Startled, Li Qian didn't have time to think and sprinted straight over.
As he ran, he checked on their connection through the Soul Contract.
Thankfully, Qizai was fine.
But the Sparrow-tailed Fish's condition was unknown.
After all, he had no contract with it.
Liu Changfeng followed closely behind.
He frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
As he spoke, a Summoning Array was already faintly glowing beneath his feet.
Li Qian shook his head.
He was completely clueless at the moment.
BOOM! BOOM!
The two had just reached the reservoir's edge and hadn't even had time to observe when two more huge splashes erupted not far away.
This time, Li Qian felt it clearly.
A familiar fluctuation of Energy rippled through the air.
'It's Qizai!'
'Qizai is fighting some creature!'
SPLASH~!
SPLASH~!
The sounds of two figures bursting from the water followed.
One of them was Qizai.
The other was even larger than Qizai, standing five or six meters tall with a length estimated to be over fifteen meters.
The newly appeared Pet Beast looked something like a crocodile, but not quite, and something like a lizard, but not exactly.
Li Qian's eyes widened in shock. 'What is that?'
He didn't recognize this giant Pet Beast.
However, its sheer size, its powerful aura, and the fact that his Eye of True Sight couldn't read its info all led to one conclusion.
'This thing is terrifyingly strong!'
Fortunately, it had chosen to attack right now, while Liu Changfeng was standing right beside him.
Otherwise, he would have recalled Qizai and the Sparrow-tailed Fish and just run for it.
"A Violent Salamander!"
Unlike Li Qian, the more experienced and knowledgeable Liu Changfeng recognized the Pet Beast immediately.
He observed it for a moment, and his frown deepened. "No, something's wrong with this Violent Salamander's condition! It's Cultists!"
In fact, Liu Changfeng wasn't the only one who could tell something was wrong with the Violent Salamander before them; Li Qian could see it too.
A bizarre black Energy was coiled all around its body.
Its eyes were crimson, glowing with a vicious light!
It looked as if it had completely lost its sanity.
ROAR...
The Violent Salamander roared in constant fury, as if trapped in unending, inescapable agony.
Seeing the Violent Salamander's current state, Li Qian instantly thought of something. "The Black Divine Teachings!"
Seeing Liu Changfeng's questioning gaze, he explained succinctly, "I rescued a Sparrow-tailed Fish here. It was one of the Black Divine Teachings' experiments!"
Just as Li Qian's voice fell, SPLASH, the sound of breaking water was heard again, and a fish's head emerged from the surface.
It was the Sparrow-tailed Fish.
Li Qian could sense that something was wrong with the Sparrow-tailed Fish; its aura was faint, and it was likely injured.
From this, it was clear that the Violent Salamander—or more accurately, the Cultist behind it—was indeed after the Sparrow-tailed Fish.
Of course, there was another guess that Li Qian didn't dwell on.
The fact that they had come all this way specifically for the Sparrow-tailed Fish meant they were very likely after that black bead.
But the more importance they placed on it, the more it proved the black bead was nothing simple.
It was probably some extraordinary treasure.
Unless it was a last resort, Li Qian had no intention of handing it over.
Hearing this, Liu Changfeng also found it strange to raise such a fuss over a mere experiment, but he was now mostly certain who the attacker was. "Then it's them, nine times out of ten."
Without a moment's hesitation, he summoned his two Pet Beasts.
Fire Mastiff!
Vajra Ape!
The Fire Mastiff was somewhat restricted in this environment, and its attribute was also countered by the dual Dark- and Water-element Violent Salamander.
Therefore, Liu Changfeng sent the Gold Element Vajra Ape to deal with it.
"Little Jinzi, go!" As his voice fell, the giant ape, its body covered in brilliant golden fur, grabbed its staff and lunged forward.
In the reservoir, the Gold Element Vajra Ape was also restricted, but it was definitely better off than the Fire Element Fire Mastiff.
"My Vajra Ape and I will hold off the Violent Salamander. You take my Fire Mastiff and investigate—see if you can find the Cultist controlling it," Liu Changfeng instructed as he directed the Vajra Ape into battle with the Violent Salamander.
Hearing this, Li Qian took the Fire Mastiff and quickly charged toward the hydroelectric station's buildings.
The Cultist was hiding in the shadows, and to control the Violent Salamander remotely, they couldn't be too far away.
Looking around, the only place to hide was the cluster of buildings at the nearby hydroelectric station.
So, without a second thought, Li Qian dashed straight for it.
Perhaps the hidden Cultist also understood that continuing to hide now was just fooling himself, so he simply leaped out and landed on top of the dam.
"No need to look, I'm right here!" The Black Divine Teachings Cultist, clad in a black robe, landed on the dam. He looked at Li Qian and spoke in a hoarse voice.
In reality, the Cultist was at a complete loss. He had thought that as a dignified Commander Level Deacon, dealing with a high school student who was at most Ordinary Level would be an easy catch. He never expected to run into someone from the Public Security Bureau. Yes, after seeing the Pet Beasts Liu Changfeng summoned, he had already recognized the man's identity. If he had recognized him earlier, he definitely would have held off on this attack, waiting for the man to leave before making a move. But it was too late for regrets now. The attack had already begun; there was no stopping it midway. Otherwise, he would have alerted the enemy, and he wouldn't get such a good opportunity again.
The Cultist landed on the dam. A Summoning Array lit up, and a second Pet Beast suddenly materialized.