The Holy Fool
As his features changed, Fu Qian's body twisted and rapidly shrank as well, until he had completely turned into a withered old man.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
This time, Ariel seemed to remain frozen in place for even longer.
"So that's how it is!"
After a long while, Ariel studied Fu Qian's bloodstained right-hand claw and smiled meaningfully.
"The Rebirth Club actually joined forces with the Night Watchers?"
"Looks like this face of mine is pretty recognizable."
Fu Qian let out a cold laugh, its meaning just as hard to read.
"As long as they share a goal, anyone can join forces."
As he spoke, he took a deep breath. The wounds on his body slowly began to heal.
"That's astonishing!"
Ariel seemed entirely unfazed.
"Just by grafting and fusing, you managed to reach the demigod level. Looks like you not only faked your death and escaped during the last incident, but even benefited from it."
"Can you explain what you were doing just now?"
"You didn't need that first part. I would've answered if you'd simply asked."
Fu Qian raised a hand and pointed at Yuan Shan.
"Simple. I was stopping her from doing something pointless."
"She said herself that the two of us posed no threat to you, yet she still rushed in."
"Then you were far too heavy-handed."
"I was a little heavy-handed, hehehe!"
Fu Qian laughed meaningfully several times.
"Mostly, I wanted to see how you'd react."
Before Ariel could reply, Fu Qian stared at him, still somewhat dazed.
"Turns out the new breed cultivated by the Native Council really is interesting!"
"I thought I'd already made quite a bit of progress lately, but coming to Shangjing has brought one surprise after another."
"I don't quite understand what you mean."
Ariel's