Chapter 425 – First Battle
The crowd bustled, and all of them wore looks of anticipation as they, along with Yang Kang, flew towards the northeast.
Although the size of War City couldn’t match that of the Central Capital, it was still comparable to other large cities. If it weren’t, the Yang Family wouldn’t have used this place to hold the Inheritance War.
If there was no massive space to allow a full range of battlefields, the Inheritance War couldn’t fully test the Young Lords’ abilities.
Yang Kang and the group of spectators flew unhurriedly, looking quite relaxed, many of them even leisurely chatting and laughing amongst themselves.
It took about half an hour to arrive at the northeast corner of War City.
Before the base of his Third Brother Yang Tie, Yang Kang and others calmly landed and the group of onlookers quickly scurried about to find a favorable position to watch the fun from, many of them sitting down or settling in after staking claim to a spot.
Yang Kai and the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards also landed in a position not too far away, waiting for the opening curtain to rise.
“Third Brother, Fifth Brother has come!” Yang Kang stood outside the mansion and shouted with a smile.
“Since you’ve arrived, come on in!” Yang Tie’s voice called out from inside.
Yang Kang’s grin deepened as he didn’t hesitate to lead his troops past the main gate. Yang Tie’s voice wasn’t weak, but anyone who heard it could tell there was much hidden bitterness and despair in his tone.
During all his years gaining experience outside, he hadn’t been able to secure any decent merits for the Yang Family, so he was unable to acquire the services of a Blood Warrior. The lack of such a powerful guard around him had also discouraged other forces from siding with him, so all he could rely on was the help of his mother’s family.
Qiu Yi Meng’s judgment was roughly correct, the Third Young Lord Yang Tie was destined to be the first brother eliminated.
Inside the courtyard, Yang Tie stood as straight as a sword, standing behind him were two strong Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage masters and some other cultivators who didn’t appear weak, all of them were from Yang Tie’s mother’s Duan Mu Family.
The Duan Mu Family was the only support Yang Tie had in the Inheritance War.
Whether Yang Tie could pass this night safely or not was entirely dependent on the power of the Duan Mu Family.
In contrast, Yang Kang was flanked by a powerful Blood Warrior who was proficient in Soul Skills and members of the Gao Family, one of the Eight Great Families. Gao Rang Feng had brought two Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage masters with him tonight.
These two were Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage masters of the Eight Great Families so they couldn’t be treated as ordinary cultivators, their true strength was enough for them to beat ordinary Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage masters in the outside world.
Other that these elites, there were also five or six Immortal Ascension Boundary masters as well as dozens of True Element Boundary cultivators, which side was stronger was obvious to all.
Yang Kang only needed to send out half of the people he brought to easily suppress Yang Tie, at which point it would be easy for him to capture Yang Tie himself, or to capture his flag. Whether it was the person or the flag, either of them could be exchanged for a great deal of material from the family.
Yang Tie stared at Yang Kang as the latter strode forward calmly with an indifferent expression.
When Yang Kang stopped a dozen meters away, the two looked at each other for a while before Yang Kang grinned and said, “Third Brother, everyone here is family, why not listen to my suggestion so we can resolve this peacefully, how about it?”
He obviously wanted to let Yang Tie take the initiative to surrender, but seeing how he had the absolute advantage, he was naturally qualified to say this.
However, Yang Tie simply shook his head slowly and firmly, “I am also a member of the Yang Family, I will only be defeated, I will never surrender. Even if you are my brother, this truth will not change!”
“Good, I knew you would say that,” Yang Kang nodded gently as the smile on his face slowly converged, “If it was me in your place, I would also do the same. Since that’s the case, then don’t blame your fifth brother for not showing mercy.”
“Do as you will!” Yang Tie’s look suddenly became cold.
Behind him, the cultivators of the Duan Mu Family also pushed their True Qi, raising their guard as they prepared for battle.
At that moment though, Tang Yu Xian, who had not left Yang Kang side the whole time, suddenly wrinkled her brow and whispered something.
Yang Kang’s brow furrowed as he glanced back and sighed, “Seventh Brother, since you’ve already come, why lurk in the shadows instead of showing yourself?”
A burst of laughter rang out and immediately a group of people appeared in the night sky, slowly falling into the courtyard as they stood abreast Yang Kang’s group.
It was the Yang Family’s Seventh Young Lord Yang Ying and his allies.
Yang Kang had the Gao Family’s Gao Rang Feng as an ally while Yang Ying has the Kang Family’s Kang Zhan as an ally, and both of them had one Blood Warrior guarding them at the moment. The strength of both sides was basically equal.
The crowds watching the excitement suddenly cheered up; three of the Yang Family’s Young Lords had now gathered here so it was clear that tonight’s show would be nothing less than dazzling, now all that was uncertain was whether Yang Kang and Yang Ying would eat the piece of fat that was Yang Tie.
“Third Brother, Fifth Brother, Little Seventh has been impolite,” Yang Ying landed, first smiled and said hello, a look of enthusiasm upon his face.
“Seventh Brother, you’re too much. If it wasn’t for Yu Xian, Old Fifth is afraid he wouldn’t have noticed the oriole stalking him from behind,” Yang Kang smiled and shook his head.
“Don’t say this Fifth Brother. In the Inheritance War, one should do everything they can to achieve victory, Little Seventh just quietly concealed himself for a moment, but I’m worried there might still be more of our brothers in this crowd.”
As he said so, both Yang Ying and Yang Kang swept their eyes around the crowd.
Yang Kai wrapped his hat around his head a little tighter, making sure his was covered, doing his best to hold back a grin while the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards also felt like their skin was being pricked.
