Chapter 440: The Sea of Bitterness
Qian Tianlong knelt on the floor.
As an inner sect disciple of Cloudsky Divine Palace, this was the first time anyone had forced him to his knees since he began his cultivation!
Humiliation coursed through him, battering his heart like waters at high tide. He was so furious that his eyes almost burst, and he was on the brink of losing himself in his rage.
As Su Yi’s voice still floated through the air, Qian Tianlong leaped and swung his sleeves.
“Die!”
Whoosh!
A beak-like golden throwing knife short forth, quick as lightning.
Huo Yunsheng and Sun Feng’s expressions shifted. The Golden Luan Spirit Bone knife!
This was Qian?Tianlong’s?ultimate weapon, but he wouldn’t use it lightly. It was the work of one of the sect’s Spiritual Manifestation elders, and it had shocking murderous power.
Crack!
Su Yi stretched out his fingers and flicked. The beak-shaped throwing knife burst in mid-air, as easily as if it were made of paper, then scattered into tiny fragments.
Su Yi then casually pressed down with his finger.
Bang!
The pressure forced Qian Tianlong to his knees once more, shaking the restriction covering the floor, which shook violently.
Huo Yunsheng and Sun Feng couldn’t help but gasp.
They might say that Qian Tianlong had been suppressed once because he got complacent, yet now, he’d been suppressed again! How could they explain it this time?
This only proved that the Great Zhou’s Su Yi really was strong enough to suppress Qian Tianlong!
“Damnit!” Qian Tianlong roared in fury, his face ashen. He struggled to his feet like a frenzied beast, his energy maddened and rampaging, but just as he was about to charge…
Bang!
Su Yi pressed down, forcing him to his knees yet again. His kneecaps oozed with blood, and the pain made him convulse.
Qing Ya couldn’t help but applaud, and her eyes sparkled like gemstones as she rejoiced. Su Yi was like an axe through rotting wood; the way he suppressed his opponent felt unquestionably great!
Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing were repeatedly stunned, but also immensely gratified.
Earlier, Qian Tianlong spoke with barbed words, sarcasm, and an air of superiority. His every word and gesture was overbearing and arrogant.
Yet now, Su Yi had repeatedly forced him to his knees. How unsightly and pathetic was that?
Even Ling Yunhe was secretly exultant.
Ordinary cultivators really didn’t dare provoke inheritors of Cloudsky Divine Palace. Even if they behaved with far greater arrogance, most cultivators wouldn’t dare voice their anger out loud.
Alas, this time, they’d bumped into Su Yi!
“What are you just lying there for? Continue,” said Su Yi, still seated from behind his table. From beginning to end, he remained seated, leisurely and composed.
Su Yi’s words provoked Qian Tianlong so thoroughly that he completely lost his rationality.?“I’ll fucking ki—!”
He was just about to charge with no regard for his life when Huo Yunsheng bellowed, “Enough! Junior Apprentice Brother Qian, haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough already? Do you really think you have a chance at victory if this continues?”
Qian?Tianlong’s?expression shifted erratically, but he did indeed calm down, and he no longer dared act randomly.
He wasn’t stupid; it was just that his anger had muddled his head. Now that he’d calmed down, how could he fail to realize that, despite the fact that they were both in the mid-stage Grain Avoidance Realm, he was absolutely no match for Su Yi in a real fight?
However, when he thought back to how Su Yi had repeatedly forced him to kneel, he couldn’t suppress his rage. He was so furious and ashamed he almost wanted to die, and he hated Su Yi to his very bones.
Huo Yunsheng looked at Su Yi and said coldly, “We wouldn’t have guessed that, in addition to Yue Shichan, the Great Zhou gave rise to an impressive figure like you, Fellow Daoist Su.”
Su Yi picked up a wine jar, poured himself a cup, and said casually, “If any of you aren’t convinced, you’re welcome to take this opportunity to try me. Otherwise…”
He raised his cup, drained it, then said, “In the future, even if you want me to teach you manners, I’m afraid you won’t get a chance like this ever again.”
