Outside Yanming Mountain, Zhang Pinglu, who was tracking Zhang Yang's aura, unexpectedly encountered Huang Longshi, a black-robed figure from the National Security agency who had also noticed something amiss and given chase, upon entering the mountain.
It was precisely here that Zhang Yang’s radiating aura became erratic, making precise location impossible. The two men were forced to slow down, meticulously searching the vicinity, which resulted in them converging here from different directions.
“It’s Senior Zhang!”
Huang Longshi saw Zhang Pinglu from afar and immediately cupped his hands in greeting.
Zhang Pinglu had spotted Huang Longshi from a distance, but his overwhelming concern for Zhang Yang’s situation had caused him to disregard everything else.
“A formation must have been set up here!”
Zhang Pinglu frowned. Encountering Huang Longshi confirmed they were heading in the right direction; two Great Perfection experts could not possibly misinterpret Zhang Yang’s residual energy signature!
No sooner had Zhang Pinglu finished speaking than the entire Yanming Mountain began to rumble and shake violently, as if a catastrophic landslide were imminent. The surrounding trees thrashed wildly from side to side.
For a moment, the forest rustled loudly, and a deep tremor resonated intermittently underfoot. A large flock of birds shot skyward, fleeing Yanming Mountain in panic, while ahead, countless insects, cockroaches, rabbits, and pheasants streamed down the mountain in a wild exodus!
The energy signature of Yanming Mountain was like a balloon—all its energy contained within, unable to leak out. But suddenly, the energy inside the balloon began to erupt and expand continuously. The thin skin of the balloon could not contain the swelling power, causing it to rupture instantaneously, releasing an unparalleled surge of energy that provoked the bizarre phenomenon of the mountain’s wildlife fleeing in terror!
“What an immense energy fluctuation!”
“What an immense energy fluctuation!”
Zhang Pinglu and Huang Longshi exclaimed in unison. They exchanged a glance, cast aside all hesitation, and immediately rushed toward the rear of Yanming Mountain—the focal point of the energy surge!
Undoubtedly, this sudden outburst of energy must be connected to Zhang Yang!
“Huang Longshi, how is it that you have absolutely no intelligence regarding the Great Perfection practitioner from Japan hiding in the northern suburbs? A bunch of useless whelps!”
Elder Zhang Pinglu, while battling the wave-like energy surging against him during his sprint, cursed Huang Longshi in fury!
Zhang Yang was not only the most promising successor in the Zhang family of Medical Saints capable of breaking through to the fifth layer of Inner Strength but also the youngest Great Perfection practitioner and the foremost figure in the current martial arts world. The prosperity of the Medical Saint Zhang family for the next hundred years rested entirely on Zhang Yang’s shoulders. This was why the Elder, disregarding Huang Longshi’s background, berated him so fiercely; his worry for Zhang Yang’s safety was paramount.
The only thing capable of causing such a massive energy fluctuation was undoubtedly the second stance of the Sky-Breaking Sword technique. The Elder had witnessed Zhang Yang use this move on the Long Family Plain, and the fact that Zhang Yang was employing it again now meant his opponent was absolutely another Great Perfection practitioner.
Having meticulously schemed to lure Zhang Yang out of Changjing, the identity of this person was obvious—it must be that Great Perfection practitioner from Japan who had infiltrated Huaxia.
Glaring fiercely at Huang Longshi, the Elder redoubled his speed, streaking toward the rear of Yanming Mountain.
Huang Longshi had also reached this realization. Faced with Elder Zhang Pinglu’s accusation, his face flushed with shame, leaving him speechless, as this was undeniably his dereliction of duty.
Dealing with foreign practitioners infiltrating Huaxia had always been their responsibility. Yet, he had only managed to set a massive trap in Changjing specifically for the Japanese Great Perfection expert, failing to anticipate the enemy’s plot, which led to this disaster. If anything untoward had happened to Zhang Yang, he would bear full responsibility.
But amidst his shame and self-reproach, Huang Longshi was also inwardly stunned. That Japanese Great Perfection expert had clearly established a formation here to conceal the aura of a Great Perfection master, yet this formation was now forcibly shattered from within by the rampaging energy. Zhang Yang must have unleashed an offensive technique equivalent to the fifth layer to achieve such a result!
Zhang Yang was truly terrifying!
Huang Longshi gritted his teeth and immediately accelerated, keeping close behind Zhang Pinglu!
As the energy of Yanming Mountain leaked out, distant Changbai Mountain and Silver Dragon Mountain reacted momentarily, but quickly returned to calm.
