Chapter 77: Lin Hao's Dark Intentions. On the other side.
On the western side of Azure Cloud's inner sect stood a secluded courtyard.
Shallow furrows had been carved into the ground by spells, and faint earth-element spiritual energy drifted through the air.
Lin Hao stood in the open space, constantly forming earth spikes at his fingertips, practicing his earth-based spells by conjuring and dismissing them.
Just as he was getting into the rhythm of his training, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the courtyard gate.
Ma Shan came rushing into the courtyard, panting heavily.
"Senior Brother, I went to the Mission Pavilion to take a task earlier. Guess who I saw?"
Lin Hao stopped casting, his brows furrowing as he replied impatiently.
"Cut the useless talk and get to the point."
Ma Shan leaned closer and lowered his voice. "It was Su Yun. I saw him with my own eyes on the second floor of the Mission Pavilion."
Lin Hao froze, the casual look on his face vanishing.
"Su Yun? He only broke through to Foundation Establishment recently. Why isn't he in seclusion consolidating his cultivation? What's he doing at the Mission Pavilion?"
"What else? Taking a sect mission, of course."
Ma Shan curled his lip. "I made a point of lingering nearby to find out. He took a task to kill a River Demon in the Canglang River."
"The Canglang River?" Lin Hao's pupils contracted.
"That's right, the water-element River Demon at Foundation Establishment Late Stage." Ma Shan nodded repeatedly, his face full of mockery.
"That monster has been entrenched in the Canglang River for years. With the river's terrain in its favor, its water spells are treacherous. Several fellow disciples at Foundation Establishment Late Stage went after it before; some came back badly wounded, while others returned empty-handed. Even