I'll write a manual called the Sunflower Manual, and the entire martial arts world will turn in

[Talent: Dragon Breath (Unskilled): 0.0000022]

[Talent: Dragon Breath (Unskilled): 0.0000023]

……

hiss!

The soaring dragon breath value brought Xie An an indescribable chill, as if his whole body was in an ice cellar.

Xie An realized this was a rare opportunity, so he immediately sat down cross-legged, grabbed the water monkey's thigh with one hand, and frantically absorbed its life essence.

His breathing became increasingly deep and long, and his muscles and bones gradually became denser and stronger.

As the last wisp of the water monkey's chilling essence entered the body, the numbers on the panel stopped.

[Talent: Dragon Breath (Unskilled): 0.0000031]

"It increased by 10 points in one go. That's an incredible pace."

In contrast, the water monkey's corpse had shriveled up, becoming a dried-up mummy. Its mouth was wide open, its tongue scraping against the corner of its mouth, clearly indicating that it was dead beyond any doubt.

"This Dragon King is quite something."

Xie An glanced around and, seeing no one, decided to withdraw from the dragon's breath.

The white glow on his body slowly faded, and his body gradually shrank back to its original size. A strong sense of exhaustion surged up, but he gritted his teeth, took out two Qi and Blood Pills from his sleeve and put them in his mouth, forcing himself not to collapse.

As the medicine took effect, Xie An was fully recovered in a short while.

"Luckily, I always have Qi and Blood Powder on hand, otherwise my weak state would have lasted for a long time."

Xie An straightened his tattered clothes, then dragged the shriveled corpse of the water monkey toward the crooked tree.

When they returned to the crooked tree, the little girl had already been rescued.

Zhou Fu, Zhou Wu, Li Shengnan, Liu Wei, Zhong Wu, and the others were completely dumbfounded when they saw Xie An dragging over the corpse of the water monkey.

Their mouths were so open they could fit an egg in them, and they couldn't close them for a long time.

Snapped.

Xie An threw the water monkey's corpse at Zhou Fu's feet, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Lord Zhou, I have fulfilled my mission. This scoundrel has been put to death."

Zhou Fu stared at the withered water monkey on the ground, then at the polite Xie An, his heart churning with turmoil. He vaguely remembered the scene a few days ago when he was severely injured by the water monkey and utterly powerless to fight back. But now… the water monkey's corpse lay right before him.

The junior brother that Chen Lutang accepted was truly outrageous.

After a long moment of stunned silence, Zhou Fu finally came to his senses and hurriedly stepped forward to help Xie An up. "Good, good indeed. Fifth Master, you truly have excellent skills. No wonder you are Master Chen's junior brother. Are you injured?"

Xie An glanced at his tattered clothes. "This scoundrel tore a few pieces of my clothes, but I'm otherwise unharmed."

Zhou Fu nodded emphatically: "Good, good. Our river management office has produced a peerless hero. Now my Zhou family can survive. When I report to the magistrate in charge of the river management office, I will emphasize the Fifth Master's righteous deeds."

Xie An exchanged a few polite words and then asked, "Has the man in black appeared?"

Zhou Fu shook his head: "This man is an excellent swimmer. I just sent Zhong Wu and Liu Wei into the water to look for him, but they couldn't find any trace of him. It seems that this scoundrel heard the commotion on the shore and slipped away early."

Xie An was slightly disappointed.

Although they suspected this person was Wei Dian, they hadn't caught him. There wasn't much they could do.

If we capture him on the spot, his act of using human sacrifice alone is enough to send him to prison. Even if we kill him on the spot, it doesn't matter.

"In that case, everyone should head back early. My blood and qi are not flowing smoothly, and I need to rest here for a while." Xie An dismissed everyone, leaving only Li Shengnan behind.

Before leaving, the girl realized that Xie An was the famous Fifth Master of Wuqiao Town, so she knelt down and kowtowed to express her gratitude.

