Chapter 342 - 216: The 10-Day Pact (Part 2)

Chapter 342: Chapter 216: The 10-Day Pact (Part 2)

"..."

Gu Che had been silent the whole time. Only now did he seriously regard the young woman before him—a girl merely in her teens, yet daring enough to come to the Cyan Cloud Sect and provoke them all by herself. He spoke with gravity:

"In ten days, at the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Secret Realm, we will welcome you."

"Sect Leader?!"

Lu Wengu actually knew full well that with Yin Crow having come this far, the Cyan Cloud Sect no longer had any way to detain her. What he couldn’t understand was why the Sect Leader would agree to this ten-day pact.

People like them placed immense importance on promises.

Unless absolutely necessary, they would never break their word. Doing so could create an obstacle to breaking through to a higher realm, which was something that set Qi Cultivators apart from other systems.

"Since Miss Tong wishes for a battle to the death in our Cyan Cloud Sect’s Secret Realm in ten days, how could we, the Cyan Cloud Sect, a sect with a legacy spanning centuries, cower and avoid the challenge?"

"..."

"Heh heh, Sect Leader Gu, what impressive spirit. This humble girl is truly filled with admiration."

With that, her other foot stepped into the spatial rift, and her entire body vanished. As Yin Crow disappeared, Elder Lou’s corpse, which had been supported by some ordered energy, completely lost all signs of life. With a THUD, it collapsed to the ground.

"..."

Su Xing watched this scene, a sense of awe stirring in his heart. ’If this woman called Yin Crow is really Tong An’s daughter, then her talent is truly terrifying.’

Su Xing could sense that the Elders present, as well as Sect Leader Gu, were all extraordinary individuals. Although only Sect Leader Gu had reached the eighth rank, there were several at the seventh.

One had to remember,

they were all Qi Cultivators.

A single eighth-rank Qi Cultivator Spirit Lord had caused endless trouble for Cang City’s special organization, yet this Yin Crow could come and go as she pleased in front of so many Qi Cultivators.

Even if she had planned it all in advance, it was a display of immense strength and cunning.

’Most importantly, from their conversation, I heard that Yin Crow isn’t alone. She has at least one male accomplice. This was completely unexpected; Li Longxuan never mentioned such a person to me.’

’This just got a lot more complicated.’

Su Xing muttered to himself. He finally understood why the Cyan Cloud Sect didn’t want the special organization from Luocheng to get involved. Sending them would be sending them to their deaths.

Even though Su Xing’s current combat prowess could be considered equivalent to the seventh rank, he still felt immense pressure. He wasn’t that much stronger than the Elders beside him.

However,

Su Xing at least still had his Shattered Swords.

If he were truly fighting for his life and shattered all his swords at once, it would be incredibly difficult for anyone to take his life. But the backlash from doing so was something even Su Xing didn’t want to think about.

"Sect Leader Gu, what are your thoughts on this ten-day battle pact?"

Su Xing asked seriously.

Without a doubt, although Su Xing wasn’t sure if Yin Crow’s accusations against Elder Lu were true, he had no choice for now but to cooperate with these Qi Cultivators from the Cyan Cloud Sect.

"Yin Crow... She’s an Extraordinary-level wanted criminal registered with your organization. I never imagined she would be this powerful."

"Su Xiaoyou, my sect has felt your concern. However, the Cyan Cloud Sect’s situation is far from ideal. We must hurry and discuss a plan for this ten-day battle pact. If you wish to continue involving yourself in this matter, then please, enter the sect with us."

After Gu Che finished speaking, he glanced at the sect’s main hall in the distance, then turned back to look at Su Xing and said:

"If you do not wish to leave, you are welcome to come to my sect’s main hall. I need to go prepare some things, so I’ll be taking my leave for now."

With that, Gu Che’s figure transformed into a Black Shadow and vanished in stuttering movements. It was clearly some kind of Escape Technique, not a manipulation of space.

