Chapter 2015: You Never Expected This, Right?

Lu Sanyuan felt a chill inside. He still carried quite a few reservations against Yun Jianyue’s Crescent Ring. With a roar, his aura erupted powerfully. As he sent a fist crashing down on the Crescent Ring, he looked like a giant.

He, Lu Sanyuan, had already dominated the world of warriors with his strength for many years and never relied on any divine weapons to do so. What he had the most confidence in were none other than his own fists. In his opinion, all weapons were external things. They would never be as convenient to use as one's own body.

Even though he was an infamous rebel leader, so strictly speaking, he and Zhao Han were arch-enemies, that had been one way in which he actually admired Zhao Han; after all, Zhao Han hadn’t used weapons either. He had only used his palms to make the entire world his.

In the time it took sparks to fly off a flint, his fist struck the side of the Crescent Ring. Whether in terms of power or angle, he expected it would be enough to send the weapon flying, thus making Yun Jianyue lose control of it. In his mind, he would use the instant when Yun Jianyue lost control of her weapon to rush forward and seize the initiative. Then, she wouldn’t be able to reverse the situation anymore.

In just that moment, he had already thought of sixty different ways of winning. In the end, he chose the one with the greatest chance of victory. Even so, his expression immediately changed, because the Crescent Ring was actually smashed to pieces by his palm.

How?!

He knew just how powerful the Crescent Ring was, and hadn’t expected to destroy it! That was why all of his plans had merely been to knock it away. But now, all of his strength ended up hitting empty air. In that instant, his arm almost dislocated, and the energies inside of him stirred chaotically. He almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He could no longer even think of his surefire plan of attack, so he quickly protected himself.

Lu Sanyuan was fully aware that he had fallen for his opponent's ploy, but he didn’t know how she did it. Why had the Crescent Ring just suddenly disappeared?

How could he know that this Crescent Ring was something created by Zu An’s Rune Weapon Chart? He could cancel its summoning at will.

At the same time, the Crescent Ring reappeared behind Lu Sanyuan’s head. Endless moonlight crashed down on him, and it was impossible to avoid. His expression became ashen, but even though he was surprised, he wasn't overcome with alarm. His Ruthless Tyrant Body was the most powerful defense among the Holy Sect’s three schools and six paths. This wasn’t the first time he had faced Yun Jianyue’s Crescent Ring, either. These attacks would at most injure him, but they wouldn’t remove his ability to fight. Moreover, his Ruthless Tyrant Body allowed him to become stronger the more he was injured. As such, it wasn't even necessarily a bad thing.

He suddenly felt a chill run through his body.

Why is the power of this Crescent Ring so much weaker than before?

However, he didn’t have time to think about it in detail. After all, the Crescent Ring had always moved strangely. Only when the attack really reached his body and he blocked it would he be able to seize back the initiative. That way, Yun Jianyue’s fighting strength would be reduced by at least half.

He raised his hand and was about to grab toward the streak of moonlight when he was suddenly stunned.

Where is my hand?

My right hand is gone? My left is... also gone?

Only two bare arms remained in front of him.

At the same time, he felt as if his heel had just been lightly stepped on by someone. Then, he couldn't stand steadily anymore and fell straight to the ground. The sensation of pain rushed into his mind, and he reflexively screamed. Even with all of the unfeeling techniques he cultivated, he still couldn't help but roll on the ground in pain.

His arm tendons had been cut, as were his leg tendons. Even though he did get stronger the more injuries he had, his arms and legs were now crippled, so no matter how strong he was now, there was no way to use that strength. He couldn't just kill his opponent with words, right?

Lu Sanyuan was in endless pain, but in his mind, there were a million question marks.

Why? Why was my Ruthless Tyrant Body so useless before her attacks?

It wasn’t just him. The eyes of everyone present were wide open. A second before, Lu Sanyuan had been releasing all of his power, and yet a second after, he had his arms and legs crippled? They had expected an extraordinary battle between dragons. With their cultivation, it wouldn't be as exaggerated as three days and three nights, but at the very least, it wasn't supposed to be decided in such a short instant, right? Many people had eventfelt a bit excited. A battle between people on this level was something that not everyone could witness, let alone this close up. It would be extremely beneficial for their future cultivation.

Even so, when they saw that the fight was over, they were all stunned.

That’s it?

We didn’t see a damn thing before it ended!

All of the higher-ups gave Yun Jianyue a confused look. They understood Lu Sanyuan’s cultivation well. The power he displayed was far from what they could match, and yet he'd lost after a single exchange?

As for Lu Sanyuan’s trusted aides, they all looked as if they were mourning their fathers’ deaths.

We’re done for, it’s all over...

Those who had sided with Lu Sanyuan all had bitter looks on their faces.

Would it be too late if we returned to Sect Master Yun’s side now?

“You’re definitely not Yun Jianyue! Ahhh!” Lu Sanyuan screamed. Out of those present, only he knew fully well that if Yun Jianyue had such terrifying cultivation, he would have long since died. How could he even manage to force her into such a desperate situation? However, in the current situation, he only sounded as if he couldn't take a loss.

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

We’re already in this kind of situation, and yet he’s still using such a lousy excuse to deny this loss. What, do you want all of us from the Holy Sect to help you fight against her just because you said so?

Even if we take a thousand steps back and she really isn’t Sect Master Yun, do you think we're tired of living? Why would we go against someone like that who crippled you so easily?

That was let alone the fact that this person looked just like Sect Master Yun! Furthermore, her Crescent Ring was also exactly the same, so how could it possibly be fake?

