The Human Emperor
chapter-1365

Chapter 1365: Identity Doubted!

As the men in black discussed their plans, the banners of the Righteous Alliance were once more raised over its temporary base, the white crane on the Yin Yang symbol standing out in the darkness. All the Righteous Alliance disciples were busy cleaning up the battlefield.

Song Yuanyi’s white tent on the summit had been obliterated, but a new tent was quickly set up. Inside the tent, Song Yuanyi and Xie Guangting were conversing.

“Can you talk about it now? Just what is going on here? If I had come just a little later, the experts you had brought with you would have been completely wiped out. When did such formidable experts appear in the world of sects?” Xie Guangting grimly said.

The atmosphere in the tent was solemn, and Song Yuanyi remained silent, his complexion rather unsightly. Using the Eternal Spring Mantra, he had managed to save some of the disciples, but still, six to seven hundred disciples had died in this battle.

This was a grim loss for the Righteous Alliance, especially since three of the alliance elders had died in the battle as well. Not even in a battle with the Five Ancestor Alliance would the Righteous Alliance have sustained such heavy losses.

No, to be more exact, there was no faction in the entire martial arts world that would dare to so heedlessly and brazenly attack the Righteous Alliance.

“This was no sect!” Song Yuanyi suddenly declared.

“I am just as confused about where these men in black came from as you are, and from start to finish, they never said anything about who they were. Even so, I’ve begun to roughly understand what’s going on. These people did not come to attack us.”

“Oh?”

Xie Guangting raised a brow, a look of surprise on his face.

Song Yuanyi said nothing, his profound eye slowly turning elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Wang Chong was seated cross-legged on the ground and meditating when his heart suddenly thumped with an ill foreboding.

A few moments later, a voice rang out at his ear. “Young Master Qingyang, the alliance lord wishes to see you!” At some point, a Righteous Alliance disciple had come up behind Wang Chong.

“Oh?”

Wang Chong raised an eyebrow, a few thoughts going through his mind, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Okay, I’ll go over now!”

By the time Wang Chong reached the summit, many people had already gathered there. There were Righteous Alliance Elders like Sikong Yuanjia and Ouyang Changheng, and many other experts of the alliance, including Ji Andu. All of them were assembled around Song Yuanyi and the vice alliance lord, in the middle of discussing something.

When Wang Chong arrived, the entire summit fell silent.

As Wang Chong saw the array of forces on the mountain, his heart thumped in his chest. But he said nothing and confidently strode over.

“Paying respects to Alliance Lord!”

Wang Chong stopped three or four steps away, clasped his hands, and bowed.

“Mm!”

Seeing Wang Chong, Song Yuanyi nodded.

“You’ve come. We were currently discussing the attack of those men in black. The alliance has sustained significant losses, and since Young Master Qingyang is with us, there is no harm in having you listen in and seeing whether you think of anything. Perhaps there will be an unexpected harvest.”

“Yes!”

Wang Chong’s eyes flashed, but he said nothing more and stood to the side.

The group quickly restarted the discussion.

“Alliance Lord, we’ve searched their bodies but didn’t find anything identifying them.”

“We managed to catch two of them alive, but just like the others, they were suicide soldiers. We had barely even spoken a few words with them when they punctured the poison sachets in their teeth and died.”

“We’ve truly lost too much this time. Our Righteous Alliance is so powerful, but we couldn’t find a single clue about these people! How is this possible?!”

“That’s right! And all of you saw that giant at the end. His punches could actually turn Stellar Energy to stone! That’s no longer any kind of martial art! In my view, these aren’t humans but demons! And they all used evil arts!”

The night’s events had given everyone an enormous shock. For the first time, these people had come to realize that the world was home to such a powerful and mysterious force.

“Let’s not talk about who these people are for the moment,” Sikong Yuanjia suddenly said in his rough voice. “I only want to know one thing: why did they attack us?”

His muscular and stalwart body was still seething with rage. This battle had begun in an utterly inexplicable fashion, and even now, Sikong Yuanjia did not understand why they had been fighting each other.

These men in black had left as mysteriously as they had come, leaving many dead in the alliance and the survivors utterly baffled.

“That’s right! Just what did they want?! It all happened so suddenly that I’m still scratching my head even now.”

The others called out in agreement with Sikong Yuanjia’s words. Every operation had a goal, but no one could tell what these men in black had wanted.

Was it fortune? Then they should have gone to the Imperial Court of the secular world.

