TL: Etude
Seeing Dao Ancestor Blue Sky hesitate, unwilling to act, Wind King boldly declared, “In any case, the Dao Ancestor of Ten Thousand Laws is under the protection of Blackwind Mountain. If your Heavenly Emperor Palace dares to declare war, Blackwind Mountain will respond in kind. The question is—does your Heavenly Emperor Palace dare to go to war for a single Imperial Son?”
“Hmph, Wind King, this matter is far from over!” Dao Ancestor Blue Sky waved his hand dismissively and turned to leave.
This retreat signified that Heavenly Emperor Palace was unwilling to wage war over a re Imperial Son. After all, he was just one Imperial Son, not a Supre True Ancestor. If an Imperial Son fell, another could be cultivated to replace him.
Heavenly Emperor Palace had ten Imperial Sons and nurous candidates waiting in line. The loss of one did not matter.
To engage in war with Blackwind Mountain over a single Imperial Son, potentially losing nurous Dao Ancestors in the process, was simply not worth it.
At the mont, there were no significant gains to be had, so there was no need for unnecessary bloodshed.
Once Dao Ancestor Blue Sky left, Ye Tian expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you, Wind King, for stepping in to help!”
The reason Ye Tian had dared to confront Heavenly Emperor Palace and had even allowed his son to kill Imperial Son Fengyang was simple—he had already inford Wind King and secured his guarantee. With such backing, there was nothing to fear from Heavenly Emperor Palace.
“This was a minor matter. Your son is quite remarkable. Would he have any interest in joining Blackwind Mountain?” Wind King asked with a smile.
“That depends on his own decision,” Ye Tian replied.
At this, Wind King turned to Ye Xingchen.
Ye Xingchen promptly responded, “Lord Wind King, I am willing to join Blackwind Mountain!”
“Excellent! Excellent!” Wind King was visibly elated.
Ye Xingchen was a Supre True Ancestor! Previously, Blackwind Mountain had Ye Tian as its sole Supre True Ancestor, but now that Ye Tian had ascended to the Dao Ancestor realm, Blackwind Mountain no longer had any Supre True Ancestors.
Recruiting another Supre True Ancestor was of great significance to Blackwind Mountain.
Furthermore, Ye Xingchen’s background was clear. His father was a Great Heavenly King of Blackwind Mountain, making him an ideal addition to their ranks.
Soon after, Ye Xingchen officially joined Blackwind Mountain. Wind King personally appointed him as a Heavenly General.
General Bloodfiend and General Skyreaver, upon seeing Ye Tian’s son, Ye Xingchen, elevated to the rank of Heavenly General and placed above them, felt a deep sense of inadequacy.
Acknowledging that they had no chance of advancing to the level of Supre True Ancestor, they both decided to focus on breaking through to the Dao Ancestor realm.
In truth, Blackwind Mountain’s ranks of Invincible True Ancestors extended far beyond just Generals Bloodfiend and Skyreaver. Nurous Invincible True Ancestors served under other Great Heavenly Kings and Heavenly Kings.
There were even so exceedingly mysterious Invincible True Ancestors commanding their own legions, their identities and power hidden from view.
Even Ye Tian, now a Great Heavenly King, was unaware of Blackwind Mountain’s full strength. He did not know how many Invincible True Ancestors Blackwind Mountain truly possessed.
Though Ye Xingchen held the title of Heavenly General and could oversee so generals and peaks, he lacked the authority to manage key figures such as the legions commanded by Heavenly Kings, Grand Kings, or Invincible True Ancestors.
Heavenly Generals appeared prestigious, but they were far from entering Blackwind Mountain’s true inner circle.
Even Ye Tian, now a Great Heavenly King, had limited knowledge of the mountain’s secrets. Only by becoming one of the Ten Kings of Blackwind Mountain would he gain access to its most profound mysteries and deepest reserves of strength.
…
anwhile, at Heavenly Emperor Palace.
The death of Imperial Son Fengyang sparked outrage in certain circles. Many Dao Ancestors were furious, though their anger remained contained.
The three Palace Masters had no intention of waging war against Blackwind Mountain for the sake of a single Imperial Son.
However, Imperial Son Fengyang was not without backing. Within Heavenly Emperor Palace, he belonged to the Feng Family—a considerable family boasting dozens of Dao Ancestors.
