Chapter 568: Ning Wuwo Departs

The Slum.

The headquarters of the Cloudy Sky Gang had been reduced to rubble amidst the rising smoke and flames. When Ye Yu arrived with his men, he saw only scattered corpses and encountered no significant resistance.

“The Grand Marshal led his forces toward the eastern city gates at B16, B17, and B18,” reported a rebel commander who was combing the battlefield for survivors.

The Cloudy Sky Gang and the Martial Alliance had inflicted massive losses on the rebel forces during the battles to defend the city. Now that the city had fallen, the rebel Grand Marshal, Xie Qingzhi, had personally led a campaign to completely eradicate these two factions. He had wasted no time in deploying his elite forces to the slum headquarters.

However, they encountered only minor resistance. Most of the members of the two factions had already evacuated. Word was they intended to scatter into the wilderness outside the city.

Xie Qingzhi himself led the pursuit. This was within Ye Yu’s expectations.

“Follow them,” Ye Yu ordered, taking his five hundred-strong force toward the eastern end of the city.

Moments later, the sound of fierce fighting and explosions came from ahead.

We’ve caught up.

Ye Yu’s heart filled with excitement. He quickly led his men toward the commotion. Ahead, a fierce battle was unfolding near the city’s B17 gate.

About thirty martial arts experts from Liuhe Base City, led by an elderly man with white hair, were holding the gate. They were successfully holding the rebel forces back, preventing them from exiting the city to continue their pursuit.

The rebel Grand Marshal, Xie Qingzhi, stood coldly as he watched the battle from the safety of his armored vehicle.

"Grand Marshal." Ye Yu quickly stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

Hierarchy was strictly enforced in the rebel ranks.

"Do you recognize that man?" asked Xie Qingzhi as he pointed at the white-haired elder guarding the city gate.

Ye Yu had grown up in Liuhe Base City, so he immediately replied, "I do. His name is Ning Wuwo, the leader of the Martial Alliance in Liuhe Base City. He’s a figurehead that Li Xiaofei personally installed."

Xie Qingzhi drew the treasured blade from his waist and threw it at Ye Yu's feet. He said, "Go and kill him."

Ye Yu picked up the blade and declared loudly, "Yes, sir!"

He strode toward the battlefield, gripping the blade tightly. Inside his body, thirty-six Inscribed Treasure Bones from Grade Five star beasts roared to life. A powerful surge of beast energy erupted, forming visible shockwaves that rippled around his body.

The terrifying pressure radiated outward in an instant. Both sides in the battle froze, feeling the suffocating weight of a mountain pressing down on them. Ye Yu smirked, satisfied with their reaction.

He licked his lips in excitement. Once, he had been just an ordinary core member of the Ye family. When the Ye family had been annihilated by Li Xiaofei, Ye Yu had barely escaped with his life. He had fled to Lanfu Base City, where he lived in hiding.

Fortunately, the upheavals of the era had provided him with a chance. In desperation, he underwent the New Martial Arts Surgery offered by the Xie family. He had thirty-six high grade Inscribed Treasure Bones from star beasts transplanted into his body. It had been beyond the theoretical limit, but he had survived the procedure.

He had leapt from his previous minor cultivation level of the Acupoint Opening Realm to become a powerhouse in the Golden Body Realm. He had done it all for one reason—revenge.

Born into the Ye family, Ye Yu had once lived a life of luxury and indulgence. But he had lost it all because of Li Xiaofei. So he vowed to kill every one of Li Xiaofei’s friends and loved ones.

Under the archway of the city gate, Ning Wuwo could feel Ye Yu’s murderous intent bearing down on him. He forced two rebel commanders back with a sweep of his sword before stepping back himself, holding the sword horizontally across his chest.

His white robe was already soaked in blood. In his younger years, Ning Wuwo had experienced a remarkable encounter as he traveled the world. He had mastered the art of forging weapons and become unparalleled in his craft.

Later, he met Li Xiaofei, and the two had achieved greatness together. Under Li Xiaofei’s guidance, Ning Wuwo’s martial arts had reached new heights. But he had exhausted most of his strength in his efforts to hold back the enemy. His breathing was uneven and his energy was depleted.

The approaching enemy radiated an overwhelming aura of beast energy. It was a clear sign of someone who had transplanted the Inscribed Treasure Bones of high-tier star beasts.

“Master...” Behind him, a beautiful female disciple looked at him with worry etched across her face.

Ning Wuwo waved his hand dismissively. “I won’t make it out of here today. You’re still young. There’s no need for you to die alongside this old man. Leave the city immediately.”

“Master, I won’t leave you,” the disciple cried in anguish.

“Go. Find Li Xiaofei.”

At that moment, a serene and carefree expression spread across Ning Wuwo’s face.

He smiled faintly. “Tell him everything that has happened in Liuhe Base City. He will avenge all the innocent lives lost here.”

In the end, at Ning Wuwo’s insistence, the remaining members of the Martial Alliance, along with his female disciple, retreated swiftly into the wilderness outside the city.

