Crisis

Silver Moon Bay, east, Withered Wood Forest.

Ironwood trees as thick as buckets were snapped in half, lying in chaotic heaps across the ground, the earth scarred with fist prints and sword marks, a scene of utter disarray.

In the center of the clearing stood a white-clad youth, none other than Ning Wuque of the Ning Family. His expression was indifferent, his gaze locked onto a faintly glowing marsh ahead.

To him, only the rare treasure deep within the marsh was worth his attention; everything else was beneath his notice.

"Senior Brother Ning, it's all cleaned up!" Liu Yun scurried over, his face plastered with a fawning smile. "Not a single scum left in this Withered Wood Forest! All the good stuff here naturally belongs to the Ning Family!"

Ning Wuque gave a faint "mm" in acknowledgment, his eyes still fixed on the marsh.

Liu Yun, standing behind him, was about to speak again when his ears twitched. He whipped around toward the forest's edge and barked, "Who goes there?!" Before his words faded, a group of people parted the branches and stepped out.

At the lead was a brocade-clad youth. The moment he spotted Ning Wuque's back, he hurried forward, lowering his posture deeply: "Brother Ning! I've long admired your name! This Humble One is Shen Yutang of the Shen Family. Hearing you were here, I came specially to pay my respects!"

Ning Wuque did not turn around, as if no one stood behind him.

Shen Yutang remained bowed, and the scene grew awkward.

Yet he was clearly prepared. His smile didn't waver as he straightened up and continued, "Brother Ning, with your lofty ambitions, you surely disdain being distracted by trivial matters. If ever there's dirty work to be done, just command me. The Shen Family would gladly serve as your loyal dogs!"

These words finally drew a reaction from Ning Wuque. He slowly tilted his head, glancing at Shen Yutang from the corner of his eye.

"Someone from the Shen Family?" Ning Wuque's voice was cold as ice, utterly devoid of emotion.

"Exactly!" Shen Yutang's heart leaped with joy. He quickly pulled an exquisite red sandalwood box from his sleeve and presented it with both hands. "Though our Shen Family is but a merchant clan, we have some connections in the herb trade. This is a Cold Blood Grass our caravan just brought back from the northern border. It's no rare treasure, but it works wonders for martial artists practicing cold-attribute techniques. I hope Brother Ning will deign to accept it!"

Ning Wuque merely glanced at it, his expression unchanged, and did not refuse.

Liu Yun, quick-witted as ever, stepped forward and took the box without hesitation.

Seeing this, Shen Yutang rejoiced inwardly, knowing the first step had been successful.

His eyes darted, recalling the news his sister Shen Zhiqiu had sent days ago, and his confidence grew. The Ning Family had recently lost face in the Outer Prefecture. If he could seize this opportunity, wouldn't he hitch a ride on the Ning Family's great ship?

A merchant's instinct told him this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

With that thought, Shen Yutang dropped all pretense and sighed with feigned indignation: "Brother Ning, my heart has been restless all the way here! That Qin Jue, knowing no bounds, threw his weight around in the Outer Prefecture recently. Not only did he injure Young Master Zhiyuan, but he also verbally humiliated my sister... Every time I think of it, I wish I could tear him limb from limb, to vent this anger for the Ning Family and for my sister!"

At these words, Ning Wuque showed no reaction, but Liu Yun's eyes lit up, and he let out a strange laugh.

"Heh, Brother Shen, you're in luck."

Shen Yutang was taken aback. "What do you mean, Brother Liu?"

Liu Yun toyed with the horsewhip in his hand and said darkly, "That brat came to Silver Moon Bay too. Two days ago, we ran into him on the road, riding a shabby Black Scale Horse, heading this way."

"What? He's here too?!"

Shen Yutang was first startled, then overjoyed.

He had only meant to show his stance, but heaven itself was helping him! This was practically delivering the credit to his doorstep!

Hearing this, Ning Wuque's expression turned slightly amused.

"In that case..."

He tossed out a casual remark, then turned away, dismissing Shen Yutang entirely:

"Go ahead and crush that grasshopper rolling in the mud."

