Tai Long let out a ferocious roar. "Today, I'll kill this bandit chief first, then Su Changqing!"
Two more kicks came in rapid succession, each fiercer and more domineering than the last.
Tai Long already possessed Innate Divine Strength and a towering build. In the water, using Yangtze River Three Waves, he was even more at home, like a fish in water.
Jiang Han took all three kicks head-on. His expression changed drastically, blood seeping from the web of his thumb as he could barely hold onto the Pear Blossom Mountain Splitting Axe.
How could Cloud Dragon Village's martial arts compare with those of the Imperial Guard, who possessed the Great Shang martial arts treasury?
He turned and fled straight for the shore.
"Trying to run?" Tai Long swam after him at high speed. Two more kicks, and Jiang Han would undoubtedly die!
Tai Long and Jiang Han sped through the water one after the other. Jiang Han truly deserved to be called a water bandit; having grown up in the water, he moved through Cloud Dragon Lake with astonishing speed.
For a moment, Tai Long was actually unable to catch up, while his chest still throbbed faintly with pain.
He hated Su Changqing even more. If he had not been injured, Yangtze River Three Waves would have been enough to kill Jiang Han just now.
Jiang Han threw away his giant axe and plunged his head beneath the water. Like a fish, he became even faster as he swam toward Second Peak.
The distance between them steadily widened. With the sky darkening and mist filling the air, Tai Long could no longer see Jiang Han's trail.
"Damn it. If I fail today's mission, Zuo Qianhu will surely make an example of me. I'm afraid I'll die..." Tai Long was frantic, yet he could not find Jiang Han anywhere.
Fireworks suddenly lit up in the sky. Seventh Peak—the mountain Su Changqing had gone to—had been declared conquered!
The fireworks illuminated Cloud Dragon Lake, and Tai Long immediately spotted Jiang Han's head rising above the surface to catch a breath.
"Hahaha, Su Changqing, by a twist of fate, you've actually helped me. I'll make your death a little quicker someday!"
Tai Long gave a savage grin. This time, he spared no true qi in his pursuit and closed in on Jiang Han once more.
In the distance, most of Su Changqing's body was submerged beneath the water, with only his eyes and ears exposed. He stared toward the waters around the third mountain, but failed to find Tai Long or Jiang Han.
Tai Long's savage laughter carried over from afar, making him smile.
"As a courtesy in return, I'll make your death a little quicker too."
Without that voice, it really would have been difficult for him to find Tai Long.
After fighting Jiang Han all the way, Tai Long had actually circled around to Second Peak.
"Looks like the Thousand-Year Old Clam is near Second Peak. I just don't know who placed it there." Su Changqing narrowed his eyes and stopped overthinking as he sped over.
His speed was utterly terrifying. Not even a fast boat could compare.
It had taken Jiang Han and Tai Long half an hour, exhausting their true qi, to swim to Second Peak.
He needed only a quarter of an hour.
Second Peak was where Jin Yichuan had gone. He was fighting a woman in red named Jiang Xingxing, whose skin was fair, her face beautiful, her legs long and straight, and her figure voluptuous.
The man and woman traded blows at the foot of the mountain. Blade Aura scattered everywhere, metal clanging without end, yet neither could gain the upper hand.
"Little sister, help me!"
Seeing the shore ahead, Jiang Han shouted urgently.
Jiang Xingxing frowned upon hearing him. Looking toward Jiang Han in the water and Tai Long pursuing him from behind, her pretty face changed.
She slashed through the air, forcing Jin Yichuan back, then hurried over to support him.
Her gaze sharpened. Gripping her saber crosswise, she suddenly hurled it straight at Tai Long.
After battling Jiang Han all the way and using true qi to tread on water, Tai Long had little true qi left. He was relying entirely on sheer ruthlessness.
As the saber tore through the air toward him, Blade Aura raging around it, Tai Long immediately realized that woman was the chief of Second Peak. She was at the Seventh Level of Xiantian, two full levels stronger than him!
If that saber reached him, how could he possibly survive?
