Chapter 222 – You Have Already Brought About Your Own End!

Pan City, High-speed rail station.

The business class waiting platform was empty.

Only the members of the Crane Style stood quietly waiting.

Zhao Qiancheng’s face was slightly pale, and he was being lightly supported as he sat on a long bench in the waiting area.

Still recovering from his injuries, he appeared somewhat weak. Thus, the duty of leading naturally fell upon the Fourth Direct Disciple, Zhuang Xiujie.

Zhuang Xiujie kept checking the time repeatedly. When she faintly heard the train’s whistle in the distance, signaling its imminent arrival, she couldn’t help but turn to someone and ask, “Liu Si, is the teacher coming back with us?”

Liu Si, who was guarding everyone’s luggage with a few servants, respectfully replied, “Fourth Master, that question should be directed to the Old Sect Master. How could a mere servant like me know what the Old Sect Master has decided?”

“Did the teacher mention where he was going?”

“The Old Sect Master said he was going to get something for the Young Sect Master, but exactly what or where, I truly do not know.”

Hearing Liu Si’s flawless responses, Zhuang Xiujie frowned.

However, she refrained from asking further.

She decided to wait until the last minute before the train’s departure. If Liu Daoyuan didn’t show up by then, she would lead the group back first.

The other direct disciples of the Crane Style didn’t have much to say. However, when they heard Liu Si mention the “Young Sect Master,” their expressions revealed a hint of complex emotions.

This journey to the Hundred Cities Martial Arts Tournament in the south had undoubtedly been one of the most fantastical experiences of their lives.

As everyone pondered their own thoughts, a figure suddenly appeared silently in front of them.

Zhuang Xiujie was taken aback at first, but when she saw who it was, her face lit up with joy and relief.

“Teacher!”

Liu Daoyuan, with his hands behind his back and a calm expression, nodded to everyone without saying anything, instantly providing the Crane Style disciples with a sense of reassurance.

Zhuang Xiujie, standing closest to Liu Daoyuan, faintly smelled a hint of blood on him.

Feeling conflicted, she knew she shouldn’t ask, but couldn’t help softly saying, “Teacher, you…”

Liu Daoyuan glanced at her and, without explaining, said plainly, “It’s not mine.”

“Understood.”

Zhuang Xiujie closed her mouth and asked no more.

After waiting for a while, a High-speed train roared into the station.

It did not stop, and in an instant, it sped away.

Zhuang Xiujie glanced at her watch, her delicate brows slightly furrowing.

“It seems to be running late.”

Liu Daoyuan’s expression remained unchanged.

He suddenly said, “Let’s go!”

Zhuang Xiujie was momentarily stunned, as were the other direct disciples of Crane Style.

But seeing that Liu Daoyuan had already turned around and was striding toward the platform exit, they quickly followed, despite their confusion.

Following Liu Daoyuan in a hurry, the group from Crane Style walked for a while and was about to reach the exit.

At this moment, Liu Daoyuan, who was at the front of the group, suddenly stopped.

“No need to go.”

Huh?

The direct disciples of Crane Style were baffled, not understanding what was happening. But then they saw two figures float out of the exit like clouds.

One was old, exuding a stern aura with eyes like lightning.

The other, a robust man of about thirty, had a cold demeanor and a sharp presence, like an unsheathed sword. Just looking at him gave one the sensation of their eyes being cut.

“Divine Intent Sect!”

Zhuang Xiujie immediately recognized the robust young man and blurted out.

He was known as the top genius of the Divine Intent Sect, and had been injured by her Little Senior Brother. He and Xue Guangyao from the Heart Refining Sect were known as the strongest Twin Stars of the younger generation in the southern martial arts world.

His reputation was significant, so Zhuang Xiujie recognized him.

As for the dignified elder beside him, he was undoubtedly the current sect leader of the Divine Intent Sect.

A sect leader level expert, on par with Liu Daoyuan.

Though their Crane Style had many enemies, they had never had any conflicts with the Divine Intent Sect. Why would the Divine Intent Sect suddenly appear here, and in such a manner that seemed to intentionally block their way?

