Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 261: The Time for a Show

“Swap faces?” Xue Ning’er exclaimed in surprise.
“Exactly. I want to take this opportunity to create chaos and throw them off!” Chu Tianyu said seriously. “So what does my brother-in-law need me to do?” Xue Ning’er asked, still confused after hearing that.
“Your task is to play the role of Xue!” Chu Tianyu said with a smile.
“Me? I’ve never even met her!” Xue Ning’er was astonished.
“Heh, don’t worry about that. Last time, she also wore a mask. As long as your skill level is comparable to hers, it will suffice! You’ll face those guys directly, keep them engaged in a fight, forcing those lurking around to act. Then, casually reveal a flaw—just show off your hair, and your task will be complete. As for the rest, leave it to my brother-in-law!” Chu Tianyu said confidently.
“That’s fine for me, but… is my skill enough?” Xue Ning’er asked worriedly.
“Aren’t all disciples of the Tianyin Sect blessed with the Vital Energy of Heaven and Earth? With that, my brother-in-law can not only control the true energy within you but also mimic the effects of that energy. Just like Xue’s Ice Soul Energy, although I can’t produce such pure cold energy as she can, I can easily simulate intense heat energy through your Vital Energy. Back and forth, cold and hot, real and fake—let them experience the extremes of ice and fire. As for why this happens, let them waste their energy figuring it out. Heh…” Chu Tianyu revealed his true intentions as he looked at Xue Ning’er.
Xue Ning’er also seemed to understand suddenly. “Oh, I get what my brother-in-law means. This way, we not only confuse them but also link these two events together. Later, my brother-in-law can rescue me in the same way during a ‘crisis,’ creating the illusion that we’re part of the same group. This will focus their attention on the forces behind Xue. After all, it’s just you acting secretly here—the Xuanji Sect isn’t involved at all. Neither side will be able to find any clues about my brother-in-law, right? As for whether the enemies fall for the trick or what they think, it doesn’t matter to us. Whatever we do, it’s beneficial with no drawbacks!”
“Exactly!” Chu Tianyu looked at Xue Ning’er with approval and affirmed it succinctly.
……
In a large suite in the hotel, aside from the fourth junior disciple, the other three were fast asleep.

As usual, the fourth junior disciple got up early to practice his morning exercises. First, he relaxed his entire body and meditated quietly for a while, trying to expel the impure energy from within. But today, something was unusual—he couldn’t calm his mind, unsure of what was wrong. Could it be a precursor to another breakthrough in his cultivation? It didn’t seem so.

His racing thoughts only added to his confusion. He gave up on meditation and slowly walked toward the window, intending to open it for some fresh air. To be honest, he really disliked living in this city, where everything was enclosed and air-conditioned, lacking the natural energy of the mountains and forests. This had greatly slowed down the progress of his cultivation.

Just as he was growing anxious, before he could reach the window, a dark shadow appeared outside. It traced an arc, moving from afar and rapidly enlarging in his vision. Before he could react, a fierce burst of energy shattered the glass and rushed in. He was hit first; in panic, he quickly gathered his energy and instinctively shielded his chest with his hands, attempting a defensive move.

Yet the strength of the opponent’s energy was so great that even if he had been prepared, it would have been difficult to withstand it. With the glass shattering and a loud crack, two forces of unequal intensity collided. The fourth junior disciple immediately spat blood and was flung backward. His meridians felt as though they were swept by a wave of heat, causing intense discomfort. But strangely, although the energy seemed extremely powerful at first contact, it wasn’t lethal—apparently, the opponent still had room for improvement in his cultivation.

So, though he was severely injured by this surprise attack, he wasn’t fatally harmed. The heat wave inside him was fierce but didn’t cause much damage to his meridians, only causing temporary numbness. By the time his body hit the wall, he had mostly recovered.

However, he was temporarily unable to move, lying there exhausted. The loud noise had already alerted the other three people in the room. They reacted quickly, rushing at the intruding man in black naked, forming a united front.

Facing this, the man in black seemed to pause momentarily, lowering his head as if afraid of something.

His unusual reaction gave the three of them more opportunities to attack. Delighted, they redoubled their efforts, trying to turn the situation around. Given that the fourth junior disciple had been knocked out with just one move, the strength of their enemy was evident.

In the blink of an eye, the attacks from several people converged on the man in black. At that moment, it seemed as though the man in black had just realized what was happening and reacted hastily, yet his movements remained fluid—his feet swaying as he drew arcs with his hands in front to create protective barriers, generating waves of heat that instantly deflected their fierce assaults.

Through this move, the man in black regained his composure. He vanished in a flash and launched attacks from almost bizarre angles. The three of them had already been disrupted by the intense energy, rendering their attacks ineffective. To their surprise, once the man in black reacted, his attacks were incredibly fierce—single moves seemed to target all three of them at once, delivering indiscriminate strikes.

The hot wind was overwhelming. They quickly raised their strength to its maximum, enveloping themselves in dark energy as they tried to withstand the attacks. After several muffled impacts, the man in black’s assaults were weakened by their combined efforts.

The three brothers had considerable combat experience. Seizing this opportunity, they unleashed their ultimate techniques to prevent the man in black from gathering more energy. This indeed worked—he no longer used such powerful energy but maintained a moderate level of strength to counter their attacks, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides.

Although the man in black was temporarily on the defensive under their relentless attacks, each exchange of blows sent waves of intense heat from his palms, thwarting their combined efforts and slowing them down.

