Jiang Fan and the other two.
They killed as they traveled.
By the time they rushed out of the tunnel, all ten black-robed men and the two informants from Spirit Beast Sect were dead.
Not a single one escaped.
All became headless corpses.
The three dared not linger.
They charged down the mountain, jumped onto the back of a bird, and fled decisively.
"Alright, alright, let’s settle the score!"
Shortly after taking off.
Wu Manyue rubbed her hands together, ignoring the burns on her body, and couldn’t wait to pull out the severed heads she’d collected.
This time, she’d harvested six heads, adding to the four she’d previously collected—making for a total of ten heads.
Ren Guhong’s face darkened, and he angrily smacked his thigh: "You really know how to snatch kills!"
He pulled out his own collection.
This time, he killed five, combined with his previous four, making nine heads in total.
Wu Manyue instantly let out a shrill, goose-like laugh.
"Finally, it’s my turn to hit the jackpot!"
"Quick, quick, hand them over! Brother Ren’s Five-Colored Spirit Liquid, Junior Brother Jiang’s Bodhi Pill!"
"They’re all mine now!"
Jiang Fan glanced back at the distant Spirit Beast Sect.
Feeling slightly relieved.
He smirked and said, "Who said you’ve won?"
Wu Manyue sneered: "Trying to cheat, are you?"
"Let me break it down for you."
"This time in the tunnel, along with the two informants from Spirit Beast Sect, there were fourteen disciples in total."
"I killed six, Brother Ren killed five, and the remaining three—assuming they were all killed by you."
"Adding your previous four, that makes seven kills for you overall."
"I’ve got nine, Brother Ren has eight, and you have seven."
"Crystal clear and undeniable."
"Hand over the goods!"
She triumphantly extended her elegant hand, like a proud little peacock, brimming with confidence.
Ren Guhong pulled a sour face and reluctantly took out the barrel of Five-Colored Spirit Liquid.
He patted Jiang Fan on the shoulder and said, "Junior Brother Jiang, take your loss like a man."
"We’re all in the same boat."
"Once it’s safe, let’s find a place to drink and drown our sorrows."
Jiang Fan smiled faintly: "Brother Ren, I think you’ll be drinking alone."
He silently pulled out three severed heads.
Then added another four severed heads.
And finally, another twelve severed heads.
"Apologies, but I’m the one who’s won."
Ren Guhong and Wu Manyue froze in place.
They stared, wide-eyed, at the rolling heap of severed heads—more than double the total they’d collected together.
"Junior Brother Jiang, where did those twelve extra heads come from?"
Ren Guhong asked, stupefied: "When did we encounter those?"
Jiang Fan shook his head: "You two didn’t encounter them."
"I did. Then I killed them all."
Ren Guhong’s eyes widened: "You went big before even meeting up with us?"
Seeing Jiang Fan nod, Ren Guhong was dumbfounded: "So, that means..."
"The game was over before it even started?"
Jiang Fan nodded again.
Ren Guhong stretched out his hands, like he was about to strangle Jiang Fan: "Why didn’t you say so earlier?"
"I fought tooth and nail thinking I had a chance!"
Jiang Fan laughed and dodged, saying, "Had to give you guys a little hope, right?"
Ren Guhong gritted his teeth, trembling with rage:
"You’re such a damn scoundrel!"
Wu Manyue squatted down, unwilling to accept defeat, as she inspected those twelve corpses.
She found the distinct seals on their necks matched those of the ones they killed later.
She couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Her wails erupted, filled with grievance:
"You’re bullying me too much!"
"I’m never playing with you again!"
As she sobbed, she pulled out her hairpiece and threw it hard into Jiang Fan’s arms.
Then she turned her back to him and squatted on the bird’s back, crying her eyes out.
To beat Jiang Fan this time, she had truly gone all out.
Never before had she taken something so seriously.
But in the end, she lost completely and utterly.
Jiang Fan rubbed his nose and muttered to himself:
"Did I win a little too hard?"
"Should’ve brought fewer heads to make it easier for her."
As these words left his mouth.
Wu Manyue cried even harder, pounding her legs:
"He still thinks I’m useless!!!"
Jiang Fan awkwardly scratched his head.
He decided not to say anything further. He gathered her hairpiece and also picked up the barrel of Five-Colored Spirit Liquid from the ground.
Clearing his throat, he walked to Wu Manyue’s back and gently patted her shoulder, saying:
"It’s not like you haven’t gained anything either."
"Don’t forget—what we discovered."
Wu Manyue suddenly stopped crying, her beautiful eyes widening, then lighting up with joy:
"We discovered the Hell Beast!"
Ren Guhong, who was still sulking, also snapped awake.
"That’s our biggest accomplishment this trip!"
He quickly pulled out his Identity Token.
Using his finger like a pen, he wrote on the token: "Hell Beast sighted near Spirit Beast Sect, Ren Guhong."
Jiang Fan also swiftly took out his token and copied his actions.
Seeing Jiang Fan’s confusion, Ren Guhong explained:
"Our Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion’s Identity Tokens serve as Communication Jade Tokens."
"But they only transmit information to the pavilion."
"The pavilion can’t send messages to us, and we disciples can’t communicate with each other."
Jiang Fan understood.
It’s a one-way communication magic artifact.
With these tokens in hand, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion essentially has countless pairs of eyes and ears.
Wu Manyue, equally excited, wrote down her own message.
After a moment’s pause, she added: "However, the final credit is based on the most recent information."
"If pavilion experts arrive and the Hell Beast is still here, then the discovery credit belongs to us."
"But if the Hell Beast relocates and is found by other disciples elsewhere, bringing experts over, the credit will go to them."
Jiang Fan nodded slightly.
That’s how it should be.
Only valuable information matters.
Otherwise, if Jiang Fan and the others were credited for discovering the Hell Beast and it escaped, who would risk their lives to keep tracking its whereabouts?
They could only hope the Pavilion Master arrived sooner.
And swiftly dealt with the Hell Beast.
From the horizon behind them.
The towering Spirit Beast Sect erupted with a deafening roar.
A red streak burst forth from the rolling smoke clouds.
And after scanning the surroundings, it locked onto them and sped toward them.
Jiang Fan’s heart skipped a beat: "How did he manage to escape?"
"What is that Hell Beast even good for?"
Ren Guhong and Wu Manyue’s scalps tingled.
Wu Manyue quickly tore open a Space Scroll, saying:
"Jiang Fan, you killed the most—he’s definitely coming for you!"
Jiang Fan’s face darkened: "But you killed with the most glee!"
Summoning the Nine Heavens Thunder Dragon, he fled without hesitation.
Ren Guhong shuddered: "You two are the most conniving—the Carefree Master’s surely targeting you both."
He pulled out those shriveled wings.
Without a word, the three turned into streaks of light and shot toward the horizon.
The Carefree Master caught up to the bird.
At this point, he was heavily wounded.
His red robe was shredded into strips, half of his skull was broken off, and white brain matter dripped down from his ear.
One of his eyeballs had even popped out.
Anyone else in the Core Formation Realm would have been dead long ago.
Yet, the Carefree Master still exuded a shocking vitality.
His face was filled with vengeful rage.
After using his last life-saving trump card, he had barely managed to escape the Hell Beast.
And the ones who’d put him in such a dire state were none other than these pesky black-clad disciples!
When he saw the massive collection of severed heads on the bird’s back.
His already vengeful expression transformed into pure fury.
"You killed all my disciples!!!"
His bloodshot eyes locked onto Jiang Fan’s Thunder Dragon and, roaring in rage, he charged straight toward them!