Chapter 3838 — Preparing to Finish the Job

And just now, Yu Jiang had been left quite a distance behind by the two of them. Even if he had been caught in the residual shockwave of the true qi bomb, his injuries would be nowhere near as severe as Wei Zhao's, who had been at the very epicenter of the blast. If Wei Zhao dared to turn back, then without a doubt, he would be finished—one hundred percent—at Yu Jiang's hands!

On Wei Zhao's side, he did not dare turn back, and in truth, Yu Jiang by this time had already been scared witless.

Because he was so far away, Yu Jiang had not suffered much injury in the aftermath of that top-tier true qi bomb. But watching Nan Tianyong—a peak late-Foundation Establishment expert—brought down by a single move from Wei Zhao, his life or death unknown, he was genuinely terrified this time.

If Wei Zhao had turned back at that moment, Yu Jiang might not even have dared to make a move against him at all—more likely, he would have been so frightened that he turned and fled.

That display of taking down Nan Tianyong in one move was simply too damn outrageous. By any normal person's logic, if even a peak late-Foundation Establishment expert like Nan Tianyong could not withstand a single blow, then how could a mere mid-Foundation Establishment expert like Yu Jiang be anything more than a scrap stuck between his teeth?

Wei Zhao had not failed to consider this possibility, but from their last encounter it was plain to see that Yu Jiang was no simple character. If he did not scare him off and instead had his flaws exposed, then the joke would truly be on him.

Beyond safety, there was a deeper concern behind Wei Zhao's choice to turn and leave—the ramifications of killing Nan Tianyong.

Nan Tianyong's identity was not merely Yu Jiang's master, nor merely a peak late-Foundation Establishment expert; he was also the Supervisory Deacon of the Chongtian Pavilion. This was an extremely sensitive position. Any mishap would inevitably draw the attention of the Sandie Pavilion and the Law Enforcement Hall. It was precisely out of this concern that the guest expert of the Hong Trading Company had not truly struck at him last time.

If Wei Zhao had used the top-tier true qi bomb to kill him outright this time, then fine, nothing more need be said—turn and run without a second thought. But if, in order to confirm whether Nan Tianyong was dead, he entertained the idea of doubling back to finish the job, then that choice would be truly idiotic!

Never mind that Yu Jiang might turn the tables and kill him, or that if Nan Tianyong was not dead, Nan Tianyong himself might turn the tables and kill him—even setting aside both of those risks, even if Wei Zhao smoothly finished Nan Tianyong off, it might not necessarily be such a good thing.

When it stirred the high elders of the Sandie Pavilion and the Law Enforcement Hall, and they sent people scouring every inch of the ground, then his identity as Lin Er might well be exposed, and the matter would become truly troublesome.

Beneath the canopy of dust filling the sky, Yu Jiang's heart pounded in terror for a long while, yet Wei Zhao never turned back. Only then did he set his mind slightly at ease—and immediately after, he slapped himself twice across the face in bitter regret!

With a mind like Yu Jiang's, having realized that Wei Zhao did not dare return, it was easy to guess that Wei Zhao's current condition was absolutely terrible. And a heaven-defying killing move like that was very likely usable only once. Logically speaking, if Nan Tianyong had been blown to such a state, then Lin Er could not possibly be much better off! If he had chased after him directly just now, there would have been a very good chance of killing the man!

But now, it was too late to say anything. Wei Zhao had long since fled without a trace, and even if Yu Jiang wanted to pursue, he had no idea which direction to go. He could only give up.

"Master! Master! How are you?" Once he came to his senses, apart from slapping his own face, the first thing Yu Jiang did was check whether Nan Tianyong was alive or dead.

After searching for a long while in the deep crater beneath his feet, Yu Jiang finally found the barely-breathing Nan Tianyong beneath the pile of mud at the very center. Though death was near, he was, after all, a peak late-Foundation Establishment expert. Even ravaged at such close range by a top-tier true qi bomb, he had stubbornly clung to his last breath—his vitality far beyond that of ordinary people.

"Tch, still not dead." At the sight, Yu Jiang shook his head in disappointment. Nan Tianyong was his master, his backer and patron, yet in this situation, he actually wished Nan Tianyong would just die like this.

Once Nan Tianyong died, the matter would inevitably blow up, and then this Lin Er, who had appeared out of nowhere, would have nowhere to hide. Then, as long as he seized the right opportunity, there was still hope of snatching the Star Ink Stone back.

And beyond that, Nan Tianyong was, after all, a peak late-Foundation Establishment expert. Any single item on his person was a precious treasure that Yu Jiang could only dream of stumbling upon. If Nan Tianyong became a corpse now, then all the treasures on his body would belong to Yu Jiang!

To make a windfall and, at the same time, blow the matter up so that Lin Er had nowhere to hide—if he could kill his cheap master Nan Tianyong at this very moment, then for Yu Jiang it would be killing two birds with one stone.

Yu Jiang narrowed his eyes, killing intent flickering in his gaze. The old thing was already at death's door anyway—so why not just send him on his way?

Heaven, Earth, the Sovereign, kin, and master—the teacher is as a father, and killing one's master is as killing one's father!

And yet, though the act of killing one's master was, wherever it was placed, an unpardonable sin, and would surely bring the world's contempt if discovered—what if it were not discovered?

At this very moment there was no one around but Yu Jiang and his dying master Nan Tianyong. Even if he truly steeled his heart and killed his master, no one would ever know.

What was more, he could easily pin the whole crime on Wei Zhao. After all, a top-tier killing move such as had never been heard of or seen before—one that could even kill a peak late-Foundation Establishment expert—well, if word of that got out, plenty of people would believe it!

Moreover, if Yu Jiang truly made such a claim, then even Wei Zhao himself would probably believe it, for he would have no chance to confirm whether Nan Tianyong had been killed by his top-tier true qi bomb, and would never imagine that Nan Tianyong had in the end died at the hands of his own disciple!

Slowly, Yu Jiang walked over to Nan Tianyong's side. By now Nan Tianyong was more than half buried in mud, his breathing already as faint as an ordinary person's, and the thought of killing his master grew ever stronger in Yu Jiang's mind.

In the end, Yu Jiang bared his teeth in a savage grin and secretly gritted his teeth. With profit before him, even one's own father could be killed—let alone a mere cheap master!

"You're already hurt this badly anyway. Rather than lingering on and wasting resources, wouldn't it be better to leave all these resources to your disciple? Don't worry, your disciple will avenge you, Master!" A cold light gleamed in Yu Jiang's eyes, and at his fingertip, a sword qi quietly gathered.