No sooner had he spoken than Qing Yan's grip suddenly emptied—Ben Coates flattened himself to the ground, transforming into a shadow and slipping away!
Startled, Qing Yan lunged to grab the shadow on the ground, but with a soft 'pop,' the shadow burst apart into a cloud of smoke, slipping right through his fingers!
The smoke split into dozens of wisps, skimming along the ground. The other young experts from Dragon Village shot into the air, each pursuing a wisp in a different direction. They scattered the smoke, but there was no trace of Ben Coates within.
Suddenly, Quinn Shepherd raised his hand and sent a sword-light flashing out. A spray of blood erupted—out of thin air, a leg appeared and crashed to the ground, bloodied and raw.
Quinn guided his sword with yuanqi, the blade gleaming as it slashed through the air, but it struck nothing but empty space.
More smoke spread out in all directions, filling streets large and small. From within the haze, Ben Coates' furious voice rang out: "Quinn, you and I are mortal enemies!"
This place was usually bustling, but now smoke filled every street, causing passersby to cry out in surprise.
The Dragon Village experts searched everywhere among the crowd, but Ben Coates was even harder to find amid the chaos.
Qing Yan's face turned from green to white—he was a Dragon God, yet Ben Coates had escaped right from under his hand. And Ben was a cripple, with one short deer leg and one normal leg, yet he still got away. It was truly humiliating.
Still, it wasn't entirely his fault. He hadn't been hostile at first—he'd just patted Ben Coates on the shoulder, never intending to restrain him. By the time Quinn Shepherd warned him, it was already too late to lock Ben down.
Ben Coates’s ability to escape is unmatched under heaven—even Quinn Shepherd admits he can’t compare. Even Aiden Starr would have to trap Quinn in a dead end to catch him, let alone try it with Ben Coates.
Quinn Shepherd saw the Dragon Village crowd looking a bit downcast and said, "Don't be discouraged—Ben Coates's escape skills are so good, even I can't match them. I've fought him several times at the same realm and could only chop off one of his legs. Now he's already a whole realm above me—a top expert in the Heaven-Man Realm. His skills have improved even further, and he can use escape techniques he couldn't before. It's even harder to catch him now. Managing to cut off another leg with your help is already a pretty impressive result."
"To have such escape skills at the Heaven-Man Realm—now that's truly something," the Dragon Village crowd marveled.
Still, most of them felt uneasy—Ben Coates was down to a single deer leg, yet he still escaped right out of their hands. His ability to run for his life was downright terrifying.
They’d left the village hoping to make a name for themselves, but their very first encounter outside was with a freak like Ben Coates—and they’d already hit a setback.
Lily Azure exclaimed excitedly, "On our first day out of the village, we run into someone this interesting—the world outside is even more exciting than I imagined!"
The other Dragon Village members weren’t nearly as enthusiastic as Lily Azure.
Quinn Shepherd noticed and smiled. "You all haven’t seen the outside world in ages. Your cultivation techniques are a bit outdated. Instead of rushing back, why not come with me to High-Emperor Heaven? Get some real training and see what today’s techniques look like."
The group agreed at once.
Qing Yan hesitated, then said, "Our elder told us not to get too close to you on this trip out of the village..."