by D cat
Yet, he came out empty-handed.
"This... This is impossible!"
Ye Tian was so angry that his lungs were about to explode.
Despite being a powerful cultivator, he couldn't even see the face of his foe. Let alone punishing the clone for the massacre, he actually allowed him to escape so easily.
If others found out about his colossal failure, he would become a joke for the rest of his life.
After being annoyed for a moment, Ye Tian regained his bearings.
Thinking about the current scenario calmly, he found the entire matter a little suspicious.
"A lone martial artist, that was what he was. Yet he dared to go against the entire Ye family?"
"Moreover, his retreat was so swift; he must have some kind of concealment technique. A feat like this requires mastery in a special attribute cultivation technique..."
"Taking these two points into consideration, it would be safe to assume that the attacker was in the Martial Expert Realm and not in the Martial Mortal Realm. He must have suppressed the spiritual energy fluctuation to fool everyone."
"The next question should be the identity of the attacker. Who is he? The Ye family would never offend a Martial Expert realm cultivator. So, why is he targeting my Ye family?"
"Is he a raider from another stronghold?"
The more Ye Tian thought about it, the stronger his suspicion that the attacker was a raider from another stronghold grew.
CHAPTER 38 - UPGRADE DOPPELGANGER ASSIGNMENT FUNCTION!
Robbing an already established stronghold was way more productive than hunting Vicious Beasts.
There had been numerous martial artists before Su Yang who had the same idea of robbing a stronghold.
However, most of them would be quickly eliminated, but a lucky few could escape the pursuit.
These lucky people were the raiders Ye Tian was currently suspecting.
But, one suspicious detail stopped him from accepting this theory.
Why didn't the supposed raider choose the E-grade stronghold? It would've obviously been more profitable.
"What exactly is going on?"
Ye Tian suffered a brain aneurysm just by thinking about it.
On the one hand, Ye Tian was suffering from an aneurysm, and on the other, Su Lang was happily depositing the gold coins into the system.
"Wow, 1,935 gold coins! I'm rich!"
Looking at the four-digit gold coin balance Su Lang's face was filled with joy and excitement.
Moreover, these gold coins didn't include the additional gold coins Su Lang would get from selling the Vicious Beast items, pills, medicines, etc.
He was sure that he would at least get another 1,000 gold coins by selling those items.
"System, upgrade the Clone Dispatch function!"
Since the number of gold coins was just enough, Su Lang decided to upgrade a system function.
"Ding! Consuming 1,000 gold coins to upgrade Clone Dispatch function to level 2. Now, you get an additional clone."
As soon as the system notification sounded out, another miniature purple figure appeared in system space.
"Two clones! This is just great!"
Rubbing his hands with excitement, Su Lang brought out the second clone. Again, the clone was naked, so he dressed it in a black robe and white mask. For protection, he gave it a long knife.
"Hehe, next, let's go to the headquarters of Broken Axe Hunting Group!"
Su Lang planned on ignoring the other Ye family strongholds for now as he was sure they would be on high alert due to his recent attack.
If he sent a clone now, it would definitely fall into a trap.
Su Lang could keep an eye out and call them back if they were in danger, but that would be just a waste of time and effort.
On the contrary, since everyone was paying attention to the outskirts, it was the perfect time to stir trouble inside the city.
Soon, he acted out on his thoughts.
Su Lang left the inn and took the Spirit Qi bus to the Golden Fruit Building.
By now, he was used to the envious and respectful gazes of other people, so he just ignored them and got off the bus when it arrived at the Golden Fruit Building.
He stood on the Golden Fruit street and surveyed his surroundings.
The street was a mess—crowded by civilians and hooligans alike.
However, not a single hooligan dared to eye Su Lang as his spiritual qi fluctuation was like a danger sign to them.
He soon found a tall building near the Golden Fruit building, and he decided to camp out on the top.
"Sure enough, I can see a part of the interior of the Golden Fruit Building from here!"