However, this balanced situation was soon disrupted by several figures who rushed in—reinforcements consisting of the skilled fighters who had been lurking outside. Realizing that the fight in the room had reached a deadlock and that the opponents weren’t as powerful as expected (so they couldn’t instantly kill all four or handle the situation unaided), they abandoned their pursuit plans and quickly joined the battle to capture the enemy alive.

These reinforcements, being experienced, didn’t join forces with the original three but instead took positions to prevent the man in black from escaping or getting more allies. Clearly, they had received instructions from Lord Qin and learned from past mistakes.

After they stabilized their formation, two more figures rushed into the room. This time, they acted without hesitation, turning the tide of battle instantly. The man in black became flustered, his movements unsteady, and the intense energy in his hands gradually weakened, allowing his attackers to become even more aggressive. Those with greater martial skills no longer used techniques but relied on their numbers, using sheer strength to drain the man in black’s stamina and vital energy.

As a result, the man in black could only barely defend himself, his form swaying like a reed in the wind, on the verge of collapse. While he was dealing with the three attackers ahead, two more forces struck from the sides and behind. Facing this double assault, he had no way to avoid it. He bent down, supported himself on the ground, and swept his legs out to barely fend off the attack.

But as his body moved up and down, the black hood split with a “whoosh” in the strong wind, revealing a long, beautiful hair like a waterfall. Along with it came an involuntary cry from the man in black: “Ah…” His voice, though urgent, sounded pleasant and clearly came from a woman.

The others were thrilled. Who would have thought that after fighting for so long, the man in black with such terrifying strength was actually a woman? They intensified their attacks, determined to capture her and reveal her true identity.

The man in black became even more desperate. Not only had to he withstand their fierce attacks but also worry about his hood falling off at any moment, clearly afraid of revealing his face. Divided by these concerns, his movements became even more chaotic. After barely blocking a few attacks, he was completely at a disadvantage, his energy disrupted under the immense pressure. Just as he seemed about to give up, a loud howl suddenly came from outside the window, as if exploding right beside their ears. The shock made them freeze instantly, their hearts pounding rapidly, their faces filled with fear.

While they were stunned, a gust of wind rushed in from outside, followed by another dark figure appearing in the room—another man in black. The guard at the window had already collapsed silently on the ground, motionless, his fate unknown.

The black-clad figure who arrived later did not pause. Instead, his energy surged, and he charged at those brothers who possessed the Nether Realm. The energy he emitted instantly pressed against them. The men showed expressions of shock, temporarily forgetting their earlier astonishment. Prioritizing their lives, they frantically tried to defend themselves, stepping back continuously under the black-clad figure’s assault to counter the force of his energy.

Strangely, the black-clad figure did not take advantage of the situation to pursue further. Instead, he continued to release energy around them, like invisible hands carrying out various offensive moves.

What shocked those three brothers even more was that they could neither defend against nor counter this invisible energy. They could only watch helplessly as it penetrated their bodies, searching for their meridians and wandering through all of them, as if their entire bodies were being examined. Finally, it returned to their dantian. Then they felt a loud explosion in their dantian, which spread upward to their brains in an instant, causing excruciating headaches. Their vision went dark, and they lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground.

The entire process happened in the blink of an eye, leaving several experts who had come to reinforce or defend the retreat in stunned silence. Their minds were frozen, unable to believe what had just happened. Their own experts had been knocked out in such a short time, making it seem almost like a hallucination.

Their shock did not affect the actions of the black-clad figure at all. With a gesture of his hand, the female black-clad figure gracefully floated toward him, as if there was some kind of magnetic attraction between them.

Without stopping, the black-clad figure took her by the arm and swept his hand around. A strong wind arose, and with a slight pause, the two of them shot out of the window like meteors. As they left, they carried a surge of energy, and their figures disappeared instantly.

The few people inside the room managed to open their eyes under the force of the wind and could only see a trail of energy leaving in the distance…

…

Meanwhile, Chu Tianyu and Xue Ning’er were in the adjacent room, happily removing their masks and dark nightwear. Xue Ning’er was secretly delighted. Earlier, with Chu Tianyu’s energy support, she had experienced what it was like to be a master fighter. Not to mention, when they left gracefully, seeing those people frozen in shock was truly thrilling and impressive.

And in the end, when they left, Chu Tianyu simply drew a arc with his hand and brought her back to their own room. As for that trace of energy that seemed to shoot into the distance, it was merely the result of Chu Tianyu casually pushing it out with his palm. The entire operation was flawlessly executed.

But while Xue Ning’er was happy and excited, Chu Tianyu appeared puzzled. He thought to himself, “Strange. The energy pathways of those people aren’t true natural energy at all, nor is it the method used by the Zhan family to nurture spiritual creatures through their bodies. It seems to be created by some special cultivation technique. Strictly speaking, it’s just a way to simulate natural energy. And from what they call it, ‘Nether Realm,’ it seems quite accurate. Because if one practices in this way and reaches a certain level, making this energy strong, it will inevitably backfire on the practitioner, either allowing them to control others with their energy or turning them into complete zombies…”

“Brother-in-law, what are you thinking about? How should we arrange things for tomorrow?” Xue Ning’er asked, noticing Chu Tianyu’s state. However, the excitement in her voice clearly showed that she still wasn’t satisfied enough!

Chu Tianyu, deep in thought, casually mentioned the matter of attending the trade fair when Xue Ning’er asked, adding at the end, “It’s nothing. Boring. Just a ‘showtime’!”