The others did much the same. Faced with such a crisis, the Elders of the Cyan Cloud Sect were in no mood to entertain Su Xing. After a few polite words, they all departed.

For some reason, the moment they had all left, Su Xing felt an unfamiliar eighth-rank aura. But the aura appeared for only an instant, perhaps even less.

This prevented Su Xing from pinpointing the aura’s direction. He only had a faint understanding that this matter was more complex than it seemed—not just in terms of power levels, but the reason Yin Crow was targeting the Cyan Cloud Sect was likely even more convoluted.

’Because I still remember why Tong An was loyal to the Sick Monarch. Yin Crow’s business is probably related to that as well. I wonder if the people Li Longxuan sent out from Cang City have found that coward, the Sick Monarch, yet.’

At this thought, Su Xing silently shook his head. ’Cang City’s affairs are a bit distant from me here in Luocheng. I should focus on the situation here first. For now, I’ll go check out the sect’s main hall.’

In a forest not far away—the only one in the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Secret Realm—a somewhat aged man stood atop the largest tree. He gazed toward the Cyan Cloud Sect and murmured:

"Tong An..."

"How did things turn out this way?"

...

「Cyan Cloud Sect, Main Hall.」

"Su Xing of Cang City greets the seniors of the Cyan Cloud Sect."

Su Xing said politely as he took a seat.

"Su Xiaoyou, your timing is quite fortunate. We’ve just finished our preparations and were about to discuss our strategy for the confrontation in ten days. Since you are from the special organization, you are our comrade-in-arms. Please, stay and listen to our discussion."

Gu Che spoke very politely. The Cyan Cloud Sect was indeed in need of combat strength right now, but they needed powerful combatants, not a group of useless individuals. It was clear that Su Xing fell into the "powerful" category.

"Since Su Xiaoyou was sent by the organization, I won’t say much more. But Sect Leader Gu, I still have to ask, why did you agree to that bizarre ten-day pact with Yin Crow?"

"If you hadn’t agreed, couldn’t we have just found a time to send someone to take care of her?"

Elder Lu asked, puzzled.

"Haha, Elder Lu, you must be joking. With her level of strength, besides myself, who here can say they could definitively defeat her?"

"Besides, the Cyan Cloud Sect is the one operating in the open right now. Without the constraints of a pact, we would likely suffer heavy casualties among our sect’s disciples."

Gu Che said seriously, "No one wants to face a true expert hiding in the shadows. What’s more, she can turn corpses into puppets, which means we can afford death even less."

"Since she agreed to ten days, we have plenty of time to send our less powerful disciples out of the Secret Realm to Luocheng. It will be safer that way."

Hearing Gu Che’s explanation, the others exchanged glances and nodded. They had to admit, as expected of a Sect Leader, his considerations were far more comprehensive.

"Sect Leader Gu is right. Moreover, since that wicked woman proposed to fight within the Cyan Cloud Sect, we had even less reason to refuse."

an Elder suddenly said.

This Elder hadn’t spoken until now. The Cyan Cloud Sect had a total of five Elders. Besides the deceased Elder Lou, there were four remaining, and he was one of them.

"Elder Ling, I never thought that you, who have always been so resourceful, would say such a thing."

Elder Lu said heatedly.

Sect Leader Gu’s words were clearly logical, yet Elder Lu remained extremely agitated. This made Su Xing somewhat suspicious of Elder Lu, the man at the very center of this storm.

After all, in the ’play’ Yin Crow had just performed, she had explicitly called out Elder Lu’s name.

"I have a question for Elder Lu. Earlier, on her ’stage,’ Yin Crow accused you of stealing her weapon and killing her lover. Why has no one in the Cyan Cloud Sect ever mentioned this?"

Su Xing spoke up.

"..."

The atmosphere nearly froze over, but it was instantly shattered by Elder Lu’s explosive temper. He roared:

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Are you going to believe that wicked woman’s provocations and start suspecting me now?"