Asura Emperor Venerable
Chapter 396: Flames of Revenge

Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Flames of Revenge

Qiao Junlin regretted immensely.

He had thought himself a wise man. Look, by just spreading "rumors," he had managed to provoke the Wu Family into acting against Shi Hao. Even if Shi Hao could manage to get through, he would definitely be unable to participate in the second round of the Alchemy Dao competition, effectively forfeiting by default.

Of course, if the Wu Family had ended up killing Shi Hao, that would have been even better.

But who could have foreseen that Shi Hao’s counterattack would be so swift and so brutal?

In the blink of an eye, the Wu Family was gone.

And another blink... the Qiao Family was gone too.

Are you a devil?

"How did you do it?" Qiao Junlin stared at Shi Hao, for he would not rest in peace until he figured this out.

Shi Hao responded with a beaming smile, "As long as you move them with interests, no one cannot be persuaded."

That simple?

Qiao Junlin certainly didn’t believe it. Otherwise, why hadn’t the Seven Great Royal Families started fighting a long time ago? How could they have remained hostile yet restraining each other, lasting for thousands of years?

Now with Shi Hao’s arrival, such an earth-shattering change had occurred?

"As someone who is about to die, you don’t need to know so much!" With big strides, Shi Hao pressed towards Qiao Junlin. It was not a good habit to talk too much to an enemy—doing so could spell disaster.

"Shi Hao, you are alone now, but we—"

Thump!

Qiao Junlin hadn’t even finished his sentence when a sword pierced through his chest, with the tip still wet with streaks of blood.

He looked down in shock, his face bearing disbelief.

Not just him, but the other members of the Qiao Family were equally incredulous.

The one who had made the move... was the Dead Soldier who was supposed to protect them!

"You—"

"Why—"

"No—"

The Dead Soldier drew his sword, and amidst the flashing sword light, he lunged at the other members of the Qiao Family.

With the cultivation of Self-Observation, and apart from Qiao Junlin, the strongest member of the Qiao Family was only at the level of the Five Islands. How could they possibly be his match?

With seven thrusts, the remaining members of the Qiao Family lay dead on the ground, their faces filled with disbelief and unwillingness.

"Why, why!" It was Qiao Junlin who spoke; he hadn’t died yet. Trembling, he pointed at the Dead Soldier, truly dying with his eyes wide open.

This was their family’s Dead Soldier!

The Dead Soldier looked at him coldly and said, "When the Qiao Family killed my entire family, I was only five years old, but I remembered everything clearly. Although you brainwashed me repeatedly, I kept carving scars on my chest with a sword, to remind myself not to forget you, my archenemies!"

With that, he tore open his shirt, revealing skin covered with crisscrossed scars. It was a ghastly sight.

Thump!

Qiao Junlin spat out blood—partly because his heart had been pierced through, and partly from shock.

He couldn’t believe that someone could hold onto childhood memories despite the family’s brainwashing.

Previously, this Dead Soldier, being alone and weak, did not dare to act recklessly. Now with the downfall of the Qiao Family, he did not hesitate to strike and extinguished the last glimmer of hope for the Qiao Family. Otherwise, with his protection, Shi Hao would never have succeeded.

"Even if the Qiao Family killed your whole family, if it wasn’t for the family’s careful nurturing, how could you have today?" Qiao Junlin gritted his teeth and said, "You ungrateful beast!"

Shi Hao couldn’t help but laugh. Could this be called ungratefulness?

Fine then, that’s the perspective of these high and mighty noble families. In their eyes, as long as they give you a mouthful of food, you should be eternally grateful, regardless of what they have actually done to you.

The Dead Soldier remained silent, simply staring coldly at Qiao Junlin. After all, he was but a deceased man; what was there to fight over with him?

Qiao Junlin felt an immense sense of humiliation. He thought of himself as a dual prodigy in both martial arts and alchemy, yet now he was dying at the hands of a clan’s Dead Soldier, a man without even a name, known only by codes like Qiao Wu or Qiao Qi.

Dying with his eyes wide open, dying with his eyes wide open, ah!

He turned his gaze towards Shi Hao, filled with hatred.

In his eyes, everything was because of Shi Hao. Had it not been for Shi Hao delivering the first blow, how could a powerful family like the Qiao Family collapse, triggering a chain reaction that led to their own Dead Soldiers rebelling?

The thought of dying, while Shi Hao could do as he pleased, holding the woman he loved, made him unable to suppress the surge of blood up his throat once more.

"Shi Hao, even as a ghost I won’t let you off!" He mustered all his remaining strength, and roared at Shi Hao.

Shi Hao responded with a faint smile. Had he not slain enough Corpse Ghosts already?

Moreover, if you could really become a Corpse Ghost, that would happen a few thousand years later. By that time, Shi Hao would have long been standing at the peak of the martial arts world, why would he care about a freshly reborn Corpse Ghost?

"I’m not willing to let it end like this! Not willing!" Qiao Junlin cried out to the heavens. But as he uttered the last word, his mouth hung open, his eyes bulging out, yet he breathed no more.

Dead.

The Dead Soldier stared at Shi Hao for a moment, then said, "Thank you."

If it weren’t for Shi Hao’s involvement, the Qiao Family’s downfall wouldn’t have been possible, and he would never have had his revenge.

"No problem," Shi Hao nodded.

The Dead Soldier bowed with his fists held together towards Shi Hao, then turned and left, quickly disappearing into the dense forest.

Shi Hao didn’t give chase; the man was also a victim of the Qiao Family, why should he attack?

With this, the Qiao Family could be considered thoroughly extinguished.

Shi Hao returned to Seven Elixirs City. The two great royal households had fallen, but the feast of gluttony was just beginning, with the five great royal families soon to fiercely compete over the vacated interests of the Qiao and Wu Families.

––While the distribution had been negotiated beforehand, that was merely a framework, not detailed to the last jot and tittle.

With the task accomplished, Shi Hao took out the complete Pill Recipe for the Lifespan Extension Pill and handed it to Fu Ling and others, one portion for each of the five families.

The families were very cautious, first cross-referencing with each other to ensure there were no discrepancies, then returning to their alchemy.

If the refinement failed, it would undoubtedly mean the Pill Recipe was a fake.

Shi Hao had no need to worry, of course. This was knowledge from Yuan Chengmie’s memory; how could it be wrong?

The competition of the Alchemy Dao did not stop with the downfall of the Qiao and Wu Families but continued.

Five days later, the first round of elimination ended, with only a little more than a thousand advancing to the second round.

The elixir to be refined in the second round’s competition, scheduled two days later, was again a one-star pill, the Purple Bone Pill.

But this time it was not about who could refine faster but about quality.

Shi Hao needn’t worry about this. He felt a touch of disappointment. As the "great hero" who had brought down the Qiao and Wu Families, he gained no reward, leaving him quite melancholic.

Three days passed like this, and he, along with Song Yuxin and others, went back to the square to participate in the second round of competition.

An elderly Pill Master from the Fu Family came out to preside over today’s contest. Since the rules had already been announced, he wasted no words. With a wave of his hand, he was ready to start today’s competition.

"Hold on!" a voice suddenly cried out, drawing everyone’s attention.

From the edge of the plaza, a group of three approached; an old man with two young men, all male.

The elderly Pill Master from the Fu Family was displeased. Who are you to command me to hold on?

"Who are you?" he asked, fury creeping into his tone.

"From the Northern Silver Continent, the Longxiao Pavilion."

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