Chapter 184: There’s a Road to Heaven, But You Won’t Walk It

“Fourth Prince, that’s a bone flute. Is Tong Yi also proficient in beast-taming techniques?!”

Li Huaiyi, sharp-eyed, let out a startled cry.

They were now only a hundred zhang from the Freezing Pool they needed to retreat to.

If the enemy summoned a few more tamed beasts, it could very well doom their escape.

A cold gleam flickered in the Fourth Prince’s eyes as he said in a frigid tone:

“Don’t bother. Take the Water-Avoiding Pill and head for the Freezing Pool at full speed.

The Water Qilin is about to wake up!”

Hearing this, everyone immediately downed their Water-Avoiding Pills and sprinted toward the Freezing Pool as fast as they could.

Soon, they caught sight of Yang Ling and silently marveled at how quickly the guy had gotten ahead.

Tong Thirteen and his men were also retreating rapidly, while Tong Yi, mid-stride, raised the bone flute to his lips and blew.

The melodious notes drifted through the air.

Suddenly, three enormous beasts came bounding from afar.

Each leap sent them soaring ten zhang high, and when they landed, clouds of snow dust erupted, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

“What the hell are those!?”

Dongfang Haojie glanced back and instantly felt his soul flee in terror. He pumped his legs furiously, somehow boosting his speed by thirty percent!

“Hell Frogs!”

The Fourth Prince’s heart jolted. Abandoning all other thoughts, he poured his full internal energy into his movement technique, and his speed skyrocketed.

Seeing this, a hint of amusement crept into Tong Thirteen’s eyes:

“Everyone, let’s give them a little appetizer!”

As he spoke, he and his men pulled out hand crossbows in unison, ready to disrupt the Fourth Prince’s retreat rhythm.

But at that very moment, flying daggers shot through the air with blinding speed.

One Rong Tribe spy failed to dodge in time. A dagger pierced straight through his heart, and his entire body instantly turned into an ice sculpture, falling dead on the spot!

Seeing Yang Ling cover their retreat, the Fourth Prince breathed a sigh of relief and continued his withdrawal.

Tong Thirteen’s expression darkened. He and his men immediately opened fire with their hand crossbows, unleashing a furious barrage of bolts straight at Yang Ling.

Yang Ling twisted and dodged with ease, sidestepping every lethal bolt aimed his way.

Every now and then, he would draw his saber to counterattack, single-handedly pinning down Tong Thirteen’s entire squad.

“Yang Ling must die!”

Tong Thirteen’s eyes were grim.

This Ironclad Department Chief Constable seemed to have some kind of cosmic grudge against the Rong tribe. Time and again, he’d inflicted massive losses on them.

And now, with just a few measly flying daggers, he was single-handedly keeping them pinned down and unable to lift their heads.

If they didn’t kill someone like this, he would definitely become a festering thorn in their side!

“There’s a road to heaven, but you won’t walk it.”

Tong Yi’s gaze turned icy cold as he stared at Yang Ling. The sound of his bone flute grew even more melodious.

They had never planned to go after the Fourth Prince in the first place. Their only aim was to kill a few Seventh-Rank martial artists from Zhao State—a blow to the kingdom’s strength.

Now that Yang Ling had volunteered to stand out, Tong Yi immediately marked him as the final target before their retreat.

If they could take down this bastard, it would be far more cost-effective than killing Dongfang Haojie or the others!

The Fourth Prince and his group also realized that Yang Ling had completely drawn the Rong Tribe spies’ firepower. They felt a pang of mixed emotions.

“We should be able to escape safely now. It’s just that this Chief Constable Yang is probably going to die here.”

Dongfang Haojie sighed inwardly.

Chi Qingyao and the others could also see that Yang Ling was in an extremely dire situation.

If he turned and ran, how could he dodge the crossbow bolts raining down from behind?

And if he didn’t run, how could he face those three colossal Hell Frogs?

In an instant, the three Hell Frogs had already closed in.

Tong Thirteen sneered: “Yang Ling, your time of death has come today.”

He and his men continued to rain crossbow bolts on Yang Ling, preventing him from escaping.

But in the next moment, the Hell Frogs shot out their tongues. The long, sinewy appendages coiled around Tong Yi’s arms and legs.

Tong Yi’s face twisted in shock, and the bone flute clattered to the ground.

