A few steps into the courtyard, Ye Cangtian stopped, his confusion replaced by a chilling coldness.
Inside the courtyard, the captains of the various faction teams, who were acting as servants, had all vanished.
These captains were, after all, here to assassinate him. While Ye Cangtian hadn't tortured them, they were housed and fed within the courtyard. Yet now, not a single person could be seen.
It was clear something had gone wrong.
*Swish! Swish! Swish…*
As Ye Cangtian surveyed the courtyard, sounds of whistling through the air reached him.
Under the moonlight, beams of cold light shot from all directions.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian’s figure flickered, easily evading the attacks.
He scanned his surroundings and snorted, “You think a few throwing knives can take me down? You must be dreaming! Show yourselves!”
“Heh heh, kid, you’re quite quick on the uptake!”
A cold laugh echoed from the darkness. Ye Cangtian’s gaze swept over, revealing a slightly hunched figure, appearing to be in his fifties or sixties.
Despite his age, the man’s eyes were remarkably bright, filled with an endless thirst for slaughter.
“One of the ‘Two Great Killing Gods’ of the Heavenly Net, Kaluo?”
Ye Cangtian’s eyes were like lightning. From the boundless killing intent radiating from the man, he deduced his identity.
Only now did he begin to vaguely grasp the Heavenly Net’s plan.
The ten snipers had two purposes: one was to threaten Guiwu during negotiations, and also to protect Ying.
The other purpose was to draw the attention of China’s forces.
The presence of these snipers posed too great a threat to the capital, so once they were discovered, China’s forces would surely go all out to eliminate them.
This way, Ye Cangtian would naturally have fewer people guarding him, effectively luring the tiger away from its mountain—an ideal opportunity for his assassination.
“Hah, you actually know my name.”
“It seems China’s intelligence system isn’t as useless as I imagined!”
“However, since you know my identity, why aren’t you cooperating? Must I force your hand?”
Kaluo, along with the assassins surrounding him, slowly advanced, a mocking smile on his face.
What a terrifying title, ‘Killing God’!
Even the top-tier experts of the Earthly rank, revered by all factions, turned pale at the mention of ‘Killing God’.
Killing Gods were not just Earthly-ranked experts; they specialized in assassination, and even those Earthly-ranked experts lacked absolute confidence in evading their attacks.
It was for this reason that whenever the title ‘Killing God’ was invoked, Kaluo always relished the look of fear on his opponent’s face, a spectacle he found incredibly intoxicating.
Yet, the Ye Cangtian before him showed no fear, which somewhat surprised him.
However, in his eyes, Ye Cangtian was merely putting on a brave face. After all, no one heard the name ‘Killing God’ and remained unafraid!
“Kaluo, are you getting senile with old age?”
“Even the humblest ant clings to life; do you think I would commit suicide at your word?”
“Besides, you are merely a bunch of vermin who only know how to ambush from the shadows. Do you really think you can turn the world upside down!”
Ye Cangtian stared intently at Kaluo, his gaze filled with profound disdain.
Let alone the fact that he had now broken through to the Earthly realm, even if he hadn’t, he would never be intimidated into suicide.
“Very well, very well. I hope you can maintain this courage when you fall into my hands later!”
“Furthermore, I must inform you, once you are in my grasp, those three girls in the villa will suffer!”
“I will use them as sacrifices to honor the Heavenly Net’s young master!”
Kaluo’s expression turned grim. He then made an offensive gesture to the surrounding assassins.
The reason he hadn’t moved against the three women, Tang Xinwan, in the villa was to wait for Ye Cangtian, to let him know that even his return couldn't save them.
The fate of the three women was sealed from the moment he arrived here; they were destined to die before Ye Cangtian’s eyes, allowing him to experience true agony before his own demise!
*Hmph!*
Ye Cangtian let out a cold snort, saying nothing. His actions were his response!
His figure flickered repeatedly, moving like a phantom among more than ten assassins, his dagger weaving an endless dance.
There were no sounds of impact, no screams of agony, only the faint whisper of blades cutting through the air and the sound of blood spraying.
*Bang, bang, bang…*
Assassin after assassin suddenly stiffened, falling to the ground with unconcealed unwillingness.
Witnessing this, Kaluo couldn’t help but frown.
These assassins were undoubtedly elite killers of the Heavenly Net.
While they might not possess the same prowess as the Heavenly Net’s young master or Ying, they had at least reached the Profound level, and their coordinated attacks were exceptionally potent.
Yet, in just a minute or two, Ye Cangtian had dispatched them all, a fact that genuinely surprised him.
At the same time, it made him realize that Ye Cangtian had likely moved beyond the peak Profound realm, already stepping into the Earthly realm.
With this thought, Kaluo’s killing intent intensified. If this brat wasn’t eliminated, there would be endless trouble in the future!
“Kaluo, what are you waiting for? Do I need to invite you?”
“Can’t you see these pawns are all dead?”
“You’re next!”
Ye Cangtian stood not far away, speaking calmly.
The fact that his opponent dared to set his sights on Tang Xinwan and the others ignited his own killing intent.
This time, his enemies had waited for his return before making their move, but what about next time? That couldn’t be guaranteed!
He would never forgive anything that threatened Tang Xinwan.
“Heh heh, Ye Cangtian, I knew you were arrogant, but I didn’t know you were this arrogant!”
“You’re actually rushing to your death!”
“So be it, I will fulfill your wish now. Rest assured, I guarantee you’ll see those three women in the next world not long from now!”
Hearing Ye Cangtian’s words, Kaluo snapped back to attention, a dismissive glint in his eyes.
Although Ye Cangtian’s strength surpassed his expectations, in his view, Ye Cangtian was still but an ant!
As his voice fell, Kaluo’s figure flickered, and a dagger appeared in his hand.
The dagger glowed with an icy blue light, clearly an extraordinary item, radiating an extremely eerie aura.
*Hmph!*
Ye Cangtian let out a soft snort, drawing the Dragon Soul Blade and charging forward resolutely.
His opponent was an Earthly realm expert, and the dagger also appeared exceptionally peculiar, so Ye Cangtian dared not be careless, abandoning his skull dagger.
The great battle was imminent, and the sound of clashing weapons filled the air.
After only a few exchanges, Kaluo discovered something was amiss.
He was a Killing God, and close-quarters combat with daggers was his specialty. Yet, he found himself utterly unable to deal with Ye Cangtian.
He had initially believed he could absolutely dominate in terms of speed, but reality was starkly different.
He continuously accelerated, pushing his limits, yet Ye Cangtian could always match his speed.
What was even more unbelievable to him was that Ye Cangtian’s speed seemed to have not yet reached its peak!
Furthermore, in terms of offense, Ye Cangtian was no less than him, whether in terms of power, attack, or defense, even making him feel a sense of being outmatched.
“You, you’ve actually reached the Earthly realm! And you reached it long ago…”
Finally, Kaluo couldn’t help but speak.
The speed of movement was directly proportional to one’s strength. Ye Cangtian possessing greater speed than him was the benchmark of their cultivation.
He had truly hidden his depth, deceiving all factions and everyone.
In that case, the meticulous plan laid by the Bright Hall to annihilate Ye Cangtian was nothing but a joke.
On China’s side, they had long since turned the tables, setting up an even grander scheme.
Thinking about it further, could China’s forces truly not find the hidden factions? It was highly unlikely.
The reason they hadn’t acted was to exploit the conflicts between various factions, causing them to fight each other, thereby reaping the benefits.
Most importantly, all of this had now come to pass.