Chapter 1396 The Misty South Shadow

"Ha-ha, how can I refuse a beauty like you when you've already said that? If I refuse you, it will be
inhumane,"

Ricky responded to Claire with a charming smile.

After that, Lloyd led Ricky, Mordechai, Claire, and the others to the Five-element Sect.

The battle in the Passage World was far from being the last battle between devils and creatures from
the continent. But they were fairly confident that there would be no large-scale battles in the near
future.

For now, all Ricky had to do was cultivate and focus on growing stronger. That meant he wouldn't
return to the Passage World for now.

Instead, he would embark on a new journey to the inner region after he returned to the Five-element
Sect. His first stop would be the Misty South Palace, as it would pave the way for him to rise to the top.
He was already counting the days when he would get to meet the talented geniuses of the ancient
tribes and top forces.

As for Lloyd, he had become a saint at the middle stage and gained two thirds of the blessing power,
so it would probably take him about half a month to get to the Five-element Sect from the Third Sheol
City. After all, the central region stood between them.

And since Ricky had already become one of the Misty South Palace's core disciples, he figured that no
saint or force would dare to attack him in secret anymore. That meant he could let his guard down,
even just a little.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated those forces' killing intent and their greed for Paul's inheritance.



When his group reached a remote place at the junction of the central region and the outer region,
nearly ten figures stopped them in their tracks.

Their auras revealed they were all saints.

And they all looked familiar, too! Some of them were from the Phoenix tribe, and some from the Nether
Phoenix tribe, while some even looked to be from the Heavenly Black Winged Snake tribe. There were
also some others they could vaguely identify, but they all had a single goal in mind—Paul's inheritance.

Ricky's face darkened when he saw these saints. How stubborn were these people? They wouldn't
give up, even though he had become one of the Misty South Palace's core disciples.

"What do you want from us?"

Lloyd asked them curtly.

However, none of the saints paid him any attention. Even though Lloyd was stronger than some of
them, these people still thought he was beneath them, simply because of the powerful forces behind
them. The Five-element Sect was nothing compared to their influential groups.

In fact, they didn't think highly of any saint from the outer region.

"Well, well, well, Ricky, it looks like you expected us to back off just because the Misty South Palace
took you in as their core disciple. What can I say? You are too naive! Now, if you don't want to get hurt,
just hand over Paul's inheritance to us."

The Phoenix tribe's saint was the first to speak up, and he smirked at Ricky as if his victory had been
assured.

"I think the forces behind you are still afraid of the Misty South Palace. Otherwise, they wouldn't have
sent losers like you,"



Ricky replied coldly.

He also turned to Lloyd and asked internally, "Sir, can you oppose the power of their sealing space?"

"Sure thing. They don't have any medium saints with them, so it would be easy for me,"

Lloyd immediately replied.

"This should be easy,"

Ricky muttered to himself confidently.

When the saints heard his words, their faces darkened with anger.

After all, Ricky had hit the nail on the head. They were indeed the weakest saints in their forces, and
that was why they ended up with tasks that other members didn't want to do.

In this situation, their forces weren't sure if the Misty South Palace would send powerful warriors to
protect Ricky, so they were the ones assigned to come after him. They would receive praise if they
succeeded, but if they failed and died, their forces wouldn't suffer a substantial loss.

At worst, their death would upset their relatives. Their forces' senior leaders would be more
preoccupied with the failed mission rather than the loss of their lives. After all, the higher-ups sent them
to this mission precisely because they were dispensable.

"Oh, my! Did I hit the nail on the head? Judging from your expressions, I totally did! Ha-ha!"

Ricky mocked them even harder.

"Humph! You talk too much!"



A saint of the Heavenly Black Winged Snake tribe stepped forward and aimed a deadly glare in Ricky's
direction. "Perhaps you're right, but you are no different from us. Judging from your companions'
strengths, the Misty South Palace didn't send anyone to protect you.

That's too bad because you are going to die right here, right now."

The words hardly fell from his lips before several saints attacked at the same time.

Ricky immediately prepared to bring his companions into the Massacring Zone.

But before he could do so, a more powerful force suppressed the entire area they were in. A solemn
voice sounded from the shadows. "No one has ever dared to attack a core disciple of the Misty South
Palace so blatantly."

Then, a figure emerged from the darkness.

This person donned a black robe, and a black mask obscured his face.

"It's the Misty South Shadow!"

All the saints recognized the man in an instant as fear clutched at their hearts with sharp claws. They
could only stare in disbelief.

"Since you didn't take the words of the Misty South Palace seriously, you will pay with your lives," the
man in black coldly declared.

Then, between one blink and the next, he moved.

Ricky and the others saw countless figures that looked like the black-clad man's shadows. They had
come from the void and passed over the opposing saints in a wave. Finally, only the man remained,
hovering over the sky like an eclipse.



The surrounding saints had disappeared, and all that was left of them was some kind of bloody mist.
The metallic smell of blood lingered thickly in the air.

It took the black-clad man a single moment to demolish the group of saints!

"Whoa! No way!"

Ricky and the others could only gape in shock.

The man had slaughtered all ten saints in a single attack. Although they were only saints, they were at
the Sage Level and among the strongest group of creatures on the continent. But they died even
before they knew what had happened.

At this moment, Ricky understood why those saints were terrified when they spotted the man in black.

'That man must be a great saint or even a demi-spiritual potentate, '

Ricky thought to himself seriously.

"You are safe now. But don't let your guard down because the danger is never far behind,"

the black-clad man reminded Ricky before he disappeared.

"I knew Otis would send someone powerful to protect you, but I didn't think he would actually send the
Misty South Shadow. He must take your safety seriously because he sees you as the next lord of the
Misty South Palace,"

the Dragon Intent Grass murmured thoughtfully.

"And with the appearance of the Misty South Shadow, those forces will never dare to send saints to
hunt you down again, not unless they want to start an all-out war against the Misty South Palace."



"That's the Misty South Shadow!"

Lloyd gasped in disbelief as well. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Elder Lloyd, what is the Misty South Shadow? Is it a person or a force?"

Ricky asked out of ignorance and curiosity.

"The Misty South Shadow isn't one person but a force under the command of the Misty South Palace's
lord. They have the strongest warriors in the Misty South Palace," explained Lloyd with much passion.

"Sir, can you tell us more about this? We have not heard of this Misty South Shadow at all,"

Mordechai chimed in at this moment.

"The Misty South Palace has a total of seven palaces. Once the lord of the Misty South Palace is
replaced, his confidants and the masters of the seven palaces, all have to be replaced as well,"

Lloyd added in detail.

"This process is done to give space for the new generation to grow."

"Indeed. That would motivate new cultivators to bloom and flourish,"

Claire concurred.

"Those who quit from their posts choose to live in seclusion. They move in the shadows, protecting the
Misty South Palace and the continent.

As time went by, they garnered a name for themselves and were thus called the Misty South Shadow."


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