Chapter 77: Is Sect Leader Zhao Going to Help Him?
[Warning! Warning! External force invasion detected! Defensive mechanism has been automatically deployed from the host’s account!]
The cold, mechanical voice, accompanied by an ear-piercing alarm, was incredibly jarring. Feng Shi held his sword in one hand and pressed the other against his ear.
Before he even had the time to figure out what this so-called external force was, a sharp clang echoed from behind him.
It was the sound of dark iron clashing.
Qingqing’s voice replaced the cold mechanical one, crying out:
[Host! Someone is launching a sneak attack!]
Sweat beaded on Feng Shi’s forehead, and anger flared in his heart: “Who the fuck is it!?”
[The Sect Leader of Qingyun Sect, He Dong!]
Feng Shi knitted his brows tightly, genuinely enraged now. Gathering all his strength, he kicked Yan Ze, who was right in front of him, squarely away and cursed, “Fuck! The people from Qingyun Sect are all treacherous bastards!”
Yan Ze let out a muffled groan, sliding backward for several meters. He half-knelt on the ground, clutching his lower abdomen. The black cloth masking his face also fell off during the struggle, revealing the deathly pale face underneath.
Holding Wu Cheng in a reverse grip, Feng Shi grasped the sword hilt tightly with both hands and stabbed it fiercely into the ground. In an instant, the sword’s radiance exploded. A white sword aura, dozens of feet high and sharp as a blade, sliced a meandering fissure straight into the ground, speeding directly toward Yan Ze.
Yan Ze’s pupils contracted sharply. He narrowly dodged the attack with a roll, though the hem of his clothes was shredded.
The sword light struck the arena’s barrier. The pale yellow shield instantly split open with a crack, and dust billowed across the stage, obscuring everyone’s vision.
The spectators outside the arena instantly fell silent. Holding their breath, they watched the sudden, overwhelmingly one-sided turn of events on stage, their hearts pounding.
Seeing Feng Shi getting serious, Qingqing immediately added fuel to the fire:
[Rest assured, Host! The Linked-Heart Puppet has already blocked the fatal blow for you just now.]
Changing the subject, the system continued:
[However, summoning the puppet this time cost you 200 mid-grade spirit stones. You are now in debt.]
Hearing this, Feng Shi’s brow twitched violently.
What the hell!
His 200 mid-grade spirit stones were gone before he even had the chance to hold them and warm them up!
Thinking of this, Feng Shi turned his head and glared fiercely at the figure on the high platform.
Upon the high platform, He Dong was dressed in a stiff, cloud-patterned cyan robe, a smooth white jade clasp holding up his hair. His hair and beard were trimmed meticulously.
He dressed like a proper, respectable figure and carried the air of an immortal Daoist, yet who would have thought he would actually use underhanded tricks behind the scenes to kill someone!
[Host! Your win rate has reached 70%! Keep it up, keep it up!]
Qingqing exclaimed excitedly, watching the rapidly climbing data on the report.
Feng Shi wasn’t even thinking about win rates anymore. Only one thought remained in his mind: kill He Dong!
Meanwhile, having failed his strike and meeting Feng Shi’s gaze, He Dong’s heart sank heavily.
He was discovered!
He Dong found it hard to believe.
With his strength at the Soul Formation Realm, absolutely no one present should have been able to detect his attack. How did Feng Shi, a brat who had only just formed his Golden Core, manage to discover it?!
He Dong clenched his jaw tightly. Recalling that cold glare from Feng Shi just now, the more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became, feeling as though he had plunged into an icy abyss.
Unable to see the situation on the stage clearly, the people from the Chongshan Sect all stood up nervously.
Even Qiu Changzhou hadn’t seen clearly what had just transpired.
A moment later, Feng Shi dispersed the thick smoke on the stage with a single swing of his sword.
The youth in white stood with his dark hair tied up high, his slender waist tightly bound by a four-finger-wide light cyan sash. The heavy black sword was pointed diagonally at his side, spiritual energy flowing around it as he brewed a new attack.
And behind him, an unknown jade-faced child clad in yellow robes appeared, hovering half-suspended in the air.
The child held an iron umbrella. The handle of the umbrella was carved with a lifelike flying dragon, and the sharp edges of the canopy glinted with a cold light. Although it was a beginner-level defensive artifact, it inexplicably radiated a terrifying pressure.
The crowd suddenly erupted into heated discussions.
