Chapter 608: Chapter 390: Trouble

In a courtyard of the Celestial Strategy Academy.

"What did you say? My husband, Luo Zhao, is dead?"

Huang Yi’s face was filled with disbelief. She never expected that right after coming out of seclusion, the first news she would hear was the death of her husband, Luo Zhao, while he was garrisoning the Jade Cold Pool.

As the son-in-law of the Huang family of Yellow Maple Valley, her husband Luo Zhao had been the bearer of their highest hopes, especially after the death of Lin Jingyu.

The Jade Cold Pool was an important property of the Celestial Strategy Academy. Nothing had gone wrong there for many years. How could her husband have met with disaster after only two months of garrison duty?

Murderous intent covered Huang Yi’s face. "Who did this? Who would dare commit murder at the Jade Cold Pool?"

As a Celestial Essence Third Layer Martial Artist herself, she did not weep; instead, she was consumed by an irrepressible surge of fury and bloodlust.

Her classmate and good friend, Peng Lianyun, said in a deep voice, "It was Ma Daxing, the Master of Weapon Forging from the city. To obtain the Profound Water Spirit Loach King, he poisoned the Jade Cold Pool and led his men to slaughter their way in..."

"Ma Daxing?" Huang Yi was enraged. "How dare that animal! Is he not afraid the Celestial Strategy Academy will raid his home?"

Peng Lianyun shook his head. "The investigation revealed that Ma Daxing had been plotting this for years. His so-called wife, children, and family were all fake, and he has already vanished without a trace.

"Out of the eight students garrisoning the Jade Cold Pool, only one survived. The rest were all killed. Teacher Jin Yu has just brought back the remains of the victims, including Brother Luo."

Hearing that the bodies had been brought back, Huang Yi had no choice but to accept Luo Zhao’s death, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. A suffocating pain gripped her chest.

"There were eight of them, and his cultivation was the highest. Why couldn’t he be the one who survived?"

Huang Yi’s heart ached again. She had thought they all perished, but to her surprise, one person had survived. She only hated that the survivor wasn’t Luo Zhao.

Taking a deep breath, she asked, "What did the Academy say? He died protecting the Academy’s property. As his widow, how do the teachers plan to compensate me?"

Despite her grief, she was currently more concerned about how the Celestial Strategy Academy would handle the aftermath of Luo Zhao’s death. Since he died defending their property, it stood to reason that they should compensate her. After all, if there was no compensation for losing one’s life, who would ever risk their neck to protect the Academy’s assets in the future?

Peng Lianyun cast a cautious glance at Huang Yi. "According to the survivor, Xu Yang, the root cause of this incident was Luo Zhao’s dereliction of duty. In order to curry favor with Ma Daxing, he failed to inspect Ma Daxing’s water-drawing equipment and allowed him to approach the cold pool to successfully administer the poison. This led to hundreds of Profound Water Spirit Loaches being stolen...

"The Academy only asked me to notify you to claim the body. They didn’t mention anything about compensation."

The unspoken implication was clear: Luo Zhao’s negligence not only got the others killed but also caused massive losses for the Celestial Strategy Academy. The Profound Water Spirit Loach King was nearly captured, and hundreds of ordinary Profound Water Spirit Loaches were taken. It was already a blessing that the Academy wasn’t pursuing accountability; she shouldn’t even dream of compensation. Had Luo Zhao not already died, he absolutely would have been held responsible.

Luo Zhao was the person in charge of the Jade Cold Pool, not just a regular garrison student. The incident didn’t occur because enemies forced their way in, but because Luo Zhao’s negligence allowed the Profound Water Spirit Loach King to be lured out, giving Ma Daxing the opening to strike.

"Xu Yang? The one who survived is Xu Yang? The same Xu Yang who beat my junior brother Lin Jingyu to death?" Huang Yi’s head snapped up, a terrifyingly vicious glint in her eyes. "Is that little animal the survivor?"

She hadn’t asked who the survivor was earlier, never expecting to hear the name that made her grit her teeth in hatred.

If it weren’t for that beast, how could her breathtakingly talented junior brother, Lin Jingyu, have died? Had Lin Jingyu lived, they would have long since latched onto the powerful millennium-old Kong family.

