With half a game of chess, I vanquish all demons!

Zhou Quan, what's he doing here?

At the entrance of Zhaoqian Village, Zhao Yao raised an eyebrow, surprised, as he looked at the man who had suddenly appeared there.

Wearing a crimson robe and a cloud-patterned crown, with a cold and aloof demeanor, this man was none other than Zhou Quan.

"Zhao Yao, hand over your identity jade token, and I'll pretend nothing happened."

Zhou Quan's eyes were cold, and his tone was like a command.

He followed the jade tablet to the small map and chased it all the way to the entrance of Zhaoqian Village, all to retrieve the Heavenly Dao Division jade tablet that did not belong to Zhao Yao.

This is a huge profit!

Zhao Yao frowned as he was stared at intently, and took a step back.

He was being watched by Princess Yunchi's two guards, and now was not a good time to start a conflict with anyone.

Zhou Quan was an arrogant fellow, and there was no point in arguing with him.

The only correct choice was to temporarily escape.

Thinking this, he took two steps back, but before he could actually run away, the figures of two princess guards appeared behind him.

With long red hair, fiery red eyes, a bare upper body, and a long sword hanging at his waist, he was the demigod warrior Yin Bingtie.

With short, bluish-green hair, square green eyes, and holding a life-sized wooden staff, he is Jin Feng, the Bronze Warrior.

Zhao Yao turned his head, saw them, stopped in his tracks, and a thought struck him.

He then looked at Zhou Quan and said, feigning confusion:

"You must have made a mistake. What Heavenly Dao Jade Token? I don't understand what you're talking about."

Zhou Quan's gaze swept over the two strongmen before returning to Zhao Yao, and he snorted coldly:

"Hmph, don't try to play dirty with me. You know what I'm talking about."

Just because they're around doesn't mean you can act with impunity.

I can tell you clearly that what I want, I will take today.

"I let you off the hook last time, and you didn't even appreciate it. This time, I'm not letting you get away with it!"

You let me off the hook last time? Are you mistaken about something?

Zhao Yao couldn't help but laugh in anger at Zhou Quan's words.

He recalled the scene from the last time he grabbed Zhou Quan by the head and threw him out of the desolate mountain, and felt that this person was truly arrogant and narcissistic beyond redemption.

"There's something wrong with your head, I can't explain it to you."

I can also tell you plainly that whatever you want, you will not get it today.

Zhao Yao uttered harsh words, but instead took a step back, retreating towards the two strongmen.

"You stubborn fool, you'll regret it!"

Zhou Quan's gaze towards Zhao Yao shifted from indifference to disgust, and he took a step forward, walking towards him.

Seeing that Zhou Quan was about to launch an attack, Zhao Yao hurriedly turned his head and shouted to the two strongmen:

"Quick! Help me! Stop this madman!"

The two strongmen frowned, glanced at Zhou Quan, then at Zhao Yao, and stood still, unmoved.

They had already judged his level of skill from the temperament he exuded.

This is a martial artist in the second stage of the True Martial Realm!

Moreover, he's not just an ordinary fighter in the True Martial Realm.

They're not stupid, and they don't want to be dragged into this pointless mess for no reason.

Their sole purpose was to protect Zhao Yao, ensuring he didn't die, escape, or cause any strange incidents, so that Princess Yun Chi could safely complete her ten attempts to seize the destiny within ten days.

However, the course of events was beyond their control.

Bang!

Zhou Quan stomped on the ground and rushed towards Zhao Yao, his large, knuckled fist already tucked into his waist and abdomen, ready to smash into Zhao Yao's head with the next blow.

Zhao Yao keenly sensed the two strongmen's mindset and knew they didn't want to get involved.

In the nick of time, he gritted his teeth, took several steps back, tripped on his backward legs, and fell backward.

After making sure the two strongmen could see his expression, he closed his eyes, as if Zhou Quan's fist, about to smash into his head, didn't exist, opened his mouth, and shouted for help:

"Help me! He's going to kill me!"

At this moment, he completely abandoned both escape and defense.

Seeing this, the two strongmen frowned even more deeply. They were extremely unwilling, and cursed, "Useless! How could you fall like that?" but still chose to help.

No one could gamble on what the consequences would be if Zhou Quan's blow landed on Zhao Yao's head—whether it would result in death or something else.

Eliminating such unknown dangers is the two strongmen's primary task.

They both knew in their hearts that Zhao Yao wanted to use them, but under these circumstances, they still had no choice but to be used by him.

"Are we pretending we don't exist? Stop right there!"

