frightfiction Chapter 217 Each Has Their Own Sorrows
Chapter 217 Each Has Their Own Sorrows
Chapter 217 Each Has Their Own Sorrows
Outside Lianxin City, in the camp of the Martial Elders Association, Ximen Feng, dressed in black, held Zhou Tong's last will and testament in his hand, his eyes filled with raging anger.
His black robes trembled slightly, revealing his inner turmoil. His clenched fists, knuckles white, cracked like beans popping in a hot pan.
Because of the excessive force, his long fingernails dug deep into his palm, and blood gushed out from between his fingers, staining Zhou Tong's suicide note a dark red.
Ximen Feng couldn't help but be furious.
He was not only the leader sent by the Martial Elders Association, but he also had another identity: Ximen Xing, who died in Lianxin City, was his brother.
Ximen Feng and her brother Ximen Xing have always had a close relationship. Both of them lost their parents at a young age and were raised by the Wu Lao Hui.
However, the competition in the Martial Arts Association is extremely brutal, and without his brother's protection, he would have been eliminated several times.
Under the strict rules of the Martial Elders Association, there was only one outcome of being eliminated: being continuously sent to war zones as cannon fodder until death.
Fortunately, his older brother, Ximen Xing, treated him very well and secretly helped him several times when he was in danger, which allowed him to safely overcome these crises time and time again.
Ximen Feng lived up to her brother's expectations. After overcoming the crisis, she devoted herself to diligent cultivation, and her martial arts level improved steadily. Before she was forty years old, she had already become a grandmaster.
After reaching the Grandmaster level, Ximen Feng was finally able to hold his head high and quickly became a key figure in the Martial Elders Association.
In the Wu Lao Hui (Martial Elders Association), many of the conquest missions were carried out by Ximen Feng.
This time, after returning to the council after completing an important mission, he heard that his brother Ximen Xing had been sent to conquer Lianxin City, so he volunteered and specially brought people over to help his brother.
Before setting off, Ximen Feng learned from the information provided by the Martial Elders Association that the cause of this expedition was that the city lord of Lianxin City had entered the Grandmaster realm but refused to obey the orders of the Martial Elders Association, which aroused the wrath of the association's high-ranking members.
There is a Grandmaster-level martial artist in Lianxin City, which makes Ximen Feng very worried about her brother's safety.
Ximen Feng was not a reckless person. In order to ensure that the trip to Lianxin City would go smoothly, he put a lot of effort into the personnel arrangements.
The entourage consisted of five hundred people, the vast majority of whom were at the peak of the Martial Master level. Among them, more than a dozen had already reached the Grandmaster level.
But he was still not at ease, so he borrowed two more high-end combatants who had just entered the Grandmaster level from the association as a precaution.
After receiving the mission, Ximen Feng immediately led his team to set off. They traveled day and night for half a month without stopping, all the while hoping to share the burden and help his brother Ximen Xing.
But... no matter how fast they rushed, it was too late! Ximen Xing had already passed away!
How could Ximen Feng bear this? He was filled with resentment!
"Xiao Chong, an insignificant ant, actually killed my brother!"
"I will tear you to pieces and grind your bones to ashes, otherwise my hatred will not be appeased!"
"And Sheng Chunshui, you became a Grandmaster but disobeyed the Martial Elders' Council's orders, which led to my brother's death. I want you to be buried with my brother!"
"Everyone in Refining Heart City must die! They will all be buried with my brother!"
Standing in Zhou Tong's former barracks, Ximen Feng gritted her teeth and roared, her voice echoing throughout every corner of the camp.
Seeing Ximen Feng's fury, one of his deputies cautiously entered the room and said with a forced smile, "Lord Ximen, Zhou Tong, the person in charge here, is dead. Do you think we should take full control of the camp?"
"Nonsense, of course we should take over!"
