The Responsibility of Jun Mu Kong

Men Songwei, lead the team and advance slowly. Keep a close watch on our surroundings and stay alert for sneak attacks from other demonic beasts. I will go save her.

Jun Mukong spoke at lightning speed. Leaving those words behind, his figure abruptly flashed, blurring into an afterimage as he chased in the direction the female disciple had been dragged.

The spatial power surrounding him was pushed to its absolute limit. The very swamp beneath his feet seemed to solidify under his spatial control, allowing him to sprint across it at blinding speeds.

Men Songwei, hearing Jun Mukong's orders, immediately took temporary command and shouted, Everyone gather close! Form a defensive array and move forward slowly! Follow the Eleventh Ancestor's path, and absolutely no one is to act on their own!

With that said, he led the team, cautiously advancing in the direction Jun Mukong had vanished.

Jun Mukong darted through the marshlands.

His speed was astonishing. Every step landed precisely on solid ground confirmed by his spatial perception, leaving no ripples on the water and sinking not an inch into the mud.

The muddy water splashed up in a trail behind him, only to be instantly swallowed by the thick fog.

His eyes were locked dead onto the figure moving at high speed beneath the murky water ahead.

The creature was fast, but Jun Mukong was faster.

His Void Dao Body granted him more than just spatial perception; it gave him absolute control over space itself.

He could compress the space directly in front of him, allowing each of his strides to cover a distance far exceeding a normal bound.

His master had entrusted him with the heavy responsibility of leading this team, and he absolutely would not allow a single casualty to occur.

Jun Mukong's expression was as dark as deep water as he continuously locked onto the submerged silhouette.

Closer.

Even closer.

The creature's trajectory beneath the surface became increasingly clear.

It was a snake, massive in size, measuring at least a hundred feet long.

It slithered through the mud with extreme fluidity, as if the thick sludge offered no resistance but rather propelled it forward.

Jun Mukong suddenly accelerated.

In the instant he closed the distance to the figure, his feet stomped fiercely against the swamp water, and his entire body launched into the air.

Raising his right hand, he drew his longsword from its sheath, aiming the tip straight down.

Void Condensation, World Shatter!

Spiritual power surged madly as spatial energy rippled outward in all directions with him at the epicenter.

The space in the entire area directly below him instantly solidified.

The high-speed slithering figure was violently immobilized by the spatial power, completely frozen in place.

Its tail was still tightly coiled around the female disciple's ankle, but she too was suspended in the frozen space, locked in a posture just moments away from being smashed against the ground again, hovering in mid-air.

Jun Mukong waved his left hand, sending a precise blade of spatial energy to sever the connection between the snake's tail and the disciple's ankle.

The moment the tail was cut, an invisible force lifted the female disciple's body, bringing her safely to Jun Mukong's side.

He caught her steadily with his left arm, shielding her close.

The instant she was freed, the solidified space shattered with a deafening crack.

Boom—!

A massive explosion rang out as the space in the entire area below shattered like a broken mirror.

Soil, rocks, muddy water, and vegetation—everything was torn to shreds by the sheer force of the fracturing space, reduced to absolute nothingness.

When the dust and mist settled, a massive crater had appeared in the earth.

The pit was hundreds of feet wide and over a hundred feet deep, its edges as smooth as if they had been carved by a blade.

Coiled in the center of the crater was the giant snake.

The beast was a grayish-green, its scales gleaming with a cold, eerie luster in the dim light.

Despite taking a direct hit from Jun Mukong's Void Condensation, World Shatter, it wasn't dead. More than half of its armored scales had been blasted away, exposing the mangled, bloody flesh beneath, with blood seeping from countless wounds.

Yet, its cold, slitted pupils remained wide open, glaring venomously at Jun Mukong hovering above.

Early Void Refinement Realm, Black Water Profound Snake.

Roar—!

