Chapter 265: 241 Hope, Part 1

On the ground, Princess Yongxiang lay on her back, blood oozing from the corner of her eyes because of her injured eyeballs.

“If you have the guts, kill me!!” She struggled to push out a sentence.

“Kill you? Heh, to be honest, I’ve put up with you for a long time.”

Zhang Rongfang’s expression was calm as he walked up to her again, suddenly grabbing her hair with his right hand and yanking it to the left.

Slap.

Princess Yongxiang, with her one good hand, grasped his wrist acupoint, flipped over, and launched her shoulder with all her strength toward Zhang Rongfang’s cheek.

Although the Three Emptiness Super Grade had only one hand remaining, it could still unleash tremendous destructive power in a very short time.

This strike was a rare Limit-Breaking Skill from the Great Martial Tome, the Shattering Bee!

This move also gathered all of Princess Yongxiang’s strength at this moment; once it hit, even Zhang Rongfang would….

Bang!!

Zhang Rongfang’s palm stopped in front of his cheek, steadily blocking this attack.

A cyclone erupted between his palm and her shoulder, the tremendous force rebounding Princess Yongxiang to the ground, rolling several times.

“Truly impressive, to unleash such a strike despite being so severely injured.”

Zhang Rongfang stretched his arms, his palms, which had just taken the strike, were now slightly swollen.

“If you have the guts, kill me!!” Princess Yongxiang struggled to get up from the ground and said again.

“I’m sorry.” Zhang Rongfang shook his head slightly, “Taizhenzi didn’t dare to kill you, nor do I.”

“So…”

He approached her.

In an instant, his fingers pinpointed and gripped the last arm of Princess Yongxiang.

Crack.

The bone fractured and broke.

Before Princess Yongxiang could scream.

She was lifted entirely, facing the sky.

Zhang Rongfang’s knee jutted upwards, folding her downward.

Bam!!

With a crisp crack, her spine shattered.

Tears and snot flowed from Princess Yongxiang, her mouth agape, emitting a silent scream.

By now, the rest around had already ended their slaughter.

With Zhang Yunqi and other Rebel Sect experts encircling, the already devastated convoy was utterly vulnerable.

Several experts were dragging the still-reviving Spiritual Veins into the depths of the forest.

They were evidently experienced in besieging Spiritual Veins.

Conveniently, Zhang Rongfang also needed a few Spiritualized individuals to verify the Eastern Sect’s experiments.

No need to besiege to death.

The last convoy guard was resolved.

Zhang Yunqi sighed, walking to Zhang Rongfang’s side, looking at Princess Yongxiang.

“Let me deliver the final blow. After all, she is of royal blood.”

“Killing her outright, what trouble would that bring?” Zhang Rongfang let go of Princess Yongxiang, noting the hidden implication.

“A lot of trouble. The Spirit Court’s Snow Rainbow Pavilion can instantly detect the royal blood on your hands,” Zhang Yunqi replied solemnly.

He looked at Zhang Rongfang.

Just now, Zhang Rongfang’s few moves were well noted by him.

Clearly, this Human Race Daoist was far from simple on the surface.

His martial prowess was absolutely beyond his own claims of just having broken through External Medicine.

The recent series of moves were top-tier speeds, eruptions, and reactions of internal arts.

“Royal blood….” Zhang Rongfang was silent for a moment, looking at the now unconscious Princess Yongxiang.

“Looks like Brother Yunqi is determined to tie me up, too?” He suddenly laughed.

“Since the moment you opened the secret cache, weren’t we already tied together?” Zhang Yunqi shook his head.

“Yes… indeed. Then leave everything to you.” Zhang Rongfang nodded.

“Please hurry, the reviving time of the Snow Rainbow Pavilion’s Spiritual Veins behind me has come, it should come very soon.”

“Hmm.”

Zhang Yunqi stepped forward, picked up Princess Yongxiang, and rapidly dashed away into the distance.

This hot potato, the best way was naturally to take advantage of her being alive and use the sea to solve all troubles.

As for how long they could cover it up, that depended on luck.

Zhang Rongfang watched him leave.

He wasn’t troubled by conspiring with the Rebel Sect.

From the moment he opened the secret cache and obtained numerous key information, he knew that once it leaked out, he would inevitably be at the center of a storm even as a Daoist of the Great Dao Teaching.

Papers cannot conceal fire.

Having reached this point, since acquiring the secrets, there was no turning back.

So it made sense to cooperate with the Rebel Sect.

All participants in this siege of Princess Yongxiang would be perpetrators.

This was their pledge to commit.

From this moment, this group was truly bound together.

“Mr. Zhang Ying, although I don’t know what you discussed with my adoptive father, from now on, let’s have a pleasant cooperation.”

At this moment, another woman, with a silver V-shaped mask, approached Zhang Rongfang, gradually reaching out her hand.

“Of course. From today, we are all one.” Zhang Rongfang extended his hand with a smile.

The two gently shook hands, marking Zhang Yunqi’s other Rebel Sect members’ first contact with Zhang Rongfang.

After the siege of Princess Yongxiang, next was tidying up the aftermath.

The death toll was not high; with experts outnumbering the convoy, only four died, and more than a dozen were injured.

Quickly tidying the scene, they gathered all bodies, doused them in kerosene, and set them ablaze.

The fire roared fiercely.

Zhang Rongfang and the rest of the Rebel Sect swiftly retreated.

The adopted daughter of Zhang Yunqi, Zhang Zhenhai, after simply explaining some contact methods to Zhang Rongfang, quickly departed with her men.

Neither mentioned Zhang Yunqi and Princess Yongxiang’s matters.

If discovered that the siege included royal blood, everyone present would face far more brutal slaughters than now.

So many things could only be left unsaid.

