Chapter 470: Friendship Of Old Acquaintances

The woman turned out to be Tsukiha Yaiba, the Jiepeng girl from Quanye High School in Liuhe Base City. It had been a long time since Li Xiaofei had seen her, and she seemed to have changed slightly.

Wearing a Jiepeng samurai robe and light makeup, she now appeared more mature than she had been during her student years.

"So, it’s you after all," Tsukiha Yaiba said with a faint smile as she took in Li Xiaofei.

Li Xiaofei quickly regained his composure and smoothed his expression. He asked, "What’s your relationship with Tsukiha Tensō?"

"He’s my uncle," Tsukiha Yaiba replied without hesitation. "When I heard reports from my subordinates and reviewed the video footage, I suspected it might be you. That’s why I rushed here immediately. It’s been a while, Li-kun."

Li Xiaofei asked, "Did you rush here to fulfill the wager we made back then?"

Tsukiha Yaiba smiled faintly. "If Li-kun wishes, I am at your service."

Li Xiaofei shifted the topic. "Why didn’t Tsukiha Tensō come himself?"

"My uncle is currently in seclusion," Tsukiha Yaiba replied.

A flicker of disappointment went through Li Xiaofei. It seemed the old dog had managed to buy himself a few more days of life. Without Tsukiha Tensō’s head as a warning, the plans ahead would inevitably face some complications.

"How long will this seclusion last?" Li Xiaofei pressed further.

"Saints in seclusion cannot be measured by time," Tsukiha Yaiba replied.

Li Xiaofei cast a glance toward the hotel lobby entrance, his eyes flashing with a dangerous light. If Tsukiha Tensō refused to show up, he might as well kill a few more Jiepeng people to make a statement. If he happened to take Tsukiha Yaiba down as well... That would undoubtedly force Tsukiha Tensō to break his seclusion and come for revenge.

As the thought took root, Li Xiaofei’s hand instinctively moved to the hilt of his blade. Tsukiha Yaiba immediately sensed the threat. Her jaw tightened, and she gritted her teeth. She remembered very well how this young man harbored a seething hatred for the Jiepeng people back in Liuhe Base City.

She hadn’t expected him to change in the slightest despite their past acquaintance.

So she hurriedly said, "Wait! I’ve come for peace. Many things can be resolved at the negotiation table."

"Negotiation table?" Li Xiaofei shook his head lightly. "What you can’t take on the battlefield, you won’t get at the negotiation table either. The Jiepeng people have run rampant in Haijing City for too long. It’s time to collect some interest."

As his words fell, the tension in the air thickened.

Whoosh!

The Chixia Blade leapt from its sheath, eager and jubilant. A streak of crimson light tore through the air.

Before the Jiepeng soldiers inside and outside the hotel lobby could even register fear, their heads fell cleanly from their bodies, sending fountains of blood spraying high into the air. The daytime fireworks bloomed again in a gruesome, yet mesmerizingly beautiful fashion.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking rang out. Sparks erupted from Tsukiha Yaiba's figure as a faint golden halo materialized around her, blocking the lethal strike. Her face turned pale with fright.

"Stop! I can help you. Let’s talk this through!" Tsukiha Yaiba shouted, her voice urgent and panicked.

For the first time, she realized Li Xiaofei truly intended to kill her. This man had no intention of sparing her despite their shared past. The Chixia Blade traced an elegant arc in the air and descended toward Tsukiha Yaiba for a second strike.

Li Xiaofei’s face remained devoid of any compassion. It was one thing for her to appear in Liuhe Base City under the guise of a student, but to show up here, in Haijing City, wearing the armor of Jiepeng’s military?

To Li Xiaofei, it was proof enough that Tsukiha Yaiba was an active participant in the invasion plans.

Friendship? What friendship? That’s worth less than nothing.

Clang!

Sparks flew again. The faint golden halo surrounding Tsukiha Yaiba dimmed further as it seemed on the verge of shattering completely.

Desperation creeping into her voice, she shouted, "I know the secret behind how Jiepeng controls the ocean star beasts!"

Whoosh!

The Chixia Blade halted just three centimeters from her forehead.