“You…” Huo Yunsheng’s expression darkened.
Sun Feng interjected, “Senior Apprentice Brother Huo, you needn’t get angry at someone like him. It’s just like you said earlier; no matter how angry we may be, we can’t disregard Senior Apprentice Sister Wen. Let’s all just go our separate ways when we arrive at Spiritbend City.”
Huo Yunsheng snorted coldly, then turned and left with a swish of his sleeves.
Sun Feng helped Qian Tianlong up, then looked at Su Yi and said icily, “Today’s matter won’t simply end here. Fellow Daoist Su, you’d best tread carefully.”
With that, he carried Qian Tianlong away.
Soon, only Su Yi and his companions remained in the dining room.
“Big Brother Su Yi, those guys obviously have a grudge against you now, but rest assured. When I see Little Martial Aunt, I’ll be sure to speak up on your behalf,” said Qing Ya.
Su Yi smiled. “I appreciate your good intentions, but I actually quite hope they can find someone capable to send after me for revenge.”
Having said this, he sighed.
And here he’d thought that the power of Cloudsky Divine Palace disciples would far surpass ordinary cultivators. Who’d have guessed that this was all they had? It was truly disappointing.
Ling Yunhe’s expression was strange. How could he fail to realize that Su Yi was disappointed?
He thought it over, and indeed, an Origin Dao cultivator of Su Yi’s strength would struggle to find worthy opponents…
This was likely what they meant when they said “it’s lonely at the top.”
“Big Brother Su Yi, you really aren’t afraid of Cloudsky Divine Palace’s revenge?” Qing Ya asked curiously.
Su Yi said without the slightest concern, “Cloudsky Divine Palace should be concerned, not me. Can they bear the consequences of choosing to become my enemy?”
After a stunned pause, Qing Ya gave him a big thumbs up. “Big Brother Su Yi, of everyone I’ve met, you’re the boldest!”
Ling Yunhe pondered for a moment, then said, “Qian Tianlong cannot represent the entire Cloudsky Divine Palace. Furthermore, he’s just one inner sect disciple. Given the higher-ups’ shrewdness, they won’t get involved over an incident like this.”
He paused, then continued, “However, if Qian Tianlong carries a grudge, he’s sure to invite numerous helpers. If the situation gets out of hand, Cloudsky Divine Palace won’t just sit back and watch.”
Su Yi waved dismissively. “Fellow Daoist Ling, you needn’t give this trivial matter any further thought. Never mind a single Cloudsky Divine Palace; even if the entire Great Xia stood against me, I wouldn’t care in the least.”
His tone was casual, but his meaning made Ling Yunhe’s heart shake.
He wasn’t sure of the source of Su Yi’s confidence, but he knew that Su Yi wasn’t some empty boaster.
Since he dared say such a thing, it meant he really wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with every faction in the world!
……
Meanwhile, in another room of the tower ship surrounded by a sound-proofing formation…
“I’m going to kill that Su Yi! I swear it!” Qian?Tianlong’s?eyes were red, and his expression was rife with hatred.
“Junior Apprentice Brother Qian, we naturally can’t just let this slide, but for now, you’ll have to endure. Whatever you do, you must not be reckless.” Huo Yunsheng’s eyes flashed. “It won’t be too late to deal with him after we get to Spiritbend City.”
“Senior Apprentice Brother Huo, do you plan to ask Senior Apprentice Sister?Wen?to intervene?” Sun Feng furrowed his brow.
Huo Yunsheng shook his head. “I’m not that stupid. Even assuming that Ling Yunhe and Qing Ya don’t ask her for help too, Senior Apprentice Sister Wen judges others by their successes and failures. With her personality, even if she finds out about what happened today, she’ll just say that Junior Apprentice Brother Qian overestimated his abilities and brought this upon himself.”
When he heard that, Qian Tianlong felt like his dignity was in shambles.?What does he mean, ‘I overestimated my abilities’? What does he mean, ‘I brought this on myself’?