Su Lang smirked.
With a single thought, he ordered his clones to go to the Golden Fruit Building.
Surprisingly, they didn't encounter any guards at the entrance.
Inside the luxurious box of the Golden Fruit Building, the cantonment of the snake-patterned man
"Tut... Tut... Tut..."
A rhythmic knocking sound resounded in the room.
"Coming with an update so late; what a bunch of trash!"
"Bang!"
The snake-striped man put on a long robe and slammed open the door.
From behind him, a scene of complete disarray could be seen. A few women could be seen, naked and with strangely twisted bodies. No one could tell whether they were alive or not.
"Boss..."
Outside the door, a Quasi Martial Cultivator bowed with cold sweat all over his head.
"Tell me, who did it?"
The Quasi Martial Cultivator could see utter madness and violence in the eyes of the bald man.
"No... we couldn't find out!"
The Quasi Martial Cultivator said in a trembling voice, "Everyone at the scene is dead. By studying the wound, we came to the conclusion that they died due to the Ghost Moon Saber Technique."
Slap!
"Red Maple City has tens of warriors who know Ghost Moon Saber Technique. What's the use of finding this out?"
The snake-striped man slapped the Quasi Martial Cultivator down to the ground.
"Aiyo, Black Serpent, your temper is getting worse. Isn't this why your strength hasn't improved recently?"
A young man's voice came from the door. Moreover, the speaker didn't even try to hide the ridicule in his voice.
"Sixth... Sixth Young Master?"
The snake-striped man's voice trembled, and he immediately turned around.
He saw two people standing at the door.
One of them had short-hair; long, narrow eyes; red lips; and white teeth. He had the bearing of a young noble scion.
The other man was a skinny old man with white hair and wrinkled skin.
CHAPTER 39 - THE MAIN CULPRIT BEHIND THE MURDER OF HIS OWN BODY
"Sixth young master! Why are you here?"
The bald man now had a flattering smile on his face; his previous arrogance and overbearing aura couldn't be seen anywhere.
"Why am I here?"
"Do you think you are worthy of knowing my thoughts?"
The short-haired man sneered and sat down on the sofa.
"I dare not!"
Cold sweat appeared on serpent-patterned bald men. On his bald head, those droplets were unbearably apparent.
The bald man was a mere dog that Ye Liang, the sixth young master, raised. How could he disrespect his owner?
"Humph!"
Ye Liang snorted coldly and said, "I came here to ask you something."
"Please speak, Young Master!"
Black Serpent, the serpent-pattern bald man, nodded respectfully.
"A few days back, the stronghold of the Broken Axe Hunting Group was destroyed."
"And just now, Ye Family's F-grade stronghold was also attacked."
"Our experts compared the wounds and found that we were attacked by the same person. So, I came to ask..."
"Did you offend someone strong recently?"
Ye Liang'
s words caused Black Serpent's expression to change drastically; he was stunned.
"Ye-Ye Family's stronghold was attacked as well?"
He was so shocked that his mouth opened inadvertently and his eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets.
The Ye Family was one of the four major powers in Red Maple City. Which rat was ballsy enough to stroke the whiskers of the tiger-like Ye family?
"You heard it right. Someone dared to offend the Ye family!"
"Once I find him, I'll make him live a long life—a life worse than death that is."
Ye Liang's expression was cold. "Now, tell me if you have any suspects."
"Subordinate... This subordinate has offended a lot of people..."
Black Serpent said in a trembling voice, "But none of them should be able to cause us a problem. I always remove the problem from the roots..."
"Humph, forget it. Just bring me what I ask."
Ye Liang snorted. "Go and get the gold coins that you collected last week. I'll buy medicinal pills to breakthrough the Intermediate Martial Mortal realm."
"Young master, you are already about to breakthrough?"
"You're so amazing, Young Master. Indeed worthy of being our young master. We boors are nothing compared to you!"
