The Most Powerful Bodyguard

Yang Yan was greatly shocked in his heart.

Although he knew the old man must be extraordinary, he never expected the elder to answer so decisively.

"Then may I ask if you can take me to find him? Now, Wandering Dragon Star is in turmoil, and only finding the Earth Attribute Extreme Soldier can resolve this chaos and restore Wandering Dragon Star to its former state."

Yang Yan became more convinced that this old man was a hidden master. Thus, he calmed his mind slightly and, without any concealment, directly stated the purpose of his trip.

The old man lowered his head slightly, looked at the axe in his hand, and then said, "I can help you find the Earth Attribute Extreme Soldier, but you must first help me accomplish something."

"Whatever it is, just say it. As long as I can do it, I will give it my all!" Yang Yan replied decisively.

"I want you... to help me cut down this tree." The old man’s voice remained as calm as ever, yet his words puzzled Yang Yan.

A small tree, how could it pose a challenge to a master?

Could it be... this is not just an ordinary tree?

Almost instinctively, Yang Yan’s gaze fell on that seemingly ordinary small tree.

The old man before him was truly enigmatic.

In this surrounding area of a hundred miles, it’s all desert except for this small oasis.

And among them, various fierce beasts roaming around must have at least the power of the Golden Core Realm.

Yet the elderly man had no spiritual power fluctuations, yet he could cut trees here unscathed.

Such a sight had already made him vigilant.

Now the old man is asking for help to cut down a tree, making it even more incomprehensible.

Yang Yan quickly concluded one fact in his heart: the old man before him was definitely not ordinary!

This tree is certainly extraordinary too.

With this thought, Yang Yan readily agreed.

He decided to see what kind of purpose this mysterious old man had.

When Yang Yan agreed, the old man handed the axe to Yang Yan, then folded his hands behind his back and said with a smiling face, "Not bad, young man, show me how strong you are, can you cut down this tree!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Yan didn’t feel anything unusual, but instead, he focused more on the inconspicuous little tree before him.

Turning the axe in his hands, Yang Yan gripped the handle with both hands, using all his strength to swing it towards the small tree ahead.

Indeed!

Although he was fully prepared, the result was as he expected.

There was a clanging sound; the axe seemed to hit something as hard as the most formidable Spiritual Treasure and bounced back.

Moreover, the rebound force was considerable, causing Yang Yan to step back several paces, almost stumbling.

But fortunately, Yang Yan was mentally prepared; he reacted promptly and forcefully stabilized his posture, avoiding being too embarrassed.

Yang Yan squinted slightly, again scrutinizing the peculiar little tree.

It looked ordinary, yet it was so hard.

That swing just now didn’t leave the slightest mark on it.

Seeing Yang Yan’s somewhat puzzled expression, the old man chuckled, stroked his beard, and teased, "Haha! Young man, it seems you need to work out; how come you don’t have as much strength as this old man?"

With an awkward smile, Yang Yan once again griped the axe, the power within him gathering incessantly, slowly surging towards his hands, ultimately infused into the axe.

Earlier, he had observed clearly; the old man seemed not to exert much force, yet each strike truly landed on the trunk.

There was not even the slightest sign of rebound.

How did he manage to do that?

Besides, Yang Yan had just noticed that the trunk was riddled with faint axe marks that seemed to have no pattern.

Normally, when chopping trees, one should strike the same spot each time, yet the old man chopped each time in a different place.

What kind of logic is this?

Yang Yan closed his eyes, reminiscing, clearly remembering the old man’s slow and steady ax swinging, presumably because the mysterious elder didn’t actually intend to chop down this tree.

This puzzled Yang Yan.

Why did the old man use seemingly little force yet leave marks on such a hard tree?

Is it possible that he wasn’t using enough strength?

Yang Yan squinted, and the power long gathered in his hands suddenly erupted; the axe cut through with a cold flash towards the tree.

With a boom, waves of energy spread, Yang Yan was repulsed by this force several meters away, falling to the ground.

Yang Yan hurriedly stood up, brushed off the dust from his body, and glanced at the old man with some embarrassment.

Seeing Yang Yan’s predicament, the old man laughed even more heartily.

Yang Yan couldn’t help feeling a bit annoyed.

Could it be the old man was bored and deliberately wanted to embarrass him?

Annoyance aside, Yang Yan was convinced the old man’s identity was definitely unusual.

Thinking of the purpose he came here for, Yang Yan suppressed his anger, walked properly to the old man’s side, and presented the axe with his head lowered, saying, "Grandfather, forgive my incompetence, I really can’t chop down this tree. Please give me another task!"

The old man chucklingly took the axe and said to Yang Yan, "Young man, there aren’t many like you now; calm and patient. Moreover, you didn’t achieve nothing at all!"

With that, the old man extended a hand, pointing to the direction of the tree.

And Yang Yan followed the old man’s finger and was surprised to find a shallow mark on the tree where he had struck forcefully just now.

It seems his strike wasn’t entirely ineffective!

Yang Yan felt considerably more balanced in his heart.

However, thinking about the old man leaving marks easily each time, Yang Yan couldn’t help but feel a bit lost.

As if he saw through Yang Yan’s thoughts, the old man patted his shoulder and spoke earnestly:

"Young man, sometimes the harm you can inflict on your opponent doesn’t necessarily depend on how much strength you use; it’s about how to perfectly attack the opponent’s weakest spot. Otherwise, meeting force with force might injure the enemy a thousand times but cost you eight hundred, not worth it."

Saying this, the old man handed the axe to Yang Yan again, indicating for him to try once more.

Upon hearing the old man’s words, Yang Yan thoughtfully nodded.

Taking the axe from the old man, he walked to the small tree again.

This time, Yang Yan didn’t rashly swing but first closed his eyes to feel the surrounding changes.

One stick of incense...

Two sticks of incense...

Finally, after being silent for half an hour, Yang Yan suddenly opened his eyes, shouted excitedly:

"I understand! I understand everything!"