All of these people didn’t know what was going on. When they got outside the house and their eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight, they sight they saw left them all dumbstruck.
Not far from the mansion stood a solitary Qiu Yi Meng.
Ten meters behind her there were more than twenty Immortal Ascension Boundary masters belonging to the Qiu Family lined up, each of them giving off a frightening aura.
After a moment of stunned silence, Luo Xiao Man shouted in surprise, “Elder Sister Qiu!”
After calling out, she rushed out of the crowd and ran towards Qiu Yi Meng. As she ran her pair of enormous jade peaks swayed with vigour.
(Silavin: Yeah. Vigour XD. I added that in just for effect. Else, it was just swayed greatly…)
Among all of those present, she and Qiu Yi Meng had the closest relationship. One was sensible and capable, the other innocent and cute, their opposite personalities actually complimented each other extremely well and Qiu Yi Meng had always been very good to her; after experiencing so many ups and downs together, the two were as close as blood-related sisters.
When Qiu Yi Meng left this morning, Luo Xiao Man had cried for a long time and until now her eyes were still red and puffy with a spiritless expression adorning her face.
Seeing Qiu Yi Meng suddenly return, Luo Xiao Man was, without a doubt, the happier than anyone and she made no attempt to hide her joy, it was like a lost child had finally found her way home and was now eagerly rushing over.
A touch of sadness flashed across Qiu Yi Meng’s face for an instant before indifference replaced it.
When the distance between them shrank to less than twenty meters, Qiu Yi Meng gently lifted her hand.
A ray of light shot out from her palm and struck the ground right in front of Luo Xiao Man’s feet.
Dust flew up.
Luo Xiao Man immediately came to a halt and stared towards Qiu Yi Meng in front of her.
“Don’t come any closer, otherwise don’t blame my subordinates for not showing any mercy.” Qiu Yi Meng looked at Luo Xiao Man coldly and said in a frigid tone, like she was speaking to a total stranger.
“Elder Sister Qiu…” Luo Xiao Man whispered through her quivering lips, her eyes filled with confusion, unable to understand what was going on.
Qiu Yi Meng hadn’t actually struck her, but just now, if she had been running slightly faster or if Qiu Yi Meng had aimed slightly further, Luo Xiao Man’s legs would have been crippled.
Feeling the cold and desolate aura emanating from Qiu Yi Meng, Luo Xiao Man’s heart was filled with tremendous pain and her eyes began to water, opening her mouth to speak but unable to utter any words, subconsciously she even felt a trace of fear.
In this moment of confusion, a big hand lightly held her shoulder. Turning around to see who it was, the image of Yang Kai shaking his head slowly entered her view
“Go back.” Yang Kai whispered, gently tossing her back towards the others without waiting for her to respond.
After Luo Xiao Man landed, she suddenly discovered that the atmosphere was strange.
Outside the mansion, Yang Kai and Qiu Yi Meng faced each other. Identical to what happened this morning when the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady left, nothing was said, nothing needed to be said.
But anyone could see that this meeting was completely different from the one this morning, the situation was completely different.
“Were you forced?” Yang Kai stared straight into Qiu Yi Meng’s eyes and asked.
“No.” Qiu Yi Meng shook her head slightly.
“No?” Yang Kai smiled mockingly, “Since you weren’t forced, why did you bring these people here? Don’t tell me they’re here to hire themselves to me?”
“Why I’m here, you already know in your heart. Why bother asking such pointless questions?” Qiu Yi Meng shot back, her expression still ice cold.
“If you don’t explain, how would I know?”
“Aren’t you the same? You never explain anything to me, why should I explain anything to you?” Qiu Yi Meng retorted.
Yang Kai casually shrugged his shoulders. What she said wasn’t untrue.
“First Young Lady, there’s no need to speak any nonsense with him.” Suddenly, a low voice came from behind Qiu Yi Meng.
As these words were said, one of the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters with a thick imposing manner stepped forward and stood behind Qiu Yi Meng.
“You are?” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed.
“Qiu Family Fallen Leaves Hall, Hall Master, Chen Xuan!” The man coldly snorted, slightly raising his head and arrogantly declaring, “First Young Lady wanted to be considerate of your past friendship and say a few words to you, but it should be enough already.”
Yang Kai’s expression didn’t change as he lightly nodded, “Greetings, Hall Master Chen’s name is really thunderous. Junior has long heard of you.”
The Qiu Family’s Fallen Leaves Hall was equivalent to the Yang Family’s Blood Warrior Hall. Similar institutions existed in all the Eight Great Families, places where extremely strong and extremely loyal masters who dedicated their lives to their respective families were cultivated.
Because of differences in family heritage, reputation, and training methods, among these institutions, the Blood Warrior Hall had become the most famous; on top of that, the Blood Warriors were truly a step above the warriors trained by the other seven families in terms of combat prowess.
In particular, the forbidden Mad Tyrant Blood Skill which was unique to the Blood Warrior Hall alone was enough to make the Blood Warrior Hall stand above any other similar institution.
The Qiu Family’s Fallen Leaves Hall as one such institution only had true masters serving within its ranks. Once they went into action, they would attack as swiftly as the autumn wind, overwhelming their enemies with irresistible force, not allowing their enemies any time to catch their breath.
Because of their modus operandi, the masters from the Fallen Leaves Hall were generally impatient and despised wasting time.
Qiu Yi Meng and Yang Kai exchanging thinly veiled words for so long had obviously annoyed them, resulting in Hall Master Chen Xuan stepping forward to expedite matters.
