Translator: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The bases of the Nine Star Clan and the Mystic Sect were located next to each other. Seeing as they belonged to different factions, it was only natural that friction would exist between them. It could be said that they fought so ferociously over the years that nobody could think straight anymore. The blood feud between them was so deep that it could never be resolved.
The Nine Star Clan was an Eighth Tier Sect. Although it was one whole Tier higher than Mystic Sect, the Mystic Sect held an advantage within the Spirit Creek Battlefield. That was why, the Eighth Tier Nine Star Clan had suffered greatly in the hands of the Ninth Tier Mystic Sect over the years.
In particular, this man called Wang Yang was one of the most extreme types of people in the combat cultivation faction. His combat power was unquestionable. In the entire Nine Star Clan, only Dong Shu Ye, who had remained behind to guard the base, could fight against him.
Even Cao Ye had to admit that he was not this person’s opponent.
Behind Wang Yang was a young girl with her hair in twin buns. She had a delicate figure. Her appearance was pure and lovely. She walked one step behind Wang Yang, which made her seem as though she was his maid.
The truth was that this was indeed the case. Wang Yang came from a large and prominent family and that young girl was a servant who grew up with him. When he joined Mystic Sect, he had brought his maid along. Unexpectedly, both of them turned out to have extraordinary talent and aptitude for cultivation. At the moment, they were both disciples of Mystic Sect. Although they were Brother and Sister in name, they actually had a Master-Servant relationship between them.
The Master and Servant walked to the edge of the battlefield as though they did not see Cao Ye and the others standing there. Wang Yang looked around, raised his eyebrows, and asked in surprise, “Who killed your Young Master?”
[I was wondering why the Nine Star Clan was in such an uproar tonight. It turns out that something big has happened to them.] He only came here to check out the situation after receiving the news. Otherwise, a Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like him would not be allowed to leave the Sect’s base at will.
Cao Ye stared at Wang Yang intently, not letting any expression on the latter’s face go unnoticed. However, he did not see anything unusual.
“I’ve always told Dong Shu Ye to keep a tight leash on that piece of trash, but he refused to listen. Now, look what happened? He was murdered!” Wang Yang had a gloating expression on his face that indicated he was enjoying this tragedy. He turned to look at Cao Ye. “Do you know who did this?”
Cao Ye did not wish to answer but had no other choice but to answer. “A young man accompanied by a white tiger.”
Wang Yang rubbed his chin. “I’ve never heard of this person before. Is he a rogue cultivator? Or, a disciple from one of the major Sects who came out for training?” After mulling over it for a bit, he shook his head. “Whatever. It’s none of my business anyway.” 𝑜𝑣.𝘯𝑡
“Run!” Cao Ye shouted abruptly. At the same time, the ground beneath his feet shattered and his figure rushed off into the distance.
“Haha…” Wang Yang chuckled. The longsword in his hand slid out of its sheath and a whip-like Sword Light slashed straight at Cao Ye.
At the same time, Spiritual Power surged around the young girl who was following behind him. Despite her harmless appearance, she raised her hand and pointed a slender jade-like finger at the three other Nine Star Clan disciples with a completed Spell Technique at her fingertips.
A short while later, Wang Yang returned from chasing Cao Ye. His expression was as calm and indifferent as ever.
“Young Master, one got away.” Xiao Zhu, his maid, walked over to report the results of her battle to him. In front of him, she was an obedient and lovely maid. However, she was a power cultivator in the Sixth-Order Spirit Creek Realm to those Nine Star Clan disciples.
On average, those three Nine Star Clan disciples were in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm or the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. How could they be a match for her? It was just that they had been quite smart. They chose to split up in different directions when they escaped. Therefore, she only managed to kill two. The last one among them was already nowhere to be seen by the time she started chasing that one down.
“Oh, well… Let them go.” Wang Yang responded nonchalantly. Cao Ye had also managed to escape. Thus, he couldn’t help sighing in amazement. [Body tempering cultivators really do have a high endurance for beatings.]
“Also, call me Senior Brother!” He raised a hand and tapped his fist against her head.
She immediately clutched at her head with both hands and pouted.
“How many people can we send out?” He asked another question.
“Less than 300,” she replied. “But, if we include the rogue cultivators, then we have around 500 or so.”