The three Hell Frogs, approaching from three different directions, attacked him simultaneously. They slowly retracted their tongues, each trying to swallow Tong Yi whole.

The sight left Tong Thirteen stunned.

“Damn it! The silver needles in these Hell Frogs are gone!”

Tong Thirteen made a snap decision and roared:

“Retreat! Protect our Rong tribe’s Second-Rank Human Immortal!”

Without a second thought, he and his men abandoned Tong Yi and immediately withdrew.

The Fourth Prince faltered mid-step. After a brief moment of shock, he bellowed:

“Stop them! Don’t let them take that Second-Rank Human Immortal!”

He charged straight at Tong Thirteen.

Li Huaiyi and the others were taken aback, but they had no choice but to grit their teeth and follow.

Chi Qingyao and the rest exchanged glances, then ultimately decided to join the fight.

If the Rong tribe gained another Second-Rank Human Immortal, it wouldn’t be good news for the Four Sects either.

Even if they were acting out of self-interest, they had to step in this time.

“Why?!”

Tong Yi’s face was flushed purple, and a despairing roar tore from his throat.

Seeing this, Yang Ling laughed heartily: “Cui Ying told me you had an ambush set up here, so I rushed over to deal with it as fast as I could.

Before you got here, I already removed the silver needles from them. I didn’t expect that the moment your bone flute sounded, they’d come for revenge.

It looks like this beast-taming technique can backfire on you. Take your time walking—you won’t be lonely on the road to the Yellow Springs!”

At that moment, a flicker of understanding dawned on the Fourth Prince. Li Huaiyi and the others also had a sudden epiphany.

No wonder Yang Ling had been running so fast—he was going ahead to take care of this threat!

They silently thanked their lucky stars that this Chief Constable Yang had such quick wits and had thought of this.

If not for him, facing these three Hell Frogs, someone among them would surely have failed to escape the Water Qilin Cave!

Tong Thirteen and his men were already locked in combat with the Fourth Prince’s group.

Hearing Yang Ling’s words, their murderous intent toward him burned even more fiercely.

But there was nothing they could do about him now.

They quickly realized that the Fourth Prince, Zhao Zheng, had terrifying martial arts foundations.

Both were at the upper Seventh-Rank, yet after just a few exchanges, Tong Thirteen was thoroughly battered and forced to have his men gang up on him.

The rest of the Rong tribe fought against Li Huaiyi and the Ironclad Constables, as well as Dongfang Haojie, Chi Qingyao, Chen Zuo, Huikong, and the others.

Though they had the numerical advantage, they couldn’t easily spare any hands, especially since several of them were still fighting desperately to protect that ice sculpture!

Then, from a distance, came a sickening squelch.

In utter despair, Tong Yi was torn apart by the Hell Frogs.

Each frog took a piece of Tong Yi, then turned their attention to the battling parties.

Yang Ling’s expression shifted, and he immediately warned:

“Fourth Prince, time to retreat. The Hell Frogs are about to come for us!”

At the same time, he swept his gaze over the ice sculpture.

To prevent it from awakening inside the Water Qilin Cave, they had left a thick layer of solid ice encasing it.

But by now, that layer of ice had worn thin.

Boom—

A deafening sound rang in Yang Ling’s ears.

It was like the tolling of an ancient bell, making one’s scalp tingle and their mind reel.

“The heartbeat of a Second-Rank Human Immortal is this terrifying? This one’s about to awaken too!”

Without a second word, Yang Ling leaped into the Freezing Pool and vanished.

The Fourth Prince turned his head, saw what was happening, and immediately broke off the fight with Tong Thirteen. Everyone rushed toward the Freezing Pool.

Tong Thirteen and his men weren’t fools either; they had no intention of pursuing. Both sides acted with perfect tacit understanding, ending the fight and sprinting for the pool.

One after another, figures plunged into the Freezing Pool, sending up sprays of water.

Tong Thirteen personally took the ice sculpture from one of his men and, holding it high, jumped into the pool.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Hell Frogs grab a few of his subordinates. He could only sigh inwardly.

At least the mission was complete.

As long as he could bring this—

Suddenly, Yang Ling burst out of the Freezing Pool and swung his foot, kicking the ice sculpture squarely.

“Get lost!”

The ice sculpture shot through the air and crashed heavily to the ground more than ten zhang away.