Chapter 2009: Shadow Group Master
“Oh?” Zu An exclaimed; now it was his turn to be surprised. He gave up on any thoughts of crippling Jing Li and asked, “What kind of grudge do you have with the Shadow Group?”
Jing Li took a deep breath. Hatred flickered in his eyes as he said, “My father used to be the sect master of the Skysplitting School, and the Shadow Group Master was a junior brother of my father. In the past, he was frequently bullied by members of the sect, and my father always helped him. But in the end, he used my father and stole many secret manuals from our sect. Then, he formed his own organization, establishing the Shadow Group.
“My father was forced to reflect on his actions for ten years as punishment. When the late school master perished and passed on the position of school master to my father, he instructed my father to clean up the mess in our Skysplitting School. Only then did my father find out that the Skysplitting School had failed in its many attempts to eliminate the Shadow Group, and the losses were severe. The hearts of the school's disciples wavered, and many people were actually roped in by the Shadow Group. As time went on, the Skysplitting School became weaker and weaker, while the Shadow Group grew stronger and stronger.
“In order to prevent the two factions from suffering, my father decided to hold a duel to decide the future prospects of both sides. However, after that duel, he never returned, and the Skysplitting School thus fully crumbled.”
He was actually making a gamble here too. Since this person was investigating the Shadow Group, he clearly wasn’t someone from there. An enemy of an enemy could be a friend. Of course, if it were anyone else, there was no way he would lay everything out on the table like this, but the cultivation of the person in front of him was just too high, to the point that he couldn't even have any thoughts of fighting back.
Zu An was a bit surprised when he heard the explanation; he'd never expected such a story. He asked, “He lost a fair battle, so you can’t blame the Shadow Group Master for that, right?”
“But that battle wasn’t fair!” Jing Li exclaimed, clearly enraged. “My father was known to be number one in the Skysplitting School, while the Shadow Group Master was a known loser. All of his skills were even personally taught to him by my father. How could someone like that possibly win against my father? On top of that, with my father’s current cultivation, even if he lost, what were the odds that he couldn’t even preserve his life? The other side definitely used some despicable and underhanded means during that fight!
“At the time, the Shadow Group’s rise might have been sudden, but the Skysplitting School had a richer history. It was hard to say who would come out on top. And yet, because of my father’s unexpected death, the Skysplitting School experienced such a crushing collapse.”
Zu An asked seriously, “Did you witness that fight?”
Jing Li shook his head in despair, saying, “For the sake of fairness, both sides decided not to bring any subordinates. Now, it seems that my father honored the promise, but the other side might not have.”
Zu An wasn’t too worried about their internal dispute; instead, he asked, “What's the name of the Shadow Group Master?” He had never been able to find that out even through all of the court’s investigations. Since this person was the junior brother of Jing Li’s father, he definitely knew.
“Si Chao!” Jing Li replied, his eyes full of a deeply entrenched hatred.
“Si Chao?” Zu An repeated with a frown.
He didn’t have any impression of the name. There were so many famous cultivators in the world, but he didn’t seem to have heard it before. However, after thinking about it, if this was the king of assassins, there was no way the Shadow Group Master would use his real name when interacting with others. It made sense for the name to be unrecognizable. He'd finally obtained some clues, but had the trail already run cold?
He suddenly thought about the puzzles from the detective shows he'd watched and thought of something. He asked, “What does the Shadow Group master look like? Tell me in more detail.” While speaking, he took out a sheet of paper and a brush. For the sake of learning the appearance-changing skill, he had received the personal guidance of Yu Yanluo. His artistic skills were already at an extremely high level.
Jing Li was stunned. Even though he was a bit suspicious, he still described the Shadow Group Master’s appearance to Zu An.
Zu An’s brush moved grandly according to Jing Li's descriptions. Soon after, a face appeared vividly on the paper. The face was really ordinary, of the sort no one would give a second look to. He was someone naturally suited to assassination.
Jing Li was a bit hesitant, saying, “I don’t know if it’s correct or not. I was still young back then, and Si Chao was usually antisocial and rarely showed himself. After so many years have passed, I fear that I might have remembered incorrectly.”
However, Zu An stared straight at the drawing, because he found the person a bit familiar. He was almost certain that he had seen the person before, but as for exactly where, he just couldn't think of it. Still, with his current cultivation, there should have been no reason for him to have forgotten if he had seen them before. Why couldn't he recognize the person, whom he didn't know, but somehow found a bit familiar?
“Is senior from the Freedom Path?” Jing Li asked probingly. Only those from the Freedom Path were most adept at drawing in the Devil Sect.
However, he quickly discarded that thought. When had the Freedom Path ever had such a powerful individual? If he really was from the Freedom Path, the Devil Sect would have long since been under their rule. Judging from the strength the other person showed, he was even stronger than his father had been in the past. No, there wasn’t anyone in all of the Devil Sect’s three schools and six paths who could compare to this man.
Zu An didn’t reply and put the picture away, asking seriously, “So is that why you deliberately pretended to be a Shadow Group assassin, so you could trigger conflict between the Devil Sect and the Shadow Group?”
“That’s right,” Jing Li said with a sad smile. “Even though I worked hard over the years and gained many opportunities, I know there's still a huge difference in strength between the Shadow Group Master and myself. Let alone the fact that he has so many powerful cultivators under him, and any of them would easily defeat me. That's why I could only carry out this kind of plan.”