Peng Lianyun nodded gently. "Yes, it’s him."

"That little animal again!" Huang Yi’s eyes looked as if they might split open from anger. "It’s him. He must have colluded with Ma Daxing! My husband had a Celestial Essence Third Layer cultivation and still died—on what grounds did he survive? He is a traitor to the Celestial Strategy Academy!

"That damned beast! He’s spouting bullshit! He’s slandering my husband! He’s taking revenge on my Yellow Maple Valley!"

She had thought that even though her husband was dead, she could at least receive a sum of compensation from the Celestial Strategy Academy. She never imagined that because of Xu Yang’s words, she might get nothing at all. Furthermore, her deceased husband, Luo Zhao, might bear the infamous reputation of a fool who lost his life trying to kiss up to Ma Daxing.

With both new and old grudges fueling her rage, Huang Yi wished she could skin Xu Yang alive right then and there. In an instant, she concluded that Xu Yang was framing them.

"There are indeed some people outside who believe he colluded with Ma Daxing, but the teachers of the Celestial Strategy Academy have already interrogated him and confirmed he is clean," Peng Lianyun said hesitantly, sharing the rumors he had heard.

"Dead men tell no tales; he can say whatever he wants! Even if he didn’t collude with Ma Daxing, he’s still slandering my husband so I won’t get the compensation!

"That little beast deliberately concealed his grudge against my Yellow Maple Valley to deceive the teachers. His intentions are malicious! I’m going to report this to the teachers right now!"

Losing her husband was painful enough, but now he was being slandered, potentially costing her the compensation. How could she possibly swallow this?

As she spoke, Huang Yi stood up to find the teachers, but Peng Lianyun stopped her. "Who are you going to find now? The teachers are busy hunting down Ma Daxing’s group. Who has the time to deal with your issue?

"Besides, what if what Xu Yang said is true? Have you thought about the consequences of making a scene? It’s better to wait until Ma Daxing and his accomplices are caught."

Huang Yi’s chest heaved violently. Hearing this, she regained a sliver of rationality and stopped marching toward the door.

In truth, she wasn’t entirely certain if Xu Yang had slandered Luo Zhao. Having been married to him, she naturally knew what kind of person Luo Zhao was. However, she simply couldn’t resign herself to losing such a massive sum of compensation.

If it had been anyone else who said it, she might have let it go. But Xu Yang had a blood feud with her Yellow Maple Valley lineage; she had every reason to be suspicious.

"Come with me to identify Brother Luo’s body first. The top priority is handling his remains. Don’t let the teachers think you only care about the compensation," Peng Lianyun persuaded.

"Fine!" Huang Yi suppressed the hatred in her heart and agreed.

...

In a subterranean karst cave somewhere on Jade Dragon Mountain, a man completely shrouded in black robes was flying into a rage at Ma Daxing and his group. "Useless trash! Where is the Profound Water Spirit Loach King? After planning this for so many years, you couldn’t even catch a single loach? What’s the point of grabbing these ordinary Profound Water Spirit Loaches?"

A terrifying oppressive aura surged from his body. Ma Daxing and his men couldn’t even lift their heads; they could only kneel on the ground, trembling.

"Forgive us, Young Master Yu," Ma Daxing pleaded in terror.

"Trash!" The black-robed man known as Young Master Yu stomped viciously on Ma Daxing’s chest. Ma Daxing only had time to let out a miserable shriek before he was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing heavily into a nearby stone wall and sliding limply to the ground.

The others were terrified into silence, their bodies shivering uncontrollably.

"Have mercy, Young Master Yu!" Ma Daxing, ignoring the blood spilling from his mouth, scrambled back on his knees. "There was absolutely no issue with our execution. It was only due to an unforeseen accident that we failed on the verge of success."

"Speak!"

Young Master Yu suppressed his anger. "The plan I formulated was flawless. With your identity as a Master of Weapon Forging, you could easily approach the Jade Cold Pool. With your Celestial Essence Fourth Layer cultivation, the Celestial Strategy Academy wouldn’t be on guard against you. As long as you carried out the plan and killed those garrison students first, the Profound Water Spirit Loach King should have been in my pocket."

