Shen Wang’s spirit trembled and he instantly lost control of the Red Flame Sword.
Then, he saw the sword body on the ground already shattered, his pupils contracted: "Has the Zhenren finally made a move?"
In the middle of the broken sword, a slender Thunderbolt Longsword was inserted, releasing its domineering sword light.
"Shen Wang, that’s enough."
Profound Thunder Zhenren appeared amidst a flash of lightning, glaring at Shen Wang with a sinister look: "Don’t think that relying on some Gu poison you can kill them all, killing some trash is enough."
The ordinary bandits nearby, too scared to get close, felt particularly offended hearing the word "trash."
But none dared to make a sound.
"It’s indeed just about enough. Since the Zhenren has made a move, I must show some respects."
Shen Wang withdrew his gaze, regretting the loss of his flying sword, yet still smiling on the surface.
This time he killed more than two hundred bandits, accounting for about half of those left here, which was quite a success.
Losing a low-level flying sword was nothing; better ones would await him in the future.
"Shen Wang, you’ve been given more than a year, yet you still haven’t figured it out. Be prepared for the array to break and your death."
Profound Thunder Zhenren’s words were filled with killing intent, "I have already asked someone to contact an Array Grandmaster. By then, your array will surely be broken."
Shen Wang, who had not been happy for long, changed his expression upon hearing this.
An Array Grandmaster could indeed break the combined array he had set up; however, such existences were rare, even more so than Grandmasters of refining medicine or artifacts.
Could this guy really find one?
He remained calm, sneering: "Array Grandmasters are scarce and their status isn’t lower than a Golden Core Zhenren. Are you willing to share the spoils with someone else?"
For more than a year, there was only Profound Thunder Zhenren, one Golden Core Zhenren here, indicating the other party wanted to take his treasures alone, so why the sudden change of heart now?
"Hmph, naturally someone is willing to help for free."
Profound Thunder Zhenren sneered: "If you surrender now, there’s still time. I can spare you a small life, only crippling you but not killing others."
"I’ll wait until the Array Grandmaster you invited arrives."
Shen Wang was not scared. Who knew if Profound Thunder Zhenren was bluffing?
Profound Thunder Zhenren glanced at Shen Wang with a sinister look, and turned to point a finger.
An electric light hit Yun Conghui, accompanied by crackling sounds, swiftly assisting in destroying the Gu poison within him.
The latter’s body loosened, returning to normal.
"Thank you, Third Elder."
Yun Conghui hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
"Hmph, already a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and you still fall prey to such a kid? Have you lived all these years in vain?"
In a foul mood, Profound Thunder Zhenren launched into a string of scolding.
Yun Conghui could only sheepishly endure these insults, not daring to retort.
After all, in terms of strength, status, and age, Profound Thunder Zhenren was above him.
This time it really was his carelessness, to have been poisoned so easily, deserving of the scolding.
Profound Thunder Zhenren continued to help Ge Changzhuang expel the poison. As for Gong Yu, he was just a dog he kept, naturally of less importance than his own people, and was dealt with last.
Seeing such preferential treatment, Shen Wang glanced at Li Yuanning and turned to leave.
Li Yuanning currently seemed to be secretly dealing with Gong Yu and others, so he felt temporarily at ease.
It’s just this Array Grandmaster that Profound Thunder Zhenren mentioned—who knows if it’s true or false?
If it’s true, then the pressure following this will be huge.
The hierarchy in the side paths is similar to the martial cultivation system, but with differences across various professions.
For example, a Grandmaster Level in martial arts corresponds to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
But in various professions, it can match a Golden Core Zhenren, even if their cultivation hasn’t reached Golden Core, their status is no less.
The reason is primarily due to the high difficulty of cultivating in the side paths, where training in various professions takes too much time, resulting in very few professional cultivators.
As rarity increases, so does the status of such individuals.
Another reason is that specialized Alchemists and Artifact Refiners can produce items above their level, with lower success rates.
After all, the threshold for refining various magical artifacts is not as uniquely restricted as the cultivation threshold.
"If there’s really an Array Grandmaster, I might have to consider another method of escape."
Shen Wang thought with a headache, preferring to believe it exists rather than not.
In this world, whether it’s medicinal materials, elixirs, talismans, or magical artifacts, they are divided into four major tiers: Treasure, Magic, Spirit, and Immortal.
Each tier is further divided into four levels: low, mid, advanced, and top level.
With cultivation resources divided in this manner, so are the levels of various professions in the side paths.
The Treasure tier is too low, purely entry-level, and corresponds only to Master and Master Level in professions.
Of course, due to the potential for surpassing levels, some profession limits are often higher than the corresponding level by one.
Take the Dao of Talismans, for example; a Talisman Master can craft Treasure tier talismans, comparable to a Qi Cultivation Cultivator.
Master Level Talisman Masters, Alchemists, and Artifact Refiners can create low-level Magic tier items, and thus a Grand Talisman Master can be comparable to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
Yet in martial arts, the Foundation Establishment realm is only comparable to a Grandmaster.
Further, the Magic tier is the common tier in today’s cultivation realm.
Various magical artifacts and treasures are in this tier.
In various professions, the four levels of the Magic tier correspond to Grandmaster, Grandmaster, King Level, and Emperor Level, just like in martial arts.
As for the Spirit tier, it’s rare in this world, and the Immortal tier is but a legend.
So, even though an Array Grandmaster sounds on par with a Martial Arts Grandmaster, its real status can rival Profound Thunder Zhenren.
They also have the ability to break through high-level arrays.
The combined array he set up cannot withstand such an existence.
Even though he has now advanced his array skills to Grandmaster Level, it’s still not enough.
He was not confident in being able to hold it off.
"It’s troublesome. My combined array at most barely matches a high-level array, with no confidence in stopping an Array Grandmaster’s array breaking."
"What should I do then..."
Shen Wang couldn’t think of an effective countermeasure for the moment; even if he upgraded his array skills to Grandmaster Level, facing an Array Grandmaster, especially with the assistance of Profound Thunder Zhenren and others, with their sole focus on array breaking, he couldn’t stand alone.
After all, array breaking depends on skill rather than brute force, completely different from the way of using violence to wear down the array over the year.
"Husband, is there something on your mind?"
Lan Kui saw Shen Wang’s troubled face and inquired with concern.
"Sigh, the ones besieging us might invite an Array Grandmaster; had I known, I wouldn’t have pushed too hard."
Shen Wang regretted rashly using the Black Poison.
Perhaps, having killed too many at once, he forced Profound Thunder Zhenren to change plans, willing to share spoils to invite an Array Grandmaster to break the array.
"Ah, what should we do?"
Lan Kui’s face changed; she knew that an Array Grandmaster was formidable, especially in countering the array that has been protecting them.
"From now on, focus on your cultivation and enhance your strength. If something unforeseen happens, it’ll be up to you to run away."
Shen Wang advised seriously, as Lan Kui was a Foundation Establishment Great Demon, second in strength only to him here.
When it’s time to escape, he could only block the enemies while Lan Kui leads the others to flee.