At the Lancang River, a streak of light tore across the sky, cutting through clouds like a blade of flame. With a sharp whistle of displaced air, it dropped rapidly toward the ground only to slow, shift, and transform midair into a slender, elegant boat. It touched down on the wide, rushing surface of the river without a ripple.1

Luo Chen stood at the bow of the boat, eyes narrowed, a faint crease of confusion forming on his brow.0

"It should be here, no mistake..."0

The token left behind by Tian Xingzi had not been some ordinary trinket. It was a mid-grade puppet. More than a simple construct, it could act in place of a cultivator to observe, to watch, to guide.0

Back when he attacked the Duan Family’s Xiao Huan Mountain, Luo Chen had suspended it high in the night sky to observe the entire battlefield. Since then, it had stayed on him without ever stirring.0

He hadn’t expected it to suddenly activate today. Guided by it, Luo Chen had followed the signal of the star-shaped puppet, he had made his way to the downstream outskirts of Dahe Market along the Lancang River.0

And yet… there was no sign of Tian Xingzi.0

"Where is he?" Luo Chen muttered, scanning the tranquil waterline.0

Just as confusion set in, the turbulent waters suddenly surged violently.0

Torrents of water twisted violently as if stirred by an invisible force. Luo Chen’s expression shifted as he stepped...0