Chu Yang had blown his top!
[There's no justification for Ao Clan wanting to deal with me. But, they've still come to cope with me. This is like 'biting the hand that has fed them'!]
[The news that I've rescued Ao Xie Yun has already spread far and wide in the Jianghu regardless of whether it is true or false. And, this news must've reached their ears as well. So, they mustn't have come to deal with me.]
[Shouldn't they express thanks to me now that they've come looking for me? But, why have they set up an ambush instead?]
The honorable Minister got angry in an instant.
He then decided that he must teach these people a good lesson regardless of what their motives were.
He hid several hundred feet away. He calmly lied down, and restrained all the vitality signs. Everything vanished in the blink of an eye; his heartbeat and pulses were no exception. In fact, he looked like a piece of decayed log in the forest.
It was because Sword Spirit had told him in his mind, "Three people are talking over there."
"What did they say?"
"The first one said, 'How come he hasn't come yet?' Then, another one said, 'He didn't pass by, right…?"
Sword Spirit relayed.
Chu Yang clenched his teeth and asked, "How was their manner of speaking?"
Sword Spirit said in a heavy voice, "It was cold, and was filled with killing intention."
Chu Yang heavily snorted in his heart.
This group of people belonged to one of the six troops of Ao Clan; this group was led by Ao Lang Yun. He was the second best expert in the younger generation of Ao Clan after Ao Xie Yun.
Ao Lang Yun had quickly led his troops to this place in order to block King of Hell Chu once they had resolutely attacked the Tian Clan's business estates.
"Third Brother and Sixth Brother have had a confrontation with Gu Du Xing. Fifth Brother had a fight with Dong Wu Shang. But, Dong Wu Shang escaped from their hands. We haven't yet gotten any news from Fourth Brother who has gone to intercept Ji Mo. Seventh Brother had attacked Luo Ke Di. And, Luo Ke Di got injured. But, he also managed to run away…"
Ao Lang Yun knitted his brows, "This explains that the intelligence we've received is correct. However, why has their Big Brother King of Hell Chu still not arrived here? Could it be that this guy is walking leisurely, and enjoying the scenic beauty along the journey?"
Two old men were standing next to him; they were dressed in embroidered robes. Their eyes flashed, and a radiance overflowed the vicinity. Then, one of them said, "Second Young Master doesn't need to be worried. You must relax your heart for the time being, and wait for a while. King of Hell has definitely not passed through from here. We don't know… he may have faced some issue along the way… which is why he's late."
The other man said, "But, dealing with King of Hell Chu is somewhat inappropriate given the circumstances. This matter must remain strictly confidential. Otherwise, the tag of 'biting the hand that feeds one' would be placed on Ao Clan's forehead if word of this leaks out."
Ao Lang Yun snorted faintly. Then, he explained his motivations without concealing anything from his confidants, "First, King of Hell Chu meddles in others' business. The rumor has spread in the Jianghu that Chu Yang had rescued Ao Xie Yun. This could either be true or false. But, there's no smoke without fire… There must be a reason behind these rumors. And, I speculate that these rumors are most probably true. This alone is his capital crime.
"Second, it isn't necessary that King of Hell Chu has saved Ao Xie Yun out of good intentions. In fact, he might have done it so that the clans in the alliance opposite to Mo Clan, Dong Clan, and the other clans would have to bear the brunt of it. After all, the Mo Clan's alliance hasn't taken any action from the beginning to the end. So, it is clear that their intention is to force our Ao Clan into making the first move. Then, they would watch in safety whilst others fight, and make profits at their expense in the end. And, someone with a heart that bears such evil motives deserves death.
"We had been unsure about whether some major clans had been hunting down Ao Xie Yun… But then, the news of King of Hell Chu rescuing Ao Xie Yun had spread and affirmed that suspicion. And, this had made Ao Clan have a clear goal of taking revenge. This shows that King of Hell Chu has been exchanging information with Mo Tian Ji and the other Young Masters. They all are in collusion.
