Chapter 297: Sounding Out
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“Chance? You mean the Chance that Qiu Fei and the others had obtained benefits from?” Of course, Meng Qi knew that it was Dongyang Villa, but since Jiang Hengchuan did not say so, he was going to pretend he was none the wiser.
Jiang Hengchuan continued communicating by Secret Voice-sending with a serious expression on his face. “Yes. There are a total of three Chances. One of them is with me, another is with Qiu Fei, and the last one with the group consisting of Eight-armed Flying Dragon and the Three Eagles of Cloud Ridge. After entering the outskirts, we each obtained a certain amount of benefits. However, entering the core requires all three Chances, and it must occur on a specific day of the month. Hence, everyone was on guard and went our separate ways. It seems that Qiu Fei colluded with Life-changing Sect to find an opportunity to snatch the Chance from Eight-armed Flying Dragon and the others.”
The Three Eagles of Cloud Ridge were the culprits behind Maoling’s turbulent undercurrents Six Fan School had sensed a few months ago. They had come to snatch treasures. They dominated by sheer numbers and were not beneath killing others. Afterwards, they disappeared from the scene. To think they were still hiding in Maoling!
Of course, the undercurrents in Maoling had only grown stronger over the past few months. If it were likened to rivers, it had been a stream back then, and now, a large river that could hold hundreds of tributaries.
“They’re not weak either.” Meng Qi sighed.
The Three Eagles of Cloud Ridge were renowned experts in the Di and Peng prefectures who had enlightened their Acupores. The eldest – the Red-clawed Eagle, was even ranked forty-fifth on the Ranking List of Young Masters. The Eight-armed Flying Dragon was even better. He had formerly been rank 20 on the Ranking List of Young Masters and was now on the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery. He was definitely stronger than “Wind-chasing Stick” Qiu Fei.
Jiang Hengchuan laughed. “If they aren’t strong, how could they have taken the benefits back then? And why would Qiu Fei have to collude with Life-changing Sect’s disciples to take action?”
Jiang Hengchuan was not someone who could be lightly taken. If they were not strong, he would not have to kill them, but the benefits had to be obtained. It was a Chance after all, and chances belonged to those who were “fated” to have them!
“Super Rich” Sun Ke, who was sitting at the side, watched the two of them use Secret Voice-sending to exchange their opinions. He moved his right hand full of rings and smiled at them. “Why do you both have such a reaction upon hearing ‘Eight-armed Flying Dragon’? And Qiu Fei’s also looking for them. Could this be related to some treasure?”
As the head of Money Sect, he was relatively sensitive to anything concerning Chances, fruitful encounters, and treasures.
“Oh no, no. We just didn’t think that we’d encounter someone so powerful.” Jiang Hengchuan laughed a couple of times, then got up to take his leave.
The two of them left Money Sect’s Head Altar together. Without having to discuss anything, they hurried towards the compound in the city’s North where the Eight-armed Flying Dragon and the others were hiding. Rather than snatch their Chance, they were headed there to remind them that their group was being targeted by Life-changing Sect. The latter could not afford to be careless, lest their Chance fell into the hands of the Nine Evil Paths and brought trouble to the Martial Artists Community.
…
In a hidden compound, a young man wearing the old robes of a high-ranking official knocked on the table. “So? You’ve something for me to do?”
“‘Killing Blade’ Su Meng’s recent actions have been somewhat strange. It also seems that he has some other hidden tricks. Find another opportunity to sound him out, in case things run out of control later on.” The person opposite him spoke in a low voice.
The young man in the robes chortled. “Him? He’s revealed his Precious Weapon and his Thunderclap-based Exterior-level fatal move. And everyone knows about his Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmanship and Golden Bell Shield. What other hidden move could he still have? He’s already become a pawn in the game anyway, so why bother using someone as powerful as me?”
One did not need a butcher’s knife to slaughter a chicken!
Back then, there had been flashes of lightning and thunder present due to “Heaven Inflicted Pain”. The unique trait of Meng Qi’s “Violent Thunder Shocking the Sky” had thus been concealed. Unless he fought with someone on the Exterior level, it would be difficult to tell if it was one of the Seven Purple Thunderstrikes.
“We can’t overlook it,” emphasized the person sitting opposite him. “We’re still one step away from becoming official members. We had better not mess up this time.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll try my best.” The young man had no choice but to agree. His face showed his displeasure, as if he had no interest in the matter.
