Chapter 303: Cutting Water

Jiang Zhao extended her hand.

A stream of silver-white light appeared, churning violently, radiating beams of brilliance.

“Something seems to be tugging at my bloodline.”

As she spoke, the girl’s expression turned icy.

Jiang Jian frowned slightly and asked, “What effect does this tug have on you?”

After sensing for a moment, the sister flipped her palm, gripping the silver-white radiance, and said, “So far, it has no major impact—I can guarantee my bloodline remains under my control, never slipping free.”

Jiang Jian paused to consider, then relaxed slightly. “When you suppressed your bloodline with sheer willpower in the Zhao family’s ancestral grounds in Guangling City, treating it as a tool and holding it fast, you unknowingly neutralized one of their hidden moves.”

The sister swept her hand, retracting the silver glow, and whispered, “You taught me this: control the bloodline, don’t let it control you.”

Jiang Jian nodded, said no more, and led Jiang Zhao through the portal, leaving the Star Palace projection.

Deep within the mountains, space rippled with distortion.

Jiang Jian and his sister descended, their forms clearly materializing.

This mountain gate was a special portal left by the Star Palace projection—only beings granted permission by the Prefecture Divine Envoy could enter or exit here.

“We didn’t get a chance to tell Yin Yin before we left.”

Jiang Zhao lifted her wrist, glancing at her identity device. “She couldn’t find me and already sent a message asking.”

Jiang Jian said gravely, “Don’t say too much yet.”

The sister replied, “I only said I was bored in the Star Palace projection and went out with you—nothing else.”

Jiang Jian turned his head. “After a while, once I go to Water Star, you’ll take Yin Yin to Yinshan to train. It’s safe there for now.”

“Alright.”

The sister nodded obediently.

A few minutes later.

A drone shuttle landed.

It carried Jiang Jian and Jiang Zhao toward the edge of Taiping Prefecture.

Inside the cabin.

Jiang Jian sat by the window, watching the scenery blur past, his thoughts growing heavier.

The closer they drew to Taiping Prefecture.

The more he sensed it.

That terrifying, life-threatening danger, rising from the deepest depths of his spirit.

Previously,

The twelve crystal facets planted on the Divine Illumination Barrier had been torn from him by force.

By all logic,

The herbal apprentice named Yao Tong,

Should have sensed something, at least a little.

Yet from start to finish, she took not a single action.

Even under Zhou family’s tight surveillance, she showed no abnormality whatsoever.

Every day, she did the same routine: clocked in to work on time, clocked out, bought groceries, cooked meals.

Her behavior resembled that of an ordinary girl.

But the most unusual thing was,

Every night,

She stood before the window, gazing outside—for an entire night.

In the photos sent by Zhou Lingling,

The city lay under nightfall.

Yao Tong stood beneath the curtains, eyes vacant and dull, eerily still.

One photo even captured Yao Tong’s pupils turning—directly toward the lens.

It was said,

The Zhou family member assigned to surveillance was so terrified, he still hadn’t recovered.

“No matter what you are,

It’s time to end this.”

Jiang Jian’s gaze turned cold. He rose from his seat and opened the cabin door.

Below,

Was Taiping Prefecture’s Shangzhou Fleet Yard.

The paper dolls Qing Feng and Ming Yue had both completed their tasks and were racing toward this location.

“Shangzhou, Yanshun Road, Anyang Community.”

Jiang Jian read the address once, shut off his identity device, found an open-air café, and waited quietly with his sister.

Soon,

A girl in a long dress appeared silently and sat down.

Shortly after,

A boy in a short tunic stepped out soundlessly and halted before Jiang Jian.

Jiang Zhao, who had been alert,

But seeing Jiang Jian’s calm expression,

Instantly realized,

These two unpredictable Divine Palace cultivators were trustworthy allies.

Jiang Zhao had grown up with Jiang Jian; she knew him intimately.

Often, no words were needed.

A single glance was enough for instant understanding.

“Head to Yanshun Road.”

Jiang Jian set down his cup and stood first.

