Chapter 234: The Protectors Are All Scheming Old Foxes!
Zhou Kai looked at Gao Feihuang, and the fragile bond of brotherhood in his heart nearly shattered on the spot.
He suppressed a truly absurd urge: Why not just burn this shop down and throw this Senior Brother into the fire with it?
Forcing his gaze away from the blinding horizontal scroll—PROFESSIONAL FACE-SLAPPING—he tried to keep his voice from sounding homicidal.
“Senior Brother Feihuang. This shop… has too much of your personal style. Won’t the Song and Yang families instantly know this is your doing?”
“Let them know,” Gao Feihuang said, completely unbothered. He arched a brow, looking smug. “Knowing it’s me forces them to weigh the consequences. They won’t dare move recklessly. But don’t worry, Junior Brother—I didn’t leak a single word about you or Junior Brother Su.”
“Senior Brother Feihuang’s masterpiece…” Su Xuan’s voice drifted from behind, gentle but laced with helpless amusement. “…is subtle as a thunderclap. I fear it would be harder to keep people ignorant.”
Zhou Kai turned to meet a pair of smiling eyes.
Su Xuan approached unhurriedly, jade flute in hand, robes swaying in the night breeze. But when his gaze landed on the resplendent “haunted house,” his perfect smile froze for a microsecond.
He stopped. He looked up. He fell silent for a long time.
He tapped the flute against his palm, his tone slow and ghostly.
“Brother Feihuang. This building… the aura of wealth has nearly condensed into a solid. Which celestial cave descended to the mortal realm?”
“And these couplets. The brushstrokes hide thunder. Surely penned by an ancient sage in a drunken stupor? Posted here, they could suppress the Providence of an entire region.”
“This Junior Brother is dull. I truly cannot fathom… how our humble merchant association deserves such an earth-shattering facade.”
Zhou Kai nearly laughed out loud. Su Xuan didn’t use a single dirty word, yet his praise was a thousand needles stabbing straight into Gao Feihuang’s peacock heart.
It was infinitely more lethal than Zhou Kai’s blunt sarcasm.
Gao Feihuang’s handsome face flushed red. He stiffened his neck. “Junior Brother Su, you don’t understand! Last time at Yantian Peak, I suffered in silence. If I don’t vent this grievance, my thoughts won’t be clear! I must reclaim my face!”
He waved a hand at the empty street, chin high, radiating arrogance.
“Today, we wait right here!”
Su Xuan’s brow furrowed slightly. “Brother Feihuang has a plan?”
“Plan? Simple!” Gao Feihuang grinned. “The first night is never peaceful. We wait by the stump for the rabbit. Whoever comes, we crush!”
Zhou Kai frowned. “Brilliance City has strict laws. Multiple Nascent Soul cultivators are garrisoned here. Private combat is forbidden. If we fight here, we invite disaster.”
Gao Feihuang looked at Zhou Kai like he was an idiot. He slapped his chest. “Scared of what? We are three Golden Core Elders! Afraid of a few small fries? We beat them, then we scram! Who will know it was us?”
Zhou Kai: “…” Su Xuan: “…”
The trio entered the shop. The interior was exactly as Gao Feihuang promised—untouched, elegant, and understated. It clashed violently with the nouveau riche nightmare outside.
They sat cross-legged in the main hall. For a while, only the crackle of candle flames broke the silence. The trap was set.
An hour later.
Zhou Kai’s tension suddenly evaporated. A wave of heavy drowsiness washed over him without warning.
The candle flame blurred, as if seen through water. The world swayed.
Not good!
Zhou Kai’s heart tightened. This wasn’t fatigue. It was a Soul Attack!
The ambient Spirit Qi solidified like iron. An invisible force dragged his Divine Sense into the abyss.
A Formation!
The instant the thought formed, his Cicada Robe Doppelganger activated. A figure identical to him separated silently from his main body.
His mind raced. The Doppelganger suppressed its aura to zero, merging into the shadows like smoke, vanishing from perception.
Just as he finished, Zhou Kai prepared to detonate his Qi to break the trap—but the scene before him suddenly cleared!
The candle flared bright. The drowsiness vanished. The invisible mountain crushing his soul evaporated.
“You dare use the same trash Formation twice?!”
Gao Feihuang’s roar shook the roof beams like thunder. “Do you look down on me that much?!”
The Formation was broken!
The floor tiles beneath Zhou Kai shattered. He launched backward like a reverse arrow, crashing through the roof in a shower of debris. He hovered in the night sky, scanning the darkness.
Fuck the city rules. Catch him first!
His Main Body and Doppelganger synchronized perfectly.
Cicada Chirp Steals Heaven!
Zhou Kai’s perception exploded outward like a sonar ping. The world lost its color, turning into a grid of Spirit Qi threads.
One faint thread vibrated violently—the signature of a fleeing cultivator.
Got you.
Zhou Kai pointed. “THERE! Don’t let him run!”
Before the words faded, he flashed with white jade light, tearing through the night in pursuit.
Gao Feihuang and Su Xuan were a step behind. They saw Zhou Kai point and reacted instantly.
