Chapter 95: Carrying the Coffin to Issue a Challenge

In this world, only two women ever dared to speak to Ling Xiao without restraint.

Mu Yiren, needless to say, was the one he held in his heart.

The other could only be Gu Mingyan.

Gu Mingyan, the master strategist among the three unparalleled talents of Ghost Valley, and the leader of Shadow Hall.

Having inherited the art of Ghost Valley’s schemes, she had always been the brilliant mind of their new generation.

To outsiders, Gu Mingyan seemed wanton and unbridled with Ling Xiao, constantly flirting with him without the slightest reservation.

But only Ling Xiao truly understood the bond between them.

It was a kind of recognition born of shared suffering.

The Gu family, too, had once been wiped out in a single night.

...

“The cold poison within you should be fully purged in about another year. By then, the immense power accumulated in your body ought to be enough to carry you into the realm of Martial Exaltation.”

A fierce glint flashed through Gu Mingyan’s beautiful eyes.

“If that day comes, it will be the day the Young Lord of Nine Profound Gate perishes.”

“Nine Profound Gate and Ghost Valley are both among the three great mysterious sects of the martial world. Their young lord is likely no ordinary man. A Martial Exaltation may not be enough to take him down.”

Gu Mingyan gave a seductive smile and pinched Ling Xiao’s handsome face.

“Don’t I have you? Young Lord Ling, would you really bear to see a woman as lovely as me killed by someone else?”

“My heart has already found its home. Hall Master Gu should look for another lover.”

“Tch! Which man doesn’t dream of wives and concubines? And you only ever think about your Mu Yiren. What a waste of such a handsome face! Forget it. Let’s talk business.”

“The Valley Master is worried about your strategic deployment. Our Ghost Valley, though one of the three great mysterious sects of the martial world, is taking part in the Hundred Sects Contest for the first time. You’re making far too much of a splash. It would be easy for you to become the target of all.”

Ling Xiao lit another cigarette, and Gu Mingyan reached out and snuffed it out at once.

“Smoking too much isn’t good for you.”

Ling Xiao could only shake his head.

“You know that in the martial world of Hua Xia, there is no one who can truly stand against me.”

“I believe that. But you also need to understand this: if you push too far and the other sects join forces to bring you down, what then? After all, the combined strength of the martial world is nothing to sneer at.”

She pinched out the cigarette butt in her own fingers as well, her expression turning solemn.

“Earlier, when you destroyed Iron Fist Gate, the few judgment elders from the Dragon Corps, for reasons unknown, did not report it upward. But that could become a ticking bomb at any moment, enough to blow you off balance.”

“And now you’ve come to the Northwest! The Northwest is Kongtong territory. Do you think Kongtong will simply let you run wild here? That Shen Qingshan is deeply hidden. On the surface, it looks as though Kongtong is supporting Ma Changlong, but in truth that is only a smokescreen. Shen Qingshan is actually one of Ye Gucheng’s most trusted men, the young lord of Kongtong!”

“I know.”

“You know? And yet you still came to the Northwest to find Shen Qingshan? Don’t you realize he lured you here on purpose, so you would move against Ma Changlong? Once you make your move against Ma Changlong, Ye Gucheng will have a perfectly legitimate reason to strike at you! This is Kongtong’s territory, after all. Even if he killed you here, the Dragon Corps would have no grounds to interfere!”

“Ye Gucheng has wanted to kill me for more than a day or two. I stole the title of one of the Four Young Masters of the martial world from him. If he said he didn’t want me dead, that would be the real lie. But... he wants to kill me, and I want to use this chance to wipe out Kongtong even more.”

Hiss—

Even Gu Mingyan, with all her brilliance, could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

Ling Xiao’s ambition was truly terrifying.

“Do you even realize that Kongtong is not the same as Iron Fist Gate? Iron Fist Gate was merely a small, insignificant force, but Kongtong is a true one of the Nine Major Sects!”

“So what?”

Ling Xiao narrowed his eyes, and a sky-shaking aura burst forth from him.

“Those who block my rise to supremacy shall die without mercy.”

That domineering bearing kept tugging at Gu Mingyan’s heart.

This was how a man should be: his ambition set upon the world.

It was a long while before she finally came back to herself from that fascination.

“Since you’ve already made up your mind, I can’t change it. Then go ahead and do as you please. No matter what decision the War God Hall makes, my Shadow Hall will stand with you to the end.”

“How is the investigation into Ning Xuanyuan going?”

“It’s all been cleared up. Ning Xuanyuan knew he could no longer threaten your position, so he began secretly building up his own power outside Ghost Valley. Most likely he was preparing for the day he could break away from Ghost Valley altogether. The pills he has were hidden in his old family home in the secular world, where he uses them to keep in contact with several minor sects.”

“He does have a bit of cleverness. Once things in Kongtong are settled, I’ll deal with him.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him for you. Tomorrow night, I have to return to Ghost Valley. I hope you’ll be careful.”

Ling Xiao nodded, then removed the thumb ring from his right hand and handed it to Gu Mingyan.

“This ring is a spatial ring. Take it with you when you return to Ghost Valley. Make sure that, by the day before the Hundred Sects Contest, all ninety thousand men of the War God Hall are brought to Jiangzhou.”

“This time in the Northwest, it’s Ye Gucheng taking action against me. He can’t possibly bring the whole of Kongtong with him. And he will die by my hand.”

“Once Ye Gucheng is dead, Kongtong will surely be enraged. But before the Hundred Sects Contest begins, Kongtong cannot launch a campaign against Jiangzhou. They will deploy all their disciples along the border between the Northwest and Jiangzhou. The day the contest begins will be the day they launch a full assault on Jiangzhou, the day they come to kill me.”

“But I intend to serve them an even bigger feast.”

Complex light flickered in Gu Mingyan’s eyes.

“Sometimes I really wonder how you were ever born at all. Your schemes are so precise they leave people utterly trapped. Using a spatial ring to move troops—first, it takes them by surprise; second, it avoids Dragon Corps surveillance. That move is ruthless.”

Ling Xiao smiled faintly.

“It’s not that I’m too strong. It’s that all of you are too weak.”

Gu Mingyan let out a soft, wistful sigh.

Born as Ling Xiao was, this mortal world could never be without calamity.

Anyone standing in his path would become nothing more than dust beneath his feet.

Ling Xiao, Ling Xiao—was he truly meant to rise above the clouds?

...

At that same moment, the Ma family in the Northwest had already descended into utter chaos.

Ma Ye, Ma Changlong’s son, the sole heir of the Ma family, Ma Yinglong, was dead.

Kicked to death by a guest invited by Shen Qingshan.

Killed as casually as one might crush an ant.

For the Ma family, this was not merely the loss of a blood relative. It was a naked slap across their face.

Ma Changlong was now riding high, favored by Kongtong and on the verge of becoming the next ruler of the Northwest. Yet in the blink of an eye, Ma Yinglong had been killed.

And the one who struck was the nephew of the former ruler of the Northwest.

If this was not provocation, then what was?

“Shen Qingshan! The Shen family! You bastards! I, Ma Changlong, will never let you go!”

“Master Ma, Shen Qingshan did this on purpose. The young master even declared your name, and yet they still killed him without the slightest hesitation!”

“Enough words. Tomorrow, carry my son’s coffin. I’m going to ask Shen Qingshan myself how he plans to explain this.”

“Not only must he explain himself, the Shen family must pay the price!”

“Once the Shen family is destroyed, Master Ma will finally become the ruler of the Northwest!”