Our Hero, Chu Liang

The human-faced macaque died peacefully.

Chu Liang had not wanted it to come to this either.

They had originally been following behind Fang Ting, and had fallen quite a distance behind.

When they saw Fang Ting struck to the ground by the giant tree's branches, Lin Bei wailed, "Ah! Looks like Senior Brother Fang can't catch that monster either! Our mission is going to fail!"

Chu Liang could only sigh inwardly. Keeping a calm face, he said, "If Senior Brother Fang can't do it, then I'll have to give it a try."

"Hm?" Lin Bei, standing beside him, cocked his head. Something about that sounded vaguely strange.

Then he saw Chu Liang pull out a talisman.

That was right. If Fang Ting could catch the human-faced macaque, Chu Liang would not have wanted to use the only talisman he had obtained from the White Tower.

Spirit Cat Leaping Talisman!

It was said to greatly increase one's agility.

Chu Liang held the talisman between two fingers of his left hand and flicked it into the air. Flames appeared from nowhere and burned the talisman to ashes with a sharp burst.

Bang.

The instant the talisman activated, Chu Liang felt a cat spirit's will awaken within him. Then his body began unconsciously moving in straight lines.

With the slightest exertion, he leaped several zhang away, landing as lightly as a feather without the least effort.

This Spirit Cat Leaping Talisman really was incredible!

Its effect was far better than he had expected.

If the White Tower had after-sales service, he would definitely have given this talisman a five-star review.

After adapting to that power in just a few movements, he fully unleashed his movement technique and chased after the human-faced macaque. From high above, one could see a black shadow and a white shadow both moving at jaw-dropping speed, the distance between them rapidly shrinking.

Gradually, as he drew up behind the human-faced macaque, Chu Liang even felt a thrill. He could sense that the cat spirit within him was growing excited from the pleasure of the hunt.

Thankfully, the talisman's effect could only last for a quarter of an hour. If it lasted too long, he might truly suffer some harmful influence.

But...

The instant the human-faced macaque turned around and saw him, terror spreading across its huge face... Chu Liang still could not suppress his excitement, instinctively licking his palm.

He would never know how much damage that gentle lick inflicted upon the heart of a young human-faced macaque.

The human-faced macaque had already realized that something was terribly wrong with this person. It turned around, wishing it could grow another pair of legs as it fled forward in great bounds.

But could it escape?

That would be difficult.

Chu Liang suppressed the urge to keep playing with it, shot forward, and drew his sword. A three-foot blade radiance swept forth!

The human-faced macaque seemed to sense the danger. Its body immediately blurred and turned transparent, evading the close-range slash!

This monster was extraordinarily nimble, but its combat power was not particularly strong. Its only innate divine ability was this instant of incorporeality. Earlier, it had relied on that very move to slip out of Fang Ting's Sword Qi prison.

Unfortunately.

This incorporeal state could only last for a brief instant.

It meant little against an enemy who could keep up with its speed.

When its body reappeared, Chu Liang had already raised his left hand, and a Red Light shot from his sleeve with a whoosh.

Demon-Binding Rope!

They were too close. There was nowhere to evade.

The human-faced macaque happened to have a humanoid body, and the Turtle Shell Bind was completed in an instant.

At that moment, it felt as though ten thousand horses were galloping through its heart, while a voice screamed...

Fuck!

I told you this guy was a pervert!

See? I was right!

Living in the countless demon-infested mountains of the Southern Frontier, every demon was prepared to die at any moment.

But...

It could accept death, yet it could hardly accept dying in such a humiliating position.

But life was simply like this. Many things were impossible to accept, yet they still had to happen. Like flowers withering wherever the autumn wind passed, like the great river flowing east as the departed flowed on—beneath the vast heavens, one could only cry, what could be done?

Before the curtain fell, its vision filled with sword light.

Controlled, then executed.

Slash.

When Chu Liang returned to the group with the Human-Faced Jade Essence Flower in hand, the others were all somewhat unable to believe it.

No matter what, they had never imagined that at the very moment the mission was about to fail, he would be the one to turn the tide!

