Chapter 448: None of Them Used Any Strength

The ship left the harbor.

Ao Yulie stretched his body, executing a graceful fish-leap into the undulating water.

A moment later, a pair of ferocious dragon horns extended from the seawater, followed by half a dragon head the size of a small boat.

Tang Luo stood on the dragon head, and the two followed the ship at a leisurely pace.

The ship's speed naturally couldn't be too fast.

However, after sailing for roughly two hours, Jiang Yuanming and Lin Qing, the two of them, piloted a small speedboat from the ship, cutting through wind and waves as they went.

One couldn't help but wonder: how would they return?

Ao Yulie carried Tang Luo, following far behind, and saw the two land on an unnamed small island.

The vegetation on it was quite dense.

Some not-too-large structures could also be hidden within.

Ao Yulie brought Tang Luo to the shore, transformed back into human form, and the two set foot on the island, walking in the direction Jiang Yuanming and Lin Qing had disappeared.

Gradually moving deeper into the island's interior, Ao Yulie spoke: "Master, something feels off. Have we been set up? Did you cast Enlightenment on them?"

"No," Tang Luo said.

Still need to save a bit; no need to both cast Enlightenment and Invisibility.

Although Tang Luo could no longer be considered a "poor man" now, he still hadn't reached the point where he could squander merit power.

As the two spoke, the surrounding scenery abruptly changed; the original trees vanished, and the two "appeared" in a flat clearing.

Roughly the size of two football fields.

"What formation is this? A bit profound." Ao Yulie exclaimed in admiration; he had only vaguely sensed this formation.

It could count as having truly deceived him.

At the edge of the clearing, including Jiang Yuanming and Lin Qing, there were a full fifteen Awakened.

Surrounding Tang Luo and Ao Yulie, preventing their escape.

"Who exactly are you?" Jiang Yuanming looked at the two and asked.

"Tang Luo."

"Ao Yulie. Gongzi Bai works too; I quite like that name." Ao Yulie said with a smile.

"... Who asked for your names! We want your identities, your origins!" Lin Qing shouted, murderous light in his eyes.

This was his Awakening, yet he was actually tailed by two people; if they ruined it, who would he demand compensation from? The resentment in his heart was imaginable.

"Awakened?" Tang Luo thought for a moment and said.

"..."

"..."

"Forget it, that's not important. I'm here to find someone, the person from the sketch." Tang Luo looked at Jiang Yuanming and said, "You knew and didn't report it, so I had to come find them myself."

"As expected..." Jiang Yuanming said, his eyes narrowing.

Are these two really outliers among the Heavenly Punishers, or traitors among the Awakened?

Generally speaking, Awakened don't produce traitors.

The Awakened are born with no fondness for this oppressive, false cage.

And unless they tuck their tails and behave like proper humans.

Unable to do anything out of line; otherwise, they'll be targeted by the Heavenly Punishers.

Once they've truly fought a Heavenly Punisher, even "killed" one of their forms, they're on the list — it can be said they'll never have a peaceful day again.

The Heavenly Punishers don't communicate with people either; they're just a group of silent pursuers, very mechanical.

In this situation, the probability of a traitor is too small, too small.

But it's not without exception.

Over twenty years ago, an outlier appeared among the Heavenly Punishers, a Heavenly Punisher like a real living person, who successfully turned several Awakened.

Gave the Termination Association... caused major losses.

Even the Association President was severely injured in this matter, and hasn't recovered to this day, still recuperating.

Could it be... a second time?

But now, even if this is a second time, it's been successfully stopped by them.

"Take them down."

Someone spoke, cold and curt; regardless of your identities, take them down first, interrogate slowly later.

"This work style is really decisive, I like it." Ao Yulie said with a smile, a bit like the Master beside him.

Beat them up first, ask questions after beating them.

"We really just came to find someone." Tang Luo said; he truly hadn't thought about beating up the Termination Association.

He planned to observe a bit more.

If he really had to act, he would have acted back when he discovered Jiang Yuanming was concealing things.

"I'll do it!"

On the Termination Association's side, Lin Qing took the lead, extremely eager.

Striving to leave a good impression in the hearts of the senior leaders present.

He didn't take Tang Luo and the other in his eyes; today's behavior proved the two had ill intentions.

But that day being hunted by a Heavenly Punisher couldn't be faked; even if they hid their strength, it was limited.

Lin Qing rushed before Tang Luo, hands raised overhead, loosely gripping; an illusory hammer, faintly visible, appeared in his hands.

Smashing down toward Tang Luo.

Even thinking the opponent's strength was lacking, Lin Qing didn't relax, using full force right from the start.

"Oh?" Jiang Yuanming and the others' eyes narrowed, their faces revealing a hint of astonishment.

They all knew Lin Qing possessed extraordinary talent, yet they hadn't expected this kid, going all out, to wield such might.

Originally, Jiang Yuanming had said Lin Qing could at most handle one second-form Heaven's Punisher.

Now it seemed, facing a third-form Heaven's Punisher, he could also maintain a period of "undefeated ground."

A good seedling.

Just as everyone was praising the good seedling Lin Qing.

Tang Luo raised his hand slightly, thumb pressing against forefinger, and flicked a finger.

Ripples spread layer by layer in midair.