He also wanted to know why his foolproof plan, brewing for years, had ultimately failed.

"It was that Xu Yang who ruined everything! His strength is terrifying—he could rival a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride! When Old Fifth, who was at the Celestial Essence Third Layer, went up against him, he was hacked to death in just two strikes! If he hadn’t set off the signal firework, the Profound Water Spirit Loach King would certainly have been in the bag!" Ma Daxing said hurriedly.

"Xu Yang killed Old Fifth in two strikes?" A sharp glint flashed through Young Master Yu’s eyes, tinged with disbelief.

Aside from a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride, there was absolutely no one among the Celestial Strategy Academy’s current freshmen who could kill Old Fifth in two strikes. Even Huo Xiaochen, who had simultaneously mastered the Azure Dragon Dominating Body and the Purple Extreme Heaven-Burning Technique, didn’t possess such Combat Power at his current stage.

"Yes!" Ma Daxing nodded frantically, and the other men quickly followed suit.

"For that little beast to hide his strength so deeply and ruin my plans, he must be plotting something massive." Murderous intent flickered in Young Master Yu’s eyes.

What normal person would hide their strength, especially in a place like the Celestial Strategy Academy, where the more talented you were, the more resources you received?

For Xu Yang to possess Combat Power comparable to a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride yet refuse to show it, he had to have an ulterior motive—and it was definitely not something ordinary.

"I don’t care what you’re scheming. You ruined my plans, so you are dead for sure," Young Master Yu’s voice was laced with chill.

"I beg you, Young Master, spare our lives! Let us personally kill Xu Yang to vent this anger for you," Ma Daxing hastily offered.

As a genuine Master of Weapon Forging, it was unlikely he would be silenced, but he couldn’t say the same for his brothers.

Young Master Yu looked down at Ma Daxing. "For your sake, I will spare their lives. But all of you had better stay hidden here and keep your heads down. I will have someone deliver the antidote on time. If anyone dares to disobey... think of your families."

Ma Daxing and the others shuddered. "We wouldn’t dare."

"Each of you take one Profound Water Spirit Loach to consume and focus on your cultivation here. People are looking for you outside. As for killing Xu Yang, that can wait until some time has passed..."

...

In the morning, the very first thing Xu Yang did upon opening his eyes was check his interface.

[Killed Luo Zhao, Points +50]

[Obtained Profound Water Spirit Loach, Points +50]

[Left the Jade Cold Pool, Points +50]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 2,438]

Getting rid of Luo Zhao and leaving the Jade Cold Pool both yielded rewards. This meant that the Jade Cold Pool was indeed no longer safe, and his decision to leave had been correct.

Given the immense value of the Profound Water Spirit Loach King, there would definitely be people willing to take desperate risks.

After all, even ordinary Profound Water Spirit Loaches were incredibly rare on the market—items that money couldn’t buy. The value of the Profound Water Spirit Loach King was simply indescribable. Otherwise, Ma Daxing and his group wouldn’t have spent years establishing false identities in Yunzhou City just to snatch it.

"There is no Points reward for my meritorious deed," Xu Yang thought, his heart sinking.

Logically speaking, the most crucial action during this incident was sending up the signal and securing the Profound Water Spirit Loach King. It was hard to say exactly how much the Celestial Strategy Academy would reward him, but it certainly wouldn’t be a small amount.

The fact that the interface hadn’t given him a reward meant that this matter wouldn’t turn out well for him.

However, he didn’t regret it. Under those circumstances, if he hadn’t sent a distress signal, Ma Daxing and his group absolutely wouldn’t have let him off. And if the Profound Water Spirit Loach King had been taken without him sounding the alarm, the Celestial Strategy Academy would have settled the score with him. He had simply had no other choice.

"This matter isn’t over yet. I’m afraid there will be more trouble down the line," he thought.

The lack of a reward served as a warning. Ma Daxing’s group would likely retaliate against him. Moreover, they were now aware of his true strength.

The absence of a reward proved one more thing: there was indeed a more powerful force or figure backing Ma Daxing. Otherwise, merely provoking Ma Daxing wouldn’t be enough to truly threaten him.

Gathering his thoughts, Xu Yang stood up and walked out of the Quiet Chamber.

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.