Chapter 271: Exposed

The Eighteen Horsemen were able to sweep through the Ji Continent unhindered. Not even a dumbass would believe that there was no one backing them up. Even the strongest of them wasn’t in the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, but they were able to resist the pressure from the combined strength of the three great clans of the Ji Continent and the White Deer Institution.

It was basically an open secret in the Azure Origin World that the Eighteen Horsemen had the support of the Tongyou City. A huge portion of their gains entered the hands of the cultivators of the You Continent. Due to the huge distance between the Ji Continent and the Tongyou City, the Eighteen Horsemen chose to get rid of their goods in the Changfeng City.

Hai Min, who was lying on the roof of the restaurant, could hear the discussion among them. The cape she was wearing allowed her to avoid detection from Yang Zhenbiao and the others. However, she didn’t realize that her actions were seen clearly by someone not too far away.

Earlier, if not for the fact that Shang Xia was following closely behind her, he was afraid that he would have lost her in the darkness too.

“What an amazing cape! It managed to hide her aura completely and improve her camouflage!” Shang Xia might be standing further away, but with his divine sense merged with the world around him, he was also able to hear the conversation in the restaurant.

Chen Sanyang’s voice came from inside the restaurant all of a sudden. “... If the Tongyou City can’t even protect themselves, the Eighteen Horsemen will have to look for a new owner. City Lord Yang Hu is the best choice!”

Zhang Yushu looked at him in shock before turning to Li Tianshou who was laughing happily. He then turned to Yang Zhenbiao who had a look of contemplation on his face before chuckling, “Brother Chen, you kept us in the dark for a long time. Looks like you really understand the thoughts of City Lord Yang. The Changbai Holy Land and the White Deer Paradise seem to have reached a conclusion a long time ago too!”

Liu Yunjia and the others widened their eyes in shock, but they soon suppressed their emotions.

Chen Sanyang waved his hand casually and snorted, “I’m merely a nobody. I won’t be able to show my face around City Lord Yang Hu. However, Brother Li’s status is admirable. He’s the one City Lord Yang is relying on!”

Outside the restaurant, Shang Xia nodded to himself.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

As an envoy of the White Deer Paradise, Li Tianshou was naturally able to meet with Yang Hu anytime he wished. The reaction Yang Zhenbiao had earlier was real when he learned about Chen Sanyang’s origin. His father didn’t tell him any of his plan with Li Tianshou.

The cooperation between them and the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World could never be revealed. Especially when they were in the You Continent who hated the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World more than anything else in the world.

Even as Yang Hu’s son, Yang Zhenbiao wasn’t privy to the information that his father had deals with the members of the Azure Spiritual World.

In any case, Shang Xia didn’t think that that was the only problem. The thing he was worried about was the fact that Chen Sanyang had the guts to reveal his identity in front of so many people.

That could only mean one thing. Yang Hu, Li Tianshou, and even Chen Sanyang himself felt that there was no longer a need to hide his identity!

That would also mean that their goals had already been accomplished. Even if they hadn’t, they were close to it!

They might not have said who they were targeting, but Shang Xia was sure of it. They were plotting against the Tongyou City!

“The attack on Kou Chongxue… you guys did it?” Yang Zhenbiao’s voice rang in the hall once again.

Even though no one replied, Shang Xia could imagine the faces on Chen Sanyang at that moment.

“You guys really killed Kou Chongxue?” A sense of unease could be heard in Qin Yuyuan’s voice as he asked.

A soft chuckle left Li Tianshou’d lips. “Even if killing a Martial Dipper Realm expert was so easy, how can there be no signs of his death?”

“Since he’s still alive, how are you guys courageous enough to plot against the Tongyou City? The Tongyou Institution isn’t an easy target to deal with.” Yang Zhenbiao muttered. This time, his voice contained no trace of emotion.

Not a shred of fear was left in his heart. Since his father chose to receive the support of the White Deer Paradise and work with the Azure Spiritual World, they definitely came up with a complete plan.

.

All he wished to do was to make sense of the entire situation.

The best way would be to ask his father, but since his father arranged for the banquet, he definitely had his reasons for doing so.

Now, he finally understood where his father’s confidence originated from. His plan to convince the Eighteen Horsemen to work for himself didn’t just originate from capturing their third man in charge and his authority as the city lord.

“Even if Kou Chongxue is still alive, he’s probably pacing the gates of hell. He won’t be able to affect our plans in the near future. Once we succeed, even a Martial Dipper Realm expert would be crushed to death by the merger of our worlds.” Li Tianshou gloated.

“Merger? Do you mean, our Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World…” Yang Zhenbiao had a strong sense of repulsion in his heart. He felt that what they were talking about was too far-fetched, and it was definitely not something Martial Intent Realm cultivators like them were supposed to be thinking about.

However, there was a voice in his mind telling him that everything he was hearing was exactly what his father intended for him to hear.

The Changfeng City was merely a city in a barren region of the Azure Origin World. His experience and insights were far too lacking when compared to the experts who came from the central continent.

He wasn’t the only one. Even Shang Xia found their idea ridiculous. He also discovered a slight movement on the roof of the restaurant. Sighing softly, he knew that those inside definitely discovered her presence now that she had moved.

