Chapter 44: Three-Day Limit

[Shadow of the Cold Spring]

[Type: Equipment · Sniper Rifle]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Attack: 15~20]

[Cold Shadow Bullet (Passive): Generates one Cold Shadow Bullet every ten minutes, dealing an additional 10 Ice damage and slowing the target for 5 seconds. Maximum 10 bullets; cannot be loaded with other ammunition types]

[Equipment Requirement: Spirit 5]

“No wonder it’s called Cold Shadow—it’s because of this weapon.” Chu Danqing finally understood why Cold Shadow had become a member of Long Hu Alliance.

The fact that Cold Shadow obtained an Excellent-grade weapon during the Initiate Trial proves his potential is considerable.

How he got it didn’t matter to Long Hu Alliance; being able to obtain it was his own ability.

“The question now is, how do I use this sniper rifle?” Chu Danqing had never handled firearms.

He’d seen videos and movies, but seeing something doesn’t mean you can do it—otherwise, wouldn’t every student be a top scorer?

Store it away for now; test it slowly when the chance arises.

With Da Bao’s help, Chu Danqing successfully removed the armor from Tie Yan’s body.

“A set? Tie Yan’s rating is low, but his contributions must’ve been substantial.” Chu Danqing didn’t believe Tie Yan could have obtained these two pieces on his own merit.

More likely, Tie Yan had been consistently delivering new rewards for Long Hu Alliance—otherwise, why drag along a burden?

Even with potential, Cold Shadow was more of a burden than an asset to Tie Yan.

[Black Iron Shield-Axe]

[Type: Equipment · Shield-Axe]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Attack: 15~20]

[Balanced Offense and Defense (Passive): Defense +10]

[Equipment Requirement: Strength 7]

——

[Black Iron Heavy Armor]

[Type: Equipment · Heavy Armor]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Defense: 20]

[Heavy Armor Charge (Passive): Damage from charge skills +10]

[Equipment Requirement: Constitution 7]

——

[Black Iron Heavy Armor Corps]

[2-Piece Set: Equipment Requirement -3]

[3-Piece Set: Inactive]

[5-Piece Set: Inactive]

“Sell it off next time.” Chu Danqing and Da Bao couldn’t use it, but that didn’t stop him from exchanging it for resources he needed.

“The most valuable things on Tie Yan were probably just these two pieces.”

“Pathetically poor.”

Tie Yan had other items, but none were equipment—not even Ordinary-grade.

Chu Danqing had few pieces because he’d just completed his trial; but Tie Yan was a seventh-trial Initiate, yet still this poor—only explainable by his low rating.

“The gap between Dimensional Initiates is indeed vast. Furious Fists and Tie Yan are clearly the upper and lower limits.”

As for Chu Danqing, he was somewhere in between—neither top nor bottom.

If he swapped places with Furious Fists, he had no confidence he could become a Commandant.

Not long after, the coachman heard the commotion and stopped, then drove the cart back.

At the start of the fight, the coachman had fled immediately.

Life is yours; running away is only natural.

“Master Chu, are you unharmed?” The coachman asked cautiously, eyeing the two corpses.

“Take these two bodies to the Commandant. Say they’re the two Taiping Daoists who escaped this morning.” Chu Danqing spoke; Da Bao immediately tossed the corpses onto the cart.

“Shall I take you back first?” The coachman watched the corpses land precisely on the cart, his eyelid twitching.

“No, I’ll return faster on my own.” Chu Danqing refused outright.

Da Bao seized Chu Danqing and headed toward the Lu residence, moving far faster than the cart.

When they returned to the Lu residence, the gatekeeper opened the door and said at once that Lu Yin was waiting for him.

Chu Danqing didn’t delay; he went straight to find Lu Yin.

“Did something happen on the road?” Lu Yin smelled the blood on Da Bao and asked immediately.

Chu Danqing nodded: “Taiping Daoists. I dealt with them. The bodies were sent to Furious Fists, the Commandant.”

“So the Taiping Dao really see Yangxian’s Lu family as a soft target.” Lu Yin’s expression wasn’t pleasant.

This wasn’t an assassination against Chu Danqing—it was a slap to the Lu family’s face.

“Sit down. We’ve got some leads.” Lu Yin gestured for Chu Danqing to sit before continuing: “Commandant Furious Fists is going to West Lake tomorrow to slay the One-Horned River Dragon.”

Chu Danqing didn’t know where West Lake was, but Lu Yin wouldn’t speak so abruptly—this meant the dragon was connected to the Taiping Dao.

“And what about us?” Chu Danqing had no intention of stealing the task; Lu Yin must have other plans.

“You go to Nanshan and kill the Zhanji Tiger,” Lu Yin smiled. “This Zhanji Tiger is formed from a Zhong Shi Zhi.”

At once, Chu Danqing understood the full chain: “So the One-Horned River Dragon is a Xia Shi Jiao?”

“Correct.” Lu Yin confirmed: “Only a granddisciple of the Taiping Dao Master could possess such mastery of the Three Corpses Severing Method—and he’s establishing his Foundation in Yangxian.”

“Likely, one of the Taiping Dao Master’s direct disciples is guarding him.”

“Lu San, the miner, was probably just a test run.”

“The later deaths were accidents, not deliberate schemes.” Lu Yin deduced much from the available information.

“Do you have any idea who this person is?” Chu Danqing asked.

What was a Zhanji Tiger? Killing a Taiping Dao Master’s granddisciple mid-Foundation Establishment would yield an extremely high rating.

The reward chest might even contain something valuable.

“Unclear. First eliminate the One-Horned River Dragon and the Zhanji Tiger. Then use the Ren Mo formed from the Shang Shi Ju to force him out.” Lu Yin spoke softly.

Chu Danqing knew little of the Three Corpses Severing Method; Lu Yin only knew the general idea, not the details.

After all, this was a scripture granted by the Emperor of Heaven to the Taiping Dao Master—how could they possibly know its inner workings?

They only knew the process matched its name: kill the three Corpses you’ve separated from yourself.

You must kill them yourself—no one else can do it—and the three Corpses must fully mature before being severed.

The Ren Mo, the One-Horned River Dragon, and the Zhanji Tiger have only just been identified; they still need time to reach the proper maturity for severing.

“I’ll depart for Nanshan tomorrow.” Chu Danqing thought this was a good chance to earn a reward chest.

“No rush. You have three days to eliminate it. This Zhanji Tiger is no ordinary beast.” Lu Yin didn’t press.

Meanwhile, the Paradise issued a hidden quest.

[Hidden Quest: Assist in killing or kill the Zhanji Tiger within three days]

[Trial Difficulty: C-Rank (Adventure)]

[Trial Reward: Paradise Points ×2000, Attribute Points +2]

[Trial Failure: Paradise Points -4000, Forced Return]

[Accept/Reject?]

Chu Danqing accepted immediately, then said: “No need to trouble Master Xie. Da Bao and I are enough.”

“Besides, Master Xie is needed here to hold the residence, in case the Taiping Dao panics.”

This wasn’t an excuse—it was genuinely possible.

Damaging another’s path invites retaliation; that’s normal.

Was it the other party’s fault? If someone had such moral compass or mindset, why would they casually sacrifice a miner?

(End of Chapter)