Ning Wuwo, his white robe drenched in blood, stood alone under the archway of the city gate, gripping his sword. He drained the last of his wine from a gourd and tossed it aside.

"Ha ha ha!" Ning Wuwo laughed heartily, raising his blade as he stepped forward.

"With Xiaofei’s martial way, the light will shine for ages! You will all perish, body and name erased, while the rivers and mountains endure for eternity! When my sworn brother returns, every one of you will die! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Alone, he charged into an army of thousands wielding a single blade. Ye Yu roared, gripping his treasured blade tightly as he slashed forward to meet him.

A fierce battle ensued. Blades clashed, sparks flying in a dazzling display of skill and power. After three exchanges, an arm flew into the air as blood sprayed across the battlefield.

Ye Yu staggered back, gasping for air, his left arm severed at the shoulder. Blood gushed from the stump. Opposite him, Ning Wuwo stood rooted to the spot, his sword lowered. A thin line of blood slowly appeared across his neck.

"A clay pot will break at the well’s edge, and a great general will fall on the battlefield..." Ning Wuwo’s body swayed, but his face had a calm and satisfied smile.

"I’ve drifted through life, tossed by fate. I once dreamed of soaring into the heavens, but I couldn’t break free from the shackles of the noble families. I lingered in this small northwest city, thinking I’d live out my days in obscurity, but who would’ve thought... at the end of it all, I’d feel my blood burn one last time, my blade true to my heart’s fire."

"Ha ha ha! Ning Wuwo departs!"

With those final words, he fell to the ground, his body lifeless but his spirit unyielding. As Ning Wuwo's final words faded, his white-haired head rolled across the ground.

Ye Yu had paid a heavy price, sacrificing his left arm to deliver a decisive blow that severed Ning Wuwo’s neck. Stopping the bleeding from his wound, Ye Yu turned and made his way back to Xie Qingzhi. Kneeling on one knee, he raised the treasured blade with his remaining hand.

"Grand Marshal, the mission is accomplished. I return the blade," he said.

Xie Qingzhi nodded slightly, a trace of approval in his eyes.

He held Ye Yu, this once-disgraced scion of a noble family, in high regard. What kind of terrifying resolve did it take to endure the surgery to transplant thirty-six Inscribed Treasure Bones? The determination he showed in sacrificing an arm to swiftly slay Ning Wuwo only reinforced Xie Qingzhi’s opinion of him.

"You’ve done very well," Xie Qingzhi said, nodding with satisfaction. "This blade is named Gatebreaker. From now on, it is yours. Your severed arm will also be replaced with the most advanced mechanical martial arm we have. From today, you will work directly under me."

"Thank you, Grand Marshal," Ye Yu replied, his joy evident.

His desperate gamble had finally paid off. No longer was he the mediocre son of a fallen noble family. Through sheer ruthlessness and relentless effort, he had carved out a path for himself. The revival of the Ye family was now within reach.

"Someone, retrieve the head of that old traitor Ning and hang it from the city gate for all to see," Xie Qingzhi commanded.

Immediately, rebel soldiers stepped forward to collect Ning Wuwo’s severed head. Moments later, the bloodied head of the once-great Martial Alliance leader was displayed atop the city gate as a warning to all.

"Pursue them," Xie Qingzhi commanded with a wave of his hand.

The rebel forces surged toward the city gate. But at that moment...

Boom!

Ning Wuwo’s headless corpse suddenly exploded, sending a mist of blood into the air. However, that blood carried an eerie, sinister shade of dark green.

Several elite rebel warriors charged into the mist, but in the next instant, their agonized screams pierced the air. Their clothing and skin dissolved into writhing liquid, leaving only skeletons behind.

"The blood is poisoned!" someone shouted.

In mere moments, hundreds of rebels had died to the toxic blood mist.

Ye Yu shouted, "Old Ning was a master of herbal medicine. He must have ingested a lethal poison before the battle, turning his body into a vessel for deadly toxins..."

The dark green poison mist spread across the gate, creating a deadly barrier. The rebel medics rushed to analyze it but found no way to neutralize the toxic fog.

Xie Qingzhi observed the scene calmly. "Change course and pursue them from another gate. The wilderness is teeming with star beast packs. Those fleeing rats won’t survive out there for long."

The rebel forces quickly adjusted their path, bypassing the deadly mist as they continued their relentless pursuit beyond the city walls.

The Year 2525, early spring.

Yiggs annexed the Jiepeng Empire, using Jiepeng as a beachhead to open numerous Cave Beast passages. They unleashed waves of star beasts through these channels to launch an invasion against Great Xia. The Star Council issued formal condemnations but took no action.

Early summer.

Sixteen coastal base cities across the continent fell in rapid succession. Rebel forces within Great Xia collaborated with the Yiggs Union, plunging the nation into a raging inferno of war.

Midsummer.

90 percent of Great Xia’s base cities were under the control of Yiggs and the rebels.

Late autumn

.

By the end of October, the last stronghold in the Northwest, Liuhe Base City, succumbed to the invaders.

The lands of Great Xia were ravaged, its people plunged into despair. Now on the brink of annihilation, Great Xia teetered precariously on the edge of extinction.