Gao Feihuang paused, the arrogance in his eyes replaced by genuine scrutiny. Su Xuan let out a soft “Hmm,” his gaze sharpening with inquiry.
“Junior Brother Zhou…” Gao Feihuang grinned, battle lust rising. “…interesting! I’ll grab him!”
His red robes snapped like a flag. He transformed into a crimson comet, blasting past Zhou Kai with terrifying speed.
Su Xuan moved silently, a ghost in the wind. Both were far faster than Zhou Kai.
By the time Zhou Kai landed at the end of the alley, it was over.
Gao Feihuang’s boot was planted firmly on the back of a black-robed cultivator, cracking the stone pavement.
Su Xuan stood nearby. He tapped his jade flute against the air. The captive couldn’t even grunt—his spiritual circulation had been severed instantly.
“Done. Left him breathing,” Su Xuan said, his tone flat as if commenting on the weather.
Gao Feihuang moved his foot, looking at the heap on the ground with disgust. He glanced at Zhou Kai. “You’re too slow, Junior Brother.”
Su Xuan shoved a Pill into the man’s mouth to keep him alive. He looked at Zhou Kai gently. “The Divine Artifact War hasn’t officially begun. Sect rules forbid killing, especially in Brilliance City.”
Gao Feihuang nodded impatiently. “Let’s move. Out of the city.”
The trio grabbed the half-dead captive and streaked out of the city, landing on a desolate mountain peak.
Gao Feihuang tossed the man onto the dirt. “Golden Core First Layer. Never seen him.”
Su Xuan shook his head. “Stranger to me as well.”
Gao Feihuang didn’t waste time. He flicked a finger.
Pfft!
A compressed bullet of air punched through the man’s thigh.
“AHHH!”
Gao Feihuang nudged the man’s face with his boot. “Three breaths. Name your master. Or the next one goes through your Dantian.”
Sweat poured down the man’s face, but he grinned through the pain. A provocative, fearless sneer.
“My Life Tablet is in the Enforcement Hall,” he hissed. “Touch me, break the rules, and you answer to the Sect Leader!”
He knows the rules inside out, Zhou Kai thought. A professional.
Gao Feihuang’s eyes narrowed with killing intent, but he hesitated.
Su Xuan twirled his flute, silent.
The standoff held. Then, Zhou Kai crouched down. He smiled gently, like an old friend settling in for a chat.
“Senior Brothers. Why not let me try?”
There was no Killing Intent in his eyes. Only the calm depth of a dark pool.
Cicada Cry Bewildering Heart.
No Qi fluctuation. No Divine Sense spillover.
In three breaths, the captive’s sneer froze. The light in his eyes died, replaced by a glassy vacancy.
Gao Feihuang’s impatience vanished. Su Xuan’s gentle smile disappeared.
What technique is this?
They felt nothing. They saw only eye contact. But the captive’s breathing hitched, his will dissolving.
Zhou Kai’s voice dropped, soft and conversational. “How did the mission go?”
The captive stared at nothing. “Reporting to Young Master. Failed again.”
“Was it the Li Family mission, or the other one?”
“The Li Family’s Su Xuan rarely acts,” the captive droned. “It was Gao Feihuang who broke the Formation with brute force again. Should I test the Yang Family’s protector too?”
Su Xuan’s finger froze on his flute.
Gao Feihuang whipped his head around, staring at Su Xuan with wide eyes.
“Junior Brother Su. What are you hiding?”
Zhou Kai backhanded the captive, knocking him unconscious. He stood up, meeting their gazes calmly.
“My technique cannot alter memory. Whatever I asked… the Song Family will know he spilled it once he returns.”
Gao Feihuang stroked his chin, eyes shining. He circled Zhou Kai like he was inspecting a rare artifact.
“Good lad. What is that art? No fuss, no mess, just scooped his soul clean. Impressive. Truly impressive.”
The scrutiny in Su Xuan’s eyes faded. He chuckled softly, the gentle smile returning—but this time, it carried a razor’s edge of coldness.
He spun his flute. “The Song Family is amusing. Sending a Golden Core First Layer to test my ‘Miasma Illusion Sound’? Do they think that is my limit?”
BOOM.
An Aura Pressure far exceeding the early Golden Core stage erupted from him for a split second, flattening the surrounding grass, then vanished instantly.
Gao Feihuang yelped. “Damn! Su Xuan! Even you play these games? Did the Young Master order you to sandbag?”
Zhou Kai kept his face neutral, but his mind raced.
Good lord. Another mid-Golden Core old silver coin.
Back at the Flower Boat debate, this guy probably used less than 30% of his power.
These Protectors… not a single one is simple.
If that’s true… then Li Qiwen…
Am I the only one playing with open cards?
No. From now on, I need to keep more aces up my sleeve.
“Senior Brother Feihuang, forget that for now.” Zhou Kai’s expression turned grave. “The Yang Family must have been watching us in Brilliance City. They haven’t moved yet. That is dangerous. Let’s return to the Sect first!”
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