His tone was imperious, treating Shen Yutang as no more than a servant, arrogant to the extreme. Any ordinary person would have been humiliated and enraged.

Yet Shen Yutang, far from anger, was ecstatic, a gleam of triumph flashing in his eyes.

He secretly rejoiced: as long as he could latch onto the Ning Family, what was a little face? That Qin Jue might be from the Qin Family, but he was nothing but a discarded branch descendant, unloved even by his own father. Even if he killed him here, those old foxes in the Qin Family would never turn against the Ning Family over a waste.

Trading a worthless branch descendant for the Ning Family's patronage—this deal was a one-for-a-thousand profit!

With that thought, he bowed deeply once more and declared loudly, "Rest assured, Brother Ning! I'll make sure that brat learns there are some people he can't afford to offend!"

Boulder Beach, northwest corner of Silver Moon Bay.

Here, jagged rocks rose in chaotic piles, rarely visited by men. Towering boulders sliced the sunlight into fragments, casting cold shadows all around. Dead silence reigned, broken only by the howling mountain wind and the heavy breathing of the Black Scale Horse.

Qin Jue led his horse through the crevices of the rocks. The deeper he went, the stronger the feeling of being watched grew.

"Hsss—"

The Black Scale Horse stopped abruptly, its front hooves pawing the ground uneasily, hot air blasting from its nostrils. Its eyes were full of wariness, fixed on a pile of rubble ahead.

That pile was heaped with gray rocks of all sizes, looking utterly ordinary.

But in Qin Jue's [Void Clarity Sword Heart] perception, there was an extremely faint fluctuation of energy there.

That fluctuation was subtle, like breathing—rising and falling, barely connected to the surrounding environment.

"Hmph, playing tricks."

Qin Jue's gaze sharpened. He wanted to see what was hiding beneath those stones.

With a calm expression, he walked step by step toward the rubble.

Just as he was less than three zhang away—

"Crack!"

The largest "rock" suddenly split open!

"Shiiing--"

A thick tail covered in gray-brown scales swept out like a steel whip, aimed straight at Qin Jue's waist and abdomen!

This strike was fast, precise, and vicious!

If it had been an ordinary martial artist, caught in an ambush at such close range, they wouldn't have had time to react at all. In an instant, they would have been cleaved in two, dead on the spot.

Yet Qin Jue's face showed no trace of fear. The very moment that gray shadow tore through the air toward him, he moved!

"Clang!"

A clear, resonant sword cry rang out across Boulder Beach as the Cold Iron Sword left its sheath!

Just as the scale-covered tail was about to slam into his waist—at that critical, hair-trigger moment—Qin Jue's wrist snapped with a sudden, violent twist!

"Buzz--!"

A piercing hum erupted in the air. An overwhelming vibration force exploded along the blade, moving so fast it left only a blurred afterimage!

"Cicada Wing Layers--Flap Wings!"

The Cold Iron Sword in Qin Jue's hand, carrying an unstoppable sharpness, met the attack head-on!

"Clang!"

A sharp, metallic clash rang out. The moment the boulder-shattering tail collided with the sword's edge, its iron-hard scales were shattered inch by inch by the terrifying force!

The strange vibrational power on the blade erupted in full force. In a single breath, hundreds, even thousands of cuts had already been completed!

"Shluck!"

A shower of blood mixed with shredded flesh exploded outward!

"Skreee--!!"

A wretched, agonized howl tore through the rubble, shaking the surroundings!

That thick lizard tail was now a mangled mess. Large chunks of flesh had been ground into pulp, and stark white bone fragments jutted out, a gruesome sight!

The "rock" that had been disguised finally revealed its true form—a Stone-skinned Lizard nearly three meters long!

Now, this Fierce Beast, which usually rampaged unchecked, was writhing in agony on the ground. The terrifying vibrational force contained in that single sword strike had already penetrated deep through the wound, savagely ravaging its muscles, bones, and organs, sending half its body into violent convulsions.