“What about those in the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm?”
“Only 6.”
“Tsk…” He curled his lips in annoyance. “A bunch of useless dogs! They’ve all gone out to reap the benefits and left me to guard the empty Sect all alone. It’s too much!”
Needless to say, Mystic Sect had more than 300 disciples in the Spirit Creek Realm. Unfortunately, it was impossible for these people to stay in the vicinity. Doing that would not benefit anybody. Hence, the cultivators would spread out to explore and travel around. That was all the more so for cultivators in the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm and above. They rarely remained in the Outer Circle simply because the benefits in the Outer Circle were far too few. That was why most of them would generally choose to enter the places closer to the Inner Circles once they advance into the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm or above.
Accordingly, the low-level cultivation disciples of the Middle and Large Sects would also come to Mystic Sect’s territory to train. Nevertheless, they had to accept being mobilised to a certain degree while receiving Mystic Sect’s protection in this place.
It wasn’t just the case for Mystic Sect. All the Sects in the Outer Circle operated in the same manner. Sects of various sizes had close relationships with each other in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Similarly, their disciples would interact with each other frequently.
Unfortunately, it was also precisely because of this reason that Mystic Sect only had six Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters that could be deployed… Of these six, two had only just advanced into the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm recently. As such, they had not had time to leave yet. On the other hand, the remaining four were in their forties or older. There was not much room for improvement in terms of their cultivation.
There was a wide age range among those in the Spirit Creek Realm. Some, like Lu Ye, had only just started practising for some time. Then, there were also those old-timers who had been cultivating for decades. There were no exceptions; the people in the second group lacked both talent and aptitude for cultivation. Hence, their cultivation was the result of grinding for a lifetime.
“Young Master, are you thinking…” Xiao Zhu glanced at Wang Yang.
Wang Yang grinned. “Send out a message. The hunt has started! Ask all the little guys to get their blood pumping! Also, pay extra attention to a young man with a white tiger. If there’s any news about him, report it to me immediately!”
“Okay!”
…
Inside the base of the Nine Star Clan, Dong Shu Ye frowned as he studied Cao Ye, who was covered in wounds. “What happened to you?”
The corners of Cao Ye’s mouth twitched slightly. “I ran into that lunatic, Wang Yang!”
Upon hearing the name Wang Yang, Dong Shu Ye could not stop his facial muscles from spasming slightly. He fell silent for a moment before he asked, “In other words, news of this has spread?”
Cao Ye sighed. “We caused such a huge commotion. There was no way we could have concealed this matter.”
“Do you think Mystic Sect has anything to do with the Young Master’s death?”
He thought back to Wang Yang’s expression at the time and shook his head. “I don’t think so. Wang Yang only came to investigate the situation after receiving word about the commotion we were making. Also, he seemed surprised to see the Young Master’s corpse. More importantly, with his arrogance, he would not have denied having a hand in the Young Master’s death if Mystic Sect had been involved. Rather, he would have been boasting about it.”
Dong Shu Ye nodded slightly. “That’s true.”
The blood feud between these two Sects could not be resolved. If the other party had truly taken the Yang Master’s life, it was impossible for them to keep quiet about it.
“I’ve already sent a message to seal off the surrounding 50 kilometres. The cultivation of the Young Master’s killer is not that high, so he should not be able to leave this place so quickly. As long as his whereabouts are exposed, he will not be able to escape easily.”
“I just fear that Mystic Sect will get in the way.” He scowled.
“It’s a given that Mystic Sect will make a move. But, we still need to give the Elders of the Sect an explanation for the Young Master’s death. Otherwise, both you and I will be in deep trouble.”
He sighed. “I am unable to leave my post in the base, so I will leave the external affairs to you.”
“Senior Brother, please rest assured.” Cao Ye nodded. Although he had been injured by Wang Yang, his injuries were nothing more than flesh wounds. With the toughness of his body, he would more or less recover completely after a night’s rest.
“By the way, the Young Master’s corpse…” Dong Shu Ye recalled another relevant matter.
Cao Ye bit the bullet and said, “I will go and bring the Young Master’s corpse back tomorrow.”
He desperately prayed in his heart. [Wang Yang, that bastard, had better not have taken the Young Master’s corpse away. But, based on that guy’s temperament, he probably will not do something so tasteless.]