Chapter 429 – Flickering Shadow Strike, the Assassin in the Darkness
Xiang Chu saw through what Yang Zhao was thinking in a single glance. Although he was rebuking Nan Sheng, he apparently agreed with his point of view; however, he had to give such a response in order to maintain his image.
At this time, someone needed to add fuel to the fire so that outsiders would believe Yang Zhao was being persuaded by his allies’ opinions. This way, in the future, others wouldn’t accuse him of bullying his younger brother.
This was why Xiang Chu dared to continue discussing this subject.
[This Young Lord is a snake too!] Xiang Chu being one himself, he could naturally understand the thoughts of Yang Zhao.
Sure enough, Yang Zhao wore a difficult expression for a time, appearing to hesitate over his decision for a while before slowly nodding, “Good, what brother Xiang says is true. As an Older Brother, I have done my best to convince Ninth Brother, but since Ninth Brother refuses to give me face, then there is nothing left to discuss.”
Looking over at Yang Shen, Yang Zhao smiled and said, “Since Ninth Brother doesn’t want to show up, Sixth Brother can go retrieve his flag.”
Yang Shen who was smiling and preparing to watch the good show, upon hearing Yang Zhao’s words couldn’t help cursing under his breath.
He immediately realized that he had walked into his Second Brother’s trap without the slightest resistance, but it was already too late to regret.
Yang Zhao had reached an agreement with him that he may take Yang Kai’s flag, all those present were witness to this.
Now that Yang Kai didn’t appear though, only the flag could be taken. Naturally, grabbing it would be Yang Shen’s responsibility.
Perceiving Yang Zhao’s intention, the smile on Yang Shen’s face slowly converged and his expression becomes dignified.
Yang Zhao continued to smile though, simply saying, “Feel free to take it, Second Brother promises not to interfere.”
Pledging so in front of so many people had shown enough of Yang Zhao’s sincerity so although Yang Shen still frowned for a moment, he eventually nodded, “Good, many thanks Second Brother.”
Turning his gaze back to the cultivators he had brought, Yang Zhen pointed signaled to an Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth Stage master and said, “You, go retrieve the flag.”
This person was a helper sent by Yang Shen’s mother’s family which was also a first-class force. His strength was neither weak nor strong, so seeing Yang Shen pick him, he suddenly wore a bitter expression, unconsciously glancing towards the towering Qu Gao Yi in front of the mansion.
The mere presence of a Blood Warrior was enough of a deterrent!
“What are you afraid of?” Yang Shen snorted, “The two Blood Warriors serving Ninth Brother are both heavily injured, unable to display even thirty percent of their full strength. On top of that, they are also restricted by the Yang Family’s rules and are unable to take the initiative to attack, as long as you don’t provoke him, he won’t attack you.”
“So they won’t care even if I take the flag?” The Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth Stage master’s suddenly face lit up. If this was the case, then there was nothing for him to worry about.
“Obviously that’s impossible,” Yang Zhao shook his head and interjected, “They are only responsible for passively counterattacking, but if you go to grab the flag, they will naturally try to block you; however, as long as you’re fast enough, you can capture the flag and escape. In their current condition, they won’t be able to stop you.”
“What are you waiting for?” Yang Shen shouted impatiently.
The Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth Stage master felt helpless, but still walked out from the crowd, gazing vigilantly towards Qu Gao Yi while simultaneously releasing his Divine Sense to the limit, trying to find where Ying Jiu was hiding.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t discover any trace of Ying Jiu, this Blood Warrior renowned for his stealth was as good as invisible.
Huo Xing Chen continued waving his fan while Qiu Yi Meng’s pretty face also wore the same light smile she had from the beginning, her pair of beautiful eyes casually glancing at the person coming towards them, a clear gloating light apparent in her gaze.
Being stared at by her, this man couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous.