Silence filled the restaurant where Li Tianshou and the rest were, and it took some time for the commotion to return. Shang Xia could feel two powerful divine senses extending out from the restaurant as they examined the surroundings. One of them was really weird, and Shang Xia immediately identified the owner of the weird divine sense as Chen Sanyang.

Merging his divine sense with the world around him, Shang Xia’s presence disappeared.

He might be able to avoid their detection, but he got ready to make his move. The moment Hai Min made her escape, he would lend her his strength.

It came as a surprise when he discovered that she was still lying silently on the roof. It finally hit him. Her cultivation level was too low and she should be unable to feel their divine sense. As such, she had no idea she was already exposed.

When Shang Xia was hesitating to give her a reminder, the divine senses started to extend further around the restaurant. It was as though they failed to find anything close by.

Luckily, Shang Xia was prepared. The divine senses swept across him but failed to discover his presence.

He realized that Hai Min might not have been discovered by the two of them. After remaining still, she seemed to have evaded their senses. Thinking that the person spying on them had already left, the two divine senses extended to look for clues. Sneering in his heart, Shang Xia knew that they wouldn't be able to find anything no matter how far they looked.

Their divine senses might not have discovered him or Hai Min, but that didn’t mean that Hai Min was out of danger. Once they sent people up to the roof to take a look, Shang Xia was afraid that even with his assistance, she might not be able to escape.

A booming laughter emerged from the restaurant suddenly. “Brother Tianshou, Brother Chen, I’m really surprised by what you just shared. Who would have thought that I was merely a frog at the bottom of the well. I must have embarrassed myself!”

“Brother Yang, no need to say that! The only reason we knew about it in advance is because of the holy lands behind us. Even if we don’t tell you anything, you will probably learn about it soon! Hahaha, you can even say that we overstepped our boundaries by telling you in advance!”

“Oh right, even though Kou Chongxue is out of the picture, the Tongyou Institution is still a force to be reckoned with. They also have the support of the four great clans. Even if we succeed, we’ll have to pay a huge price! I’m not a coward, but my Changfeng City is located close to the Tongyou City! The moment they go crazy and try dragging all their enemies down to hell with them, we’ll be the first to be torn to shreds!”

“Hahaha…” Li Tianshou burst out laughing. “Brother Yang, let me ask you something else first. How do you think we managed to locate Kou Chongxue’s cultivation grounds?”

Qin Yuyuan muttered instead of Yang Zhenbiao. “Wasn’t there a spy who told you? Didn’t the Tongyou Institution clear out the spies of the Rose Party earlier?”

“The Rose Party is made up of a bunch of fools. How could they possibly discover Kou Chongxue’s hiding spot? The only ones who know the secret are in the higher ups of the Tongyou Institution. Even the patriarchs of the four great clans might not know!”

“Hiss…” Sucking in a cold breath, Yang Zhenbiao continued, “Who is it exactly?”

All of a sudden, Shang Xia felt something off. He could tell that those in the restaurant were currently moving about rapidly.

However, Li Tianshou’s voice quickly followed up, “Who do you think is the most likely candidate to enter the Martial Dipper Realm in the Tongyou City?”

“Huh? Are you talking about Ji Wenlong? That’s not possible. Do you think that Kou Chongxue is trying to suppress Ji Wenlong and he’s taking revenge?”

“Hehe, Shang Bo barely entered the Martial Extermination Realm ten years ago. Today, we heard rumors that he entered the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. He’s comparable to the powerful Ji Wenlong in a few short years of time. If that’s not suppression, I don’t know what is. If Kou Chongxue gave Ji Wenlong the same amount of support, he wouldn’t have just entered the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm.”

“This…”

“Also, do you know why the Tongyou Institution can’t wait to get their hands on the Mysterious Coral World? They definitely know that they can only obtain it after the grand formation loses power completely, yet they chose to enter it before the time came even though they know that it would damage the mysterious world. They waited for close to twenty years, but why would they act so impatiently now?”

“Isn’t it because Liu Jitang… No, could it be because of the rank five advancement formula?”

“Kou Chongxue was unable to bring out the rank five advancement formula, and naturally, they had to make their own plans.

“Wait. Brother Li, did you say that he is unable to take it out? Isn’t it because he wasn’t willing to do so?”

“Hehe, according to the elders of the holy lands, Kou Chongxue’s entry to the Martial Dipper Realm was a tad too suspicious. He might not actually possess an advancement formula. At the very least, he won’t have a complete formula! They can’t possibly tell that to the world. Once they do, the Tongyou Institution would lose control over the four great clans. Clearly, there’s no secret in the world that can be kept forever. The four great clans probably started to make their own plans!”

“So that’s the case…”

All of a sudden, three figures emerged from the hall on the second level of the restaurant and charged towards the roof. The moment they did, a terrifying blast ripped across the surface of the roof and the cape on Hai Min’s body fluttered in the air. She was exposed immediately!

“Hah! It really is the Tranquil Cape. Speak! Which one of the Eighteen Horsemen are you?!”

Liu Yunjia growled as a giant claw formed in mid air to grab at Hai Min.