In the Savage Mountains, two parrots engaged in play abruptly ceased their frolic, straightening their bodies.
“It’s happening again. Which fifth-layer expert is causing such a huge commotion?”
“It seems things have been quite lively outside recently? Can’t that person really be that high-profile? Forget it, it’s none of our business…”
The two parrots chatted briefly, showed a moment of confusion, and then dropped the subject. Now, apart from Zhang Yang breaking through to the fifth layer, nothing else warranted their attention.
In the caves on the outskirts of Changjing, the figure lying on a large stone, drowsily dozing, suddenly snapped open his eyes. The look of surprise on his face swiftly morphed into fury.
“Damn brat, did you ignore every warning I sent through Huang Longshi? ... Wait, no, these scum actually dare to set foot on my Huaxia territory!”
A sharp glint flashed in the person’s eyes, causing a large boulder inside the cave to instantly shatter, and the entire cave structure shook.
“Courting death!”
The person muttered, sat upright, and closed his eyes.
An old man strolling casually on a street in Changjing suddenly turned, slipped into a deserted alley, and then vanished completely within it!
At the cliff face behind Yanming Mountain, Zhang Yang leaped high, hovering in the air, his sword pointed directly at Iga Sakyōdōjun, who was desperately scrambling toward the precipice.
Zhuifeng also sensed the terrifying power of Zhang Yang’s incoming strike. To avoid being caught in the crossfire, he immediately retreated rapidly with Wuying and Shandian, carrying Elder Yan and Tang Xiaolan on his back.
“Hahahaha, Zhang Yang, kill me, and those two won’t survive either!”
As Iga Sakyōdōjun sprinted toward the cliff edge, he didn't forget to taunt Zhang Yang in mid-air. He realized that even if he couldn't reach the hostages, Yan Yefei and Li Juan, as long as Zhang Yang brought his sword down, he would die, but they would surely plummet into the abyss with him as company!
If Zhang Yang hesitated even slightly, the force of the descending sword would be greatly diminished, or he might even suffer a backlash from the terrifying energy he had gathered in this single thrust—energy that Iga Sakyōdōjun was certain he could evade using ninja (Escape Techniques). If Zhang Yang was injured, his power would certainly be severely depleted, leaving him at Iga Sakyōdōjun’s mercy. A sinister and venomous smile spread across Iga Sakyōdōjun’s face!
“Mr. Zhang, don’t worry about us!”
Seemingly sensing Zhang Yang’s delicate predicament, Li Juan, despite being bound, continued to struggle and shouted at Zhang Yang.
“Mr. Zhang, hurry up and strike!!!”
Yan Yefei regretted his past actions deeply. It was his overconfidence that had led him and Li Juan to Yanming Mountain alone, only to become a burden in the end.
In that instant, time seemed to slow down.
Zhang Yang hung in the air, his sword poised to strike downwards in a flash, yet in the moment just before the blade moved, he experienced a profoundly strange sensation.
Iga Sakyōdōjun’s malevolence, Yan Yefei’s bitter remorse, and Li Juan’s readiness to sacrifice themselves—their faces crystallized before Zhang Yang’s eyes, flashing by one by one.
“Go!”
The long sword in his hand transformed into a scorching beam of light, carrying the momentum of swallowing the world, and plunged downward resolutely!
Seeing the sword descend, the cunning, sinister smile on Iga Sakyōdōjun’s face instantly froze. His running feet rooted to the spot.
His pupils dilated violently in that moment as he watched the needle-sharp tip of the sword approach, growing larger millimeter by millimeter. He opened his mouth, but no sound emerged.
The intensely compressed, scorching Celestial Energy, centered on the sword tip, formed a nearly elliptical shell of energy, relentlessly closing the distance between itself and Iga Sakyōdōjun!
RUMBLE!!!
Iga Sakyōdōjun was driven into the earth beneath him like a nail, unable to escape. The ground split open, revealing countless cracks resembling a tortoise shell!
“No!!!”
Iga Sakyōdōjun finally revealed an expression of despair, his roar tearing through the air.
But it was all in vain!
THUD!!!!
As Zhang Yang’s sword force descended, a smooth fissure appeared across the entire cliff face. Half of the cliff separated from Yanming Mountain and began to fall into the abyss!
Yan Yefei and Li Juan, who were closest to the edge, had already been knocked unconscious by the immense energy, but a look of contented smiles remained on their faces as they fell headfirst into the chasm.
After delivering the strike, Zhang Yang abruptly looked up, his eyes locked onto Yan Yefei and Li Juan. Disregarding whether the energy accumulated in the Cold Spring Sword had been fully unleashed, he violently retracted the blade, forcibly breaking the massive downward momentum of the swing, taking several steps, and rushing toward the falling cliff edge where Yan Yefei and Li Juan were plummeting!
