"What did you say? To use their plan against them and lure the snake out of its hole?"
The mysterious man in black, standing with his hands behind his back on the highest point of the Taoist temple's roof, wore a mocking expression. He sneered, "Your Highness King Bei, I am no greenhorn fresh out of the academy. Do you think such a petty trick can deceive me?"
The masked mysterious man in black snorted and continued, "You are not only severely injured but also have almost depleted your internal energy. It can be said that you have little combat power left. You are like fish on a chopping block, at our mercy to be slaughtered!"
Xiao Yunlong waved his hand, breaking free from Jun Bufan's support, and sighed, "Since you are so insistent on seeking death, then you cannot blame me!"
"Xiao, you can barely stand, yet you speak such arrogant words. Do you still think you are the Zhenbei King at your peak? Today, this will be your burial ground!"
"Big brother, let's stop wasting words with this Xiao. He's clearly stalling for time to recover his power. We cannot fall for his trick!"
The six surrounding black-clad figures shouted coldly.
The leader of the black-clad assassins, standing on one foot on the roof's edge, suddenly shouted in a deep voice, "Then, kill him!"
As the word "kill" fell, the seven assassin powerhouses unleashed their formidable auras. The biting killing intent instantly blew away the surrounding raindrops.
The courtyard of the Taoist temple was filled with surging power. Those with lower martial arts cultivation, such as the dozen or so inspectors from the Supervisory Department, were all staggered backward. Even martial artists with some skill like Master Fo could not get close.
Therefore, everyone could only watch from afar, unable to offer any help. After all, in a battle of this martial arts level, they were utterly powerless!
With a step, the assassin leader on the roof leaped into the air. As he flew, a silver light flashed, and his soft sword was instantly upon them.
The other six assassins also charged towards Xiao Yunlong like tigers and leopards.
After all, they were facing the former Zhenbei King. So, even though Xiao Yunlong appeared injured, these black-clad assassins did not dare to be careless.
One must know that the Zhenbei King of the Dragon Country back then, although only at the Half-step Martial King realm, was capable of contending with true Martial Kings!
"Big brother, I'll hold them off. You run!"
Jun Bufan gritted his teeth and shouted coldly. No one expected him to disregard his own safety and step forward at this moment.
However, as Jun Bufan moved, his peripheral vision flashed, and Xiao Yunlong had already darted out.
"A few fools who don't know their place. Do you really think your little tricks can deceive me? How ridiculous!"
As Xiao Yunlong shouted coldly, he reached out his hand, which shot out like lightning, and grasped the silver soft sword that the assassin leader had thrust.
"This..." The assassin leader's face suddenly turned to shock.
However, before he could react, a peerlessly domineering force surged like an overwhelming tide. He was forced to let go, abandoning his soft sword.
"Not good... This Xiao's strength is not depleted, nor is he injured. Retreat quickly!" the assassin leader exclaimed.
Although it was only a head-on confrontation, the black-clad assassin leader, being a super expert at the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown Martial King level, immediately discerned the opponent's strength.
The moment the silver soft sword in his hand was forcibly snatched away, he rapidly retreated, attempting to escape.
"You only realize it now, and you think you can still escape?"
Xiao Yunlong sneered, twisting his body in mid-air. With a whoosh, he darted forward.
A silver light flashed across the high sky above the courtyard, like a lightning snake streaking across the firmament. Everyone vaguely heard a ripping sound, as if something had been cut.
The next moment, the black-clad assassin leader fell like a kite with a broken string, dropping straight from mid-air. He finally crashed onto the ground, his life extinguished.
Only then did the remaining six black-clad assassins react. Although all six were masked, their faces were not visible, but their eyes were filled with intense fear.
"He... he actually killed the boss in one exchange. This is too terrifying!"
"The boss was a super expert at the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown Martial King level. What are you all waiting for? If we don't run, we're waiting to die!"
"Quick, run! We've been tricked by this Xiao! Scatter and escape..."
"How dare you try to murder me? Today, none of you will escape alive. You will all die!"
Xiao Yunlong's gaze sharpened, and his internal energy erupted. His figure flickered, and he vanished from his original position as if he had disappeared into thin air.
Of course, he didn't truly disappear. The reason why the surrounding people couldn't see his figure was simply that Xiao Yunlong's movement technique was too fast, exceeding the limits of ordinary human vision.
The six black-clad assassins scattered like startled birds, fleeing in all directions. Judging by their posture, they were trying to escape individually.
However, they had underestimated Xiao Yunlong's strength!
At this moment, Xiao Yunlong seemed to have transformed into a phantom in the rainy night. With a single flash, he caught up. With a gentle sweep of his hand, the silver soft sword cut down, and one black-clad assassin fell.