Fang Ting furrowed his brow and asked, "Junior Brother Chu... how did you do it?"

Xu Ziqing asked in delighted surprise, "Senior Brother Chu, you were actually this amazing? Why didn't you say so before?"

Lin Bei asked admiringly, "Brother Chu, how are your techniques so professional? Hiss... could you teach me?"

Xu Ziqing looked at him in confusion. "Hm? What techniques?"

The young girl still did not quite understand what was strange about the Demon-Binding Rope.

"Oh, movement techniques, movement techniques!" Lin Bei hastily corrected himself.

"It was nothing..." Chu Liang smiled faintly. "I merely used a rather powerful talisman. Once used, it was gone, and I feel quite heartbroken about it too."

"So that was it." Everyone came to a realization.

In truth, that was what they had guessed as well. With Chu Liang's early Divine Intent Realm cultivation, it was certainly unlikely that he possessed such movement techniques. If he had possessed such a divine ability all along, there would have been no need for him to hide it earlier.

Most likely, he had used some treasured pill or talisman he had kept in reserve.

As for where the talisman had come from, no one asked further.

In the cultivation world, it was taboo to ask about another person's magical artifacts, talismans, pills, divine abilities, and the like...

The reason was simple. Cultivation could be seen, and unless the gap in cultivation was too vast, it was difficult to conceal. Yet these things could be hidden, and at crucial moments, they could make up for gaps in cultivation.

Everyone had their own little secrets, some of them even things meant to save their lives. Naturally, they would not like others knowing about them. Sometimes, a tiny difference in information was the difference between life and death.

As for the origins of treasures, righteous sects like Shushan were somewhat better. But among those wild, unorthodox cultivators roaming the jianghu, many had not obtained a single treasure cleanly.

Still, no matter where one was, rashly asking was an extremely tactless thing to do.

Besides, Chu Liang was the sole disciple of Silver Sword Peak. All of his master's resources were focused on him alone, so it was not strange for him to be granted a few treasures for protection.

What they were thinking now was that for a talisman to let someone at the early Third Realm erupt with speed far surpassing even Fang Ting of the Fourth Realm, its value had to be extraordinary.

It might even have been something he had saved to protect his life.

The Sword Coins earned from this mission would certainly not be enough to exchange for such a talisman.

And he had used such a precious treasure without hesitation, enduring the pain of it, all so everyone could complete their team mission!

After this short journey, the others, who had originally held some hostility toward him because of his origins in Silver Sword Peak, had undergone a tremendous change in their impression of Chu Liang.

This was what was called personal charisma.

If the Shushan Sect were choosing an exemplary disciple now, they would definitely vote for Chu Liang without the slightest hesitation!

The thoughtful young girl Xu Ziqing smiled and said, "Senior Brother Chu, since you used such a precious talisman, you can have my share of this mission's reward. It can make up for some of your losses."

She truly did not care much about this reward anyway. With her master and elder brother looking after her, the greater purpose of doing missions was to gain experience.

Hearing that, Chu Liang smiled. "That wouldn't be right..."

Fang Ting heard this and said, "Indeed. You sacrificed so much for everyone's mission to succeed. At the very least, we cannot let you suffer too great a loss. You can have my share as well."

He had mainly come this time to look after Xu Ziqing, so he was not overly concerned with the reward. Moreover, when the human-faced macaque had snatched the Jade Essence Flower earlier, he had nearly thought he would lose all face. Chu Liang's reversal of the situation had truly saved the day. The gratitude in his heart was beyond words.

Just as Chu Liang was about to politely decline, Lin Bei shouted beside him again, "Brother Chu, stop refusing! Everyone can see how much you gave up! You're our hero—how can we let you down? I'll give you Lu Ren's share too. If you don't accept, you're treating us like outsiders!"

"Th-This..." Chu Liang smiled again and could only say, "I'm so embarrassed to accept."

Lu Ren opened his mouth, wanting to say something too, but after making a couple of incoherent sounds, he suddenly felt that something was odd... It seemed there was no need to say anything?

"Hm?"