Chapter 91

Recalling his meeting with Wu Wu Ya Zi, none of his arguments had been useful; the other party had simply chosen him as his successor on the spot.

How strikingly similar was this situation?

Jiang Sishui even suspected he had activated the most unbeatable "protagonist halo."

Otherwise, how could he be so lucky?

After running a considerable distance and estimating that Huang Huang Yaoshi would not catch up, he finally set Huang Rong down.

Huang Rong glanced at the direction and asked, knowing the answer yet pretending not to: "This is Leigu Mountain; what are you returning here for?"

Before Jiang Sishui could answer, Huang Rong wore an expression of sudden realization: "Ah, I know! You have an old flame on the mountain, don't you?"

"Let me guess: is it Miss Zhao from the Central Plains Escort Agency, or Miss Wang from Taihu?"

A trace of cunning flashed in Huang Rong's beautiful eyes, curved into crescent moons by laughter; she was determined to see how Jiang Sishui would answer this seemingly fatal question.

Jiang Sishui was indeed caught somewhat off guard, but before he could open his mouth, a sudden warning arose in his heart!

Cicada Awareness!

Jiang Sishui's complexion changed; he grabbed Huang Rong in one arm, unleashed "Wave-Treading Micro-Step," stepped west with his foot, yet his body strangely appeared in the northeast position, dodging the sudden claw attack.

A surprised exclamation rang out, followed by a clear metallic ping from a flicked finger.

Immediately after, the metal snapped, and half a sword blade fell to the ground.

Gazing at the layered afterimages before him, the attacker let out a cold sneer.

The next moment, a violent wind erupted, and the celestial phenomena shifted abruptly!

Jiang Sishui's agile form stalled; his entire body felt as if trapped in a swamp, and the myriad afterimages trailing from the excessive speed of "Wave-Treading Micro-Step" dissipated accordingly.

At the same time, he felt as though the entire world was turning against him, repelling and compressing him, even attempting to bind him in place.

Manipulating celestial phenomena through human effort and borrowing the power of heaven and earth for one's own use—this was the hallmark technique of a Celestial Being, and their greatest asset for crushing a Grandmaster.

The attacker was a Celestial Being!

With a hurried glance, Jiang Sishui recognized the opponent's appearance.

As expected, it was precisely Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi, whom he had been guarding against all along!

"There's no escaping now."

Though startled, Jiang Sishui did not panic; knowing "Sun Shadow Golden Wheel" would inevitably activate, a sudden idea struck him.

He halted, stood sideways, leaned his upper body backward toward the sky, and positioned his hands one above the other, striking a pose of worshipping the moon.

"Primordial—Steel—Qi!"

The majestic voice of "Two Nine Three" had barely faded when a protective light shield expanded outside his body, flowing with countless lights, shadows, and air currents, forcibly blocking the incoming claw!

The claw shadow paused, then transformed from claw to palm, then to fist, each strike heavier and more fierce than the last.

Yet no matter how his assault intensified, that protective light shield remained utterly motionless, like an immovable needle calming the seas, so secure it induced despair.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi let out a cold snort, clenched his right fist, and smashed it down with a blow that seemed slow yet was actually swift!

This punch carried wind and clouds with it, as if pouring all the power of this small patch of heaven and earth into a single strike, determined to shatter the protective shield in one go!

Alas, he was disappointed once again.

When his punch, carrying eighty or ninety percent of his strength, landed, the protective shield did not budge in the slightest, as if mocking him for a mayfly trying to shake a tree—overestimating its own strength.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi finally stopped, his face iron-green, his eyes filled with gravity as he looked at Jiang Sishui.

"Primordial Steel Qi? The 'Primordial Steel Qi' of the Supreme Alliance in Zhizhou? What is your relationship with Guan Guan Yutian?" Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi blurted out instinctively.

Simultaneously, his heart was filled with doubt and incomprehension.

In Zhizhou, there existed a force called the Supreme Alliance; its alliance leader, Guan Guan Yutian, was a Celestial Being expert at the Martial Dao Golden Core realm, whose signature martial art was "Primordial Steel Qi"!

Although Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi had never met Guan Guan Yutian in person, as one of the overlords of Zhizhou, information on the Supreme Alliance was naturally stored in the archives of the Hulong Villa.

According to Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi's analysis, "Primordial Steel Qi" was absolutely a Sacred Classic.

But for this technique to allow a Grandmaster to withstand an attack from a Celestial Being like him was simply too absurd!

Could it be that because this was a purely defensive martial art, its resistance was so formidable?

At this moment, thick suspicion arose in Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi's heart.

Either the "Primordial Steel Qi" wielded by this youth before him differed from Guan Guan Yutian's, or he had underestimated Guan Guan Yutian.

Jiang Sishui slowly "concluded his practice," and the protective light shield dissipated accordingly.

A flash passed through Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi's eyes; his palm tightened slightly, yet ultimately he did not strike again.

