Many forces in Nanzhou were stirring in the shadows. Shen Zhan knew that. But if someone really dared to stick their neck out in broad daylight, he wouldn't mind moving personally to wipe them out.

Still, for someone at the Fourth Tier to vanish without a trace after being killed... that meant the other side was no pushover. He had to be careful.

Shen Zhan changed into an outer coat stained with a little mud, put on a straw hat with frayed edges, and disguised himself as an old farmer. Then he headed for an utterly ordinary little clinic in that small town.

There was nothing strange about the clinic at first glance. Facing the door was a glass counter stocked with medicine. Beside it stood a shelf against the wall, also filled with medicine. It was a very standard clinic layout.

“Hello, are you here to see a doctor?”

At that moment, Shen Zhan heard a young man's voice from ahead. Then he saw a young man walk out and warmly help him inside.

“Oh, it's my foot. Something's wrong with it.” Shen Zhan went along naturally with Lu Feng's support and pointed at one of his ankles.

“Let me take a look.” Lu Feng quickly helped Shen Zhan sit down in a chair, then crouched to examine the injury.

Shen Zhan had been sizing Lu Feng up the whole time, staying highly alert as he watched the young man crouch down with no guard up at all.

This young man showed no sign of any special ability, nor any demonic aura. He looked completely ordinary. In that situation, if Shen Zhan made a move, this defenseless man would have no chance to resist.

But Shen Zhan remained cautious. Before he truly figured out the other's strength and background, he chose to keep observing.

And that observation was only so he could remove the other party faster and more cleanly.

The Azure Feather Society had grown much stronger lately. To keep Nanzhou, the far southern region away from the capital, in check, the Eastern Empire had actually sent over three ability users at the Seventh Tier this time. With the Azure Feather Society's original president included, that made four Seventh Tier experts stationed here.

Shen Zhan himself had reached the Eighth Realm. But he had no one under him who could hold the line. The Seventh Tier seat on his side was empty. That was why the Azure Feather Society had recently begun suppressing the Hero Association in most areas.

Precisely because the Azure Feather Society's momentum was so fierce lately, the Hero Association in Nanzhou had to produce some results to push them back down. Shen Zhan didn't want defections appearing at a time like this, so he had come personally to see what exactly this little clinic was hiding.

Lu Feng was still carefully examining the old man's injury.

There really was something wrong with Shen Zhan's ankle. It was a lingering aftereffect from his military days during the great war against demons. Back then, he had been wounded by a Blood Clan noble, which left some stagnant blood pooled around the ankle, making it look bruised.

Whenever it rained or the weather turned damp, it would ache faintly. Usually, though, it didn't matter much, so Shen Zhan had left it alone. It wasn't something an ordinary doctor could treat anyway.

Looking at the layers of scars on Shen Zhan's leg, Lu Feng grew solemn with respect. He immediately realized this was probably a soldier.

He didn't have much affection for the Eastern Empire, but Lu Feng still deeply admired and respected soldiers who gave themselves for their country and fought for it.

At that moment, Lu Feng also noticed part of a phone sticking out from the man's waist. There was a Hatsune Miku sticker on the case.

So this old man was a real one too. One of us!

When the old man first came in, that frightening scar on his face and his imposing build had made him look intimidating. But now Lu Feng's impression of him improved by quite a bit.

“Sir, your foot's just sprained a little. Some medicinal wine and a plaster will do.” As Lu Feng spoke, he got up and went to the counter to fetch medicine.

Sir?! Shen Zhan's brow twitched.

Sweetie always calls me onii-chan. Try calling me "sir" once in the Hero Association and see what happens. Believe it or not, I'll twist your neck off on the spot.

To clarify, "Sweetie" was the voice actress behind the loli notification voice on Shen Zhan's phone.

Shen Zhan had just been about to flare up and strike, when he saw Lu Feng take out a bottle and some gauze, then pour a brown liquid onto the gauze.

Shen Zhan glanced at it, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

The liquid was brown, yes, and it did look like medicinal wine. But within it, faint golden ripples shimmered in and out of view.

This was... holy water!

Shen Zhan nearly shot to his feet.

Holy water was a precious medicine under strict control by the Eastern Empire. It was extremely effective against aftereffects left by demons, but also incredibly rare. Normally, it was reserved for the emperor and other key figures.

To make holy water, one had to gather countless rare treasures. Then the Pope would lead the entire church clergy in using purification abilities. Only then could they possibly extract a single drop from that mountain of priceless ingredients. And yet in this little doctor's hands, there was a whole full bottle of it!

Just who was this guy? A high-ranking member of the church? No, impossible. Even a church official couldn't possess this much holy water. Not even the Pope, not even the emperor of the Empire, could have this quantity...

Shen Zhan's nerves instantly tightened. Only now did he realize that he knew absolutely nothing about the young man in front of him.

A being capable of refining this much holy water... terrifying beyond measure. There was no way a mere Nanzhou Hero Association could stand against someone like that.

Lu Feng also noticed that the other man was very tense. But that was fine. Lu Feng knew why this old man was nervous.

Usually, when he was collecting anime stuff, he'd call out in the QQ group, "Hit me with some spicy pics," and then a few people would toss out their treasured stash. If someone saw that, they'd inevitably sneer, "Ugh, gross otaku."

This old man was already so advanced in years and still a hardcore anime fan. The cold looks he'd suffered were definitely worse than most people's. Now that someone had seen right through him, of course he'd feel embarrassed and guarded.

But Lu Feng was also very understanding.

“As long as you just do your own thing and don't harm society, then no one else, including you and me, has any right to attack a person. Don't you think I'm right?”

Lu Feng still wore his professional fake smile... no, his warm smile.

Looking at the calm little smile at the corner of Lu Feng's mouth, Shen Zhan's mind began racing as he carefully chewed over the young man's words.

Won't harm society... no one else has the right to attack him...

So what he meant was that, although he was extremely powerful, he actually had no ill intent. That squad's mysterious disappearance after coming here wasn't because he attacked first. On the contrary, those fools had provoked him and brought it on themselves.

Shen Zhan had served as president of the Hero Association in chaotic Nanzhou for so long that he understood a few rules of survival. You only eliminate targets you can eliminate, targets harmful to the Eastern Empire. As for those supreme beings, if they didn't stir up trouble, or only caused a little, then the Hero Association would simply turn a blind eye.

And the person before him now was exactly that kind of supreme existence, one capable of remaining neutral.

And maybe absurdly strong on top of that.