Ma Xianhong staggered back, not far from him lay the shattered Magic Tools, the Thief Beast and the Empty Howler.
The sound of the air shattering echoed as two sword energies, one blue and one white, clashed in mid-air.
The white puppet, copied from Fu Rong's sword energy, clearly couldn't withstand Qingshui's sword energy. It was instantly sliced and obliterated, pressing down toward the white puppet.
Taking advantage of the moment when the sword energy was being blocked, the latter activated Earth Walking Immortal and burrowed underground.
"Useless, Old Ma. You might as well come with me to the Capital City."
Qingshui struck the ground with one hand.
"*Lightning Release: Earth Run.*"
A dense web of lightning spread from Qingshui's palm, rushing through the Platinum Puppet's arm and striking the ground, destroying the white puppet.
Ma Xianhong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and took out a bell from his pocket, shaking it.
He had a simple thought.
Since the opponent's Magic Tool armor was so powerful, he would resort to a mental attack.
The sound waves from the Soul-Shaking Bell were pervasive, much harder to deal with than Xiao Xiao's Snotting Qi.
Qingshui paused slightly, allowing Ma Xianhong to evade his slap, but then he struck again.
The Soul-Shaking Bell was impressive, giving Qingshui a feeling that surpassed most of the genjutsu attacks he had encountered so far.
Unfortunately, the mental realm was his strongest area.
After breaking through to the Will of Heaven realm with the Mohist Sect's Qi Cultivation Technique, his resistance in this aspect was astonishing.
Even though it wasn't like the avatars from the Marvel Universe, which could ignore Dormammu's mental attacks thanks to the Mind Stone, having experienced that level of mental confrontation was a form of training for his own mind.
Ordinary mental attacks were nothing special to him.
"*Clang!*"
The Soul-Shaking Bell was shattered by a slap, and a powerful gust of wind combined with the sharp airflow from Wind Release smashed the last piece of defensive Magic Tool on Ma Xianhong, avoiding his vital points and hitting his body instead.
"You've lost, Old Ma."
Qingshui looked at Ma Xianhong, who was spitting blood on the ground.
At the same time, a group of Temporary Workers gathered here after defeating Chou Rang, Zhang Kun, and the other Twelve Superior Root Instruments, stepping over the debris scattered around.
In the outer circle, a group of lewd-faced villagers from Biyou Village lay sprawled on the ground, their expressions twisted.
"Sigh, this is really troublesome. Why does everyone keep coming to me, like a bunch of randy baboons? Clearly, Brother Guan and the others showed more strength."
Wang Zhenqiu helplessly clapped his hands.
After these folks witnessed his Love Massage, they seemed to go crazy and rushed toward him.
No wonder so many people liked to cause trouble for him, Wang Zhenqiu.
Well, it definitely wasn't because his playful personality was annoying.
"Oh? It's already over? Looks like this Professor Zhuo is quite impressive!"
"He's definitely stronger than you think, Qiu'er. This great scientist was holding back, worried about accidentally killing someone. I have experience with that kind of thing."
Heiguang looked at Ma Xianhong, who was carefully knocked unconscious by Qingshui.
"Is this the high-tech of the great professor? Impressive! If we could get one of these for the fighters in the company, what would we need Temporary Workers for?"
Wang Zhenqiu curiously examined Qingshui's Platinum Armor.
Feng Baobao held Chou Rang's Gilded Ruyi in one hand and scratched her head with the other, saying:
"Without that outer layer of iron shell, he's still quite formidable. I feel like, if you take them out one by one, none of you could beat him. Compared to last time at the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, the sense of threat he gives me has increased by more than double.
But with this iron shell, he becomes even fiercer, extremely fierce."
Wang Zhenqiu was already rubbing his hands, moving closer to Qingshui, who was sealing Ma Xianhong.
"Hehe, Professor Zhuo, we're also helping you out this time. Do you think you could get me one of these iron suits? Preferably shaped like the Emperor Hero; I could wear it to a cosplay event..."
"*Southwest Scourge Wang Zhenqiu?*"
"Eh, yes! That's me."
"There's nothing this strong available now, but the next batch might produce a standard version of exoskeleton armor. It would be prioritized for military testing. If you want one, you should go find your district head and have him arrange it for you, but the restrictions will likely be considerable."
Is there really a chance to get it?
"Alright!"
Wang Zhenqiu's eyes lit up.
He loved these fun gadgets the most.
"Gentlemen, the fighters from the South China and Southwest divisions have arrived at the foot of the mountain. Before we connect with them, we have one more thing to address. Professor Zhuo, how do you plan to handle Chen Duo's situation?"
