Chapter 16: Ch 16- Successful Escape
After killing Lin Yan, Mo Yuan’s figure disappeared into the darkness once again.
"Was that movement outside?"
Inside his room, Hong Yuan had clearly heard something. It sounded like someone had fallen to the ground. Although he couldn’t tell exactly what had happened, he immediately called out,
"Lin Yan! What’s going on out there?"
Silence answered him. There wasn’t even the slightest response.
"Something’s wrong!"
Hong Yuan’s heart skipped a beat.
Lin Yan had only stepped outside a moment ago. With the hearing of an Origin Vessel Realm cultivator, he should have been able to hear Hong Yuan’s voice even from over a hundred meters away.
Since Lin Yan hadn’t answered... Something had definitely happened. A powerful sense of danger suddenly filled Hong Yuan’s heart. For some reason, he felt an overwhelming feeling of fear.
"I can’t go outside."
"I absolutely can’t."
His instincts warned him that the moment he stepped out of this room...
He would die.
"Someone!"
"Come here at once!"
Hong Yuan shouted as loudly as he could. He wasn’t sure whether anyone had heard him but he refused to sit here and wait for death.
Although the Hong Family didn’t have a huge number of cultivators, there were still many experts living inside the estate. As long as enough people were alerted, the Hong Family’s powerhouses would quickly arrive.
Once that happened...
Even an Origin Core Realm cultivator would find it difficult to escape.
...
Outside.
Hidden within the shadows, Mo Yuan heard Hong Yuan shouting for help. He immediately realized his original plan had failed.
"Hong Yuan is far more cautious than I expected."
"And..."
"Much more cowardly."
"It looks like I’ll have to force my way in."
Without hesitation, Mo Yuan canceled his Shadow State. At the same time, he activated Speed Talent. His body instantly burst forward like an arrow released from its bow.
His speed tripled in an instant.
Bang!
Before anyone nearby could react, Mo Yuan smashed straight through the wooden door.
"It’s you!"
Hong Yuan’s pupils shrank. The moment he recognized Mo Yuan, disbelief filled his face. Then his eyes landed on the black saber in Mo Yuan’s hand.
His expression changed completely.
"Grey’s saber..."
"You..."
"You killed Grey?"
Only now did Hong Yuan finally understand why Grey had disappeared for the past three days. It wasn’t because he hadn’t found an opportunity.
It was because...
He had already died.
"So..."
"It really was you who hired someone to assassinate me."
Mo Yuan’s voice remained calm.
Previously, he had only been ninety percent certain.
Now...
He was one hundred percent sure.
Hong Yuan secretly clenched his fists. Although panic filled his heart, he forced himself to stay calm.
"You don’t even have Primordial Qi."
"Maybe you managed to assassinate a piece of trash like Lin Yan."
"But killing me isn’t that easy."
"In one more minute..."
"The Hong Family experts will arrive."
"When that happens..."
"You’ll be the one who dies."
His voice sounded confident but inside, he was already terrified.
Grey was an assassin feared even by Origin Vessel Realm cultivators. If Mo Yuan could kill someone like Grey...
Then his true combat strength was far beyond what his cultivation suggested.
"One minute?"
Mo Yuan smiled coldly.
"You won’t even survive ten seconds."
The moment those words fell...
He moved.
"Shadow Kill!"
A streak of black light split through the darkness. The black saber flashed like lightning. With the support of Speed Talent, the already terrifying Shadow saber became even faster.
Its speed had already surpassed that of an ordinary Early Stage Origin Vessel Realm cultivator.
Hong Yuan was still a genius. His reaction speed far exceeded ordinary cultivators. The instant the blade approached, he quickly raised the longsword in his hand to block.
Unfortunately...
He had completely underestimated both Mo Yuan...
And the power of a Steel Grade Saber Skill.
Slash!
A flash of blade light cut through the air. Hong Yuan’s right arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder. His sword flew away together with the arm.
Before he could even let out a scream...
The second strike had already arrived.
Another Shadow Kill.
This time...
The black saber headed directly toward his neck.
"No!"
Hong Yuan roared in despair. He desperately tried to dodge.
Unfortunately...
No miracle happened.
The blade passed cleanly through his neck. A head flew into the air before crashing onto the ground several meters away.
Hong Yuan’s eyes remained wide open.
Even in death...
They were still filled with disbelief.
He had never imagined...
That he would die at the hands of someone he had never truly taken seriously. Without wasting even a second, Mo Yuan immediately turned around.
He didn’t even bother searching Hong Yuan’s body.
The moment the battle ended, he rushed out of the room. As soon as he reached a dark corner, he activated Shadow Talent once again.
His figure silently disappeared into the darkness. Moving from one shadow to another, Mo Yuan quickly escaped the Hong Family estate.
Several servants even passed right beside him. Yet none of them noticed anything unusual.
Still...
Mo Yuan didn’t dare relax.
He had no idea whether the Hong Family secretly possessed an Origin Sea Realm cultivator.
On the surface, Dong Hai Base only had a handful of Origin Sea Realm experts.
