Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

Zhang Ze really wanted to capture the scene of the fight and send it to his master because he felt he truly embodied the Sword Sect's demeanor now.

Needed to tell Li that he didn't disgrace him.

Zhang Ze went ahead and did just that.

At this moment, Li transformed back into her true form, standing beside Bai Tao, holding a Thousand Machine Cannon. She fired at the heels of any white-robed person who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to approach. In her other hand, she held a small walnut, snapping photos of Zhang Ze.

"Five Spirit Stones per photo, remember to make them look good."

This was the price Zhang Ze and Li had agreed upon, so Li was very conscientious in her photography.

"Why doesn't Spirit Transformation Powder affect you?" The white-robed leader blocked a sword strike and shouted angrily.

"Take a guess." Zhang Ze paid him no mind, releasing another wave of Sword Qi.

Zhang Ze had swallowed a stomachful of Antitoxic Pills from Medicine King Valley before heading out; a mere Spirit Transformation Powder was inconsequential.

Furthermore, Lin Feng, protected by the Black Sword, was similarly immune to all poisons.

At this point, half of the white-robed leader's men were already down; sensing he couldn't overcome the adversaries before him, he entertained thoughts of retreat after exchanging a few more blows.

Seeing him about to flee, Zhang Ze tossed the Profound Identification Treasure Mirror at him, its sharp corners clinking against the white-robed man's metal armguard, erupting in sparks.

Then, it circled around and delivered a fierce strike to the back of the white-robed man's head.

Without giving the white-robed leader time to react, Zhang Ze and the Profound Identification Treasure Mirror simultaneously unleashed a Thunder Technique, perfectly powered to leave him numb.

The series of moves left the white-robed leader's mind dazed; just as he was recovering, he saw that lad calling back his Sword Box, charging at him.

"He has two swords in his Sword Box.

The second sword surely holds some unique Divine Techniques.

He's temporarily switching swords certainly to capture me alive.

I'll take advantage of the situation, I'll...@%￥#"

In the blink of an eye, everything the white-robed leader had been plotting in his mind turned into an unsaid curse.

Moments before losing consciousness, he saw that lad hadn't switched swords at all, but was swinging the Sword Box down toward his head.

...

Looking at the white-robed leader he had knocked out on the ground, Zhang Ze nodded in satisfaction.

[Sword Cultivator, of course, fights with the Sword Box—Zhang Ze]

"Doesn't feel as good as a hammer, but it'll do." Zhang Ze put away the Sword Box, sealed the white-robed leader's Qi Veins, and tied him up.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng had handled things on his end; those attempting to flee had their legs shot by Li with the Thousand Machine Cannon, now lying on the ground groaning.

"Li, keep an eye on them, I'm going to fish Qiu Jidan out. By the way, don't send that last hit I delivered to my master."

With that, Zhang Ze employed the Sea Entry Technique of the Beast Taming Sect, protected by Gang Qi, diving into the water.

The pale blue Gang Qi shielded Zhang Ze from the icy river water, and after sensing around for a bit, he submerged in a particular direction.

Before long, he found Qiu Jidan and a large fish at the riverbed.

Qiu Jidan was protected by a faint blue screen; though unconscious, he was uninjured. The large fish was likewise in the same condition, its gills opening and closing as it slept serenely.

Retrieving Qiu Jidan, Zhang Ze returned to the boat.

As he boarded, he saw Lin Feng instructing Li on how to manage captives.

All the living ones were bound with hands behind their backs, cultivation sealed, lined up kneeling, knocked out one after another once they knelt.

After knocking them out, Lin Feng guided Li on how to search the captives, stripping them of their Storage Magical Artifacts, talismans, and hidden weapons.

Given Lin Feng's skilled demeanor, it was clear he wasn't doing this for the first time.

As Zhang Ze returned, Lin Feng was about to speak but saw Zhang Ze gesturing for silence.

"You've woken up, haven't you?" Zhang Ze walked and crouched beside Bai Tao, asking softly.

"Who... who are you? How did you know?" Bai Tao slowly opened her eyes, sitting up, wrapping herself tightly in her cloak, staring at Zhang Ze with some nervousness.

