Just then, an unfamiliar voice cut in from nowhere: "You two needn't trouble yourselves. Join our ranks, and every problem you fear will cease to be a problem."

"Who goes there?!" Chen Dongcheng and Lu Ping'an were startled at once—only now did they make out several figures in the dense woods not far off, each cloaked in a black robe, looking thoroughly sinister.

At the sight, both felt their hair stand on end.

They were no lofty Nascent Soul monsters, true, but neither man's strength was anything to sneer at, and yet they had been encircled without ever noticing—utterly inconceivable!

"Heh. You may call me the Mystery Man." The leading black-robed man spoke in a tone of deep profundity. Had Bing Wushuang been present, one listen to that voice would have told him this was none other than Dr. Glasses.

"The Mystery Man? What do you want?" Chen Dongcheng and Lu Ping'an exchanged a glance, both on their guard as against a great enemy. These people concealed themselves well; for the moment the two could not gauge their true strength, but one thing was certain—if they could surround the two of them unseen, their power could not be weak.

"Nothing much. Since you have come to our territory, we, as the hosts, ought at least to come and say hello—no?" Dr. Glasses said with a smile.

"Hosts?" The two were taken aback. The reason they had chosen Que Luo Mountain in the Central Isle as their first foothold was precisely that it was masterless land; otherwise they would never have ventured in. Since when had such a band of mysterious hosts appeared here?

"How do you know we are from North Island?" Chen Dongcheng and Lu Ping'an were startled again. They had let slip only a single mention of North Island Cangwu Sect just now while speaking, and said nothing else at all. Could it be these people had been lying in wait here from the very start?

"I know not only that you are from North Island, but your identities and backgrounds as well. Chen Dongcheng, vice sect master of North Island Cangwu Sect; Lu Ping'an, elder; and the one on the ground is Supreme Elder Chen Jiu. Have I said anything wrong?" Dr. Glasses smiled.

"Just who might you be, sir?" The two grew all the more alarmed.

"Did I not say already? You may address me as the Mystery Man." Dr. Glasses paused, then went on: "You two are both victims of Wei Zhao, and Wei Zhao happens to be our enemy as well. That you should have come all this way here to take refuge—now that is fate."

"What? You have a feud with Wei Zhao too?" The two were dumbstruck, privately thinking, What kind of charisma does that Wei Zhao have, that even in a godforsaken place like this he has enemies? Such a coincidence beggars belief.

"Of course. If I may ask—do you two wish to take revenge on Wei Zhao?" Dr. Glasses asked.

Chen Dongcheng and Lu Ping'an exchanged a look. Wary as they were of this Mystery Man, they still answered honestly: "Of course we do. It is only that we lack the strength."

"That willingness is enough. As for strength—so long as you two are willing to join us, you will have it soon enough," Dr. Glasses coaxed.

"Join you? What does that mean?" The two looked at each other. To this moment they could not even tell whether these people were friends or foes—how had the talk inexplicably come to this?

"The meaning is plain. Join us, and I can make you Nascent Soul monsters in the shortest of times. How about it?" Dr. Glasses said, shocking them.

Nascent Soul monsters! At those four words, Chen Dongcheng and Lu Ping'an were utterly stunned. When they recovered and looked at each other, it was with the expression of men gazing upon a monster. Had this fellow's brain gone soft? Nascent Soul monsters were beings one might encounter but never seek; short of time aside, given the two men's aptitudes—Chen Dongcheng's above all—even a few hundred more years would not bring them to the threshold...

"You don't believe me? Simple enough. You are already here, after all. Why not stay and see for yourselves—it will not be long before you understand that not a word I say is false." As he spoke, Dr. Glasses suddenly tossed two pills to the two men. "A gift of greeting for you both."

"Golden Core Pills?" was Chen Dongcheng's and Lu Ping'an's first reaction—but they shook their heads at once in denial. These were assuredly not Golden Core Pills; they merely looked somewhat alike at first glance.

"Of course they are no ordinary Golden Core Pills, but a specially improved version. As for their effect—at least five times that of an ordinary Golden Core Pill," Dr. Glasses said with a smile.

The two men's eyes lit up at the words, but after all they did not know whether these people were friends or foes. The pills did feel no common thing; judging by appearance alone they surpassed even ordinary Golden Core Pills by far. And yet—who was to say they were not poison?

"Still unconvinced? No matter. In this Ancient Little Jianghu there should be means of testing pills. If you are uneasy, by all means go out and have someone test them and then decide. I can wait," Dr. Glasses said, playing hard to get.

"Then we thank you." Chen Dongcheng and Lu Ping'an nodded hurriedly. Their minds were by now wholly fixed on the pills, and both were burning with impatience. Once Dr. Glasses had led his people away, they mounted their spirit vultures without hesitation and flew off to find someone to test the pills.

The result came quickly. Though it could not be determined exactly what pills these were, one thing was certain: there was not a trace of poison in either of them—perfectly clean.

The result was somewhat unexpected, and at the same time it delighted them beyond measure. Since they were not poison, there was no danger—which in turn lent a degree of proof to the Mystery Man's words.

These pills were at least five times as effective as ordinary Golden Core Pills!

Was that possible? Both nursed a sliver of hope. If it were true, they would be made men. Without further hesitation they found a place and began to take the pills and go into seclusion.

Three days later, the two rode their spirit vultures back to Que Luo Mountain, and sure enough, Dr. Glasses was already waiting there with his people.

"Well? Are you satisfied with the pills' effects?" Dr. Glasses greeted them with a smile.

Neither Chen Dongcheng nor Lu Ping'an spoke, but the aura the two now displayed said everything: both were at the great consummation of the Golden Core!

In a mere three days, Lu Ping'an's breakthrough from the peak of the late Golden Core stage to the great consummation was understandable enough—but Chen Dongcheng had forced his way straight from the mid Golden Core stage to the great consummation. That was truly beyond belief.

"From the look of you both, you must have found out—right?" Dr. Glasses went on with a smile.

A surge in strength should by rights have driven them wild with joy, yet at this moment there was not the least delight on the faces of Chen Dongcheng and Lu Ping'an. Instead they looked rather grim, tinged even with a measure of dread. (To be continued.)