Jiang Jianxin felt an invisible pressure from the surrounding water droplets.
The Sword Master’s only Defense Technique was the Protective Air Shield, and it couldn’t block everything.
Against particularly ferocious attacks, it would shatter easily.
In the Sword Master’s Diary, the Little Sword Venerate usually dealt with ferocious enemies by ending the fight quickly with a single sword strike, or by using offense as defense, trading blows by clashing with Sword Qi.
So, in the instant Yin Ju made his move, countless powerful sword techniques mentioned in the diary flashed through Jiang Jianxin’s mind.
She ultimately chose the one she knew best.
VMMMMMM—
The Tang Guang Sword let out a long cry.
The surrounding water droplets, commanded by Yin Ju, shot toward her like a dense hail of needles.
Jiang Jianxin chanted the incantation:
“O, Tanglight Sword…
cross the seas and slay the great whale!”
VMMMMMM—WHOOSH—
An overwhelmingly destructive wave of Sword Qi erupted from Jiang Jianxin, colliding with the exploding water droplets and vaporizing them in midair.
The light-blue Water Domain disintegrated from the force of this one strike.
Yin Ju spat out a mouthful of blood, and the violent backlash sent him crashing to the ground.
His thermos fell with him, its goji berry tea spilling everywhere.
This single move had drained nearly all the energy from Jiang Jianxin’s core.
Pale-faced, she walked slowly over to Yin Ju, leveled her sword at his forehead, and whispered:
“I’ve won.”
Enraged, Yin Ju spat out another mouthful of blood.
The red blood mixed with the rain.
This was the first time he had ever been so utterly defeated in the rain.
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP—
Suddenly, the sound of applause and slow footsteps came from a distance.
Jiang Jianxin wiped the rain from her face and turned to look.
Lin Xin’an stood in the rain, dressed in a black robe, with a black umbrella hovering open above his head.
“What a good show.
But unfortunately, it’s time for the finale.”
Jiang Jianxin’s Intuition told her that Lin Xin’an’s words were laced with danger.
She subconsciously raised her sword and shouted:
“What do you mean by that?”
Lin Xin’an blinked and smiled.
“That last strike must have drained most of your energy.
How much strength do you have left?”
As soon as he finished speaking, a GRRROWL echoed from Jiang Jianxin’s stomach.
She embarrassedly clutched her stomach with her left hand.
Lin Xin’an chuckled softly.
“Even if I only have a little Spiritual Energy left, it’s more than enough to take you out in a second.”
Jiang Jianxin retorted.
She wasn’t entirely lying; Lin Xin’an was from the Bright Camp and had almost no physical strength.
She could cleave him in two with a single strike.
Lin Xin’an didn’t seem alarmed by her words.
He just kept smiling and said:
“Of course, I know that.
Which is why I have a second failsafe.”
After speaking, he clapped his hands.
Jiang Jianxin felt a sharp pain in her wrist, and then it was as if something in her brain snapped.
Her limbs suddenly went limp, and she collapsed.
The Tang Guang Sword fell to the ground with a CLANG, reverting to an ordinary Little Paper Sword, soaking in the muddy water.
Lying on the ground, she struggled to look at her wrist.
Her wrist, beneath the Storage Watch, was bleeding.
A poisoned needle had just extended from it and injected her with something.
“You…
Why would you do this?”
Jiang Jianxin demanded, trying her best to stay calm.
“To force me to join the Madhouse?”
Lin Xin’an looked at her and suddenly chuckled.
“Who said I was taking you to the Madhouse?”
Jiang Jianxin’s eyes widened in stunned disbelief.
Seeing that the situation was proceeding as he’d planned, Lin Xin’an didn’t mind explaining a bit more.
“I am indeed a Doctor from the Madhouse.
But before I came to the Madhouse, I belonged to another faction.”
“Care to guess which one?”
He asked, the corners of his mouth curling up, like a cat toying with a mouse.
Jiang Jianxin only needed a moment of thought to arrive at the answer.
She gritted her teeth and said:
“You’re with the TV Station, aren’t you?”
Lin Xin’an finally burst out laughing.
“As expected of you.
You guessed it.
I am indeed with the TV Station.”
Jiang Jianxin closed her eyes, furious at her own carelessness.
Back at the residential complex, Lin Xin’an had briefly fought a monster from the TV Station.
At the time, she was so focused on being wary of the monster that she forgot to consider one thing—
‘How did the monster find me?’
Her Peace Forum account had been hacked and logged into from a different location.
But she had always used a guest login.
The TV Station was known to use accounts to track people…
‘I don’t even have my own account, so how did the TV Station locate me?’
She hadn’t thought much of it then, but now, the answer was painfully obvious.
—Lin Xin’an was right beside her.
He had called his “colleague” to put on this act.
He had also tampered with the Storage Watch she’d bought.
After all, it was produced by the TV Station.
The only thing Jiang Jianxin couldn’t figure out was why he had been so insistent on taking her to the Madhouse in the beginning.
The moment this thought appeared in her mind, Lin Xin’an read it.
He walked over to Jiang Jianxin and whispered in her ear:
“Because Tianma City, where the First Mental Hospital is located, is right nearby.
If I didn’t put on a little show, I would’ve been discovered.”
“It’s just a shame.
Shen Ye escaped, Blind Sister was careless, and the First Mental Hospital in Tianma City has already fallen.
As for the Second Mental Hospital…
it’s too far from here.”
That was why he refused Blind Sister’s offer of a ride to the Second Mental Hospital and latched onto Jiang Jianxin instead.
With the central authority so far away, Your Majesty, who presided over the Second Mental Hospital, couldn’t see what was happening here.
His only remaining task was to meticulously lay his trap and pull Jiang Jianxin into the TV Station.
But Jiang Jianxin, having once been a Sequence 1 with the ability of foreknowledge as a child, was immune to standard Spiritual Control.
This forced Lin Xin’an to modify a Storage Watch, adding a hidden barb and a spiritual paralytic before placing it in the store.
This part was rather troublesome and required careful planning to find the right opportunity.
But thankfully, he had seized his chance.
Not only was it a great success, but he had also killed two birds with one stone.
The spiritual paralytic agent left Jiang Jianxin unable to move.
Lying on the ground, she pressed her lips together and said:
“You really are as terrifying as they say online.”
Lin Xin’an nodded, his tone gentle.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
With that, he waved his hand.
A red figure materialized in the empty air—it was colossal, like a small mountain, with a thousand arms and countless, densely packed eyes.
“Red King, take her back to the station.”
The giant monster named Red King extended several of its arms.
Just as they were about to touch Jiang Jianxin, they were pierced and driven back by spikes of water that suddenly erupted from the ground.
“Hm?”
Lin Xin’an turned his head, his gentle gaze falling on Yin Ju, who was still coughing up blood off to the side.
Yin Ju, still on the ground, wiped the blood from his mouth and shakily picked up his overturned thermos.
Raindrops fell into it with a crisp, clinking sound.
His goji berry tea had all spilled out.
There was no tea left inside.
Only his official’s jacket still clung to his body, soaked through with rain.
The boy lowered his eyes.
His face, still calm and mature beyond his years, was cold as he said:
“I’m not dead yet.
Are you in such a hurry to drag someone away?”
Lin Xin’an smiled, his eyes narrowing into slits.
“As expected of Lord Yin Ju.
To become one of the top five powerhouses in the War Camp at only seventeen…
and to be able to stand after such an injury.”
“But she destroyed your Water Domain.
Even if you have the strength to stand…
how long can you last?”