Chapter 196

Seeing this, Li Wangye was horrified. Could it be that Xie Wendong had deliberately lured him here?! The answer was yes. Alas! Clenching his teeth, Li Wangye inwardly cursed—he had fallen for his trick. He shouted at his men, “There’s an ambush here! Withdraw, hurry up!” But by then, it was too late to retreat. The men in black emerging from the woods were full of energy, fierce as wolves and tigers. Meanwhile, Li Wangye’s men were exhausted, disheveled, and sitting haphazardly on the ground, wishing they had smaller heads—too weak even to lift them. Before the people from the North Hongmen could attack, many of them were already too tired to even vomit blood. It was real blood—under the strict rules of their sect, no one dared fall behind, but covering over ten kilometers wasn’t easy, especially for untrained people.

It was the first time Xie Wendong had witnessed such a chaotic battle with over a thousand people fighting together. Blades flashed, screams filled the air, the clashing of swords echoed loudly, and the agonized cries of the wounded pushed everyone to the brink. Cold light flashed, blood splattered, and hot blood covered the ground.

It was a one-sided massacre. Li Wangye’s men had no desire to fight in the first place. Upon hearing his order to retreat, they rushed back as quickly as possible. But how could their weak bodies outrun the more than a thousand well-prepared soldiers from the North Hongmen? They were chased relentlessly. Left with no way out, they scattered in panic, a sight too gruesome to bear. Many simply stopped running, knowing they couldn’t escape. They threw down their swords, raised their hands, and surrendered.

Li Wangye ran at the front, unleashing all his strength. The screams and cries of his men filled him with pain but also spurred him on. Gradually, the sounds of fighting faded. Not knowing how far he had run, he stopped and looked back—no pursuers in sight. Seeing his men around him, he almost cried. Initially, he had led over a thousand people to chase Xie Wendong, but now only a dozen remained, most of them injured.

He regretted it deeply. How hadn’t he realized Xie Wendong was trying to lure him? Why hadn’t he considered why Xie Wendong fled without fighting? Why hadn’t he thought more about why Xie Wendong ran back to the city instead of using a car?! Now he understood, but over a thousand people were dead. He sighed deeply and said bitterly, “Xie Wendong is truly full of tricks! I will definitely avenge this!”

As he was filled with sorrow, a group of people came toward him. There weren’t many—less than a hundred—and they were disorganized, with their armor askew. Most of them had blood on them. At the front were two burly men. One of them cursed as he walked, “Damn it, these Southern invaders are really tough. They prevented us from even getting in the vehicles. If I had known, I would have destroyed the vehicles first. Now those bastards have taken over twenty vans. How am I supposed to explain this to Brother Dong?”

Another man muttered, “Oh come on, what’s there to explain? Brother Dong abandoned us and ran away first. What kind of treatment is that? Are our lives that worthless?”

The speakers were Ren Changfeng and Wei Zidan, two comrades who had fought their way out of a desperate situation. Along with dozens of their men, they had been chased for miles. They really hadn’t even had time to get in the vehicles, watching helplessly as the disciples of the Southern Hongmen happily pushed the cars away. How could they not be upset? They spoke bitterly about Xie Wendong abandoning them.

As they walked in frustration, they saw a dozen people sitting on the ground ahead, dressed in the white clothes of the Southern Hongmen, seemingly having just gone through a fierce battle. Each of them had injuries, more or less severe. The two were stunned. Ren Changfeng reacted first. Without a word, he drew his sword and charged forward. He was furious—after all, he was a prominent figure even within the Northern Hongmen. When had he ever been chased for miles? Usually, it was him chasing others. Now the roles had reversed, and he couldn’t stand it. As mentioned earlier, Ren Changfeng was a proud man, an extremely proud one at that. The anger in his heart was almost enough to make his chest explode. Seeing the remnants of the Southern Hongmen, he thought it would be a good chance to take his anger out on them.

