Martial Peak
chapter-4203

Chapter 4203

Chapter 4203 – Settling Accounts

That night, Guo Zi Yan took Guo Miao and fled while Blood Swan Continent was unprepared. He learned about the truth of the incident during their escape, and upon hearing that his daughter had been oppressed so terribly in Blood Swan Continent, he was furious and swore to take revenge so that he could obtain justice for her.

Unfortunately, he also knew that he was not strong enough. That was why he planned to return to Yang Kai as quickly as possible. It was a pity that Gu Zhi Xin and his men caught up to them before they could reach the Star City.

If it had only been a case of robbery of the Fourth-Order materials, there might have been a way for this grudge to be resolved. In the worst case, Blood Swan Continent could have provided some compensation for the lost property. Now that Yun Xing Hua had advanced into the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm, the need for cultivation materials would have decreased sharply and while Blood Swan Continent might only be a Third-Class great force, they should still have enough financial resources to compensate for two Fourth-Order materials.

However, of all the things that should never have been done, Gu Zhi Xin had forced Guo Miao to refine a Second-Order material and gather the Second-Order Element Power, essentially cutting off her Martial Dao! How could such a deep hatred be resolved so simply?

Blood Swan Continent probably understood this point too, which was why they immediately sent people to chase after Guo Zi Yan and Guo Miao when they discovered that the two of them had fled. They wanted to cut the weeds and pull out the roots so as to avoid future troubles!

Although Guo Zi Yan had advanced into the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm after refining a Low-Rank World Fruit, the pursuit team dispatched had six Open Heaven Realm Masters in it, so how could he stand a chance against them? Moreover, he had to protect Guo Miao from danger while trying to flee.

Being thoroughly outnumbered in a fierce battle, Guo Zi Yan suffered severe injuries. He knew that they were in critical danger and the only way out was to risk everything he had and fight for his life. Therefore, he fought hard and managed to kill two Second-Order Open Heaven Realm enemies. Even so, he could not escape. It was at the critical moment that Yang Kai and the others arrived on the scene. There was no need to explain what happened after that.

“Blood Swan Continent? Very good!” Yang Kai sneered. He had felt a little sympathetic towards Yun Xing Hua when he heard that the other party had been suppressed and forced to advance to the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm at the inn back in the Star City. Thinking about his own possible future encounters, Yang Kai even felt a small amount of comradery as they seemed to share a similar fate.

But, it would seem that the bastard did not deserve any sympathy at all. Even if Yun Xing Hua had been oblivious to the fact that Gu Zhi Xin had forcibly seized Guo Miao’s two Fourth-Order materials, how could he still claim to not know anything when Gu Zhi Xin brought men to hunt down Guo Zi Yan and Guo Miao?

Yue He turned to look at Yang Kai, “Young Master, what do you plan to do?”

It wasn’t just her. Lang Qing Shan, the shaved-headed man, and the others also turned to look at him. They had been with Guo Zi Yan for a lot longer than they had served under Yang Kai. Back when they were still with Scarlet Star, these people had been Guo Zi Yan’s direct subordinates. Guo Zi Yan usually took good care of them and even saved them from danger numerous times. At this moment, he had nearly been killed while his daughter had also been horribly mistreated. It was only natural that they shared the same hatred. Their eyes were practically blazing with the flames of rage.

“We shall never forgive those who dared to touch our people. Turn around. We head for Blood Swan Continent. This King will seek justice from this Yun Xing Hua himself. I want to see if he really has three heads and six arms to have such courage!”

The expressions of Lang Qing Shan and the others immediately turned serious and they quickly went off to carry out their orders.

Guo Miao was stunned for a moment, but feeling both grateful and anxious she tried to intercede, “Sir, Blood Swan Continent is not weak. We only have so few people…”

Yang Kai smiled, “The woman next to you is in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. What does a trivial Blood Swan Continent count for in front of her?”

Guo Miao turned to Yue He, so shocked that she raised her hand to cover her small mouth. She could tell that Yue He was in the Open Heaven Realm. Furthermore, the other party had to have been in the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm to kill those people from Blood Swan Continent so effortlessly. Even so, she never imagined that Yue He would be in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!

Falling Lotus cut through the void and sped in the direction of Blood Swan Continent.

At the same time, the grand bell tolled in Blood Swan Continent loudly. The noise resounded through the sky, alarming countless disciples who quickly looked up to the Main Hall located at its very centre.

One of Blood Swan Continent’s disciples counted how many times the bells tolled with a solemn expression. When the bell stopped ringing, he exclaimed with a pale expression, “The bell tolled nine times! That is the death knell indicating that an Elder has passed away! Which Elder is it?”

A disciple next to him responded, “There are four Elders in Blood Swan Continent and none of them are approaching their predestined time of death. Did something unexpected happen to them?”

A third person spoke up, “I saw Elder Gu leaving with a group of people just now. I don’t know what they were doing, but they were extremely aggressive and brimming with murderous intent. Could it be that Elder Gu was killed?”

While the disciples were conversing among each other, numerous figures flew out from all over Blood Swan Continent and rushed towards the Main Hall. These were the Open Heaven Realm Masters of Blood Swan Continent. There were not many of them, but they were not that few either. There were a total of more than twenty people. Among these twenty or so people, three were in the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm while the others were either in the First or Second-Order. They served a variety of positions within Blood Swan Continent but upon hearing the tolling of the bell, they immediately converged.

The figures quickly flew into the Main Hall where a middle-aged man with a handsome appearance sat in the head seat. This man had black hair, but there were streaks of grey at his temples that made him seem weathered but experienced in the vicissitudes of life. This middle-aged man was none other than the Sect Master of Blood Swan Continent, Yun Xing Hua.

