Chapter 488: To Each Their Own!

Qin Lie had been keeping quiet all this time.

He could see from the attitudes of Ren Peng, Hu Ping, Wei Liang, and He Wei that all four resented him. Chu Li was the only one that didn’t.

Qin Lie stood by and watched Hu Ping get struck by lightning because he believed that it was the proper punishment for Hu Ping not listening to advice.

He knew that the barrage of lightning strikes wouldn’t be enough to kill him, and instead would teach him a lesson.

However, he hadn’t expected that Hu Ping would hate him so much.

Later on, he quietly listened to both He Wei’s argument and Song Tingyu and Du Xiangyang’s counterargument.

With the help of Du Xiangyang’s explanation, Qin Lie finally noticed that he didn’t owe anything to He Wei or the others.

As of that moment, Chu Li was the only one who truly considered Qin Lie a friend. He Wei’s group of four… was not worth his friendship.

After Du Xiangyang laid out the details one by one and explained each of them, he calmly smiled and stopped speaking overbearingly. He gave He Wei, Hu Ping, Wei Liang, and Ren Peng a chance to refute his words.

They tried very hard to think of something to say in response, but unfortunately they couldn’t.

No matter how much they racked their brains, they couldn’t come up with a rebuttal.

The faces of He Wei and the others began to darken.

The group of people who had been talking with each other cheerfully only an hour ago suddenly went silent all at once. It was as if they had all become mute.

The scene had turned ugly in an instant.

At this moment, He Wei and the three remaining Terminator Sect martial practitioners were looking at Chu Li, whereas Du Xiangyang, Xie Jingxuan, and Song Tingyu were looking at Qin Lie.

“Qin Lie…” A bitter smile spread across Chu Li’s face.

“I guess it isn’t very likely for our two groups to work together even if we wanted to.” Qin Lie smiled calmly, no longer trying to be secretive. “Your three junior brothers deeply resent me, and I don’t want people with ulterior motives nearby only to betray me at a critical moment. Therefore, Big Brother Chu, I suppose we should just split up and act as we did before.”

Qin Lie stated the facts in a candid manner.

Chu Li seemed embarrassed as he spread his arms wide and said, “I didn’t think things would turn out like this.”

“I didn’t think so either. I originally invited all of you here purely out of goodwill.” Qin Lie sighed. “Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking. Grudges between us aren’t so easily buried.”

“Qin Lie, you wouldn’t mind if we explore this thunder lagoon, would you?” He Wei suddenly interrupted.

Chu Li frowned slightly, a look of displeasure on his face.

Qin Lie flashed a calm smile, then confidently said, “Of course not.”

With that, he headed toward the other side of the thunder lagoon without another word.

The thunder lagoon took up an enormous area in the Land of Forbidden Thunder, and their two groups of people could definitely split up and explore its mysteries. If they were lucky, both groups wouldn’t even come across each other.

Qin Lie’s group had arrived in this location first. This was an excellent place to start exploring.

Yet he had stepped away of his own accord.

“As for the Pure Soul Springs, heh… to each their own, okay?” Du Xiangyang also left with a smile.

Song Tingyu and Xie Jingxuan didn’t say a word to Chu Li and the others before turning around and walking away, frowns plastered on their faces.

Soon enough, Qin Lie’s group departed and went to the other side of the thunder lagoon. Coincidentally, the thunder lagoon separated the two groups.

“Honestly? They pointed out the ways in which our groups conflicted and parted ways with us on purpose because they realized the value of Pure Soul Springs!” Ren Peng laughed coldly.

“Qin Lie obviously could’ve saved Hu Ping, but he paid him no heed. He was clearly trying to weaken us.” He Wei sighed softly. “The Pure Soul Springs are incomparably precious. How could he possibly want to share them with us? That Du Xiangyang treated us kindly all this time, but he suddenly became just as thorny. Aren’t the Pure Soul Springs the reason why all of that happened??”

“They think we won’t be able to acquire the Pure Soul Springs without them? Well I certainly don’t!” Hu Ping declared through gritted teeth. “Who does that Qin Lie think he is? He’s just a puny martial practitioner who came from a low rank continent. Does he seriously think he can overturn the skies in the Graveyard of Gods?”

Chu Li’s eyebrows were furrowed in deep concentration. He coldly stared at these people, choosing not to interrupt them.

Their attitudes helped him to gradually understand the situation. He knew that, be it He Wei herself or Ren Peng’s group, they harbored resentment for Qin Lie, Song Tingyu, and Xie Jingxuan down to their very bones.

If Qin Lie’s group hadn’t performed so well, both parties could’ve remained amicable.

Unfortunately, Qin Lie stood out too much.

Back at the village in the Forbidden Land of Wood, Qin Lie essentially forced everyone to give every bit of the Spring of Life to Xue Moyan. This incident had been a fish bone in the throats of Ren Peng and the others, causing them discomfort all this time.

