Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

Chapter 514: Breaking the Contract

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

From the signal sent by Mo Shiyi to the shattering of the Linked Jade, it was almost just a blink of an eye.

In such a fleeting moment, did Mo Shiyi really die?

Mo Shiyi had broken through to the Second Stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm for many years, and had been diligently cultivating, evidently aiming to progress further into the mid-stage of Combined Aperture Tempering realm, leading the Drifting Cloud Sect to greater heights.

Besides his cultivation, Mo Shiyi possessed the precious Profound Origin Pearl, capable of both offense and defense. Even among those of the same level, namely the Second Stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, breaking through the defense of the Profound Origin Pearl required a certain amount of time.

Moreover, Mo Shiyi was not a sitting duck. As your attacks approached the Profound Origin Pearl, they might be intercepted by Mo Shiyi even before reaching it.

In such a situation, it’s not that there’s no one capable of killing Mo Shiyi at the initial stage of Combined Aperture Tempering realm; rather, it would inevitably take a considerable amount of time to do so.

What’s more critical is that the assassin from the Death Shadow Sect was with Mo Shiyi, right?

Even if the two of them were besieged by five or six initial-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, they would undoubtedly hold out for some time, until their companions arrived. That would be reasonable.

Unless, the one trying to kill Mo Shiyi wasn’t at the initial stage of Combined Aperture Tempering realm, but rather a mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator who had become involved in this matter.

However, Mo Shiyi had not offended any mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator, or else he wouldn’t have the energy to target Chen Fei. So, this mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator could possibly be an ally brought in by Chen Fei?

Various noisy thoughts circulated in the minds of Hu Yanwu and his three companions, causing their movements to involuntarily come to a halt.

Regardless of whether a mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator was involved or if Chen Fei had employed some method to gain such power, they now needed to consider what to do next.

Should they take advantage of this moment and rush over, gambling that the one trying to kill Mo Shiyi was indeed Chen Fei, and strike while the opponent was at a momentary disadvantage, aiming for a decisive kill?

Or should they quickly leave this place to avoid any potential pursuit by a genuine mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator later on, who would likely pick them off one by one?

In the face of such power as a mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator, the formation formed by Hu Yanwu and his three companions wouldn’t hold up for long and would eventually be broken, leading to their demise.

Life was precious, and their alliance was formed for the sake of better development, not for risking their lives.

With almost no hesitation, the four of them exchanged glances and then, in perfect harmony, rushed in the opposite direction.

Each of them poured their full strength into their movement techniques, fearing that at this moment, Qin Haishan and his group might appear and block their path.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened along the way, and Hu Yanwu and his three companions safely returned to the Sea Peak City. Upon entering the inner sea region, the tension in their hearts eased slightly.

They had to thank the protection system of the Thousand Feathers Alliance, as very few people would engage in combat within the inner sea. Even if someone were truly slain, they would likely not escape the sanctions of the Thousand Feathers Alliance.

In the eyes of an entity like the Thousand Feathers Alliance with cultivators at the Mountain Sea Realm, ordinary Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators were simply not worth their attention. Moreover, beneath the Thousand Feathers Alliance, there were numerous late-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators, and even peak Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators.

Just one of them was enough to pass judgment, and in more severe cases, uprooting the entire sect you belonged to was an easy task.

“Brother Mo, to think he died like this!” Miao Wanhong suddenly sighed.

Today, they had ambitious plans to eliminate Chen Fei in the outer sea, removing the person who posed the greatest obstacle to their development within the Sea Peak City.

However, they hadn’t even seen Chen Fei’s face, and they learned of Mo Shiyi’s death. They didn’t even know how Mo Shiyi had died, and as it was, there was no way of finding out now.

The sense of frustration they were feeling was something they hadn’t experienced in years, and today it had come back to them in full force.

“What should we do next?” Meng Heng looked at the others and whispered.

With Mo Shiyi, the strongest among them in the alliance, now gone, they were left with just the four of them, powerless to confront individuals like Qin Haishan and even struggling to defend against Chen Fei alone.

What’s more crucial was that the relationship between the two sides had reached an extreme level of hostility.

Even going to the outer sea on their own was a cause for concern, as they worried Chen Fei might follow them and eliminate them there, putting an end to everything.

Thinking about this, Meng Heng’s expression became somewhat grim. The constant sense of danger to their lives was unbearable, reminiscent of the days when Meng Heng was just a fledgling cultivator in the Body Tempering realm. “How about staying within the sect? If Chen Fei challenges you to a Blood Battle, you can surrender directly and wait for the assassins from the Death Shadow Sect to target Chen Fei,” Miao Wanhong suggested after a moment of silence.

“Speaking of the Death Shadow Sect, I suspect the assassin from the Death Shadow Sect may have been involved in Mo’s death!” Hu Yanwu couldn’t help but exclaim upon hearing Miao Wanhong’s suggestion.

From assigning the task to the Death Shadow Sect to this moment, the Death Shadow Sect had not fulfilled a single thing, and had even hindered them. It left Hu Yanwu utterly disgusted.

What made it even more frustrating was that Hu Yanwu couldn’t do anything against the Death Shadow Sect; he had to endure it.

They had spent money, but what they received in return was treatment like this.

Miao Wanhong and the other two fell into silence. The trust they had in the Death Shadow Sect had indeed hit rock bottom. They had entrusted the Death Shadow Sect with an assassination task, but now, with Chen Fei still alive, they had inadvertently implicated Mo Shiyi in the situation.

