Chapter 212 - 210: Encirclement and Kill? Counter-Kill

Chapter 212: Chapter 210: Encirclement and Kill? Counter-Kill

Wen Rou stared at Chen Yuan, utterly speechless.

’It’s been a while, and this Chen Yuan has become even more shameless than he was in Lianshan City,’ she thought. ’He’ll just say whatever pops into his head.’

’You’re gentle with the fairer sex?’

’That Saintess of the Red Lotus Sect, Su Mei, is a stunning beauty, born with a natural allure. But you didn’t show the slightest mercy. You beat her within an inch of her life.’

’The Hidden Dragon Rankings didn’t go into detail, but as a member of the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower, Wen Rou knew every last detail of what happened in the Blood Killing Realm.’

Besides, her initial feeling had definitely not been wrong.

The moment Chen Yuan laid eyes on her, he had subconsciously revealed a flash of killing intent.

But Wen Rou wasn’t angry. A reaction like his was only natural.

’I know both of his identities. If I were to expose him, the name Chen Jiutian would be completely ruined. Zhenwu Hall would never tolerate it, and neither would any of the major powers in the Jianghu.’

’He would have no choice but to change his identity and go into hiding, just like the other Ming Sect Martial Artists.’

So, for him to subconsciously reveal killing intent at such a threat, wanting to silence her for good—that was perfectly normal.

If he didn’t even have that much killer instinct, Wen Rou would have considered him indecisive and thought he’d only gotten this far on pure luck.

"Fine. Let’s just say I was mistaken," Wen Rou huffed.

"How did you know Chen Yuan and Chen Jiutian were the same person, Boss Wen?" Chen Yuan asked, a little curious.

It wasn’t surprising that Wen Rou had connected the Chen Yuan from the Great Brightness Sect with the Chen Yuan from Lianshan City.

But how had she managed to link the names Chen Jiutian and Chen Yuan?

Wen Rou shook her head. "I didn’t actually know before I met you today.

"When the Great Brightness Sect’s Chen Yuan first made it onto the Hidden Dragon Rankings, I suspected it might be you, but I had no way to confirm it.

"After all, it’s a big world. People having the same name is perfectly normal. There was even a time in history when three different prodigies with the exact same name were on the Hidden Dragon Rankings simultaneously.

"It wasn’t until the news from the Blood Killing Realm got out, and then seeing you in person today, that I was finally able to confirm you were one and the same.

"Even though the Murong Family suppressed the news from Lianshan City, some of it still leaked out.

"Everyone now thinks you have one Seven Kills Stele Fragment, but what no one would ever suspect is that you actually have two of them in your possession."

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly. "So, Boss Wen, you didn’t come here for ’Chen Yuan’ initially, but for ’Chen Jiutian’?"

Wen Rou nodded. "I truly came with no ill intent. I was simply here to warn you that Sword Worship Manor is preparing to ambush and kill you."

"Why? The identity ’Chen Jiutian’ has no connection to you whatsoever."

Wen Rou shrugged. "The identity ’Chen Jiutian’ has no connection to me, you’re right. However, Liu Suifeng of your Zhenwu Hall has ties to the Tower Master of the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower’s Qin Province branch. In fact, it seems our Tower Master owes Liu Suifeng a favor.

"I am now one of the four Vice Tower Masters of the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower’s Qin Province branch, and I was ordered to come and warn you about the ambush up ahead.

"I was planning to leave right after giving you the warning, but now that I see you’re an old acquaintance, I can offer you some extra intelligence to help you escape Qin Province.

"I’m a person who values old connections. My transfer out of Lianshan City and promotion to the Central Plains Province was all thanks to the intelligence you provided back then.

"I’m not like *some* people, whose first instinct upon meeting is to kill me to keep me quiet."

Wen Rou huffed, clearly holding a deep-seated grudge against Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan seemed to ignore her sarcasm, simply smiling as he said, "Boss Wen, your methods are truly extraordinary. To become a Vice Tower Master in a major province like Qin so quickly is quite a feat."

Chen Yuan had a rough idea of the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower’s structure.

Typically, a Sea of Reincarnation Realm agent could only oversee a single Prefecture City and a few smaller towns, much like Xu Que at the Forging Conference.

An agent in the Condensing Truth Realm, however, could become a Vice Tower Master for an entire province, wielding immense authority.

Furthermore, promotions within the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower depended not only on strength but also on capability and achievements.

Qin Province was a major province in the Central Plains. For Wen Rou to become a Vice Tower Master there, she must have possessed both exceptional strength and significant achievements.

"Not as fast as you. Both openly and in the shadows, your two identities are the fastest-rising prodigies on the Hidden Dragon Rankings."

Chen Yuan stopped wasting words with Wen Rou and cut straight to the point. "Is Sword Worship Manor planning an all-out effort to ambush and kill me?"

Wen Rou nodded. "You killed Zhu Xinwu’s only son. Of course he’s absolutely furious.

"Don’t underestimate Sword Worship Manor. Over the years, they’ve recruited many expert Loose Cultivators from across Qin Province. Some Sword Cultivators have even traveled thousands of miles to practice their Swordsmanship there.

"Sword Worship Manor has over a hundred Martial Artists at the Condensing Truth Realm alone.

"Now, all of Sword Worship Manor’s experts have been deployed. They’ve laid an inescapable trap up ahead, layer by layer, just waiting for you to walk into it.

"With your strength, breaking through one or two layers—or even three or four—would be effortless.

"But eventually, you’ll be trapped and surrounded by a massive number of Martial Artists."

As she spoke, Wen Rou took out a map and handed it to Chen Yuan. It was marked with the ambush points for the Sword Worship Manor’s Martial Artists, forming a dense, web-like pattern.