……

The Huai River flows swiftly, bathed in moonlight, its surface shimmering white.

"Uncle-Master, I see that your blood circulation is smooth and you have no discomfort. Did you have other plans for letting Lord Zhou and the others leave first?" Although Li Shengnan was a muscular woman, she was quite shrewd.

Xie An stood with his hands behind his back on the riverbank. "Before he died, the water monkey told me that there might be a treasure fish underwater. The man in black is probably still lurking in the shadows. I'll go into the water to check, and my senior sister will keep watch on the shore. If you spot the man in black, send me a message immediately."

The news of killing the water monster tonight will spread quickly.

To catch the treasure fish, you naturally have to do it early.

Xie An had naturally considered keeping the treasure fish for himself, but considering that Wei Dian was also a skilled martial artist, it would be troublesome if he were to ambush him from some dark corner. Having Li Shengnan keep watch was much safer.

Besides, it was Li Shengnan who introduced me to the River and Lake Management Office. Now that Li Shengnan is stuck at the Blood Reaching Realm, I should give her back a treasure fish or two.

Li Shengnan naturally sensed Xie An's good intentions and immediately said, "Uncle-Master is so generous, I'll remember it. Uncle-Master, please go into the water, I'll keep watch on the shore."

"it is good."

Xie An took off his coat, leaving only his underwear, and then jumped into the water.

The original owner of this body grew up on the banks of the Huai River, so naturally she was familiar with swimming. Now that she has achieved a minor mastery of the Ming Jin skill, she can hold her breath underwater for a long time. Her combat strength is also considerable.

Splash!

Xie An entered the water, circulating his internal energy to protect his body while swimming underwater.

The Huai River is very deep; it took more than forty meters to reach the bottom. Unless one is a martial artist, an ordinary person would not be able to sink to that depth.

Underwater visibility was low, but fortunately Xie An had exceptional senses and could see it.

"A water cave..."

Remembering the water monkey's words, Xie An began searching everywhere. Finally, he indeed found a water cave at the bottom of the river.

Two catfish were swimming near the cave entrance.

These two catfish are even bigger than the ones Ah Shui gave me last time, weighing a full four pounds.

"This should be it."

"However, I'm not a particularly good swimmer, so I'm afraid I won't be able to catch the treasure fish underwater. Let's try Dragon Breath." Xie An didn't rush to get closer, thinking that the Dragon King was the master of the eight-hundred-mile Huai River, so Dragon Breath should not be afraid of water.

He quietly activated his dragon breath, and after his body changed, he was horrified to find that... he could walk on flat ground underwater, and the water was no longer an obstacle, but rather an aid. Instinctively, he felt he could leap seven or eight meters in one go.

"Dragon's breath is indeed effective..."

Xie An lay in wait in the water, slowly approaching the two catfish.

When they were about five meters away, the two catfish seemed to realize something and immediately became alert.

Just then—

call out!

Xie An unleashed his full power, shooting out like an arrow released from a bow, instantly rushing to the two bull-horned catfish, drawing his bow in two, one in each hand, firmly holding them in his grasp.

"Treasure fish obtained!"

Catching the treasure fish for the first time brought Xie An an unprecedented sense of pleasure.

It's even more satisfying than catching a big fish as a fisherman in my past life.

The two catfish swung their tails violently in an attempt to struggle.

"Still trying to run..."

Xie An tore off half of his trousers, tied the two precious fish to his pockets, and then dived to the entrance of the cave to peer inside.

This water cave is big enough to accommodate one person.

Although he had been submerged for a long time, Xie An, who had activated the dragon's breath, did not find it difficult to breathe.

"Since we're already here, we might as well go in and take a look. That water monkey was far weaker than me, yet it managed to survive. I think it won't hurt for me to go in."

Click.

Xie An gripped the dagger in his hand, then slipped into the hole like an eel...