Damn, Ren Changfeng had found someone to vent his anger on. He swung his sword and knocked down one man at once, then charged at Li Wangye, who wore clothes different from the others. The Li Wangye now was not the same as before; if he usually had 100% of his strength, now he probably had less than half. Seeing more enemies coming toward him, thinking it was arranged by Xie Wendong, he sighed deeply and admitted defeat in his heart. Ren Changfeng sized him up from head to toe, curled his lips, and thought to himself, “What a long donkey face!” With a fierce gaze, he said coldly, “No nameless ghost can escape my sword!” Meaning he wanted him to reveal his name. Li Wangye’s heart stirred; it seemed this man didn’t recognize him. Could it be he wasn’t sent by Xie Wendong? If not, it would be easier to deal with him. Just as he planned to hide his identity and get by, a subordinate nearby, fearing death at Ren Changfeng’s hands after seeing him kill one of their own so viciously, suggested using the title of “Heavenly King” to scare him away. Someone rushed to say, “This is Li Wangye, one of the Eight Heavenly Kings of the Hongmen!” After saying this proudly, he looked at Ren Changfeng expectantly. Seeing Ren Changfeng’s expression freeze after hearing his words, as if he had anticipated it, the man grew even more proud and declared in a domineering tone, “Hurry up and run! If you anger Heavenly King Li, you’ll die a horrible death!” Suddenly, Ren Changfeng laughed loudly and excitedly, “Well deserved! I’ve accomplished a great feat!” Without even looking at the man’s expression, he swung his sword at Li Wangye’s forehead. The moment that subordinate revealed his true identity, Li Wangye knew it was over. He had no strength left, and his battle sword was nowhere to be found—how could he fight? Seeing the sword coming, he instinctively snatched a short sword from a subordinate and tried to block it. The sharpness of a Tang sword was unmatched, and with such force behind the strike, Li Wangye had no chance to defend. Alas, Li Wangye, one of the Eight Heavenly Kings of the Southern Hongmen, couldn’t even block a single strike and died bitterly under Ren Changfeng’s sword, adding another soul to this sword named “Tang Zhan”.

Ren Changfeng slashed Li Wangye with his sword, feeling an unparalleled sense of satisfaction—completely different from his mood just moments ago. He tilted his head high, glanced at the others out of the corner of his eye, kicked Li Wangye’s corpse aside, and declared proudly, “I’m not killing you today not because I like you, but because you don’t deserve it. Take his corpse back and tell Xiao Fang that the next one under my sword will be him. My name is Ren Changfeng!” Good heavens, Ren Changfeng was utterly arrogant! Wei Zidan wanted to laugh but didn’t dare; it was obvious that Li Wangye was exhausted, at the end of his strength, and anyone could be killed by Ren Changfeng—so what was there to be proud about?

As soon as Ren Changfeng finished speaking, the dozen or so men from the Nan Hongmen felt relieved. They picked up Li Wangye’s corpse and ran away. Strangely enough, after being scared by Ren Changfeng, they seemed to gain strength from somewhere and soon disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Ren Changfeng flicked his sword, causing the blood droplets to slide off without sticking. He looked at Wei Zidan triumphantly and said, “Those so-called Eight Heavenly Kings of the Nan Hongmen are nothing but this.”

Wei Zidan was now the team leader. Although highly regarded by Xie Wendong, he was far inferior to Ren Changfeng. He replied with a smile, “It’s not that the Eight Heavenly Kings are weak; it’s that Brother Ren’s swordsmanship is too fast and too powerful.” “Mm!” Ren Changfeng nodded carelessly. He gladly accepted these compliments, believing they were true. Patting Wei Zidan on the shoulder, he said, “Don’t worry. When we get back, I’ll help you get credit from Brother Dong.”

Wei Zidan rolled his eyes. There was really nothing he could do about Ren Changfeng. In fact, Ren Changfeng was great in every way—generous and loyal, but overly arrogant and self-righteous. Arrogance might not seem like a serious flaw to many, but in the martial world, it can be deadly.

On the way back, Ren Changfeng was beaming with joy, extremely pleased with himself. Those Eight Heavenly Kings of the Nan Hongmen were supposed to be formidable figures—people whose mere presence could shake the land to the south and pose a great threat to the Bei Hongmen. Having one of them die at his hands was such an honor; even Lao Lei would surely give him a thumbs up.

As they walked, a group of men ran toward them from the opposite direction. All of them wore black clothes and masks, holding swords. Upon seeing Ren Changfeng and the others, they hurried forward to greet them respectfully, saying, “Brother Feng!”

