Chapter 271 - 269: Trace of an Old Acquaintance
The battle on Qifeng Mountain was decided.
Zuo Tianyuan and Murong Jing were dead. Wei Chaoge had been crippled and would be taken back to the Court by Feng Tianbao to face judgment.
As for the rest, the surrendered soldiers of the Vigorous Martial Army would receive the same treatment as Wei Chaoge: escorted back to the Capital City for trial.
The members of the Murong Family who surrendered wouldn’t be killed either. Feng Tianbao planned to escort them to the Murong Family’s main estate to report on Murong Jing’s actions.
The Twelve Blade Halls, established at the Border of Youning, procured warhorses for the Flying Dragon Institute, which inevitably led to dealings with the Murong Family.
Thus, Feng Tianbao was, in a way, doing the Murong Family a favor. With Murong Jing dead, the matter was considered closed. The main family could deal with these disciples from the Branch Family as they saw fit.
With this favor owed, even if the Murong Family held a grudge against Duan Hengshan, they would have no choice but to let it go.
The soldiers of the Vigorous Martial Army and the men of the Murong Family were spared death upon surrender, but the Nine Swords Alliance, having no powerful backing, was to be exterminated to the last man.
Firstly, there was the feud between Chen Yuan and the Nine Swords Alliance. Secondly, the Twelve Blade Halls and Feng Tianbao’s men had also suffered losses and needed someone to vent their frustrations on.
Since they couldn’t kill the men from the Vigorous Martial Army and the Murong Family, the Nine Swords Alliance was the only target left to make an example of.
Therefore, Chen Yuan didn’t participate in the ensuing slaughter, merely observing from the side.
But as he watched, Chen Yuan’s eyes suddenly narrowed.
A Martial Artist at the Blood Movement Realm from the Twelve Blade Halls made a striking impression. His saber was a blur, and a single, shocking slash instantly took the head of a Nine Swords Alliance Martial Artist.
Furthermore, his Cultivation Technique had an extremely explosive power, surging with the might of a vast, tempestuous sea.
Chen Yuan was all too familiar with this particular Saber Technique and method of channeling Inner Strength. It was unmistakably the Autumn Water Shocking Saber and the Surging Waves and Flowing Clouds Technique!
Chen Yuan no longer used these two Cultivation Techniques he had obtained from Zuo Xinglie, but they were the techniques he had relied on for survival in the Martial Dao Early Stage. He was naturally very familiar with them and recognized them at a glance.
Zuo Xinglie should still be in You Province. ’And he has the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill,’ Chen Yuan thought. He had been thinking about this for a while, planning to get the technique from Zuo Xinglie when they met again.
He hadn’t expected to run into someone connected to Zuo Xinglie here. ’Could it be that the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill and I are truly fated to be?’
Chen Yuan pointed at the Martial Artist and asked Duan Hengshan, "Big Master Duan, do you know anything about this man?"
Duan Hengshan was rough on the outside but meticulous within. Despite the large number of Martial Artists in the Twelve Blade Halls, he knew the life story of nearly every one of them.
After a single glance, Duan Hengshan answered without hesitation, "His name is Qiao Yunfei. He just joined our Twelve Blade Halls a month ago. He had to flee to Yandang Mountain for refuge after offending the Sun-piercing Alliance. He seems to be an honest and simple fellow.
Why do you ask, Master Chen? Is there something wrong with him?"
𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that the Cultivation Technique he uses resembles that of an old acquaintance of mine from You Province.
When the battle is over, call him to me. There are a few things I’d like to ask him about that acquaintance."
Duan Hengshan nodded but called Qiao Yunfei over before the battle was even finished. He then stepped aside, making no attempt to overhear their conversation.
He might appear crude, but he was actually quite shrewd. He knew that some things were better left unknown.
"Master Chen, what can I do for you?"
Qiao Yunfei bowed to Chen Yuan, his voice filled with nervousness and apprehension.
He was just an ordinary Martial Artist who had recently joined the Twelve Blade Halls, while the man before him was a prodigy from the Hidden Dragon Rankings and a Hall Master of Zhenwu Hall.
Chen Yuan had even just helped plan the future of the Twelve Blade Halls. It was only natural for Qiao Yunfei to be extremely nervous.
"It’s nothing serious. I just want to ask where you learned the Autumn Water Shocking Saber and the Surging Waves and Flowing Clouds Technique."
When Qiao Yunfei heard Chen Yuan name his Cultivation Techniques directly, his expression changed instantly, a hint of vigilance appearing in his eyes.
Chen Yuan smiled, drew Blood Sea Listening Tide, and slashed forward. In an instant, the air rippled like autumn water, his saber striking like a shocked swan.
"I am also from You Province. An elder taught me these two Cultivation Techniques long ago.
Now that I’ve achieved some success, I wanted to go back and see this elder, but unfortunately, he was no longer where I last saw him.
So today, when I saw you use the Autumn Water Shocking Saber, I had to ask where you learned this Saber Technique and Cultivation Technique."
Qiao Yunfei let out a sigh of relief. "I never would have thought that you, Master Chen, were also guided by Elder Wen."
Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly. "That was many years ago. How did you come to know Elder Wen, and why did he teach you his techniques?"
This Qiao Yunfei was a simple soul. In his twenties and new to the Jianghu, he believed the story Chen Yuan had fabricated and began spilling his own story like beans from a bamboo tube.
