Chapter 198: Baring Fangs

Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Baring Fangs

"I have no problem with that."

Lu Yuan accepted it all.

"Third Young Master, we will help you win!" Jianng Hongjie said, clenching his fists.

"That’s right, Young Master Mu. With us here, you will definitely win!" Cao Zongfan nodded.

Mu Lingche raised an eyebrow and glanced at them. "I don’t need you. What I’m competing for are battle merits from killing Seventh-Grade martial artists!"

The two instantly shut their mouths, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Lingche has his own goals, and we must have ours as well," Chang Xiu said, looking at Su Wan, Jianng Hongfei, Liu Zhi, and Chen Qian. "Our goal is to earn three times their battle merits!"

SWISH!

Jianng Hongjie, Cao Zongfan, Jin Lu, and Wu Hecheng all turned around, their eyes lighting up.

That was right; this worked too. Competing like this made things much more interesting.

Su Wan and the others didn’t look too pleased. Three times? This was a blatant humiliation.

"Don’t speak so soon. It all comes down to true strength. Just look at yourselves..." Su Wan shook her head.

Everyone on the opposing side was at the high tier of the Eighth Grade, meaning their strength was indeed significantly greater than her side’s. However, the battlefield was unpredictable, and annihilating a sect was far from simple. In the end, if they could even earn double her side’s merits, they would be doing well!

"Heh, just wait and see. I always achieve what I set out to do," Chang Xiu smiled disdainfully and walked to the side.

"Hmph!" Su Wan gritted her teeth.

If it weren’t for the fact that her Sound Killing Technique had not yet reached major completion, she could easily crush them by borrowing Lu Yuan’s Seven Kills Zither. Unfortunately, she would have to let them be arrogant for a little while longer.

[Encountering a sect annihilation mission once again. This is your opportunity to display your strength and bare your fangs.]

[Mission Issued: Kill ten Seventh-Grade or two Sixth-Grade martial artists. Completion Reward: 10,000 EXP.]

Lu Yuan remained silent.

In the past, killing one Seventh-Grade martial artist would grant 2,000 or 3,000 EXP. Now that he had advanced to the Seventh Grade, killing one only rewarded 1,000...

However, a Sixth-Grade martial artist was worth 5,000.

This was a great opportunity.

It wasn’t long before Qin Gang returned, gathering Lu Yuan, Mu Lingche, Han Li, and two other Squads for a brief meeting.

"For this operation, the higher-ups have assigned us an additional task," Qin Gang said, taking out a map. "The Heaven-Receiving Pavilion still has quite a few affiliated factions on the outside, and our General Banner is responsible for clearing them out. We must be fast and resolve everything before dark, then join the siege on their headquarters..."

The expressions of Lu Yuan, Mu Lingche, and the others shifted.

Clearing the perimeter...

This was both a good thing and potentially a bad thing. The good part was that they wouldn’t face the risk of encountering Fifth Grade and powerful Sixth Grade experts. They could easily earn battle merits, but the merits would be meager, and it would take up a lot of time.

If they ran out of time, the forces at the headquarters wouldn’t wait for them. Moreover, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t run into a Sixth Grade expert while clearing the exterior forces, as the information possessed by the Demon Suppression Bureau wasn’t necessarily complete. There were also dangerous terrains, Arrays, and other factors to consider.

Therefore, risks were still involved.

"Among the external factions, the Cheng Family Castle, Liuying Stockade, and Blood Bone Tomb are the three most difficult places to crack. Each one has two to three Seventh Grade experts, multiple Eighth Grade and Ninth Grade martial artists, as well as complex Arrays..." Qin Gang continued explaining. "Among them, the Cheng Family Castle is the strongest. Having operated for hundreds of years, its three Fortress Masters are all experts at or above the Middle Tier of the Seventh Grade. Under them are over a dozen Eighth Grade members and dozens to a hundred members below the Eighth Grade... The Blood Bone Tomb is the most secretive and unpredictable..."

"Leave the Cheng Family Castle to me!" Mu Lingche was the first to speak.

He wanted to crack the toughest nut.

Qin Gang had originally planned to assign the Cheng Family Castle to Lu Yuan, but Mu Lingche was just as capable.

"Alright, the Cheng Family Castle is yours. Resolve it before dark!"

"I guarantee the mission will be completed!" Mu Lingche clenched his fists, brimming with confidence.

"As for the rest..." Qin Gang looked at the remaining four Squads.

"You choose first," Han Li said, humbly deferring to Lu Yuan.

