Chapter 776: Chapter 775: When Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road
The incident that occurred within the Wang Family that night had fermented over three days and had already spread throughout the entire Langya City.
Even now, the entire Hidden Sect World was at its most chaotic and bustling state.
The alliance formed by the Zhuge, Duanmu, Giant Sword Manor, Ji Family, and the Zhang Family plotted a surprise attack on the Wang Family, only to find that the Wang Family’s top warriors had received advance notice and relocated to the Qingtian Sect. They joined forces with the Qingtian Sect and the Poison Sect, and news of an imminent great battle spread wildly from Langya City throughout the surroundings of the Hidden Sect.
Yang Fei and the others were in a rush to travel and did not stay in other towns. In addition, after hearing the news, several forces in the vicinity hurried toward the Qingtian Sect to watch the excitement, resulting in an almost ghost-free journey from the transmission channel to Langya City.
It was only after they arrived in Langya City that Wang Lei personally and secretly infiltrated the Wang Mansion to learn what had happened that night from his sister.
After leaving the Wang Family, Wang Lei quickly regrouped with Yang Fei and the others, saying, "We’re too late, the Five Families’ Alliance attacked the Wang Family three days ago, but since the Wang Family’s elite had relocated in advance, the alliance came up empty-handed. It is said that the alliance has now gone to the Qingtian Sect, and the two sides may have already started fighting."
Helian Rong’s expression changed, distressed, she said, "They went to the Qingtian Sect? Isn’t Central State City also in danger now?"
Helian Rong, being the daughter of Helian Zhan, was naturally a part of the Helian Family in Central State City. She had strong feelings for this clan, especially since her grandfather was extremely fond of her and the young and old within the clan regarded her as a precious pearl. Listening to the news of the Five Families’ Alliance marching to Central State City, she was naturally anxious.
Yang Fei said, "If the Wang Family got the message in advance and moved to the Qingtian Sect, then surely the Helian Family in Central State City also got the message ahead of time. Your family must have already moved to a safe place. There’s nothing to worry about."
Wang Lei added, "Right, Aunt Helian need not worry. My Sixth Uncle and your father came to Langya City three days ago; they would not be slower than the alliance’s troops."
Helian Rong gradually calmed down upon hearing this.
Indeed, even if they couldn’t beat them, relocating in advance was still possible.
Plus, with her father and Wang Chunyang—two top combatants—hurrying to Central State City, it was unlikely that the Five Families’ Alliance could easily overcome the Qingtian Sect.
"Shall we go to Central State?" Wang Lei looked at Yang Fei, inquiring.
After a brief pondering, Yang Fei said, "We’re already three days late, even if we rush over now, I fear the battle might have already ended."
"Rather than going to Central State and doing nothing here, we might as well go and see for ourselves. Right now, the Five Families’ Alliance is still rallying more people to head to the Qingtian Sect. The two forces might erupt into an all-out war, and it would be an opportunity for us to witness the heated action," Xu Jian said with a smile.
Helian Rong gave him a glare.
Is this really a time to be a spectator?
If the Five Families’ Alliance emerges victorious, the secular Divine Continent will fall under their rule. Xu Jian, now inhabiting a body from the Duanmu Family and having led many of its members in rebellion against the Duanmu aristocratic family, do you think the Duanmu Family will let you off?
"Let’s go, to Central State City," Yang Fei declared.
Wang Lei nodded in agreement.
This was a matter of life and death for the Wang Family, and he was naturally concerned.
As for Helian Rong, there was no need to mention her apprehension.
Regarding Yang Fei and Xu Jian, the latter seemed more like he was going for the excitement, but Yang Fei also had his own agenda.
From his perspective, of course, he didn’t want the Five Families’ Alliance to succeed. He was determined to help the Qingtian Sect, Wang Family, and Poison Sect triumph, as only by doing so could he help Qin Yanyang stabilize the situation in Divine Continent and confront the incursions from Heaven and Penglai.
Without delay, the four of them briefly conferred and then swiftly left Langya City, speeding towards Central State City.
On the afternoon of the third day, they were less than a hundred miles from Central State City.
On their way, they still did not encounter many from the Hidden Sect, but they did hear some news.
It was said that many old and famous masters had left their seclusion in the last few days, heading toward Central State City.