But when he considered Wen Xinzhao’s disposition and how she resolved her problems, Qian Tianlong fell silent; he couldn’t argue.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Huo, what do you plan to do? Are you going to ask our seniors to intervene?” asked Sun Feng.
“If our seniors find out about what happened today, they might well intervene on Junior Apprentice Brother Qian’s behalf, but doing so would leave his reputation in tatters. After all, competition within the sect is incomparably cruel. If the rest of the sect finds out that a rogue cultivator from a tiny little backwater forced Junior Apprentice Brother Qian to his knees, how will they treat him?”
When Huo Yunsheng said this, Qian?Tianlong’s?expression instantly changed dramatically. “The sect absolutely cannot find out about this!”
Was he joking? If this scandal made it back to the sect, Qian Tianlong was doomed to become a laughingstock. Everyone would point and laugh at him. No matter what he did, this incident would remain a stain on his reputation for the rest of his life!
Huo Yunsheng said, “We naturally won’t publicize this, but if we don’t dispose of Su Yi and his companions, when they spread word of what happened…”
Qian?Tianlong’s?heart clenched, and he gnashed his teeth. “Right! We have to kill them all!”
“But Ling Yunhe and Qing Ya know about this too. Don’t tell me we’re going to kill them as well?” Sun Feng furrowed his brow.
Huo Yunsheng said, “This is easily resolved. First, we get rid of Su Yi and his companions in secret. Then, all we have to do is talk to Senior Apprentice Sister Wen.”
“We’re going to kill them in secret?” Qian Tianlong thought for a moment, then shot to his feet and bowed in Huo Yunsheng’s direction. “Senior Apprentice Brother Huo, please instruct me. No matter the price, so long as I can exterminate Su Yi and his companions, I absolutely won’t so much as furrow my brow!”
Huo Yunsheng smiled faintly. “Junior Apprentice Brother Qian, we’re sectmates. No need to talk like such an outsider. Besides, at tonight’s banquet, Su Yi infuriated me as well."
He paused, then said, “If you want to eliminate them, I actually do have a good way of doing so. Apprentice Brothers, have either of you heard of the Sea of Bitterness?”
The Sea of Bitterness?
Sun Feng’s?pupils constricted. “Senior Apprentice Brother, don’t tell me you’re referring to that mysterious faction of assassins that rose to prominence recently?”
Huo Yunsheng nodded. “That’s the one. They say that the Sea of Bitterness is boundless, and that one must turn their head to see the shore. Assassins from the Sea of Bitterness claim that they’re ‘redeeming’ their targets. So long as you pay the corresponding price, never mind Origin Dao cultivators; taking down even Spiritual Manifestation cultivators is well within the realm of possibility.”
He then flashed them a mysterious smile. “Do you perhaps remember that brutal incident that took place in the Eastern Cloud Province’s top faction, the Flowing Armor True Sect, half a year ago?”
Qian Tianlong and Sun Feng glanced at each other. Of course they remembered; that incident shook the entire nation.
The Flowing Armor True Sect’s high elder, Daoist Mu, had only just overcome his tribulation to become the sect’s first-ever Spiritual Manifestation cultivator.
However, the same night he proved his Dao and reached the Spiritual Manifestation Realm, he died within his immortal cave, a bloody hole through his forehead. Even his soul was shattered, and he knew no peace even in death.
Someone had placed a palm-sized boat of folded black paper beside the corpse.
But in the end, aside from that boat made out of strange black paper, there were no clues. The killer’s identity remained a mystery to this day.
This incident provoked a massive uproar throughout the Great Xia’s cultivation world.
Huo Yunsheng’s gaze was somewhat strange. He whispered, “That incident was the work of an assassin from the Sea of Bitterness. They say the killer’s cultivation is only in the Gathering Stars Realm. In the Sea of Bitterness, his title is ‘the Ferryman!’
“As for the black paper boat they discovered beside Daoist Mu’s corpse? That’s the Ferryman’s ‘Netherworld Ferry.’ It means that he saw someone to the next world personally.”
When they heard this, Qian Tianlong and Sun Feng gasped, then looked at each other in shock.
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