“How about we cancel the task with the Death Shadow Sect and try to make peace with Chen Fei?” Meng Heng hesitated for a while and couldn’t help but suggest.

The plan to besiege Chen Fei had come to a complete standstill, with the strongest member of their group now deceased. They simply didn’t have the qualifications to challenge Chen Fei anymore.

Even if they encountered Chen Fei alone, it would likely end in death. Even traveling in pairs might not be safe.

If it had indeed been Chen Fei alone who swiftly killed Mo Shiyi in the outer sea just now, it was even more terrifying than Chen Fei bringing in a mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator.

Continuing to battle with such a monstrous opponent was putting immense pressure on Meng Heng.

Miao Wanhong and the others looked at Meng Heng, considering the suggestion. Cancelling the Death Shadow Sect’s task would be a complete surrender. When the employer voluntarily canceled a task with the Death Shadow Sect, half of the payment would be deducted as a penalty for breaking the contract, and the remaining half would be considered compensation.

Hu Yanwu moved his mouth as if to speak but couldn’t find the right words. While this decision might feel frustrating, it seemed there were no better options left.

Unless they were willing to deplete their wealth to hire a mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator.

But aside from the difficulty of finding alternative channels, the Death Shadow Sect had already lost their trust, and other options were hard to come by. Other assassin organizations didn’t match up to the Death Shadow Sect’s capabilities.

Furthermore, it remained uncertain whether Chen Fei had his own mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm power or if he had an ally with such strength. They had no way of knowing.

The risk of depleting their finances to hire a mid-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator, only to find out they couldn’t kill Chen Fei, was too great.

If they failed again this time, their fate would be sealed. There would be no room for negotiation.

“Let’s cancel it!”

Hu Yanwu sighed, accepting the idea that they needed to spend money to resolve the crisis.

While Hu Yanwu and his companions were discussing their options, Chen Fei had actually beaten them to it. He had returned to the Primordial Sword Sect.

This time, Chen Fei had disguised himself as Duan Muxiao and appeared before them with only one goal in mind: to kill Mo Shiyi.

While the others could survive, Mo Shiyi had to die. Among the five of them, Mo Shiyi harbored the most hostility and murderous intent towards Chen Fei, something Chen Fei could keenly sense.

Moreover, as the leader of their alliance, Mo Shiyi’s death would leave the alliance on the brink of collapse.

If Miao Wanhong and the others were to die as well, the consequences would be significant. Suspicion would turn towards Chen Fei, and the pressure from the Thousand Feathers Alliance would follow suit.

There was no need for that.

Blood Battles were the most profitable way to handle such situations, at least within the Thousand Feathers Alliance.

Anything more extreme, such as storming someone’s sect, was exceedingly difficult to achieve within the alliance.

In more remote and smaller sects, such actions might go unnoticed, as they were too far away for the Thousand Feathers Alliance to keep tabs on.

However, in the case of sects at the Combined Aperture Tempering realm level, they were considered a significant part of the Thousand Feathers Alliance, and the alliance would not tolerate such actions.

Otherwise, what would become of the Thousand Feathers Alliance’s credibility, as well as the reputation of the Mountain Sea Realm cultivator?

Within the courtyard, Chen Fei flicked the Profound Origin Pearl in his hand, a clear crack visible on its surface.

Wanting to take Chen Fei down together with him, Mo Shiyi had shattered the Profound Origin Pearl. Its grade had plummeted to that of a top-tier spiritual weapon. Repairing it would be extremely difficult, and the required resources would be exorbitant.

Additionally, the blade that Mo Shiyi had wielded was also damaged due to the explosive force from the clash with the Qianyuan Sword.

While the grade of the Profound Origin Pearl had not dropped, it still remained in the position of a lower-grade spiritual treasure. However, if he were to sell it, the price would likely be considerably lower.

Then there was Mo Shiyi’s Qiankun Pouch, which contained several dozen middle-grade elemental stones and a significant quantity of third-grade lower-grade spiritual pills for cultivation.

Mo Shiyi wasn’t as extravagant as Chen Fei, who directly consumed third-grade middle-grade spiritual pills. Even among the geniuses of major factions, most of them used third-grade lower-grade pills for cultivation, except for a few who could afford to use third-grade middle-grade pills.

Killing Mo Shiyi had resulted in various gains, amounting to around 300 middle-grade elemental stones. Compared to the 500 middle-grade elemental stones from a Blood Battle, there was still a noticeable difference.

Unless the Profound Origin Pearl hadn’t been damaged and could yield more middle-grade elemental stones.

But knowing he would die, Chen Fei naturally intended to fully unleash the power of his treasures. As for whether they would be damaged afterward, he wouldn’t have the luxury to consider that at that moment.

“It’s still a Blood Battle, and in some time, I’ll challenge those three one by one!”

Chen Fei thought as he sorted through the contents of Mo Shiyi’s Qiankun Pouch. He didn’t have a Qiankun Pouch before, but now he had three.

Indeed, his initial idea had been correct. There would always be kind-hearted early-stage Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators who would give him a Qiankun Pouch as a gift.

You see, now I have three of them.

The next day, Chen Fei received a covert message from the Death Shadow Sect addressed to Duan Muxiao. The assassination mission targeting Chen Fei had been canceled, and Duan Muxiao was compensated with fifty middle-grade elemental stones as a gesture of goodwill..