Apart from Lin Fei and Wu Moling, no one had expected this outcome.
Bai Zhan had lost, and it had been a crushing defeat.
He had used Bai Pojun's signature technique, "Hundred Fierce Fist Wind Fang," only for Wu Moling to nearly kill him on the spot with a single punch.
Wu Moling was not faring well either. A deadly sense of weakness and exhaustion swept through her body. Her right arm felt as though its bones had been smashed to pieces, and the bones in her fingers had been dislocated on the spot.
Her body could not bear the strain of such tremendous power.
Ji Yaoguang noticed something was wrong and hurried forward to support her swaying body. "Moling, are you all right?"
Wu Moling forced a weak smile, her face pale. "I'm fine. Just exhausted."
With that, she looked at Bai Zhan worriedly, feeling a pang of unease.
I didn't kill him, did I?
Wu Moling had not originally intended to use True Martial Ultimate Strike, but the oppressive force of Hundred Fierce Fist Wind Fang had been so overwhelming that she had felt the threat of death. Without True Martial Ultimate Strike, she suspected she really would have been beaten to death!
Only after seeing that Bai Zhan's life was not in danger did Bai Pojun breathe a sigh of relief.
The old Daoist immediately asked with concern, "Is your son all right?"
Bai Pojun nodded slightly and said gravely, "It shouldn't be too serious, but he may have to spend a month or two in bed. A full recovery will probably take three months."
At this point, he fixed his gaze on Wu Moling.
With a Grandmaster expert staring at her like that, especially when she had just injured his son, Wu Moling could not help feeling uneasy.
Seeing this, Bai Pojun frowned. "Miss, please don't worry. I, Bai Pojun, mean no offense. The duel was mutually agreed upon in the first place. Fists and feet have no eyes. Losing and getting hurt only means one's skills were inferior."
"It's just..."
Bai Pojun paused before asking earnestly, "Could you tell me what that last move was called?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone turned to look at Wu Moling.
That move had left such a deep impression on them that none of them could help being curious.
"True Martial Ultimate Strike," Wu Moling answered truthfully.
"True Martial Ultimate Strike?!" The old Daoist's expression changed. It really was connected to Great Emperor Zhenwu!
Seeing his reaction, Lin Fei knew what he was thinking.
He instinctively glanced at Ji Yaoguang, the corners of his mouth lifting almost imperceptibly.
A living, breathing Immortal Emperor-level figure was right beside Wu Moling, yet he was concerned about what connection her technique had to Great Emperor Zhenwu...
The old Daoist hesitated, looking somewhat embarrassed, but ultimately had the cheek to ask, "Miss, might you be willing to teach me this move? To be honest, this technique should have some connection to Great Emperor Zhenwu, whom we Daoists worship..."
Bai Pojun glanced at him with a sneer and mercilessly undermined him. "Old Daoist Ye, it's Mount Wudang that worships Great Emperor Zhenwu, not Qingcheng."
Old Daoist Ye looked a little awkward, but in the end, he merely sighed, too embarrassed to say anything more.
He had only been momentarily carried away by his longing, and he knew that such a divine technique could never be taught to others lightly.
Sure enough, Wu Moling politely declined. "My master warned me not to teach this move to anyone else. I hope you'll forgive me, Daoist."
Old Daoist Ye nodded in understanding and apologized. "I was presumptuous."
Bai Pojun, however, was struck by a thought and asked Wu Moling, "May I ask who your esteemed master is?"
"It's Lin-" As Wu Moling spoke, she caught sight of Lin Fei's slight frown out of the corner of her eye.
She immediately corrected herself. "It's Master Lin."
Everyone was taken aback.
Master Lin?
"Is there a Grandmaster expert surnamed Lin in Western Shu's ancient martial arts circles?" Bai Pojun looked questioningly at Old Daoist Ye.
After a moment's thought, Old Daoist Ye looked equally bewildered. "I've never heard of one."
Meanwhile, Nightmare, who stood among the crowd, felt cold sweat seeping down his back.
None has a heart more venomous than a woman's. Black Rose really is trying to get me killed! She didn't breathe a word about the Grandmaster expert who taught Wu Moling! At this thought, Nightmare's gaze turned slightly cold.
He quickly reined in his emotions and left with the others.
The decisive battle at Qingcheng's summit finally drew to a close with Wu Moling's victory.
Yet a mysterious figure, accompanied by endless questions, had become deeply imprinted on everyone's minds.
Who exactly was this Master Lin?
Nightmare abandoned the mission and rode a cable car down from Mount Qingcheng like a leisurely tourist.
When he was halfway down the mountain, he received a text from Black Rose: "Is the mission complete?"
Nightmare sneered, then replied with a sneer, "My dear instructor, are you that impatient to send such an outstanding student as me to his death?"
Black Rose quickly sent back a string of question marks.
Nightmare immediately replied, "There were two Grandmaster-level experts watching the fight. If I'd acted rashly, even ten lives wouldn't have been enough, would they?"
Black Rose sent another message: "That was a miscalculation on my part, but it really was beyond my control. If I'd told Bai Zhan the truth, you know his personality. He certainly wouldn't have cooperated with us on the assassination."
Bai Zhan?
Nightmare scoffed, ignoring the stares of the other tourists in the cable car as he replied directly, "Your little lover certainly is strong. He's already mastered Bai Pojun's killing move, Hundred Fierce Fist Wind Fang, at such a young age. Unfortunately, Wu Moling defeated him in a single move."
Black Rose was stunned. "What did you say?!"
Rather than repeat himself, Nightmare probed, "Wu Moling used a move called True Martial Ultimate Strike. Supposedly, a Master Lin taught it to her. Do you know anything about that?"
Black Rose's heart jolted as she suddenly remembered the mysterious man who had threatened him over the phone that day.
Could it be him?
No, that's impossible, Black Rose thought with certainty. If this Master Lin could train an expert capable of defeating Bai Zhan, he must at least be a Grandmaster himself.
The man on the phone had sounded so young. How could he possibly be a Grandmaster?
As far as she knew, the person who had entered the Grandmaster Realm at the youngest age should have been Bai Pojun. Yet even someone with his heaven-bestowed talent had endured more than a decade in the Late Body Linking Stage before finally reaching the Grandmaster Realm at thirty-eight.
Besides, how could a Grandmaster Realm expert possibly be willing to serve as Ji Yaoguang's bodyguard?
Could he be Wu Moling's senior fellow disciple or something of the sort?
When Black Rose failed to reply for so long, Nightmare's eyes turned cold. There really is something wrong with this woman.
Only after a while did Black Rose reply: "A Grandmaster expert surnamed Lin? I've never heard of one. Perhaps he's an expert from one of those secluded sects. But what are you telling me all this for? Don't tell me you want to abandon the mission?"
"Nightmare, you know perfectly well what it means to abandon a mission you've accepted."
The entire Dark Night Organization would bring its full strength to bear to hunt him down and kill him!
"Oh my, you scared me to death. I'm so frightened." An amused smile appeared on Nightmare's lips as he sent two messages in succession. "You really do have a short memory, instructor. Don't I have something on you too?"
Black Rose took a deep breath, inwardly furious. Why couldn't Nightmare be a little more stupid and simply carry out the mission and get himself killed?
"But don't worry. I have my own way of handling this mission. What age are we living in, still thinking of nothing but fighting and killing? You have to use your brain." Nightmare seemed to have thought of something interesting, and an expectant smile appeared on his lips.
An idea stirred in Black Rose's mind, and she immediately pressed him. "What's your plan?"
Nightmare did not answer directly, instead saying bluntly, "Raise my price. I want three million once it's done."