The other two Squads did the same. They all knew Lu Yuan’s true strength.

"Then leave the Blood Bone Tomb to me. I have my Thunder Blade, which perfectly counters them," Lu Yuan said, making his choice without hesitation.

"The Blood Bone Tomb is yours," Qin Gang nodded.

"I’ll take the Liuying Stockade," Han Li stepped up without hesitation.

"Good." Qin Gang waved his hand.

The remaining two Squads would be responsible for clearing out the other small fry.

"It’s best if you all finish your missions before dark and meet up with me here so we can rush to participate in the final sect annihilation battle. It would be a pity if you miss it; you won’t even get a slice of the pie," Qin Gang pointed to a spot on the map, five miles from the foot of the mountain southwest of the Heaven-Receiving Pavilion.

"Yes, sir!"

"We definitely won’t miss it!"

The five promised. Breaching the headquarters offered the greatest rewards.

"I will only wait for you until 5 p.m." Qin Gang turned and left.

Zhaoye County of Ningzhou was about eighteen thousand miles away from the Jade Capital. The airship arrived before 3:00 PM.

Lu Yuan and the other four Squads were the first to disembark.

"Let’s go. We’re heading to the Blood Bone Tomb."

Lu Yuan led his four subordinates and sprinted off. They were still twenty to thirty miles away from the Blood Bone Tomb.

It would take a quarter to half an hour to get there. After completing the mission, they would need to reach the Heaven-Receiving Pavilion headquarters—which was forty to fifty miles away—before 5 p.m....

Time was still very tight!

Lu Yuan had to strictly control their pace and finish the battle quickly.

It took only a quarter of an hour for the five of them to arrive near the Blood Bone Tomb.

"I’ll go in and drive them out, and you all will clean them up from the outside," Lu Yuan instructed.

The Blood Bone Tomb was a place where the Heaven-Receiving Pavilion used human flesh and blood to nurture malignant energy and condense Blood Malice Core Pills. Its main facilities and personnel were all underground, complete with Arrays and a complex environment. It would be highly dangerous for Eighth Grade martial artists to enter, so it was better for Lu Yuan to go in alone.

"Understood," the four nodded.

They had all brought bows and crossbows.

SWISH!

Lu Yuan stepped out and first leaped to the top of a tree, quickly locking onto the location of the Blood Bone Tomb.

It was in a mountain hollow with only a few buildings on the surface, looking like a charity mortuary or a dilapidated stockade.

SWISH!

Lu Yuan was as light as a swallow, covering dozens of meters with a single step.

Su Wan, Chen Qian, Jianng Hongfei, and Liu Zhi sprinted wildly behind him.

SWISH!

Lu Yuan landed and slowly walked inside.

"Who goes there?"

Two burly men with fierce, fleshy faces stepped out, their expressions changing slightly when they saw Lu Yuan.

"No unauthorized personnel allowed here!" one of the burly men said.

At a glance, it was obvious that Lu Yuan was no ordinary person. He was young, dressed exceptionally well, and had a handsome appearance... The key was that his aura was too striking and his eyes were far too confident.

He was completely fearless!

Only major noble clans could cultivate someone like this. But when had they ever had any ties with a major clan?

"I’m not an unauthorized person."

Lu Yuan flicked his wrist.

SWISH! SWISH!

Two steel needles shot out.

THWACK! THWACK!

They struck the two burly men right between the eyebrows, and the men quickly collapsed to the ground.

SWISH!

Lu Yuan continued walking inside, taking a leisurely stroll.

"Who is it?"

THWACK! THWACK!

Lu Yuan flicked his wrist once again. Anyone he saw was instantly dispatched.

With his Cloud-Brushing Hand at the major completion stage and his Seventh Grade cultivation, the lethal power of Lu Yuan’s Hidden Weapons had reached a terrifying level. Unless they were at the Seventh Grade, no one could block or dodge the Flying Needles he shot out.

Soon, he arrived deeper inside and stood before a well...

As a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist, he could clearly see faint wisps of grayish-black malignant energy rising from it.

If an Eighth Grade or Ninth Grade martial artist came over, they would feel a wave of intense discomfort. If an ordinary person were touched by even a single wisp of it, they would fall severely ill and become bedridden.

This was the place where corpses were thrown down; there had to be a large pool or a deep pit below.

Lu Yuan walked to the other side, where there was an entrance for a person to descend.

CLICK!

Finding the mechanism, he opened it.

Lu Yuan stepped inside and headed down...