The two paper dolls exchanged a glance, their forms turning transparent and vanishing silently.

The sister flipped her palm, drawing a long sword, holding it steady.

The blade shimmered with clear light, like a beauty’s glancing gaze, her eyes cutting through water—ripples of reflection, mist and dew swirling around it.

A spirit-infused treasure: Autumn Waters.

“Except for you,

At the Spring Surge realm, I have almost no rivals.”

Jiang Zhao spoke softly, gripping Autumn Waters.

Jiang Jian shook his head slightly. “Beyond the sky lies higher sky; beyond people lie greater people. Never lose reverence for the unknown. Never grow complacent—otherwise, you’ll suffer greatly.”

Jiang Zhao murmured an acknowledgment, her expression thoughtful.

As they spoke,

A vessel bearing the Zhou family’s emblem descended.

“Jiang Jian, long time no see.”

At the cabin door, Zhou Lingling gazed at Jiang Jian, her expression complex.

Behind her stood a man and a woman, both watching Jiang Jian with curiosity.

Zhou Sisi and her boyfriend Liu Feng.

Yinshan’s wonderland was Earth’s fourteenth wonderland.

The news that Jiang Jian of Linjiang Prefecture had become Lord of Yinshan had already spread across the surface world.

Though Jiang Jian and Shen Xi’s feat of shattering the Boundary Gate had yet to be officially announced,

Merely the title “Lord of Yinshan” was enough to inspire awe.

This drastic shift in status left Zhou Lingling, Zhou Sisi, and others unsure how to relate to the new Jiang Jian.

“You and your ancestral elder have helped me greatly.”

Jiang Jian stepped onto the gangway and spoke first, breaking the awkwardness. “Once this matter is fully resolved, I’ll repay you.”

Zhou Lingling, flustered, hurried into the cabin and smiled. “I naturally did my best for the ancestral elder’s orders—this was just a small favor, nothing more.”

Zhou Sisi and Liu Feng stood aside, behaving obediently.

Especially Zhou Sisi—she was nothing like her former spoiled, unreasonable self.

Instead, she had become remarkably mature, even stepping forward to brew tea for Zhou Lingling, Jiang Jian, and Jiang Zhao before quietly retreating.

Since Jiang Jian became “Lord of Yinshan,”

Every single member of the Taiping Prefecture Zhou family had changed their attitude toward Zhou Qingyue.

Zhou Qingyue, after all, was officially registered as the Lord of Yinshan’s household pet.

Her blood brother—the former Emperor of Shang, now the Zhou family’s ancestral elder—had personally ordered that no resources be spared to maintain this bond.

Zhou Lingling, as a Zhou family descendant with a decent relationship to Zhou Qingyue, was entrusted by the clan head with the duty of fulfilling all of Zhou Qingyue’s requests.

Not long ago,

Zhou Qingyue relayed Jiang Jian’s request: to use Zhou family resources to monitor a girl.

The entire Zhou family took this seriously, mobilizing vast resources to track Yao Tong’s movements.

Even Yao Tong’s residence, the Anyang Community, had within days replaced all its original residents with Zhou family guards!

The efficiency of their operations and the speed of their actions were unprecedented!

“Yao Tong’s workday ends at 5:30 p.m.”

“Every day she takes a hovering vehicle, spending seven minutes to return to the Anyang Community.”

“According to estimates, she will arrive at the Anyang Community today at 5:37 p.m.”

“All residents and security personnel inside and outside the community have been replaced by Zhou family guards, standing by!”

“As soon as I give the order, the family guards will immediately move out and apprehend this scoundrel!”

Zhou Lingling raised her wrist, summoning a holographic screen, and said seriously.

Although in her view,

dealing with an ordinary girl

hardly required such complications.

But this matter concerned the Lord of Yinshan—it was no longer a trivial matter.

It was not just the Zhou family.

Even certain high-ranking officials in the Taiping Prefectural Office had secretly inquired of the Zhou family for details.

Meanwhile,

at the center of the storm,

Yao Tong

remained utterly unaware of it all.

(End of Chapter)