The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS
Chapter 304 - 116: The Person with Two Dead Disciples

Chapter 304: Chapter 116: The Person with Two Dead Disciples

Using the accounts of Shadow Pavilion?

Master Xuanming reflexively thought of the incident that had nearly passed eight years ago.

Eight years before, Xuan Guang had exposed his identity, pulling Xuanfa, who was only one step away from the Sect Leader position of the Zhenwu Sect, straight down into the water. Afterward, Xuanfa, dissatisfied in his heart, desired to seize the Sect Leader position through force.

This matter had been nearly eight years old and should have settled down—at least, even Xuan Guang, the rebellious Shadow King, hadn’t been dealt with, so the Zhenwu Sect should also have been untroubled, right?

Yet now, someone was telling Master Xuanming, who thought this way, that being untroubled was completely impossible.

As a person of the worldly society, Master Xuanming had no idea how severe the Shadow King’s losses were at the time.

Ever since three hundred years ago, when the Righteous and Demonic joined forces to kill Emperor Daqian Ji Muqing, Daqian and the Martial Arts had been in a state of mutual hostility and vigilance.

The Shadow Pavilion, as a force of the court’s side, had inserted a person (referring to the framed Xuanfa) into one of the Four Great Taoist Sects, the prestigious Zhenwu Sect, and that person was almost made its Sect Leader. This made the other Sects skeptical.

Back then, if the Shadow King hadn’t hidden well and still considered Daqian, there might have been Divine Communication Realm warriors teaming up for a visit.

The external threat was secondary—after all, with the big tree of Daqian for support, but the accusations and opportune pressure from the Royalist faction caused not a small setback to the Shadow King’s power.

No trouble, that’s utterly impossible. The losses that the Shadow King suffered those years needed to be repaid twofold today.

"What do you mean?" Master Xuanming demanded.

His instinct told him that the Shadow King definitely had a next move, so even though he might have guessed the reason, Master Xuanming still wanted to further confirm it.

However, his opponent, the True Pill Realm expert clad in a black cloak, had no intention of entangling further in the conversation, as the fluctuations of the battle two li away had already ceased a while back. With that battle over, there was no need to continue here.

Immediately, this unnamed True Pill Realm expert floated away and retreated.

And Master Xuanming had no intention of pursuing further because he too had sensed the end of the fight and hurried towards that direction.

A distance of two li, for True Core Realm Martial Artists, could be said to be covered in a matter of breaths. If it were not for the stronger expert who had pressed down on Master Xuanming earlier, he could have crossed two li in the blink of an eye after Qing Yu appeared, and in one move, exploded Qing Yu’s canine head.

Of course, now there weren’t any canine heads for Master Xuanming to explode. By the time Master Xuanming arrived, the heavy snow still masked all trails.

The river surface had once again formed a thin layer of ice, covering the remains of Xuan Lu and two other members of the Xuan generation who had hidden their identities, underneath the sheet of ice.

Qingxu had died leaving nothing but a cloud of blood mist, which, after enduring the harsh snowstorm, had dissipated to the ends of the earth in an instant.

The only traces that remained were those of the young man with the rather ill-fated name Qingming, along with Chen Qinglin, who had exerted considerable effort in killing Qingxu.

Incidentally, Chen Qinglin also had pretty good business ethics. As Qing Yu had found the remaining one-third of the ’Azure Dragon Star Coiling’ secret manual on him, it was apparent he was sincere in wanting to conduct business.

Erm... of course, there was also the possibility he feared that not paying the final payment would get him killed as well.

Between the two possibilities, Qing Yu chose to believe there was still goodness in humanity and trusted that Chen Qinglin was honorable; hence, Qing Yu avenged him by killing Qingming.

Although... Qingming had already died before the secret manual was found.

Xuanming swept away the accumulated snow covering two bodies, revealing corpses overlapping each other. Because Qingming had stepped on Chen Qinglin’s back before he died, his body ended up sprawled on top of Chen Qinglin’s, in a rather philosophical posture.

Xuanming turned Qingming’s body over to face up and saw that his disciple maintained an unyielding look in his eyes even in death, staring straight ahead. If not for the bloody hole in his forehead, one could almost think that this young man with eyes wide open in defiance was still alive.

In contrast with Qingming, Chen Qinglin, who had once been regarded by Xuanming almost as his own son, seemed utterly pitiable.

He too had died with his eyes open, but Chen Qinglin’s eyes held only unwillingness and resentment, which made him appear extremely ugly.

Judging from the only two bodies at the scene, Chen Qinglin must have been killed by Qingming’s hand, and Qingming, in turn, had likely been slain by Gong Ziyu. With some residual warmth still emanating from the bodies in this icy, snowy landscape, it was evident they hadn’t been dead for long. Judging by the condition of the corpses, when Gong Ziyu made his move, Qingming had absolutely no power to resist.

This indicated a cruel reality: the others were probably all already dead. Otherwise, Qingming would not have given up the struggle.

"Is this what they call retribution, brother Xuan Chen?" Xuanming murmured.

He recalled the events of eight years ago, at that time he too had taken Xuan Chen’s side. He had had a vague understanding of Xuan Chen’s schemes then. And now, the Shadow Pavilion that Xuan Chen had exploited for his plans was seeking their revenge.

The first to die were the disciples of Xuan Chen and Xuanming, and who the enemy would target next was still unknown.

With the situation urgent, Xuanming had no time for proper burial rites for Qingming and Chen Qinglin. He merely swept up the snow to cover them once more before hastily vanishing into the blizzard.

···················

"Crack."

Thousands of miles away in the Zhenwu Sect, Xuan Chen’s heart suddenly clenched, causing him to inadvertently crush the jade ruyi in his hand.

"Qingxu..." Xuan Chen muttered his beloved disciple’s name.

As a Divinity Realm warrior with psychic awareness, an abrupt premonition like this was no coincidence—especially considering it occurred precisely when Qingxu was orchestrating an ambush on Gong Ziyu.

"Stay calm. With brother Xuanming there, Gong Ziyu, even as a prodigy, doesn’t stand a chance to contend. Perhaps this is just a minor mishap."

Even Divinity Realm warriors can struggle to remain composed in matters concerning their loved ones. Xuan Chen’s years of Taoist meditation couldn’t suppress the unrest and worry boiling in his heart, prompting him to pace back and forth irritably.

However, it wasn’t long before dire news confirmed the unease in Xuan Chen’s heart.

"Master." Hasty footsteps sounded from outside the hall, and Qing Yuan, another direct disciple of Xuan Chen, hurried into the grand hall using Qinggong.

The mix of sorrow and pain on his face intensified the unease in Xuan Chen’s heart.

And Qing Yuan’s report confirmed what Xuan Chen had feared to be true.

"Master, Master Xuanming has sent a message, the ambush failed, everyone else except him..."

"What happened to everyone else?" Xuan Chen demanded angrily.

"Everyone else... has fallen to Gong Ziyu’s hand."

The Zhenwu Sect had methods of long-range communication. The last time in Xixian City, Qingxu had used an Array to call for reinforcements from the Sect. This time, before rushing back, Xuanming had also used the same method to send word.

Regrettably, in both instances, they were reporting tragedies. The last time, Qingxu was gravely injured and nearly lost his life. And this time, Qingxu was dead, with nothing left behind.