Ximen Feng glared at his deputy with an unfriendly expression and roared, "And that Zhou Tong, he was incompetent and deserved to die! Send a message to the organization to arrest Zhou Tong's entire family immediately, strip them of their cultivation, and force them into prostitution for generations!"
"Shouldn't women be prostitutes and men be slaves?"
The deputy hesitated for a moment, finding it difficult to handle, and asked uncertainly, "Sir, where is the man?"
"Who says men can't be prostitutes!" Ximen Feng was furious at his deputy's inflexible behavior and said coldly, "Do you want to try it?"
"No, my lord, I am old and frail, and cannot withstand such torment!"
Upon hearing this, the deputy's anus tightened, and he turned to flee, repeatedly saying, "Please rest assured, sir, I will certainly do as you instruct and handle this matter properly."
But Ximen Feng had no intention of letting him off the hook, and raised his hand to make a feint grab on the back of his deputy.
The deputy felt a vortex-like suction force coming from behind him, and his body involuntarily retreated.
He immediately broke out in a cold sweat, trembling with fear as he clutched his buttocks and said, "Please, sir, have mercy and find someone else. I really don't want to be a prostitute!"
"Who would want you to be a prostitute? You think you're worthy?"
Ximen Feng withdrew his Yuan energy and said, "Pass down my order: everyone rest for one night, and tomorrow morning, we will attack Lianxin City together!"
"Understood, sir. I will make the arrangements immediately."
Seeing that Lord Ximen did not have any ill intentions towards him, the deputy felt relieved and quickly agreed before leaving.
But as he reached the door, a strange feeling welled up inside him—a mix of disappointment and regret. He felt as if he had missed a golden opportunity to get closer to adults and rise through the ranks.
……
In Lianxin City, the city lord's mansion.
Sheng Chunshui and Xiao Chong sat facing each other, remaining silent for a long time, his face clearly filled with worry.
After this period of contact, Sheng Chunshui was quite satisfied with Xiao Chong's performance. In addition, Xiao Chong had a close relationship with his niece, and he liked to discuss everything with Xiao Chong.
Seeing that Sheng Chunshui, as the host, remained silent for a long time, Xiao Chong felt somewhat awkward. In order to break the discordant atmosphere, he could only take the initiative to find a topic to talk about.
"Uncle Sheng, the weather is nice today, have you eaten?" After thinking for a long time, Xiao Chong finally found the most common but most meaningless question.
"Did I invite you here just to listen to your nonsense?"
Sheng Chunshui was already in a low mood, and hearing this meaningless remark made him even angrier. He said angrily, "Xiao Chong, you're not a child anymore, and you've always been very steady in your actions. Why are you saying such irrelevant things today? How can I entrust Xueyan to you with peace of mind?"
Hmm? I was just asking casually, how did this topic come up? No, I need to find a way to erase the negative image I just created.
Xiao Chong was taken aback at first, then delighted, and tried his best to look innocent, saying, "Uncle Sheng, that's not what I meant. Um, what I meant was... did you take your medicine?"
What do you mean? Are you sure it's appropriate to ask this? How am I supposed to answer? Did you eat it or not? Or did you eat the wrong thing?
Sheng Chunshui stared at Xiao Chong silently, his face growing even uglier.
"Medicines! I'm talking about medicines!"
Seeing that the city lord's expression seemed somewhat unfriendly, Xiao Chong quickly added, "I've recently refined a new kind of pill that's quite helpful for the cultivation of Grandmaster-level martial artists. What? Didn't my family send it to you?"
"Is that really true?" Sheng Chunshui's expression softened slightly, and he asked with some doubt.
“This is absolutely true; perhaps they just forgot,” Xiao Chong said sincerely.
"You're a decent kid, still thinking of Uncle Sheng." Sheng Chunshui forced a smile and said, "Hurry up and have someone send it over to me."
"Definitely, definitely!" Taking advantage of Sheng Chunshui's improved complexion, Xiao Chong quickly changed the subject, "Uncle Sheng, you don't look too well today. Is something troubling you?"
