Dawn had already begun to break over the waters beyond Floating Jade Island.
Yet the black sun of Spirit Transformation had collapsed, and now rolling ink-black clouds cast everything into gloom.
Yue Ting returned the Purple-White Flying Sword to his Sword-Nurturing Gourd and let out a long breath of stale air.
A sea of blood lay between him and Dugu Yin. Naturally, he felt some regret at not having killed him with his own hands this time.
But his opponent was, after all, a Sword Cultivator in the Spirit Transformation Realm. Driving him this far had been no easy feat.
Yue Ting was unfamiliar with everyone present, so he casually cupped his fists to them in greeting, then left on his own.
Dugu Zhang gazed at the endlessly churning sea in silence.
Seemingly about to leave, Jiang Yulong came beside him. "What do you intend to do now?"
Dugu Zhang raised his head, looked in the direction Dugu Yin had fled, and said, "I already took off my mask in front of a criminal wanted by the court."
"If Dugu Yin lives-I cannot return to the Hidden Dragon Secret Bureau."
He reached into his robes, took out a token, and held it out to Jiang Yulong.
The token was square and entirely black, with four small characters engraved on its face: "Earth-Character Thirty-Nine."
It was the token identifying him as a member of the Hidden Dragon Secret Bureau.
"He and I will not rest until one of us is dead."
Jiang Yulong lowered her head and glanced at the token.
"So you're not coming to work anymore," she suddenly said, her tone flat.
"All those messes you've piled up over the years, and your three disciples-you're dumping them all on me? You certainly have it all worked out."
Her words