He chased for quite a while.
Ye Liang came to a stop inside a cave.
The old man was a master of Water Release. He used the river to escape far away, yet ultimately couldn't shake Ye Liang off.
Ye Liang was stronger than him!
When it came to Water Release alone, Ye's Chakra affinity far exceeded that of regular Kage-level masters—even if his Taijutsu might still be lacking.
At the mouth of the cave, he cornered the old man.
"Who exactly are you? Why are you chasing me?" the old man looked at Ye Liang strangely.
Truthfully speaking, Lord Rivershadow wasn't a good person, but he was extremely timid. He'd never provoked anyone his whole life.
Have I offended him?
Probably not?
Rivershadow lived like a mouse for most of his life, never daring to provoke any strong cultivators. But now, just as he was preparing to do something big for the first time, he ran into Ye Liang!
A coup d'état in the Land of Rivers!
Never did he expect to be targeted so soon?
"Grandpa, you might have misunderstood something. I'm not chasing you—I'm chasing that young girl in your hands."
"You want her?" Rivershadow frowned.
He looked down at the struggling Princess Fujiwara in his arms and suddenly caught on.
"I get it! You're the reinforcement sent by the Fujiwara clan!"
"That old coot just won't back down quietly. If that's the case, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
Without another word, Lord Rivershadow lunged toward Ye Liang, gathering a thin strand of water, which quickly solidified into a blade of ice in his palm.
[Water Release - Ice Blade!]
Weapons made of water moved faster than steel blades—sharper and lighter, slicing through the air like ghosts.
So swift, even Ye Liang dared not split his focus.
"No wonder he's a Kage-level master!"
Ye's stomach dropped.
Although this old man wasn't as powerful as top shinobi like Hiruzen Sarutobi from great villages, his techniques were still far beyond those of regular ninja!
After just a few exchanges, Ye was already losing ground in Taijutsu.
Ye couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Grandpa, I just want a little girl. Is all this really necessary?"
"Cut the chatter! If you want her, step over my dead body!"
Aw, come on!
For crying out loud!
Ye felt communication had become impossible.
He came here simply because he saw a young girl being captured.
Though later events pulled him into bigger conflicts, his goal hadn't changed—he was here to save one girl. As for internal chaos in the Land of Rivers, he truly didn't care to involve himself.
"Hmph! You stubborn old fool!"
Feeling Ye's speed gradually slowing down, the old man finally prepared to deliver a fatal strike.
With one hand, he slightly formed hand seals. The originally offensive ice sword now visibly carried a layer of blue aura.
When Ye's arm grazed it slightly, his blood actually froze from the contact!
"This… is cold energy!"
Understanding dawned on Ye.
This old man's command over Water Release truly went beyond what an average ninja could do—not only could he shape water into ice, but he could also emit cold energy itself without causing freezing!
This vaporized cold energy wasn't merely more powerful than the ice blade—it made fighting back significantly harder too.
"If you insist on making trouble, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
"Secret Jutsu - Ice Dragon Missile!"
A towering ice dragon suddenly surged from the small river behind Ye Liang. Its massive body wasn't just imposing—it sent a chilling cold deep into Ye Liang's bones.
He barely dodged using the Shifting Body Technique, but relentless Water Release techniques gave him no chance to breathe.
[Water Release - Water Explosion!]
[Water Release - Water Current Technique!]
[Water Release - Soaring Feather!]
Ye Liang dodged again as the ice dragon charged toward him once more.
The only difference between this ice dragon and a regular water dragon was its endurance. A typical Water Dragon Projectile would dissipate after attacking due to chakra depletion.
But this ice dragon had solidified itself into a physical form, so it wouldn't vanish unexpectedly. After missing its first strike, under Lord Rivershadow's command, it attacked Ye Liang again.
"Boom! Boom!"
The colossal dragon head smashed powerfully into the ground.
Scattered ice shards remained.
Ye Liang didn't want to waste any more time.
Though reluctant to expend chakra needlessly, he noticed the young girl was already trembling slightly from the ice dragon's presence.
The old man wasn't aiming to kill her yet, but judging by how weak she looked, she wouldn't last long.
"Sorry!"
Suddenly, Ye Liang reached out and touched the ice dragon's head. To the old man's shock, the mighty beast froze in place instantly.
"What's going on?" the old man muttered in confusion.
Then he saw cracks forming across the dragon's body.
And then…
Crack! Crack!
Two thunderous sounds!
Fractures instantly spread across the ice dragon like shattered glass. Within less than half a second, the entire beast disintegrated into fragments.
"How is that possible?"
Lord Rivershadow cried out in disbelief!
This ice dragon had been formed through his unique water nature chakra-gathering technique and was extremely solid. Even ordinary Fire Release jutsu couldn't have melted it so easily.
Yet Ye Liang had done it with just a single touch.
"Your secret technique is indeed powerful, but it has a critical flaw!" Ye Liang explained.
"While you can continuously reinforce your ice dragon by injecting more water nature chakra, ironically, that excess becomes a weakness!"
"You're lying! The more water chakra I use, the stronger my ice dragon becomes. How could that possibly be a weakness?"
"Really?" Ye Liang suddenly smirked coldly. He bent down, picked up a remaining ice shard, and held it in his hand.
"Watch this!"
Red-hued chakra seeped slowly from Ye Liang's arm into the shard—and even with just a little, the ice began to melt.
"This is fire nature chakra!" the old man gasped in shock, immediately becoming wary.
He now understood exactly what had happened!
Earlier, when Ye Liang touched the ice dragon, he had secretly injected fire nature chakra into its body!
The ice dragon's body contained only water nature chakra.
Though immensely strong, precisely because of this overwhelming dominance, the two elements came into conflict!
Remember, a single extreme being cannot harbor another attribute within its body. It's like light cannot dissolve darkness, fire cannot dissolve water, and a man cannot merge with a woman!
Once this principle is violated,
yin and yang will dissipate, fire and water will evaporate, and a man will become something neither male nor female!
"It seems I, an old man, am doomed to die here," the old man murmured, his eyes filled with hollow despair. If even his mightiest Ninjutsu couldn't defeat Ye Liang, how could any other technique possibly work?
I never meant to kill you!
Don't you understand *anything* I say?!
Ye Liang really wanted to rush over and slap the old man across the face. It's infuriating dealing with someone who just doesn't hear a word you say—no matter who you are!
But suddenly, a girl's cough echoed from inside the cave.
"Cough! Cough! Grandpa Qianhu, where are you?"
Princess Fujiwara has awoken!
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