Chapter 476: The Fox's Second Passing Away

After repeated trial and error, Jiang Ke’er finally understood that if the dummy wasn’t defeated on the first hit, it would go berserk, and the situation would spiral in a very terrible direction.

The sparring system required the dummy to settle the match with a single strike.

Her own backside would pay the price.

The difficulty of this battle had more than doubled again…

But Jiang Ke’er wasn’t going to give up!

She sheathed her sword, sat across from the sparring system, and recuperated for a bit.

Then she approached. Gazing at the system dummy in the distance, Jiang Ke’er hid in the grass, creeping closer slowly.

“First, let me hit you with a ninja kill!”

“Boom—!”

Lying in the crater left by the shoulder throw, Jiang Ke’er stared blankly at the sky.

The dummy didn’t hesitate for a moment as it brought its sword down, pinning her to the pit.

“Trying to ambush me? You’re still far off…”

“Die.”

“Again!”

“Boom—!”

“Die.”

“You’re nothing more than a fox spirit at best.”

“Again! This time I’ll incorporate the war dance into my assassination!”

“Thud—!”

“Die.”

The death Qi… it wasn’t about surface appearance, but the temperament of her movements.

With tousled fur from head to tail, he looked like a scruffy wanderer with stubble. Even so, he instinctively sensed that Water Master had become somewhat different.

When Jiang Ke’er returned to the village, Pei only saw a figure full of exhaustion, swaying unsteadily, as if her body had been hollowed out.

Originally, Water Master’s movements were naturally alluring, but they hadn’t been like this—now every raise of a hand or step of a foot carried a strange, captivating beauty that tugged at the heart.

Every single movement of her body had become exceptionally fluid, strangely pleasing to the eye. Even that slovenly appearance couldn’t hide this comfortable feeling.

“Master, are you alright?”

It was the first time Pei had heard such an honest reply, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

“Not alright at all.” Jiang Ke’er answered truthfully.

“Xiaotao, starting today, you will learn the war dance. First master the war dance, then I’ll teach you the sword dance.”

Despite her terrible condition, at least Jiang Ke’er hadn’t forgotten her mission.

Learning the sword dance required a deep foundation. Even if one couldn’t match her own computational ability, one still had to practice the war dance until it was second nature.

“Oh right, Master, we caught an assassin—he’s at the Seven Luminaries Realm no less!”

But Gongsun Xiaotao didn’t rush to learn; instead, she first brought up what weighed most on her mind: “The Shasheng Hall has already started making moves. We need to leave this place quickly…”

“He was putting on ghostly antics that night, then ran straight into the door panel himself.”

Pei An blurted out in one breath, casually deflecting the blame for the ghost act.

“Seven Luminaries Realm? How did you catch him?”

Jiang Ke’er could tell at a glance that Pei was feeling guilty.

But she didn’t pry further, only replying afterward: “Did you report it to the authorities?”

“We did. Constable Wu said the government doesn’t handle matters in Nanzhan Buzhou, and that we should move away quickly—even Seven Luminaries Realm cultivators are showing up, so next time it might be an Honored One!”

Gongsun Xiaotao seized the opportunity to add: “So let’s get out of here right away!”

Constable Wu clearly knew the Huangtian Sect wasn’t to be trifled with, so he wanted no part in this matter.

Jiang Ke’er, however, couldn’t care less.

They had to be able to come and go with their lives intact.

“And that Seven Luminaries cultivator?” Jiang Ke’er asked.

“Tied up, getting his face treated at the medical hall.”

“Take me to see him.”

Jiang Ke’er arrived at the medical hall and took one look—she nearly got a fright from this big brother’s appearance.

It was the first time she’d ever seen someone who looked like that.

Other people’s heads were spherical. His was half a sphere.

His nose was deeply embedded in his face, leaving only two thin nostril holes.

“I never imagined that senior is actually one of my kin from the Demon Race. The village’s hospitality has been lacking, failing to welcome you properly from afar—truly a grave offense, a grave offense…”

Jiang Ke’er apologized profusely with deep shame.

Chou Chui’s face flushed red: “I’m not a demon…”

“?” Jiang Ke’er looked at him in confusion. “Sir, your features are so distinctly clear—could you not be from the Flat Pan Clan, a branch of my Demon Race?”

Though she’d heard the demon race was bizarre in all sorts of ways, since when could a flat pan cultivate into a spirit?

Chou Chui still had to think carefully for a moment before realizing that the other party seemed to be insulting him.

“Hand over Gongsun Xiaotao, and the Sect Leader might show mercy and let you off the hook. Otherwise, not a single soul in your entire village will be left alive.”

“Oh?”

“I am a disciple of the Huangtian Sect. Gongsun Xiaotao committed heinous crimes and fled in fear of punishment. I was merely ordered to capture her and bring her back… What you’re doing now is opposing the entire Huangtian Sect!” Chou Chui looked at Jiang Ke’er with contempt.

“With the understanding of country bumpkins like you, you probably don’t grasp what the Huangtian Sect represents… It’s one of the greatest powers in Nanzhan Buzhou! Just like the Tang Empire in your Dongsheng Shenzhou!”

“Wow! But… what is the Tang Empire?” Jiang Ke’er wore a bewildered expression.

Chou Chui was successfully choked speechless.

Only then did he realize that ignorance could be just as hard to deal with.

Talking with these ignorant fools was simply too difficult.

He had to seriously think about how to describe it… After racking his brains for a long while, he looked up and met Jiang Ke’er’s mocking gaze, realizing he’d been toyed with again.

Chou Chui suppressed his anger: “I advise you not to overestimate yourselves. The Huangtian Sect is an existence you cannot afford to offend. Please don’t force us to resort to force.”

“Then how did you get caught?”

Chou Chui glanced at the ropes binding him, then at the mirror. The humiliating memory of his defeat that night surged back, making him wish he could crawl into a crack in the ground from shame.

Knocking himself out on the door—he was probably the most embarrassing killer in the Shasheng Hall.

Even more mortifying was that he carried a transmission crystal, and everything that happened to him had already been witnessed by the Hall Master.

“I may be inferior in skill and concede defeat… but the others in the Shasheng Hall won’t be as weak as me! Our Huangtian Sect is full of powerful experts.”

“I advise you not to push too hard, or none of you will survive! Disciples of the Huangtian Sect can be killed but not humiliated! What happened today will not end until one side is dead!”

“The entire village?” Jiang Ke’er was utterly baffled. “Is it just your Huangtian Sect, or is all of Nanzhan Buzhou like this? So, all for a single Gongsun Xiaotao, you’d slaughter our entire village?”

“Enough talk!”

Chou Chui roared, but because his mouth had been flattened and part of his tongue severed, he couldn’t speak properly—it just looked like drool trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Under everyone’s strange stares, Chou Chui finally erupted in fury: “I know there might be a few experts hiding in your village, but daring to humiliate the Huangtian Sect like this… You’re all dead!”

“Then you’re dead too.” Jiang Ke’er picked up a scalpel. “I’ll give you two choices right now. The first choice is to give up on Gongsun Xiaotao. The second choice is that you die right here.”

“I’m not afraid of death.” Chou Chui sneered. “You can kill me, but not a single one of you will live! Disciples of the Huangtian Sect can be killed but not humiliated! What happened today will not end until one side is dead!”

Jiang Ke’er didn’t want to waste more words with an idiot who could only talk about slaughtering entire villages.

“Xiaotao, Pei, step outside and close the door behind you.”