A burly Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with heavy-set arms and a thick waist strode in and looked around. Seeing everybody looking extremely gloomy, he frowned and cupped his fists, “Sect Master, whose death knell was it?”

Yun Xing Hua replied solemnly, “Elder Gu Zhi Xin!”

The Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master stared at Yun Xing Hua in shock and exclaimed, “How can that be!? Just yesterday, I was having a drink with Elder Gu! He was perfectly fine at the time. Besides, didn’t he just receive that Scarlet Star Great Commander as a guest? Could it be that his death is related to Guo Zi Yan?”

Yun Xing Hua nodded heavily, “I believe so.”

The Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was furious, “That bastard surnamed Guo sure is brave! How dare he murder Elder Gu in Blood Swan Continent!? Where is he right now!? I will immediately go and wring his neck!”

A weak-looking man dressed like a scholar standing next to him commented, “Guo Zi Yan quietly fled last night. He is no longer in Blood Swan Continent.”

The burly man frowned, “Fled? What do you mean?”

Yun Xing Hua said, “This incident is ultimately this King’s fault. Haa… Elder Gu also died because of me. This King has wronged him.”

The burly man was puzzled, “Sect Master, what happened exactly?”

This burly man was not the only one who was puzzled. Many others in the Man Hall were completely lost too.

Yun Xing Hua explained, “Do you remember that this King was in retreat for my breakthrough recently? I consumed a lot of Blood Swan Continent’s cultivation resources during that time. Blood Swan Continent had a shallow heritage in the first place, so it could not withstand such a heavy consumption. Moreover, I miscalculated the resources that I required, and at a critical juncture during my retreat, I discovered that the resources I had were not enough. Therefore, I sent a message to Elder Gu to ask him to help me. If I could not receive the necessary supply of resources in time, it was very likely that my previous efforts would be forfeited.”

Most of the 20 or so people in the Main Hall looked surprised upon hearing this. That was because they were oblivious to this fact. Nevertheless, Yun Xing Hua was the Sect Master of Blood Swan Continent, so if he could advance into the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it would greatly improve the entire Blood Swan Continent’s situation; therefore, nobody felt that anything was out of place even though it was their first time learning about this.

“And, then?” The burly man asked.

Yun Xing Hua continued his explanation, “Elder Gu lived up to my expectations. Soon sending over two Fourth-Order materials. It was by relying on these two resources that this King was able to successfully achieve my breakthrough.”

The burly man frowned. Although he was rambunctious, his mind was fairly sharp. He vaguely sensed that something was wrong and hesitated, “Sect Master, is there something wrong with the two Fourth-Order materials?”

Yun Xing Hua nodded, “Indeed, Elder Guan. The problem lies in the two Fourth-Order materials. At the time, I was curious as to how Elder Gu managed to obtain two Fourth-Order materials so quickly, but I did not ask him much about it since my cultivation was at a critical juncture. I simply had him exchange them for appropriate resources at the Star City which I then absorbed wholeheartedly. Afterward, I successfully advanced into the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm and came out of retreat. It can be said that it’s all thanks to Elder Gu’s meritorious deeds that this King was able to advance into the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm!

“After I came out of retreat, I asked Elder Gu about the materials again, and he reported that he accidentally came across them a long time ago. I was extremely grateful towards him and prepared to compensate him well in the future. To my surprise though, I learned that things were not quite so simple when Guo Zi Yan appeared on our doorstep two days ago. The two Fourth-Order materials did not actually belong to Elder Gu. Rather, it belonged to one of his Low-Rank Disciples, Guo Miao. Guo Miao’s aptitude was not bad and originally had hopes of achieving the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm directly, so Guo Zi Yan prepared the two Fourth-Order materials for her in advance. This was something Elder Gu had known about for a long time. When he received this King’s message, he borrowed the two Fourth-Order materials from her, and thereby, planted the root of this disaster.”

After listening to his explanation, many of the Open Heaven Realm Masters inside the Main Hall revealed strange expressions. They were not fools. After being acquainted with Gu Zhi Xin for so many years, they had a clear understanding of his character. Unfortunately, Gu Zhi Xin probably used forceful methods to obtain the two Fourth-Order materials from Guo Miao. It was definitely not something as simple as ‘borrowing’. It could even be said that it was unclear whether the Sect Master himself was aware of what actually happened at the time.

“When Guo Zi Yan came looking for his daughter, Blood Swan Continent played the part of a good host. So, I have no idea why he decided to flee in the middle of the night. Elder Gu was worried that Guo Zi Yan might have some sort of misunderstanding, so he chased after them in order to explain himself. But… a disciple reported to me just now that Elder Gu’s Soul Lamp went out all of a sudden!” Yun Xing Hua’s expression was full of grief, as if he was sorrowful beyond words, “It was not only Elder Gu. The Soul Lamps of Deacon Xiong, Hall Master Ran, and three others that all went out one after the other.”

“What!?” There was an uproar in the Main Hall when this news broke. Everyone craned their necks to look around, and sure enough, they did not see the people whose names Yun Xing Hua just mentioned. Counting Gu Zhi Xin, Blood Swan Continent had lost six Open Heaven Realm Masters all at once. While this kind of loss might not be crippling for Blood Swan Continent, it was still severely damaging.

“Moreover…” Yun Xing Hua had an extremely grave expression as he looked around the hall and continued slowly, “The Soul Lamps of Elder Gu and Deacon Xiong and two others were extinguished at essentially the same moment!”

A series of gasps rang out through the hall. Many Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters suddenly turned as pale as a sheet. If the deaths of Gu Zhi Xin and the other five people had shocked them, then the fact that multiple Soul Lamps had gone out at the same moment positively terrified them. The Soul Lamps going out at the same time meant that these people had likely been killed with a single blow. They could not help but make certain assumptions with this kind of information.