Tai Long frantically dodged. His footing faltered, and he gulped down two mouthfuls of water before choking badly and sinking into the depths.
"Commander Tai!"
Jin Yichuan's expression changed as he rushed over with his saber drawn.
He fought Jiang Xingxing and the newly landed Jiang Han, the three of them locked in a desperate melee filled with danger at every turn.
At the deepest part of the lake, Su Changqing stood on the lakebed. His black clothes were as dark as ink, his hair soaked through, and his cold, sharp eyes watched everything unfold.
He had not surfaced for air even once along the way, following the two of them here the entire time.
He watched it all in silence.
"Tai Long, you really have Jin Yichuan in a terrible spot."
Jin Yichuan had already been no match for that woman. With Jiang Han added to the fight, it would be a miracle if he did not die.
Su Changqing had no intention of saving Jin Yichuan either.
Ever since the battle between him and Tai Long at the Suppression Bureau, when every Commander present had stood by without offering help, this outcome had already been decided.
Was he supposed to give up the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom to help Jin Yichuan, repaying resentment with kindness?
"I am destined to be the great villain of fate, seizing countless opportunities from others. My rise has been so swift that everyone in the Suppression Bureau probably knows it."
People despised you for being poor, and they despised you for being rich. This world had always been this way.
Su Changqing had risen too quickly, and that would invite jealousy. Even if they were not jealous, resentment would still grow in their hearts.
They carried out the same missions, so why did they receive only a few merit points?
Yet Su Changqing had obtained far too much.
The Indestructible Vajra Divine Art, Tyrant Saber, the Nine Revolutions Great Returning Pill, the Crimson Blood Soft Sword, the Heavenly Gang Great Buddha Sarira...
Moonlight spilled down from the heavens, radiant and dreamlike.
The quiet moonlight passed through the water, stirring ripples that reflected the chill on his face.
"Then I shall walk step by step until the very end, until I become the Martial Dao Grand Saint!"
In the deep waters of Cloud Dragon Lake, Tai Long had been knocked unconscious by the water. Even someone in the Xiantian Realm would end up like this once their true qi was exhausted.
He sank all the way to the bottom. His head struck something as though it had slammed into a blade, pain exploding across his scalp as blood splashed out and dyed the lake water red, jolting him awake.
Years of martial arts training made him instinctively hold his breath. His belly was swollen from all the water he had swallowed, like a woman ten months pregnant.
He looked beneath the reef at the Thousand-Year Old Clam, opening and closing its shell. It shimmered with flowing light, and he had no idea how many pearls it contained. His heart could not help but tremble.
How much would this be worth?
He had narrowly escaped death several times today. Could it be that he was about to make a fortune as well?
As for Jin Yichuan, who was still fighting two Xiantian Realm experts, Tai Long had long since forgotten about him.
Every one of those pearls was nearly as large as a pigeon egg, each worth at least ten thousand gold!
He was rich!
He would go ashore first to catch his breath and spit out the water in his stomach, then return for the pearls.
Just as Tai Long was about to head for shore, a jade-like hand suddenly landed on his shoulder and forcibly pressed him back down.
Tai Long abruptly turned around, his pupils widening in shock and terror.
Su Changqing!
He could hardly believe it.
Su Changqing looked at him calmly, simply holding him down by the shoulder.
Tai Long grabbed at him with both hands and struggled desperately, but it was completely useless.
His true qi was depleted, and after so many fierce battles, he had long since run out of strength. Even his Innate Divine Strength was neither painful nor itchy when it struck Su Changqing.
Very quickly, Tai Long drowned alive in the water. Bubbles continuously escaped from his mouth, and after his hands weakly flailed twice, he died cleanly and decisively.
His eyes remained wide open in disbelief.
A mighty Xiantian Realm expert like him had actually drowned in water?
"Sorry, I broke my word. I suddenly remembered that if I cut you down with one slash, Zuo Qianhu would likely come looking for your corpse."
Su Changqing watched the corpse gradually sink to the bottom, speaking softly in his heart.
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