The Black Water Profound Snake unleashed a deafening, furious bellow. Its massive body suddenly coiled and launched itself out of the crater, throwing its bloody maw wide open to devour Jun Mukong.

Jun Mukong merely gave a cold snort.

He twisted the longsword in his right hand, tracing a flawless arc through the empty air.

Burying the Sword in the Void.

He never even swung the blade.

In the space directly surrounding the Black Water Profound Snake, dozens of invisible spatial sword auras instantly materialized.

Instead of scattering randomly, these dozens of sword strikes targeted one precise, fatal spot—the snake's seven-inch weak point—slashing down relentlessly.

The first strike shattered the remaining scales.

The second strike cleaved through the flesh.

The third strike severed the bone.

The sword aura rained down, endless and unyielding.

Jun Mukong slowly withdrew his longsword and slid it back into its scabbard.

The Black Water Profound Snake's body went rigid in mid-air for a split second before snapping cleanly in two at its seven-inch mark.

The front and back halves plummeted simultaneously, crashing into the bottom of the crater with two heavy, muffled thuds.

Only then did Jun Mukong turn his attention to the female disciple beside him.

Are you alright?

At that moment, the female disciple's robes were torn and disheveled, caked in mud and blood.

Her breathing was shallow, and her face was deathly pale; she had clearly been terrified by the sudden ambush.

Fortunately, the instant the snake's tail had ensnared her, she had subconsciously activated a defensive secret art to protect her vital organs.

Because of this, despite being dragged a considerable distance, she hadn't sustained any critical injuries, suffering only superficial wounds and severe spiritual power exhaustion.

I am fine. I am not badly hurt,

The female disciple shook her head rapidly. Her voice still trembled, but it was filled with overwhelming gratitude.

Thank you, Eleventh Ancestor.

Jun Mukong shook his head slightly, a hint of self-reproach in his tone.

I apologize. I failed to notice its approach and allowed you to be frightened.

Hearing this, the female disciple waved her hands frantically, her tone urgent.

No, no, it is not your fault at all! I was the one who failed to react in time. How could I possibly blame you?

Eleventh Ancestor, you saved me so quickly. If it weren't for you, I might have...

She trailed off, but her meaning was clear.

Jun Mukong said nothing more.

With a wave of his right hand, a healing pill glowing with a soft light flew out and landed gently in the female disciple's palm.

Take this first and recover your strength.

The female disciple took the pill and swallowed it without a second thought.

As the pill entered her stomach, a gentle medicinal warmth rapidly flowed through her limbs and bones, and a faint trace of color gradually returned to her pale cheeks.

Jun Mukong waited for her to steady herself. Once he confirmed she could move under her own power, he quickly escorted her back to the group.

Men Songwei was leading the team forward at a slow pace. Seeing Jun Mukong return safely with the female disciple, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

Keep moving.

Jun Mukong returned to the very front of the formation, his tone calm.

Responsibility.

That word carried a unique and heavy weight for Jun Mukong.

His first master, Kong Chen, had once told him: To be a man is to bear burdens, and to act is to take responsibility.

Kong Chen's own master had saved Kong Chen, taken on the responsibility, and poured everything into teaching him.

Because Kong Chen had chosen to bring Jun Mukong and his sister back to the sect when they were just children, he had shouldered the responsibility of raising them and guiding them.

In that exact same way, his current master, Gu Changyuan, had given him the responsibility of leading this team, and so he would ensure that not a single life was lost under his watch.

It wasn't out of fear of the other disciples gossiping, nor was it out of fear of his master's reprimand, and it certainly had nothing to do with preserving his pride.

It was simply a standard in his own heart that he could not compromise.

That was just who he was.

Jun Mukong walked at the forefront of the team, his gaze piercing through the dense fog to rest upon the hazy horizon in the distance.

This place was fraught with danger, but he would not back down. He had to complete the secret realm exploration mission assigned by his Master, as well as fulfill his duty to protect the sect's disciples.