consuming to differentiate between them. It seems that this process holds no significance!"Do you all think I look handsome when you stare at me like that" Xiangyue said with a smile. Since the situat...Chapter 272 Evolutionary Transformation 2
For Chen Xi, the difference between a year and ten years wasn't significant, so he didn't mind it and didn't think that this estimate would cause much trouble for Free-and-Easy.
"Damn it, ten years! How long is that" Free-and-Easy was feeling depressed.
"It won’t be that long; it will pass in the blink of an eye!" Chen Xi said casually.
"... For you maybe, but not for me. Am I supposed to go into seclusion here for ten years and come out later as a風雲人物 My plans might be put on hold!!" Free-and-Easy was feeling very depressed; with his advancement speed, he should already have reached the rank of Saint by then.
His training wouldn’t encounter any unexpected problems or bottlenecks. In terms of calculations, becoming a Martial Saint after ten years would be a certainty!
Chen Xi shook his head at this moment and said, "That’s not necessarily so; if you don't want to stay here, you can leave, and let Gluttonous remain here instead. No one will disturb her here, and she can absorb my demon power, allowing for a more perfect transformation."
"This is indeed an excellent choice, but..." Although this was the case, Free-and-Easy still felt some worry; after all, separating from Gluttonous would mean that he hadn't been apart from her in over ten years.
"Don’t worry about it. Once she completes her transformation, she will naturally seek you out. No matter how far away you are, she can sense your existence and vice versa!" Chen Xi said nonchalantly.
“That’s true, but…” Free-and-Easy still wasn't used to the idea of being apart from Gluttonous for so long.
"Don’t worry; I’ll take good care of her!" Chen Xi added.
"Alright then, let it be this way," after thinking about it, Free-and-Easy thought that this was a viable solution. However, he didn't know how long Gluttonous would need to transform for, and ten years seemed too long.
In his heart, he could feel that without Gluttonous, he would be somewhat lonely; though Gluttonous was a glutton who often caused trouble over food, he enjoyed her company. Sudden separation from this little glutton would definitely not sit right with him psychologically.
But regardless of how uncomfortable it might make him, they still had to part ways. Perhaps this was for the best; after separation, one could appreciate each other’s importance more and cherish each other even more.
To put it simply, as Chen Xi said, Gluttonous staying here would have no issues and many benefits. It was the best choice!
Under these circumstances, waiting around in this place wasn’t productive for Free-and-Easy; he should leave to continue his work of venturing into the江湖to help Chen Xi pay respects to Chen Shiru.
In this way, after several days of cultivation beside Gluttonous, expecting her to wake up any moment now but ultimately seeing her sleeping as usual, Free-and-Easy left with a smile and a shake of his head.
Following the road, he began moving slowly towards his next destination...
"Young man, how come you’re walking alone in this desolate area"
While Free-and-Easy walked absentmindedly, a merchant caravan passed by, and someone approached him with suspicion, as the situation was indeed suspicious.
"I’m traveling," Free-and-Easy replied casually without much interest.
"Why are you traveling alone" The person remained vigilant while sizing up Free-and-Easy from head to toe.
"What nonsense. Without companions, it’s just me. Your question is pointless," Free-and-Easy said in a bad mood; at this moment, he was feeling low due to his reluctance to part with Gluttonous.
“...” The person fell silent for a while and then asked: "Why not find a companion It’s dangerous for you to be alone here."
"What danger is there Can I really encounter bandits or kidnappers Wait, what are you trying to do by asking me all these questions Let me tell you—I have no money and my parents aren’t wealthy either. Robbing or kidnapping me would only result in one more mouth for you to feed!" Free-and-Easy jumped back, crossing his arms before him with a defensive stance as he looked at the person.
“…”
Crap, what’s happening here I was supposed to ask if he had any ulterior motives; this should be my question. But now he's preempted me.
"No, we’re a merchant group. We saw you walking alone and found it strange, so we asked about your situation," the person said helplessly.
“What’s strange about that Can’t a lone traveler walk in desolate areas Most roads are like this!” Free-and-Easy looked at the person with some disdain; he had encountered many solo travelers before.
"This..." The man was momentarily speechless. They had encountered many such situations before, but Xiao Yao was a bit special; he didn't have the dusty appearance of an ordinary traveler, and he was walking slowly on foot.