“What’s going on? When did that yellow-robed child appear?” “The… the aura exuding from him… is actually unfathomable!”
Feng Shi let out a breath of stale air, swallowing down the metallic taste in his throat. He stepped forward, closing in on Yan Ze, who had just steadied himself, and swung his sword in a continuous barrage of attacks.
The sword in Yan Ze’s hand was already broken; he was currently relying on spiritual energy to manifest the rest of the blade.
The two swords clashed, generating violent ripples of spiritual energy.
Their gazes locked. Feng Shi’s expression was freezing cold. Looking at Yan Ze, who had his teeth clenched and blood seeping from his ears, he said, “It’s not too late to stop now. Don’t destroy your own foundation!”
Hearing this, Yan Ze’s expression wavered slightly. A trace of agony flashed through his normally emotionless eyes. His pale lips parted, spitting out a single sentence: “Kill me… otherwise, I will definitely kill you…”
Feng Shi frowned.
Yan Ze had always given him a very bizarre feeling, like an existence that walked the line between good and evil. Now, that sense of bizarreness was even stronger.
However, before Feng Shi could reply, Yan Ze’s eyes suddenly widened, and his body stiffened.
In the next second, the spiritual energy surrounding the young man instantly dissipated, and the manifested sword blade vanished along with it.
Caught off guard, Feng Shi hurriedly tried to pull back his strength, but Wu Cheng still unstoppably plunged into Yan Ze’s shoulder.
This sudden change caused the spectating crowd to gasp in shock.
When Feng Shi withdrew his sword, he saw that Yan Ze was bleeding from all his facial orifices. He collapsed sideways onto the ground, devoid of life.
Looking closer, he was actually already dead!
[Fuck! This He Dong is too ruthless! He actually killed his own man!]
Even Qingqing couldn’t help but curse.
Feng Shi’s eyes widened. Only then did he notice the barely visible needle puncture between Yan Ze’s brows.
[Damn it! He’s trying to frame you, Host!]
Qingqing cursed while hurriedly extracting the system surveillance footage and transferring it into a recording stone.
It absolutely would not allow its host to be framed by anyone!
The flowers that had been scattered for Feng Shi were strewn across the arena, now trampled into muddy ruin. Yan Ze lay amongst them, his eyes still open.
Feng Shi recovered his wits and took a deep breath. He stepped forward, half-crouching to close the other’s eyes.
Where no one could see, a wisp of black demonic aura drilled out from Yan Ze’s corpse, crawling along the ground and hiding in the shadows.
Seeing this, He Dong curled his lips in satisfaction and let out a cold snort.
A moment later, pointing at Feng Shi, he quickly put on a furious expression and shouted loudly, “Everyone! This boy first killed the son of my sect’s elder, and now he has murdered an elite disciple of my sect! It is truly an unforgivable crime. This old man will take his life today! I trouble everyone to bear witness, so that later, no one can say my Qingyun Sect uses its power to bully others!”
After saying this, he flew down from the platform and shattered the barrier with a single palm strike.
On the other side, Shen Songhe and Qiu Changzhou’s expressions changed drastically. They charged toward the arena at almost the exact same time.
Sensing that a massive battle was about to break out, the surrounding crowd consciously distanced themselves from the scene.
And Feng Shi, who was currently at the center of the storm, closed his eyes, stood up unhurriedly, and placed Wu Cheng behind his back.
Behind him, the Linked-Heart Puppet, which had remained silent, sensed its master’s intense killing intent and abruptly opened its eyes.
The yellow-robed child soared into the air, the iron umbrella in his hands spinning rapidly.
In the next instant, the pressure of the Soul Formation Realm blanketed the entire arena like a thousand-pound cauldron. All the disciples suspended in the air plummeted to the ground, firmly pinned down by the weight.
Even Shen Songhe and Qiu Changzhou were forced to half-kneel on the ground.
A dead silence fell over the arena.
Fueled by 200 mid-grade spirit stones, the puppet unleashed 100% of its power, rivaling that of an absolute peak Soul Formation Realm expert.
Feng Shi turned his head and met the gaze of He Dong, who had been halted by the puppet.
His thin lips parted slightly, lightly spitting out a single command: “Kill him for me.”
The puppet attacked on command.
He Dong looked at Feng Shi in terror, entirely unable to comprehend how a mere Golden Core cultivator could drive a dignified peak Soul Formation expert to do his bidding!
