"Report! Report!!"

On Thunder Mountain, a man wrapped in lightning came charging wildly.

At this early hour, the Thunder Mountain high-ups were holding a meeting. Upon hearing the commotion, the hall instantly fell silent.

"Who's there?"

"Stop!" The guards outside the hall shouted sternly, raising their long spears in unison.

"Me! Brothers! I'm from Tiger Whisker Hall!" The man finally stopped, his appearance so miserable that the two guards were left dumbfounded.

The man felt a bitter ache in his heart, overcome with shame.

From the foot of the mountain to its peak, he had passed through checkpoint after checkpoint, interrogated by countless guards.

Every time they saw his tattered clothes and battered, bloodied body, they would reveal expressions of disbelief.

A dignified disciple of the Second-class God·East Ting, how could he have fallen to such a state?

Never mind his combat prowess—his speed alone was said to be unparalleled in the world!

If he wished to retreat, not even a Sea Realm Great Power could touch the hem of his garment!

How could this be...?

"I have urgent news to report to the Sect Master! Please, inform him for me right away!" The man pleaded desperately. On his arm was a deep wound, so severe that the bone was visible, and blood continued to flow out.

"Come in!" A voice resounded from within the hall, brimming with power and authority.

The guards immediately moved aside, letting the desperate man enter. He lowered his head and eagerly strode into the grand hall.

The hall was magnificently adorned, its carved beams and painted rafters exuding opulence. On the resource-scarce Holy Spirit Mountain, a building of such grandeur could be seen as a testament to strength.

At the hall's far end was an imposing dragon throne, its craftsmanship exceedingly intricate.

Sitting atop it was a man in his forties, with a commanding appearance and a robust frame.

He wore a purple robe, his expression impassive, his very presence exuding intimidation.

"Sect... Sect Master Lv!" The desperate man stammered, shivering as he knelt in the center of the hall.

"Speak," Lv Xiao said indifferently.

"Sect Master Lv, Tiger Whisker Hall was ambushed! Near Mist Rain Lake, we encountered a surprise attack, and the Hall Master... the Hall Master, he..."

The hall was packed with people. Someone couldn't help but urge, "Stop dawdling and just say it!"

"Ah!" The desperate man jolted in terror, then squeezed his eyes shut. "The Tiger Whisker Hall Master has fallen in battle!"

"What?!"

"What did you just say?" The hall erupted in shock.

Thunder Mountain had ten major halls, each overseen by a Sea Realm Great Power.

The Tiger Whisker Hall Master, among them, stood as an elite—a martial artist of outstanding skill and unflinching bravery, ranked highly within Thunder Mountain!

Yet yesterday, the Hall Master had just set out, and now, by morning, news of his death had arrived?

"Y-Yes!" The desperate man sobbed, his voice trembling. "Tiger Whisker Hall has been completely annihilated... everyone's dead..."

"What?!"

"The Thousand Boat Alliance bastards—have they grown bold?"

"Damn it!" Outrage filled the hall as emotions flared.

And yet, skepticism arose as well.

"Impossible! How could Brother Tiger Whisker be killed by those Thousand Boat Alliance scum? Speak the truth!" A burly man strode forward, as if ready to crush the desperate man underfoot.

"The attackers likely weren't from the Thousand Boat Alliance!" the desperate man hurriedly shouted.

"Tiger Face!" An elderly voice interjected, halting the burly man's advance in an instant.

On either side of the dragon throne sat smaller, yet equally intricate, chairs.

On the left sat a dignified, elegant woman, dressed in purple robes, her posture formal and her gaze cold, observing the unfolding events impassively.

On the right sat a tall, lean elderly man, appearing to be in his seventies or eighties.

It was this white-haired elder who had issued the command to stop.

"Hmmph!" The burly man called Tiger Face snorted angrily, glaring daggers at the kneeling Tiger Whisker Hall member.

"Who." A calm voice sounded from atop the dragon throne.

The chaotic hall fell silent in an instant.

Lv Xiao still wore his impassive expression, his gaze fixed on the trembling Tiger Whisker disciple.

The desperate man felt his courage crumble into dust.

As a mere River Realm figure, he could hardly withstand the oppressive might of a Sea Realm Great Power.

Now, faced with the collective wrath of numerous Sea Realm figures inside the hall, how could a mere River Realm martial artist survive?

"I-I... don't... know." The man stammered, finally managing a sentence.

His faltering words only fueled the growing resentment.

"Ah!" Driven by a desperate survival instinct, the man broke out in a trembling voice, "There were West Desolation believers! And a sandstorm!"

The words "West Desolation believers" left the hall's occupants visibly stunned.

Thunder Mountain had been entrenched in the area for over thirteen years, yet West Desolation believers had been a rare sight.

"The attackers, they also... they also..." The desperate man suddenly remembered something, exclaiming, "Our Hall Master was resting in the lake when the enemy somehow infiltrated, appearing at the lakebed all of a sudden.

They ambushed us, blasting our Hall Master into the skies!

Then the sandstorm rose, and we couldn't see anything..."

The desperate man swallowed hard, his terror palpable as he described, "No one knows how the attackers surfaced from the lakebed—it could be invisibility techniques, or perhaps an Instant Teleportation technique..."

"Instant Teleportation." The dignified woman seated to the left of the dragon throne turned her head toward Lv Xiao.

Those two words were enough for Lv Xiao to understand what his Lady was implying.

Could it have been the Qiang Xiu Sect?

