Chapter 1279: Red Cloud Ancestor

“Are you the one?”

After the Nine Sons Mother Spider was killed, Ye Qing immediately looked down and affixed his gaze on a Taoist standing amidst the crowd.

The Taoist looked to be in his sixties. He had white hair but a fiery red beard. He was wearing a sun crown and a crimson robe with patterns of fiery clouds on it.

The fiery clouds were floating here and there across the robe and giving off halos of spiritual light like they were alive. It made the Taoist look positively celestial.

The Taoist waved his horsetail whisk away before performing a

qishou

. “This poor Taoist is Red Cloud. Well met, Mad Lord.”

“Is that Ancestor Red Cloud?”

“I heard that Ancestor Red Cloud had secluded himself in cultivation for years. I didn’t think the heroes’ arena would tempt him to return to the secular world.”

Ancestor Red Cloud was the thirty-fourth warrior on the Earth Champions Ranking. He was a famous independent warrior whose age, background and origin were completely shrouded in darkness. He spent most of his time secluding in private in Red Cloud Valley.

Ancestor Red Cloud was a public-spirited man who enjoyed lifting juniors to greater heights and helping others, so his reputation was pretty positive. Considering his old age and long fame, the

jianghu

people respectfully addressed him as Ancestor Red Cloud.

Ancestor Red Cloud was a Great Trueman. In fact, he had been a Great Trueman for over twenty years. Twenty years was more than enough time for the Earth Champions Ranking to become completely unrecognizable, but Ancestor Red Cloud was an exception. Like a permanent fixture on the ranking list, he slowly but steadily climbed the rankings each year like a tree.

This was why no one—not even some Half-Sages—dared to underestimate him even though Ancestor Red Cloud had been stuck at the Great Trueman stage for decades.

Ye Qing was unmoved, however. He did not seem to have heard of the name “Red Cloud” either. He asked in a cold voice, “Are you deaf? I didn’t ask for your name. I asked if you’re the one who killed the Nine Sons Mother Spider.”

His obvious hostility made the crowd feel like something was amiss.

“It is I.”

Ancestor Red Cloud did not grow angry despite Ye Qing’s rude tone. He replied, “All heretics deserve to be slain; one that throws the heroes’ arena into disarray even more so!”

“Alright,” Ye Qing said indifferently, “How are you going to compensate me?”

“Compensate you?” Ancestor Red Cloud looked confused. “What for?”

Ye Qing answered, “You should compensate me for taking the Nine Sons Mother Spider’s life, of course.”

Ancestor Red Cloud remained smiling despite the obviously unreasonable request, “Why should I?”

“I am the one the Nine Sons Mother Spider ambushed. Her life should be mine to decide,” explained Ye Qing. “Even if she deserves death, I’m the one who should deal the final blow, not another.”

Ancestor Red Cloud stroked his beard and asked smilingly, “I guess I made a mistake. How should I compensate you then?”

“Since you took my kill...” Ye Qing said slowly, “You should compensate me with your life!”

Ancestor Red Cloud wasn’t the only one who was stunned. Everyone else was speechless as well.

At this point, it became clear what Ye Qing was trying to do. He was intentionally picking a quarrel with Ancestor Red Cloud!

As Ancestor Red Cloud enjoyed a positive reputation—there were even people who had received Ancestor Red Cloud’s favor in the crowd—few people were happy with this turn of events.

Ancestor Red Cloud tried, “Are you joking, Mad Lord?”

Ye Qing stared at Ancestor Red Cloud. “Does it look like I’m joking? Do you think you deserve my jokes?”

The crowd could not hold back any longer. Some of them began yelling, “How could you bite the hand that feeds, Mad Lord? Where is your shame?”

“Yeah! Ancestor Red Cloud helped you to take out a heretic, and this is how you repay him? Apologize to him now!”

“Silence!”

The next moment, a deafening command boomed beside everyone’s ears, dizzying them and shutting them up for an instant. “Are you dogs who catch mice[1]? Leave us to our own business!”

It was impossible to say if the rebuke was directed at the crowd or Ancestor Red Cloud. Perhaps the answer was both.