The person opposite warned him, “Fire Lord, remember, you’re just sounding him out. Don’t go all out. He still has a huge role to play.”
“Relax, he’s not weak either. If I don’t use all my strength, how could I kill him?” The young man looked indifferent. “Futhermore…”
…
The duo used their Body Movements to make their way through the Maoling’s bustling city. In the streets that were clearly bursting at their seams, they dodged and weaved in and out of the crowd in an almost impossible manner. They also leaped here and there, their figures appearing like illusions and leaving the people below with blurry vision.
Money Sect’s Head Altar was located near the city’s North, so it did not take them long to arrive at the ordinary-looking compound Sun Ke had described.
It had white walls and black tiles and tendrils growing on it. It looked just like most other compounds in River East’s water-bound villages, except a tad older.
Meng Qi walked over to the door. Openly, he lifted the mottled rings on the door and knocked hard. If the people inside asked about it, he would claim to be investigating a case as an arrester, which was partly true and partly false.
The knocking sound could be heard from afar. It startled a couple of birds, causing them to spread their wings and fly away.
There was no response from inside. Everything was quiet. Nobody asked about anything, nor did anyone open the door.
Meng Qi and Jiang Hengchuan looked at each other and felt that there was something unusual going on. With a leap, they flipped themselves over the walls of the compound.
Meng Qi’s mental energy spread outwards. The surrounding scenery was reflected in his heart. Water buckets were overturned, scratches were everywhere, dirt and soil were strewn all over and there were a lot of footprints. Inside the large hall with its door open, tables and chairs lay broken and scattered on the ground. The place was full of fist imprints, scratch marks, sword marks and bloody pieces.
“There’re no bodies. Did they retreat in a hurry after encountering a powerful enemy?” Meng Qi speculated, a grave expression on his face.
Jiang Hengchuan did not beat around the bush. “Let’s split up and investigate. We’ll look for traces of their escape routes. It’d be best if we can find out who the attackers were based on the marks left behind here.”
“Alright,” Meng Qi did not waste his time on talking either. Making the best use of their time was most important.
Meng Qi passed through the entrance hall and patio and entered the backyard by himself. There were still traces of a scuffle there.
“Oh? Why is there so little blood? Were they evenly matched? Or were the ambushers discovered?” Meng Qi discovered that most of the marks were from a fight. There were very few bloodstains.
Just as he was scrutinizing the marks, a sudden feeling of danger arose in him. Without a moment’s hesitation, he drew his sword and spun around, cleaving towards the back.
Learning the Immortal Pressing Art and Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth had already sharpened his senses beyond that of an ordinary person. Eight Nine Mysteries was also a Divine Skill good at predicting danger and avoiding disasters. Now that he had adjusted his Inner World and was preliminarily aligned with it, his premonitions of imminent dangers were not inferior to that of those who could use Oneness of Heaven and Men!
From the roof of the backyard, a figure slid down the pillar like a ghost. In each of his hands was a blood-red copper ring, which he used to punch in an outward motion towards the back of Meng Qi’s heart.
The attacker was garbed in old robes and had a scarf wrapped around his hair. His face was hidden by a theatrical Fire Lord mask. It was entirely red and his two eyes were large and round!
As he punched the copper rings outward, bursts of genuine Qi formed ring shapes and hurtled towards Meng Qi, shrouding him in it from all sides.
In Meng Qi’s mind, these rings of genuine Qi were special. They were exceedingly dangerous explosives. they looked harmless from the outside but kept their threat hidden within. Once they exploded, they would set off a chain reaction causing every ring to explode in turn. There would be fearsome blasts and towering flames from the explosion. It was cruel and tyrannical!
Whereas the attacker was like a ball of flames, differentiated into many layers. Thus Meng Qi could not sense his usual flow of genuine Qi and the response of his muscles. He only felt himself the center amidst surging heat waves.
“Fire Lord?”
“He was near the Heaven-man Connection?”
Although he was not on the same level as Jiang Hengchuan and others who had mastered the Oneness of Heaven and Men, he was still only slightly weaker than the Devil Empress Right Chief Minister from before!
Meng Qi maintained his composure. “Heaven Inflicted Pain” was gently swung out, almost as if it were just floating in the air. It cleaved towards the copper rings.
His Knife Momentum was perfectly round and weak. It was like the heavens, or chaos. Its emptiness allowed it to absorb all changes, and thus it enveloped the rings of genuine Qi on the verge of exploding.