"You're really awake, huh? I was just asking casually." Zhang Ze said, genuinely surprised.

Bai Tao, "..."

Bai Tao was knowledgeable about pharmacology from a young age, often testing medicines on herself. Thus, even though the colorless and tasteless Spirit Transformation Powder knocked her out momentarily, she quickly regained consciousness.

However, upon peeking and observing Zhang Ze and Lin Feng fighting, she quickly shut her eyes again.

Because she felt the motives of this group in the Northern Territory were anything but simple.

And thinking about Zhang Ze's questioning her about the Divine Egg Gang made her increasingly anxious, so she pretended to be dead for convenience.

Unexpectedly, her lack of experience led to her being tricked so easily by this rascal.

"Jerk." Bai Tao snorted coldly.

"Let's be fair, I didn't do anything to deserve being called a jerk." Zhang Ze squatted across from Bai Tao, feeling wronged.

"The book said it, men who trick girls like you are jerks."

Bai Tao pulled out the book Zhang Ze had written from her Storage Ring, flipped to the last few pages, pointing at the section Zhang Ze wrote last month, then glared at Zhang Ze.

"Alright then." Zhang Ze gave up arguing with this literary fox who seemed a bit unfamiliar with the world; he pointed at Qiu Jidan, addressing Bai Tao, "See if he's alright."

Bai Tao tightened her cloak around herself before walking over to Qiu Jidan and squatting down.

From Bai Tao's fingertips arose a strand of white smoke that appeared sentient, swirling around Qiu Jidan before finally entering his mouth and nose.

"He's fine, but inside his body..." Bai Tao hesitated, moving to administer a pill to Qiu Jidan before gently pressing and twisting his head.

With a crisp snap, Hero Chou's head tilted to one side.

Zhang Ze, "?"

Since Bai Tao acted too quickly, Zhang Ze didn't have time to react.

Bai Tao turned to glare at Zhang Ze, "Don't look at me like that, he's not dead, I just let him sleep longer."

Seeing Zhang Ze was about to say more, she added, "Rest assured, I'm a doctor."

After speaking, Bai Tao stood, approached the group of captives, repeating the same quick motion on them one by one, with enough force but without killing them.

As she worked, she criticized Lin Feng's rough technique that could easily kill people, and softly taught Li, who had just protected her, the correct way to knock people out.

When she reached the leader, she let out a noise.

"This one is already dead." Bai Tao turned and informed Zhang Ze.

"Did I kill him?" Zhang Ze stepped forward to ask, remembering he had held back his strength.

Bai Tao shook her head, "He just woke up, probably poisoned himself."

Then, Bai Tao removed the leader's mask, revealing a scarred middle-aged cultivator's face beneath, his mouth slightly open, blood seeping at the corners.

"I haven't seen him before, but judging by the Iron Arm, he might be from the Divine Egg Gang." Bai Tao tore off the man's sleeve, pointing at a round insignia on his shoulder.

"He was likely here to capture me." Bai Tao speculated.

"The next time you capture people, remember to not only seal their cultivation but also take additional steps. Otherwise, they have many ways to kill themselves." Bai Tao calmly explained further to Zhang Ze about managing captives.

"Even doctors among the Demon Race understand this?" Zhang Ze couldn't help but ask.

Bai Tao didn't answer Zhang Ze, instead patting her skirt as she turned to face Zhang Ze, "First, thank you all for saving me. Now, without outsiders around, tell me, why are you two going to Wangyang City to find the Divine Egg Gang?"

Then, Bai Tao suddenly changed her tone and added, "Jerk, you should have noticed, my relationship with the Divine Egg Gang is not simple."

"If you don't tell me the truth, I'll poison myself to death too."

"Ensuring you never discover the Divine Egg Gang's secrets."

Facing this strong-willed literary fox, Zhang Ze felt overwhelmed.

Li discreetly found an angle and snapped a photo of the two.

As the cold wind howled, with the sunset tilting, atop a lone boat on the river, one man and one woman sat, Zhang Ze caught in the frame like a true jerk.