Seeing that they were his own men, Ren Changfeng asked, “What’s the rush? Where are you going so quickly?” One of them replied, “Elder brother planned to surround Li Wangye, but sadly he managed to escape. We’re going after him now.” Ren Changfeng laughed heartily and said, “Brothers, there’s no need to chase him.” “How so?” “He’s already become a victim of my sword!” “Ah?” Hearing this, everyone was overjoyed. They surrounded Ren Changfeng and asked various questions, “How did Brother Feng kill Li Wangye?” “Brother Feng is so amazing! This time he really outsmarted him!” “Brother Feng, please promote us more in the future…”

The group welcomed Ren Changfeng back to the hall as if he were a celebrated hero. Earlier, one of his subordinates had already told Xie Wendong that Ren Changfeng had killed Li Wangye with a single strike. After hearing this, Xie Wendong and Nie Tianxing exchanged smiles—they understood exactly what had happened.

Originally, it was Ren Changfeng who suggested launching a surprise attack on the Southern Hongmen’s gathering place. At first, both Xie Wendong and Nie Tianxing thought it was a good idea. After the meeting, Xie Wendong returned to his room to rest. Lying in bed, he went over the plan in his mind but felt something was off. He regretted agreeing to it so hastily. Just as he was regretting it, Nie Tianxing came to see him. He also thought the plan was too risky, and given Ren Changfeng’s pride, it might backfire. Xie Wendong nodded, but the order had already been given. Changing it now would not only demoralize his own side but also undermine his authority. After some thought, Nie Tianxing came up with an idea: use the enemy’s own tactics against them. If there was no ambush, fine; but if there was, avoid fighting and lure the enemy into pursuing them. Once the enemy was exhausted, they could enter their own ambush and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

In fact, it was Xie Wendong who deliberately let Li Wangye escape. He knew there was only one road back to the inn, and defeating Ren Changfeng and his men on their return would surely lead to a confrontation. With Ren Changfeng’s temperament, even if Li Wangye had ten lives, he wouldn’t survive. Xie Wendong intended to give him a chance to earn a great merit as compensation for his own escape without fighting, and also because he really liked Ren Changfeng—aside from his pride, he saw no other flaws in him and wanted to nurture him.

In this battle, Xie Wendong achieved a complete victory. He captured no less than five hundred prisoners and killed one of the enemy’s main generals, Li Wangye. His morale soared, and his reputation reached new heights.

At the celebration, Xie Wendong recounted the whole story from start to finish, explaining that his retreat without fighting was actually to lure the enemy into a trap. Only then did everyone realize the truth and praised the brilliance of the plan—such a cunning strategy that even Li Wangye, let alone gods and demons, would find hard to counter. Xie Wendong did not take credit for it, saying, “It was Nie Tianxing’s idea.” He also admired this man greatly; Nie Tianxing’s wisdom was likely on par with his own. If they could work together, the world would be within their reach. But Xie Wendong didn’t go any further in his thoughts. He naturally credited Nie Tianxing, but the latter refused to accept it, saying he hadn’t taken any action or contributed anything and thus didn’t deserve the credit. Xie Wendong smiled and didn’t insist, instead giving the credit to Ren Changfeng. He personally toasted him in celebration—a great honor that left Ren Changfeng beaming with joy.

While the North Hongmen were in jubilation, the South Hongmen were filled with sorrow. When Xiao Fang saw Li Wangye’s corpse, his heart ached and tears streamed down his face. Zhang Jufeng also wept bitterly. The Eight Heavenly Kings, though called “ministers in the same hall,” were actually brothers who had shared life and death for years—their bond was extraordinary. Today, Li Wangye had been killed in a plot right under Xiao Fang’s nose. How could Xiao Fang, who had always prided himself on his sharp mind, not be saddened?! Though sad, he still had to admire Xie Wendong’s cunning tactics. He had expected Xie Wendong to launch a surprise attack, but he never imagined there would be another layer within his plan—so unpredictable. He was far inferior to him! This time, Xiao Fang admitted defeat. With one of their key generals lost and morale low, continuing the fight would mean the entire army’s destruction. He decided to withdraw, not because he didn’t want to avenge Li Wangye, but because the shadow cast by Xie Wendong was too heavy, leaving him without confidence in victory. If even the commanders lacked confidence in a battle, how could it be fought? Understanding this and aware of the pros and cons, he decided to end the battle hastily and return to Guangzhou to plan further.