Chapter 60: Dragon Inspection Map!! Shocking Secret!!

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Dragon Inspection Map!! Shocking Secret!!

Scales shimmering with multicolored light emerged from Zeng Anmin’s hands, while twisted, powerful nails resembling eagle talons slowly grew from his fingers. The Dragon Intent from the Dragon Inspection Map, which should have been unleashed by this transformation, was unexpectedly absorbed and concealed by the axe in his hand that had blended into the night. That extremely fierce intent—an intent that belonged solely to Zeng Anmin—merged into the night via the Short Axe, not stirring up the slightest ripple.

"This slash is Hai." Eternal Night Three Slashes. The first slash was Hai. King Jiang sneered as he approached step by step. It wasn’t until he was less than ten feet away from Zeng Anmin that he realized something was wrong.

"That is..." His gaze fell upon the scales on the other’s hands, which exuded an aura of ancient, mysterious colors. His pupils contracted sharply, and he gasped in shock, "You also cultivate the Demon Blood Martial Dao?!"

A myriad of thoughts flashed through his mind, but there was no time to ponder. To cultivate the Demon Blood Martial Dao proved that the opponent’s Realm would be no lower than his own! King Jiang naturally understood the principle that the battlefield could change in an instant. Without any hesitation, his entire body suddenly erupted with an extremely dangerous aura. RUMBLE!!! His fist, carrying a fierce momentum like a surging river, pressed down toward Zeng Anmin. Before the fist even arrived, the rippling water patterns on it reached its target first.

However... "Slash One." Zeng Anmin looked at King Jiang expressionlessly. His eyes, hidden beneath the hood, had turned completely scarlet! If the hood were lifted at this moment, his ferocious and bloodthirsty visage alone would be enough to frighten anyone out of their wits! The axe’s trajectory cleaved through the night, slashing down from above Zeng Anmin’s head toward King Jiang’s body.

ROAR!!!! The moment the Short Axe fell, a heavily oppressive dragon roar erupted. The rippling water intent emanating from King Jiang’s fist was instantly shattered by this even more powerful momentum. The axe’s force remained undiminished, shooting straight toward King Jiang like a sharp arrow. Only now did King Jiang feel this intent. That intent was a limit he would struggle to pursue in his entire lifetime! His pupils trembled violently, and he wanted to retreat explosively. But the strike’s intent was already manifest—how could it allow him even a moment of hesitation? Even though he tried his utmost to alter his attack, he still couldn’t stop the descent of the axe blade.

SLICE!!! Zeng Anmin and King Jiang swapped positions. The fallen leaves swept up by the cold wind slowly fluttered down, having lost the wind’s driving force. THUD. Falling to the ground alongside the leaves... was King Jiang’s arm. SPURT!! Only then did fresh blood spray wildly from King Jiang’s body.

GASP, GASP. That extremely violent Martial Arts Aura, carrying the intent the Dragon Inspection Map had bestowed upon Zeng Anmin, raged madly within King Jiang’s body. THUD. Drained of all strength, King Jiang lay on the ground, panting heavily. He wasn’t dead, but he couldn’t even move a finger. Zeng Anmin’s Martial Arts Aura inflicted excruciating pain upon his internal organs. Bead-sized drops of sweat continuously popped on his forehead. He could only try his hardest to mobilize the Martial Arts Aura within his own body to suppress the invasive force and slow his slipping life.

"Who... are you really...?" Knowing he was about to die, King Jiang looked at Zeng Anmin with extreme reluctance in his eyes.

"Heh." By now, the Martial Arts Aura within Zeng Anmin’s body was thoroughly depleted. He didn’t answer. He simply turned around and put away the Short Axe. His gaze sweeping over King Jiang, he gently pulled off his hood.

"Ah!!!" When the hood was removed and King Jiang saw his face clearly, his mouth gaped open violently, a look of sheer disbelief flashing in his eyes.

"HA!!" Zeng Anmin’s Dan Feng eyes widened. He suddenly gave a loud shout, and a surge of azure qi burst forth vastly. Confucian Dao Sixth Grade, Questioning the Heart. King Jiang’s body suddenly stiffened. As his eyes met that azure qi, his gaze turned completely blank.

"Who told you Emperor Jianhong was visiting Jiangnan in disguise?!" Zeng Anmin asked rapidly, his eyes narrowed. The Emperor’s excursion from the palace had to be kept strictly confidential. No one could possibly know this secret. Yet King Jiang knew in advance about Emperor Jianhong’s undercover visit and even dispatched men to orchestrate the theft of the Dragon Inspection Map. The hidden depths behind this were naturally intriguing. At the very least, it proved that someone in the palace wanted to bring down his father! And it was highly likely to be someone Emperor Jianhong trusted!