Black Serpent was surprised at first, but then, he began licking Ye Liang's boots, doing his best to please him.
"Cut the crap, go quickly!"
Ye Liang waved his hand, and Black Serpent immediately went to get the gold coins.
Before long, Black Serpent carried a big box back to the room and placed it in front of Ye Liang. "Young Master, there is a total of 1,265 gold coins inside."
"Very good."
Ye Liang was pleased, so he nodded and was about to order Black Serpent to send more people to investigate this matter.
"Ah!"
However, they were all stunned when they heard a gut-wrenching scream from the outside.
"What's going on?"
Ye Liang, Black Serpent, and the Quasi Martial Cultivator all looked towards the door simultaneously.
At this moment, footsteps could be heard from outside. Those faint footsteps and hushed screams gave everyone inside anxiety.
"Haha! This sixth young master of the Ye Family has 1,265 gold coins."
On the roof of the building next door, the corner of Su Lang's mouth curled up, revealing a strange and wild smile.
Meeting Ye Liang, the guy who ordered his death, at the Broken Axe Hunting Group's headquarters was out of even his expectations.
It was a surprise, but a pleasant one.
Inside the Golden Fruit Building, the footsteps were getting closer and closer.
Soon, they could smell the ferric scent of blood in the sir.
"Who is it?"
"Who dares to kill people in the Golden Fruit Building so recklessly?"
Black Serpent was shocked, once again. He could've never expected that someone would dare to kill so blatantly in their hunting team's headquarters.
"What are you panicking about?"
Ye Liang shouted coldly, "With Elder Lu here, we can deal with anyone."
As if reassuring everyone, the old man behind Ye Liang stepped forward. One look and anyone could feel an unfathomable aura coming from the old man.
Right now, they could finally see the owner of the footsteps at the door.
Black robe, white mask, a blood-stained saber, and a head clutched by the hair—that was the sight that entered their eyes.
His head was hidden under a dark hood, and his face was covered by a white mask. The blood drops on his hood weren't as visible as they were on his pure white mask.
"Ah Qi!"
Black Serpent's heart welled with shock and fury when he was the severed head.
The head belonged to Ah Qi, his most trusted subordinate. But someone actually beheaded him so ruthlessly.
At the same time, Ye Liang and Elder Lu weren't surprised they were aghast. Their faces went blank from shock, and they felt tongue-tied at the same time.
Why? It was because of a report about the stronghold's attacker they received before coming here. The report stated that the attacker wore a black robe and had a white mask on his face.
In front of them stood the murderer whom the Ye family was looking for with all their might.
CHAPTER 40 - ARROGANT YE FAMILY SIXTH YOUNG MASTER
After the momentary shock, Ye Liang was filled with joy.
"Great! The old adages indeed did not lie. If you don't walk on the path to heavens, then you'll walk on the path to hell."
Filled with a new-found vigor, Ye Liang jumped from the sofa and looked at the clone with disdain.
From what he could see, the black-robed clone was a mere beginner Martial Mortal cultivator. (E/N:- I think that Standard Martial Cultivators are those cultivators who had broken through the Body Tempering realm and are now Martial Mortals.)
Not only was Elder Lu an Intermediate Martial Mortal, but Ye Liang himself was about to break through into the Intermediate Marital Mortal realm.
Add to that the Broken Axe Hunting Group's leader, Black Serpent, you would have a classic three versus one match.
Ye Liang wasn't the only one who came to this conclusion; Black Serpent and Elder Lu did too. Now that they weren't worried about the outcome, they had time to sneer at their opponent's stupidity.
"Kid, although you destroyed an F-grade stronghold of the Ye Family, I'm willing to give you a chance," said Elder Lu.
"As long as you kneel before me while asking for forgiveness and swear to be my dog, I'll spare your life and protect you."
"But if you refuse my kind intentions, you won't even be able to imagine the consequences."