Zu An looked at Lu Sanyuan calmly. He also knew the importance of the current situation and didn’t even bother to say anything.

When he saw the cold looks around him, Lu Sanyuan was full of despair. He clenched his teeth and hissed, “What are you still standing around for?”

Chi Fuzi, who was at Yun Jianyue’s side, suddenly moved. He reached out his hand and grabbed Qiu Honglei’s shoulder, saying, “I have the saintess on my side, so you...”

His expression changed midway through his sentence. A streak of purple light suddenly shot out from Qiu Honglei’s body and blasted his hand away. In that instant, his hand became charred black, and the scent of burning flesh filled the air.

“Lightning Talisman!” Chi Fuzi exclaimed. He was a talisman master himself and immediately reacted to what was happening. At the same time, he was incredibly shocked. The quality of this talisman seemed to be even stronger than his own!

Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei had already appeared at Zu An’s side. She exclaimed, “Ah... Master, you really are supremely clever! There really was something wrong with him!”

Everyone around Chi Fuzi moved away and looked at him in horror. They really couldn't figure out why he would suddenly attack Qiu Honglei. Earlier, when there was a huge disparity between Sect Master Yun's side and Lu Sanyuan’s side, this man had actually been willing to support Sect Master Yun. Why was it that now that the situation had been reversed, he'd attempted a betrayal?

Chi Fuzi didn’t pay attention to anyone else; instead, he stared at Zu An and asked, “You noticed that there was something wrong with me from the very start?”

“That’s right. In the earlier situation, even the World School and Freedom Path Masters surrendered, and yet you stood at my side, seemingly duty-bound. It really didn’t make sense,” Zu An calmly replied.

The World School and Freedom Path Masters felt their faces heat up. It seemed their behavior hadn’t escaped the sect master’s notice.

“Weren’t there still so many others who chose to stand by you?” Chi Fuzi asked, finding a bit hard to understand.

“Those people are different from you; they're still young and have a bit of hot-bloodedness in them. However, you're a path master, someone whose every move controls the prosperity and decline of one of the paths. Even if you truly chose to follow me, there's no way you would risk the safety of your entire faction,” Zu An replied as he patted Qiu Honglei’s shoulder and helped her sort out her wrinkled clothes.

“That’s the only reason?” Chi Fuzi exclaimed, looking at 'Yun Jianyue' as if she were some kind of freak

She was actually someone so distrustful!

“Of course not,” Zu An replied with a chuckle. “Did you forget what you said when the armor-piercing arrows came? You said that you were here for a wedding, and that was why you didn’t bring many treasures and materials, so you couldn't maintain the barrier for long. But as a cultivator, who wouldn’t bring their treasures with them everywhere they went, especially in a place like the Holy Sect where the strong prey on the weak?”

Li Feiqing, Fatty Hu, and the other disciples of the sect all nodded. They were full of admiration.

The sect master is the sect master after all; she immediately saw through that old fart’s mistake. We were even almost moved to tears by his actions.

“That’s right. It seems you actually understand me quite well. However, did you predict that I had already made my preparations from the very start?” Chi Fuzi exclaimed.

As soon as he spoke, a formation disc appeared in his hands and activated. Then, the entirety of the Yin Yang Path’s territory was enveloped within a golden barrier. The ceiling of the golden barrier had a sun, moon, and stars, but the stars didn’t look small and beautiful, and were instead incredibly large and ominous. Everyone inside felt as if they were facing terrifying beasts.

Chi Fuzi carried Lu Sanyuan out of the formation and roared with laughter. “This old one already set up this Falling Star Formation here. No matter how high your cultivation is, you will still be smashed to dust by the meteors!”

“You’ve actually successfully built the legendary Falling Star Formation?!” the Freedom Path and World School Masters exclaimed in horror.

Even though the younger disciples weren't aware, how could those with their statuses not know about the Secret Path’s forbidden formations? It was rumored that in ancient times, there was someone who had used this formation to trap an army of deities and devils. Then, those countless powerful beings were blasted to ashes inside the formation.

The two of them could no longer remain calm. They rushed forth and used all of their ultimate skills. Unfortunately, no matter what they used, the barrier of light around them didn’t move at all. The only thing it did was make Chi Fuzi smirk.

Qiu Honglei couldn't help but ask, “Martial Uncle Chi Fuzi, why did you betray master for Lu Sanyuan? Master has treated you extremely well, and the Secret Path received the resources and status you asked for. Is that Lu bastard going to give you more?”

“I made this choice for many reasons. It is not something that I can express succinctly,” Chi Fuzi said; he clearly didn’t wish to respond to the question. He looked at Zu An and remarked, “You never expected this, right? You could predict a momentary choice of mine, but can you predict something from half a month ago?”

“Indeed, I couldn't predict things that far back, but there's no need for that anyway," Zu An said. While he spoke, a formation disc appeared in his hand as well. He took out some small flags, then placed them in various places. The pressure coming from the stars above gradually faded, and the entire golden barrier vanished.

“How?!” Chi Fuzi exclaimed as his eyes widened. His greatest work had been ruined just like that?

Zu An chuckled and said, “When I entered, I noticed that there seemed to be a formation here, so I tampered with it a bit.”

Even someone as powerful as Zhao Han had ended up falling into the trap of a formation’s ambush, so he was especially careful regarding these things. Furthermore, after he had studied the Baopu Sutra, as long as he was on guard, it was practically impossible for others to scheme against him using these methods.

Chi Fuzi stared at him and exclaimed, “You are a formation master? There is no way Sect Master Yun would know about these things. Just who are you? Could it be that you are the Royal Academy’s Yan Xiangu?!”