According to the rules of nature, things in excess should be removed and things lacking should be made up for. The rings of genuine Qi that contained fearsome power flowed like water to the bottom, channeling into the perfectly round Knife Momentum. They were about to be noiselessly dispelled.
“Clang!”
Out of the blue, the attacker slammed the two copper rings against each other. The clear and resounding sound shook Meng Qi up so much that he became dizzy for an instant.
With a rumble, all the rings of genuine Qi exploded. They transformed into towering waves of “fire” that “burnt” in Meng Qi’s direction with alarming speed.
“He’s almost grasped Heaven-man Connection so he can sense my flow of genuine Qi and response of muscles! That attack just now was a trap!”
Meng Qi understood what had happened and secretly used Eight Nine Mysteries. Subtly, he wielded his long saber. Its perfect roundness erupted. Wave after wave burst forth like they were coming from the source of all rivers and seas. They gushed towards the heatwaves, extinguishing the “fire” with “water”.
This was one of the Knife Dao Essences he had mastered since a long time ago. It had been realized from the “River-splitting Bladesmanship” of Yi City’s Tang family.
The attacker made use of the force from hitting his rings together to change his move all of a sudden. He hurled them at Meng Qi’s blade without warning.
If his blade was trapped by the rings, the attacker could snatch his sword away using the copper rings’ ability and his own unique skills!
The distance between the rings and his blade was very short. It was too late to escape!
He had seen through the “flow of genuine Qi” again!
Seeing that his copper rings were about to trap Meng Qi’s blade, the attacker could not help but feel a burst of elation. Then his pupils drastically constricted– “Heaven Inflicted Pain” had disappeared from its original spot!
It seemed to have been possessed and suddenly vanished!
While it appeared frightening, it had really just been Meng Qi’s deception. He had set aside a large portion of his strength and managed to lift his long saber up just in time, out of the attacker’s line of sight.
Knife energy descended upon him in a hazy mist. It swung down on the attacker’s neck from an angle he had not foreseen!
His blade was like smoke and the mortal world. In a heartbeat, desires were revealed. The surrounding trees and shrubs that had snapped in half desired survival. The floor covered in dirty footprints wanted to be clean. Right there and then, everything enveloped in the knife energy seemed to have a different feeling to it.
Rise to the top, turn into a real god, establish a world of Fire, and create the Celestial Court once more!
The things that the attacker thought about day and night flashed before his eyes, making it difficult for him to control himself.
“We are an organization that supports helping one another. If you do your best, you’ll be reciprocated with gains in terms of Kung Fu– anything you can imagine…”
“You have a lot of potential, but unfortunately nobody recognizes you…”
“Once you’ve trained the Heaven-ensnaring Skill of Nine Fires, you’ll be the Fire Lord…”
“When the Celestial Court appears again, you can make all the sects and aristocratic families submit to you!”
He snapped out of his trance due to his Protective Upstanding Qi shattering. The Knife Qi had already stabbed him until there was a throbbing pain at his skin.
Bursts of violent genuine Qi were colliding in his body, setting off a series of explosions. It ignited a “raging fire” that had terrifying power.
The attacker took advantage of this force and shifted himself midair such that he avoided Heaven Inflicted Pain.
Right then, his heart suddenly stopped. A flash of sword light had filled his entire field of view.
The sword was like a brilliant thunderclap, an indescribable magnificence.
It did not change at all. There was only that sole sword. However, sometimes no change was the best change!
The Fire Lord only felt that this sword was the most resplendent one he had ever seen in his life, but it was also the most fatal!
With the position he was currently in, it was almost as if he were intentionally driving his head at the tip of the long sword. Moreover, he had already barely managed to avoid the blade just now. How could he possibly avoid this one?
“I’ve fallen into his trap!”
“His kung fu is so bizarre!”
“I’ve yet to use my ultimate move…”
“I’m only here to sound him out…”
The Fire Lord dropped to the ground with a thud. His eyes were wide open, frozen with countless emotions, while a stream of fresh blood trickled from his forehead.
Meng Qi sheathed his sword. He was about to search the Fire Lord’s body when all of a sudden, there was a burst of flames. It voraciously engulfed the Fire Lord’s body, leaving behind nothing but ash and two slightly red copper rings within seconds.
“The Fire Lord? You, you killed him…” Jiang Hengchuan had heard the noise and hurried over in time to see the Fire Lord go up in flames. He was somewhat dumbfounded.
In these times, very few masters wore the Fire Lord’s mask.