With a smirk on his face, Ye Liang watched the proceeding while standing between Elder Lu and Black Serpent.
The competition amongst the young masters and young ladies of the Ye family was quite fierce. Everybody tried to one-up everyone else. So, when Ye Liang saw how talented and ruthless this black-robed guy was, he decided to subdue him.
If he could force this guy into being his subordinate, then his group's combat strength would gain a massive boost.
Ye Liang thought that the clone had no way out as he was facing the mighty sixth young master of the Ye family. He believed that as long as he could apply the carrot and the stick strategy perfectly, he would be able to subdue the black-robed guy.
However...
"Haha!"
The cold laughter of the black-robed man resounded in the room. Blood-stained saber in one hand and a decapitated head in another, he nonchalantly walked into the room.
"Little friend, believe me when I say that Young Master Ye Liang can protect your status and health."
"Kneel down now. There's still time!"
Elder Lu walked in front of Ye Liang and offered Su Liang's clone a choice in a frigid tone.
"Friend, I am also Young Master Ye's subordinate."
"Look, ever since I decided to follow Young Master Ye, I have gained so much power and wealth!"
"This Broken Axe Hunting Group, this Golden Fruit Building, these were all things I couldn't even dream about before!"
Black Serpent took the hint from Elder Ye and began persuading the black-robed clone.
"Ridiculous! Are you joke!"
"You want me to kneel in front of this piece of trash?"
"Humph! Today, I'll show you true tyranny!"
After hearing their "offer," Su Lang sneered. He turned around and left the roof of the building.
...
Back at the Golden Fruit building, Su Lang's clone just stood there, giving no heed to their threats.
The clone was a killing machine. Concepts like threats, mercy, compassion were foreign to it; it was a machine born to kill.
Ye Lang and the others soon realized that the black-robed guy was just silently standing there, completely ignoring them. Fury and chagrin filled, they walked towards the clone.
"You refuse a toast o
nly to drink a forfeit?"
"Today, I will show you the consequences of offending the Ye family. More importantly, offending me, Ye Liang!"
Killing intent flashed across Ye Liang's eyes. He waved his hand and said, "Beat him until he turns into a cripple! I'll make him regret coming into the world."
"Then, I'll kill him!"
Elder Lu was well aware of the routine, so he immediately pulled out the longsword and rushed towards the clone, overflowing with killing intent.
Black Serpent took the Quasi Martial Cultivator's blade and rushed forward with incomparable ferocity.
Black Serpent and Elder Lu were expert cultivators; their agility was akin to that of a cheetah. The moment Ye Liang's last syllable fell was the time the duo appeared in front of the clone.
"Such speed!"
The Quasi Martial Cultivator's eye widened in awe. "They possess such terrifying abilities—this black-robed man is dead for sure."
"Humph!"
Meanwhile, Ye Liang just harrumphed coldly, as if he was already aware of the outcome. The smirk on his face said that the black-robed man would suffer a crushing defeat and would be grievously injured.
But all of a sudden, the flow of the battle came to a halt!
"Swoosh!"
The room was illuminated by an arc of saber light.
"Ding!!"
"Bang !"
The saber light blocked Elder Lu and Black Serpent's attacks in quick succession.
Immediately after that, the black-robed clone threw Ah Qi's head and retreated rapidly.
Obviously, this command was given by Su Lang.
"Trying to escape? No way!"
Elder Lu shouted and chased after the clone.
Black Serpent's reaction speed was slightly slower, but he too began chasing after the clone. Now, Su Lang's clone was being chased by both Elder Lu and Black Serpent.
"Trying to escape in the city? You will need wings to be fast enough for that!"
Ye Liang raised his chin arrogantly, then turned around and said, "Pour me a cup—"
But before he could even finish his sentence, his pupils shrank.
He did know how this happened, but somehow the Quasi Martial Cultivator's head was no longer on his shoulder. Moreover, behind him stood the black-robed cultivator.