Slowly advancing, this person condensed his strength to the limit, guarding himself as best he could as he bypassed Huo Xing Chen and Qiu Yi Meng, finally arriving before Qu Gao Yi, his forehead dripping with cold sweat.
“Hmph!” Qu Gao Yi suddenly snorted, greatly frightening the man, almost causing him strike back unconsciously.
If he had really attacked though, Qu Gao Yi could have fought back on the spot.
“Ha ha ha ha!” Huo Xing Chen saw this scene and couldn’t help laughing raucously, Qiu Yi Meng also let out a light giggle.
This person acting so shamefully had definitely affected Yang Shen’s prestige.
Now a bright shade of red, the man’s face couldn’t be more embarrassed, clenching his fists before charging forward recklessly into the hall, seemingly wanting to dispel his previous cowardly display.
Smoothly entering the empty hall, he unexpectedly didn’t encounter any obstacles.
After disappearing into the hall for only a moment, the man rushed out once again, a big smile on his face, the flag in hand.
“Sixth Young Lord, I…”
But before he could finish what he was saying, there was a faint ripple in the shadows and then… silence.
The man who was holding the flag still stood at the door, half of his body already outside, but forever unable to take that last step.
The faces of Yang Zhao and Yang Shen suddenly changed, and all the cultivators behind them also paled.
“He’s dead!” The Blood Warrior beside Yang Zhao quickly said, his eyes focusing on the doorway, “It’s Ying Jiu’s Flickering Shadow Strike!”
“Fast!” Yang Zhao muttered involuntarily, quietly whispering, “Did you see where Ying Jiu was hiding just now?”
“No,” the Blood Warrior slowly shook his head, “Ying Jiu specializes in concealment and assassination, no one in the Blood Warrior Hall can surpass him. It’s extremely difficult for even the Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master to seek out his location, there’s almost no point in my trying to look for him.”
After a short pause, this Blood Warrior shook his head and said, “What’s curious is that Ying Jiu shouldn’t have recovered from his injuries; so how could he execute his technique?”
“Could he have managed to recover from his wounds?” Yang Shen asked gruffly, suddenly seeing one of his allies die had put him in a bad mood.
“Impossible,” Yang Shen’s Blood Warrior interjected, also shaking his head, “Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu both sustained serious injuries, and when we saw them earlier today, their Blood Force and True Qi were both unsteady. It’s not possible for them to restore themselves after less than one day.”
“Mad Tyrant Blood Skill!” Yang Zhao confidently inferred.
The two Blood Warriors who spoke before silently nodded, a trace of grief on their faces.
Ying Jiu activating his Mad Tyrant Blood Skill in his condition was no different from burning through the rest of his life force. After tonight, there would be no more Ying Jiu in this world.
The Blood Warriors were both saddened; although they wouldn’t show anything on their faces, but each of them was as close to each other as blood brothers, any of them would gladly give their own life if it meant saving their fellow Blood Warriors.
“How long can he sustain his Mad Tyrant Blood Skill?” Yang Zhao asked.
Even though he was not willing to answer, the Blood Warrior beside him still resolutely responded, “About half an hour, after that his vitality will be overdrawn.”
“Then we wait! After half and hour we’ll try again!” Yang Zhao declared firmly.
Immediately after these words, the front entrance of Yang Kai’s compound entered a slightly tense yet tranquil reprieve, only Huo Xing Chen was able to relax as he sat back in his chair, drinking and having fun while humming an unknown tune, his dandy appearance drawing looks of anger from all around.
As time slowly passed, the long silence was difficult to endure.
After half an hour, Yang Zhao nodded, “It’s time.”
Yang Shen’s eyes flashed a decisive light as he ordered, “Brother Qiu, this time, let two of your Qiu Family masters go, I don’t believe that I can’t win Brother Kai’s flag this time!”
Qiu Zi Ruo heard this and smiled, “Good, we’ll follow Sixth Young Lord’s plan.”
