"Brother Qin."
Zhao Youming's voice sounded beside Qin Xiangnan's ear.
Qin Xiangnan faltered slightly.
Zhao Youming continued:
"Help us kill Wang Mengde. Once it's done, you can have half the Azure Jade Ghost Carp."
Qin Xiangnan narrowed his eyes.
He did not look back.
The skiff kept racing forward.
He quietly used the Voice Transmission Technique to reply, "Agreed."
A faint smile touched Zhao Youming's lips.
He glanced at Zhou Lie and Sun He and gave a slight nod.
The three betrayed nothing, but their hands quietly slipped inside their robes.
They activated their attack talismans.
Wang Mengde steered the spirit boat at full speed.
Suddenly, Qin Xiangnan's voice sounded in his ear.
"Mengde, watch out. Zhao Youming and the others just sent me a voice transmission. They're about to attack you."
Wang Mengde's eyes flickered.
His heart tightened.
Just as he had suspected.
Exactly as he had expected.
Zhao Youming and the others were up to no good.
And they were not the only ones.
He did not entirely trust Qin Xiangnan either.
He had lived two lives and seen too many people turn against each other over profit.
For enough profit, even fathers and sons, wives and children could become enemies. What chance did friends have?
That was why he had given Qin Xiangnan fourteen Azure Jade Ghost Carp.
First, they were the closest of the group.
Second, he wanted to win Qin Xiangnan over.
Fourteen Azure Jade Ghost Carp—nearly half the haul.
For now, his generosity seemed to have worked.
Wang Mengde gave nothing away and kept driving the skiff forward.
But light quietly flowed through his eyes.
Spirit Eye Technique.
He did not turn around. He merely swept his peripheral vision over the three men.
At Peak Mastery, his Spirit Eye Technique let him see through things with perfect clarity.
His gaze passed through their clothes and bodies, revealing spiritual energy surging wildly inside all three of them.
Their hands were hidden inside their robes, gripping talismans tight.
Spiritual energy was pouring into the talismans.
The spirit patterns on them were lighting up, bit by bit.
Wang Mengde's gaze turned cold.
He did not hesitate.
He snapped his hands into a spell seal.
Entwining Silk Technique.
Countless threads of spiritual energy shot from his fingertips. Like a spiderweb blotting out the sky, they instantly engulfed Zhao Youming, Zhou Lie, and Sun He.
"What?"
Zhao Youming's face changed drastically.
He struggled with all his might, spiritual energy surging through him as he tried to break free.
But the threads were impossibly tough.
The more he struggled, the tighter they wound.
Zhou Lie and Sun He turned deathly pale too. They drove their spiritual energy frantically, but could not break free.
The threads had already cut into their flesh, drawing blood.
With his other hand, Wang Mengde pulled three talismans from inside his robe.
Golden Arrow Talismans.
He poured spiritual energy into them.
Three streaks of golden light gathered at his fingertips.
Zhao Youming's pupils shrank. He shouted in terror:
"Wang Mengde, what are you doing? We're neighbors! We had a few little disagreements before, but hasn't everything been fine?"
Even his voice trembled.
"Spare me. I don't want the Azure Jade Ghost Carp anymore. I'll apologize to you later. I have Spirit Stones at home—I'll give you all of them."
He spoke as though he thought Wang Mengde had not noticed what he had done.
As though it were all a misunderstanding.
Zhou Lie hurriedly begged for mercy too.
"Brother Wang, please! I don't want the Azure Jade Ghost Carp either. I'll give you Spirit Stones later. A hundred—no, two hundred!"
Sun He shook all over in fright, his voice cracking.
"Wang Mengde, I've never had a grudge against you! Spare me, and I'll give you anything."
Wang Mengde watched them as the golden light in his hand grew brighter.
He said flatly, "No grudge? Weren't you just plotting to kill me?"
The three froze.
Then terror and disbelief flooded their faces.
They whipped their heads toward Qin Xiangnan nearby.
