Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 267: Reaping the Benefits

At the same time, Chu Tianyu also locked his gaze on one person, further confirming his suspicions—that person was the leader of Dragon Soul, Zhan Yupeng, the head of the Zhan family.

Chu Tianyu finally understood why there had been fewer and fewer vehicles along the way, and why they now found themselves in such a quiet environment, allowing the two sides to stage a game where the mantis hunts the cicada while the oriole waits in the shadows. It must be because Zhan Yupeng had temporarily blocked the roads. However, the men he brought this time were definitely not from Dragon Soul. Given their current mode of attack and strength, they were likely experts from the Zhan family—those who possessed the so-called “energy of heaven and earth.”

As Chu Tianyu made this judgment, chaos ensued. When those fiery red spheres approached Tai Ye’s men, everyone realized they were not solid objects at all but rather streams of intertwined energy. These spheres seemed able to freely change direction, leaving no chance for them to dodge. With little time to react, they could only hastily gather their energy to resist head-on.

Thus, loud explosions and collisions of energy rang out one after another. Tai Ye’s subordinates with weaker skills were instantly knocked to the ground, vomiting blood and falling unconscious. Even those experts with dark energy skills, though able to barely block the attacks, were forced to retreat, their internal energies in turmoil.

As everyone was stunned by the sheer force of these attacks, shadows moved around them. In the blink of an eye, Tai Ye’s group was surrounded, just as they had surrounded Ao Xue and Ning Wu earlier.

Tai Ye inwardly sighed bitterly. It was like hunting geese all day only to have one misstep result in the geese pecking out his eyes. Under these circumstances, any hope of escaping unscathed was nothing but delusion.

With this thought, Tai Ye gritted his teeth and waved his hand to stop a few of his subordinates who still wanted to attack Ao Xue and her sister desperately, aiming to capture them as hostages. Qin Ye knew they were completely trapped by the enemy now. Those two sisters were also experts with the energy of heaven and earth, and he had even fought one of them before—back when she was overwhelmed by attacks and less vigilant. Now, with them fully focused on defense, it would be impossible to strike unexpectedly.

So Tai Ye decided not to waste effort. He signaled his men to gather around him, forming a defensive formation, and first stabilized their positions.

“Miss Aoxue is frightened!” As a loud voice came from the periphery, Zhan Yupeng seemed to remain motionless, yet in the blink of an eye he appeared before everyone.
“Zhan Yupeng. How is it you?” Before Aoxue could respond to his greeting, that Tai guy suddenly exclaimed in shock beside them.
Hearing this, Zhan Yupeng raised his eyebrows slightly. Keeping a calm expression, he slowly turned his head and stared at Tai for a while before asking leisurely, “Oh, you know me? But this friend here seems quite unfamiliar.”
That Tai guy also realized he had lost his composure. After all, he knew well about Zhan Zifeng, the Dragon Soul. His family’s ancient and powerful worshiping secrets, just like their Netherworld, had a similar way of controlling the energy of heaven and earth. However, since he had always stayed in the shadows, Zhan Yupeng naturally didn’t know about him. What puzzled him was how those two sisters could be connected to him, and it seemed that Zhan Yupeng even held them in high regard.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Lord Qin maintained a calm tone and said coldly, “Compared to Leader Zhan of the Dragon Soul, I’m just an insignificant little figure. But given your ability to dominate both the underworld and the legitimate world, it’s no wonder this place is as quiet as a graveyard with no outsiders disturbing us. With such preparations, I admit defeat in today’s battle!”
Zhan Yupeng smiled slightly but remained silent, waiting for Lord Tai to continue.
Sure enough, after a pause, Lord Qin added, “But Leader Zhan, don’t get too complacent. As for what kind of revenge and destruction your Zhan family will face if today’s situation changed, I can’t say. Don’t think your little secrets of worshiping can protect you from anything. Remember, there are always those above you, and many who can overcome you!”
Although Zhan Yupeng tried to stay calm on the surface in response to Lord Tai’s words, his shock was immense. After all, their family’s worshiping secrets were absolute mysteries. Even the members of the Zhan family knew little about them. Only those who practiced the Blood-Qilin cultivation might understand their intricacies. But aside from him, his father, and their lost son—who could interact with the outside world—those practitioners all secluded themselves for cultivation and refused to engage with the outside world.
This mission was also ordered personally by the old master. Not only were twenty-eight Holy Blood disciples sent, but he also gave a baffling order: to contact a woman named Aoxue, follow her instructions, and cooperate unconditionally.