"Little Horse, come back! This young man is probably just passing through. Don't bother him," a voice from within the caravan called out for the person who had spoken to Xiao Yao to return.
"Yes, sir!" replied the man before returning to his group.
Xiao Yao ignored them and continued walking forward. This time, he sped up a bit; he was no longer sauntering along at a leisurely pace.
Even so, when he quickened his pace, the merchants' convoy was still faster than him and caught up with him rather quickly.
"Little brother, are you interested in traveling with us" The voice that had called for someone to return earlier now spoke again. Xiao Yao looked at this person: a middle-aged uncle with a beard.
There was only one road here and they were headed toward the same destination; they would be on the same path for quite some time, so this bearded uncle asked if Xiao Yao wanted to travel together.
Xiao Yao wasn't very familiar to him, but he felt that Xiao Yao wasn’t someone with ulterior motives. They had the habit of helping each other out when they shared a journey; it was something travelers did all the time.
"No thanks, I want to walk alone. Thank you for your kindness," Xiao Yao gently shook his head and politely declined their offer.
“Oh, then we won’t bother you. See you later!” said the bearded man.
"Until we meet again!" Xiao Yao replied, bowing slightly in response.
The caravan gradually distanced itself from him, and at this point, anyone could tell that Xiao Yao was just a passerby, albeit an odd one.
Little Horse also found the situation strange. He asked the bearded man, "Brother, why were you so polite to that kid" Even though helping others on the road was common, it wasn’t typical for him to invite someone he didn't know well.
"That young man is not ordinary. Although his aura is faint, I believe he has already reached General Rank. At this age and with such strength, he can’t be a simple person," said the bearded man.
Though Xiao Yao’s General Rank seemed ordinary, it was due to him being around prodigies who were often at Emperor or even King Rank. In reality, most of the continent's martial artists were still at the General Rank level, and reaching the King Rank marked one as a top-tier warrior.
For seasoned veterans like this bearded man, seeing young men with power above the General Rank was rare; these individuals had immense potential and would likely become King Rank warriors in the future. People like the bearded man valued such connections highly, even to the point of seeking them out.
The bearded man himself was just at late-stage General Rank, two stages away from reaching King Rank. He felt that he wouldn’t achieve King Rank in his lifetime and would likely peak as a high-rank General.
As for others, they were even weaker, some barely at Scholar Rank, representing the general state of martial artists on the continent. Xiao Yao encountered many powerful individuals because the environment was different—simpler put, Xiao Yao lived in a world apart from people like this bearded man.
Xiao Yao may have called himself an ordinary small servant with no special ambitions, but he had long been outside the realm of commoners and constantly associated with the top-tier figures on the continent. The Fang family was another such entity, which might be his fate to connect with.
Of course, this didn't stop him from entering the world of commoners or living among them; it just meant that he occasionally revealed himself as different. An example of this was now—Xiao Yao hadn’t hidden his aura because he felt being at General Rank was ordinary and saw no point in wasting energy on such things.
Moreover, since he practiced the Divine Farmer Scripture, even if someone found out about it, they would likely ignore it. For instance, had the bearded man known that Xiao Yao practiced this scripture, his intentions might have been different—though still seeking a connection, it would be for healing abilities rather than martial prowess.
But these things were unrelated to Xiao Yao; he believed any interaction with this bearded man was just a brief encounter. He continued walking at a steady pace through the wilderness.
In late afternoon, Xiao Yao arrived at a small canyon near a town where travelers could rest for the night. This place should theoretically be safer than previous locations, but due to its terrain, it often became a spot for ambushes and robberies.
Unfortunately, such an event had just occurred here, with robbers attacking Xiao Yao's former acquaintance—this bearded man’s group. This was the second time Xiao Yao encountered him, though this would only happen once from the bearded man’s perspective since he wouldn't see Xiao Yao again.
All of those involved were killed, not just the guards but also the merchants; each received a single fatal blow. Such precision suggested that these robbers weren’t ordinary bandits.
Nonetheless, this didn’t concern him directly—best to leave immediately!
Xiao Yao moved without stopping and quickly gathered information before moving on; dealing with such incidents was best left to the authorities. Staying might cause trouble for him (To be continued).tion to Xianyao’s activities. After all, his appearance wouldn’t be taken seriously, and they were concerned about the event and had already started taking actions to prevent any worries from coming t...