Only the Temporal Temple Is to Blame

Zhou Zheng and Herk waited where they were, keeping their eyes on the Wang Family Bloodline Scroll Feng Zhuhong had made.

The Wang Family members were scattered across the area, but every half hour to hour or so, someone would die.

The other team really had been clearing out the Wang Family bloodline nearby, but there was no pattern to their killings. Sometimes, they would detour to an extremely distant place before coming back.

Sometimes they would kill their way along a straight line, while other times they simply slaughtered people at random, as if they were doing whatever they pleased and killing wherever they happened to fly!

Faced with this team's bizarre route, Zhou Zheng and Herk had no other choice but to wait where they were.

This was a test of patience. The more flustered they became, the harder it would be to lock onto their opponents.

Fortunately, Zhou Zheng was quite patient. He simply began practicing his swordsmanship on the spot.

Herk seemed patient as well. He found a comfortable spot, took out a huge pile of food from his Storage Treasure, and started stuffing himself.

Neither of them spoke. They waited like that until night fell.

Suddenly, a faint breeze swept past. Zhou Zheng abruptly stopped. That wisp of wind had brought him news from afar.

"They're here!"

Zhou Zheng instantly transformed into a streak of Wind Thunder and shot forward. Seeing this, Herk did not even bother with the half-roasted chicken in his hand before following after him.

Elsewhere—

Inside a massive Alchemy Flying Boat, the three Transcendentals from the other team were talking in a room.

"Although the Wang Family members are becoming more and more scattered, we've killed over a hundred people in the past five days. We're not far from the mission's minimum requirement now, are we?" the woman in purple asked.

"More or less!"

The White-robed Man nodded. "Once tonight is over, we'll stop."

"Fear Moth, how far away is the next target?" the White-robed Man turned and asked again.

"Right ahead. Very close!"

The elderly woman, the last of the three, answered without raising her head. She was fiddling with a cloth doll whose eyes were slightly red, seemingly studying something.

But in the next moment, the old woman's expression suddenly changed.

"A Transcendental is coming!" she said quickly. "It's that same person from last time!"

"What?"

The other two's expressions shifted slightly, but their confusion vanished in the next moment because they, too, sensed Zhou Zheng's aura.

There was no mistaking that familiar feeling.

"So fast. Looks like we can't leave!" the White-robed Man said swiftly. "Be careful!"

"Alright!"

The old woman and the woman in purple both nodded. In the next instant, their figures vanished, and they appeared outside the Alchemy Flying Boat.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a streak of Wind-Thunder Light Shadow arrived from afar in the blink of an eye.

"Three of you, we meet again!"

Zhou Zheng narrowed his eyes as he looked at them.

"Sir, it seems you insist on fighting us to the death?" the White-robed Man said coldly. "Aren't you afraid of breaking your teeth?"

"We'll only know after trying!" Zhou Zheng replied calmly. In the next moment, he drew the longsword from his back.

Seeing this, four ribbons instantly rose behind the woman in purple, while the feather fan in the White-robed Man's hand instantly transformed into a short blade.

"Together!"

The White-robed Man shouted coldly and was the first to charge at Zhou Zheng.

The woman in purple immediately followed, while the elderly Transcendent Mage began casting instant support spells.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The White-robed Man and the woman in purple instantly closed in on Zhou Zheng. In an instant, that familiar sensation descended upon them, and everything rapidly slowed.

However, with the experience from their previous battle, neither of them panicked this time. Instead, they continued charging at Zhou Zheng in seamless coordination.

Zhou Zheng did not rush to do anything. He merely dealt with their attacks calmly.

Something's wrong!

The White-robed Man's heart jolted, but in the next moment, an incomparably cold and evil aura suddenly rose from an extremely distant place behind them.

"Hehehe, Transcendent Mage, let me be your opponent!" Herk cackled as he charged toward the old woman, who was chanting a spell.

In an instant, the old woman's expression changed.

As a Transcendent Mage, she was already unsuited for this kind of sudden encounter. And the one targeting her was actually a Demon!

Demons were born with powerful bodies. They were innately stronger than ordinary Transcendentals by a whole level!

"An Abyss Demon? He's your teammate?!"

The White-robed Man looked at Zhou Zheng in utter disbelief. At that moment, he instantly understood that he had been wrong before!

Abyss Demons rarely appeared in the Material World. Since this Demon had appeared here and was working with this man, there was only one possibility: the two belonged to the same team!

But in this mission, their team had appeared later.

In other words, their team should have been stronger.

But how could their team compare to a Transcendental who had grasped the Mystery of Time and a Demon?

Then there was only one possibility—this man had truly broken through just a few days ago!!!

Yes, the White-robed Man had not previously believed that Zhou Zheng had just broken through. He had thought everything was Zhou Zheng's disguise.

Earlier, the White-robed Man had heard from his now-dead teammate, Silver Claw, that Zhou Zheng had comprehended the Mystery of Time only when backed into a desperate situation. At first, he had not doubted it and merely thought they had encountered a genius.

But later, when he and Silver Claw ambushed this man, the man had suddenly revealed the strength of a Transcendental. Thus, he had immediately concluded that everything Zhou Zheng had shown before was an act.

