The elder on the mountaintop, hundreds of meters away from the cave, followed Xu Hao and the others' pace with an accuracy that seemed as though he was watching them and walking along.
When he saw that the ninjas from the island nation were frantically smashing rocks, he suddenly sprayed out a mouthful of liquor in astonishment.
Just an ordinary spray of liquor, yet it pierced through the trunk of a large tree in front of him!
He wiped his mouth and said, exasperated, "Damn it, these people must be fools. Guigu the old man, when he was cultivating here, filled this place with traps everywhere. Now many are broken, and you guys guess you could get here, otherwise your weak bunch would probably all die, but what's the point in smashing rocks here? If a rock can't be pushed, don't they know to pull it? Guigu was really cunning, locking the back door after escaping."
The elder kept swearing at the mountaintop but didn't go down to help, shaking his head and saying, "It seems Xu Hao didn't think of this; what a waste, reaching this level of cultivation he mustn't be a fool? But it's a pity, if he could see this brat desperately smashing rocks, sending the report back to those old geezers, it might kill them with laughter…"
Those islanders inside the cave didn't know the method of "pulling rocks," and even if they knew, they probably couldn't move such heavy stones.
After persisting and smashing for over an hour, the large rock was finally smashed apart.
The rock fell with a crash, kicking up dust swiftly, and obscuring a vast area. The ninjas all had to quickly retreat to avoid the flurry.
All the ninjas exhaled, feeling incredibly stifled. Since entering, they had been constantly on edge, and now here they were, turned into rock-smashing laborers. Outside, each of them was respected as a master, venerated by thousands, but in this place, they were just hired muscles, pathfinders.
Xu Hao seized the opportunity, and with Anna, swiftly climbed down from the cave top into the cave.
But at the same time, Kameda Shichirou did not advance but retreated, throwing a punch that cleared much of the smoke, also exposing Xu Hao and Anna on the cave top.
"Damn it! I knew someone was following!"
Kameda Shichirou saw Xu Hao, anger bubbling inside him.
They had been risking their lives to scout the path, even becoming laborers to smash rocks, but these guys, Xu Hao just dangled from the cave top watching the spectacle, not exerting a single bit of effort to get here.
Xu Hao, seeing himself exposed, no longer hid, dissipated the Qi Force around him, gently landed on the ground, and smiled faintly, "I am really curious how exactly you found me?"
Kameda Shichirou snorted, "As soon as my subordinate was shot dead with an embroidered needle, I sensed something off! No matter how sophisticated these traps here, they couldn't kill my subordinate with just an embroidered needle!"
"But the traps here are ingenious; so by strange coincidence, your subordinate might still die under a trap, since the first death was somewhat bizarre," Xu Hao said, smiling faintly.
"Correct!" The latest chapters are always available first on *.
Kameda Shichirou nodded, "So at that moment, I merely suspected, for if I mentioned it outright and kept failing to find you, it would lead to instability among my ranks, but observing all this way, I noticed the traps set by the master of this place became continually more ingenious and deadly. I suspect he ventured in perfecting them, and those traps were merely his way of testing his abilities.
Based on that, I conclusively deduced that my second subordinate killed by an embroidered needle was deliberately assassinated, and the only possible person here could only be you, Xu Hao."
Xu Hao applauded, "Well done, too bad it's of no use, alas, I feel a bit like a big villain right now."
Anna raised her little fist and shouted, "Big brother, you are the hero, they are the big villains! This place is clearly our Huaya turf and everything here is ours, yet they insist on looting it, that's so shameless! Their actions are nothing short of banditry!"
Xu Hao spoke coldly, "A hundred years ago, our Huaya had to endure oppression from various robbers, powerless to resist their bullying. Yet now, you dare to rob us of our belongings like bandits, truly clueless about your own weight?"
Kameda Shichirou, hearing Xu Hao's words, burst out laughing, "Hahaha! You Huaya people sure have a funny way of talking. What right does a weakling like you have to lecture me, a distinguished Upper Ninja? If you're not up to it, don't pretend, don't you know that?"
Xu Hao smiled faintly, "Not up to it? Strength is proven through battle. How can you know it's not up to par without a fight? You see through such a narrow lens, relying on inherited power to fight others; who gave you the courage?"
"Impertinence! The glory of us ninjas of the Great Island Country is not something you, a mere Huaya individual, can insult! Prepare to die!"
Kameda Shichirou, furious to the extreme, his figure suddenly flashed, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared into thin air!