Before the members of Crane Style could make sense of this, the sound of soft footsteps and the rustling of robes slicing through the air reached their ears.

In no time, figures began appearing around them.

“Four Tiger Style… Ghost Fist Sect… Rock-Smashing Style… Overlord Fist Sect…”

One by one, familiar ancient martial arts sects and well-known experts appeared.

In a short amount of time, experts from nearly a dozen ancient martial arts sects, totaling around a hundred individuals, had gathered. All of them stood not far from the crane style group, their expressions cold and emotionless, forming a subtle encirclement and blocking all of their escape routes.

The crane style disciples could feel the increasingly oppressive atmosphere, their faces growing more and more somber. A strong sense of unease filled their hearts, but even more so, they felt bewildered.

Although the crane style had a rather notorious reputation, and despite their recent fame due to the emergence of a genius Little Senior Brother who challenged and defeated experts from over ten sects in one night before the martial arts tournament…

Still…

It shouldn’t have warranted such a reaction, where so many sect experts would forsake participating in the tournament just to come and trap them here.

What the crane style had done, no matter how bad, should not have incited this level of collective outrage.

“Tap—”

A single footstep echoed in the tense silence.

Everyone from the crane style instinctively turned towards the sound.

From beside the two members of the Divine Intent Sect, a figure slowly emerged.

This person stood about 6’2″ tall, with a broad back and slim waist, a clean-shaven face, and hair tied into a short braid. There was an indescribably powerful and noble aura about him.

He walked slowly to the front of all the gathered experts, then stopped directly in front of the crane style group.

Narrowing his eyes, he stared at the crane style disciples, focusing particularly on Liu Daoyuan. Coldly, he spoke, “Poison-Handed Crane Demon Liu Daoyuan, you have been domineering and disrespectful. To seize the legacy of other sects, you have even resorted to murdering dozens of fellow practitioners…

After committing these atrocities, you still think you can walk away unscathed? Do you really think the Holy Envoy… is dead?!”

Seizing the legacy of other sects, murdering dozens of people…

The braided man’s icy words struck the crane style disciples like lightning.

Their bodies shook violently, and their faces showed utter shock and disbelief.

Among them, Zhuang Xiujie suddenly recalled the faint smell of blood she had earlier noticed on Liu Daoyuan.

Her face turned deathly pale as she sharply turned to look at Liu Daoyuan standing in front of her.

Her face, and her eyes… were full of shock and incredulity.

At this moment, the arrows of a hundred gazes were pointed directly at Liu Daoyuan.

Liu Daoyuan, however, remained calm and silent, not uttering a single word.

“My Lord… will avenge us… ha ha ha…”

The man in the white bear uniform lay on the ground, clutching his throat tightly with his hands as blood gushes out like a fountain between his fingers.

He stared intently at the man in front of him, a faint blue light flickering in his eyes as if trying to capture and engrave the appearance of the person before him.

Until… that light completely faded away.

“How many is this now?”

The black-robed man, standing beside him, watched the white bear die with a stern face.

His brows furrowed as he turned to look at the handsome man who was calmly wiping the blood from his fingers.

“I must remind you, you are not yet the true Evil Emperor. Your actions are only associated with you, Pei Ye, personally and do not represent the evil martial alliance. You’re courting disaster!”

“Alright, alright…”

Pei Ye waved dismissively, tossing the tissue he had used to clean the blood onto the white bear’s corpse, speaking indifferently, “It’s just a few low-level white bears, no big deal…”

“And the Red Bear you killed just before this!”

The black-robed man retorted coldly.

“Still no big deal.”

Pei Ye smiled, a shallow dimple appearing below the left corner of his mouth, adding to his already charming demeanor.

“I’m more surprised by something else…”

Pei Ye touched his smooth chin, his tone tinged with amazement, “The little bastard that the old bastard took in can actually command a Red Bear. It seems his standing with the Yellow Bears is quite high. Could it be he’s gotten the backing of someone at the Golden Bear level?”

“You’re aware of the Golden Bear level involvement, yet you still act so recklessly?”

