intent.
"Hurry and use your skill to transfer their Killing Intent to me."
"...Alright, then let's first go find a place with more Slaughter Projections, and then slowly..."
Thud——!
Before Yan Xicai's voice could fade, the earth beneath their feet suddenly trembled!
Everyone blanked. They saw the clouds dissipate, and a black swimming snake extended from the hilt, plummeting straight towards a place not far away...
Seeing this scene, Yan Xicai's eyes widened in shock.
"The Way of the Soldier God? How long has it been since we entered, and someone is already about to step onto the Way of the Soldier God?!"
"This shouldn't be... Is there actually such a genius among the Law Enforcers this time?" Pu Wen said thoughtfully. "Could it be Lu Xuanming?"
"Let's go. Let's go over and take a look." Yan Xicai immediately spoke.
"We can't afford to offend Lu Xuanming. But if it's someone else... then it's a different story."
The crowd set off hurriedly, rushing toward the place where that Divine Path had descended.
...
"Number 8, someone has already attracted the Divine Path."
Seeing the scene in the distance, a Fire-Stealer immediately spoke.
"I saw it." Number 8's gaze traveled all the way up along that black ribbon, finally landing on the surface of the dark red gem on the hilt. "Is that the Dao Foundation of the Martial God Path...?"
"The Dao Foundation is on the hilt? Then how are we supposed to steal it? Climb up?"
"We can't." Number 8 shook his head. "The place we're in is only the outermost and smallest region of the Ancient Vault of the Military Path. It's precisely because of its simple harmlessness that it was chosen as the trial grounds for the Aurora Domain... But the closer to that sword, the more dangerous the regions inside become.
It's said that in the depths of the Ancient Vault of the Military Path, there are several extremely ancient and powerful existences... Let alone us, even if a Thief Saint came, they couldn't possibly charge to the vicinity of that sword."
"Then how do we steal the Dao Foundation?"
"We can't touch the Dao Foundation, but we can wait for the Dao Foundation to come out and touch us."
Number 8 raised his hand, pointing at that black ribbon extending from the Dao Foundation. "That is our medium for touching it, and also the only opportunity to steal the Dao Foundation..."
"If we want to steal the Dao Foundation, we first have to draw the Way of the Soldier God over...? So we also have to gather Killing Intent and attract the Dao Foundation's gaze just like those Law Enforcers?"
"That's the most secure method."
While speaking, the crowd arrived before a larger ravine.
In the center of the ravine, over fifty armored soldiers were gathered, lined up and facing forward with chilling Killing Intent.
The seven Fire-Stealers stood firm in front of the ravine, exchanged glances, and nodded slightly.
The next moment, they charged into the ravine simultaneously!
...
Ten-Man Ravine.
The black ribbon extended straight to the space above Chen Ling. An aura of stern majesty abruptly descended.
"...The Way of the Soldier God?" Chen Ling remembered. When he had attracted the gaze of the Way of the Soldier God in the estate back then, it seemed something like this had also appeared.
However, the difference was that the ribbon back then was thicker and more solid, like a flight of stairs extending down from the heavens... But the one before his eyes was extending from the gem on the hilt of that black giant sword.
"This attracted the Way of the Soldier God?" Chen Ling spoke in astonishment. "It's that simple?"
Didn't they say that even after entering the Ancient Vault of the Military Path, gaining the approval of the Way of the Soldier God was extremely difficult?
Didn't they say that every term, only less than one-tenth could step onto the Way of the Soldier God?
Chen Ling was a bit dumbfounded. After all, he had just randomly picked a ten-man ravine and casually slaughtered them all... He absolutely never expected to attract the Way of the Soldier God so easily. Less than an hour had passed since he entered the Ancient Vault.
Was this Way of the Soldier God... really this immodest?
Why was it that every time he casually teased it, it came huffing and puffing over?
"So, that's the Dao Foundation of the Martial God Path?" Chen Ling's gaze landed on the source of this black ribbon, the gem inlaid in the hilt. He tried reaching out his hand, wanting to touch that gem through the Way of the Soldier God itself.
But before his fingertip could touch the black ribbon, the latter shuddered violently!
Then, as if it had seen something terrifying, it rapidly retreated backward... Chen Ling stretched out a hand, but only grabbed empty air.
Chen Ling: ...
He turned his head to look at the void behind him. Pairs of scarlet eyes gradually faded. The Oppressive Aura of "The Audience" had directly scared away the Way of the Soldier God, not giving him a chance to touch it at all.
As expected, even after entering the Ancient Vault of the Military Path, the outcome was still the same.
"The Divine Path runs the moment it sees me... This is troublesome."
Chen Ling's brows furrowed deeply.
If he couldn't even touch the Divine Path, how was he supposed to steal the Dao Foundation?
At this rate, perhaps he could only go rob that group of Fire-Stealers... It wasn't very realistic for him to solo kill six Fire-Stealers by himself. He still had to borrow a knife to kill them. But right now, the Law Enforcers and Fire-Stealers were minding their own business. How could he speed up the progress and make them fight each other again?
Just as Chen Ling was pondering, a black shadow suddenly fell from the retreating Way of the Soldier God. It plummeted through the dim expanse of the sky and landed precisely in front of Chen Ling.
Thud——
Chen Ling was attracted by the muffled sound. He saw a blood-stained Token lying quietly on the ground.
He shot a puzzled look at the Divine Path retreating back into the Dao Foundation, then stepped forward, picked up that Token, and examined it carefully in his hand.
This was a Token with a very historic feel. It felt cold to the touch, seemingly made of some metal material. Through the dark, heavy bloodstains, he could barely make out two characters underneath... They weren't the simplified characters Chen Ling was familiar with, but rather looked like Small Seal Script.
Chen Ling couldn't read Small Seal Script, but judging from the outline, the first character looked very much like the character "Bai" (White).
Bai?
Chen Ling immediately thought of the Thief Saint Bai Ye mentioned by Number 8 while on the train... But no matter how he looked at it, the second character didn't look like "Ye". Moreover, this Token possessed a considerable sense of history; it definitely wasn't a product of modern times.
Chen Ling stared carefully at that mysterious second character, drawing and writing on the ground for a long time, and then somewhat hesitantly sketched out another simplified character that looked extremely similar to it...
On the grayish-white earth, the two characters pieced together, forming a name that made Chen Ling's heart tremble——
【Bai Qi】.