And Sword Worship Manor isn’t just ambushing you from the front; they’re also closing in from behind. They want to trap you completely and ensure your death.

"This map only shows about seventy percent of Sword Worship Manor’s ambush locations.

"It doesn’t include the Martial Artists they’ve roped in using their connections to help kill you, like the ones you dealt with today."

Chen Yuan looked at her strangely. "How do you know so much about Sword Worship Manor’s plans?"

Wen Rou’s expression was nonchalant. "There is no intelligence the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower wants that it cannot obtain. With so many people under its banner, Sword Worship Manor is as leaky as a sieve."

"Where is Zhu Xinwu?"

"Zhu Xinwu isn’t in Qin Province. If he were, your chances of escaping would be even slimmer."

Chen Yuan was taken aback for a moment. "Not in Qin Province? Where did he go? Is it possible for him to rush back?"

Wen Rou said, "Zuo Tianyuan of the Nine Swords Alliance in Ning Province is an old friend of Zhu Xinwu. He was invited by Zuo Tianyuan to the Youning Border.

"Sword Worship Manor is likely acting on Zhu Xinwu’s orders. He should be on his way back now, so you need to break out as soon as possible."

Hearing the three words "Nine Swords Alliance," a cold glint appeared in Chen Yuan’s eyes.

’It’s about time I dealt with the Nine Swords Alliance,’ he thought.

’Zuo Tianyuan must have heard I was in Qin Province, so he invited Zhu Xinwu over, hoping to use him to kill me.’

’But he never expected that I would kill Zhu Zhaoxiong, meaning Zhu Xinwu would want to kill me anyway.’

’In the end, his clever plan backfired, luring Zhu Xinwu away from Qin Province.’

Seeing Chen Yuan remain silent, Wen Rou said, "With Zhu Xinwu out of Qin Province, this is your only chance to escape.

"Sword Worship Manor may have laid an inescapable trap, but the blockade ahead will be the densest, while the forces at the rear will be weaker.

"I can mobilize the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower’s agents to track the pursuers’ movements and help you bypass the encirclement from the rear.

"That way, you’ll have at least an eighty percent chance of breaking out. Then, I can notify Qin Suguang and Gu Lichuan to come and provide backup.

"Finally, you can go directly from Qin Province into Yong Province, then change your route to Central Province. The Capital City is in Central Province, so Sword Worship Manor won’t be able to touch you there.

"From there, you can pass through Central Province and return to Ning Province."

Chen Yuan stared intently at the map. After a moment, he shook his head. "Escape? You can run for a while, but you can’t run forever. It’s best to resolve some karmic debts as soon as they come due.

"Since Sword Worship Manor has gone to all this trouble, wouldn’t it be a shame to just run away?"

"Are you insane? In a situation like this, you still want to attempt a frontal assault? The plan I laid out for you is absolutely your safest bet for escaping Qin Province!"

Wen Rou stared at Chen Yuan as if he were a madman.

He hadn’t been this aggressive back in Lianshan City. How had a couple of years roaming the Jianghu made him so reckless?

"Who said anything about breaking out?"

A cold light glinted in Chen Yuan’s eyes. "Sword Worship Manor is nothing but a disorganized mob. They want to kill me? Well, I want to kill them just as much.

"Even mountain hunters understand a simple principle: after you kill a bear, you must also find and kill its cubs. Otherwise, when the cubs grow up, they will have their revenge the next time the hunter enters the mountains.

"Kill the parent, and you must get rid of the children to cut the problem off at the root. Kill the child, and of course, you must deal with the parent as well. A family should be kept together. Only then is it truly complete."

"I’ve killed Zhu Zhaoxiong. If I don’t take care of Zhu Xinwu, I can’t spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for a Primordial Pill Realm Grandmaster."

"But Sword Worship Manor still has over a hundred Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artists! There’s no shame in a strategic retreat."

Wen Rou pleaded with him patiently.

She was trying so hard to convince Chen Yuan to escape for two reasons. First, she did have a bit of history with him.

Now that he was on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, he was destined to reach a high position once he matured. If she could maintain that connection, it would certainly become much more valuable in the future.

Second, the Tower Master of the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower’s Qin Province branch had a connection with Liu Suifeng and also wanted to ensure Chen Yuan’s survival.

But the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower held a special, neutral status, and its branch masters were forbidden from directly interfering in the disputes of the Jianghu.

That was why the Tower Master could only send Wen Rou to provide Chen Yuan with intelligence support, helping him escape Qin Province and save his life. That was the priority.

Wen Rou had only just arrived in Qin Province, and this was the very first task her superior had given her. She really didn’t want to screw it up.

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes, gazing at the map, and said calmly, "Don’t worry. I’m not tired of living yet. I wouldn’t go looking for death if I wasn’t confident.

"A hundred Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artists from Sword Worship Manor sounds intimidating, but how many of them are Zhu Xinwu’s loyal, die-hard followers? Most are just fair-weather fighters who only know how to fight when they have the advantage.

"The moment the tide turns, they’ll run faster than anyone. You can’t judge the men of Sword Worship Manor by the standards of disciples from an ordinary sect."

In the original story, Zhu Zhaoxiong was considered a powerful figure in Qin Province. Though he had many men under his command, they were only good at fighting when they had the upper hand.

The caliber of the Martial Artists under him who came from Sword Worship Manor was truly pitiful. They would run faster than anyone at the slightest setback.

On several occasions, they were the first to rout, which in turn put Zhu Xinwu in grave danger.

This bunch had no loyalty to speak of toward Sword Worship Manor. Chen Yuan didn’t need to kill every single one of their Martial Artists.

He just needed to slaughter them until their courage broke. Then, the siege would naturally crumble.