Time passed little by little.
The wind grew hotter, and even the mist from the waterfall became humid and stuffy.
Ding Yu's pants were clinging to her body and completely soaked.
He waited for another ten minutes or so.
It was now well past noon, around 12:30.
Some wealthy spectators took out their Western pocket watches to determine the time.
Looking at Sweeping Mountain Tiger again, I couldn't help but feel a hint of mockery.
"Perhaps the Golden Wing Tower never intended to fight him, but was just playing with him and teasing him?" some people guessed.
"Let's go, let's go, the show's over."
"Let's call it a day, this is pointless."
Having watched so many battles, everyone has actually figured out what kind of personality Sweeping Mountain Tiger has.
This guy is a martial arts fanatic and a vicious thug.
His previous constant ambushes of caravans and passing groups were merely attempts to provoke Wushan Prefecture into sending out its top experts.
Now that his goal has been achieved, the result has greatly disappointed him.
These days, even the robbing of people by the Sweeping Mountain Tiger has become too lazy to do it.
A large caravan that passed by these days even spent a lot of money to hire government soldiers for protection, but nothing happened to them.
It's clear that Ding Yu doesn't care about the amount of wealth at all.
Shangguan Qingrong and Shangguan Hao also remained hidden in the shadows, observing Ding Yu from afar.
Both of them disguised themselves and traveled in civilian clothes, wearing specially made leather masks to change their appearance.
The purpose was to prevent anyone from finding out.
"The Golden Wing Tower Spirit Envoy definitely won't come; he's not that stupid. Ding Yu has won several consecutive victories, and his strength is terrifyingly powerful. Even if he comes, he'll only be throwing his life away."
"Just sending them to their deaths without any benefit is not a worthwhile deal," Shangguan Qingrong said in a deep voice.
"No. I think the Golden Wing Tower will come. A major Eastern Sect organization wouldn't be afraid of a mere Ninth Grade official," Shangguan Hao retorted.
"You don't understand. The larger the organization, the more it needs to consider gains and losses. If everyone is seen as an opponent, the large organization will eventually become a small organization and then disappear completely."
Shangguan Qingrong answered.
"Moreover, although the new Spirit Envoy in annihilating the Huang Family were extraordinary, his raw strength was far inferior to that of Sweeping Mountain Tiger."
Shangguan Hao remained silent. He longed to go up again and let Ding Yu know that Wushan Prefecture was not without its warriors!
However, recalling the terrifying scene of their last encounter, his fighting spirit was quickly suppressed by a trace of fear.
That irresistible, powerful force was simply... whoosh.
Suddenly, a splash came from Containing Mountain Pool.
Ding Yu immediately stood up and jumped into the water. She walked step by step towards the shore.
"It seems that the Golden Wing Tower dares not accept the challenge."
He walked to the shore, looking desolate.
The feeling of emptiness in my heart resurfaced once again.
It's a feeling of emptiness where you can't find a goal in the world, you lack nothing, but you don't know what to do.
He didn't know how to fill the gap.
But he knew that the emptiness would disappear when he was fighting and striving to catch up.
"Let's go. There's no one left in Wu Mountain worth my attention."
Xu Xin and Sun Xiaohui, who were in the woods, both sighed inwardly.
This time, Ding Yu was truly, utterly, and hopelessly desperate.
They were filled with despair for everyone in Wushan Prefecture.
The three of them said no more and turned to leave into the distance.
At that very moment.
Swoosh! A Flying Dagger, streaked with silver light, shot towards Ding Yu.
The Flying Dagger wasn't fast; it seemed to have pierced something through its blade.
Smack
Ding Yu made a precise move, pinching the tip of the knife and suspending it in mid-air.
He frowned as he looked at the strip of cloth pierced through the blade.
Reach out and quickly take it.
A line of somewhat hurried handwriting was written on the strip of cloth.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances today, we will resume our battle another day. —Golden Wing Tower."
The Flying Dagger attracted a lot of attention, but strangely, most people didn't notice where Flying Dagger came from.
Only a very few High Grade Expert discovered that the person who threw the Flying Dagger was hidden among the crowd.
But which one specifically remains unknown.
The crowd of onlookers numbered at least several dozen.
Furthermore, everyone's attention had been focused on Ding Yu and his two companions. Even those with High Grade couldn't discern the source of the Flying Dagger.
"A letter from the Golden Wing Tower?" A glimmer of hope flashed in Ding Yu's eyes.
But soon, that glimmer of hope faded away.
"Trying to fool me again? Heh, a weakling is a weakling and boring."
He tossed aside the cloth, too lazy to say anything more, and turned to leave quickly.
"Big brother!"
Seeing this, Xu Xin and Sun Xiaohui quickly followed.
"Maybe something really has happened?" Xu Xin said in a deep voice. He had also seen the writing on the cloth.
"I won't be stupid enough to fall for it a second time," Ding Yu said coldly.
"As for whether something really happened? An intelligence organization that is so well hidden, would it be such a coincidence that something happened at this exact moment? What kind of coincidence is that in this world?"
He scoffed.
The other two understood as well; indeed, there are hardly any coincidences in this world.
Bang! A muffled sound suddenly came from afar, attracting everyone's attention.
At the pond in the woods, everyone's gaze was fixed on that spot.
The same applies to Ding Yu and the other two.
Thick smoke was seen rising continuously from a certain area outside Wushan Prefecture to the west.
The black column of smoke was clearly visible even from a great distance.
"Where is that?" Ding Yu frowned.
"The Golden Wing Tower just sent word that something had happened, and now something has happened immediately. Perhaps..." Xu Xin said in a deep voice from the side.