“The plan wasn’t too bad,” Zu An said with a hint of praise. He then continued, “Since you’ve been around the Devil Sect General Headquarters, do you know where Sect Master Yun Jianyue is?”
“Sect Master Yun?” Jing Li repeated in confusion. Then, he shook his head and said, “Her respected self rarely shows herself, so of course I wouldn’t be able to meet her. On top of that, because I tried to go against the Shadow Group several times, they have people investigating me too. I normally stay hidden in my room and rarely leave.”
Zu An thought of something. He'd heard Fang Biao and Fang Hu mention that some mysterious black-clad individuals had sought out the Yin Yang Path Master for a discussion, and they seemed to be from the Shadow Group. At first, he'd thought that they had come for Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, but now, it seemed they'd come to target this brat.
As such, he warned Jing Li, “Be careful of the Yin Yang Path’s people.” He disappeared right afterward.
Leaving a quick-witted youngster who was trying to cause trouble for the Shadow Group alive could just prove useful in the future.
Jing Li was stunned. He noticed that his acupoints had already been released. He'd never expected to be let go so easily. On top of that, even though it happened right before his eyes, he couldn't even tell how the other person had left.
“What a mysterious and powerful person!” he muttered to himself.
When he thought of that, he couldn't help but feel shaken. He suddenly became more confident than ever before. With such a mysterious and unfathomable enemy against them, he wasn’t fighting against the Shadow Group alone anymore.
There seemed to be someone approaching from the distance, so he pulled down his hat and quickly vanished into the shadows.
…
Meanwhile, in the Yin Yang Path’s main hall, decorated lanterns and colored banners were everywhere. The Devil Sect’s three schools and six paths’ important figures were all present. Additionally, as the hosts, the Yin Yang Path Master and the groom Fang Long were standing at the entrance to welcome all the guests.
However, Zhang Zitong was hiding in the shadows and observing the Yin Yang Path Master. He was tall and slender, with heavy bags and glaring dark circles under his eyes. This was clearly a sign of overexertion in his relationships.
As for Fang Long, he was dressed in a festive robe and had an uncontrollable smile. He seemed especially energetic today.
“Look at him putting on airs!” Zhang Zitong cursed. At the same time, she was a bit worried as to why she still didn’t see any sign of Sir Eleven anywhere. The task Sir Eleven had assigned her seemed a bit ridiculous. Were things really going to develop as he predicted?
One after another, more important figures arrived. Zhang Zitong matched their faces up to the information the Embroidered Envoy had one by one.
The one dressed in the yellow clothes embroidered with coins, who was as round as a ball, was likely the World School Master Chen Taogong. As expected of a business tycoon, he looked the most like a rich bastard out of anyone present. Meanwhile, the handsome middle-aged man dressed in a gown adorned with simple and elegant bamboo leaves was likely the Freedom Path Master Hua Feihua. The green jade flute hanging from his waist was undoubtedly his famous weapon, the ‘Butterfly Loving Flower’.
Hmph, a grown man like him could’ve used any weapon, and yet he insists on using a flute.
The one in a daoist robe with a horsetail whisk was likely the Secret Path’s Chi Fuzi. There were also a few elders present, who were also people Zhang Zitong recognized from the court’s name lists.
Zhang Zitong started to feel really overwhelmed the longer she watched. It was a pity that she wasn’t strong enough, or else she could have caught all of these people in one go and earned tremendous contributions for herself. However, she quickly realized that she was no longer an Embroidered Envoy. She couldn't help but feel a bit dejected.
More and more people from all over the Devil Sect came. Even though they normally argued with each other, today, they all greeted the Yin Yang Path Master with smiles and congratulations.
As for the young disciples, they all looked at Fang Long with enmity.
“That guy really has some damned good luck.”
“He’s about to marry the saintess, so of course he’s in good spirits.”
“The saintess has always kept her distance from him, so why did she actually agree to a marriage with him?”
“I heard the Yin Yang Path agreed to support the Heavenly Devil School on one condition, which was to wed their direct disciples. That should be why.”
“Just how long ago were those agreements made? Who would even honor such words now…”
“Even so, this is how things are. The saintess will still marry him, right?”
…
As he sensed the jealous expressions of everyone around him, Fang Long felt incredibly pleased with himself.
Keep feeling jealous; your goddess is going to become my woman! I'll definitely dote on her in place of all of you, hahaha!
Suddenly, news of the assassination attempt on the saintess came back. The Yin Yang Path Master’s expression changed, but when he heard that Qiu Honglei was fine, he decided not to make a big deal of it. For now, they would marry Qiu Honglei off first. At least then things couldn't be changed either way. He quickly transferred some elder experts to receive the guests.
“The Vice Sect Master has arrived!” a voice called out.
Suddenly, the noisy hall immediately became quiet. All those present got up and greeted the new arrival with solemn expressions.
Zhang Zitong, who had blended into the crowd, quickly turned around. She saw a middle-aged man slowly walk in from outside. His face was handsome, and his bearing was outstanding. His hair wasn’t combed and naturally fell behind him. Rather than looking like a great demon, he looked more like a hermit who stood aloof from worldly affairs.
As if sensing her gaze, Lu Sanyuan looked in her direction.
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