As if the air had been treated as a "hidden weapon" and flicked out, exactly like last time when he forced Jiang Yuanming out of hiding.

But that time, Jiang Yuanming had dodged in a somewhat sorry state, and the ripples vanished.

Clearly just a feint.

Now used against Lin Qing's fierce assault?

The next breath, that circular ripple, launched later but arriving first, instantly crossed the distance, landing on Lin Qing's forehead.

The illusory great hammer in Lin Qing's hand vanished instantly, his body as if struck by lightning, head tilting back in an extremely exaggerated posture, crashing heavily onto the ground.

He fainted on the spot.

"..."

The good seedling in everyone's eyes hadn't even touched the corner of the opponent's clothes, and the opponent hadn't gone to "touch" him either, yet he went down.

"My master didn't even use force, young man." Ao Yulie shook his head, and you just went down.

You rushed in so eagerly at the start, thought you had some substance.

"Master! Let me!" Ao Yulie said.

"Mm." Tang Luo nodded, simply walking over to sit on a stone block to the side.

Ao Yulie wore a proud expression, scanning the surroundings: "You all come at once. Right, after I beat you, you take us to find the person in the sketch, fair enough?"

"Arrogant."

"Foolish."

"Defeating a mere child makes you this confident?"

A group of people shouted coldly.

"Heh."

Ao Yulie chuckled lightly, hands slowly spreading at his sides, fingers splayed, body rising, hovering in midair.

Undulating faintly, airflow spiraled around him, then began to expand, terrifying Qi Jin surging in all directions.

Raging gales made it difficult for people to even stand.

The unconscious Lin Qing rolled on the ground, just like a tumbleweed.

"Hope you can give me a bit of fun." Ao Yulie's voice was grand, like a heavenly sound.

Can lose the fight, but posturing must be cool.

"This is..."

Jiang Yuanming and the others changed expression, this person actually possessed such strength?

Then that white-haired man he called master?

A disciple surpassing the master, blue from indigo yet better than indigo — such situations certainly exist.

But this master-disciple pair, doesn't seem like that situation.

Mm, looks like they won't lose the fight either.

The facts were indeed about the same; Jiang Yuanming and the others' strength wasn't weak, Ao Yulie despite always being called trash by Tang Luo.

But that was relative.

After a battle, the ground looked as if plowed, crisscrossed with gullies everywhere, the result of fierce winds tearing through.

Lying on the ground besides the unconscious Lin Qing was an additional group of people.

Ao Yulie was the only one standing, head raised to the sky, wearing a lonely-expert expression.

Actually, these people joining forces he didn't find it that easy to deal with, more or less a bit strenuous.

What's more, he still had to not kill, only injure, injure to a certain degree, couldn't let them have life-threatening worries, yet also make them completely lose combat power, the kind unable to resist.

Quite difficult.

Ao Yulie wasn't like Tang Luo who had fought all the way here, an expert on this, saying half-dead meant half-dead, one-third dead meant one-third dead.

When necessary, could even destroy the opponent's confidence, will completely during the beating — commonly called beating someone till they cry.

Ao Yulie couldn't learn that.

"See our sincerity now?" Tang Luo stood up leisurely, walked before Jiang Yuanming and said.

Jiang Yuanming's eyes widened, a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out.

You beat people half to death, and still say you have sincerity?

But on second thought, it really did seem quite sincere, otherwise it wouldn't be half-dead, but fully dead.

At most leave him, Jiang Yuanming, a single survivor to guide the way.

"Who exactly are you people?" Jiang Yuanming asked once more.

"You might not believe it if I told you, the person we're looking for is my master's second disciple, my second senior brother." Ao Yulie said from the side.

"..." Jiang Yuanming's eyes widened slightly.

That person's age isn't small, and he's been in the Termination Association for nearly ten years already.

As for strength...

No need for more words; in a critical situation, that unreliable, good-for-nothing guy really is the anchor of the Ending Association.

"Take us to find him," Tang Luo said, his tone no longer one of consultation or request, but of statement, of command.

Jiang Yuanming made a final effort: "Leave me behind, let the others go back and bring people over."

"Then you go; anyway, you're the only one awake." Tang Luo was extremely decisive, leaving the prepared rhetoric Jiang Yuanming was readying with no place to be used.

"... Fine."

Faced with an irrefutable reason (strength), Jiang Yuanming stood up with difficulty, limping all the way toward the shore.

This small island was merely the place where they had set an ambush to deal with Tang Luo, this stalker.

In fact, not until Tang Luo and the other person stepped foot on the island did Jiang Yuanming and his group discover that there really was someone following them.

They immediately eagerly arrayed their formation — ha, they hadn't expected there really was someone tailing them.

Then they got beaten up violently.

Half-compromising, half-going-for-reinforcements, Jiang Yuanming left, leaving behind a ground full of wounded.

"Master, what if that guy runs away?" Ao Yulie asked, "These people all feel pretty fanatical; they don't seem like the type who value their lives highly."

"No matter." Tang Luo smiled, "This time I opened a light."

Jiang Yuanming had no intention of running; roughly half an hour later, dozens of figures descended from the sky, crashing to the ground at extreme speed.

Instantly they shielded that group of wounded lying on the ground.

A flashy entrance, astonishing momentum.

Reinforcements have arrived! Come get beaten.