But that was only what the public knew.
Ever since discovering that Dong Hai Base actually had many Origin Vessel Realm cultivators with Superior Grade Talents...
Mo Yuan had already realized something. The hidden strength of the major families was definitely much greater than it appeared.
There had to be more Origin Sea Realm experts hiding in the shadows. Those people were probably the true trump cards of the great families.
Normally, they wouldn’t interfere with ordinary matters but Hong Yuan was different.
He possessed Superior Grade Cultivation Talent. His death was enough to shake the entire Hong Family. If they truly had an Origin Sea Realm cultivator...
That person would definitely be furious. If Mo Yuan encountered such an expert...
Even a hundred versions of himself would still end up dead.
...
Not long after Mo Yuan escaped...
The Hong Family estate became completely chaotic. Experts hurried over from every direction. Soon, many of the Hong Family’s high-ranking members had gathered outside Hong Yuan’s residence.
The moment a middle-aged woman saw Hong Yuan’s severed head...
She let out a heart-wrenching scream.
"My son!"
Before anyone could support her, she fainted on the spot.
The atmosphere instantly became heavy. Every member of the Hong Family wore an ugly expression.
"Who killed my son?!"
A burly middle-aged cultivator roared. An overwhelming aura exploded from his body.
The terrifying pressure forced every nearby Origin Seed Realm cultivator to retreat. Even ordinary Origin Vessel Realm cultivators unconsciously stepped backward.
No one dared approach him.
This...
Was an Origin Core Realm cultivator.
Not only that...
He had already reached the Middle Stage. He was only one step away from the Late Stage.
This man was Hong Yuan’s father. The Hong Family’s Tenth Elder.
Hong Bao.
"Tenth Elder."
"Please calm yourself."
An elderly man quickly stepped forward to persuade him. Hong Bao’s eyes turned bloodshot. Tears mixed with killing intent streamed down his face.
"I only had one son!"
"And his Cultivation Talent had reached Superior Grade!"
"My own talent is only Peak Standard Grade."
"I exhausted countless resources just to reach the Middle Stage of the Origin Core Realm."
"My path has already ended."
"But my son..."
"He had the potential to step into the Origin Sea Realm!"
"He was my hope!"
"He was also the future hope of the Hong Family!"
"And now..."
"He’s dead!"
"He died inside our own family estate!"
"Tell me..."
"How am I supposed to stay calm?!"
His furious roar echoed throughout the entire manor.
At that moment...
An even stronger aura slowly approached. Every Hong Family disciple immediately lowered their heads.
Their expressions became respectful. Even Hong Bao gradually calmed himself.
Everyone knew who had arrived. The Hong Family’s only publicly known Origin Sea Realm cultivator.
The Old Ancestor.
Hong San.
"Old Ancestor, Hong Yuan is dead."
Hong Bao knelt before him. His face was covered with grief.
Hong San slowly nodded.
"I already know."
Although his expression remained calm, The killing intent hidden deep within his eyes was no weaker than Hong Bao’s. The dead could not return.
The only thing left to do, was find the murderer, then take revenge. Hong San slowly walked toward the bodies.
He first examined Lin Yan. Then he looked at Hong Yuan.
After a long moment of silence...
He finally spoke.
"Lin Yan was killed instantly."
"As for Hong Yuan..."
"The killer broke into the room and killed him with only two saber strikes."
"This person’s strength should be around the Early Stage of the Origin Vessel Realm."
"He uses a saber and he’s extremely skilled at hiding."
"Otherwise, entering the Hong Family without anyone noticing would’ve been impossible."
"More importantly..."
"He managed to approach Lin Yan without being detected."
"This isn’t ordinary concealment."
Hong San calmly analyzed everything.
The more Hong Bao listened, the colder his expression became.
"Grey..."
He slowly said the name. His killing intent surged once again.
Hong San nodded.
"It should be Grey."
"Only someone with Grey’s unique talent could silently kill Lin Yan."
"And only Grey could possess such terrifying concealment abilities."
"As for Hong Yuan..."
"Grey is more than capable of forcing a direct assassination if necessary."
"Normally, Grey never accepts missions involving the children of major families."
"Unless..."
"Someone offered a reward that even he couldn’t refuse."
As soon as those words were spoken...
Every senior member of the Hong Family looked at one another. Their thoughts immediately turned toward the families that had been competing against the Hong Family for years.
Hong Yuan’s Superior Grade Talent wasn’t a secret.
With enough resources...
He had a real chance of reaching the Origin Sea Realm within the next decade.
If that happened...
The Hong Family’s strength would increase dramatically.
Naturally...
Many rival families wouldn’t want to see such a thing happen.
It was entirely possible that one of them had secretly hired Grey to eliminate Hong Yuan before he could fully mature.
Hong San slowly looked around at everyone present. His voice became cold enough to freeze the air.
"Investigate."
"I don’t care what methods you use."
"You will find out which family was behind this."
"And..."
"Place a bounty on Grey."
"No matter the cost..."
"I want him to spend the rest of his life regretting what he has done."