The call went on for over a dozen minutes.
After hanging up, Three Blades Lin turned and flew back to Lake Kanas.
Even as he was in the air, he saw several people barbecuing around the lake.
There was also a pile of firewood beside the grill, and Chen Jingzhou was sitting beside it, skewering a meter-long fish with his S-grade alloy longsword over the fire.
"Tut, tut."
Three Blades Lin could not help chuckling as he landed. "The higher-ups had actually sent you to the Tantra Secret Realm through the wildlands as a form of training, but I didn't expect you to turn a dangerous journey into a picnic."
Cheng Dongfeng was crouching beside the lake, cleaning a meter-long red bass.
He was holding an S-grade alloy dagger in his hand, scraping scales, cutting innards, and cutting chunks of the fish … all in one go, and his technique was extremely practiced.
Cheng, the Wildlands Master, did not live up to his reputation.
"Sigh, it's Jiang He's to blame. Where would I feel any sense of danger when traveling with that kid?"
Cheng Dongfeng said in awe even as he sliced the fish into thin slices. "Heh, you don't say. Barbecuing by the shores of Lake Kanas is really quite a scene, especially since this red bass has evolved into a rank-three Feral. It has fewer bones and more meat, and most importantly, its meat is delicious."
Beside him, Zhou Rui was skewering the meat with a metal skewer.
Meanwhile, Yang Chengwu was in charge of the barbecue.
Three Blades Lin glanced at Yang Chengwu and said, "Kid, is this your first time barbecuing meat? Look at how you spread the oil and the cumin powder. That's clearly not right … "
Chuckling, he joined the barbecuing army as well.
Soon, a dozen skewers were cooked.
Chen Jingzhou, Cheng Dongfeng, He Litong, Zhou Rui, and Yang Chengwu were each given a skewer, while Three Blades Lin took out a bottle of Maotai with a flip of his hand and started eating.
Still, he had a nagging feeling that something was not right.
"Could I have put too little salt when I grilled the meat?"
"There's no shortage of salt …"
He had a mouthful of grilled meat and a mouthful of Maotai, and yet before he finished his second skewer, Three Blades Lin suddenly shot to his feet and exclaimed in surprise, "Where's Jiang He?"
No wonder he kept feeling that something was not right.
Where did Jiang He go?
"Jiang He?"
Cheng Dongfeng, who had taken over Three Blades Lin's responsibility as a skewer replied, "He said that he has something to do and told us to rest, and would be back in three or four hours."
Work?
"He didn't say what he was going to do?"
Three Blades Lin's voice was rather hoarse.
An ominous feeling arose from the bottom of his heart, and Three Blades Lin abruptly felt that the grilled meat in his hand was no longer fragrant.
He had just made a promise to Wang Hou. Could it be that the kid had gone to cause trouble again?
"I didn't say."
Cheng Dongfeng did not even look up as he continued grilling the meat, smiling. "I know Jiang He, the kid. He's a man who can't sit still, and he might have gone out to hunt just because he's hungry for some game."
Three Blades Lin appeared much more relaxed then, and resumed eating his roast meat, chuckling as he ate. "Hunting is not bad. With Jiang He's current ability, he could go anywhere within four hundred miles of Lake Kanas."
"My lord!"
That was when the black panther, who had been hiding in the forest beside the lake poked its head out and spoke to Three Blades Lin through spirit, meekly saying, "My master isn't hunting. He's off for revenge."
Three Blades Lin turned to the black panther and exclaimed in surprise, "Everything within three hundred miles of Lake Kanas is uninhabited. Moreover, Jiang He never came to the Western Frontier, did he? How could he have any enemies in the Western Frontier? "
"My master's enemy isn't human!"
The black panther cocked its head in thought before saying, "I think my master mentioned that his enemy lives at Mount Tian, and it seems to be a giant bird."
"Mount Tian?"
"Giant bird?"
Three Blades Lin could not react right away.
On the other hand, Chen Jingzhou, who was grilling a fish beside them, shuddered and gaped at Three Blades Lin, exclaiming in shock, "Could it be the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle of Mount Tian?"
"Right, right, right!"
The black panther's eyes lit up and it nodded like a human, speaking through spirit again, "I think that's its name."
"…"
What the hell!
Three Blades Lin was dumbstruck.
Throwing the grilled meat and Maotai on the ground, he promptly took to the air, turning into a blade light as he streaked towards Mount Tian, his profound spirit scanning the mountain forest below.
"Even if Jiang He's combat ability is equal to divine-tier, his cultivation is only rank-nine novice and he can't fly, so he wouldn't be that fast."
"Lake Kanas is almost eight hundred miles away from Mount Tian. I should be able to catch up to him if I travel at full speed!"
Three Blades Lin felt a headache.
So be it if the Red Toad King was killed.
According to Wang Hou, the Red Toad King did not have much of a background, and there were only two Feral Kings among the toads in the world, with the third being the Golden Toad King, who was still far away at the Amazon.
Even if the Feral Kings were using the opportunity to cause trouble, the two Feral Emperors within the Hua Nation would not dare to act recklessly now that the nation had come to an agreement with the five Holy Grounds.
But the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle was different.
An eagle-type Feral …
Too powerful.
Before the revival of spirit energy, these creatures were the overlords of the sky. They stood at the top of the bird food chain and liked to occupy high mountains and cliffs as their nests. After the revival of spirit energy, animals mutated, and it was very easy for high mountains and deep forests to produce treasures of heaven and earth. Therefore, a group of powerful eagle-like beasts was born.
For example, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle of Mount Tian.
The Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle of Mount Kunlun was one of the best Feral Kings and ranked at the top of the global ranking of eagle-type Ferals.
