Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
******
"What are you waiting for? Make your move!"
Veins bulged on Gu Rong's forehead as he shouted in fury.
But the moment the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was illuminated by the night pearls, his face turned ashen.
What he thought was under control had slipped into chaos, and the scene before him made his heart sink.
The "executioners" who were supposed to charge forward were all lying in pools of blood.
Every one of them stared wide-eyed in death, as if they had witnessed some indescribable terror in their final moments.
Each had been slain by a single strike to the throat—clean and precise, without another wound on their bodies.
"What in the world happened here?!"
Gu Rong, a level ninety-five Titled Douluo, hadn't even noticed how such a thing had occurred.
Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. He whipped his head around and glared fixedly at Lan Minghua.
Lan Minghua still wore his usual careless expression. At Gu Rong's reaction, a faint smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Seems like your little plan ran into some… complications," he said, clapping his hands lightly, his tone laced with mockery.
"It was you?!" Gu Rong growled, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.
Lan Minghua only shrugged, neither admitting nor denying it.
Instead, he spoke nonsensically, "No need to thank me. I just saw them standing there for so long and thought they could use a rest."
"You—!" Gu Rong trembled with rage, but he quickly calmed himself and sneered, "Did you really think they were my only card to play?"
"Oh? Is that so?" Lan Minghua replied with an indifferent smile, waiting to see what else he had in store.
Gu Rong's lips curled into a smug grin. He clapped his hands, signaling those armed with the oversized Zhuge Divine Crossbows to attack Lan Minghua and his companions.
Yet, the area remained eerily silent.
"What's going on? Where is everyone?!" Gu Rong's expression froze. He tore his gaze away from Lan Minghua to scan the surroundings.
What he saw left him horrified.
The disciples manning the Zhuge Divine Crossbows were all dead.
Their corpses bore the same deathly expression as the fallen executioners, killed in the exact same manner.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! No matter how powerful you are, there's no way you could kill them right under our noses without us noticing!"
From the very start, Gu Rong's attention had been locked on Lan Minghua. Yu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiao had also been watching him closely. None of them had seen him make a single move against those disciples.
Lan Minghua chuckled coldly. He knew very well their eyes had been glued to him the entire time.
"Of course you didn't notice. Your attention was entirely on me. Those men were taken care of by Yingxian and the others. They're elite assassins—if they couldn't manage something this simple, they wouldn't be worthy of the title."
Lan Minghua found Gu Rong's expression particularly amusing.
Just then, Wu Song's voice rang in his ear via sound transmission.
"Master, a powerful old guy showed up at Shrek's location and is blocking my path. Should I kill him?"
"Powerful?"
Lan Minghua raised an eyebrow. Wu Song was already a level ninety-eight Titled Douluo. If he admitted an opponent was strong, then that person's soul power could be no lower than level ninety-eight.
"What does he look like? Are you confident you can win?"
Wu Song chuckled softly in response. "Master, don't underestimate me. That old man is built like a crocodile—burly and thick-skinned. But I've taken down tigers with ease; why would I be afraid of a mere crocodile?"
Lan Minghua instantly understood.
It was the Spirit Hall's Second Worshipper—Golden Crocodile Douluo, a peak level ninety-eight Power Attack System Titled Douluo.
No wonder Wu Song had described his strength as decent.
Still, even against the Golden Crocodile Douluo, Lan Minghua had no doubt Wu Song would prevail.
"Alright, deal with him. It's about time the Tianlong Gang reclaimed its title as the number one sect in the world."
"Don't worry, Master. I won't disappoint you. Besides, my fists have been itching for a real fight!"
Lan Minghua chuckled faintly, sparing three seconds of silent pity for the Golden Crocodile Douluo.
Being targeted by a living calamity like Wu Song was never a good thing.
—
Back at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Xue Qinghe's heart sank as she watched the Upper Three Sects' scheme collapse.
What's going on? How did the situation reverse so suddenly? Now we're the ones on the back foot.
Her instincts screamed danger—her position was far more precarious than she had imagined.
This is bad. If the Upper Three Sects can't be relied upon, I'm in serious trouble. I have to find a way to contact Grandfather, or with Lan Minghua's strength, I might not leave this place alive.
She began searching for an opportunity to send a message.
Meanwhile, Gu Rong's face had turned as dark as the bottom of a pot, his expression so grim it looked like it might drip water.
"Lan Minghua, don't tell me… this is all you've got?"
Lan Minghua rubbed his stomach lazily. "Please, I haven't even used any real moves yet. I'm in a hurry, you know?"
His completely dismissive attitude toward the Upper Three Sects ignited Gu Rong's fury.
"If the soft approach doesn't work, then we'll do it the hard way." A sinister grin spread across his face as he fixed his gaze on Oscar and the others. "I refuse to believe you're strong enough to protect them while fighting me!"
Obsessed with avenging Ning Fengzhi, Gu Rong had lost all sense of reason. He would use any means necessary, no matter how despicable.
Before he finished speaking, Yu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiao rose into the air, their eyes locked on Oscar and his companions, ready to strike at any moment.
At the same time, the Spirit Douluo elders of the sect emerged, clearly intending to bully the weak with their superior numbers and power.
Lan Minghua simply continued to smile, unbothered.
Glancing at the tense Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, and Meng Yiran, he asked, "So? Are you scared?"
Oscar forced a shaky grin, his voice trembling slightly. "Scared? Me? As if! So what if they're Titled Douluo? It's not the first time I've been hunted!"
The three young women beside him nodded in agreement.
Their reactions didn't surprise Lan Minghua.
He then turned to Feng Xiaotian and Shui Bing'er. "And you two? Any regrets about becoming my disciples?"
The two exchanged a look, then glanced at their respective academies. Thanks to Lan Minghua, both Godwind Academy and Tianshui Academy had escaped without a single casualty. If not for him, their fate would have mirrored that of Blazing Academy.
Blazing Academy had arrived with nearly thirty people—now only Huo Jin, Huo Wu, and Huo Wushuang remained alive, and even they were battered and weak.
Feng Qingyuan and Shui Ningshuang each gave their children a firm nod of encouragement.
Feng Xiaotian's voice rang out, steady and resolute. "No regrets! If not for you, Master, everyone from Godwind Academy might have been wiped out."
Shui Bing'er echoed his sentiment, sincerely believing that becoming Lan Minghua's student was a blessing.
At that moment, however, Huo Jin glared at Lan Minghua with seething hatred, as if he were the one who had slaughtered the people from Blazing Academy.
Damn it! He could have saved Blazing Academy too! Why didn't he do anything?!
Why?!
Lan Minghua caught the malice in Huo Jin's eyes and frowned in puzzlement.
A memory from his past life surfaced—a news story about a conflict between South Koreans and U.S. soldiers. When the Koreans were beaten, their first reaction wasn't to hold the American soldiers accountable, but to complain about why the Chinese hadn't been beaten instead.
Perhaps Huo Jin was operating under the same twisted logic.
Lan Minghua suddenly felt fortunate that he hadn't accepted Huo Wu or Huo Wushuang as disciples. Entanglements with people like that would only lead to trouble.
He swept his gaze around the enemies, let out a cold laugh, and said calmly, "Your forces still aren't enough."
The words had barely left his mouth when five black shadows flashed across the courtyard.
Before Gu Rong or the others could react, the heads of five Spirit Douluo flew into the air, landing on the ground and rolling away with dull thuds.
Everyone looked up in shock.
Five figures hovered in the air, gazing down upon the members of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
"Walking on air? Could they be… the Titled Douluo of the Tianlong Gang?!"
(End of Chapter)