Chapter 488: Chapter 270: Domineering

Xu Yang left the Ghost Tower, but he didn’t let his guard down. The two Half-Spirit Weapons he had just traded were from the Song Family, and the Spirit Iron was from the Purple Sun Sect. He couldn’t afford any slip-ups.

After weaving through several alleys and changing his clothes, he noticed no one was following him. He thought he was safe and that the Ghost Tower hadn’t had any ill intentions.

But as he exited another alley, he felt a prying gaze from behind. It felt somewhat familiar—it was the same man from the Ghost Tower who had been carrying the tray earlier.

’How did he catch up to me?’

He spread his Heart Spirit and saw that the man from the Ghost Tower had changed his appearance. He was wearing a human-skin mask and carrying an iron cage with a mouse inside.

’So they really are planning to rob me blind,’ Xu Yang sneered.

’Three stalks of Spirit Medicine, and the Ghost Tower is already willing to throw away its reputation.’

’Perfect. I happen to need a human-skin mask.’

The human-skin mask on the Ghost Tower man’s face was exquisitely crafted. If Xu Yang’s keen senses hadn’t memorized the man’s gaze, he would have never noticed any flaw in his disguise from his appearance alone.

Another alley lay ahead. Xu Yang suddenly accelerated and dashed inside.

’It’s useless!’

The Ghost Tower man didn’t rush. He strolled calmly into the alley, only to discover it was a dead end and completely empty.

SQUEAK SQUEAK...

Inside the iron cage, the tracking mouse squeaked, pointing the Ghost Tower man upward.

’Onto the roof, is he?’ The Ghost Tower man was unconcerned and prepared to leap onto the adjacent building.

He looked up and saw a familiar figure floating in mid-air. From beneath the conical hat, a gaze so intense it seemed almost tangible pierced through the air, burning into him.

A Celestial Essence Martial Artist!

The Ghost Tower man’s heart pounded with terror, his pupils constricting violently. Floating in mid-air—that was a power only a Celestial Essence Martial Artist possessed.

’Didn’t the Shopkeeper say this person was only about twenty? At that age, not even the likes of Xu Yang, Jiang Fan, or Zhang Hanzhou from the Purple Sun Sect have broken through to the Celestial Essence Realm.’

’That idiot sent me, someone at Marrow Cleansing Great Success, to rob a Celestial Essence expert?’

"Oh... I seem to have taken a wrong turn. Greetings, Senior," the Ghost Tower man said, forcing himself to remain calm as he suppressed his terror.

The human-skin mask on his face was a masterpiece, practically indistinguishable from a real one. Even though he had just come face-to-face with this Celestial Essence Martial Artist in the Ghost Tower, he was confident the man wouldn’t recognize him.

The Ghost Tower man clasped his hands in a salute and prepared to withdraw.

The next moment, he felt a pressure as immense as a mountain crash down on him. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and he dropped to his knees with a THUD.

"This junior was just passing by! Spare my life, Senior!" the Ghost Tower man stammered.

Xu Yang descended. With a flick of his wrist, the human-skin mask was torn from the man’s face, revealing his true features.

Instantly, the Ghost Tower man’s face turned ashen. He stopped making excuses.

"Tell me, when did you mark me?"

Xu Yang toyed with the exquisitely made mask before carefully putting it away. He still didn’t know how they had managed to track him.

"If you promise to spare me, Senior, I will tell you everything," the Ghost Tower man said.

Xu Yang nodded without a hint of hesitation. "Fine."

"That room was treated with a special incense. Anyone who enters it gets coated in a unique fragrance."

A look of joy spread across the Ghost Tower man’s face. He didn’t doubt Xu Yang’s words in the slightest. ’A Celestial Essence expert’s word is their bond. He wouldn’t trick me. A powerhouse of his level wouldn’t stoop to such a thing.’

He spilled the room’s secret in one go.

’So that’s how it was.’

Xu Yang nodded. "How many Celestial Essence experts does the Ghost Tower have?"

The Ghost Tower man was aghast. ’Is he planning to move against the Ghost Tower?’

