Ling Xiao had heard from Lin Ze that the largest faction among the ninja clans was called the “Black Dragon Society.”
This Black Dragon Society used a black dragon as its emblem, and most of the ninja clan warriors within the human territories were either disciples or members of the Black Dragon Society.
The appearance of the Black Dragon Society’s giant mechanical ship was odd enough on its own, but the people aboard it shocked Ling Xiao even more.
There were three peak ninth-vein martial artists.
One of them was none other than Wan Ben, the Governor of Baiyun.
Though Ling Xiao had never met him in person, Wan Ben’s portraits were plastered all over Yun Kong City.
The other two were strangers to Ling Xiao, but he could tell one was from the Jade-Eye Clan and the other from the Ninja Clan.
While these two races looked similar to humans, they had distinct traits that made them easy to identify.
Murong Shao had somehow fled to this ship.
“Lord Governor! Lord Governor, save me!”
Murong Shao, dishevelled and desperate, scrambled aboard, only to be stopped by the ninja clan warrior.
Wan Ben’s face darkened as he said, “How dare you come here? You’re an idiot!”
His dealings with the Ninja Clan and Jade-Eye Clan were known to Lin Ze, but there was no proof. If Lin Ze caught him red-handed and reported it to the Human Sacred Emperor, Wan Ben’s days as governor would be over.
Without that power, how could he earn the respect of the Ninja and Jade-Eye Clans or achieve his ambitions?
Wan Ben’s voice carried a fierce, menacing anger.
That fury radiated a powerful, ruthless aura that demanded submission.
Murong Shao bore the brunt of it, coughing up blood, his face turning as pale as paper.
“No need to get so worked up, Lord Governor. I’ll send some men out now—all seventh-vein martial masters. No outsider within a mile will survive!” the peak ninth-vein ninja warrior said with a chuckle, casually waving his hand, sending over twenty figures darting out.
Normally, below the mortal realm, no one could see beyond a mile.
That was the source of the ninja warrior’s confidence.
But he didn’t know Ling Xiao was different.
“What’s going on?” Wan Ben reined in his killing intent, glaring coldly at Murong Shao, “I went to great lengths to get you into the Hidden Dragon Camp—don’t tell me you’ve blown your cover.”
“Rest assured, Lord Governor, I haven’t been exposed,” Murong Shao hurriedly said, “It’s just that in the Hidden Dragon Camp, I crossed someone named Ling Xiao. That shameless git chased me down, and in a panic, I ended up here.”
“Ling Xiao? Why does that name sound familiar?” Wan Ben frowned.
A figure stepped forward—it was Shi Yulian.
“Lord Governor, this Ling Xiao is from the Ling family in Tianfeng City. My father says he’s the one who gravely injured Lord Feimu and killed Lord Feiyun. Back then, his cultivation was only early sixth vein,” she said.
“Exactly, Lord Governor, that’s what my father told me too,” another voice chimed in—it was Li Xinghui.
Now both of them were at peak sixth vein, with Li Xinghui slightly stronger than Shi Yulian. Clearly, siding with Wan Ben had paid off, and given time, becoming martial masters wasn’t out of reach.
Smack!
Before Wan Ben could respond, the peak ninth-vein ninja warrior erupted in fury, crushing a ceramic cup in his hand to dust.
“Ling Xiao! He killed a genius of my clan—I want him dead!”
Wan Ben glanced at Murong Shao and said calmly, “Murong Shao, you heard him. I’ll grant you a near-mortal martial art manual and a True Essence Pill.”
“Thank you, Lord Governor!”
Murong Shao was overjoyed—he hadn’t been killed and had even scored such rewards.
“Don’t thank me yet. You’ve got the goods, but you’ve got one year to take out Ling Xiao, or it’s your head. Now get lost,” Wan Ben said, waving him off like shooing a dog.
Murong Shao nodded eagerly and bolted.
He didn’t dare retrace his steps, fearing another run-in with Ling Xiao. Right now, he just wanted a spot to cultivate, break through to seventh vein, and with that near-mortal martial art, he’d no longer fear Ling Xiao.
“Governor Wan, can that guy handle it?” the ninja warrior asked, frowning as Murong Shao left.
“Don’t worry, he’s just a disposable pawn,” Wan Ben said with a smile, “If he succeeds, great. If he fails, he’ll cover for someone else.”
“Ling Xiao won’t survive a month.”
“Hahaha, so the Lord Governor’s got it all figured out!” the ninja warrior roared with laughter.
Li Xinghui and Shi Yulian exchanged a glance, both feeling uneasy.
Only those who’d seen Ling Xiao—or fought him—knew how terrifying he was.
These two peak ninth-vein warriors were underestimating him a bit too much.
But they were too low in status to speak up.
Ling Xiao wanted to keep eavesdropping on their scheme, but sadly, these lot were cautious. The mechanical ship split the river, diving underwater and heading off into the distance.
The seventh-vein martial masters sent out didn’t return, though—they’d been ordered to charge in this direction.
Ling Xiao cursed under his breath and turned to flee back the way he’d come.
On the way, he ran into the Hidden Dragon Camp crew rushing over. He didn’t mention the ship or Murong Shao—no one might believe him anyway.
He just warned them a bunch of martial masters were coming and urged everyone to retreat.
Some didn’t buy it at first, but when Shi Lei staggered back injured with the same story, they realised Ling Xiao wasn’t bluffing.
The Hidden Dragon Camp disciples were geniuses, but against twenty-odd martial masters, they stood no chance—they had to hightail it back to camp.
Still, during the retreat, some got caught and killed by the enemy.
Luckily, reinforcements arrived in time.
Dai Yuling, Hua Nongying, and General September showed up together.
Hua Nongying was decent, roughly on par with Shi Lei at mid-seventh vein.
But Dai Yuling and General September were terrifying—those seventh-vein martial masters couldn’t last a single move against them.
That’s why Dai Yuling and General September didn’t compete for military merits in the Hidden Dragon Camp, instead vying with the other eleven Tiger Guards.
The merit competition was split into a Tiger Guard group and a Hidden Dragon group—otherwise, the camp disciples would’ve been at a massive disadvantage.
With Dai Yuling and General September there, the ninja clan martial masters knew pursuit was futile and retreated.
Most of the Hidden Dragon Camp disciples made it back to base safely.
That day, after a headcount, the camp had lost thirty disciples, mostly killed during the retreat.
Of course, only Murong Shao knew eight of them had fallen to Ling Xiao.
But he didn’t breathe a word of it.
Not that he didn’t want to—he didn’t dare. If that got investigated, he’d be in deeper trouble than Ling Xiao.
Once the numbers were tallied, General September started counting military merit points.
Ling Xiao didn’t divvy them up himself, leaving it to the camp’s treasure tool to distribute—nobody could complain that way.
It wasn’t the first time the tool had been used, and it’d long earned the disciples’ trust.