Old Meng adjusted his glasses, looking at the blue-eyed girl following behind him, her expression naive like Feng Baobao's, and turned to Qingshui.
He felt that Qingshui's words might carry more weight than Zhao Fangxu's.
If they could persuade Qingshui, perhaps they could save Chen Duo.
"I'm aware of Chen Duo's situation. She has her responsibilities, but Liao Zhong, as the victim, also bears part of the blame. The company carries a significant share of the responsibility as well.
At that time, Bi Youlong forced Liao Zhong to kill Chen Duo, which indicates that..."
Qingshui suddenly raised his head sharply.
Ma Xianhong is a pawn of Qu Tong, and it was Chen Duo who triggered the incident involving Ma Xianhong and several temporary workers from the company.
Only by having Chen Duo, who was a temporary worker, come into contact with Ma Xianhong could things have escalated to the scene we see today.
In the original script, it was Bi Youlong who orchestrated the conflict between Liao Zhong and Chen Duo, as he was in charge of that aspect of the company.
The script was written by Qu Tong, which means Bi Youlong is likely the designated early director appointed by Qu Tong!
If I had to choose someone from the upper management of the company who is most likely a spy, it would undoubtedly be Bi Youlong!
He rose through the ranks from a frontline fighter, which is admirable, but precisely because he came from the front lines, he is the most likely to have interacted with Qu Tong and to have been influenced by her!
Zhao Fangxu is the founder of Nadou Tong, and the company executives like Director Su, Director Fei, and Huang Boren all have their backgrounds, though they cannot escape suspicion either.
Qingshui fell silent, quickly running through the possibilities in his mind.
"If I were Qu Tong…"
If she wanted to stir up trouble in this land, it would indeed be necessary to plant a mole within Nadou Tong, ideally someone of higher rank, and preferably not a regional head, as that would come with geographical limitations.
If she were Qu Tong, she would certainly find a potential candidate early on, bring them under her control, and push them into a high position.
When it comes to investment, one must first choose the most promising candidate.
Bi Youlong was quite impressive back in the day; he was Nadou Tong's top warrior. When he first joined Nadou Tong, he stood out, and then he rapidly advanced, achieving great feats, which is why Zhao Fangxu valued him and promoted him to the front lines.
But if Bi Youlong truly is a traitor, what would he and Qu Tong do now?
The former already knows that he and Lu Ci will be involved in this plan.
One option is to follow the original plan, send someone to kidnap Ma Xianhong.
It could succeed or fail; Bi Youlong knows Lu Ci's strength and certainly has a rough idea of Qingshui's capabilities.
At the very least, he is stronger than Chai Yan.
And Chai Yan's strength carries a certain weight.
He may not be on par with the Ten Elders, but he is one of the few strong individuals outside of them.
Unless he faces top-tier experts from the older generation or the Two Heroes who can contend with him, or if he is besieged by multiple first-rate experts, he can generally hold his ground.
Adding in a top-tier expert like Lu Ci, who consistently ranks among the best in the country, along with the members of the Lu Family, this lineup would be nearly impossible to intercept unless Qu Tong can persuade Zhou Sheng.
Without Zhou Sheng's involvement, sending someone to intercept would essentially be delivering a meal.
And if no one is sent?
Then they would have to wait for the Lu Family to use the Soul-Illumination Technique on Ma Xianhong and the others from Biyou Village to read their souls.
It's hard to say about others, but Ma Xianhong recognizes Qu Tong as his sister, which is how she controls him.
Others might not have the relevant information, but Ma Xianhong certainly does.
For Qu Tong, Ma Xianhong's value must be quite high.
The question is, for Qu Tong, does Ma Xianhong's value outweigh Bi Youlong's?
That is, if Bi Youlong truly is a traitor.
With a clear line of thought and a suspect in hand, and Ma Xianhong under control, the next steps would become easier.
Qu Tong hides in the shadows, which is indeed a significant advantage, but now that the initiative is in his hands, it's time for a change in who holds the advantage.
"Professor Zhuo, what's wrong?"
Zhang Chulan looked at Qingshui, who was deep in thought, and asked curiously.
"It's nothing, just continue with your work."
Qingshui shook his head.
The subsequent plans could indeed be modified and supplemented.
...
...
In the Naruto World.
In the western part of the Land of Fire, in a certain city.
The former lord's manor now serves as the headquarters for the Sand Hidden forces.
Under the night sky, the moonlight fell quietly over the small city like water.
In contrast to Konoha's complete defensive stance, this place seemed oddly quiet for a city embroiled in war.
Qingshui lazily leaned against a pair of pristine white thighs, flipping through the intelligence scroll in his hands.
