Chapter 608: The Turtle Comes

The Sky-Rat King made his decision without delay, immediately following Ao Tian's younger brother as they raced four thousand li, returning to the Demon Serpent Palace just as the sun set behind the mountains.

Then came the Rat King's bow to Ao Tian's mother.

He addressed her as "Dry Mother," knelt, and bowed his head in deep reverence, showing utmost respect.

The Rat King's respectful demeanor naturally delighted Ao Tian's mother, and she truly developed a measure of maternal affection for this "junior."

Of course, in actual age, the Sky-Rat King was far older than she was.

With a startled "Oh!" she felt a force travel up her arm, lost her balance, and toppled toward Jia Cong.

Bai Nianxue actually regarded Lin Chu as a younger brother, a sentiment nearly identical to her attitude toward Lin Jiamao.

The chess tournament was held in the Experimental Building, where there were many empty classrooms suitable for large-scale competitions; the empty classrooms in the Teaching Building had all been reserved by the debate team.

He had also interacted with the two alchemists for a time, but the Daoist had not stayed long; his words were vague, merely mentioning that there were things on Changheng Mountain that must not be touched.

Although the two Duke Prefectures on Rongning Street still belonged to the First and Second Branches, and they still retained some ancestral lands and estates in the south, the Jia family of Jinling was no longer under the control of the First or Second Branches.

If worldly trials were merely about earning those one hundred thousand taels, they should have ended years ago.

At noon, the Ninth Squad shared a meal together, celebrating Dongfang Yunyang's promotion to Special Jōnin.

"Since Commander Qu has such confidence, I grant permission," said the Emperor. "When will the contest take place? Where shall the arena be set up?"

The eastern sun rose slowly, casting a faint golden glow upon the deck; Jiang Chang'an's gloom had just lifted, only to be swallowed again by darkness. In six and a half years, he had crippled Xia Ji and turned Chaosheng Mountain upside down, yet he had never found the man who had used the Explosion Talisman to kill Pang Ershui.

Long Yinxie was caught red-handed, his face flushed with embarrassment—luckily, his beard covered it.

The young acolyte was puzzled by Yao Yao's hostile glare; he had no idea who she was, for during the operation to capture Yao Yao's sister, Yao Yao had been sealed within a barrier and escaped unharmed. Yao Yao had seen these Daoists, but they had never recognized her.

At this time, Ming army weaponry was standardized: for every hundred soldiers, ten were arquebusiers, twenty carried dao and shields, thirty were archers, and forty wielded spears. After the weapons were exchanged, the hundred and three men became seventy-one dao-and-shield warriors and thirty-two spearmen.

Within the spatial rift, a dark gray, unsettling energy coalesced, slowly rotating and churning; the aura emanating from this gray energy pressed heavily upon Shen Ao, filling him with immense strain.

With no time to consider suitable methods, Bai Yi immediately unleashed his strongest technique—the Dao Spirit appeared and struck the terrifying portal with a sweeping hand.

Just as the tribulation lightning was about to fully erupt, the Golden Radiance Divine Fire activated, not disappointing Bai Yi; it effortlessly refined the tribulation lightning, stripping away its ferocity and retaining its essence, which then merged into Bai Yi's body.

Yin Tiancheng sighed inwardly, wondering where his master had found such a troublesome younger brother—one who showed no regard for his own dignity as Sect Master.

Xu Ying, seeing Zhu Quan come to visit her father, felt deep relief in her heart but said nothing.

The next morning, Mu Yan and Shen Li set out early again to search for Lin Feng grass. With many sheer cliffs atop the mountain, they split up. Shen Li repeatedly warned Mu Yan not to leave his line of sight, not to approach the precipices too closely. Mu Yan nodded and ran ahead, bending low to search carefully.

The Left and Right Provincial Governors of Beiping, Zhang Bing and Xie Gui, seeing Commander Zhang Xin leading his troops toward them, no longer hesitated. They charged through the Wang Fu's main gate with their trusted subordinates, storming straight inside.