"Third, the Heavenly Armament Pavilion destroyed Ou Clan overnight under King of Hell Chu's leadership. So, the Heavenly Armament Pavilion's power can't be underestimated. They may have taken the Xie Clan's help. However, anyone can see their military strength. And, this will become a big problem over time. The ambitions of the Heavenly Armament Pavilion seem to be clear… especially in the current turmoil of Jianghu. So, we must eliminate or disintegrate it as soon as possible. Otherwise, it'll become Ao Clan's greatest enemy once it's fully-fledged.
"In fact, it's probable that it'll turn into the next Black Devil Clan!
"Fourth, his five brothers – Gu Du Xing, Dong Wu Shang, and the other three – are all outstanding talents of this younger generation. They have great future prospects. I want to become the next Clan Lord. So, I must have such promising young experts at my side. The Jianghu is in great chaos at this time. So, this is a heaven-sent opportunity. We must seize this opportunity, and subdue them. However, King of Hell Chu is their Big Brother. So, they wouldn't change their allegiance if King of Hell Chu doesn't die. Therefore, King of Hell Chu must die.
"If they can be used by King of Hell Chu — they can be used by me too."
Ao Lang Yun coldly snorted. He then indifferently continued, "What can King of Hell Chu give them? I can give them ten times of what King of Hell Chu has to offer! Even more than that…!
"These are the reasons why I want to kill King of Hell Chu. In fact, King of Hell ranks first in my list of people that must be eliminated," Ao Lang Yun indifferently explained, "I don't care if you call me an 'unjust ingrate'. I don't mind if you call me the one who bites the hand that feeds it. But, King of Hell Chu mustn't be allowed to live!"
The two old men tightly wrinkled their brows next to him. They thought for a while, and then finally let out long sighs.
[King of Hell Chu has rescued Ao Xie Yun. This equals to him opposing Ao Lang Yun.]
[These things are just Ao Lang Yun's speculations. However, they aren't necessarily untrue.]
[It seems that Chu Yang truly needs to die.]
They then looked at each other, and stopped their dissuasion.
Ao Lang Yun said with a smile, "I've brought a team of a hundred experts to kill this King of Hell Chu. So, King of Hell Chu should feel much honored even if he has to die."
The two old men bitterly smiled.
Naturally, not a word from their conversation went unheard by the Sword Spirit's ears. And, the Sword Spirit obviously passed these words onto Chu Yang's ears.
King of Hell Chu immediately blew his top.
[You are engaging in a power struggle for your selfish desires. But, why must you push all the blame on me? Isn't this matter as insane as a prostitute wanting to set up her memorial arch?]
[Those big clans chased down Ao Xie Yun to deal with your Ao Clan. What do I have to do with this? I would've only been glad to see them succeed, you know.]
[Even that Mo Tian Ji would've thought of adding fuel to fire, ok?]
A murderous aura rose up around Chu Yang's body. It immediately made Sword Spirit understand, [The fight is inevitable now!] He gently sighed, "Be careful. There are two eighth grade Emperors, and ten fourth and fifth grade Emperors among the enemy. In addition, there are eighty other people. And, all of them are King Level Experts."
Chu Yang gently nodded. He withdrew the surging tides of murderous aura and anger from his body, and regained his ultimate calmness.
[This is probably going to be the most difficult and arduous fight since I've started my life's journey.]
[But, it's not my style to run away from a fight.]
[I'll kill and kill until all of you die. I'll hack your group of ungrateful bastards to death. What do you think your Ao Clan is? Are your necks not made of flesh?]
A burst of cool breeze blew… Chu Yang's body floated along with the wind, and he entered the forest ahead of him with lightning speed. This meant that he had sneaked into Ao Clan's ambush circle.
This was a dense Ancient Pine Forest. The canopy of dense pines had covered the sky. It was broad day-light, but there was gloominess in this Ancient Pine Forest. The people's shadows made them seem like ghosts in this darkness.
"There seemed to be some sound of movement just now, right?" The two old men in embroidered robes wrinkled their brows. They then turned at the same time, and started to look around.
Suddenly, a pitiful scream was heard from the periphery of the ambush circle.
The sound had come from the south.
The complexion of both the men changed. One of them stayed behind, while the other instantly disappeared from his original position.