"Could this be the reason why Golden Wing Tower didn't keep the appointment?" Sun Xiaohui asked.
He turned to look at Ding Yu. "Want to go take a look?"
"Not interested." Ding Yu withdrew her gaze. "Go back and pack your things, get out of this awful place as soon as possible. I don't want to stay here for another second; this garbage place makes me feel disgusted."
The other two were speechless. Since their leader had said so, they could only follow suit.
The three sped up and quickly headed out of the forest.
Bang!
Suddenly, there was another muffled thud, and another plume of smoke rose from the same area that had been emitting smoke before.
This time, the commotion was even bigger than the last.
Most of the onlookers were martial arts practitioners, and some, out of curiosity, had already rushed towards the direction of the loud noise, trying to see what was going on.
Ding Yu, who was preparing to leave, finally frowned this time.
He gazed in that direction and fell silent for a moment.
"Perhaps you're right, something big has happened. Let's go see!"
The two men looked solemn; they had never witnessed such a commotion before.
*** Ten Thousand Mile Villa.
The fire engulfed the front half of the Mountain Villa.
In the public area, assassins from the Golden Wing Tower are locked in fierce combat with groups of masked men dressed in Sea Blue Outfit.
The members of the Golden Wing Tower were all dressed in black and white outfits, while those Sea Blue Outfit had a Sea Dragon symbol on their backs.
It was a Deep Blue Dragon Pattern that was winding and twisting.
The fact that Sea Dragon dares to use a dragon as its logo demonstrates the depth and strength of its background.
"In Buddhist School mythology, the Golden Winged Great Peng Bird is born to feed on dragons. Unfortunately, the Roc is now old and can no longer flap its wings."
Outside the gate of the Mountain Villa, a man stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the thick smoke rising from the burning building, lost in thought.
This person was slightly overweight, wearing Dark Blue Brocade Robe and Silver White Metal Gloves.
Its face was also covered by a Sea Blue Ferocious Mask.
Judging from the shape of the mask, it has Antler, fangs, and a long beard, so it should be dragon-shaped.
Inside the Mountain Villa, screams of agony echoed as wooden beams snapped and collapsed.
Bao Ning, who was stationed at the Mountain Villa, was leading his team of experts in a desperate resistance.
At first, they were fine, as they could throw out the large stockpile of weapons and hidden weapons from the Golden Wing Tower and cause considerable damage.
But once all these most precious and exquisite hidden weapons were used up, Sea Dragon's experts all entered and engaged in close combat.
The Golden Wing Tower was already severely damaged and had not yet been replenished. Now, when it encountered the newly arrived Sea Dragon experts, it was immediately routed and forced to retreat repeatedly.
Soon, some of the important defensive structures in the front part of the Mountain Villa were blown up by Sea Dragon's explosives.
In other words, the Great Ling strictly controlled the flow of cannons, otherwise they would not have been able to resist until now.
Even so, Bao Ning and the others in the Mountain Villa were all deeply shocked.
Because explosives are also reserved for military use and cannot be used arbitrarily by any armed forces.
Now Sea Dragon actually dares to openly use such a powerful weapon!
Aren't they afraid of reprimands from the military Snow Rainbow Pavilion?! Although the Eastern Sect Western Sect are strong, the world is still controlled by the Ling Ting. It's just that the Imperial Tutor is currently enjoying great favor and his influence extends throughout the world; he himself represents the Ling Emperor.
That's why they wield such great power.
But now, the fire is gradually spreading towards the back of the Mountain Villa.
The number of assassins in the Golden Wing Tower was dwindling, and the assassins were falling to the ground one after another.
"What a pity," Xue Chengyu sighed. "This Mountain Villa has a history of over a hundred years, hasn't it? To destroy it like this, even I would feel regret."
He turned around and looked toward a grove of trees.
"You've been here for quite some time, yet you haven't shown yourself. Are you observing me? Looking for my weaknesses?"
There was a brief silence.
A black figure wearing a straw hat slowly emerged from the woods.
The figure raised its head, revealing a Golden Wing Tower mask with black Silver Thread.
It was Zhang Rongfang had arrived long ago.
"You noticed me a long time ago?"
He stared at the person opposite him.
It was as if the Ten Thousand Mile Villa, which was being burned down, was not part of his territory at all.
"Yes, I have an exceptionally strong sense of the five senses, just like the Snake King you encountered last time," Xue Chengyu said with a smile.
"Actually, I'm a little curious. Why don't you run away?" A hint of doubt appeared in his eyes.
It wasn't a pretense, it wasn't a joke, it was a genuine emotion.
He genuinely found it strange. The other party, Ninth Grade Golden Wing Tower Spirit Envoy, didn't run away from him, a Jiaoren- level Super Grade? Did he not know how strong Super Grade were? Or did he think he had extra trump cards or helpers? Xue Chengyu was truly puzzled.
In order to break through to the Super Grade, he took forbidden medicine, which shortened his lifespan. Then, he spent more than ten years searching for Ming Consort.
It's only with great difficulty that we've finally crossed that threshold.
This is precisely because the gap between the Super Grade and the Ninth Grade is far greater than ordinary people imagine.
That's why he found it strange.
If we say that before the Ninth Grade, it's about constantly exploring one's innate potential.
After reaching the Super Grade, one uses drugs and special methods to stimulate and strengthen one's body.
Only those with sufficient talent in the first Ninth Grade, and who have nurtured their bodies to an extremely high level, are qualified to take medicine and break through to the Super Grade.
Otherwise, after taking the medication, the person would die on the spot due to the unbearable stimulation.
How can one experience bliss without going through hell?