Those who had been freed thanked Zu An and cheered.

“Sir Zu has made his move!”

“We’re saved!”

“Sir Zu is awesome!”

…

Bi Linglong gave Zu An’s figure a deep look. She didn’t know when it began, but this man had ceased to be frivolous and irresponsible in her mind, and had instead become someone reliable and reassuring. However, the way he spoke was still the same as before.

Suddenly, the Jade Moon Serpent above roared furiously.

You have successfully trolled the Jade Moon Serpent for +444 +444 +444…

When she heard that it was going to refine Zu An into a water puppet, Bi Linglong immediately panicked. She wanted to help, but her cultivation wasn’t enough to participate in a battle at that level at all. The only hope she had lay in how she commanded the troops beneath her, to see if she could use their numbers advantage to be of some help. As such, she focused intently, ordering her subordinates to not be distracted and deal with those four puppets first.

If that Blackfeather Hawk hadn’t appeared, the marksmen would have already finished these four puppets with their ice element bolts. Unfortunately, the Blackfeather Hawk’s ambush had caused heavy casualties to them.

But fortunately, Zu An’s Snowflake Sword also had a restraining effect on the four water puppets. Furthermore, a mysterious power had rippled out, which seemed to have weakened the four puppets’ presence.

Bi Linglong didn’t know about Mi Li’s existence, so she merely treated it as one of Zu An’s methods. It gave her even more confidence.

Meanwhile, Mi Li was talking to Zu An. “That brat’s not bad; she’s able to remain calm even in this kind of situation. She was able to make the best choice even in such a difficult situation. She’s quite suited to be of high status.”

“Do you like her because you see yourself in her?” Zu An asked with a smile.

“All I said was that she’s not bad. She’s still too far from reaching my level.” Mi Li harrumphed. She clearly didn’t like being compared to other women.

The Jade Moon Serpent’s furious voice came from the skies again. “Arrogant human, you dare ignore this king? You’ll pay dearly for doing that!”

You have successfully trolled the Jade Moon Serpent for +745 +745 +745…

Zu An rolled his eyes. “You only know how to blabber about nonsense, so why would I listen to you? Also, you’re just a stupid lizard, so why do you keep calling yourself a king? Who gave you the title of king? Aren’t you embarrassed to call yourself one all the time?”

“This king will kill you!” The Jade Moon Serpent had only learned human speech after breaking through into the ninth rank recently. How could it be Zu An’s match in debate? It was so angry it began to roar repeatedly.

You have successfully trolled the Jade Moon Serpent for +728 +728 +728…

Its massive body swung about. The water vapor in the air immediately gathered into arrows of water before flying toward Zu An.

Everyone was horrified when they saw the attack. If the Jade Moon Serpent targeted them with such an attack, at least half of them would perish! As for the remaining half, even if they survived, they wouldn’t have much fighting power left. The strength of a ninth ranked beast was just too terrifying.

The others became more and more grateful that Zu An was here. If not for him, everyone here would have been doomed, destined for eradication.

Zu An didn’t have any time to appreciate their looks of admiration. Against this kind of arrow rain barrage, all evasion became meaningless. Not even the Sunflower Phantasm could help him now.

He used the Snowflake Sword. Everything within a range of several zhang became a world of ice and snow. An energy barrier that resembled a ball of ice surrounded him, protecting him from the attacks of the water arrows.

The Jade Moon Serpent sneered. “Let’s see how long you can block them for.” Its body swung around and countless more water arrows flew out.

Zu An’s expression became grave. The pressure he faced was growing greater and greater. It became harder and harder to prevent his barrier from having any holes due to the attacks all around him. The outermost layer of the ice element barrier began to crack. Then, more and more cracks appeared, resembling the fracturing of tempered glass.

Zu An changed his plan and decided to pull back his defense. The ice barrier became smaller and smaller, decreasing in radius to just a few feet. That made the pressure he faced decrease substantially. However, the water arrows seemed as if they didn’t cost anything, continuing to bombard him without end.