“What’s so special about the Golden Bear level?”

Pei Ye replied with a playful smile.

Then, half-jokingly reassuring the black-robed man, he said, “Why is the elephant protector always so tense? You know my capabilities. Even if they’re Yellow Bears, it won’t be easy for them to trace it back to me…”

“Not easy and impossible to trace are two different things.”

The black-robed man sneered.

Pei Ye shook his head, too lazy to argue any further.

“That old bastard is probably cornered by now. I need to add the final touches quickly…

All the troublesome trash has been cleared, the situation of certain death with enemies on all sides has taken shape completely. Just like fifteen years ago…”

Pei Ye murmured to himself, a surge of intense excitement and anticipation suddenly appearing on his handsome face.

His eyes blazed with fervor, and even his breathing grew rapid.

“Teacher, wait for me! This time, I will definitely save you from despair…”

“Bang!”

A sudden muffled sound interrupted Pei Ye’s reverie.

Pei Ye and the Black robed man simultaneously turned their heads.

Not far from them, a dozen or so burly figures with unusual physiques appeared in the shadows.

Each of them wielded various cold weapons1.

Leading the group was a muscular man over two meters tall.

He held a nearly three-meter-long heavy alloy Guan Dao in one hand, glaring menacingly at Pei Ye and the Black robed man before breaking into a cruel smile, “Which one of you is Pei Ye? Lord Spear Bearer has ordered us to bring back Pei Ye’s head.”

“Uh…”

Pei Ye and the Black robed man fell into a brief silence.

Moments later, Pei Ye slowly raised his head, his trench coat billowing as if caught in an invisible wind, releasing an indescribable, terrifying aura like countless unseen tentacles.

However, his expression was strangely perplexed.

“How many people has that little bastard managed to curry favor with?”

…

“According to Lord Spear Bearer’s instructions, we have discovered the mastermind behind the plot against the crane style. We forced him to reveal himself… but his strength is overwhelming, and I have failed…”

A weak and ashamed voice of Owl Blade came through the communicator.

Over ninety-five percent of the Yellow Bear members in the Field Operations Group upload copies of their consciousness.

So, Owl Blade died. But he was “revived.”

Just like Zhou Ling before.

“Did you see what he looks like?”

“Yes.”

“Ding Dong—”

Lu Yuan received the file from Owl Blade.

He quickly opened it and was presented with an image of a handsome man in a black trench coat, smiling charmingly. Yet, Lu Yuan could sense an inexplicable malevolence behind that smile.

Below the image was identity information retrieved from the Yellow Bear database—Pei Ye, the eighth direct disciple of Liu Daoyuan, the former sect leader of the Sky Water Stream Crane Style, and suspected to be the current Night Emperor of the evil martial alliance, with abilities that included…

Lu Yuan glanced over the information and imprinted all the details in his mind.

He then spoke warmly to Owl Blade, “Well done, this is your merit. Take good care of your recovery, I will cover all the expenses…”

“Thank you, my Lord.”

The voice from the communicator was filled with a hint of excitement.

After ending the call, Lu Yuan immediately turned and headed out.

Half a minute later, he was aboard a shuttle bound for Pan City. He had already contacted Sackford, urgently mobilizing the strong members of the Mosa Sect around Pan City to surround and kill Pei Ye, and to protect the crane style delegation.

“I hope they can hold out until I get there…”

Lu Yuan looked calmly out of the shuttle window at the rapidly passing clouds, his eyes reflecting a cold, steely glint.

In his mind, the image of Pei Ye continued to flash.

He couldn’t help but softly sigh.

“Pei Ye… Pei Ye… you really have a death wish, don’t you?”

Footnote:

1. Cold Weapons(冷兵器): refer to traditional weapons that do not use gunpowder or other explosives. These include swords, spears, bows, arrows, knives, and other melee or projectile weapons that rely on physical force for their effectiveness. The term distinguishes these weapons from “firearms,” which use explosive force to propel projectiles. Cold weapons have been used throughout history in various cultures and are often associated with historical warfare, martial arts, and traditional combat techniques.