Su Changqing tucked the black fan into his pocket and looked toward the fireworks gradually fading on the horizon.
They had come from the third peak, the one Tai Long had gone to attack.
Cloud Dragon Village was extraordinarily formidable, with seven village chiefs in total.
Especially the first three peaks, whose chiefs were all above the Fifth Level of Xiantian. That was why Zuo Qianhu, Tai Long, and Jin Yichuan had been assigned to them.
The chief of the third peak of Seven Mountains of Cloud Dragon was Jiang Han. He possessed Immense Strength and wielded a Pear Blossom Mountain Splitting Axe, making him exceptionally powerful in battle.
Tai Long possessed Innate Divine Strength and naturally refused to yield. Unfortunately, he had suffered a saber strike from Su Changqing at the Suppression Bureau and was badly injured, unable to defeat Jiang Han.
As the fireworks faded, all of Seven Mountains of Cloud Dragon, save for Seventh Peak, had descended into bloody battle. Cries of slaughter and the clash of blades rang without end.
At the summit of the third peak, two towering figures fought fiercely. In the end, they tumbled off the mountaintop together.
The two plunged deep into Cloud Dragon Lake, sending up a spray of water and drawing startled cries.
They were Tai Long and Jiang Han.
"It's time to enter the water. I still need to follow Tai Long to find that Thousand-Year Old Clam. Otherwise, with Cloud Dragon Lake this vast, how long would it take me to search it myself?" Su Changqing watched for a moment, then lightly shook his head.
He leaped into the water. His ear passages automatically sealed shut as he sped through the lake like a fish, ripples gleaming around him.
Su Changqing had inherited the Profound Heaven True Qi and condensed the Black Tortoise Phenomenon. The Black Tortoise favored water, and while underwater, his combat strength could increase more than threefold.
The water was his true domain.
He did not need to surface for air, and his endurance in battle was immense.
Whoever came would die.
Halfway up Seventh Peak, Zhou Chu joined up with another Deputy Thousand Household of the Imperial Guard, Zhang Chao.
Zhang Chao looked to be in his thirties or forties. Holding a Steel Saber, he asked with an ugly expression, "Why hasn't Commander Su appeared yet? Where did he go?"
Zhou Chu hesitated, unsure how to answer.
"He's called Little Guan Gong and fought Commander Tai to a draw. Could he have fled the moment he saw the fireworks?"
"We can't wait for him any longer. If Zuo Qianhu holds us accountable, none of us can bear the consequences. Quickly, head for Seventh Peak!" Zhang Chao frowned and said coldly.
He was an experienced veteran who had participated in battles to exterminate martial sects.
If Su Changqing had been here today, the two of them could have joined forces against Ji Chufeng and stood a chance of winning.
But now, they could only pile up bodies!
Zhou Chu could only nod helplessly. He had no idea where Su Changqing had gone either.
Nearly six hundred Imperial Guards charged together toward the summit of Seventh Peak, pressing onward through the hazy night.
The gates of the stronghold stood open, yet the enormous mountain fortress was utterly empty. There was not even a sentry in sight.
"Commander Zhang, there's no one inside!"
"No one? Where did they go?" Zhang Chao's brow furrowed.
"Commander Zhang, there's a large ship moored by the shore at the foot of the mountain."
The Imperial Guards searched all around. At last, someone noticed the large ship docked near the shore of Cloud Dragon Lake.
"Come with me and investigate. Commander Su may very well have already begun fighting them!" Zhang Chao pondered for a moment before speaking with a grave expression.
If Su Changqing died, he would have a hard time dealing with Ji Chufeng.
Zhang Chao, Zhou Chu, Ye Ronghuo, and nearly six hundred Imperial Guards rushed down Seventh Peak.
"Kill!"
Zhang Chao was the fastest. He passed through the dense forest and leaped out, his gaze sharp and cold—only to freeze abruptly in place.
"Commander Zhang, what's wrong?" Zhou Chu hurried over and asked. The instant he saw the scene before him, he too was stunned.
The others arrived one after another, standing as still as clay statues. Their minds trembled with terror, and they could not recover their senses.