The reason was simple. It was one thing to comprehend the Mystery of Time on the spot, but to suddenly break through in realm as well? Either breakthrough alone was possible, but both together? The odds were far too low!

That was why the White-robed Man had concluded that Zhou Zheng was putting on an act.

As for the reason, it was not hard to guess!

At the time, only Silver Claw had gone after this man, and only he and Silver Claw had been nearby. This man had hidden his strength solely to lure them all over, then launch a surprise attack.

In fact, he had succeeded. Silver Claw had died outright, and if he had not possessed the treasure he had exchanged for earlier, he would certainly have died by now as well!

If he had died too, how could his remaining two teammates have survived against a Transcendental who controlled the Mystery of Time?

The White-robed Man had always thought this way, and this was how he had analyzed it for his two teammates. But now, he finally understood that he had been wrong.

The man before him had truly broken through one after another, leaping from an ordinary person fleeing miserably from Silver Claw's pursuit to a Transcendental who wielded the overwhelmingly powerful Mystery of Time!

And the price they had to pay for that mistake was their lives!

At that moment, Zhou Zheng did not answer the man's thoughts. Seeing that Herk had already made his move, he simply stopped holding back.

Whoosh!

Zhou Zheng's sword instantly became even sharper, while the time deceleration multiplier around them abruptly dropped from threefold to twofold.

Although the time deceleration multiplier had suddenly decreased, this was definitely not good news for the White-robed Man and his companion.

When experts fought, every move was refined to the utmost degree.

Previously, the two had grown accustomed to moving under threefold time deceleration. Only by coordinating with each other could they barely block Zhou Zheng's attacks. But now, the abrupt change in the time deceleration multiplier immediately threw their coordination off.

This was one of the simplest applications of time deceleration Zhou Zheng had figured out earlier. Now that he used it, it proved remarkably effective.

Whoosh!

Zhou Zheng instantly seized the opportunity. With one sword strike, he broke through the purple-clad woman's defense and sent his blade straight at her head.

At the critical moment, the woman in purple barely shifted sideways, narrowly avoiding the fate of having her head blown apart by the sword. However, Zhou Zheng's blade pierced directly through her left shoulder.

Zhou Zheng slightly moved his longsword, and an arm was instantly sent flying.

Whoosh!

Zhou Zheng followed up with a sweeping slash. A deep wound instantly appeared across the woman in purple's chest, exposing her internal organs.

Zhou Zheng was about to continue attacking, but the White-robed Man roared and charged forward.

He seemed to have completely abandoned defense, intent only on forcing Zhou Zheng back.

Zhou Zheng's expression darkened slightly. He instantly turned and drove his sword fiercely into the man. In an instant, another light barrier rose around the White-robed Man, blocking Zhou Zheng's strike.

Slash!

The man instantly swung his blade at Zhou Zheng's head.

Whoosh!

With a thought, Zhou Zheng restored the time deceleration to threefold, easily dodging the strike.

But the White-robed Man refused to let up and continued charging at him.

Let's see how long that turtle shell of yours can hold! Zhou Zheng snorted inwardly. Since this man was charging so recklessly, he naturally would not hold back. Once the man's turtle shell broke, it would be time for him to die.

At that moment, the woman in purple, whom Zhou Zheng had severely wounded, also tried to come forward and help.

"Purple Fiend, I misjudged the situation. I've let you down! I'll hold him back. Run!" the White-robed Man suddenly roared, instantly leaving the woman in purple stunned.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The White-robed Man suddenly became even more frenzied.

But the more frenzied he became, the easier it was for Zhou Zheng to dodge his attacks. At the same time, the energy in the light barrier around him was rapidly drained by Zhou Zheng's attacks. In the blink of an eye, it began to tremble on the verge of collapse.

Zhou Zheng also glanced at the woman in purple. She was still standing there in a daze, showing no intention of fleeing whatsoever. Most of the time the White-robed Man had bought for her with his life had been wasted.

Zhou Zheng sighed inwardly. Though he was somewhat moved, he had no intention of sparing either of them.

From the beginning, it had been this team that pursued him. At most, he was merely retaliating now.

Of course, calling it retaliation alone would not be entirely right, since Zhou Zheng had indeed set his sights on the resources he could obtain from the Temporal Temple after killing the two of them.

If anyone was to blame, it could only be the Temporal Temple for setting such cruel rules.

Bang!

Zhou Zheng's sword pierced through the White-robed Man's wavering light barrier.

Buzz!

In the next moment, a tremor spread out.

Zhou Zheng's expression changed. He pushed time deceleration to its limit and rapidly flew backward.

Boom!

A terrifying explosion rang out. The White-robed Man had actually detonated himself, but unfortunately, under time deceleration, even the shockwaves from the self-destruction were slowed.

Zhou Zheng easily evaded the blast.

"Die!!"

In the next moment, an enraged roar rang out.

A purple-clad figure rapidly approached, charging at Zhou Zheng like a madwoman.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

After merely three exchanges, Zhou Zheng's sword pierced through the woman in purple's head.

Thus, the two Transcendentals both died.

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