Then, he continued to dart forward rapidly. Within three breaths, three black-clad assassins lay dead in their own blood.
However, the remaining three black-clad assassins had already fled over a hundred meters away, each in a different direction. At this point, if he tried to pursue, he might catch one of them, but the rest would inevitably slip away.
After all, this was deep in the mountains, and it was raining heavily. As long as they hid and concealed their auras with the rain, it would be extremely difficult to find them.
"Xiao, if I can't kill you this time, you won't be so lucky next time!"
A black-clad assassin, perhaps confident of escape, did not forget to unleash a vicious threat as he fled through the air.
"I said, today none of you will leave alive!"
Xiao Yunlong sneered coldly. With a sudden flick of his wrist, the soft sword in his hand broke into three pieces.
Xiao Yunlong stood at the highest point of the roof and glanced. Then, with a wave of his wrist, the three broken sword pieces shot out through the rain.
Three silver lights cut through the rainy night. Suddenly, there were ripping sounds, and the people in the courtyard then heard three muffled groans and cries. The remaining three black-clad assassins were all shot down and fell to the ground.
In fact, from the moment the black-clad leader standing on the highest point of the roof made his move, to Xiao Yunlong standing on the roof ridge where he had just stood and throwing out the three broken sword pieces, only about ten seconds had passed.
Everything happened so quickly that not only could Tang Shanbao, Master Fo, Lin Zhechong, and others in the courtyard not react, but even the disciples of the Gu Du Sect waiting outside the courtyard were stunned. Even the Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect did not understand what had happened inside.
"So strong. He actually wiped out these terrifying assassins in just a few breaths!" Yan Lichu sighed after recovering his senses.
"Yes, he killed a Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown Martial King realm in one exchange. This is too terrifying. Mr. Xiao's martial arts cultivation has probably reached an unfathomable level. It turns out he was deliberately feigning when he faced those Gu Du Sect members earlier!"
Lin Zhechong sighed deeply. Among the people in the courtyard, his martial arts cultivation was considered relatively high, and the higher it was, the more he could feel the terrifying power of Mr. Xiao.
Of course, although the people in the courtyard were shocked, they were also very pleased. At least their lives were saved tonight.
However, unlike the cheers and joy of the crowd, Liang Bendao stood there with a ashen face, his mind completely frozen. He kept muttering the same sentence: "How is this possible? How is this possible? How is this possible!"
Just as Xiao Yunlong was about to look at Liang Bendao, the disciples of the Gu Du Sect outside, having waited for a while without any movement from the courtyard, became confused.
"What's going on, Sect Master? Why is there no movement inside? Has the fight ended?" the Left Guardian asked in a deep voice.
"I think it should be over. After all, those seven black-clad assassins were too terrifying. That kid named Xiao was no match for them. He was probably killed in one exchange!" the Right Guardian said mockingly.
"In that case, those black-clad assassins should have left by now?" a deacon asked in a low voice.
At this moment, these Gu Du Sect members were all gathered below the high wall of the courtyard. There was a blind spot here, so they couldn't see Xiao Yunlong on the roof ridge. Moreover, the rain was too heavy earlier, so they couldn't hear the sounds in the courtyard. Otherwise, they wouldn't have said such things.
"Let's go in and see!" The pale-faced Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect waved his hand and turned to go inside.
However, when he walked in and saw the situation in the courtyard, especially seeing Xiao Yunlong standing high above with his hands behind his back on the roof, he was completely dumbfounded.
"This... what on earth is going on? You, Xiao, were supposed to be dead!" the Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect stammered and asked.
Xiao Yunlong looked down at him and sneered, "If I hadn't deliberately suppressed my strength to lure these black-clad assassins, do you think you trash would be my opponent?"
Speaking of this, Xiao Yunlong suddenly shook his head and said, "Let alone being my opponent, your kind of insignificant trash probably couldn't even withstand a single move from me!"
The Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect's eyes flickered, and a chill ran deep in his heart!
"Sect Master, what should we do? This Xiao kid... he doesn't seem to be bluffing. Those black-clad assassins have all been dealt with by him!" the Left Guardian asked with unease.
"Yes, Sect Master. These black-clad assassins are even stronger than us, and they were no match for this Xiao kid. Then aren't we..."
Before the Right Guardian could finish, the Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect interrupted with a cold snort, "No, haven't you noticed? This Xiao kid is actually severely injured. He's already at the end of his rope. This appearance is just him pretending!"
"This... that's unlikely, right?" The Left and Right Guardians harbored doubts.
The Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect narrowed his eyes and sneered, "They can fool you, but they can't fool my discerning eyes. It seems this kid got injured during the fight with those seven black-clad assassins, so we don't need to fear him at all!"