That didn't seem plausible. In the southeastern regions of the Holy Spirit Mountain Continent, Qiang Xiu disciples were exceedingly rare.

Still, there was another possibility—the Evil Dog Followers!

Long ago, the Chief of Tiantu Mountain Village, Luo Tiantu, had come seeking Thunder Mountain's help. He had revealed that the region harbored an Evil Dog Follower fallen to the Demon Path.

Not long after, Tiantu Mountain Village had been utterly annihilated.

The entire mountain had been reduced to ash!

It was unimaginable—how, even under Thunder Mountain's protection, Tiantu Mountain Village could have been wiped out so completely.

Who could have done this?

Either their adversary harbored an unrelenting blood feud with Tiantu Mountain, so much so that they had lost all restraint...

Or they were overwhelmingly powerful, simply disregarding Thunder Mountain altogether.

Perhaps...

Both.

"Hmm..." Lv Xiao leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, fingers interlaced and propping up his chin.

The one who destroyed Tiantu Mountain and the one who slaughtered Tiger Whisker Hall—could it really be the Evil Dog Follower?

Few dared to disregard Thunder Mountain.

Even fewer wielded Instant Teleportation techniques!

"There's more! More!" The desperate man exclaimed in sudden recall. "They had Jade Talisman believers! When the sandstorm arose, the ground turned into a Sand River! Sand Whips lashed everywhere—I was struck on my ankle..."

The man looked like he had narrowly escaped death, his lingering fear apparent. Truly, surviving had been sheer luck!

"What?!"

"Quicksand Talisman?!"

The man's words detonated the hall into utter chaos!

Thunder Mountain already had intelligence that at the temporary outpost of Lingfeng Hall, the terrain had similarly transformed into a congealed river-like state.

Fang Lingfeng and her Lingfeng Hall had been missing for nearly half a month!

Could there really be such an uncanny coincidence?

Did this mean that Lingfeng Hall and Tiger Whisker Hall had both fallen to the same group?

"Those bastards!" Tiger Face Hall Master cursed furiously, turning to the depths of the hall and bellowing, "Sect Master Lv, this is an orchestrated attack against Thunder Mountain!

Those dogs are tired of living!!"

"Silence!" barked the tall, slender elder seated to the dragon throne's right.

Once again reprimanded, Tiger Face Hall Master seethed with rage, snapping at the elder: "Elder Wang! They're already stepping all over us!"

"Yeah!"

"Those ungrateful scum—likely reinforcements hired by the Thousand Boat Alliance!"

"Exactly! Both Fang Lingfeng and the Tiger Whisker Hall Master were ambushed while scouting the Thousand Boat Alliance."

The hall buzzed with indignation as voices clamored in unison.

Thunder Mountain, used to trampling over others, had never faced such humiliation. How could the proud Sea Realm·East Ting believers bear this?

Suddenly, the hall plunged into silence.

The Sect Master had risen from the dragon throne.

Standing over two meters tall, Lv Xiao's immense frame radiated an oppressive presence.

He descended the steps step by step, approaching the kneeling Tiger Whisker disciple.

The overwhelming pressure seemed to press down with every step, and the desperate man trembled so violently he appeared about to collapse into himself.

"West Desolation believers, Jade Talisman believers, and one elusive foe—this is the intelligence you bring back?"

Lv Xiao spoke with chilling calm, his gaze fixed on the quivering wreck at his feet.

"I-I also heard explosions! And snarls... Ah!" The man screamed.

Lv Xiao leaned down, clasping the man's head in one massive hand.

Then, slowly, he straightened up.

The man dangled from Lv Xiao's grasp like a broken marionette, his legs limp and dragging on the ground.

"No... Sect Master Lv! I brought... intelligence... I ran back to report—"

"Crack!"

The sound of the Water Flow Armor shattering echoed abruptly.

As the armor fragmented, the man's skull crumpled inch by inch within Lv Xiao's palm.

"Ah! Aaaahhhh..." His agonized screams were short-lived.

The man's desperate flailing ceased entirely as his arms drooped lifelessly.

His skull shattered; he died horrifically on the spot.

The East Ting techniques could summon lightning and bolster the body, enhancing every physical attribute.

Yet, Lv Xiao had not unleashed any such Divine Techniques.

Even as a Sea Realm·Fifth Rank practitioner, it should have been impossible for him to crush a River Grade·Water Flow Armor with brute strength alone.

But on his finger glinted a jade ring.

The ring was blood red, emitting a deep crimson light and radiating a bloodthirsty aura—it granted Lv Xiao ferocious power!

"Huff..." Lv Xiao closed his eyes, exhaling deeply.

The Blood Jade Ring quivered softly, greedily absorbing the blood on its master's hands, nourishing itself.

Silence gripped the hall as everyone stood frozen in fear.

Although Sect Master Lv's face remained expressionless, all present could sense the storm of fury raging within him!

After a long pause, Elder Wang in the hall's depths rose and said:

"Sect Master! Now that the Thousand Boat Alliance has gained new lackeys, we must reconsider our strat—"

"No need," Lv Xiao interrupted.

He opened his eyes, glancing at the mutilated corpse at his feet.

No one dared to speak another word. Lv Xiao raised his foot, planting it on the already half-crushed head.

"Crunch! Crunch..."

Lv Xiao ground it down bit by bit, his tone devoid of emotion:

"Today, we march on the Thousand Boat Alliance."

...

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