Black Mountain stretched vast and boundless, its waters green and endless.
Black Mountain lay inland, amidst towering ranges. Though it had no great rivers, it was the source of many.
Everywhere, burbling streams ran no higher than the knee.
In the valley, on a greenstone ledge beside the stream, an inconspicuous jade toad crouched.
Its two little eyes watched the entrance to the valley.
Suddenly.
Someone came hurrying through the valley entrance, dressed in a loose black robe that clearly marked him as a disciple of the Five Poisons Sect. Faint figures seemed to follow behind him.
A half-dead, half-thriving old tree stood in the valley.
And behind that old tree was White Feather Crane, busy fishing.
Li Shuidao had already noticed someone entering. He was frantically getting dressed so he wouldn't appear before them improperly.
Li Shuilong ran for his life, fleeing in blind panic. He had no idea he had reached a remote valley.
There was no way out of the valley; it was a dead end. Not far ahead stood a great tree, half-dead and half-thriving. If he could just get past it, he would see an elegant White Feather Crane.
Unfortunately, he never got the chance. A pebble struck his kneecap with pinpoint accuracy, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Ah..." Li Shuilong cried out, pitching straight to the ground.
"Hahahaha..."
"Run! Let's see where you can run now."
The three fellow disciples quickly surrounded Li Shuilong. Two of them were women, both watching him with mocking expressions.
The two female disciples were named Zhou Yulan and Zhang Ruotong. Though neither was unattractive, their expressions were exceptionally spiteful.
A grinning youth followed at their side, clearly their lackey.
"Kneel!" Zhou Yulan said coldly.
"The senior sister told you to kneel." The lanky youth swung his hand and slapped Li Shuilong hard across the face.
Li Shuilong was numb by now. He felt no pain, not even humiliation or anger.
He just stood there, taking the blows.
"Useless!" Zhang Ruotong, standing behind Li Shuilong, kicked him.
Her foot struck the joint behind his knee.
Thud.
Li Shuilong fell to his knees.
"Li, you've gotten bold, haven't you? You actually dared to go complain about me to our master? You think our master will protect you? Let me tell you, in the Poison Hand lineage, only strength matters. No one cares about your character. Senior sister's in a good mood today. Just kowtow to me ten times, loud and hard, and I'll spare your life."
The youth beside her snarled, "Get down and kowtow right now. Otherwise, don't blame big sis for being ruthless."
Li Shuilong's eyes were bloodshot, but he didn't move.
"Oh? So you've got some backbone! Hurry up and kowtow to senior sister." The youth and Zhang Ruotong worked together, pinning Li Shuilong down from either side and slamming his head against the ground.
Thud, thud, thud...
Those were loud, ringing kowtows.
"Hahahaha..." Zhou Yulan burst into delighted laughter.
Just then.
A figure slowly emerged from behind the tree.
Zhou Yulan and the others looked him over, but he met their gazes without flinching.
"This has nothing to do with you. Get lost!" Zhou Yulan said coldly.
But instead of leaving, the man calmly approached, speaking as he walked. "The sect rules state that disciples of the Five Poisons Sect must not kill one another except during trials!"
"Hahahaha..." Zhou Yulan and the others laughed arrogantly.
"Which of your eyes saw me killing anyone? I'm just teaching my junior brother a lesson. What's it to you?" Zhou Yulan said, her eyes as sharp as knives.
"You're bullying a fellow disciple," the man replied evenly.
"Bullying? Exactly! That's a fine word. It suits me perfectly. If you're strong enough, you can bully others. Remember that! Those are my words—Zhou Yulan's." Zhou Yulan pointed skyward, speaking with imperious pride.
Li Shuidao: "..."
"D-Daoge, you should go." Li Shuilong recognized the newcomer: his kinsman, Li Shuidao.
They had studied together in the Cultivation Hall for two years and had been apart for only a little over half a year, so of course they recognized each other.
"Heh... So that's why someone's standing up for this useless fool. You're kin. Junior Brother Wan, go see what he's made of."
"Sure thing!" Wan Wenhu replied, cupping his fist.
"Don't tarnish our master's reputation," Zhang Ruotong added.
"Don't worry." Wan Wenhu answered with confidence, then stepped forward.
He glanced at Li Shuidao and saw that, like himself, Li Shuidao was only at the early stage of the Spirit Channeling Mirror. He didn't even have a blade on him, so a contemptuous smile crept onto his lips. "Kid, this is your last chance. Get on your knees and beg for mercy."
"Why should I?" Li Shuidao scoffed.
"Because I'm stronger than you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wan Wenhu drew a short knife from his waist and slashed at Li Shuidao.
The blade flashed coldly as it cut through the air!
Li Shuidao darted aside and dodged the attack.
Then Li Shuidao abruptly closed in and struck with both palms.
"Thump!"
Wan Wenhu couldn't react in time. The blow landed on his chest, sending him flying backward to crash heavily onto the ground.
Zhou Yulan and Zhang Ruotong's eyes turned cold. Wan Wenhu was their lackey, but he shouldn't have been knocked flying in a single move.
"Ruotong, you go." Zhang Ruotong nodded and stepped forward, darting at Li Shuidao like a thunderbolt.
A needle-thin sleeve sword flashed out, thrusting straight for the center of Li Shuidao's brow.
At the same time.
Zhou Yulan pulled a sharp pebble from her robes and hurled it at Li Shuidao with the innate Divine Ability of the Poison Scorpion's Flying Blade.
One attack in plain sight, one concealed—both women had struck at once.
Faced with the incoming pebble,
Li Shuidao turned and ran.
"After him!" The two women immediately chased after him.
When they reached the half-dead, half-thriving tree, Li Shuidao swung a thick wooden club down at them.
Zhou Yulan saw something dark come crashing down over her head. She couldn't dodge in time; it struck her squarely in the face. She crumpled to the ground, head spinning with pain.
"Kill him!" Zhou Yulan clutched her nose, now bleeding, and roared.
Zhang Ruotong rushed in too.
Another wooden club greeted her. She couldn't dodge this one either; it smacked her right in the face, sending blood streaming from her nose.
There was no need to go easy on scum. Just beat them senseless with a big wooden club.
Li Shuidao took the chance to beat them while they were down. The two women yelped as he thrashed them.
"Cough, cough..."
Both women spat blood, their hair in disarray and their injuries severe.
The three wiped the blood from their mouths, looked at Li Shuidao with a mixture of hatred and fear, then staggered away...
In the valley.
Li Shuilong was still kneeling. He stared at his kinsman in disbelief, unable to understand how, despite entering the Five Poisons Sect at the same time, Li Shuidao had grown so powerful while his own cultivation had not advanced at all—and he had even lost his Spirit Companion.
Li Shuidao was surprised too. Just cultivating the two internal-absorption arts, the Jade Toad Qi Cultivation Art and the Golden Toad Qi Locking Method, had greatly boosted his strength and speed, letting him easily crush this bunch of "peers."
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