However, he was given no chance to speak.
Although they were both in the Soul Formation Realm, He Dong had only just entered it. Compared to a peak Soul Formation expert, he didn’t have a sliver of a chance.
In just a few breaths, He Dong was already in a wretched state, kneeling on the ground coughing up blood. The arena was in a complete mess.
Feng Shi smiled faintly, while He Dong sweated profusely.
On the platform, Elder Qi, who had originally wanted to step in and help, was so frightened his legs went soft.
The surrounding people broke out in cold sweats. On the system panel, the fear value shot straight up, spamming the entire screen.
One more strike, and He Dong would surely die.
However, right at this moment, an abrupt clapping sound echoed from the void.
Hearing the sound, Feng Shi looked up, only to see a blood-red silhouette appearing in mid-air out of nowhere.
This person walked through the air barefoot. Their skin was pale, their figure gaunt, and they coughed after every three steps.
It was actually the Sect Leader of the Hehuan Sect, Zhao Xianyun.
Feng Shi frowned. Glancing at He Dong on the ground, he commanded the puppet, intending to deliver the fatal blow.
But upon seeing Zhao Xianyun, He Dong acted as though he had seen his savior and screamed, “Sect Leader Zhao, save me! This boy kills without blinking an eye; I fear he has already succumbed to demonic possession! I beg Sect Leader Zhao to save my Qingyun Sect!”
Hearing this, Zhao Xianyun raised an eyebrow. He actually made a move, helping him block Feng Shi’s puppet.
Seeing this, Feng Shi’s eyes turned cold: “Is Sect Leader Zhao going to help him?”
Zhao Xianyun walked closer, pinching a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and offered a soothing, faint smile, “Don’t be hasty, don’t be hasty. I came here today precisely to get to the bottom of things.”
Hearing this, Feng Shi didn’t say a word and took out the recording stone Qingqing had given him.
The recording stone rolled onto the ground.
A white light projected onto the sky canopy. The displayed footage clearly showed He Dong stealthily flicking two needles toward Feng Shi and Yan Ze.
“This!?” The surrounding crowd couldn’t believe it.
He Dong’s eyes practically split open as he loudly defended himself, “No! This is a frame-up! A frame-up! This isn’t true! I didn’t do it! I didn’t do it!”
While screaming, he quickly scuttled on his knees to Zhao Xianyun’s feet and hugged his thigh: “Sect Leader Zhao! Sect Leader Zhao, please uphold justice for me!”
For a Soul Formation cultivator to fall to such a state was truly staggering.
However, Zhao Xianyun smiled, his eyes curving into crescents. He looked down at him with pity and said, “Tsk, I came here to kill you, yet you want me to uphold justice for you?”
He Dong froze upon hearing this, then realized what was happening and scrambled to escape.
Unfortunately, how could he possibly escape the palm of a Void Refinement Realm expert?
Zhao Xianyun merely moved his finger slightly, and He Dong’s head tumbled onto the ground like a rolling gourd.
Zhao Xianyun coughed up a trace of blood, wiped it clean casually, and turned to smile at Feng Shi, “It’s finally quiet.”
Seeing this, everyone present gasped, panic blooming in their hearts.
Just what was Feng Shi’s identity! To think that even a powerhouse like Zhao Xianyun would stand on his side!?
But Feng Shi merely raised an eyebrow as he looked at He Dong, who had already breathed his last.
Zhao Xianyun waved his handkerchief. Just as he was about to tease him with a few more words, he saw the young man in front of him, whose face was rosy just moments ago, suddenly turn deathly pale.
At the same time, Feng Shi only felt a burst of cold air rise from the soles of his feet, rapidly sweeping through his entire body. Then, his vision went black.
(Off-topic note: Regarding everyone’s discussion about Feng Shi and Liu Yi, I personally feel they are the same person, and furthermore, Feng Shi existed before Liu Yi! Just a little spoiler. If you’re interested, you’ll understand as you read on. If you still can’t accept it, then there’s nothing I can do (ω｀o))
Translator’s Note: A very intense chapter! The truth about He Dong’s sneak attack is revealed, and we get a glimpse of just how powerful Feng Shi can be with his system’s help (even if it puts him in debt!). Sect Leader Zhao Xianyun makes quite an entrance, too. As the author hinted, the connection between Feng Shi and Liu Yi runs deeper than it seems…
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