For treasure? The Righteous Alliance wasn’t holding any treasure in this temporary base.

Revenge? The Righteous Alliance had never seen these people before. The battle was done now, with both sides suffering heavy losses, but the Righteous Alliance still did not know what they wanted. There was no more confusing matter in the world than this.

“Heheheh!”

At this moment, a strange and sinister laugh rang out in everyone’s ears.

“None of you know what’s going on, but I do!”

This person immediately attracted everyone’s attention.

“Ji Andu, what nonsense are you babbling?! If you’ve thought of something, hurry up and talk! Don’t try and act all mysterious!” a nearby Righteous Alliance Elder couldn’t help but rebuke.

The Righteous Alliance Lord also couldn’t help but frown, but he remained silent. Ji Andu pretended not to hear, his shoulders trembling as he proudly smiled.

“Haha, not for fortune, treasure, or revenge, and there are certainly no women here to kidnap, so what exactly were they here for? All of you can’t understand, but the reason is very simple. These people weren’t coming for us, but they were intentionally drawn here by someone else!

“Someone set us up!”

Whoooah!

The elders and experts had been angrily glaring at Ji Andu at first, but now, they were in an uproar over Ji Andu’s words.

Wang Chong remained silent, but his heart sank. He could already see what Ji Andu was trying.

“Protector Ji, stop exaggerating. Who would try to set us up, and who would dare to do so? Has this stimulation caused you to start talking nonsense?” a Righteous Alliance Elder chided.

Ji Andu had originated from the evil path and had been a disciple of it. Although it was said that he had corrected himself and stepped back onto the righteous path, many in the alliance still found him unpleasant.

“That’s right! Protector Ji, what are you saying? Across the realm, just who would be so daring as to set up our Righteous Alliance!?”

All of them found this matter simply too absurd to simply take Ji Andu at his word.

“Hmph!”

Ji Andu only scornfully smiled.

“Let him talk!” Sikong Yuanjia interjected.

Sikong Yuanjia had sustained significant injuries in his battle with that bamboo hat man. If he hadn’t been cultivating the Zhurong Divine Art, he would have probably been slain by that scimitar. Right now, he was willing to listen to any possible explanation.

All he wanted was to know the truth.

Sikong Yuanjia’s outburst silenced the crowd.

“Haha, all of you, just think about it. Our Righteous Alliance has been established for some time without encountering this kind of opponent, and let alone the Righteous Alliance, even further back, have any of you, all renowned individuals of the martial arts world, ever encountered such a foe?

“Martial arts, techniques, and objectives are all a mystery, and we’ve been in the northwest for quite some time. Why was there only an incident now?

“Have none of you realized that all this only happened after an outsider appeared at our Righteous Alliance?”

Ji Andu sinisterly smiled, and then he shot a profound glance at Wang Chong.

The mood instantly changed, and the chattering crowd began to turn to Wang Chong, their eyes suspicious and doubtful.

Before anyone else could speak, Song Youran jumped forward, her body trembling in rage. “Ji Andu, this is slander! Do you think I don’t know what you’re doing in making such charges against Young Master Qingyang?”

Song Jue also jumped forward. “That’s right! Young Master Qingyang isn’t that kind of person!”

“Andu, cease your nonsense!” At this moment, Song Yuanyi spoke in a dignified tone. “Young Master Qingyang is an honored guest of our Righteous Alliance, and he even helped us before. How could he hurt us now?”

Song Yuanyi’s expression was calm, but his tone was of a person who would not be questioned.

Seeing Song Yuanyi speak up, Song Youran and Song Jue both rejoiced and sighed in relief.

“Alliance Lord! This one is not speaking nonsense. This man is truly too suspicious. I am not just randomly throwing out unjust accusations!”

Ji Andu finally turned serious, clasping his hands and bowing.

“I have reasons for my suspicions. The time of his appearance is just too fishy. Everyone knows that the men in black attacked only after his arrival. There is no need for me to elaborate any further on that.

“Young Master Qingyang is well-learned in all martial arts, and on the first day, with just his mouth, he was able to command our Righteous Alliance disciples in using their sword arrays to kill Black General Impermanence and force back the Black Yin Ancestor.

“But tonight, even though so many people died in the alliance, did any of you see Young Master Qingyang command our experts in dealing with the men in black? The renowned Young Master Qingyang actually chose to hide? Is this not suspicious?” Ji Andu sneered.