Chapter Sixty-Five: Second Wave of Assistance—I'm Rooting for You

The Firemouse leader unleashed a breath of flame that swelled with the wind; by the time it met the sword shadow, it had transformed into a sea of fire, completely engulfing it.

“Trying to block my attack with flames? Dream on!”

“Swift!”

Ling Xiao continued to form hand seals, shouting forcefully. The sword shadow swallowed by the flames suddenly quivered, stretched and narrowed in an instant, turning into an arrow that easily pierced through the sea of fire.

Seeing this, the fifth-tier Firemouse leader spewed another ball of flame, attempting to slow the arrow. But Ling Xiao gave it no chance; with a twist of his seal, the arrow curved mid-air, bypassed the fireball, and shot straight down onto the Firemouse’s head.

The moment the arrow touched it, it plunged entirely into its sea of consciousness, shattering it completely.

However, as a fifth-tier beast, the destruction of its sea of consciousness did not bring instant death. It let out a shrill “chee-chee-chee,” and immediately, hundreds of lesser Firemice swarmed over its body, while it endured the soul-rending pain, furiously digging into the ground with its sharp forepaws, trying to escape.

“Still trying to run?”

Failing to finish his opponent in a single move left Ling Xiao somewhat embarrassed. With Wang Li watching nearby, and having failed to complete his task cleanly, he felt a sting of humiliation.

Thus, he held nothing back, finally throwing out the “Spirit-Shattering Arrow” he had been reluctant to use.

The difference in strength between the Firemouse and an Earthhowler was vast, and the Spirit-Shattering Arrow, which could easily pierce the defense of a fourth-tier Earthhowler, now locked onto the fifth-tier Firemouse leader and tore through the lesser Firemice shielding it, piercing straight through its skull.

With the death of the fifth-tier Firemouse leader, the Firemouse horde fell into chaos, surging toward the spot where their leader had fallen.

Among Firemice, there was only one way to advance in rank—devouring a higher-ranked kin.

This was what made Firemice so troublesome. Previously, in their battles with the Firemouse horde, Ling Xiao and his group had not disposed of the corpses promptly, so the more they killed, the stronger the horde became as the Firemice fed on their fallen.

Thus, if one wished to weaken the horde, preventing them from consuming the corpses of their kin was an effective method.

The fourth-tier Firemouse slain by Wang Li had already been devoured, and now the fifth-tier leader killed by Ling Xiao would not be spared the same fate.

Sensing the leader’s breath vanish, Ling Xiao turned to Wang Li, excitement in his voice. “Steward Wang, where do we go next?”

Wang Li did not answer. Instead, he unleashed his full power, sending over a dozen Furious Vajra Palms at the body of the Firemouse leader, reducing it and more than a thousand lesser Firemice to ash.

Their next task was to clear out the Firemouse horde, and Wang Li was determined to give them no chance to birth another fifth-tier leader.

Having finished, Wang Li did not lead Ling Xiao back. Instead, he handed him a pill to restore spiritual energy and continued flying with him over Task Zone Sixty-Two.

Taking down the fifth-tier leader had only disrupted the command structure of the Firemouse horde; to truly exterminate them, they needed to find the other core—the Firemouse Queen.

The queen herself was weak, nearly powerless in combat, but her fertility was astonishing. In a single day and night, she could birth tens of thousands of Firemouse pups, each born a first-tier beast, endlessly replenishing the horde.

With such a queen present, it seemed impossible to kill the Firemice faster than they multiplied.

Moreover, slaying the Firemouse Queen was an individual task. The reward might not be as generous as killing the leader alone, but it was still a top-grade Minor Breakthrough Pill—a treasure that would help Ling Xiao achieve his next cultivation stage.

The stronger Ling Xiao became, the more effective Wang Li’s support would be.

Once again, Wang Li enlisted Lord Sheng’s help to pinpoint the queen’s location.

She was nestled in a lair deep within a dense forest. However, Wang Li could not simply take Ling Xiao straight to her den—Ling Xiao was not in good condition and needed time to recover.

After about half an hour, the Firemouse horde on the ground had calmed down, retreating under the direction of the fourth-tier Firemice. Without a new leader, they would not attack again for the time being.

Seeing that Ling Xiao had mostly recovered, Wang Li pointed toward the queen’s location. “The Firemouse Queen is over there. I’ll lend you the Earthspirit Armor—go and slay her!”

“What level is the Firemouse Queen?” This time, Ling Xiao did not refuse outright, but asked for more details.

Wang Li briefly explained everything he knew about Firemice and the mission details.

“Why is Steward Wang taking such care of a disciple like me?” Ling Xiao asked, puzzled.

He was cautious by nature. He and Wang Li were not related, yet Wang Li had brought him out and was giving him opportunities for personal missions. Having received one benefit already, he was being offered another. Ling Xiao could not help but question Wang Li’s motives.

Sensing Ling Xiao’s doubts, Wang Li flew to his side, patted his shoulder, and smiled kindly. “Young man, don’t overthink it. When it’s time to charge forward, do so with vigor. I see great potential in you.”

“You stood up for your fellow disciples in need—I see your fine character. In the outer sect, you focus on cultivation and are not swayed by worldly things; these qualities are truly rare. I believe in your future.”

“I have long since set aside desires and ambitions. As I once again experience the world, I ask for little—only a clear conscience. You are a fine seedling for cultivation, just too young to understand the power of time. You’ve wasted too much of it. I do not wish to see such promise squandered, so I decided to lend a hand.”

Wang Li struck the pose of a seasoned elder, his words full of world-weariness, and his “I believe in you” sounded almost insincere.

Yet, to Ling Xiao, it felt entirely reasonable.

He had long noticed that his fate differed from others. Since beginning his cultivation, opportunity had followed him. Some had been even more inexplicable than the chance Wang Li now offered, but all had proven harmless in the end, soothing much of his suspicion.

What could a great elder like Wang Li possibly want from him?

With this realization, Ling Xiao bowed. “Thank you, Steward Wang, for your care. It was I who was overcautious.”

“Haha, go now. This is your fortune, I am merely acting with the flow,” Wang Li replied, fully dispelling Ling Xiao’s doubts. Without further hesitation, Ling Xiao became a blur and darted into the dense forest.

Though he no longer suspected Wang Li’s intentions, Ling Xiao remained cautious. He did not land, nor did he allow himself to be surrounded by Firemice.

After confirming the Firemouse Queen’s aura, he attacked immediately, unleashing not only a spiritual assault but also throwing out over a dozen powerful explosive talismans.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosive energy cleared the area around the queen, and the sword shadow pierced the ground unhindered, striking the queen directly.

The queen never even sensed the danger before dying instantly.

With both the leader and the queen gone, the Firemouse horde was thrown into utter chaos, scurrying in all directions without restraint.

But this no longer concerned Wang Li and Ling Xiao, so long as the horde did not attack them.

The two returned to the newly rising city and arrived at the Destiny Roll.

Two beams of light flashed, and a top-grade Minor Breakthrough Pill and a set of lower-grade Profound Armor appeared in Ling Xiao’s hands.