After parting ways with Wang Siyu, Jiang He entered Lingzhou City on foot.

  Meanwhile, at a crossroads five hundred meters away from the Martial Arts Department (MAD), Li Fei was wearing suit and shades, leaning on his BMW while having a cigarette. A middle-aged man—a rank-two martial artist—was standing beside him. Four policemen armed with guns were standing near them, inspecting the people and cars passing by.

  Of course, the traffic flow here was smoother than outside the city. After all, they were right beside the MAD, and since traffic was busier inside the city, tighter checks would cause even heavier jams and even more trouble.

  After entering the city, Jiang He weaved through wide avenues and small alleys to reach the MAD.

  “Eh?” Even as he kept puffing on his cigarette, Two Dog Li took off his shades in surprise and greeted him, “You’re here, Jiang He?”


  Jiang He smiled. “I have something to do here at the MAD. That said, in the time that I haven’t seen you…… your face…… ”


  There were a few scars on Two Dog Li’s face that looked like claw marks.

  Two Dog Li smiled bitterly and said, “A few days ago, a pet-turned-Feral went on a rampage in the city. I captured and tamed it with the beast-taming technique you taught me, although I had a little accident.”


  Jiang He did a double take in surprise. “Did I teach you beast-taming techniques?”


  What was he on about? I don’t even know how to tame a beast myself!

  “Didn’t you tell me before?” mumbled Li Fei. “It gets to live if it’s obedient, killed if it’s not. I communicated with that evolved pet just like you said…… but I couldn’t defeat it……”


  Pfft!

  Jiang He could not help laughing out loud, and only held back when he saw the scowl on Li Fei’s face. “No, I’m not laughing at you…… hahahaha!”


  Li Fei scowled even harder.

  ***

  Meanwhile, at a hotel near the junction.

  Having only four floors, it was not an especially big building. Incidentally, the curtains in one of the rooms on the fourth floor were tightly shut.

  Two ragged figures were sitting on the bed. One appeared to be middle-aged, being a rank-five novice martial artist with a burly figure and composed presence. The other man had sickly-white skin and looked to be around thirty.

  These two were precisely the two Sky Demon cultists whom the MAD were scrounging the whole town for. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place was also the safest place. Over the last three days, the MAD had searched far and wide all over the city, and yet had neglected to search around the MAD itself.

  “This won’t do. We must leave this place!” growled the sickly-white man. “The MAD will eventually find this place, and we’ll be killed when that happens!”


  “No, they won’t!” snarled the middle-aged man through gritted teeth. “I booked this place with an unaffiliated person’s ID half a month ago. The MAD will never find us here.”


  Even so, the man was not showing much confidence.

  After all, you would draw the attention of the hotel workers if you stay inside your hotel room for days without coming out…… You would at least have to interact with the pizza boy if you call for delivery, wouldn’t you?

  But if they were recognized, they would hardly be able to escape. And so, the two men were left in utter apprehension.

  Run? How were they supposed to do that when the MAD had spread their net all over the city?

  Moreover, when they contacted the Tranquil Heavenly General recently, he merely ordered them to stay in hiding and wait for further orders. They would be disobeying a direct order if they ran, and would be punished for it! When it came to the Sky Demon Cult’s punishments, it was better to end up dead than alive!

  As the sickly-white man went to the window and carefully lifted the curtains to look outide, his eyes twinkled when he saw the dark clouds gathering over the skies.

  “There will be rain soon,” he said.

  As a class-B, water-type Awakened, his ability could compare to the rank-five novice martial artist. However, on days with torrential rain, more measures would become available to him, and he could challenge even rank-six pinnacles.

  Now, he kept his eyes fixed outside. With his water-type ability, he could feel the downpour brewing in the clouds.

  “Eh?” His eyes narrowed just then, because he had caught sight of the youth who was talking to Li Fei over at the crossroads. “Jiang He?” he growled.

