Why do I have so many masters?

An Zhaofeng ran desperately ahead, watching the scenery before him rapidly approach and then quickly be left far behind, vanishing from sight.

An ordinary Lower Third Rank Martial Artist could already run as fast as a galloping horse for a short duration. Upon reaching the Middle Third Rank, one becomes a rare expert in the Jianghu, capable of soaring through the air at will when their Qi Mechanism is activated.

The Upper Third Rank offers incredible techniques: traversing vast distances in a step, stirring Wind and Thunder on a flat land. However, since An relied on external means to reach this level, he still lagged far behind others naturally at this rank, wielding the vast Qi Mechanism of the Upper Third Rank with only Middle Third Rank methods, like a seven-year-old child wielding a golden cudgel.

Even so, his speed already surpassed that of a Fourth Rank Martial Artist.

In a blink of an eye, he covered a thousand miles.

Only after a few breaths, he had already burst beyond the realm of Rong Yue City, then turned northward, entering Chicken Cage Mountain as told by the mountain folk. The Qi Mechanism surged, crushing trees and rocks along his path, until he landed in a lofty and secluded mountain forest.

This place was extremely concealed, nestled within the Inner Valley; rugged stones stood up chaotically, facing a mountain wall on one side, with vines hanging down and a pool about a zhang wide at the bottom, connected to a river, with golden-scaled fish swimming in the water.

Hidden within the mountains and rivers, it was nearly impossible to find unless one descended from the sky. As autumn grew ever more lush, the trees and vines grew wantonly, making it the most skilled disguise in the world.

Even An Zhaofeng himself had only stumbled upon this place by chance, taking a drunken stroll without caring about his path, finding it when the way suddenly cleared.

After a frantic rush, it was only upon reaching here that An Zhaofeng managed to calm his mind slightly. Without realizing it, his clothes were entirely soaked. Wiping his hand and bringing it before his eyes for a closer look, he found his white palm already stained red.

The wetness on his clothing was not sweat or moisture from the air, but his own blood—forcibly using the power of a Fourth Rank Martial Artist to propel the colossal Qi Mechanism of a Grandmaster, speeding across, subjected his skin and tendons to immense internal and external pressure.

His well-trained physique naturally bore no serious harm, but his blood flowed faster, tiny vessels burst, his skin cracked, and blood oozed from his body, not a grave injury, yet quite frightening in appearance, especially disheveled.

An Zhaofeng clenched his hand, then suddenly burst into laughter, stretching his arms wide and lying down on the ground. His laughter persisted for several breaths, and his face showed no regret or hatred, but rather a sense of relief. Along with the relief, however, was an ominous killing intent.

"I may not have been able to kill them this time, but I'll make them pay dearly in the future!"

"To think they colluded with the Ministry of Punishment, heh, whether it was the two of them acting alone or under the organization's orders, if it's the former, only they will die, but if it's the latter, your centuries-old foundation will crumble overnight and cease to exist!"

Lying on the ground, An Zhaofeng first muttered through clenched teeth, then screamed furiously, his shouts echoing endlessly through the empty valley. Were he not concerned about being discovered, he would truly roar toward the sky. But he realized this place was inherently secretive, and considering the Ministry of Punishment's cautious style and the speed they moved with, it wouldn't be possible for them to find him here.

If it were mountain folk, hunters, woodcutters, or tourists who heard the sound and investigated, he could easily kill them with a wave and solve any problem, perhaps even vent his pent-up rage.

Today's events had been too numerous, changes came as quickly as if thunder leaped across the sky, swift enough to evade human reaction. Coupled with the harsh battle to escape, even someone with An Zhaofeng's exceptional Martial Arts couldn't help but feel a deep fatigue welling up within.

He lay on the cold grass for around an hour until his limbs regained some Inner Strength. Then, he cleaned the blood and his clothes in the water, evaporating the moisture with his Qi Mechanism, leaving him feeling much cleaner and refreshed.

He then slapped many fish from the pond into the air, using pure, vigorous Inner Strength to start a fire and cook them without any salt or seasoning, yet still found the taste unbelievably delicious. It was truly a rare delicacy, and he devoured several three-jin fish before feeling slightly invigorated.

After eating, he didn't tidy up, but leaned against the Qingyan wall on one side, gazing at the vines opposite, pondering how to resolve today's matters—he initially had other tasks when he set out, but with the expenditure of his Divine Weapon Qi Mechanism, he naturally wouldn't continue with those missions, which had become infeasible.

He was contemplating how to act upon returning to Sword Forging Valley to reap the maximum benefit; other concerns could be set aside for now. All issues regarding this matter would naturally need to be pinned on 'Qiong Qi.'

If the Valley Master knew it was because he stayed greedily for the profits 'Qiong Qi' offered despite knowing a Grandmaster was involved, leading to the abandonment of a mission elsewhere, An Zhaofeng, although esteemed as the Commander of Troops, would still have to bear a considerable portion of the responsibility.

Yet, if it could be presented that 'Qiong Qi' concealed the truth, exploiting him and causing him to be entangled in this affair, and he sacrificed that mission to preserve himself for future service to the Valley Master, then not only would he be blameless, but he would also be meritorious. Moreover, having obtained confidential information on another major organization would be grounds for reward.

Therefore, he must return to Sword Forging Valley before 'Qiong Qi.'