The sight was simply too shocking.
As far as the eye could see, there were corpses. The entire shore was piled full of them, stacked like human towers. Some had their heads severed, some were missing limbs, and some had steel needles embedded all across their foreheads. Blood floated the boats.
Their blood was still hot. It seemed they had only died moments ago.
Thick crimson blood flowed into Cloud Dragon Lake, mixing with its clear jade ripples in a strangely beautiful sight.
Amid green mountains and clear waters, under the scorching summer heat, six hundred Imperial Guards stood in utter silence.
A chill rose within them, and their entire bodies could not help but tremble.
Ye Ronghuo staggered backward and fell onto the ground.
Heavens, what sort of person had he provoked?
Zhang Chao's feelings were indescribable. He looked around at the Imperial Guards still standing dumbfounded, casually planted his Steel Saber into the ground, and sighed.
"I declare that the bandit suppression at Seventh Peak has succeeded. We have seized one large ship. Imperial Guard casualties... not a single death. A resounding victory!"
What a f*cking resounding victory.
Zhang Chao had served in the Imperial Guard for over a decade, yet he had never experienced anything like this in his life.
They had not even seen the enemy before Su Changqing slaughtered them all.
A burst of fireworks unique to the Suppression Bureau streaked across the sky, echoing overhead as it bloomed into something dreamlike and illusory.
The first peak of Seven Mountains of Cloud Dragon had fallen!
Within Cloud Dragon Lake, Su Changqing swam through the water, pursuing Tai Long and Jiang Han.
The third peak was far from Seventh Peak. Traveling by water in particular meant nearly thirty li, almost spanning the entire distance from the eastern shore of Cloud Dragon Lake to its western shore.
He had no time to chat with Zhou Chu and Zhang Chao.
Under the dark moonlight, the water shimmered. His eyes were cold as lightning, and he moved like a huge black fish lurking beneath the surface, his legs propelling him swiftly through the water without raising the slightest splash.
Since Tai Long had obtained the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, he must have defeated Jiang Han. As for why?
Su Changqing did not know, nor did he care to know.
He had never swum such a long distance in his life.
Swimming alone across seventy li, all for the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom.
Below the third peak, sheer cliffs dropped straight down like they had been cut by a blade, while the lake surface churned.
Tai Long and Jiang Han battled fiercely in the water. Every blow set off raging waves.
"You Imperial Guard dogs! Cloud Dragon Village never provoked you! Why did you ambush us today?!"
Jiang Han gripped his Pear Blossom Mountain Splitting Axe. The axe carried overwhelming force and a sharp, icy gleam as it cleaved down at Tai Long.
Tai Long's eyes were cold and sinister. He dodged the blow, stepping on the water and floating atop the lake.
He had truly been cursed with rotten luck today. First, Su Changqing had injured him and killed his disciple.
Then he had made one mistake, exposing the assassination attempt and putting the entire Suppression Bureau in danger.
Su Changqing was responsible for all of it!
If he had not been injured, how could Jiang Han have discovered him?
Jiang Han was only at the Fifth Level of Xiantian, the same realm as him. In his prime, why would he have risked falling off the cliff just to lure his opponent into a fight underwater?
"You're injured. You can't even use eighty percent of your strength. You're no match for me at all! I'll kill you today!" Jiang Han sneered.
"Oh? Is that so? I risked everything to drag you off that cliff and into Cloud Dragon Lake precisely to send you to your death!"
Tai Long gave a savage grin and stepped forward atop the waves.
Yangtze River Three Waves!
Even injured, Tai Long became stronger upon entering water with Yangtze River Three Waves. He could borrow the power of the vast waters. Jiang Han was at death's door and did not even realize it!
Tai Long raised his leg like a steel whip and kicked toward Jiang Han.
Jiang Han lifted his axe to block. With a bang, Tai Long's leg struck the axe haft, sending Jiang Han's body stumbling backward beyond his control.
He gave a muffled grunt and sprayed out a mouthful of blood, staining the lake water before him red.
"Take another! There are still two waves left!"
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