75: A formidable rival is coming!
Inside the training room in the backyard, Li Qing sat cross-legged, having closed the doors and windows.
With a thought, his consciousness instantly sank to the bottom of the Qiu River, merging with his Earth Spirit Turtle Clone.
The cold, dark river water enveloped his massive body, and a sense of absolute control welled up spontaneously. After a series of hunts, especially after devouring the Tier 3 Crocodile King, the Earth Spirit Turtle Clone's size had expanded again, now resembling a moving small mountain. Faint light flowed over its turtle shell, emitting a heart-palpitating pressure.
"evolution value: 4230/50000"
Still more than half way to the next evolution.
The Earth Spirit Turtle Clone's [Mysterious Armor] talent, nourished by this pure Spiritual Qi, saw the faint light on its surface deepen, and its defense increased at a speed visible to the naked eye.
And the [Great Strength] talent made the muscles in its limbs bulge and knot, filled with an explosive sense of power.
Exhilarating!
So exhilarating!
This feeling of rapidly soaring strength was intoxicating.
However, just as Li Qing was immersed in this joy, a sudden sense of crisis erupted from the depths of his Soul!
This is... Li Qing's consciousness instantly became alert.
This sense of crisis did not come from the river, but from... the direction of the City Lord's Manor!
He snapped his eyes open, the perceptions of his original body and Clone reaching a high level of synchronization at this moment.
Inside the training room of the Iron Bone Martial Arts School, Li Qing's expression became solemn.
At the same time, at the bottom of the Qiu River, the Earth Spirit Turtle Clone's massive head also turned toward Jinling City. A cold glint flashed in its giant, bell-like eyes... Jinling City, City Lord's Manor, secret room.
City Lord sat cross-legged on a Cold Jade Bed, and before him floated an ancient bronze compass.
Upon the compass were carved patterns of mountains and rivers, and a crimson needle was currently trembling violently, pointing toward a certain location in the Qiu River.
It was the very Magical Artifact that Old Man Qian had activated with essence blood to lock onto the Spirit Turtle's Soul—the thousand-mile soul-chasing compass!
However, the compass's light was much dimmer than before; clearly, Old Man Qian's death had caused some damage to this Magical Artifact.
"Found it..."
City Lord slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing momentarily within them.
To repair and reactivate this Magical Artifact, he had spent three full days and several precious Spirit Stones.
He had originally thought that after causing such a huge commotion, that Spirit Turtle would choose to flee thousands of miles away from Jinling City.
He didn't expect that it would actually dare to stay in the Qiu River!
"What audacity! Does it think its strength is so great that it can look down on my Jinling City?"
City Lord sneered, a trace of greed and fervor flashing in his eyes.
The more this was the case, the more it proved the Spirit Turtle's extraordinariness!
All his previous deductions pointed to one fact: that Spirit Turtle was highly likely a rare species with an ancient Bloodline! Its value was much higher than he had imagined!
"I thought it would take some effort, but I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to me."
City Lord glanced at the slightly trembling needle on the compass, a cruel arc curling at the corners of his mouth.
He stood up, and a terrifying aura of the Spirit Transformation Realm instantly filled the entire secret room.
"Someone, come!"
Outside the secret room, a Guard commander clad in black armor immediately knelt on one knee.
"Pass down the order: seal off the waters for a hundred miles on both banks of the Qiu River. No one is allowed to approach!"
"Assemble all Guards of the City Lord's Manor above the Meridian Opening Realm and follow me to the Qiu River!"
"This time, this City Lord will personally take action to see just how much ability this beast has!"
City Lord's voice was filled with powerful confidence and unquestionable majesty.
He had already decided not to send his subordinates to their deaths like last time.
Facing a powerful Spirit Beast that could easily annihilate the Water Ghost Team and scare off Lin Feng, only by taking action himself would he have absolute certainty!
And he still had a true trump card.
City Lord carefully took out a talisman from his robes.
The talisman was dark gold, with profound and complex runes drawn in cinnabar; a heart-palpitatingly terrifying power lay dormant within it.
Tier 4 Treasure Talisman—sea suppressing talisman!
This was something he had accidentally obtained from an ancient ruin during his early travels, his ultimate life-saving treasure.
Once this talisman was unleashed, it could suppress a region of water with the weight of ten thousand tons. Even a Peak Spirit Transformation Realm expert would have to keep a respectful distance!
"For the sake of my Dao path, it's worth using this talisman!"
City Lord's eyes flashed with determination.
What he wanted was not just the Spirit Turtle's flesh and blood, but to capture it alive!
The value of a Mid-tier Spirit Beast was far beyond that of flesh, blood, and Medicinal Pills.
If he could take it as a Beast Pet and sign a Master-Servant Contract, then he, City Lord, might even hope to reach an even higher Realm in the future!
With one order, the atmosphere of the entire Jinling City became grim and murderous once again.
Countless elites from the City Lord's Manor surged toward the Qiu River like a tide.
A world-shaking hunt targeting the Earth Spirit Turtle was about to begin!
And Li Qing, at the bottom of the river, was completely unaware of all this.
The Earth Spirit Turtle Clone slowly sank into the silt at the bottom of the river, completely hiding its massive body.
The [Earth Vein Sensing] talent was fully activated, and the vibrations of the earth veins within a radius of dozens of miles were clearly fed back into his mind.
He "saw" countless powerful auras surging out of Jinling City, converging toward the Qiu River.
The leading aura, vast as an abyss, was precisely City Lord!
"Coming for me?"
Li Qing understood instantly.
He had just absorbed Spirit Stones, and the energy fluctuations were too large, allowing the other party to lock onto him with some secret technique!
This is trouble!
The brow of Li Qing's original body furrowed tightly.
He hadn't expected that just after reaching a "cooperation" with City Lord, the other party would turn around to hunt his Clone.
What was this?
Recruiting his original body while hunting his Clone?
Was this old guy playing both sides, making a double-threaded investment?
Of course, he also knew that City Lord was unaware of his identity.
No one would ever imagine that the Spirit Turtle stirring up trouble in the Great River was actually his Clone!
Li Qing felt a sense of absurdity in his heart, but following it was a cold killing intent.
He had thought that by accepting the invitation to the Great Xia Martial Selection, he could temporarily gain a period of steady development.
Now it seemed he had been too naive.
City Lord, from beginning to end, had never given up his covetousness for the Qiu River Spirit Turtle!
His recruitment of Li Qing was merely because he valued Li Qing's talent; it was an investment.
But hunting the Spirit Turtle was for his own Dao path; it was a necessity!
The two were not in conflict!
In City Lord's view, these were just two completely unrelated matters. He had no idea that the Genius he wanted to invest in and the Spirit Turtle he wanted to hunt were one and the same!
"Fine then..."
A cold light flashed in Li Qing's eyes.
"Then let's test your strength!"
He had originally wanted to develop low-key, but now, City Lord had already come knocking at his door.
There was no way to retreat!
Then... fight!
Li Qing's mind completely sank into the Earth Spirit Turtle Clone, and a surging Battle Intent rose from the bottom of the river!
So what if he's in the Spirit Transformation Realm?
Last time, he could wipe out the Water Ghost Team and scare off Lin Feng.
This time, with his newly evolved Clone, he might just be able to go toe-to-toe with City Lord!
Moreover, this was the Qiu River!
It was his home turf!
"Come on, let me see what the City Lord of Jinling is truly made of!"
The Earth Spirit Turtle Clone lurked deep at the bottom of the river, its massive body merging with the darkness like a poised ancient Vicious Beast, quietly waiting for its prey to arrive.