Not long after Zhang Rongfang left the scene.

The group from the Rebel Sect, carrying the bodies of their own members, quickly arrived deep within Huangjing Mountain.

Amid the dense forest.

Rows of tombstones carved and made from wood were neatly displayed here.

Behind the tombstones were mounds of various sizes.

Zhang Zhenhai waved his hand.

He instructed the Rebel Sect members behind him to move the deceased brothers and sisters up.

Some carved the tombstones, some dug the soil.

There were no coffins, just a pit to throw the bodies in and bury them on the spot.

The only safeguard was a few skilled members of the Rebel Sect guarding the cemetery.

They practiced martial arts here daily while keeping watch over the graves.

This was to prevent wild beasts from digging up the mounds and gnawing on the bodies.

Soon, the bodies were buried, the soil mounds closed, and the tombstones slowly erected and stood upright.

“Safe travels.” Zhang Zhenhai placed his hand on his left chest and bowed slightly.

The rest of the Rebel Sect members performed similar rituals.

The Rebel Sect has been established for over thirty years, gathering those who had extreme hatred for the Spirit Court, people with tragic destinies.

Among them, some had brotherly vendettas, others had parental grievances, some sought revenge for annihilated clans, and others harbored deep-seated national enmity.

All this hatred brought them together to seek revenge against the Spirit Court.

So when they heard of the plan to entrap and kill a noble from the Spirit Court and needed manpower.

In just over ten minutes, more than a hundred people from the Rebel Sect volunteered.

Zhang Yunqi selected over forty skilled individuals from them.

Indeed, they were all skilled. Driven by extreme hatred, many martial arts practiced in the Rebel Sect were self-injurious, only pursuing extreme lethality.

“Is everything buried properly?”

Suddenly, a deep voice interrupted Zhang Zhenhai’s thoughts.

She turned around to find her father, Zhang Yunqi, standing on a nearby open space, also slightly bowing toward the tombstones, without her noticing when he arrived.

“Yes. To die in this entrapment action, I believe they would be quite satisfied.” Zhang Zhenhai said softly.

“Perhaps.” Zhang Yunqi straightened up and looked around.

Among the Rebel Sect members, the only exposed eyes showed suppressed delight.

They had ambushed a convoy of royal blood!!

This was the largest act ever done by the Rebel Sect to date.

If the previous acts were minor skirmishes, this time…. was different!

“Leader, it’s imaginable that after this, the Spirit Court will be enraged and will send experts to investigate.

And the Snow Rainbow Pavilion’s experts will definitely act immediately. Although it was satisfying to kill, the aftermath needs to be swiftly addressed and planned for.”

A man in black stepped forward and cupped his fists.

Zhang Yunqi nodded.

“It’s okay.”

He raised his right arm.

Three purple marks clearly emerged on the exposed forearm skin.

“Princess Yongxiang died at my hands; if there’s trouble, it will all come for me. It has nothing to do with you all.”

“Godfather…,” Zhang Zhenhai was incredulous, “even if you didn’t kill them directly, would you still be stained with royal blood marks!?”

“I threw the person into the sea, allowing them to drown. I didn’t directly intervene.

But I didn’t expect to still get caught…. It seems that anyone standing within a certain range will be affected.” Zhang Yunqi shook his head.

“However, it doesn’t matter. We truly know too little about royal bloodlines. This time can serve as an opportunity to deepen our understanding.”

“Next time, do it more carefully and covertly.”

He smiled indifferently.

“But Godfather…,” Zhang Zhenhai wanted to say something more.

But he stopped her with a raised hand.

“It’s okay, my martial arts skills, aren’t you familiar with them? Even for a Grandmaster of the Spirit Court to catch me, they’d have to find me first.” Zhang Yunqi smiled.

“But regarding this matter, there’s really no need for you to take the blame for that person… This was originally what he wanted to do….” Zhang Zhenhai couldn’t understand.

“It’s not the same.” Zhang Yunqi shook his head, “That one is a Human Race Daoist, our future hope. The Eastern Sect left three Human Race Daoists, each carefully selected, definitely with the potential and foundation to restore the past glories.

Since we were assigned to guard this secret, it means we’ve been tied to that one from the start.”

“This is a major plan set long ago. So many experts above sacrificed themselves just to leave these last three sparks?”

He seemed quite open-minded.

“Therefore, our task is simply to quietly guard that one as they grow.

Nothing more.”

Zhang Zhenhai bit her lower lip, recalling each scene of Zhang Rongfang’s actions.

Admittedly, although not as powerful as her godfather, Zhang Rongfang exuded a certain calmness and composure in his every move.

It’s as if nothing could easily phase him or cause him distress.

That kind of cautious confidence isn’t something seen in ordinary experts.

“In fact, he is better suited to be our leader.” Zhang Yunqi said calmly.

“As a leader, you must constantly lead your subordinates to victory. At no time can you be flustered or lose your composure.

An organization’s stability and confidence all stem from its leader. In this regard, I am not strong.”

“Why speak this way, Leader? We’ve been able to grow and thrive in Citong under your leadership.

If it were anyone else, we would have certainly declined by now.”

“Leader, there’s no need to belittle yourself. We willingly follow your directives and plans.”

“From the moment you avenged our wrongs, we’ve only believed in you!”

Members of the Rebel Sect around spoke up in support.

Zhang Yunqi smiled, cupping his hands in thanks, offering greetings all around.

But his mind involuntarily drifted back to many years ago….

At that time, his mentor, Elder Sanhui, on his deathbed, also entrusted everything about the Rebel Sect to him.

This responsibility for the lives of hundreds, tied by life and death, was truly burdensome.

And now, finally, there was someone who could help share the burden….

He was no longer everyone’s only hope.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep