Chapter 1141: Soaring Through Blue Waves

“You little thief, apart from your mediocre light-footwork, you’ve got nothing of Xiang Shuai’s caliber at all… Enough, I don’t want to know what kind of scumbag you are. Tell me… where’s the Sky Crystal!”
Kai Xin’s casual words utterly enraged the master thief who had been hiding his identity. His face turned pale and blue in succession, his eyes blazing with fury as if ready to set anyone on fire.
“Little thief? Mediocre? Worse than Xiang Shuai? Scumbag?”
Kai Xin’s indifference and contempt deeply hurt the Self-Transforming Fox’s pride. His chest heaved violently as he glared fiercely at Kai Xin. “How dare you look down on me! When I was building my reputation in the martial world, you were still wearing open-crotch pants somewhere!” His eyes almost bulged as he seemed determined to prove himself to Kai Xin.
“Stop talking nonsense. Where’s the Sky Crystal?” Kai Xin had already deduced from the other man’s words that he was one of the four greatest thieves in the martial world—the most cunning Self-Transforming Fox, with excellent sword skills and aerial abilities. His handsome face was even comparable to Xiang Shuai’s, Chu Liu Xiang’s.
If not for Kai Xin having learned some general information about the other thieves from Lu Xiao Feng and their locations from Bai Xiao Sheng, he might have believed the Self-Transforming Fox’s lies.
The Self-Transforming Fox was notorious for his cunning and deceitfulness. Even experts at the level of divine hunters could be deceived by him.
If he hadn’t revealed his identity, Kai Xin might have suspected someone else was behind the theft of the Sky Crystal, not one of the four great thieves. But instead, he foolishly named Xiang Shuai, Chu Liu Xiang…
Kai Xin remembered.
Lu Xiao Feng had once told him about the personalities and habits of the four great thieves. The Self-Transforming Fox was a thief who could easily manipulate people’s hearts, patient and powerful—much like Chu Liu Xiang—but even more cunning and unscrupulous. He disliked leaving traces and was regarded by many martial artists as a demonic thief capable of founding his own school.
However, the Self-Transforming Fox had one flaw…
He loved competing with Chu Liu Xiang! He refused to be on par with him and instead wanted to become the sole king of thieves in the martial world!
Lu Xiao Feng had even joked that if caught, the Self-Transforming Fox might claim to be Chu Liu Xiang…
It was because of these insights from Lu Xiao Feng that Kai Xin quickly pretended indifference after confirming the Self-Transforming Fox’s identity.

It turned out that the Face-Shifting Fox truly couldn’t stand being looked down upon by others. He was greatly provoked at once, gritting his teeth as he said slowly, “You brat, even if you were the abbot of Shaolin Temple, you wouldn’t dare speak to me in such a tone…”
“Have you also been captured by my Shaolin abbot?”
Kai Xin looked at the Face-Shifting Fox with a condescending tone, filled with surprise. The latter felt a tightness in his chest and was so angry that his eyes rolled back: “…” He almost spat out blood.
Just as he was about to respond, Kai Xin spoke again, still in that contemptuous tone that made him want to spit blood: “A person who doesn’t even dare reveal his own name, a liar who keeps claiming to never change his name or surname? What do you expect me to believe? That you’re amazing? Or do you want to come up with an even more impressive name to scare me?”
“…”
The Face-Shifting Fox was extremely frustrated, unable to breathe properly.
All the heroic deeds he had planned to mention were blocked by Kai Xin’s words, making it seem utterly inappropriate to speak of them.
After all, his lies had just been exposed by Kai Xin. Claiming to have great power and that major sects like Shaolin and Wudang had treasures in his hands was completely unfounded.
Seeing the Face-Shifting Fox’s agitated appearance, with his chest heaving and eyes darting around, Kai Xin mercilessly dealt him another blow: “You’re a disciple of the Thief Lord Chu Liu Xiang, right?”
“…Nonsense!” the Face-Shifting Fox retorted instinctively.
“Why such a strong reaction? Am I right?” Kai Xin smiled triumphantly, and that look only made him seem more despicable in the Face-Shifting Fox’s eyes.
He had spent his life trying to trample Chu Liu Xiang underfoot, yet now he was called a disciple of the Thief Lord. This huge disparity filled him with extreme shame.
“I found it strange when you claimed to be Chu Liu Xiang before… You must be trying to use your master’s reputation to get away. Am I right?”
“…Nonsense! My thievery skills are better than Chu Liu Xiang’s!” the Face-Shifting Fox glared fiercely at Kai Xin. But before his words could fully take effect, Kai Xin’s strange look—“Then why are you here?”—damped his enthusiasm.
“Hmph!”
“If you can steal the Sky Crystal right under the noses of the Sword Sect’s master and me, and also take away the treasures of the Tianchi Sword Sect, your skills are pretty good. It seems you’ve learned some of Chu Liu Xiang’s true techniques.”
“…”
Kai Xin deliberately ignored the Face-Shifting Fox’s nearly explosive anger and continued, “Tell me where the Sky Crystal is, and I might spare you out of respect for Chu Liu Xiang.”