"That's true!"
Upon hearing Xiao Chong's question, Sheng Chunshui became dejected once again.
"Tell me about it, and let us, uncle and nephew, discuss it together," Xiao Chong said considerately.
"Since you and Xueyan have a very close relationship, I won't hide it from you."
Sheng Chunshui hesitated for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "It's like this, we just received news from scouts outside the city that a large group of unidentified people are gathered in a valley outside the city. It is very likely that they are sent by the Martial Elders Association to attack Lianxin City."
"Now that the Clan Alliance and the Martial Elders' Association are at odds, it is expected and not surprising that this happened."
Xiao Chong was not surprised upon hearing this, and laughed, "Isn't there a saying? When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. They have come from afar. No matter how many of them there are, how many can they outnumber those from my Refining Heart City? What's there to be afraid of!"
“It’s good that young people have passion, but they shouldn’t be too arrogant. Do you know how capable they are?” Sheng Chunshui asked with a sigh.
"How is it?" Seeing Sheng Chunshui's solemn expression, Xiao Chong also put aside his contempt and asked.
Sheng Chunshui said, "According to the news from the scouts, that group of people has at least five hundred people, all of whom are martial arts masters. In addition, several of them are grandmasters."
"Several grandmasters?" Xiao Chong couldn't sit still any longer.
“Not bad!” Sheng Chunshui nodded, then poured cold water on Xiao Chong: “In addition, there are three others whose cultivation is unfathomable. Even the scouts cannot figure out their true strength. They are very likely to be Grandmasters.”
"Huh? Grandmasters? And three of them at once?"
Xiao Chong was so surprised that he almost tripped and fell off the stool.
"Didn't you say you wanted to discuss this further? Do you have any suggestions on how to respond?"
Seeing Xiao Chong's shocked expression, Sheng Chunshui was no longer as worried as before.
"Their martial arts elders have reinforcements, but our clan alliance doesn't?" Xiao Chong paced back and forth in the room, thinking he had come up with a brilliant plan, and asked hopefully, "Can't we also ask the clan alliance for help?"
Sheng Chunshui said expressionlessly, "Indeed, it is possible. In fact, I sent out a request for help a long time ago, and the clan alliance did indeed send a team of reinforcements..."
"Then there's nothing to fear." Xiao Chong breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Sheng Chunshui didn't finish his sentence. He took out a message box from his body and continued, "But we just received news that the Clan Alliance's reinforcements encountered another group of the Martial Elders' Association on the way. The two sides are currently engaged in fierce fighting and it is unlikely that they will be able to reach Lianxin City in a short time."
"This..." Xiao Chong was unsettled again. He stared at Sheng Chunshui for a long time before asking, "Does Uncle Sheng mean that we can only sit here in despair and wait for our deaths?"
"indeed so."
Sheng Chunshui remained silent for a moment before slowly replying, "Fortunately, when this Refining Heart City was built, a protective array was installed on the city walls. For now, the only option is to activate the array and patiently wait for reinforcements to arrive. But..."
At this point, Sheng Chunshui paused, as if he was facing some kind of difficulty.
"But what?" Xiao Chong asked urgently.
Sheng Chunshui said, "Although the great formation exists, it lacks a person who understands the principles of formations and can preside over it."
“My teacher at Qingfeng Academy, Master Xu Mingyang, is worth a try.”
Xiao Chong hesitated for a long time before speaking.
“I know Xu Mingyang, but he is quite old, and although he knows some formations, he is not an expert. I don’t know if he can handle the job.”
Sheng Chunshui seemed somewhat uneasy.
Xiao Chong recalled the formation theory he had taught his teacher and insisted, "I know that Master Xu has recently gained a deep understanding of formations."
"you sure?"
"Sure!"
"Very well, I will send someone to invite Xu Mingzheng now to discuss a plan to resist the enemy."
Sheng Chunshui finally made up his mind.