Qiao Yunfei came from an ordinary family in Anyang Prefecture, You Province. His parents had saved for half their lives to get him into a local Martial Hall, hoping he would learn some Martial Arts and become a Darts Master or a household guard.
However, places like Martial Halls rarely taught real skills. Only the personal disciples of the hall master could be said to be learning the true Martial Dao; the other students were only taught the basics.
Qiao Yunfei was good-natured and had a strong sense of justice. Once, seeing local gang members bullying an old man who ran a restaurant, he intervened, only to be brutally beaten.
But he was undeterred. Even after being beaten, when he saw the bullies trying to extort protection money from the old man again, he still stepped in to help.
Unfortunately, his crude fighting skills were no match for the local thugs, and he was beaten severely.
After the third time, the old restaurateur brought him into the restaurant. He introduced himself as Wen Youping, a Martial Artist from Liang Province. He claimed his Martial Arts had been crippled years ago after offending a powerful figure, forcing him to flee to You Province and live in seclusion with his granddaughter.
He was finally moved by Qiao Yunfei’s repeated, unconditional help and offered to teach him everything he knew.
The only condition was that they had to pretend not to know each other and could not meet in public.
And Qiao Yunfei truly had some talent. He quickly mastered the basics of the Autumn Water Shocking Saber and the Surging Waves and Flowing Clouds Technique. He even secretly dealt with the local gang, avenging both himself and Wen Youping.
In the following days, Qiao Yunfei continued to practice at the Martial Hall during the day and went to Wen Youping for guidance in the Martial Dao at night. He also helped him deal with many troubles on the streets.
Hearing this, Chen Yuan couldn’t help but think, ’This is just like that wily old fox, Zuo Xinglie.’
Back in Lianshan City, Zuo Xinglie had so readily given him the Cultivation Techniques precisely so that he would practice them and draw the attention of his pursuers.
And now, hiding in Anyang Prefecture, his teaching Qiao Yunfei these techniques was also part of his own calculations.
Anyang Prefecture was a major city—a large and chaotic place. As a crippled old man with a granddaughter, he would be bullied if he didn’t reveal his strength.
So, he saw Qiao Yunfei’s kind and simple nature, tested him, and then tricked him into being his enforcer.
He also did his best to distance himself from Qiao Yunfei. This way, if anything happened to Qiao Yunfei in public, it would be a clear sign that the Profound Whale Gang was after him again. He could use Qiao Yunfei as an early warning system; the moment the boy ran into trouble, he could flee immediately.
"What happened then? And why did you join the Twelve Blade Halls?"
Qiao Yunfei gritted his teeth, a flicker of hatred in his eyes. "Because the Sun-piercing Alliance captured Elder Wen!
A while ago, for some reason, the Sun-piercing Alliance started frantically arresting people on the streets, claiming someone was plotting against them, trying to subvert the alliance.
Many expert Loose Cultivators in You Province were captured and taken to the Sun-piercing Alliance for interrogation. I heard the Alliance was forcing them to reveal their Cultivation Techniques.
This shouldn’t have had anything to do with Elder Wen, but the Alliance sent a Primordial Pill Realm Grandmaster to make the arrests. The Grandmaster could tell at a glance that Elder Wen had once been an expert at the Condensing Truth Realm, so he arrested both him and his granddaughter and took them to the Sun-piercing Alliance.
When I got the news, I tried to rescue them while the Primordial Pill Realm Grandmaster was away, but I failed and was nearly captured myself.
I barely managed to escape with my life, and they only gave up the chase after I fled into Yandang Mountain.
After that, Big Master Duan took me in and I joined the Twelve Blade Halls. But I can never repay the debt I owe Elder Wen for teaching me. I will rescue him, sooner or later!"
Chen Yuan frowned slightly upon hearing this.
He hadn’t expected that Zuo Xinglie would actually be captured by the Sun-piercing Alliance.
’The key question is, why is the Sun-piercing Alliance arresting so many Independent Martial Artists? This wasn’t part of the original plot.’
In the end, the Sun-piercing Alliance wasn’t subverted from within. It simply weakened to an extreme degree, unable to even produce a single Ninth Realm Celestial Profound expert, and was ultimately absorbed by the Murong Family.
At this stage, the Sun-piercing Alliance should only just be starting its decline.
Although its Divine Weapon Sun-piercing Sword had no Commander-in-Chief and couldn’t be wielded, the Alliance wasn’t at a dead end yet. ’What are they trying to achieve with these bizarre actions?’
"So Elder Wen is still inside the Sun-piercing Alliance’s headquarters, and not dead?"
Qiao Yunfei nodded. "I’m sure of it. As long as the people they capture cooperate, the Sun-piercing Alliance won’t kill them.
Some of the captives had good relationships with the Murong Family, who even came personally to demand their release.
The Sun-piercing Alliance didn’t hand them over, but they did let the Murong Family representatives see them with their own eyes to confirm they were still alive.
However, according to the Sun-piercing Alliance, all captives must write down their Cultivation Techniques so the Alliance can use them to identify the person plotting to subvert them.
So, as long as they don’t resist violently, they won’t be killed, and there’s a chance they’ll be released in the future.
But that’s all contingent on the Sun-piercing Alliance finding the subversive individual. If they can’t find them, then who knows what will happen.
That’s why there’s been so much panic in the territories controlled by the Sun-piercing Alliance lately. Many Martial Artists have fled their domain.
But the Sun-piercing Alliance seems to have gone mad. They’ve even started going into the Murong Family’s territory to arrest people, which has led to conflicts with them."