"Who are you?"
Shui Bing'er didn't recognize a single one of them, and looked bewildered.
"Do you recognize this?" Ning Fengzhi asked with a faint smile, taking out the mask.
Shui Bing'er looked surprised for a moment, then calmed down and slowly said, "It's the mask!"
All the memories of what had happened before came flooding back: those evil thoughts, the bloody scenes, and the helplessness she'd felt after her body had been possessed.
Right. I still don't know how the school is doing.
Shui Bing'er sprang to her feet, only to collapse onto the floor.
"Careful." Ning Fengzhi helped her back onto the bed. "Young lady, I'm Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I'd like to talk to you about this mask. Is that all right?"
Shui Bing'er looked at him. Several Soul Masters stood in the room, their faces expressionless, while she was all alone.
After a moment of silence, she nodded gently.
Ning Fengzhi was delighted. He began asking, "Young lady, how did you come across the mask...?"
The two went back and forth, and Shui Bing'er told him everything she knew, including the half-masked man and the Snake Talisman.
She had accidentally discarded the Talisman while possessed, and didn't know where she'd dropped it.
When Shui Bing'er learned that Ning Fengzhi had saved her, she immediately bowed to him in gratitude.
A life-saving favor deserved such a grand gesture.
As they talked, time passed. Before long, Ning Fengzhi had learned everything he wanted to know. He also persuaded Shui Bing'er, who wanted to return to the school, to stay here for the time being.
"Once your identity as the Masked Man is exposed, the Heaven Dou Empire will surely hunt you down. When that happens, Skywater Academy will face utter ruin."
Shui Bing'er thought it over in a panic, then finally agreed to join the Black Hand Gang.
To be clear, Ning Fengzhi hadn't told her the Black Hand Gang's true purpose. In fact, the gang had yet to do anything to resist the demons. They were still just growing.
Ning Fengzhi counted the loyal, dependable deathsworn as the Secret Party, while everyone else was simply part of the Black Hand Gang. That way, even if someone discovered the gang, they wouldn't pay it much attention.
The meeting room.
"Fengzhi, this plan of yours—mixing truth and lies, making everything seem like smoke and mirrors—is brilliant." Chen Xin raised his teacup in praise.
Ning Fengzhi smiled, then set down his teacup and said helplessly, "We're just ants struggling for survival. If we had power like the gods, we wouldn't have to fear the demons."
"Ah! It's just a shame about that Snake Talisman." Gu Rong sighed with some regret.
"There's nothing to regret. It's just a trinket that can turn invisible," Ning Fengzhi said indifferently.
Turning invisible didn't mean becoming intangible. A Soul Master with powerful mental strength like him could pinpoint an opponent through their mental energy. In a high-level battle, it was practically useless.
Still, even if it was nearly useless, it was a Talisman. They had to get it back.
"We'll go look for it in a bit. It shouldn't be far from Skywater City."
"Mm!" Gu Rong nodded, then fell silent.
Steam curled from the teacups, filling the room with the fragrance of tea. The men drank in silence.
Even the gods are afraid, huh?
Ning Fengzhi held his teacup, thinking of those omnipotent gods.
In a remote forest, a hundred miles from Skywater City.
Dai Xieyue pushed aside a thicket and pulled out a Talisman carved with a snake. He was beside himself with excitement.
"Finally found it! Lord Shendu will surely be pleased this time."
Just as he was about to leave, a figure suddenly flew across the sky. He was dressed in white and carried a sword on his back. Their eyes met.
"Masked Man?" Sword Douluo stopped in surprise.
Looking down at the fellow wearing a half-mask of crimson, he recognized him at once. Wasn't this the Masked Man wanted by the Heaven Dou Empire and Skywater Academy?
You little punk. I've finally caught you.
Sword Douluo drew his sword and slashed. A sword beam dozens of meters long plunged into the forest with a whoosh, setting off a massive explosion.
"What's wrong with that old man?" Dai Xieyue turned into a shadow and fled the forest in a panic, unable to stop himself from cursing the other man's stupidity.
You slashed at me for no reason. I'll remember you. He fixed the man's face in his mind.
Rumble—
The dust settled, leaving a massive trench in the ground. The figure had already disappeared.
He escaped underground again. I should've brought Bone Douluo. Sword Douluo sent several more slashes crashing down in frustration, destroying the entire forest, but still couldn't find a trace of his target.
With no other choice, he continued searching for the Talisman elsewhere.
Using mental energy to search was convenient. He'd scanned the man just now and confirmed he wasn't carrying a Talisman. Had he simply not found it, or was it no longer here?
Sword Douluo flew through the sky, his mental energy sweeping over the surrounding area.
Spirit Hall.
Dai Xieyue hurried along with the Talisman, rushing all the way until he finally delivered it into Shendu's hands.
"Well done." Shendu didn't hold back his praise. It seemed that after the earlier lesson he'd given this fellow, his efficiency had indeed improved.
Though the Snake Talisman was relatively ordinary, he wasn't picky. All that mattered was completing the divine trial.
He placed the Talisman in the groove, and the divine trial began. The throne in the void glimmered with golden light.
A Soul Ring with a lifespan of three hundred thousand years, five percent World God affinity, and a token for sealing a demon.
Shendu looked at the red-and-blue sword before him, his expression shifting.
Lu Dongbin's sword.
Was this some kind of joke? He hadn't even been unsealed yet, and they were already giving him a token from the god who'd sealed him?
"A mere sword thinks it can seal me? Break!"
In the Divine Position Space, Shendu clenched Lu Dongbin's sword in his hand. A shrill metallic clang rang out.
The next second—crack!
The once-hard, razor-sharp sword shattered in his bare hand. Its broken pieces scattered across the ground, while Shendu stood proudly, his head held high.
"From now on, nothing in this world can seal me!" Shendu rasped.
The fragments lying on the ground sank into the Divine Position Space. A tree suddenly sprouted where they'd been, growing at astonishing speed until it reached maturity and bore fruit.
To Shendu's surprise, the tree dropped a strange, long, thick fruit into his hands.
The moment he caught it, Shendu learned its origin: the World Tree's sword embryo.
When the fruit ripened, it would give birth to a World Sword powerful enough to command the world. It represented his claim to the greatest authority in the entire world—the divine position's inherited artifact.
So that was it.
Shendu carefully placed the fruit in the river of divine power, nourishing it with his power. He didn't know when it would bear fruit, but this was the artifact meant to accompany his divine position. He had to cultivate it.
Besides, he believed that when the World Sword finally appeared, it would surely bring him a surprise!
He withdrew from the Divine Position Space.
In the secret chamber, Bibi Dong and Dai Xieyue stood respectfully.
Bibi Dong's eyes gleamed. She was certain that this news would surprise Shendu.
"Bibi Dong, have you found the Talisman?" Shendu rasped.
"No, but I have something I think you'll want to know, Lord Shendu."
"What?"
Bibi Dong smiled. "The Thunder Demon Zhong Su has unilaterally declared that he's conquered the Douluo Continent. He's ordered every faction on the continent to go to Thunder City and pay their respects. Anyone who refuses will be treated as a rebel and struck by five bolts of heavenly lightning!"
Hearing this, Shendu covered his face with a helpless hand.
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