A huge boom echoed out as the rock shattered. As Bai Xiaochun waved the shrapnel aside, cold air came rushing in. The fire danced, its flickering light revealing a tall, sturdily built man standing outside.

He was muscular, with icy eyes, and a long spear in hand. He was in the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and seemed to be even stronger than Chen Yue had been.

“The crown prince was dead on,” he said. “With rain like this and injuries like yours, you couldn’t handle the cold, and were forced to find a place like this to hide. I had to search over a hundred mountains before I found you, but here you are.”

Even as the words were still leaving the man’s mouth, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes blazed with ferocity as he leaped into action. Although the burly man seemed like the impulsive type, he was actually quite cautious. Instead of charging into the cave to fight, he actually fell back.

In the blink of an eye, Bai Xiaochun was out of the cave and in the pouring rain.

Clearly, the burly man didn’t intend to actually fight, and was focused completely on defense. That caused Bai Xiaochun’s heart...