The number one eagle in the world was a golden eagle that called itself the "Golden-Winged Roc King". At the same time, it was also one of the two ferocious beast emperors in China. The "Golden-Winged Roc" lived on Bukadaban Peak in the uninhabited area of Kekexili, which was adjacent to Kunlun Mountain.
If Jiang He really killed the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle, the Golden-Winged Roc would go berserk.
Feral Emperors were frightening Void-tier elites, and there was no telling if Wang Hou could stop them.
"Hold on …"
"Why would I think that Jiang He could kill the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle?"
"The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle is just a class lower than the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle, which is equal in ability to me … Jiang He killing the Red Toad King was a trick, but isn't he dreaming if he wants to kill the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle?"
Three Blades Lin's tense heart finally calmed a little at that thought.
Moreover, he could definitely catch up to Jiang He before they reached Mount Tian when he was flying at twice the speed of sound.
…
"My Royal Sword Flight is still too slow!"
Jiang He landed at the foot of Mount Tian and put away the Scarlet Flame Sword with a wave of his hand, quietly shaking his head. "Though the Scarlet Flame Sword is a premium-grade soul weapon and increases my flying speed to a certain extent, I'm just a beginner in immortal arts and a full-fledged Qi Refinist. At best, I could reach 2.5 times the speed of sound even at full power."
2.5 times the speed of sound was actually very fast.
Average divine-tier elites would have a hard time reaching twice the speed of sound.
Still, Jiang He was very dissatisfied.
After all, he was about to face the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle, whose top speed was almost three times the speed of sound according to the information he had … and Jiang He's prediction was that the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle could exceed three times the speed of sound if it really came down to a life-or-death situation.
How was he supposed to catch up at 2.5 times the speed of sound?
"Actually, it would be safer for me to return after I reach Golden Pellet."
Withdrawing his aura, Jiang He strode up the mountain.
After all …
The uniqueness of swordsmen did not show up at Qi Refinist.
Once he reached Golden Pellet, his ability would definitely improve exponentially, and the various mystical aspects of swordsmen would show up as well. His flying speed would definitely improve as well, and he could catch up to the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle even if he had to wait for it to fly several thousand meters away.
"But …"
"Reaching Golden Pellet … is so far away!"
"Even if I could get a lot of Orirocks to earn Farm Points, it would take half a month for me to return to Lingzhou City after I reach Golden Pellet!"
Half a month was too long!
It was already the sixth of October.
It had been a full six days since the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle had spat out a beam of golden light at him.
Jiang He felt that he was being very merciful by letting the beast live for six more days.
"I have a safer way than reaching Golden Pellet!"
"That is to show weakness to the enemy …"
"After all, I'm just rank-nine novice, and the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle would definitely not flee at once when it sees me … when that happens, I could go on a rampage and directly charge the Scarlet Flame Sword to cut it down without giving it a chance to escape, and I wouldn't have to worry about not catching up to it."
Jiang He's eyes lit up at the thought.
This plan …
It was perfect!
At that thought …
He simply did not hide his aura anymore.
His rank-nine novice aura burst out a little, and soon attracted the attention of some Ferals.
Drawing out his Dragon-Slaying Saber, Jiang He fought his way from the foot of the mountain up to the middle of the ridge. After a bloody battle there, he 'struggled' to kill a rank-nine Feral …
Squawk!
A deafening screech sounded from the peak of Heaven Mountain. The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King spread its wings on the snow-covered peak, circled once in the air, and swooped down.
Delight appeared on Jiang He's face!
It's here!
He had finally startled the beast …
If it did not come, he would not be able to keep up his act. After all, pretending to be 'weak' was very difficult in a bloody battle against a rank-nine Feral that he could cut down with a single swing of his blade. He must control his strength, or he might kill his opponent if he did not hold back.
What if the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle was startled and scared it off?
"Human!"
The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle dived down and landed on a boulder fifty meters away from Jiang He. Its dark golden eyes stared at Jiang He and could not help laughing when it recognized him, saying, "Human, you could have taken the path to heaven, but you chose to barge into hell instead. You had Wang Hou protecting you back in Jiangnan, but who could save you now?"
Jiang He: "…"
He did a double take.
Why did the Feral Kings he encountered seem so cultured and had all sorts of idioms at their fingertips? Forget the increase in intelligence after your evolution, could you even learn without a teacher?
He smiled and strode towards the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle, the silhouette of six great suns rising behind him, with the silhouette of a dragon soaring and a divine elephant circling them.
Dragon-Slaying Saber in hand, he laughed, "Golden-Crowned Black Eagle, did you ever think that you would be the one to die if you did not kill me?"
"Hahahaha!
The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle was amused.
Though it was shocked that a rank-nine martial artist could burst out with such overwhelming aura …
Even so, that little bit of power was not enough against it.
It shook its feathers.
The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle's dark golden eyes were filled with mockery as it laughed, "Since you have a death wish, this king shall fulfill your wish today."
Whoosh!
Its wings that were as black as ink and as tough as steel abruptly spread, kicking up a cyclone in the instant it did so. The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle was about to take to the air when Jiang He, who was less than thirty meters away, suddenly swung his blade at it!
"Vermin!"
"Eat this!"
Kaboom!
A thirty-meter thunder slash instantly erupted.
At the same time …
Shiiing!
The hum of a sword echoed.
Behind the lightning blade was a blazing sword light. In the eyes of the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle King, the blazing sword light grew larger and larger. Thirty meters of distance …
It was too close.
All the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle could do was shriek shrilly, and then …
Snikt!
The sword light pierced its skull.
Thud.
The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle dropped to the ground.
Jiang He extended his hand and beckoned, putting away the Scarlet Flame Sword. Arriving beside the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle's corpse, he could not help chuckling, "As expected …"
"My plan is too reliable."
"Instakill? Show me how you can run?"
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