Just now, Hu Ping’s greed blossomed and he ignored Qin Lie’s warning against inspecting the thunder lagoon. He had caused trouble for himself and blamed Qin Lie for not saving him.

Adding up all of these cracks, it would be naive for Chu Li to try and keep both parties together as if nothing had happened.

Chu Li already realized that the problem was on his side, but Hu Ping, Ren Peng and Wei Liang were his junior brothers who loved and respected him. Furthermore, He Wei was his beautiful childhood sweetheart. Even though Chu Li knew that the problem was on his side, he couldn’t just abandon them.

All he could do was stick with them.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

At the other side of the thunder barrier, Song Tingyu was also muttering criticism.

“Once a crack forms, it’ll be very hard to mend it. Besides, it wasn’t our fault in the first place, so why should we have to put up with them?”

“If they wanted to save face, they wouldn’t have come,” Xie Jingxuan said coldly.

“You women…” Du Xiangyang let out an involuntary laugh, shook his head, and said, “You wouldn’t understand friendship between men. If it weren’t for his friendship with Chu Li, do you think Qin Lie would’ve let those people join us? His honor wouldn’t have let him…”

“Qin Lie, we didn’t mean to be at odds with them, but that He Wei kept distorting the truth. Everything she said was unpleasant to the ear. She kept making it sound like we owed them all along!” Song Tingyu’s beautiful eyes were full of helplessness as she pulled at Qin Lie’s arm and gently said, “We didn’t put you at a tough spot, did we?”

“It’s fine. I don’t like them either,” Qin Lie said calmly.

“That’s great then.” Du Xiangyang smiled.

After a momentary pause, his smile faded and his face became incredibly solemn. “Before we explore the thunder lagoon, I think we need to come to a consensus!”

“A consensus?” Song Tingyu repeated in confusion.

“About those people from the Terminator Sect on the other side of the thunder barrier…” Du Xiangyang pointed a finger in the direction of Chu Li’s group and sucked in a deep breath. Then he exclaimed, “From now on, our paths are separate. We won’t cooperate with them in the future! At the same time, the Pure Soul Springs within the thunder lagoon are miraculous treasures that would make anyone go green with jealousy. It is extremely likely that conflict will break out between both groups as we explore and search for the Pure Soul Springs. I want to know what your attitudes will be should conflict truly occur!”

Qin Lie, Song Tingyu, and Xie Jingxuan’s faces experienced an abrupt change in color.

Du Xiangyang had brought up a very complicated problem.

The second Qin Lie’s agreement with Terminator Sect was broken, both groups could suddenly become enemies.

The possibility of conflict erupting between both parties as they explored the thunder lagoon and sought the Pure Soul Springs was definitely high. If they truly were to meet on the battlefield, what would they do?

An very grim predicament lay before them!

“Qin Lie!” Xie Jingxuan exclaimed softly.

Song Tingyu frowned deeply. Then, in a soft voice, she asked, “What do you think we should do?”

“The second conflict breaks out, any mercy may result in casualties of our own!” Du Xiangyang’s expression was serious. “Furthermore, I believe that, except for Chu Li, none of those bastards would be merciful!”

He looked deeply at Qin Lie and said, “If everything were the same as when I first met you, I believe that you definitely wouldn’t have mercy on them. Now, however…”

After Qin Lie had his soul tempered by the thunder and lightning in the Forbidden Land of Thunder, Du Xiangyang noticed that he seemed to have become surprisingly gentle. His eyes no longer shone with the mad gleam of ambition. A seed of evil used to be buried deep within Qin Lie’s heart. He had been the kind of savage that would think of a way to offend others even if they hadn’t offended him.

Now, however, the current Qin Lie seemed both gentle and harmless.

Yet, when he clashed with Feng Yiyou and Yu Men, he looked as violent and extreme as usual.

Because of these conflicting images, Du Xiangyang wasn’t able to get a clear understanding of Qin Lie.

Du Xiangyang couldn’t figure out what Qin Lie was thinking, so he was worried that Qin Lie would let his relationship with Chu Li affect him—

—he was worried that Qin Lie would be merciful in a life and death situation, giving the other party the opportunity to harm them significantly.

“From this point onward, they are enemies,” Qin Lie said calmly.

After a momentary pause, Du Xiangyang chuckled and nodded. “Then I’m at ease.”

Xie Jingxuan let out a sigh of relief.

Song Tingyu giggled and hugged Qin Lie’s arm tightly. Her ample breasts pressed against his arm, covering half of it.

“Guard me. I’m going to inspect the thunder lagoon one more time to see if the Consecutive Soul Splitting Formation that Feng Yiyou left behind will be a threat to us,” Qin Lie said indifferently, adjusting his mindset as he sat down cross-legged. He gathered a wisp of soul consciousness and slipped it into the thunder lagoon.

Du Xiangyang, Song Tingyu, and Xie Jingxuan stayed by his side, watching over him.

……