“This won’t do. This is that damn serpent’s home field. The massive waterfall and the pond below provide him with an endless supply of the water element to exploit. At this rate, you’ll only have your ki exhausted.” Mi Li spoke up.

Zu An felt warm inside. Even though Mi Li always said she didn’t care about him, that he had to fend for himself, she still couldn't help but offer her advice. He replied with a smile, “It’s fine. I already have a rough idea of his water arrows’ firepower. I plan to take a few hits myself, and then close the distance with Grandgale. That way, I can fight against him in close combat. You know how tough my body is; taking a few hits shouldn’t be a problem.”

The Primordial Origin Sutra had already forged him an incredibly tough body. At the same time, his powerful regeneration gave him more confidence in fighting an extended battle against his opponent.

“You’re already at the ninth rank, yet you only know how to fight like a stupid muscle-head?” Mi Li’s voice was full of disdain. “Even though your strategy is courageous, it will make you develop a bad reliance on it and give you some unnecessary misconceptions. Yes, your body is indeed tough and can last against most enemies, but what if you one day ran into someone whose attack power was extremely great? What if the damage you suffered exceeded your regeneration? Wouldn’t you soon breathe your last breath?”

Zu An shivered. What she said made sense. When his cultivation was lower, even though the enemies he faced were strong, there was still a limit to how powerful they were. Only now, after reaching the ninth rank, did he realize how powerful the truly strong were. If this were already the case for the ninth rank, then what about the master and the grandmaster rank?

No matter how tough his body was, he couldn't compare to the world. Furthermore, which one of these experts didn’t know how to borrow the power of the world? If there were someone whose attacks were especially strong, and they borrowed the power of the world, his body really might not be able to handle it.

“Then what do I do?” Zu An felt a headache. He was already used to this kind of strategy, so he couldn't think of anything better.

“Now that you’ve reached the ninth rank, you should focus on the use of techniques.” Mi Li understood Zu An’s current situation best. Even though he had won against Shi Tong and consolidated his understanding toward borrowing strength from the world, that was only up to the eighth rank. As for the ninth rank, he still lacked experience. That was why she used this chance to teach him. “Don’t you have a skill that lets you summon some kind of Blue Mallard? Wasn’t that a skill that had affinity with the water element?”

Zu An voiced his agreement. “It lets me breathe like a fish underwater, and it can also grant me a degree of control over water. You’re not telling me to use this skill to fight against a water element expert, are you?”

The Blue Mallard ability seemed more like a support ability. Compared to the other birds, its attack power was much weaker. He had thought he had to wait until he obtained a water element skill before its power would truly be displayed. He had never thought about using Blue Mallard to defeat the Jade Moon Serpent. After all, the Jade Moon Serpent was a water element beast at the ninth rank. Its control over the water element was definitely more powerful than his Blue Mallard skill.

“Of course I know you can’t control his water element attack.” Mi Li harrumphed. “But even though you can’t control the water element it uses to attack, you can at least affect its attacks, right? Perhaps… causing the trajectory of these water arrows to deviate?”

Zu An’s eyes lit up. Right, why didn’t I think of that?

As such, he gradually weakened the ice element barrier and deliberately let some water arrows in. Then, through Blue Mallard, he linked up with the water element in these arrows, influencing their trajectory. However, he wasn’t too proficient with it at first and was instantly penetrated by several arrows. Blood gushed out from his body.

The Jade Moon Serpent roared with laughter. “So, you finally can’t hold on anymore, huh? I’ll make sure your heart is pierced by thousands of arrows so your soul will become filled with fear and resentment. Oh, what a great puppet you’ll become then!”

The others all turned around when they heard its complacent laughter. When they saw Zu An’s miserable appearance, their expressions all changed. They began to sink into despair.

“Ah Zu!” Bi Linglong’s face paled when she saw that Zu An’s body was dripping with blood. Her heart seemed to have been gripped by an invisible hand.

She reached out and tapped the bright red flower mark between her brows. A decisive look flickered through her eyes.