Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Giant Wolf Svira, the Guardian God of the Nine-Tower Mountain Tribe, had followed the Sunlight Tribe into battle far and wide over the years and had seen its fair share of the world.

But this was truly the first time it had ever seen anything like what the Fusang Tribe was doing now—a group of humans with absolutely no Power of Incense charging forward to challenge and fight a Guardian God.

No, strictly speaking, this wasn’t the first time.

’Decades ago, it was said that a human commander had appeared on the Central Plains Battlefield, one who could fight Guardian Gods with just their mortal body. That person sparked intense discussion back then. It seemed even the Celestial Realm sent people down to inquire about the situation. However, the investigation at the time concluded that the woman’s abilities could not be replicated, and she had apparently died while being pursued by the allied forces.’

A jumble of chaotic memories flashed through Slavi’s mind.

Many of them were from a very long time ago. If not for the scene he was witnessing today, he likely would never have recalled them again in his life.

Composing himself, Slavi tore his gaze away from that group of beings, whatever they were.

He took a deep breath, his tone sharp as he said, “Forget it. No matter what you are or where you came from, there’s no harm in killing you and taking you back to the tribe for research.”

At this moment, he had already concluded that the members of the Divine Hidden Guard were Apostles from Hell. As far as he knew, there was no other explanation for how a mortal body could become so powerful, aside from cultivating the heretical paths of Hell.

’If they truly are from Hell, then killing them and taking them away would be a great accomplishment, even for a Guardian God like myself. It would be enough to earn many rewards from the Celestial Realm. Perhaps it might even allow me to escape my current state of being neither human nor ghost.’

With that thought, Slavi no longer hesitated.

The giant wolf he rode vanished from the spot like a whirlwind, reappearing only a step away from Li Chang’an.

Seeing him move, the dozen or so subordinate Guardian Gods behind him followed suit. Their mission was to wreak havoc while Slavi kept Li Chang’an occupied.

But now, the appearance of the Divine Hidden Guard had disrupted their original plan. They first had to defeat the Divine Hidden Guard before they could accomplish their intended objective.

A great battle was about to erupt.

The entirety of Santi Town was thrown into earth-shattering chaos. Countless elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, along with the remaining soldiers, all looked up at the battle not far away, their faces full of fervent prayer, hoping that their own Guardian God would emerge victorious.

After so many years of cultivation, Li Chang’an’s progress in the Incense and Candle Divine Dao was not as obvious as his progress in the Martial Dao. Strictly speaking, he was no match for Slavi and his giant wolf.

But Li Chang’an’s combat prowess obviously could not be measured by his Realm alone.

His enormous dragon body was as hard as steel. Some of Slavi’s ordinary attacks merely produced a shower of sparks upon impact and could barely even scratch his defenses.

Only the steel needles fired from the giant wolf beneath Slavi and its defense-weakening fangs could cause Li Chang’an any real harm.

Also in the course of the battle, Li Chang’an managed to get a rough grasp of his opponent’s true strength.

Overall, Slavi’s Realm was somewhere between the stages of Transformation and Molting. The giant wolf he rode seemed to be his original body, while the middle-aged man sitting atop it was the crystallization of his Molting.

However, his Molting didn’t seem to have been very thorough.

This caused his combat strength to fluctuate wildly.

At the beginning of the fight, Slavi held an absolute advantage. But as the battle wore on, Li Chang’an figured out his moves and began to counter with targeted use of his own abilities.

Slavi soon found himself unable to defend, and before he could even attempt to flee, Li Chang’an killed him on the spot.

Everyone was stunned, staring at the wolf’s blood splashing across the ground.

This was especially true for the subordinate Guardian Gods who had followed Slavi to attack the Fusang Tribe. They knew that Slavi’s failed Molting caused his combat power to be somewhat unstable.

’But no matter how unstable it was, he shouldn’t have been defeated while attacking a small, newly risen tribe, right?’

However, no matter how much they refused to believe it, the facts were right in front of them. When they came to their senses, the dozen or so remaining subordinate Guardian Gods lost all will to fight.

Seizing the opportunity while Li Chang’an was not yet free to deal with them, the subordinate Guardian Gods all prepared to slip away.

But having revealed so many of his trump cards, how could Li Chang’an possibly let them leave so easily?

Just as they were about to flee, a vast Array Pattern appeared beneath Li Chang’an’s feet, enveloping the entire town. This Array Pattern was far more powerful than the “tortoise shell” that Nine-Tower Mountain had prepared before.

It made it impossible for these Guardian Gods, whose Realms were not particularly high, to move even a single step.

At the same time, Man Yu, who had already prepared an ambush long ago, descended from a nearby mountain with the rest of the Divine Hidden Guard, completely surrounding the town and sealing it off tight.

…

This battle had been far easier than Li Chang’an had anticipated.

This was mainly because Slavi, the strongest of Nine-Tower Mountain, had failed his Molting. His wolf body had not fully achieved Fusion with his human form, causing his power to fluctuate enormously during battle.

Furthermore, Man Yu was very familiar with their tactic of “capturing the king to capture the thieves,” so he had already instructed Li Chang’an to set up an ambush around Santi Town long in advance.

To be honest, if the Nine-Tower Mountain Tribe had simply relied on its deep and powerful foundation to wear down the Fusang Tribe on the front lines, the one who would have eventually grown restless would have certainly been Li Chang’an.