“I will not allow you to die, how dare you die!”
Effortlessly slicing through the ropes binding Yan Yefei and Li Juan, Zhang Yang swept one arm around each, pouring the last ounce of his strength into a loud roar, and hurled both of them forward!
“Yangyang!”
“Brother Zhang!”
At the last possible second, Zhang Pinglu and Huang Longshi finally reached the rear cliff. They saw the two figures hurtling toward them like missiles!
Catching Yan Yefei and Li Juan with ease, Huang Longshi then saw Zhang Yang lying on the cleaved half of the cliff, which was already succumbing to gravity and falling away.
Zhang Pinglu abandoned all caution and rushed toward the cliff edge. However, by the time he reached the broken precipice, Zhang Yang had already plunged too deep into the abyss to be rescued.
“Yangyang!!!”
Zhang Pinglu lay prone on the edge of the broken cliff, extending one hand over the precipice, and roared heart-wrenchingly.
Forcibly retracting his sword momentum to save Yan Yefei and Li Juan had exacted too heavy a toll on Zhang Yang’s body. He now lay weakly on the descending half of the cliff, able to do nothing but gasp for breath.
Hearing the Elder’s cry, Zhang Yang tried to respond, but when he opened his mouth, he inhaled a mouthful of cold air and was rendered speechless.
“Yangyang, don’t be afraid, I’m coming to save you!”
Elder Zhang Pinglu cast everything aside and was about to leap off the cliff to pursue Zhang Yang and find a way to pull him up!
Huang Longshi, having secured Yan Yefei and Li Juan, saw Zhang Pinglu preparing to jump and rushed over, grabbing the Elder fiercely. He shouted, “Senior Zhang, if you jump, the Medical Saint Zhang family will be left with no Great Perfection masters. Have you considered that point!”
“Get away from me!”
Zhang Pinglu froze momentarily, then erupted in anger, slapping Huang Longshi hard enough to send him stumbling several steps back. He immediately turned back, preparing to jump again.
Just then, a shadow, swift as the wind, flashed past Huang Longshi and Zhang Pinglu in an instant, leaping off first!
Neither Zhang Pinglu nor Huang Longshi could clearly discern who the shadow was before a massive force pushed them several feet back from the cliff edge.
“Zhang Yang, I’ve come to save you!”
A voice, strong and full of vitality, echoed up from the depths of the abyss to Zhang Pinglu and Huang Longshi’s ears. Huang Longshi was stunned—who could that be!
The Elder didn't overthink; he immediately dropped to the edge of the cliff and peered down.
The shadow was descending at an even faster rate, reaching Zhang Yang’s falling position in a blink. It seized Zhang Yang by the collar, and the figure paused!
The shadow and Zhang Yang simultaneously halted their descent.
“Look!”
Huang Longshi rushed over. He immediately spotted a steel chain anchored into the cliff face on their side, leading to the shadow. The Elder clearly saw the chain as well.
After halting their plunge, Zhang Yang and the other person began ascending rapidly toward the cliff.
Realizing he had been saved, Zhang Yang tried to turn and see who had rescued him, but the person gave him no opportunity. The wind howled past them, making speech impossible and his body rigid.
“If you can’t speak, don’t. Just listen to me!”
The rescuer seemed to anticipate Zhang Yang’s questions and spoke directly into his ear via an internal sound transmission: “Didn’t I warn you through Huang Longshi not to use powers that do not belong to you? Do you think using borrowed power so frequently has no cost? Let me tell you, you might never break through to the fifth layer again after this. So, forget about seeking revenge abroad after today!”
The person first grumbled in annoyance, then immediately changed tone: “However, this matter itself has nothing to do with you. Since you were implicated, I owe you a favor. If you ever need help in the future, have Huang Longshi relay the message to me, and I will never stand idly by!”
After speaking, Zhang Yang felt a lightness; he was lifted away from the abyss outside the cliff and flown toward Zhang Pinglu and the others!
Catching Zhang Yang, Zhang Pinglu retreated several steps before gently setting him down and immediately checking his body.
After Zhang Yang was safely retrieved, the figure vanished with a swish. Huang Longshi stared back toward the abyss in bewilderment; there was no one there!
“Who was that person?”
Huang Longshi turned and asked. The person had felt familiar, yet he couldn't see their identity clearly. He could not fathom that there existed a practitioner so formidable they could leap from between himself and Zhang Pinglu to save the nearly doomed Zhang Yang.