Wan Zhen was extremely angry.
"You coward who only dares to dodge and evade like a rat, if you have the guts, take my palm strike!"
Zhao Ya certainly wouldn’t fall for that. Instead, he fought with even more slipperiness, making Wan Zhen so angry that his face turned green.
He really couldn’t understand, he was staying nicely at the camp, how could such a young master he had never seen before suddenly appear?
Could it be the descendant of an enemy he made back in his Jianghu days?
Just as he was racking his brains, Zhao Ya suddenly launched an attack from behind.
A pebble tore through the night sky, striking towards Wan Zhen at an almost unbelievable speed.
Wan Zhen heard the malevolent wind behind him, and he dodged in a flash.
Upon seeing it was just an unremarkable pebble attacking him, Wan Zhen was so angry that he laughed.
"You think you can defeat me with that, you are too naive."
"Oh, really?" Zhao Ya responded nonchalantly, then flicked his hands, and pebbles flew towards Wan Zhen like bullets.
Wan Zhen didn’t even dodge; he just raised his hand and lightly blocked, turning all the pebbles into powder.
But before he could revel in satisfaction, an iron pellet hidden among the pebbles silently struck his left rib.
However, this strike was not aimed at Wan Zhen’s body, but it struck the dagger lodged in his left rib.
Clang.
After a crisp sound, the dagger was knocked aside and flew out, not only slicing through the surface flesh, but the key internal shattered organs no longer had anything to block them, causing blood mixed with fragments to gush out.
In almost an instant, Wan Zhen’s momentum deflated like a punctured balloon.
Wan Zhen knew something major was wrong and turned to flee, but Zhao Ya wouldn’t let him go.
Seize the opportunity while he’s weak.
Zhao Ya rushed up with a quick stride and delivered a punch.
This blow landed right on Wan Zhen’s back.
Puff.
Wan Zhen spat out a mouthful of blood, and the wound on his left rib spewed blood like a fountain.
"No..." Wan Zhen wanted to say something.
Zhao Ya’s second punch had already landed.
Bam.
Wan Zhen’s head exploded like a smashed watermelon, and his brains splattered all over the ground.
Even so, Wan Zhen’s body still trembled for a while before it unwillingly fell to the ground.
Zhao Ya slowly withdrew his fist, raising his head to look at Xiao Yan standing in the distance, a glimmer in his eyes.
No matter what unresolved grievances existed between Xiao Yan and Wan Zhen, she was still a member of the Beast Taming Sect.
The two had a common goal just now, so they could cooperate temporarily.
But now that Wan Zhen was dead, next would be Xiao Yan’s turn.
Xiao Yan clearly saw Zhao Ya’s intent, but instead of shying away, she smiled.
"Young Hero Zhao, you have quite the killing intent, no wonder you have such formidable skills at such a young age."
Zhao Ya was a bit startled, "Do you recognize me?"
"I don’t recognize you, but I can guess. After all, when the Fifth Elder of the Beast Taming Sect ordered his prized disciple Cong Bo to command the Mountain Demon and Ghost Child to launch a beast tide ravaging Yunxiao County, as a member, I naturally knew of it."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ya’s mind stirred.
Because this statement revealed a lot of useful information.
Especially the name Cong Bo.
This was already the second time he appeared.
The first time was during the eradication of the Five Poison Sect.
He never expected that the beast tide which swept across Yunxiao County was secretly driven by him.
"So, what?" Although Zhao Ya was shaken, he maintained an outward calm.
"So, when he returned defeated, and the two Exotic Beasts Mountain Demon and Ghost Child were all captured, it shocked the entire Beast Taming Sect. I was curious and inquired, thus learning your name."
Zhao Ya slightly raised an eyebrow, "So, the Beast Taming Sect has known about me for some time?"
"Yes!"
"Then why didn’t they seek revenge afterwards?" Zhao Ya was indeed puzzled.
Logically, after interfering with the Beast Taming Sect’s plan, they would never let him off.
Especially since at the time, he was just a Fourth Realm Martial Artist, it should have been easy for the Beast Taming Sect to kill him.
"I don’t know about that," Xiao Yan shook her head, then thought of something and added.
"However, due to the failure of the beast tide, and the failure to fully refine the two Exotic Beasts, Cong Bo was shelved for a while, only to be sent out a couple of years ago."
Zhao Ya looked at Xiao Yan, concluding she likely wasn’t lying.
"So... why are you telling me this?"
Xiao Yan smiled and then cast her gaze at Wan Zhen’s corpse.
"Though I don’t know what you, Young Hero Zhao, are doing in this deep mountain, you helped me kill Wan Zhen, so I’m very grateful and I thought perhaps we could continue to cooperate."
"Oh? How do we cooperate?" Zhao Ya asked with interest.
"I can act as your insider, providing you with information about the Beast Taming Sect."
In truth, Zhao Ya was indeed somewhat tempted by this.
Because he knew very little about this behemoth of the Beast Taming Sect, if Xiao Yan were to act as an insider, he wouldn’t have to stumble around like a blind man groping an elephant.
"So what do you want from me?"
Cooperation requires sacrifices from both sides.
Zhao Ya naturally wanted to clarify in advance.
Xiao Yan’s answer was straightforward, "I want to open my meridians and free myself from the Beast Taming Sect’s control."
"Sorry, I can’t do either of those right now," Zhao Ya said candidly.
What a joke.
Even Zhao Ya himself was only at the Fifth Realm, knowing nothing about opening meridians, how could he help Xiao Yan?
"I didn’t plan on you helping me now, but I hope once you open your meridians, you could help me a bit. Otherwise, on my own, it’s impossible to open my meridians." Xiao Yan said seriously.
Zhao Ya chuckled, "Are you so sure I’ll succeed in opening my meridians? Many Fifth Realm warriors never even touch the threshold in their lifetime."
"I’m sure because when I inquired about you, you were just a Fourth Realm warrior, and in no time you’ve become a Fifth Realm capable of slaying a Meridian Opening Realm, so I have strong faith in you," Xiao Yan said matter-of-factly.
"And even if you fail, I haven’t lost anything; I just consider it a failed investment."
Zhao Ya gave Xiao Yan a deep look before finally nodding, "Alright!"
"Then... happy cooperation!" Xiao Yan smiled brightly.
Afterwards, Zhao Ya and Xiao Yan discussed the arrangements for exchanging information. Upon hearing Zhao Ya had flown in on a giant crane, Xiao Yan couldn’t help but be amazed.
"Although this place seems isolated, there’s actually a small path. From here, it’s not far to a small river, and if you take a boat downstream, you’ll soon reach the fringe of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain."
Xiao Yan explained the nearby terrain to Zhao Ya.
Zhao Ya memorized everything, then asked, "Now that Wan Zhen is dead, are you sure going back like this won’t make the Beast Taming Sect suspicious of you?"
"There will definitely be suspicion, but I have my ways, so you don’t need to worry about that."
Then Xiao Yan solemnly said, "However, I must remind you, whatever you’re doing at this base, it’s best to finish it tonight. Because once the Beast Taming Sect sees Wan Zhen is dead tomorrow, they will definitely conduct a massive search."
"Although you are strong, there are many masters in the core of the Beast Taming Sect, some of whom are hundreds of years old with unfathomable strength, so you must act cautiously."
Zhao Ya nodded, "Understood."