  On the bed, the middle-age man woke with a start at that name, and replied by reflex, “Don’t even mention that name. Our mission wouldn’t have failed if not for him, while you and I would have earned our accomplishments with our holy faith!”


  His words were utterly vicious as he seethed through clenched teeth, “Where did he even come from? If I, Zhang Yuzhong, got any leads on him, I would definitely take him down!”


  Meanwhile, the pale man was staring intently at Jiang He. As an Awakened, he possessed above average physical abilities, even if he wasn’t trained in martial arts, allowing him to clearly identify Jiang He’s facial features even though he was 200 meters away.

  Although they had no precise information about Jiang He, they at least knew what he looked like.

  Hence, the pale man snarled, “Jiang He is right there!”


  “What!?”


  Zhang Yuzhong came to the window as well. When he saw their target, naked hostility was laid bare in his eyes, while murderous intent overflowed. Whipping out an encrypted satellite phone, he dialed the Tranquil Heavenly General’s number and reported the situation.

  Over the other end, the Tranquil Heavenly General was practically bellowing in his hoarse voice, “Kill him! Get out there right now and end his life, and then try to make a break from the east side of the city. I’ve already rallied with the Earth Demon Heavenly General, and we are coming to receive you right now!”


  ***

  Over at the crossroads.

  In the middle of his conversation with Li Fei, Jiang Fei suddenly frowned, glancing at that nearby hotel.

  Puzzled, Li Fei questioned him, and Jiang He chuckled in response. “Might be imagining things…… I just felt like someone was watching me.”


  His head, however, was lighting up.

  Imagining things?

  No way.

  Having cultivated martial arts to this level, Jiang He had become sensitive towards all atmospheres and intents—like right now, when he could actually feel a murderous intent aimed at himself.

  He threw the hotel another look and said, “Stick to your post, Li Fei. I have something to do over there.”


  Striding past the pedestrian crossing, he walked towards the hotel. The feeling of being spied upon came to Jiang He again then, and he stopped beneath the hotel to look up towards the skies.

  The rolling dark clouds appeared within reach, and a gust kicked up in no time at all. Soon, it started drizzling. At first, the drizzle was intermittent, but a downpour ensued in just two minutes, forming puddles on the road, with raindrops making bubbles when they landed on the surface.

  Jiang He lowered his head to look at his feet. He was standing on a relatively higher position, but the puddles of stagnant water nearby were now surging towards him.

  Crash!

  All of a sudden, the puddles on the ground churned wildly, turning into streaks of water arrows that bounded towards Jiang He.

  “Die, Jiang He!”


  A cry resounded overhead as Zhang Yuzhong leapt off the fourth floor. He was using some mysterious technique that was creating a dramatic display of lights and blood, carrying a magnified presence as he brought his short blade down to bear at Jiang He.

  Using Indestructible Diamond, Jiang He materialized a golden bell silhouette around himself, and did not even bother to look at the water arrows that had reached his body. Behind him, the silhouette of a great sun appeared amidst the rain, vaporizing the sheet of water into substantial white vapor.

  He then unleashed a strike of Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse, handily slapping the figure leaping off the fourth floor into the air again.

  Zhang Yuzhong could not have been more dead when he slammed heavily into the ground.

  Cling-cling-clang-clang!

  Meanwhile, the water arrows that could pierce steel were hitting the golden bell silhouette with the sounds of clashing metals, just before splattering and bursting apart.

  Another figure appeared amidst the rain—it was the pale-skinned Sky Demon cultist. He had been filled with murderous intent, but was left dumbstruck by the sight before him before his intent could burst out in full.

  Too fast!

  Everything had happened too fast!

  There had been less than two seconds between the moment when he released his killing stroke, and the point when Zhang Yuzhong descended from above and was slapped to death by Jiang He.

  The pale-skinned man’s face, which had been overflowing with murderous intent, was now filled with utter confusion.

  What should he do?

  Buffering!

  Clenching a sword he conjured out of rainwater, he simply did not know what he should do!