Chen Xuan snorted and turned a blind eye to Yang Kai’s compliment, sneering as he said, “Since you’re finished with your discussion First Young Lady, please step back.” Turning his eyes to Yang Kai again, he coldly declared, “Little brat, death is here for you. Although you are a Young Lord of the Yang Family, but since you cultivate a Demonic Secret Art, collude with Demons, and are attempting to subvert the Eight Great Families. Today will be your demise.”
Chen Xuan and the masters of the Fallen Leaves Hall had always operated in and around the Central Capital and as such didn’t know much about Yang Kai or the forces supporting him. Although they had also been paying attention to the progress of the Inheritance War, everything they knew they had heard from others. About how powerful Yang Kai and the masters inside his house were, Chen Xuan always felt it was too exaggerated and that most of it was hearsay and rumours.
As a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary masters, how could he put a measly Immortal Ascension Boundary Second Stage cultivator in his eyes, especially considering how young the latter was.
Not only did Chen Xuan think so, most of the masters sent by the seven families had similar thoughts. In their view, seven great families joining forces and deploying so much manpower was making a fuss over a trivial matter.
So when Qiu Yi Meng brought them out along to seek trouble with Yang Kai tonight, Chen Xuan and the other Fallen Leaves Hall masters were very excited and thought that they could easily smash through Yang Kai’s compound’s defences.
Even Ling Tai Xu, who was still inside the mansion, wasn’t placed in their eyes.
Although Ling Tai Xu was an Above Immortal Ascension Boundary master, with his reputation as the Sect Master of an Evil Sect and the master of the Demon Lord, if he dared to take action, the eight Grand Elders residing in the Seal Temple would certainly not sit idly by.
Listening to Chen Xuan’s self-righteous declaration, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a cold light, “Bold words!”
“Hall Master Chen, wait a little longer.” Qiu Yi Meng suddenly interrupted. “I still have a few words to say to Yang Kai.”
Chen Xuan coldly snorted, but it wasn’t a good idea for him to not give Qiu Yi Meng face in such a public setting. When they had been deployed for this operation, Qiu Shou Cheng had passed down orders that although this conflict was to take place on the Inheritance War’s stage and was ostensibly the responsibility of the Eight Great Families Young Lords and Young Ladies. However, this was simply the public propaganda. In actuality, Chen Xuan would hold decision-making power on the battlefield.
This is to say, to some extent; Qiu Yi Meng had to obey Chen Xuan’s orders for the time being.
However, if she just wanted to say a few words, he could tolerate it.
Yang Kai glanced at him coldly before turning to Qiu Yi Meng and muttering, “Why?”
“Because my father said, as long as I can defeat and capture you, I can inherit the Qiu Family. You should know how much I longed for this day to come, and although we used to get along very well, but compared to my achieving my lifelong endeavour, what do you count for?”
“Heh heh,” Yang Kai couldn’t help grinning, “Forget about me, can you even convince yourself with such a lame excuse?”
“Lame excuse? What I’m saying is the truth. Today, I am here to defeat you. Yang Kai, out of respect for all that I’ve done for you, obediently surrender without a fight, if you insist on resisting, no one will benefit. Moreover, I know I am definitely not your opponent.”
“Okay.” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
Behind the two, Chen Xuan couldn’t help gawking, but he quickly focused his eyes on Yang Kai’s movements to guard against him trying to swindle them.
The people behind Yang Kai also had awkward expressions.
None of them had anticipated that in less than a day, Qiu Yi Meng would switch sides and lead a group of masters to find trouble with Yang Kai. When she had spoken just now, there was no hesitation in her voice, and the cold indifference she was exuding now made many of those who former looked up to her feel an immense sense of indignation, but out of respect for their past friendships, no one could bring themselves to accuse her.
If it was anyone else in Qiu Yi Meng’s placIe right now, none of them would be willing to forgive her and would likely have already cursed out her eighteen generations of ancestors.
Even so, no one had a friendly expression on their face, Luo Xiao Man had even broken down into tears as she stared at Qiu Yi Meng incredulously.
“Are you saying that seriously?” Qiu Yi Meng was stunned.
“Why not? If you can capture me, you can become heir to the Qiu Family, right?” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “You’ve indeed paid a great deal for me, now I am simply returning the favour, what’s wrong with that?”
The look on Qiu Yi Meng fluctuated as a strange light flashed across her beautiful eyes, seemingly feeling touched somewhere deep in her soul by these words; she even felt the impulse to shed tears.
“First Young Lady…” Chen Xuan saw Qiu Yi Meng’s reaction and felt her determination to fight begin to waver so he quickly called out to her.
If they really could take Yang Kai without a fight, it would be the same as making a huge contribution to the Qiu Family. Qiu Shou Cheng had told him that once they captured Yang Kai, he was to be sent back to the Central Capital Qiu Family at all costs!
Qiu Yi Meng turned a deaf ear to Chen Xuan as a look of hesitation continued to linger on her face for a moment before she suddenly grit his teeth and shouted, “Do you think such these words can soften my heart and weaken my resolve? You bastard, how despicable can you be!?”
Yang Kai’s serious face cracked into a big grin as he sent a half teasing half apologetic look to the young woman in front of him.
“That really was your plan.” Qiu Yi Meng spat in annoyance. Just now she really had been moved by his honeyed words, only causing her to hate herself even more, “No matter what you say, since I’ve come this far already, I won’t go back empty hanempty-handed
g so, she lifted her hand and summoned a long dagger. This weapon gave off a silvery light and was obviously a high grade artifact.
True Qi fiercely erupted and a thick killing intent surged upwards.
Many people cried out in shock, no one had thought such a change would happen so quickly, even Ying Jiu didn’t have time to react.
The eyes of Chen Xuan and Fallen Leaves Hall masters also flashed brilliantly as they held their breaths in anticipation.