"Visiting in disguise... I... don’t know..." King Jiang uttered with a blank expression.

He thought, "He doesn’t know?!" These words made Zeng Anmin’s blood run cold! A chill shot from his tailbone straight to his brain!

"You aren’t the mastermind behind the theft of the Dragon Inspection Map?!" Zeng Anmin blurted out subconsciously, his pupils quaking.

However... BOOM!!! Having lost his conscious will, King Jiang could no longer suppress Zeng Anmin’s Martial Arts Aura within his body. His body suddenly exploded. In the cold night, the blood gave off wisps of steam as it splashed onto Zeng Anmin. However... Zeng Anmin couldn’t feel the slightest bit of warmth. He looked at King Jiang’s blown-apart corpse, his heart already entirely ice-cold.

He thought, "If he doesn’t know Emperor Jianhong is visiting in disguise... that means King Jiang couldn’t possibly be the mastermind behind the theft of the Dragon Inspection Map! Because if he didn’t know the Emperor was coming to Liangjiang Commandery, then even if the Dragon Inspection Map were stolen, it wouldn’t pose any threat to my father, the Governor of Liangjiang! Calm down! The more critical the situation, the calmer I must be. I have to keep a clear head! Let’s start with King Jiang. King Jiang... rumored to be an Eighth Grade Martial Artist. Yet he became a Seventh Grade Martial Artist by breaking through using the Demon Race’s essence blood... Wait! The Demon Race’s essence blood!"

Zeng Anmin snapped his head up as clues slowly began to fuse together in his mind. King Jiang’s words during the battle also confirmed that his advancement to the Seventh Grade relied on the path of the Demon Race’s essence blood. Nan’s words surfaced in his mind.

"Swallowing fresh Demon Race essence blood. Because of the Demon Race’s innate talents, their essence blood is a great help to those on the Martial Dao, but the essence blood must be fresh.

"Because of the Yin Wu demon-extermination war seven years ago, the Demon Race in Jiang Country and the Northern Holy Country has been practically wiped out. There are still a few remnants in Jiang Country, but because the Confucian Dao flourishes in the Northern Holy Dynasty, let alone the Demon Race, even ordinary ghosts would be eagerly destroyed by Confucian Cultivators using Vast Righteous Qi."

He thought, "And the Demon Race’s essence blood has to be fresh!" Zeng Anmin acutely recalled what Nan had said and grasped the key point. "That means there is someone from the Demon Race by King Jiang’s side! The Demon Race’s Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range is so far from the Great Saint Dynasty’s Liangjiang Commandery. Even if it were delivered, it couldn’t possibly remain fresh!" Realizing this, Zeng Anmin’s body slowly calmed down as clues frantically pieced themselves together in his mind.

He thought, "First of all, how did that demon arrive in Liangjiang Commandery? The Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range is so far from the Holy Dynasty... There are countless major County Cities along the way. There is also an abundance of Confucian Cultivators, including many with profound Cultivation. For a demon to successfully travel here without being exposed is simply impossible. Wait! Giant scales?!"

Zeng Anmin suddenly remembered the scales on King Jiang’s body and those massive fish scales on the giant boulders beneath the river! He looked toward the riverbank. He thought, "This river connects to numerous waterways... If it’s a Fish Demon... arriving by following the river currents, then this explanation makes much more sense."

"Who is that mysterious Fish Demon?" Zeng Anmin muttered to himself. "The Demon Race is collaborating with King Jiang? King Jiang’s goal was to obtain essence blood for cultivating his Martial Arts, as well as securing formidable combat power for when his plans eventually came to light. But what is the Demon Race’s goal?!"

He thought, "To send a demon from so far away—could it be just for sightseeing? Impossible." Zeng Anmin furrowed his brow tightly. He paced slowly, raising a finger to rub his chin. "This question is too difficult!" Speechless, he looked up and reached out to massage his temples.

The next moment, he froze completely. He thought, "My hand?!" Zeng Anmin suddenly thrust out his hand, his fair arm exposed under the moonlight. With a shift in his will, the remaining Martial Arts Aura in his body flowed toward his arm. In an instant, his entire right hand transformed into a dragon claw! The dragon scales were exceptionally eerie, and a power that felt as if it could crush heaven and earth filled his right arm!!

This was the secret the Dragon Inspection Map had brought him! A secret no one else knew! Zeng Anmin slowly tilted his head back, his face expressionless as he spat out three words, syllable by syllable: "Dragon. Inspection. Map!!" The Dragon Inspection Map contained a massive secret. This was something Zeng Anmin knew!

He thought, "Then, could the Demon Race’s goal be... the Dragon Inspection Map?!" In a flash, a tingling sensation spread throughout his entire body. From his first day crossing over to this world until now... In this very moment, he had figured out everything that had happened!!