"I don’t know. I’m just a grunt in the Ghost Tower; I don’t have access to that kind of information."

He shook his head. The number of Celestial Essence experts in the Ghost Tower was far beyond his pay grade.

"Senior... can I go now?" the Ghost Tower man asked gingerly.

Xu Yang nodded. "In such a hurry? Allow me to see you off."

"You..."

The Ghost Tower man’s face fell in terror. The man had no intention of letting him go. A mighty Celestial Essence expert, yet he had no integrity whatsoever.

His Gang Qi erupted, and his muscles and bones thrummed as he tried to escape. But even using every last ounce of his strength, his face flushing crimson, he couldn’t budge the pressure pinning him down in the slightest. He didn’t even have the power to stand.

Xu Yang stepped forward and placed a palm lightly on the Ghost Tower man’s forehead. With a soft POP, blood instantly gushed from the man’s seven orifices. His eyes bulged wide as his body went limp and collapsed to the ground.

He crushed the mouse in the cage under his foot, then bent down to loot the body.

However, aside from a few hundred silver, there was nothing else of value.

He cast a glance in the direction of the Ghost Tower, then turned and strode away.

Before long, the body in the alley was discovered. Someone recognized him as an attendant from the nearby Ghost Tower and immediately rushed to notify them.

"Dead?" The Ghost Tower’s Shopkeeper was flabbergasted.

He knew exactly how strong this subordinate was. Not even geniuses from the Purple Sun Sect like Xu Yang or Li Chuyang could dream of killing him in under fifty moves.

He rushed to the alley and found his subordinate just as described: lying on the ground, bleeding from his seven orifices, completely dead.

’No chance to fight back. A single, fatal blow!’

After a brief inspection, the Ghost Tower’s Shopkeeper came to a conclusion: the person who had traded for the three stalks of Spirit Medicine was a Celestial Essence expert. Only a Celestial Essence expert could have killed his subordinate in a single blow, leaving him no chance to retaliate.

’I completely misjudged him!’

"Should we pursue him, Shopkeeper?" an attendant at his side asked.

The Shopkeeper shook his head. "The Tower Lord isn’t here. It’s too risky."

Although he was also at the Celestial Essence Realm, he wasn’t confident he could kill his opponent even if he did manage to catch up. This score would have to be settled later.

...

Xu Yang didn’t return to the Purple Sun Sect immediately. He waited in the city for a while, and only after confirming no one from the Ghost Tower was pursuing him did he vibrate his Gang Yuan to purge the fragrance from his body before leaving Cyan Yang City.

After traveling four or five kilometers, he saw Song Wendeng and another man approaching. Song Wendeng walked half a step behind the man, his back slightly bent in a very deferential manner, looking like a lackey.

The man appeared to be around forty years old. Xu Yang didn’t recognize him, nor was he wearing the robes of the Purple Sun Sect.

Xu Yang’s eyes narrowed. ’Enemies really are bound to cross paths.’ To run into Song Wendeng here, of all places... The road from Cyan Yang City to the Purple Sun Sect was a notorious killing field. It was no exaggeration to say it was littered with the bones of the countless people who had been buried here.

"Brother Yin, that’s Xu Yang."

Song Wendeng whispered from behind the man. The man, who had been looking indifferent, suddenly snapped his gaze toward Xu Yang, his face a mask of arrogance.

He then strode forward. "So, you’re Xu Yang!"

Yin Hao scrutinized Xu Yang, the disciple hailed as the greatest genius of his generation in the Purple Sun Sect, his eyes filled with disdain.

’To have not yet broken through to the Celestial Essence Realm at his age... his talent isn’t that astonishing. He’s far worse than Han Yingjie.’

’At this age, Han Yingjie had already pierced the Gate of Heaven and Earth, connected the internal and external, and was Introducing Heavenly and Earthly Power into the Body.’

"I am," Xu Yang said with a smile.

Yin Hao said, "My name is Yin Hao. I am one of Lord Han Yingjie’s followers. I’ve come all the way from Yun Province to handle the Song Family’s affairs. Lord Han is already aware of the situation between you and the Song Family."