Zhao Youming cursed at the top of his lungs:
"Qin Xiangnan, you sold us out!"
Zhou Lie roared like a madman:
"Qin Xiangnan, may you die a horrible death! You bastard, you promised us!"
Sun He screamed himself hoarse:
"You treacherous snake! Even as ghosts, we won't let you go!"
Wang Mengde gave them no more chances.
The three Golden Arrow Talismans fully activated.
Three thick golden arrows tore through the air and pierced their bodies in an instant.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Blood burst into mist.
Zhao Youming, Zhou Lie, and Sun He stared wide-eyed at the gaping holes in their chests.
Their mouths opened as if to speak, but no words came.
Their bodies tipped sideways off the skiff.
They fell into the sea.
Blood reddened a patch of water.
But—
The instant Wang Mengde fired the three golden arrows—
A sharp whistle sounded behind him.
Qin Xiangnan swept his hand forward.
A slender Flying Sword shot from his sleeve.
It came like lightning.
It hurtled straight at Wang Mengde.
The sword was terrifyingly fast.
But at that very instant, Wang Mengde shifted to the side.
The Flying Sword skimmed his robe and plunged into the sea, throwing up a small splash.
He had dodged it.
As though he had been ready all along.
Wang Mengde turned to face Qin Xiangnan.
His expression was terrible.
And beneath it lay a trace of heartbreak.
He had considered Qin Xiangnan a friend.
When they broke through the encirclement, Qin Xiangnan was the first person he had called to.
After they killed the Azure Jade Ghost Carp, he had given Qin Xiangnan fourteen of them.
Fourteen.
Nearly three thousand Spirit Stones.
He had thought that bond would be enough.
He had thought Qin Xiangnan would stand with him.
Reality had slapped him hard across the face.
Qin Xiangnan wanted every last Azure Jade Ghost Carp.
Fortunately—
Though he had considered Qin Xiangnan a friend, he had kept an eye on his every move.
Wealth stirred men's hearts.
The world of cultivation was full of people slaughtering each other for profit.
He had always lived by one rule: danger lurked everywhere in the cultivation world, so a little extra caution could never hurt.
Today, it had saved his life.
Qin Xiangnan's expression changed too.
He had not expected Wang Mengde to dodge that sword.
But a moment later, his eyes turned vicious.
Things had gone too far for words.
He had to kill Wang Mengde.
Kill him, and every Azure Jade Ghost Carp would be his.
More than thirty Azure Jade Ghost Carp—over seven thousand Spirit Stones.
That equaled decades of his income.
It might be enough to push him into Late Qi Refinement.
He wasted no more words. With a thought, he acted.
The Flying Sword shot from the sea, traced an arc through the air, and slashed at Wang Mengde again.
Cold light flashed in Wang Mengde's eyes.
He formed spell seals with both hands at once.
His mind worked on two spells at once.
With one hand, he drove the Entwining Silk Technique to its limit. Countless spiritual threads shot toward Qin Xiangnan to bind him.
With the other, he sent spiritual energy surging through his body. Drawn by it, seawater rushed before him and condensed into fifteen water arrows.
Water Arrow Technique.
He had practiced it every day for more than five hundred days.
Rain or shine, without a single break.
He had long since cultivated the spell to Perfection.
Each water arrow was as thick as an arm, crystal clear and gleaming with a piercing chill.
Qin Xiangnan guided his Flying Sword through the spiritual threads, severing them, then sent it slashing at Wang Mengde again.
With a thought, Wang Mengde fired ten water arrows to meet the Flying Sword.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The water arrows struck the Flying Sword, bursting into clouds of spray.
The Flying Sword reeled back again and again, its blade trembling and its spiritual glow dimming.
At the same time, the remaining five water arrows, together with several newly formed ones, shot toward Qin Xiangnan.
Qin Xiangnan's face changed drastically.
He had never imagined Wang Mengde had quietly cultivated the Water Arrow Technique to such a level.
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