"Cloud Hidden is indeed up to no good. They want to avoid getting entangled in the disputes of the great nations while also wanting a piece of the pie in this war. They even aim to delay our conflict with Konoha. Tsk, tsk, they really know how to play their cards well."
A piece of sliced melon was speared with a toothpick and delicately delivered to Qingshui's mouth by Pakura's gentle hands.
With a few drops of fruit juice staining his fingernails, he absentmindedly brushed his lower lip, igniting a sense of craving within him.
The situation in the Ninja World was ever-changing.
The Sand Hidden Village continued to pressure Konoha, but the Land of Fire, with its vast territory, offered excellent strategic depth. After Orochimaru took power and changed strategies, Sand Hidden couldn't eliminate Konoha in the short term.
For Sand Hidden, the priority was to stabilize the benefits they had gained, avoiding any hasty actions.
Everyone was pleased to see Konoha being attacked, but no one wanted to witness its easy destruction.
That would signify the emergence of a monster even stronger than Konoha, capable of crushing it.
If Sand Hidden displayed excessive strength at this moment, the situation in the Ninja World would not be as it is now; Konoha would likely unite with the other three nations to resist Sand Hidden.
It would be akin to the six nations of the East working together to fend off the powerful Qin state from the Central Plains.
Such a scenario was something even Rain Hidden, an ally of Sand Hidden, would not want to see.
It would mean Rain Hidden would become a vassal of Sand Hidden until the day it was completely swallowed up.
Both sides were allies, but they were not as close as family.
Sand Hidden's current goal was to defeat Konoha and become the new hegemon of the Ninja World, while Rain Hidden's objective had been revealed to the Ninja World many years ago.
They aimed to make the Land of Rain the sixth great nation, introducing a new shadow known as the Rain Kage.
The alliance existed merely because both parties had overlapping goals along their paths, compounded by geographical and military factors.
Hanzo sought to leverage Sand Hidden's power to alter the situation in the Ninja World, stirring the waters to find space for Rain Hidden's rise.
Long before he led over a thousand Rain Hidden ninjas to attack Konoha from the northwest along with the Third Kazekage, he had already sent most of Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan's elite forces, hidden within Rain Village, to march northeast, capturing several small nations and advancing into the Land of Waterfalls, aiming to seize the Seven-Tails and establish the sixth ninja village.
Then, they encountered the Cloud Hidden Village, which had the same idea and had come to the Land of Waterfalls to raid.
When the Fourth Raikage saw Nagato, who was using the power of the Rinnegan along with several elite Rain Hidden Jonin to suppress the Seven-Tails, he was overjoyed, thinking of a buy-one-get-one-free deal: not only the Seven-Tails but also a Rinnegan Kekkei Genkai.
Thus, the conflict between the two sides unfolded.
"Perhaps it was fate; no one could have predicted that Rain Hidden Village would actually harbor a pair of legendary Rinnegan. It's no wonder the Cloud Hidden people would feel greedy and want to seize it."
Pakura sat on the tatami mat, holding a bamboo skewer in her left hand, feeding the translucent fruit flesh to Qingshui, while her right hand picked up a document from the table, flipping it open. After reading the title, she tossed it beside Qingshui's head.
The faint fragrance of the young girl wafted into his nose as Qingshui half-closed his eyelids, enjoying the attentive service of the beautiful girl.
The fruits from the Land of Fire were indeed the best!
Compared to his other incarnations, his true self had endured many hardships in Sand Hidden, unable to even enjoy fresh seasonal fruits.
Qingshui tilted his head, quickly scanning the content of the document.
"Even without the Rinnegan, a confrontation between Rain Hidden and Cloud Hidden was inevitable. Hanzo appears to be helping us deal with Konoha on the surface, but secretly, he uses the resources we provided to annex the surrounding small nations.
The Land of Rain is sandwiched between the three great nations of Wind, Fire, and Earth, and the only way out is towards the northeast.
Cloud Hidden doesn't want to sit idle during this war and has set its sights on the small nations, leading to conflicts with Rain Hidden.
They don't want Konoha to lose too quickly, but ultimately, they hope Konoha is the one that falls. Since both are large nations bordering each other, they naturally won't directly attack us.
That leaves only Rain Hidden, which is a soft target but still carries some weight, able to relieve some pressure from Konoha. Is there a better opponent than that?"
Even with Hanzo, Rain Hidden was still a soft target compared to the five great ninja villages; it was just a soft target among those powers that could sit at the table.
Rain Hidden had the ability to influence the balance of the Ninja World and, under specific conditions, could change the course of a war. This was the key to its place at the table.
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