He originally thought using twenty-eight Holy Blood Disciples was an overreaction and somewhat exaggerated. But after just a few rounds of attacks with Holy Blood orbs by their four-person team, less than one-third of the opponents fell. This surprised Zhan Yupeng greatly, making him realize that the enemies before him were not ordinary cultivators.

Especially this Tai Ye speaking before him—although trapped in a predicament, he remained calm and composed, showing no signs of panic or distraction. Just this alone indicated that either he had some backing or his cultivation had reached a level where he remained unperturbed by external pressures. Thinking this, Zhan Yupeng put aside his contempt and examined Tai Ye more carefully. At that moment, Ao Xue and her sister Ning Shuang also ended their defensive stance and stepped forward. Ao Xue spoke up, “Lord Qin has been trying to find me all this time. What do you want from me? With such a good opportunity today, I’m afraid you won’t get many more chances in the future!”

In response to Ao Xue’s threatening words, Tai Ye sneered, “I don’t know who’s targeting whom. From those who followed us last time to the night attack on the hotel yesterday, I’d like to ask what your intentions are.”

Ao Xue understood part of what Tai Ye said, but the rest was a bit confusing. However, this wasn’t the time to argue, as Zhan Yupeng’s blockade had a time limit. So she glanced at him for his advice.

Although Zhan Yupeng found Tai Ye somewhat inscrutable, he decided to act first—delaying could lead to complications. If he could capture Tai Ye alive, all problems would be solved. So, in response to Ao Xue’s look, he nodded, then suddenly launched an attack with the move “Dragon Swimming in All Directions” at Tai Ye. At the same time, Ao Xue and Ning Shuang, in perfect sync, joined forces with Zhan Yupeng to surround Tai Ye.

Tai Ye wasn’t a fool either. Already on high alert, he was prepared for defense the moment Ao Xue and Zhan Yupeng exchanged glances. A chaotic battle ensued instantly, which relieved Chu Tianyu, who was watching from the sidelines. Thankfully, the two sides didn’t probe further; otherwise, they might have discovered his presence as the troublemaker.

Although Aoxue was aware of the existence of Chu Tianyu, she actually didn’t know much about him—only that he possessed extraordinary skills. The incident of tracking Tai Ye last time might have been simply related to his cooperation with his elder brother and Qin Ye, with no other reasons. Deep down, Aoxue would never consider Chu Tianyu in a negative light…

Chu Tianyu had no interest in the conflict between the two sides. From their brief interactions, he hadn’t been able to figure out exactly which factions they belonged to or why they were fighting. Yet from those few words, he could roughly guess. It seemed the Aoxue sisters must have had some reason to trouble Tai Ye’s side first. Initially, they probably, like him, were just scouting secretly, but they were accidentally exposed. After being rescued by him, they thought Tai Ye already knew their secrets. Coupled with Tai Ye’s frantic searches these past few days, especially the scheme he and Xue Ning’er orchestrated to frame them, Tai Ye finally decided to take action after tracking down their whereabouts. The Aoxue sisters weren’t easy to deal with either—they could clearly track Tai Ye’s movements and even bring in the Zhan family to assist them, launching a counterattack on Tai Ye. This made Chu Tianyu even more interested in Aoxue and the forces behind her.

Chu Tianyu’s assessment of the situation grew increasingly complex. It seemed far from as simple as his master had said—just one powerful faction. Given the current circumstances, the ambush on his master’s group last time, the destruction of Zi Yi’s villa, and Zhan Yupeng’s violent retaliation might not have been an attack by that powerful faction targeting the entire Xuanji Sect, but rather just Zhan Yupeng’s personal revenge. As for Tai Ye’s faction, they were simply unlucky—because of their cooperation with his elder brother, Chu Tianyu had regarded them as his main opponents.

At this thought, Chu Tianyu felt as if he had grasped a clue, leading to a new judgment about the situation. If this judgment proved correct, then the power of the Xuanji Sect under his control wouldn’t need to remain hidden anymore. What troubled Chu Tianyu now was the lack of the Xuanji Sect’s strength, which left him without any intelligence, acting alone and constantly busy monitoring different targets, unable to focus on one thing at a time.

Now, if his assumptions were correct, he could take advantage of the conflict between the two factions to reorganize his Xuanji Sect and reap the benefits.

Thinking of this, and seeing the one-sided situation as well as Lord Qin being surrounded in a desperate plight, Chu Tianyu couldn’t help but stand up, rub his wrist, and mutter to himself, “Sigh, it seems another hero will have to save the old man today…”