Speaking of this, the Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect suddenly shouted loudly, "All Gu Du Sect members, listen up! This Xiao kid is severely injured. Everyone attack together and kill him!"
"Kill!"
With a wave of the Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect's hand, the Left and Right Guardians rushed out first, followed by the Four Great Deacons, and then the rest of the Gu Du Sect disciples.
However, to everyone's surprise, the Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect actually turned tail and fled rapidly!
"Deceiving even your own disciples, you truly have no integrity as a Sect Master!"
Xiao Yunlong sneered and suddenly shot up into the air, charging towards the Left and Right Guardians.
With two thuds!
In mid-air, Xiao Yunlong unleashed two palms consecutively. These two guardians were sent flying backward.
Then, Xiao Yunlong swept his leg, and in one exchange, he took care of the Four Great Deacons.
Only then did the people in the courtyard see clearly that Xiao Yunlong had indeed deliberately suppressed and hidden his strength earlier, which was why he was so heavily suppressed by the Left and Right Guardians. Now that he unleashed his full power, the Left and Right Guardians of the Gu Du Sect were truly no match for him.
In mid-air, Xiao Yunlong flicked his finger, and a drop of water shot out rapidly.
With a "噗嗤" sound, the water droplet, empowered by the formidable internal energy, possessed immense destructive power and slammed into the back of the fleeing Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect, directly displacing his internal organs.
When he fell to the ground, the Sect Master of the Gu Du Sect vomited several mouthfuls of blood, then knelt straight down and died. His fish-like eyes were wide open, unable to close even in death!
After finishing this, Xiao Yunlong landed steadily on the ground with a "咄" sound, standing three meters in front of Liang Bendao.
Liang Bendao was still standing there like a wooden statue, his face devoid of any expression. Of course, this was because he had completely despaired.
"Don't you have anything to ask?" Xiao Yunlong looked at him coldly.
Liang Bendao finally came back to his senses, let out a wry laugh, and then nodded, "I do have something to ask. I want to know, did you suspect me from the very beginning?"
Xiao Yunlong said unhurriedly, "I investigated you, not only how you climbed your way to the Imperial Capital but also your life in the Northern Territory. From just two points, I could tell you were unreliable!"
"What two points?" Liang Bendao immediately gritted his teeth and asked.
"Firstly, when you first joined the Northern Territory as a soldier, you had a conflict with your superior instructor. You were severely disciplined at that time. However, later, when you gained power and rose in rank to become his superior, you found an excuse to break that instructor's legs!"
Xiao Yunlong said this and snorted, "Although you have hidden yourself very well during this time, from that small incident, it can be seen that you are a person who holds grudges. Your magnanimity and vision are not great. At that time, I made you and your father kneel outside the Liu family's gate for a whole night. I presume you must have hated me to the core?"
"What else!" Liang Bendao clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, asking.
"Secondly, in order to climb to the Imperial Capital, you spared no effort, even bribing and flattering those in power in the Imperial Capital. From this, it can be seen that you are definitely a person who will stop at nothing for power and who is obsequious. Now that I have lost power, how could someone like you, who is desperately greedy for power, be willing to follow me?"
Xiao Yunlong said this and smiled faintly, "Of course, precisely because you returned from the Imperial Capital, I cannot be too careful. After all, I have suffered a great lesson once, and I will never make the same mistake again."
Liang Bendao's face contorted, and he roared, "I never thought you didn't trust me from the beginning. Then why did you keep me by your side, and even teach me martial arts?"
"I kept you by my side for your father's sake. As for teaching you martial arts, it was in the hope that you would find your conscience. But unfortunately, you did not cherish it!"
Xiao Yunlong sighed and said coldly, "I have said what I needed to say. Tell me who your backer is, and I can give you a quick death. Otherwise, not only will you die, but your entire Liang family in Suzhou will also die!"
"You want to kill my whole family?" Liang Bendao was shocked.
Xiao Yunlong sneered, "You spent time in the Northern Territory, don't you know my methods?"
Liang Bendao struggled for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying, "I admit it. I can tell you who my backer is, but I hope you will also promise to protect my Liang family from retaliation from the Imperial Capital!"
"You are not in a position to negotiate with me!" Xiao Yunlong slowly narrowed his eyes, ready to make a move.
Liang Bendao suddenly laughed up to the sky, "The victor becomes king and the vanquished becomes a bandit. I truly have no right to negotiate with you. My backer comes from Shichahai in the Imperial Capital!"
After saying this, Liang Bendao channeled his internal energy from his dantian, directly breaking his own meridians.
"Shichahai in the Imperial Capital?" Xiao Yunlong slowly raised his head, looking north, with killing intent surging in his eyes.