The Face-Shifting Fox was initially infuriated by Happy’s confident tone, but upon hearing the words “Heavenly Crystal,” his expression changed, and he became proud once again. “I knew it—you really came for the Heavenly Crystal,” he said, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. “It’s for the ‘Heavenly Crystal Technique’ inside, right?”
“…”
Happy watched indifferently as the Face-Shifting Fox grew arrogant again and said nothing.
“Let me tell you, I’ve been tracking the Heavenly Crystal that the Sword Sect’s master stole from the Sky-Shaking Fortress for three whole years, spending countless amounts of money and effort. Do you think you can just take it with a few words?”
“You want money?” Happy asked calmly.
The Face-Shifting Fox became even more haughty. “Money holds no appeal for me. As long as I need it, all the rich people in the world are my personal banks. I’m only interested in things that aren’t easy to obtain—that’s our thieves’ hobby.”
“Then what do you want before handing over the Heavenly Crystal?”
“Why should I give it to you? Dying while taking the secrets of the Heavenly Crystal with me could be a decent end.” The Face-Shifting Fox shifted slightly, brushing dust off the hem of his clothes.
Snap!
“What are you doing!”
The Face-Shifting Fox angrily covered his head and glared at Happy, unable to believe that the latter would dare hit him.
He had expected Happy to be extremely nervous after hearing his words…
Ignoring the Fox’s shocked and angry expression, Happy dispersed the true energy that had blocked his meridians and pressed repeatedly on two key points on his chest.
The Fox’s body trembled; he couldn’t move even his neck. His eyes stared blankly at Happy as he sputtered in anger, “You! You…”
“You brat, daring to threaten me? Are you crazy?”
“…Ah!”
Happy gave the Face-Shifting Fox another slap, saying disdainfully, “Since you’re Chu Liu-xiang’s disciple, do I still need to worry about not finding the Heavenly Crystal? I’ll take you to Chu Liu-xiang and confront him face to face. Let’s see if he’ll be willing to give up his disciple!”
“What!!!”
A sharp scream shattered the night silence of the island, startling countless birds in the forest, causing them to fly away in panic.
As if stimulated, the Face-Shifting Fox spoke sharply, “You want to take me to see Chu Liu-xiang?! You don’t want the Heavenly Crystal anymore?!!!”
Happy naturally knew the Fox was scared by him, but he showed no sign of it, saying calmly, “Chu Liu-xiang is always kind-hearted. As his disciple, you inherit all his teachings. He won’t give up on you for the sake of the Heavenly Crystal.”
“You bastard! I already said I’m not Chu Liu-xiang’s disciple!!”

The Face-Shifting Fox became anxious, but he couldn’t move a muscle, not even having the chance to express his anger—truth be told, he had the courage to die alongside the Sky Crystal, but he definitely didn’t have the courage to be dragged by Happy by the neck to meet Chu Liu-xiang, his greatest rival.
Which martial artist doesn’t care about face?
Though the Face-Shifting Fox was cunning and deceitful, willing to use any means for his own gain, his only obsession was to surpass Chu Liu-xiang in thievery…
For a master thief, being caught after stealing wasn’t shameful, but being caught in front of his peers was a complete loss of face!
Facing Chu Liu-xiang, the Face-Shifting Fox feared his reputation, built over years, might be ruined in an instant!
But Happy had planned for this moment for a long time—how could he give the Face-Shifting Fox a chance to escape? He picked up the Face-Shifting Fox and walked away, muttering to himself,
“Chu Liu-xiang is currently in the Western Regions. It will take at least seven days to get there… You thieves are all cunning and deceitful. Before I find Chu Liu-xiang, I need to borrow the Heaven’s Secret Lock from Lu Xiao-feng to lock away your internal energy and body… I also need to get you some ‘Ten-Scent Soft Tendon Powder’.”
The Face-Shifting Fox broke into sweat.
Only then did he realize this guy wasn’t someone to mess with—his tricks and schemes were useless against him.
“Headmaster Happy…”
“…”
“Headmaster Happy, I really am not Chu Liu-xiang’s disciple. Please let me go. As a thank you, I can give you the treasures of the seven major sects, including those of the Tianchi Sword Sect and other major martial arts groups…”
“Idiot. Don’t treat others as idiots too.”
Happy glanced at the Face-Shifting Fox disdainfully:
“What’s the use of the treasures of those major sects to me? If I let you go, will you spread the word and have the experts from those sects come after me? How did Chu Liu-xiang teach you to be such a cunning and treacherous creature?”
Pfft!
The Face-Shifting Fox felt as if he were spitting blood three times over in his mind.
At that moment, Happy spoke again:
“You keep saying you’re not Chu Liu-xiang’s disciple. Unless you give me the Sky Crystal, I won’t believe you. And I’ll let you go—I won’t break my word.”
“After all this talk, you still want the Sky Crystal.” The Face-Shifting Fox showed signs of wariness.
Happy snorted coldly: “After all this talk, you still have hopes of getting away without paying any price… Let me tell you, once you meet Chu Liu-xiang, everything will become clear. I’m curious to see what you’ll have to say then!”
“…” The Face-Shifting Fox’s expression collapsed once again!
Just then…

Happy, however, suddenly turned his head and looked toward the center of the lake. The moonlight gently shone on the rippling lake surface, where a distinguished figure appeared like an angel, floating through the air without disturbing the waves.