An Earth Rank expert, and yet he ran faster than a rabbit. From the look of him there was not the slightest sign that he had been hurt — which meant he had never crossed blades with that so-called 'ghost' at all. It earned him a measure of Wei Zhao's contempt.

This fellow was a touch too timid as a mouse, wasn't he?

In truth, Elder Yu really was a man as timid as a mouse; otherwise he could never have been cowed again and again by a mere Mystic Rank expert like Wei Zhao. He was arrogant and overbearing, yet he clung to his life as though it were gold — a walking contradiction, or, put another way, a bully who feared the strong and preyed on the weak.

Before the weak, whose strength was utterly unequal to his, Elder Yu was insolent and proud, taking glory in trampling those beneath him. But the instant someone possessed the power to threaten his life, he grew hesitant and wavering, never daring to meet them head-on.

Still, anyone who knew the story of Elder Yu's origins would not find it hard to understand. As the head of the mundane Yu family — its one-time patriarch — his life's hopes, beyond the pursuit of ever higher martial realms, lay in bringing glory to the mundane Yu family. That was why he had entered the hidden Yu family.

Had he not entered the hidden clan, Elder Yu would never have known how insignificant he was. When he saw the Earth Rank experts within the hidden family, thick as clouds, and even a legendary Heaven Rank ancestor among them, he understood that he was, in truth, no more than an ant.

That he had been allowed into the hidden family was in itself no great honor; in that place, anyone could crush him at any moment. So he grew trembling and cautious, forever careful, terrified of losing his life. The more keenly he felt how small his life was, the more wary he became.

An Earth Rank expert was the very pinnacle of existence in the mundane world, yet once he entered the hidden clan his standing fell below that of the Mystic Rank household slaves — because he was an outsider. Perhaps if something happened and he died, the hidden family would not so much as blink.

To secure his position in the hidden Yu family, Elder Yu had no choice but to accept certain tasks the Yu family required in the mundane world, even when those tasks were dangerous.

But Elder Yu was no fool. The moment his life was threatened, he would always choose to save his own skin first. As for the task — to hell with it. So long as the green mountain remains, there will be no want of firewood. If he were to die, the mundane Yu family would have even less hope, to say nothing of avenging Old Three and his nephew.

And this time, he truly sensed danger. It was a monster; though its strength seemed no more than the peak of the late Yellow Rank, Elder Yu still dared not act rashly. It was not human — and so could not be measured by human standards of strength.

Faced with a human expert at the peak of the late Yellow Rank, Elder Yu would likely have put on airs and cut him down with a sneer. But faced with a ghost of that same level, he had not the slightest thought of trading blows. That thing was not human — who knew how their strength was graded, or whether it might eat him alive?

"No... there really is a ghost?" Yu Xiaoke was startled as well. A moment earlier they had been talking about tomb-guarding spirit beasts, and now one had appeared. She was a girl, after all, so of course she was frightened. Talking about such things was one matter; seeing them with one's own eyes was quite another, and it was only natural that her heart quailed.

"It's not a ghost... it's an animal with a very strange appearance. It should be the tomb-guarding spirit beast you mentioned!" Wei Zhao closed his eyes and observed the darkness far down the passage through the space within his jade pendant. This was his cheat; without it, in such dim light, he could never have made out what was coming toward them. "It's fast — at least no slower than Old Black."

"Then what do we do now?" Qiu Lingshan drew her pistol without thinking. It was the first time since arriving here that she had wanted to use a gun.

"I don't know, but it's about to catch up with James..." Wei Zhao said.

Suddenly a shrill, wretched scream rang out from the passage — James's voice. By the sound of it, James had already been taken by the monster.

"It's James..." Yu Xiaoke recognized his voice too.

"Yes. James is finished — the monster has bitten through his throat..." Wei Zhao sighed. "As expected, those bones back there were eaten by it."

The monster halted its pursuit of Old Black and Elder Yu and stayed where it was, eating James with relish, while Elder Yu and Old Black ran for all they were worth...

"Run! There's a ghost..." Old Black shrieked, gasping for breath.

"Elder Yu, you're an Earth Rank expert — aren't you going to deal with that monster? It's only a monster at the peak of the late Yellow Rank." Wei Zhao looked at Elder Yu, not without mockery.

"Hmph. You know very well it's a monster. I am a man — how can a man be compared with a monster? Who knows whether this monster is fierce or not? Some monsters without any rank at all can slay an Earth Rank expert in a single strike!" Elder Yu gave a cold snort. "Ignorant brat, there is far too much you do not know. In those ancient sects there are ancient spirit beasts whose rank is not high, yet each possesses formidable abilities. Some seem to be only Yellow Rank, and yet command the deadliest of attacks!"

"Oh?" Wei Zhao was taken aback. He had not expected ancient spirit beasts to exist — were they not somewhat similar to the tomb-guarding spirit beast Yu Xiaoke spoke of? Probably the same sort of creature; they merely guarded different things.

Hearing Elder Yu's words, Wei Zhao could understand why he dared not strike. Some people truly could not be measured by rank. Take Ergoudan, for instance: he appeared to be a rankless expert, yet he could kill a Mystic Rank expert in a single blow. There was simply no reasoning to it.

"So you mean to abandon this tomb robbery?" Wei Zhao's eyes narrowed as he looked at Elder Yu.

"Hmph! While that monster is busy eating James, let us all discuss what to do — join forces and kill it, or withdraw from the tomb?" Elder Yu was in no great hurry now. Though he lacked confidence in facing the monster head-on, he could still flee well enough; his speed was plainly greater than the monster's.

"I remember someone once said that if we cooperated in this robbery and any danger arose in the tomb, he would step in and deal with it. Was that man not you, Elder Yu?" Wei Zhao looked at Elder Yu and asked quietly.

"A greenhorn brat, all fine words. If you think you're up to it, then you go deal with it!" Elder Yu snorted.

"If I deal with it myself, what do I need you for? In that case, you can get lost." As Wei Zhao said this, he felt deeply helpless. He was telling Elder Yu to scram — but could the man really be driven off? Once he had gone to the trouble of killing the monster, would Elder Yu simply come back to reap the spoils?

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