Saying so, Qiu Zi Ruo nodded towards two Immortal Ascension Fifth Stages masters from the Qiu Family, the two men stepping forward a moment later.
As they were about to enter the yard though, Qiu Yi Meng suddenly said, “Little Brother, if I were you, I wouldn’t treat the lives of both of them so lightly, your decision is far too reckless.”
Qiu Zi Ruo frowned for a moment before sneering, “Elder Sister, don’t try to deceive me. Yang Kai is destined to be eliminated tonight. You have always been excellent at reading people, but this time you’ve really made a mistake. With so many of us here compared to so few of you, what hope do you have of resisting?”
“Stubborn fool!” Qiu Yi Meng shook her head in disappointment, no longer trying to convince her younger brother.
Yang Shen waited for the sibling’s to finish their conversation before waving his arm, “All of you go up, half of you entangle Qu Gao Yi, the other half seize that flag for me!”
*Shua Shua Shua* With a fluttering sound, more than a dozen people flew down from the sky, half of them Immortal Ascension Boundary masters, the strongest of which had reached the Eighth Stage, while the rest were not weak.
Among this dozen or so people, the Eighth Stage master along with five other strong Immortal Ascension cultivators moved to encircle Qu Gao Yi.
None of them attacked though, instead simply surrounding him.
Even though they knew that this man had suffered a heavy blow, these first-class force cultivators still didn’t dare take the initiative to attack a Blood Warrior.
Qu Gao Yi on the other hand stood tall like the ancient mountain, unmoved by wind and storm, just glancing around at these people indifferently.
Everyone else rushed towards the mansion’s entrance, each of them racing towards the fresh corpse who still held Yang Kai’s flag.
Clear excitement could be seen on these people’s faces, as if they had already seized victory.
Ying Jiu shouldn’t be able to attack any longer, which meant that whoever got to the flag first would be the one to obtain it. This in itself was a great achievement for Yang Shen, so how could there not be some kind of reward?
Eight cultivators all ran frantically, each of them reaching out for the flag.
But at that moment.
The faint ripple which had appeared earlier resurfaced from the shadows and a thin figure suddenly flickered before them. This man held two daggers in his hands and almost seemed to be one with the darkness. Instantly, the excitement on the faces of these eight people transformed into horror.
This thin figure blurred once again, splitting into a dozen phantoms, each one still exuding a cold dark pressure akin to a sharp drawn blade.
Flickering Shadow Strike!
A short burst of exclamations, screams, and blood splashed out.
These eight cultivators who were completely focused on trying to snatch the flag were utterly unable to withstand the silent assassination of this Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage Blood Warrior. In the twinkling of an eye, three people had already collapsed to the ground.
The remaining five cultivators responded instantly, halting their advance and retreating as swiftly as possible, but none of them could avoid being injured in the process.
A moment later, the scene fell silence again as the dust settled.
Ying Jiu stood there alone, holding his pair of daggers, just like a ghost in the darkness. Drifting back towards the mansion’s entrance, he reached out and plucked the flag from the battle’s first casualty before tossing it back into the hall.
After accomplishing all this with ease, his figure slowly blurred once more, disappearing into thin air, leaving no trace behind that he was ever there other than a few scattered corpses.
“He hasn’t used his Mad Tyrant Blood Skill!” Yang Zhao muttered under his breath.
The characteristics of a Blood Warrior after using their Mad Tyrant Blood Skill were obvious, but Ying Jiu showed no such signs at all.
“Second Brother!” Yang Shen roared. He had mistakenly believed Yang Zhao, which had in turn led to the injury and deaths of several of his allies. Obviously he would be angry.
Yang Zhao glanced at him coldly and frowned. “It was Second Brother’s mistake in judgement.”
“Then my losses…” Yang Shen started but hesitated, understanding that it was unrealistic to expect Yang Zhao to compensate him for his losses. He was only able to blame himself for not acting prudently enough.