“No one else should have come,” Yang Kang shook his head slowly, “Big Brother won’t move, as the Eldest Brother, this is his way of showing courtesy to us little brothers, whatever trouble is stirred up, he won’t mix himself into it, all his forces will only stick to defence tonight.”
As for their Eight Brother Yang Quan, although he had a Blood Warrior supporting him, his mother’s family was only a second-class force, so it couldn’t provide him with much help, couple with the fact that he didn’t attract many followers during the day, he naturally wouldn’t dare take the initiative to attack others.
That said, with even just one Blood Warrior supporting him, his mansion wouldn’t be easy to take down, so no one would have ideas about him this first night.
“As for Second Brother and Sixth Brother, they should be at tonight’s other easy target, so right now, only us three brothers should appear here.”
Hearing this last comment, Yang Kai’s brow twitched, a devious smile creeping onto his face.
Second Brother Yang Zhao and Sixth Brother Yang Shen going to another easy-to-attack place tonight. Obviously, they were talking about his own mansion.
He was only a bit curious about what was going on there.
As Yang Kang spoke, Yang Ying laughed and replied, “Fifth Brother is quite well-informed, Little Seventh admires.”
To this little bit of sarcasm, Yang Kang just shook his head and said, “Enough about this, let’s first discuss how we’re going to deal with Third Brother here.”
“Ho… what does Fifth Brother mean?”
“The person and the flag, each of us takes one, what do you think?” Yang Kang smiled and asked, obviously not putting his Third Brother Yang Tie in the eyes, seemingly seeing him as nothing more than a dish to be cared up with Yang Ying.
Yang Tie’s face cramped and the cultivators from the Duan Mu Family also showed angry expressions.
Yang Ying smiled and shook his head, calmly replying, “Fifth Brother, don’t blame Little Seventh, my appetite is quite big, I want Third Brother, as for his flag, I want that too!”
Yang Kang was stunned for a moment before suddenly sneering, “Seventh Brother’s appetite is truly big, but you’ll have to have the ability to eat this meal from the tiger’s mouth!”
Yang Ying’s smile also slowly converged, his expression becoming cold.
The two brothers glared at each other and the surroundings became silent, the air seemingly stagnating.
A storm gathered, threatening everything in its path.
*Xiu Xiu Xiu!*
More than ten not weak burst of Spiritual Energy suddenly burst forth. Almost as if they had coordinating with each other, the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters brought by Yang Kang and Yang Ying all simultaneously unleashed their Soul Skills.
As these invisible forces collided, some people screamed and stumbled backwards a few steps while others took the chance to step forward, launching another fierce wave of attacks.
Dazzling flashes of light erupted as a variety of Martial Skills and artifacts surged into action, blinding both the combatants and their audience.
Tang Yu Xian quickly brought Yang Kang out of the ensuing whirlpool of battle while another Yang Family Blood Warrior responsible for Yang Ying’s safety did the same.
The two Yang Family direct descendants continued glaring at each other across the several hundred meter gap between them, flashes of cold light seemingly colliding mid air.
As key figures in the Inheritance War, neither Yang Kang nor Yang Ying would personally go to battle unless they had no other choice. When they came out from their compounds, taking the bigger picture into consideration, their first priority would always be their own safety as their strength wasn’t high.
The Blood Warriors who were responsible for guarding them were forbidden from initiating any offensive actions under the rules of the Yang Family.
Their only responsibility was to counterattack, so if no one attacked them or their Young Lord, even if the situation was in crisis, they had to stand by.
The strengths of the cultivators brought by Yang Kang and Yang Ying were roughly the same, so when they engaged, the situation quickly developed into a stalemate.
As the host to this show, Yang Tie and the cultivators from the Duan Mu Family had actually degenerated into part of the audience as no one came towards them at this moment.
After staring at this scene for a while, Yang Tie coldly snorted, “If you really think that your Third Brother hasn’t made any preparations, you’re in for a surprise, ready the arrows!”
*Shua Shua Shua*, on top of the walls surrounding the front yard, a number of figures appeared, each of them holding a sleek longbow in their hands.
Each of these bows was identical, their craftsmanship exquisite, at first glance they were obviously artifacts of not low grade.
The cultivators who held these bows had at least reached the True Element Boundary Eighth Stage, one or two of them had even arrived at the Immortal Ascension Boundary.
Pushing their True Qi madly, each of these cultivators lifted their respective bow and in just a few moments, each of them turned pale, seemingly having exhausted all their strength.
When these arrows were drawn, everyone who had been targeted immediately felt danger, their expressions changing greatly.
The violent energy each of these arrows contained could even be felt by the spectating crowd who were all quite some distance away from the battle. As for Yang Kang and Yang Ying’s allies, their foreheads began to leak cold sweat as a chill ran up their spines, it was as if a fearsome group of beasts had suddenly appeared around them and were staring at them covetously.
*Shua…*
*Shua Shua…*
Seven twangs rang out as these cultivators released their bowstrings and sent their sharp arrows flying. Like falling stars, these arrows glowed a brilliant white light as they swiftly descended upon the entangled cultivators below.
As the arrows fell, they instantly formed an inescapable net, engulfing Yang Kang and Yang Ying’s allies.
With a resounding bang, the earth shook and the sky cracked, broken limbs and clouds of blood flew in all directions.
Everyone’s eardrums were shaken, causing all who were nearby to lose their hearing temporarily.
Yang Kang and Yang Ying both stared in shock at the explosion of energy before them.
Tang Yu Xian and another Blood Warrior quickly pushed their True Qi in response, guarding Yang Kang and Yang Ying from the complementary waves.
Silavin: Yo, for all those wondering when I will set a new goal for the Patreon, out aim is to announce it by the end of this month (but it could take a little later).
As for those that are not aware, we post a chapter for each day right now (the new goal, once set on Patreon, will help increase this).