Xie Yongjie was a Cultivator who had forged a Dao Foundation. He used a Magic Technique to observe from a great distance, so naturally, Zhong Ming and Shi Yun couldn’t sense him.

And so, his presence had no effect whatsoever on the battle between Zhong Ming and Shi Yun.

"Huuuh... haaah..."

Though one of his legs was lame, Shi Yun stared intently at Zhong Ming, not daring to relax for even a second.

The overwhelming Sha Qi radiating from him made Zhong Ming feel a lethal threat.

’He’s on a completely different level, having trained in the Demon Suppression Bureau!’

His expression was grave, but Zhong Ming felt no fear.

Within him, his Magical Power churned like a raging torrent, circulating wildly.

At the very moment his Magical Power reached its absolute limit, a single drop of water appeared on Zhong Ming’s fingertip. His hand was already drawn back, poised to flick it forward. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

SWOOSH...

Just as he prepared himself, a sudden gust of wind swept through. A bamboo leaf drifted down, hovering for a moment in the space between the two men.

The leaf briefly obscured their vision.

And as the leaf drifted away...

With a sharp WHOOSH, Shi Yun shot toward Zhong Ming like a striking viper.

’So fast!’

Despite his lame leg, Shi Yun’s profound mastery of the Spirit Stream Finger: Water Dragon Technique allowed him to transform his lower body into a serpentine tail of flowing water.

The rapidly whipping tail not only made Shi Yun incredibly fast, but his swaying, ghost-like movements were also unpredictable and impossible to track.

But this did not intimidate Zhong Ming.

BOOM! A deafening roar suddenly erupted from Zhong Ming’s position—but it wasn’t the sound of the water droplet being flicked from his fingertip.

’He didn’t think such a straightforward attack could threaten a seasoned fighter like Shi Yun.’

The sound had come from the currents of water swirling around Zhong Ming.

At the command of his Thought, the currents transformed into a torrential downpour that shot toward Shi Yun.

The sight made Shi Yun, who was skimming across the ground, freeze as his pupils constricted.

’Could every one of these raindrops possess the same power as that first attack? No, that’s impossible. That strike was on par with the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation; it must have been a technique Zhong Ming spent a long time preparing.’

’If this entire downpour had that kind of power, not even someone at the late stage of Qi Cultivation could manage it... and a Zhong Ming capable of that wouldn’t need me to test his limits in the first place.’

In fact, he was right. Zhong Ming’s finger-flick attack wasn’t so easy to unleash.

His Dao Rhyme - Flow of Water only allowed Zhong Ming to infuse his attack into a current of water. Then, when an enemy blocked it, the attack would use the principle of Ripples of Water to pass through their defense and strike their body directly.

Its purpose was merely to flow; the actual attack power and initial velocity had to be provided by Zhong Ming himself.

Fortunately, Zhong Ming had an ability perfectly suited for this: the Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique!

That’s right—it was the very first Swordsmanship Zhong Ming ever practiced.

Upon reaching the Third Realm, this Swordsmanship was already a true Immortal Swordsmanship. Its core wasn’t even about how to draw the sword; rather, it required the Cultivator to continuously circulate their Magical Power, letting it race through their body at extreme speeds to build up force.

When that force reached its peak, the sword-drawing Cultivator could unleash a strike at their absolute limit.

Now, having comprehended the Dao Rhyme - Flow of Water, Zhong Ming had modified—or rather, fused—this extreme Swordsmanship.

He fused the Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique into the droplet of water, turning it into a ’bullet’ loaded into a chamber.

And the flick of Zhong Ming’s finger was the command to fire!

This combination meant the droplet Zhong Ming launched wasn’t water at all. It was an incredibly sharp Longxi - Sword Pulling, imbued with the entirety of his power!

Furthermore, because it was a ranged attack, the technique’s original flaw—that it would leave the user drained and powerless if the strike failed to connect—was no longer a drawback.

’So what if I’m drained and powerless after firing it? You can’t reach me instantly. By the time you charge over, I’ll have already recovered.’

In short, the Dao Rhyme - Flow of Water had given the Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique an epic-level enhancement.

However, the core principle of this Cultivation Technique was a One-Hit Kill!

It required pouring every last ounce of one’s strength into a single, overwhelmingly powerful strike. This was a fundamental aspect that even Zhong Ming couldn’t alter.

Thus, for a certain period, he could only unleash a single strike.

WHOOSH...

The deluge of water droplets shot toward Shi Yun. As expected, this attack posed no threat to him.

But the torrential downpour obscured his vision. What worried him more was the uncertainty—he didn’t know if that one, truly devastating strike was hidden somewhere within the rain.

And in that split second when his vision was obscured...

BANG! The bullet (the Water Drop - Longxi Sword Pulling) loaded in the chamber was fired by Zhong Ming.

This time, Zhong Ming held nothing back, which made the droplet he fired exceptionally terrifying.

CRACK!

The droplet shot out like a bullet, instantly accelerating to several times the speed of sound.

Its extreme velocity tore through the atmosphere, creating a vacuum tunnel in its wake.

In the blink of an eye, this special ’bullet’ crossed nearly a hundred meters to appear right in front of Shi Yun.

By then, the violent sonic boom had not even reached Shi Yun’s ears.

It was too fast for the sound to travel. The curtain of rain blurred his vision. It was just as Shi Yun had feared: the droplet containing all of Zhong Ming’s power appeared almost out of thin air.

However, while Zhong Ming’s attack was swift and deadly, his opponent was no weakling.

SWIRL...

An expert in the Spirit Stream Finger: Water Dragon Technique, he casually waved his longsword, and a current of water materialized seven meters around him.

The current began to rotate at high speed the moment it appeared, an attempt to use a preemptive defense to deflect Zhong Ming’s attack.

