2 Days before third test
Huang Ling watched Ren Ying and Tang Liuyue leave, then turned to Li Yuxong. "There's no need to wait any longer. Let's go and kill him."
Li Yuxong looked at her. "Why so suddenly?"
"I've been bearing with you," Huang Ling said. "You said you wanted to give him a painful death, to make him feel despair, but don't forget—the inheritance is about to be decided."
"He's too crafty. If we wait longer, he might find ways to deceive us again."
Li Yuxong hesitated. Huang Ling pressed him. "Don't hesitate. He met me four days ago and tried to humiliate me. I wanted to kill him then, but I held back for you. It would be better if you killed him with your own hands."
Li Yuxong's face changed. "What? Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I didn't want to upset you," Huang Ling said. "But I can't endure it any longer."
Li Yuxong flushed with anger. "Don't worry—we'll kill him now. Let's go!"
Huang Ling grabbed his hand and whispered, "Wait. Don't go openly. Let's hide and see what's happening. When there's a chance, we'll strike."
Li Yuxong and Huang Ling followed Ren Ying and Tang Liuyue.
They soon reached a cliff. Ren Ying, puzzled, looked at Tang Liuyue. "Why did you bring me here?"
"Nothing," Tang Liuyue replied. "I found this place some time ago and wanted to see the view with you. Look at those birds and the clouds so close to us. Isn't it beautiful?"
Ren Ying smiled and nodded.
"Yes. It's truly beautiful."
Hearing a voice that was both unfamiliar and familiar, Ren Ying was surprised. He saw the newcomer and the name slipped out of his mouth.
"Wang Xueyao."
His eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"
Wang Xueyao smiled and drew her sword. "What do you think?"
Ren Ying's face changed. He immediately put Tang Liuyue behind him, as if to protect her. Wang Xueyao laughed.
"You're still as innocent as ever, aren't you?"
Ren Ying narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
She didn't answer—she didn't need to. Someone else answered instead, and with action.
Splash!
Blood splattered.
Ren Ying's face contorted and he groaned, clutching his stomach, "Aaah—" He looked back and saw Tang Liuyue smiling, but her expression no longer seemed innocent; it held mockery.
"What?" he managed.
At the sound of that word, he remembered the moment he betrayed Li Yuxong. As the saying goes: what goes around comes around.
Wang Xueyao looked at Ren Ying and smiled. "You think you were the only one manipulating everyone behind the scenes? Your 'hero saving the beauty' was interesting, unfortunately I took control of the Moonlight faction long before that. In the eyes of Tang Liuyue, you were just a jumping clown."
"From the very beginning, she's been toying with you—under my orders."
Ren Ying stared at Tang Liuyue. "But I genuinely liked you."
Tang Liuyue sneered. "Do you think your 'liking' matters? Don't make me laugh."
Hiding nearby, Huang Ling and Li Yuxong were shocked. Li Yuxong's face turned serious. He murmured, "I always thought she was dangerous, but knowing she toyed with him like this still unsettles me…"
Huang Ling said nothing.
Ren Ying asked Wang Xueyao, "What do you want from me?"
Wang Xueyao studied him like a clown. "Don't overestimate yourself. Do you think I can't see through your disguise, my dear husband?"
Ren Ying said nothing.
Wang Xueyao continued, "I'm keeping you alive only out of curiosity—how did you manage to manipulate the Shadow Phoenix faction? I understand how you fooled the Spirit Dragon faction. Wu Tianlei was just a battle maniac; even a child could fool him, and you took the identity of one of their main spies. It's likely that spy was already dead before you assumed the identity. But what I'm most curious about is how you manipulated Shadow Phoenix—and how you manipulated Li Yuxong and Huang Ling to meet."
Ren Ying said uncomfortably. "Even someone like you couldn't figure it out. I'm honored to explain."
Wang Xueyao spoke, defending her pride. "Deceiving someone is easy compared to discovering someone else's deception. There's a gap of clues. Those who deceive have more information in their hands, so deceiving others is easy. Without clues, it's impossible for me to see through what you did."
Ren Ying nodded. He immediately shed his disguise and reverted to his previous self.
Looking at Li Gang, Li Yuxong's face changed. He was about to shout, but Huang Ling suppressed him forcefully.
Still, Wang Xueyao noticed. She shouted, "Who's there?"