The strongest of these was a Seventh Heaven Dao Ancestor.
The Feng Family had poured imnse resources into Imperial Son Fengyang, seeing him as their hope for the future.
They had pinned their hopes on Imperial Son Fengyang becoming a Pinnacle Dao Ancestor in the future, seizing control of a hall, and wielding imnse power within the Heavenly Emperor Palace.
However, Imperial Son Fengyang was dead, and the Heavenly Emperor Palace didn’t even seek revenge for him.
This completely enraged the Feng Family, but they dared not create a scene within the Heavenly Emperor Palace. If a Palace Master issued a single command, the Feng Family would be annihilated without a trace.
At this mont, the Feng Family’s upper echelons were in a eting.
Presiding over the eting was the Feng Family Patriarch—Feng Zhengde, also known as Dao Ancestor Flying Dragon. His true form was a Dragon Sparrow, bearing the bloodline of the Dragon Race.
“Fengyang is dead!” Dao Ancestor Flying Dragon said despondently.
The assembled Dao Ancestors were all in foul moods. They had sacrificed an enormous amount of resources for Fengyang’s cultivation, often reluctant to use such resources on themselves, all in the hopes of nurturing Imperial Son Fengyang as quickly as possible. Yet, this was the result they got in return.
Dao Ancestor Flying Dragon continued, “I contacted a Pinnacle Dao Ancestor of the Heavenly Emperor Palace. They won’t avenge Fengyang because the culprit is from Blackwind Mountain. Blackwind Mountain has shielded him, and the Heavenly Emperor Palace does not wish to go to war. However, we must take revenge!”
“Revenge is a must!” the gathered Dao Ancestors roared furiously.
At this mont, a high-ranking Feng Family mber asked, “Patriarch, the one who killed Fengyang was a human nad Ye Xingchen. It’s said that he is now a Supre True Ancestor and has beco a Heavenly General of Blackwind Mountain. If we kill him, Blackwind Mountain will undoubtedly retaliate!”
“And?” Dao Ancestor Flying Dragon replied coldly. “Does Blackwind Mountain dare wage war against the Heavenly Emperor Palace?”
The Feng Family elder fell silent.
Dao Ancestor Flying Dragon added, “Don’t worry. I know what you’re concerned about. You’re worried about Blackwind Mountain, about that Dao Ancestor of Ten Thousand Laws, and about the possibility that the Heavenly Emperor Palace might abandon us. I assure you, the Feng Family will have its revenge, but it won’t require any of us to act.”
“If we don’t act, then how will Ye Xingchen be killed?” The Feng Family mbers were confused.
“Have you all been in the Dao Mountain Domain for so long that you’ve forgotten the situation in the Vast Sea Domain? Back then, when several forces offended our Feng Family, we used the power of the Heavenly Emperor Palace.” Dao Ancestor Flying Dragon reminded them.
“Patriarch, are you referring to the Killgod Hall?” a Dao Ancestor suddenly realized.
“Exactly—Killgod Hall!” Dao Ancestor Flying Dragon nodded.
Everyone present knew about Killgod Hall. It was an assassin organization shrouded in mystery, its mbers rumored to hail from various major powers.
If Blackwind Mountain was a bandit force, then Killgod Hall was a mysterious killer force.
Of course, Killgod Hall’s strength was far inferior to Blackwind Mountain’s. However, as long as one paid them the right treasures, they dared to assassinate anyone, even a Pinnacle Dao Ancestor—though they would only dare to do it once and never a second ti. After all, if exposed, Killgod Hall feared retaliation as much as anyone.
There was no such thing as an unending vendetta, nor endless assassinations. That would be absurd. If any assassin force was so reckless, it would have been destroyed long ago.
Nevertheless, once Killgod Hall sent an assassin, the mission had a nearly 90% success rate. The remaining 10% represented uncertainty, as accidents sotis occurred.
For example, a Seventh Heaven Dao Ancestor might kill a First Heaven Dao Ancestor, only to find the latter unexpectedly protected by an Invincible Dao Ancestor. Such scenarios were unpredictable.
After deliberation, the Feng Family decided to hire Killgod Hall to assassinate Ye Xingchen. As for assassinating the Dao Ancestor of Ten Thousand Laws, the cost was too high, beyond what the Feng Family could afford.
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