Unfortunately, it was useless.

CRACK! Upon hitting the ring of circulating water, Zhong Ming’s bullet shattered, but the power it contained was transmitted toward Shi Yun, just like the Ripples of Water.

However, this sight did not frighten Shi Yun. On the contrary, a cold smirk appeared on his face.

"I’ve seen this trick before. It won’t work on me."

GUSH...

As he formed a seal with his fingers, another current of water surged up beside him and also began to spin at high speed.

His defense wasn’t a single layer, but two.

BOOM!

And just as the inner current of water rose, a force slammed violently into it.

The force sent ripple-like waves across the surface of the rapidly spinning water.

’I blocked it... Huh?!’

Shi Yun, who thought he had blocked Zhong Ming’s attack, was about to let out a sigh of relief. But his expression quickly changed to one of astonishment.

The spinning current had indeed blocked the force transmitted from the bullet, but only for an instant.

In nature, when a stone drops into a lake, it never creates just a single ripple. They spread out, layer after layer, expanding toward the shore.

Having comprehended his Dao Rhyme from this very phenomenon, Zhong Ming’s attack was naturally not so simple.

VMMMM...

The first ripple of force was blocked, but an instant later, a second one appeared. By then, Zhong Ming’s attack had already bypassed the defenses Shi Yun had set up and slammed into his body.

BOOM!

When the sword-sharp attack landed on Shi Yun, it blew him to pieces—literally.

But the exploding Shi Yun dissolved into a shower of water.

"Huh?!"

’This is... a water clone!’

’Of course. I was able to comprehend how to use mists to conceal my form from the Spirit Stream Finger: Water Dragon Technique. Since Shi Yun is an expert in this Magic Technique, he naturally could have comprehended something similar.’

’No wonder he just stood there to block it instead of dodging!’

’...When did he create the clone? Where is he now?!’

Realizing Shi Yun was long gone, Zhong Ming scanned his surroundings warily.

And while he searched for any trace of Shi Yun, the onlookers—Zhuang Yi, Yang Chen, Qi Hong, Yi Yunya, and even Xie Yuzhu and Xie Yushuang in the sky—were all reeling in shock from Zhong Ming’s terrifying attack.

HUMMM...

After shattering Shi Yun’s water clone, the power of the [Water Drop - Longxi Sword Pulling] was not yet spent.

With nothing left to stop it, the force not only blew apart Shi Yun’s water clone but also radiated outward for several meters.

BOOM!

CRACKLE...

As the force of the Longxi - Sword Pulling spread out like Ripples of Water, everything within a several-meter radius—bamboo, rocks, even the ground itself—was instantly covered in cracks, as if struck by a sword.

That Zhong Ming had unleashed the power of a heavy cannon from a single drop of water was an utterly horrifying sight.

What was even more terrifying was that this force could bypass a Cultivator’s defenses and erupt from within.

HISS...

At this thought, Yang Chen, Qi Hong, and even Xie Yushuang in the sky all wore expressions of pure horror.

None of them felt they could have blocked such a terrifying attack.

And among them all, the most terrified was, naturally, Zhuang Yi.

The others could only imagine the horrifying result of being hit by that attack. He, on the other hand, had actually faced it.

’Was his attack really that strong all along?!’

’Zhong Ming, thank you for your mercy... If you had used your full power back then, I would’ve been blown to smithereens.’

Overcome with both terror and gratitude, Zhuang Yi decided that he could probably postpone his plans to challenge Zhong Ming.

Say, for two or three years.

’It’s not that I’m a coward, it’s just that Zhong Ming is completely unreasonable!’

’Who the hell can launch an attack like that at the early stage of Qi Cultivation?!’

Zhuang Yi’s expression was dazed. High above on a layer of clouds, the calm and casual look on Xie Yongjie’s face—a man who had already forged his Dao Foundation—had vanished.

"This kind of attack... fusing the Longxi - Sword Pulling into a water droplet and then firing it. A clever idea."

"And to be able to do that, he must have comprehended a Dao Rhyme related to the Flow of Water."

At this, Xie Yongjie didn’t look pleased. Instead, he turned to Xie Lingmin beside him with a wry smile. "Cousin, I seem to recall you saying that Zhong Ming had only comprehended a mere sliver of a Dao Rhyme Fragment."

"But for him to use a technique like this so easily and naturally... this is far more than ’a few fragments’ can explain. His comprehension of the Flow of Water Dao Rhyme is at least a good ways along."

"...You left out quite a lot, didn’t you."

"..."

Xie Lingmin... didn’t know how to respond to her cousin’s words.

Her knowledge of Zhong Ming was based on hearsay; she didn’t know much more than Xie Yongjie did.

In the end, she could only try to save face. "But this is a good thing, isn’t it?"

Nodding, Xie Yongjie didn’t deny it. "It is indeed a good thing. For Longxi Peak, for the Seven Profound Sect, and for our Xie Family."

"It’s just that, for someone with such Talent, what we’ve prepared is no longer enough. I need to contact the elders."

"Of course."

After receiving Xie Lingmin’s agreement, just as Xie Yongjie was about to act, a voice full of confusion suddenly spoke up, causing their expressions to turn to shock.

"That’s not right. This attack from him is strong, but... it feels different from that day?"

"That day, he felt majestic and domineering, like an unstoppable king who ruled over everything. Today, he feels dangerous and much more uncanny... Why is the change so drastic?"

The young Xie Yuzhu couldn’t understand the change in Zhong Ming’s aura, but upon hearing her words, Xie Yongjie and Xie Lingmin immediately exchanged a look. Then, a shocking thought surfaced in both their minds.

"A different aura... It couldn’t be, could it...?"

...