Huang Ling frowned. Seeing there was no point in hiding, she stepped out with Li Yuxong. "It's us. We were following Ren Ying, but we didn't expect this!"
Wang Xueyao's face grew serious. 'Does she want to save him?' she thought. 'She's strong—I might not be able to beat her in short term.'
She asked, "Do you want to save him?"
Huang Ling smiled. "No—don't get me wrong. I'm just here to watch him die. He forced me to work with him. He even poisoned Yuxong. Why would I save him?"
Li Yuxong's face went ugly. Still, he was his blood brother—how could he watch him be killed? Before he could speak, Huang Ling silenced him.
Wang Xueyao's eyes narrowed. "Oh. I thought you allied with him because you were close with Li Yuxong and were pretending to be his friend. Interesting—so you finally left your innocent self behind. You even poisoned your own brother to gain a powerful ally for the inheritance!"
Li Yuxong felt betrayed, but all he could do was stay silent and watch.
Li Gang laughed. "I learned my lesson over the last eight years."
"It started three years ago," he said.
3 years ago, somewhere in the Small World
Li Gang came to a riverbank and saw many tracks. He immediately thought: 'There may be people here.'
He didn't bother to hide his tracks anymore—there were already so many prints that hiding would be pointless.
He pressed deeper into the forest and soon found many people. Seeing the crest on the gathering, Li Gang immediately thought of Huang Weimin.
'This is likely the camp of the Shadow Phoenix Sect. I didn't expect to enter their territory here.'
As he pondered, a man suddenly stepped in front of him and ordered, "Come with us. Our young master summons you."
Li Gang looked closely at the newcomer. The man appeared to be in his twenties, though age is hard to judge by looks alone in this world; a man who looks young might be in his forties or even fifties.
Li Gang didn't argue and nodded, thinking, 'How did they find me so fast? Have they been tracking me a long time?' A chill ran down his spine.
Soon they reached their destination.
Huang Xiujuan motioned him into a cave that appeared to be artificially carved. Li Gang nodded and entered.
Deeper inside the cave, he found a young man reclining on a chaise lounge, asleep, while a young woman gave him a shoulder massage.
Huang Yulan spoke softly, "He's arrived, young master."
Huang Weimin opened his eyes and nodded without bothering to look at Li Gang. He asked directly, "What do you know about Wang Xueyao?"
Li Gang watched Huang Weimin and felt anger rise in his chest. 'Why am I angry?' he told himself. 'This must be hormones. Calm down and think before speaking.'
Huang Weimin frowned. "I asked you something. Why don't you speak? Are you mute?"
Li Gang suppressed his anger and remained silent. Huang Weimin flicked his finger and a small jet of fire shot at Li Gang. Li Gang instinctively used Wind Rider Sprint and dodged—the secret techniques had become familiar enough to employ subconsciously.
Huang Weimin was surprised that Li Gang dodged. "I see you've reached Rank 2 Warrior. Is that what gives you confidence?"
Li Gang mocked him. "Do you think you're superior here? A person like you can't frighten me. Shadow Phoenix may be known for assassins, but your young master lacks killing intent."
Huang Weimin did not flare with anger at the taunt; instead, he grew curious. "You think I can't kill you. What gives you the confidence to stand here?"
Li Gang smiled and turned to look out the window. "Wang Xueyao," he said calmly.
Huang Weimin frowned. "Do you want to die?" Li Gang's posture was arrogant, provoking him.
Li Gang remained calm. "If you don't want your Shadow Phoenix Sect eradicated, you'd better think twice."
Huang Weimin looked at him with disdain and anger. "You think too highly of yourself." He stood up and, just as he was about to move, another voice cut in.
"You'd better hide your pitifully low killing intent. It isn't even one percent of Wang Xueyao's."
Li Gang retracted his gaze and stared at Huang Weimin without fear.
He thought, 'He's hesitating—my bluff worked. But even if he hesitates, if I don't give him an incentive, he'll act. I'd be finished then.'
"I was sent here by Wang Xueyao. Before we make the transaction, let me tell you something: she's already a Rank 6 Warrior. I believe you tried to check her cultivation and failed when we entered the portal."
Huang Weimin's expression turned heavy. 'Yes—everyone tried, but they only found one person without cultivation and another who was Rank 1 late stage. But how can someone without cultivation enter this place?'
Although Huang Weimin found the claim somewhat believable, he remained suspicious.