Yin Bingtie, a demigod warrior with long, fiery red hair, roared, took a large step to the side, and blocked Zhao Yao with his strong body, which was over 3.33 meters tall.

Zhou Quan's fist struck Yin Bingtie squarely in the chest.

刚！

In an instant, a crisp sound like thunder rang out.

As they clashed, a metallic sheen appeared on both Zhou Quan's fist and Yin Bingtie's body.

Zhou Quan was able to do this entirely through his skillful martial arts.

He was the kind of skilled martial artist that County Magistrate Zhou had described, whose every move possessed the power of extraordinary techniques!

Although the power of this extraordinary technique was merely a fist as hard as metal or stone, it was enough for him to be proud.

Indeed, his arrogant nature largely stemmed from his skills. Even after his humiliating defeat against Zhao Yao at the Desolate Rock Mountain, he remained narcissistic and arrogant precisely because of this.

The metallic sheen that appeared on Yin Bingtie's body was entirely due to the unique properties brought about by the Black Iron Realm.

After advancing from Black Iron Warrior to Demigod Warrior, this unique Black Iron Realm attribute, which made his body as hard as cast iron, did not disappear even though it lost its iron color; in fact, its defensive power became even stronger.

"I said, stop! Didn't you hear me?"

The fire in Yin Bingtie's eyes almost leaped out as he looked down at Zhou Quan and slammed his large fan-shaped hand down on Zhou Quan's head.

Call ~

As Zhou Quan felt the palm wind above his head, the sensation of Huang Yanshan's head being grabbed instantly surged into his heart, and the intense discomfort made his face turn pale.

He crouched down, threw a punch upwards with all his might, his eyes filled with ferocity, and shouted sharply:

"I am an unofficial member of the Heavenly Dao Division's Guidance Department. Do you dare interfere in this matter?"

"How dare you, a mere unofficial staff member, speak with such arrogance? Get out!"

Yin Bingtie's face showed disdain, and the downward palm wind did not stop.

刚！

The two men clashed fists, producing another metallic clang.

"ha-"

Zhou Quan felt the discomfort after the impact of the fist, his heart tightened, he quickly withdrew his fist, took several steps back, and exhaled deeply.

He maintained a safe distance, raised his fist to examine it, and found more than a dozen tiny blood spots on the surface of his fist.

It's a rare item!

It's a defensive artifact!

Zhou Quan gave Yin Bingtie a deep look, then glared fiercely at Zhao Yao. He cracked his knuckles, snorted coldly, and turned to leave without uttering a single harsh word.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Yin Bingtie, the demigod-level strongman; they were both at the second realm, and it was uncertain who would win in a fight. It was just that a third-realm bronze-level strongman was standing nearby, someone he was destined to lose and gain no advantage over, so why waste his time here?

However, he did not truly give up on obtaining the Heavenly Dao Jade Token from Zhao Yao; his temporary retreat was merely a stopgap measure.

"Alright, he's gone, you can get up now."

Jin Feng, the bronze warrior, frowned and kicked Zhao Yao with his toe, exposing his pretense of being unconscious while lying on the ground with his eyes closed.

Why didn't they fight?

It would be better if the fight resulted in mutual destruction.

Zhao Yao got up with a sense of regret.

Although he thought this way, he still had to maintain a respectable demeanor.

His face showed gratitude, and he bowed deeply to the two strongmen, saying:

"Thank you both for saving my life. May I ask your names? So that I may always remember your kindness and express my gratitude to you."

"Golden Wind".

"Silver-propylene iron".

The two strongmen exchanged a glance, and Zhao Yao announced his name.

"Great names for you two! Haha, great names!"

Zhao Yao praised them twice, but seeing that the two strongmen didn't echo him, an awkward look flashed across his face. He then invited them again:

"You two haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Why don't you come to my house? There's some chicken soup left over from yesterday; we can use it up today."

The two strongmen looked at him and fell silent.

You want us to come to your house just to eat yesterday's leftovers? Forget it.

They did not respond to Zhao Yao and returned to their previous state of simply following without communicating.

"If the two strongmen are unwilling, then so be it. But if this person comes to attack me again later, I earnestly hope that the two strongmen will still step in to protect me."

I am deeply grateful, deeply grateful.

Zhao Yao made a good impression, and the two strongmen, knowing his identity as the princess's fake husband, nodded slightly to him, tacitly agreeing to the matter.

But they never expected that their words would come true so quickly!

Nothing happened during the day until evening.

The two leaders of Black Wind Stronghold somehow found out about Zhao Yao's whereabouts and appeared at the entrance of Zhaoqian Village...