It was simple: Jiang Sishui was on guard against him; the moment he moved, "Wave-Treading Micro-Step" would flash away.

To restrict "Wave-Treading Micro-Step," he would have to borrow the power of heaven and earth again, but achieving unity between human and heaven required a moment of time, during which Jiang Sishui could entirely repeat his previous trick.

In that case, apart from suffering a pointless loss of face, there would be no benefit whatsoever.

With his left arm encircling Huang Rong's waist, Jiang Sishui adopted a guarded stance, blending truth with falsehood and reality with illusion, leaving Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi unable to fathom his true capabilities.

Huang Rong did not struggle either; she watched the standoff between the two quietly, cooperating fully.

Without answering Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi's question, Jiang Sishui said coldly: "Does this humble one have a feud with your lordship?"

"You know me?" Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi's small, dignified eyes narrowed slightly.

He had launched this attack expecting an easy capture, hence he had made no attempt to conceal himself.

However, the fact that Jiang Sishui recognized his identity at the very first glance truly surprised him.

After all, Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi was a marquis of Great Ming; while the title "Iron-Dared Divine Marquis" was indeed imposing, beyond the Five Provinces of Great Ming, his influence dropped off a cliff.

And even within the Five Provinces of Great Ming, the vast majority of people had only heard his name without ever seeing him; yet now, here in Suzhou of a foreign land, he was recognized by a callow youth who supposedly possessed little knowledge.

The information revealed by this circumstance was certainly worth pondering.

"Know you? How could I not know you?"

Glancing at the broken sword in his right hand, Jiang Sishui said indifferently: "If I didn't know you, what would happen if I looked for the wrong person in the future?"

His expression remained utterly calm, yet his heart was far from peaceful.

The gap between a Grandmaster and a Celestial being slightly exceeded his imagination.

Just now, his counterattack with a sword infused with his own Qi was actually snapped in half by Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi's flick of a finger!

While this was partly due to the opponent's exceptional finger technique, it also revealed the immense disparity between them...

Without invoking the Unity of Heaven and Man, Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi was already beyond his match; perhaps he could only rely on the agility of the "Wave Subtlety Steps" to maneuver and maintain an undefeated stance.

"Celestial being..."

The slight self-satisfaction Jiang Sishui felt from ascending to Grandmaster overnight vanished instantly.

Hearing Jiang Sishui's words, a cold light flashed across Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi's narrow eyes.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi did not fear the Xiaoyao Sect.

Although Jiang Sishui, barely past his coming-of-age, had technically suppressed several Grandmasters yesterday, and despite the notorious reputation of the "Zhenlong Illusion Array" deterring many with the mysterious Xiaoyao Sect,

he had noticed a detail—Ding Chunqiu.

If the Xiaoyao Sect were truly so powerful, would they be unable to eliminate even a single traitorous Grandmaster?

Suxinghe had even been forced to feign deafness and muteness.

Afterwards, as the heroes descended the mountain, Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi observed secretly and discovered that the deaf-mute disciples were going down to purchase items needed for funeral rites.

Then who had died?

Correlating this with the sudden weakening of the "Zhenlong Illusion Array," Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi found his answer in his heart.

Furthermore, as a member of the Xiaoyao Sect, Jiang Sishui held a generation status equal to Suxinghe, yet none of the "Eight Friends of Hangu" recognized him, implying he had joined the sect very late.

Adding to this, many people had seen Jiang Sishui ascend the mountain the night before last, even breaking into the Illusion Array...

Comparing the timelines of these various clues and combining them with the information he had gathered, Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi quickly reached a conclusion—

Suxinghe's master had died, causing the Illusion Array's power to diminish greatly, and before dying, the master had transferred his cultivation to Jiang Sishui, allowing the latter to leap directly to the heavens in a single step!

At present, the strongest figure in the Xiaoyao Sect was likely this Grandmaster, Jiang Sishui.

In the eyes of others, a Grandmaster was naturally unattainable, but to a Celestial being, they were truly nothing more than this.

However, Jiang Sishui's "turtle shell" defense and his hidden identity and background made Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi feel apprehensive.

With a shift of thought, Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi not only felt no anger but instead broke into a smile: "Young brother, I fear there has been a misunderstanding."

"This Marquis has been traveling through the various provinces to seek a talented individual to fill the final position among my four great secret agents of the Protecting Dragon Villa."

"Seeing your extraordinary skills just now, I could not resist testing you; indeed, this Marquis was too abrupt."

"Now that the misunderstanding is cleared, I wonder if young brother would be willing to accept the position of Secret Agent Yellow Number One of the Protecting Dragon Villa?"

Looking at the kindly smiling Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi, Jiang Sishui did not expose him, saying instead: "Divine Marquis, how about we make a deal?"

Seeing that Jiang Sishui did not take the bait but rather changed the subject, Zhu Zhu Zhu Wushi smiled slightly and said generously: "Whatever young brother desires, just speak it; anything this Marquis can give, I will certainly not withhold."