“The impudence!”

The arrogance! Let’s rush him together, everyone! For Ancestor Red Cloud’s sake, let us teach that shameless bastard a lesson!”

“Yeah! Let’s go, brothers and sisters!”

Most of the crowd began advancing toward Ye Qing, but some realized something and actually backed away from the arena instead.

The one who started it all, Ancestor Red Cloud, simply stood by and smiled as all of this was happening.

“The sheer foolishness.

Kneel.

”

While wearing a disdainful expression on his face, Ye Qing commanded the advancing crowd to kneel. As if his words were magic, their knees abruptly buckled and hit the ground with resounding thuds.

The group didn’t want to kneel, of course. However, they could not control their actions. It was almost as if their body did not belong to themselves.

“Mad Lord, you—!”

Someone tried to yell or curse Ye Qing, but the young man followed up with a cold, “Noisy.”

The next moment, everyone fell as silent as death.

“It’s your turn now, Red Cloud!”

Ye Qing ignored the kneeling group and turned his gaze back to Ancestor Red Cloud.

Ancestor Red Cloud was still smiling. It was as if the apocalypse could take place this instant, and still his smile would never disappear.

“What do you want, Mad Lord?”

Ye Qing replied, “I already told you. I want your life!”

Ancestor Red Cloud sighed. “Don’t you think you’re being a little too tyrannical, Mad Lord? I’ve lived for over two hundred years. I am your senior in every sense of the word. Are you really not going to give me even a speck of face?”

“And why should I give a rat any face?”

As soon as Ye Qing finished, he disappeared and reappeared in front of Ancestor Red Cloud. Then, he made a grab for the old man’s head.

“You don’t think I’m easy to humiliate, do you?”

In response, the fiery clouds on Ancestor Red Cloud’s Taoist robe flew out and transformed into a sea of fire.

The flames were no ordinary flames, of course. It was called the Cloud Hue Spirit Flame, a kind of flame that was forged from the Cloud Hue Spirit Light. The flame specifically burned the intangible and not the tangible such as qi, thought, and even the soul.

However, a bundle of profound light abruptly seized the Cloud Hue Spirit Fire and ripped it apart. Then, it tossed it aside like worthless cotton.

The bundle of profound light was Ye Qing’s hand, and Ye Qing’s hand was currently grabbing Ancestor Red Cloud’s skull.

As the profound light shone, Ancestor Red Cloud’s body actually started melting like a candle.

Still, the smile on the old man’s face did not change.

Of course, his smile no longer felt kind or affectionate. Instead, it was horrifying and eerie.

At the same time, a filthy, dirty, terrifying aura washed out of Ancestor Red Cloud’s body.

After Ancestor Red Cloud’s body was completely melted, a two-headed, four-armed monster was brought into the light.

The monster looked like a conjoined human with their backs sticking to one another. One of them was wearing a Taoist robe. The other had a face like chicken skin. They were none other than Ancestor Red Cloud and Nine Sons Mother Spider.

Both people had umbilical cords growing out of their bodies and flailing wildly like snakes.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Ancestor Red Cloud’s face was smooth like a baby’s, but it was overflowing with evil aura and looked anything but divine. The Nine Sons Spider Mother’s eyes were bloody crimson and darting left and right with obvious, insatiable hunger.

Nine Sons Spider Mother’s aura was much weaker than Ancestor Red Cloud’s though. It was clear that she had suffered heavy damage.

At this point, even the stupidest bastard at the scene realized that they had been tricked.

As it turned out, Ancestor Red Cloud and Nine Sons Spider Mother were in cahoots. He acted like he was slaying Nine Sons Spider Mother earlier, but in reality he was saving her.

It was precisely because Ye Qing saw through the deception that he pressed Ancestor Red Cloud relentlessly.

The people kneeling or misunderstanding Ye Qing up until this point immediately turned beet red with shame.

Ye Qing was right after all. They were foolish. They had been used, and they didn’t even realize it until now.

As for how Ancestor Red Cloud turned out like this, that was something only the old man could answer.

1. Implying that someone is a busybody. ☜