"Lord Han has given his instructions. Being from the same sect is a rare bond, so he will not pursue the matter of you failing to save them. And while the Song Family has sent people to kill you multiple times, they never actually harmed you. Therefore, you should also drop any thoughts of retaliating against them. Otherwise, when you enter the Celestial Strategy Academy in the future, you will face the consequences."

With that tone, anyone who didn’t know better might have thought he was Han Yingjie himself.

However, Han Yingjie had dispatched him to handle the Song Family’s affairs with full authority, so he did, in fact, represent Han Yingjie’s will.

Xu Yang showed little reaction to these words, but Song Wendeng’s expression changed slightly.

The matter of the Song Family sending assassins after Xu Yang several times was, officially, something Xu Yang wasn’t supposed to know. Therefore, as far as they were concerned, there was no official feud between Xu Yang and the Song Family.

He had originally intended to ask Yin Hao to kill Xu Yang, both to avenge Song Wenxuan and the others and to fulfill the wishes of family head Song Shirong. However, after Yin Hao consulted with Han Yingjie, Lord Han did not agree.

Since he didn’t agree, the matter should have simply been dropped.

He never expected that Yin Hao, upon realizing the person before him was Xu Yang, would just openly state that the Song Family had repeatedly sent assassins after him.

’As expected of one of Han Yingjie’s followers, so domineering. They couldn’t care less about someone like Xu Yang. So what if they sent people to kill you and told you to your face?’

’Do you dare seek revenge? Do you even have the ability to?’ Song Wendeng thought to himself, finally understanding.

’A true prodigy from the Celestial Strategy Academy is just built different—so conceited and calm, completely unafraid of Xu Yang knowing the truth. Even from all the way at the Celestial Strategy Academy, he’s putting Xu Yang, the top prodigy of his generation, in his place.’

For a moment, Song Wendeng felt his blood stir with excitement. Now *that* was a true prodigy. Han Yingjie soared above the world with unparalleled arrogance.

Xu Yang, who was always hiding in the Purple Sun Sect, was completely unworthy of the title. He couldn’t even begin to compare to Han Yingjie.

Xu Yang smiled. "Senior Brother Han Yingjie is back?"

Yin Hao shook his head. "Lord Han has no time to deal with such trivialities. He is busy contending with the various prodigies of Yun Province at the Celestial Strategy Academy. My presence is more than enough to handle a matter like this."

A single letter from Han Yingjie was enough to make every power in Cyan Yang City bow their heads. Just a moment ago, he had taken a letter from Han Yingjie to the Purple Sun Sect, and even the Sect Leader had made time to meet with him and inquire about Lord Han’s current situation.

"So Han Yingjie isn’t here, and you’re still posturing in front of me?" Xu Yang’s expression darkened.

’I thought Han Yingjie himself had come. That’s the only reason this Yin Hao would be so arrogant.’

’He’s just one of Han Yingjie’s followers. For a second there, I almost thought he *was* Han Yingjie.’

"What’s that supposed to mean? Are you throwing my goodwill back in my face?"

Yin Hao’s face filled with disbelief. "Lord Han is letting this slide out of consideration for your shared roots in the Purple Sun Sect, not because he can’t deal with you. Do you really think that just because both you and Lord Han were ranked first among the Ten Prodigies, you’re on the same level?"

"I don’t blame you for your ignorance. After all, the Purple Sun Sect is in the middle of nowhere. But to lack self-awareness on top of that is just plain stupid."

"Or you could go ask your master, Elder Huoyun. He knows what kind of status Lord Han holds in Yun Province."

"My meaning is that you can go die."

Xu Yang flashed a grin, revealing pearly white teeth, and threw a punch.

BOOM!

The jade-like fist tore through the air, letting out a deafening roar like a thunderclap. In an instant, wind and dust billowed up from the ground as the tyrannical force of the blow cracked the very earth beneath them.

"You..." Yin Hao was aghast.

He never imagined Xu Yang would actually dare to attack him. What he expected even less was that Xu Yang’s cultivation wasn’t at the Marrow Cleansing Great Success stage at all—he had already broken through to the Celestial Essence Realm.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.