Novel Full Chapter 54: The Unexpected Murderer
Chen Yan didn’t eat a single bite of anything from the banquet feast.
Even when the Cloud Prince offered a toast, he merely went through the motions of raising his wine cup and pretending to drink, without actually consuming a single drop.
Despite this, he knew he couldn’t escape death.
He simply hoped to live a little longer.
Since such extensive effort had been put into poisoning, someone would definitely come to clean up afterward.
Chen Yan’s goal was to meet the person who would handle the aftermath.
No one present at the banquet would survive.
After everything was over, the person who came to clean up the scene would be the breakthrough point.
Just like Zhang Xishun had been before.
Although Chen Yan was currently in the open while his opponent remained hidden.
When Chen Yan entered the cycle of reincarnation next time, their positions would completely reverse.
Beside him, Zheng Fei was still chatting casually with Li Xiuxiu.
However, the content of their conversation had changed significantly compared to the previous cycle.
This should count as a low-level alteration of fate, Chen Yan thought to himself.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
When coughing sounds suddenly erupted from nearby, Chen Yan’s heart leaped into his throat.
He knew it was finally beginning.
Coughing echoed throughout the grand hall one after another, with Chen Yan being the only exception.
He coldly observed everything happening before him, confirming that the poison was hidden in either the food or wine.
One person after another vomited blood, convulsed, collapsed, and died before his eyes.
“Cough, cough… Senior Brother Chen?”
Zheng Fei lifted his head, eyes bloodshot, breathing heavily as he looked at Chen Yan with great difficulty.
“Rest in peace,”
Chen Yan said softly.
Blood slowly trickled from the corner of Zheng Fei’s mouth, his limbs gradually losing strength.
Eventually, his body completely lost all signs of life.
Truthfully, Chen Yan quite liked this kid Zheng Fei—polite, driven, and reliable when assigned tasks.
I’ll bring you back to life too, just not in this lifetime, Chen Yan silently vowed.
In the end, only two people remained alive among those present.
Chen Yan and Lu Li.
Lu Li looked at Chen Yan sitting upright in his chair, then slowly closed his eyes:
“Did you do this?”
His voice flowed calmly, though somewhat weak, his tone remarkably composed.
As if he had just woken from an afternoon nap and nothing had happened.
Lu Li truly was an extraordinary person, Chen Yan thought.
“I didn’t do it,”
Chen Yan shook his head:
“I also want to know who did this.”
“I’m about to die, there’s no need to lie to me,”
Lu Li said.
“I know you’re dying too, so I’m not lying to you,”
Chen Yan stated frankly.
“You mean you knew the food and wine were poisoned?”
Lu Li asked.
“Something like that,”
Chen Yan replied.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because it wasn’t necessary.”
“……”
Lu Li fell into brief silence.
“Is there anything you want me to convey to the sect? Like telling Bai Qiming that the talent and disciples he favored all died on the same day?”
Chen Yan asked.
His words were undoubtedly sarcastic.
The qi fluctuations emanating from Lu Li suddenly intensified, making Chen Yan sense a dangerous aura.
With a mental command, a wind bullet surged from Lu Li’s Martial Spring and flew toward Chen Yan’s head.
Chen Yan merely tilted his head slightly and dodged the wind bullet attack.
Lu Li was at the peak of the Martial Spring Realm, half-step into the Qi Sea Realm—his theoretical strength far surpassed Chen Yan’s mid Martial Spring Realm level.
But in his current state, he was no match for Chen Yan at all.
The present Lu Li was barely clinging to life solely by the qi surging from his Martial Spring.
“Martial Spring Realm?”
Lu Li frowned, deeply shocked by what he was witnessing.
Chen Yan had actually reached the Martial Spring Realm?
A seventeen-year-old at the Martial Spring Realm could absolutely rival any heaven-chosen talent from any sect on the Chenping Continent.
No, surpass them.
Moreover, Chen Yan had grown up in the outer court—a place extremely lacking in cultivation resources.
If that was the case…
“Cause of Calamity?”
Lu Li said calmly.
“Why do you always see me as the villain?”
Chen Yan laughed bitterly twice:
“But it’s true that I’ve reached the Martial Spring Realm.”
Lu Li’s body grew increasingly heavy—he was at the end of his rope and couldn’t hold on much longer.
Even his consciousness was growing blurry.
“You’ve already killed me once—I don’t want to die by your hand again,”
Chen Yan said.
“I can’t kill you,”
Lu Li said slowly.
“I can see that.”
“Kill me.”
“……”
Chen Yan remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly:
“Answer one question for me, and I’ll grant your wish.”
Lu Li gasped for breath, almost unable to speak, his Martial Spring nearly dried up.
So Lu Li simply nodded.
“Did you know about Song Mingde’s death?”
Chen Yan asked.
Lu Li shook his head and, with great effort, lifted his head to speak with what remained of his strength:
“Is his death really that important?”
“I don’t know either,”
Chen Yan said.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Chen Yan raised his hand and pointed his finger at Lu Li’s chest.
“Back then, this is how you killed me,”
Chen Yan murmured as if talking to himself:
“Now, we’re even.”
Kongshan Finger!
Qi compressed at Chen Yan’s fingertip before shooting toward Lu Li’s chest.
Lu Li’s protective qi had become completely useless, like rice paper easily pierced through by Chen Yan’s Kongshan Finger.
The qi exploded in Lu Li’s chest, creating a fist-sized hole.
This Kongshan Finger strike deprived Lu Li of his last breath of life—he flew backward along with his chair, crashing against a pillar in the prince’s grand hall before lying completely still.
From his open, dimmed eyes, one could still see the confusion and bewilderment he felt before death.
This was the first time Chen Yan had seen Lu Li—who usually sat high and mighty on the scripture platform like a banished immortal—in such a wretched state.
His corpse resembled a tragically killed stray dog by the roadside.
Was I this pitiful too when I died?
Chen Yan let out two dry laughs.
He felt no satisfaction from revenge—or rather, his hatred for Lu Li had long since faded through the cycles of reincarnation.
The same went for his love for Cheng Ziying.
For someone who could undergo reincarnation, what meaning did life and death truly hold?
The only reason he still wanted to revive Cheng Ziying was to give closure to his previous twenty cycles and bid farewell to his past.
Suddenly, an immense presence emerged from behind him.
“Finally here?”
Chen Yan turned around with calm composure, smiling as he focused on the person who had appeared in the grand hall.
But when Chen Yan clearly saw the face of the person behind him, the smile on his face slowly froze and gradually disappeared:
“…Elder Lan Wei?”
“It’s me,”
Lan Wei said with a smile.
A flash of white light appeared before Chen Yan’s eyes, and then he was decapitated.