"Let's go over there, and take a look," Ao Lang Yun calmly said.
Ao Lang Yun and the other old man also went in that direction.
They couldn't help but shiver on seeing the scene when they finally arrived at the spot from where the scream had sounded. They saw that a King Level Expert of Ao Clan was facing towards the outer side of the forest. However, his body was off the ground… He was firmly pinned to a branch of a pine tree. He was dead, but his eyes were still wide open. He had a frightened and despaired look in his eyes.
The trousers of this man had fallen down from his legs, and were drooping on the ground. The lower half of his body was completely naked. However, there was a thin mark of a sword-slash on his throat.
"He must've been attacked when he was taking a leak. The sword cut his throat, and then cut off a section of the pine tree in order to sew his body to the trunk of the tree," the vision of that Emperor Expert in embroidered robe flickered as he heavily said.
The other Emperor Expert in embroidered-robe went forward to examine carefully. He then said, "Whoever killed him has to have a divine weapon. The cut seems to be very fine. In fact, his Adam's apple and neck bone have also been accurately cut in half. Moreover, this person's skill should be no less than that of a fifth grade King level Expert. He must be a master assassin!"
"Well!" Ao Lang Yun's complexion became serious. He held out his hand, and waved, "All personnel — stand on guard. Be sure to intercept and kill this assassin once you find him."
Many people complied in unison from their hidden ambush positions.
However, both the Embroidered-robed Emperor Experts became anxious in their hearts. One of them shouted, "Everyone, leave your original positions. Immediately switch to new positions in correlation with each other."
However, his voice hadn't even faded when another hoarse scream was heard… It came from the north this time.
"Damn it!" One of the Embroidered-robed Emperor Experts stamped his foot on the ground since his heart had filled with helplessness.
"Second Young Master, how could you give a command at this time? You should've at least told them not to make any noise along with the order. They are bound to acknowledge your order. And, that is equal to providing their locations to this hidden killer."
Apparently, this embroidered-robed old man had a very high position in the Ao Clan. He had dared to lash-out at Ao Lang Yun to his face. The blaming tone in his voice was obvious even though his manner of speaking was tactful.
"Yes, yes… I messed up." Ao Lang Yun readily accepted his advice. He then bowed his head, and admitted his mistake, "I don't have much understanding of such military strategies. So, I ask Uncle Cai to take full authority, and command the troops."
This Uncle Cai was named Cai Xiao Cheng. He had been one of the eight great protectors of the Clan Lord Ao Tian Xing along with the other old man named Li Chang Long. Four out of these eight great protectors had been with Ao Xie Yun, while two were with Ao Lang Yun. The remaining two guarded the five other brothers. They separately stayed with them… one brother at a time.
In addition, these great protectors were also in-charge of the protection of the Ao Clan's juniors.
Cai Xiao Cheng wasn't being polite to his Young Master. After all, this was not the time to show modesty. He repeatedly issued orders from his mouth, "All of you, listen to my orders. Leave your original ambush positions. Then, slowly crowd around towards the middle of the ambush circle. You don't need to be too quick. Just don't make any sound."
Then, he instantly turned around towards the north to take a look. There was a King Level Expert sitting paralyzed on the ground as expected. There was a big hole in his chest, and he had lost all of his vitality.
"So ruthless!" Li Chang Long clenched his teeth and said, "This killer clearly had the capability to kill him in one strike. He didn't even let him utter a sound while doing so. But, the killer made him let out a pitiful scream at the point of death… This killer is vicious and merciless. He seriously makes my blood boil."
"Who's this person?" Ao Lang Yun asked, "Is it possible that it is King of Hell Chu?"
Cai Xiao Cheng and Li Chang Long looked at each other. However, they only saw uncertainty in each other's eyes.
Some rustling sounds rang in the pine forest. Many ambushing experts were rushing over to the middle.
The enemy wouldn't have any method to silently assassinate these experts as long as all of them were gathered closely in a circle.
However, screams rose up in quick succession at this moment. Cai Xiao Cheng bellowed. Then, he flapped his arms, and flew over in the direction of the sounds like a big bird.
….