Unknown Strongman

Unknown Strongman

"Where is he? Take us there now!"

Jiang Baishan practically shuddered from head to toe, immediately realizing what had happened.

A trace of horror flickered in his eyes.

Then the others also realized what had happened. One by one, unable to contain themselves, they rushed over.

Ning Qi felt slightly helpless.

He of course knew what it was. After killing Flying Sky Eagle earlier, he had hurried over to provide support and had not had time to deal with the corpse. It should have been discovered by a disciple now.

His eyes flickered slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.

Very soon.

Everyone appeared at the place where Ning Qi and Tie Ying had fought earlier.

The conspicuous traces made everyone involuntarily suck in a breath of cold air. The nearly collapsed pavilion and the crisscrossing marks on the ground all showed that the battle that had taken place here was absolutely at the Gang Yuan Realm level.

"A Gang Yuan Realm expert infiltrated us!"

"Was River-Mixing Dragon drawing our attention just now?"

They had openly repaired the plank road while secretly crossing through Chencang—the enemy clearly had grand designs. Looking at the direction, this was precisely the only route to the Scripture Pavilion! What wolfish ambition!

He actually coveted the True Martial Sect's martial arts inheritance!

Everyone was both shocked and enraged.

Then Ye Qinghe was the first to react.

"Ground-Walking Tiger said something earlier: 'How did Second Brother die?' Could it be... that the person before us is Flying Sky Eagle?"

Shock rose in everyone's eyes.

A dignified Gang Yuan Realm expert had actually died just like this? Xiong Shi crouched down.

He reached out and pulled away the mask covering the corpse's face. Immediately, a thin, sinister face appeared before everyone. Yet the corpse's bulging eyes still held fear and horror, as if he had seen something utterly inconceivable.

"Is he Flying Sky Eagle?"

The others asked one after another.

Xiong Shi merely furrowed his brows and slowly shook his head.

"I can't tell."

Suddenly.

As if he had thought of something, he pulled a dagger from the waist of a nearby disciple. With one slash, he cut open the corpse's black clothes, revealing a faint pattern. Xiong Shi's eyes lit up. He pulled with both hands, fully exposing the pattern on the corpse's back before everyone.

It was a Descending Mountain Tiger, awe-inspiring and extraordinary, filled with a special charm.

Xiong Shi drew a deep breath and said heavily:

"It's Flying Sky Eagle!"

Jiang Baishan asked, "Second Senior Brother, how can you tell?"

Seeing the doubt in everyone's eyes, Xiong Shi slowly said, "You all know of the Three Ferocious Bandits of Tieling, but do you know their origins?"

Everyone shook their heads. Ye Qinghe, however, furrowed her brows and said, "There's a rumor that they aren't blood brothers. They merely came from a place called Tieling and became sworn brothers later."

Xiong Shi said, "That's right. It seems the rumor is true."

"The three of them left Tieling together and encountered a fortuitous opportunity, but they didn't trust each other very much. That was why they became sworn brothers. Not only that, it was said that the three of them obtained three martial arts related to dragons, tigers, and eagles, so they changed their names to Tie Long, Tie Hu, and Tie Ying."

Ning Qi was staring at the tiger image in a daze. He had already seen that it contained Mysteries. Once he immersed his mind in it, the tiger seemed to come alive, roaming freely through the mountains and forests. Every movement contained the Supreme Principles of martial arts.

At that moment, he heard Xiong Shi's words.

Ning Qi subconsciously asked, "Senior Brother, do you mean that this pattern is related to Flying Sky Eagle's identity?"

Xiong Shi nodded. "That's right. These three brothers committed every imaginable evil and were even wary of one another. To prevent themselves from being betrayed one day, they tattooed all three True Intent Diagrams they had obtained onto their bodies."

At this point, he paused, a teasing look in his eyes.

"However—their own martial arts weren't tattooed onto their own bodies. Instead, each was tattooed onto one of the others."

Everyone immediately understood.

"So Flying Sky Eagle's body bears the martial art of one of the other two bandits?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be Ground-Walking Tiger's Overlord Tiger True Intent Diagram!" Xiong Shi nodded. "Since that's the case, River-Mixing Dragon's body must bear the Sky Eagle True Intent Diagram, while Ground-Walking Tiger's bears the Raging Dragon True Intent Diagram."

At this moment, everyone was convinced that the person before them was Flying Sky Eagle. No wonder Tie Hu had been so furious when he came up earlier, and had even seemed unwilling when he left. So this was where the crux lay.

Flying Sky Eagle had died in the True Martial Sect, which meant Ground-Walking Tiger had lost his True Intent Diagram forever.

No wonder he had been so furious.

A True Intent Diagram was different from martial arts recorded in books. Constantly observing and comprehending it was like having wisdom poured directly into one's mind. It allowed one to reach profound martial arts realms more easily and even create entirely different martial arts from it.

It was a treasure that could only be created by a Heavenly Human expert who had cultivated a particular martial art to an extraordinary level.

Everyone's gazes grew heated.

This Overlord Tiger True Intent Diagram was a fine treasure! But right then.

A single sentence from Jiang Baishan made everyone's bodies tremble.

"Then... who killed Flying Sky Eagle?"

Earlier, they had been focused solely on confirming Flying Sky Eagle's identity and had forgotten this crucial matter.

Who had fought Flying Sky Eagle and even slain him here?

Jiang Baishan's gaze was deep and shadowed.

He was the only Gang Yuan Realm expert present, so he naturally saw things more clearly. He had been observing the traces of battle nearby all along. Now he crouched down and brushed his fingers over the two wounds on Tie Ying's chest and neck. Drawing a deep breath, he said, "If I'm not mistaken, Flying Sky Eagle was instantly killed by this Unknown Strongman with a single sword strike! Even without the sword strike to his neck, Flying Sky Eagle would still have died."

He felt tremendous pressure.

He had been constantly imagining what would happen if he were in Flying Sky Eagle's position. He feared he would not have fared any better. At most, it would have been a matter of one or two sword strikes.

The sudden appearance of such a Sword Dao expert on True Martial Mountain made him uneasy.

Everyone fell silent.

Shock filled their hearts.

Although the Three Ferocious Bandits of Tieling had a poor reputation, their strength was genuine. Across all of Qing Province, Gang Yuan Realm experts were among the very top ranks. Yet now, one had been so easily killed in an instant. It went without saying how powerful the person who had acted was.

"Could he be another person who infiltrated our True Martial Sect?"

As soon as this thought arose, everyone felt immense pressure.

But a disciple soon came forward to report, "Senior Brothers and Sisters, there are no signs of intrusion over at the Scripture Pavilion, and there are no traces of battle elsewhere either."

Everyone exchanged glances.

If this Unknown Strongman truly harbored malicious intent, there would probably be no one in the True Martial Sect capable of stopping him. He could enter and leave places like the Scripture Pavilion freely. Unless their own master emerged from seclusion, there would be little hope.

But there had not been the slightest disturbance. This meant that the Unknown Strongman most likely bore no ill will.

"Do you think... it's possible that this Unknown Strongman is hidden foundation of our True Martial Sect? After discovering Flying Sky Eagle's infiltration, the old senior acted and killed him."

Everyone's eyes lit up.

They automatically imagined an old Daoist with an immortal-like bearing.

"It's very possible! Otherwise, there's no way to explain it!"

Seeing the gradually excited expressions on the faces of his Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, and the many disciples, Ning Qi lifted his head from the Fierce Tiger True Intent Diagram, his expression somewhat strange.