"Ah, the memories of the High School War God League," Li Xiaofei said with a sudden smile. "Tsukiha-san, it’s been a long time. I’ve missed you dearly. I hope this time, we can deepen our friendship."

Tsukiha Yaiba was speechless. She panted heavily, her chest rising and falling as she struggled to calm her racing heart. It had been so close. Just a hair’s breadth, and she would have been dead.

Tsukiha Yaiba had always believed herself to be destined for greatness, someone who wouldn’t die so easily. But Li Xiaofei’s relentless ferocity had made her realize something chilling. Her life, at times, was entirely at the mercy of another’s whim. This was the closest she had ever come to death.

After catching her breath, Tsukiha Yaiba straightened and asked cautiously, "I’ve told you what I know. Will you spare me now?"

Li Xiaofei’s smile widened. "Spare you? Why, Tsukiha-san, I never intended to kill you. You misunderstand me. I only thought our conversation could be... more in-depth."

Tsukiha Yaiba gritted her teeth and said, "Have you considered that perhaps our goals might align?"

Li Xiaofei glanced at Hua Wuying. She shook her head slightly, indicating that the Dragon Group's intelligence on Tsukiha Yaiba was incomplete.

Tsukiha Yaiba spoke quickly, "The imperial family of the Jiepeng Empire has obtained a divine weapon, an artifact capable of controlling star beasts. Once fully charged through a ritual, even king-grade and emperor-grade star beasts cannot resist its will. However, the Empire has yet to fully harness its power. However, even with only a fraction of its abilities, they’ve already used it to command beast tides."

Li Xiaofei, Hua Wuying, and Huang Fulai were all visibly shaken by this revelation.

A divine weapon that could control star beasts?

This was the first they had heard of such a thing.

No wonder...

Li Xiaofei thought back to what Hua Wuying had said about the four sisters. The cyan-scaled serpent must have been under the influence of this divine weapon. It had only managed to escape control by sheer coincidence during its bloodline awakening.

Based on Tsukiha Yaiba’s information, the Jiepeng people hadn’t yet fully mastered the divine weapon’s abilities, which was why the serpent had been able to break free. Otherwise, even with a trace of Divine Dragon bloodline, the serpent would likely have become nothing more than another emperor-grade beast under Jiepeng’s control.

"Where is this divine weapon now?" Li Xiaofei asked.

"It’s, of course, within the Jiepeng Empire," Tsukiha Yaiba replied.

"And they can control the beast tides along Great Xia’s coasts from their homeland?" Li Xiaofei pressed further.

Tsukiha Yaiba nodded. Li Xiaofei and the others exchanged glances, their hearts heavy with a growing sense of crisis. The notion of an artifact located in the Jiepeng Empire that could influence the territorial waters and lands of Great Xia was both terrifying and infuriating.

If the Jiepeng people fully mastered this divine weapon, wouldn’t all of Great Xia’s lands fall under the control of these ambitious wolves?

"You mentioned a ritual earlier. How is the divine weapon activated through this ritual?" Li Xiaofei pressed further.

Tsukiha Yaiba replied without hesitation, "Through a sacrificial ceremony, using the blood, flesh, life, and soul of living beings as offerings. The more lives sacrificed, the stronger the weapon’s power and the longer its duration."

The faces of Li Xiaofei and his companions darkened again. This was nothing short of a monstrous, forbidden practice.

"How many people are required for one ritual?"

"At least one thousand," Tsukiha Yaiba replied.

"And since the Jiepeng Empire obtained the divine weapon, how many times have they performed the ritual?"

"To my knowledge, at least a hundred times," she answered. "This includes initial experimental phases and later full-scale sacrificial ceremonies."

"That’s insane," Huang Fulai exclaimed, unable to contain himself. "This is madness. It’s like killing a thousand enemies while losing a thousand of your own. How many people does the Jiepeng Empire even have left?"

Tsukiha Yaiba hesitated, glanced at him, and then asked a chilling question in return, "Why do you assume the sacrifices come from the Jiepeng Empire’s citizens?"

Huang Fulai’s expression froze, then twisted as the realization struck him. His fists clenched tightly and his body trembled. His teeth ground audibly as an uncontainable rage boiled within him.