The entire Hidden Sect World was abruptly divided into three factions: one was the alliance of the five powers, another consisted of the Poison Sect, Qingtian Sect, and the Langya Wang Family.
As for the third faction, their main stance was either to advocate peace or to watch the commotion.
The battle came suddenly, without any warning; so much so that many people had yet to react when the elite warriors of the Five Families’ Alliance had already reached Central State City and commenced a decisive battle with the elites of the other three families.
On their way, the four encountered numerous versions of events; some said that the allied forces of the five powers had already trapped the elites of the other three families in Qingtian Sect, while others claimed that a fight had broken out and a victor had emerged.
Even more exaggerated claims suggested that what was originally thought to be an overwhelming advantage for the Five Families’ Alliance, with numerous loose cultivators also throwing their support behind them, turned around because of the tremendous combat strength of Wang Chunyang and Helian Zhan. Coupled with the fact that Qingtian Sect consisted mainly of sword cultivators skilled in lethal combat, and with a few poison masters from Poison Sect providing assistance, the three families at Qingtian Sect had managed a counter-slaughter, driving the Five Families Alliance to a crushing defeat.
The more they heard, the more anxious they became, yet their enthusiasm for inquiring about news had diminished.
Seeing is believing, hearing is deceptive; they had to hurry to Central State City and see the situation for themselves with their own eyes.
After days of relentless travel, their robust horses were utterly exhausted and collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, they were now less than a hundred miles from Central State City. The four abandoned their horses and quickened their pace using qinggong.
This way, they no longer had to stick to the main roads; often, they could take shortcuts, thereby shortening their journey.
Aside from Xu Jian, Yang Fei, Wang Lei, and Helian Rong were all solidly in the Physical Body Realm above the Innate Realm, with abundant and enduring True Yuan within their bodies, thus running a hundred miles in one breath was not a difficult task for them.
However, the strength of Duanmu Cheng’s body, which Xu Jian had taken over, was not sufficient. His Physical Body Realm was merely at Energy Transformation Eighth Rank, and closing in on Ninth Rank, which, in comparison to the others, meant his stamina was somewhat lacking.
After speeding over sixty miles, Xu Jian stopped and said he needed to rest.
He even told the others to go on without him and not to worry about him.
Wang Lei said, "Let’s stay together; with the gathering of powerful fighters in Central State City, it is safer for the four of us to be together."
Yang Fei glanced at Helian Rong, who, although breathing evenly, had clearly flushed cheeks and was showing signs of fatigue.
Concerned about her depleting True Yuan and triggering chronic problems, Yang Fei then said, "That’s right, we’re already several days late, so there’s no rush at this moment. Let’s rest together; it’s better to enter the city fully rested and spirited."
The four sat cross-legged and began practicing to regulate their breathing, trying to recover their True Yuan as quickly as possible.
After a full thirty minutes, Yang Fei was the quickest to recover. As he opened his eyes, he noticed the others were still practicing to recuperate, so he didn’t disturb them.
Having undergone two battles with Zhuge Cang and refining his Body with the power of thunder and lightning several times, his Martial Meridians had expanded, and his veins had become more flexible and broad. He found that when he circulated his True Qi now, it rushed through his body like a torrential river, unhindered and mighty. Each time he mobilized his True Yuan, it was much smoother and faster than before, and the amount of True Qi he could marshal seemed to have more than doubled from before.
Yang Fei felt both joy and concern at this situation.
What pleased him was that he could now be certain that each move he made would be more than twice as powerful as before, with a True Qi output several times greater than his previous capacity.
What concerned him was that the total amount of True Qi reserves in his body was limited. Given the current rate of output, he feared that his combat duration would be more than halved compared to before.
This was akin to engine displacement in a car.
With the same size fuel tank, he used to have a 1.5L displacement, but now it had become a 3.0, or even 4.0L displacement; although the car’s power had increased, the time a full tank of fuel would last had been significantly reduced.
"Endurance is king, how can a man only last seconds!" Yang Fei muttered to himself, contemplating countermeasures.
After an unknown period, as Yang Fei was deep in thought, his eyes suddenly brightened, and his body immediately tensed to a high degree of alertness.
Just a moment ago, a potent wave of Divine Soul Power had swept over him.
Moreover, this Divine Thought stirred a sense of familiar recognition in him.
Three hundred meters away, two figures sped through the dense forest like specters; it was Wang Changchun and Zhuge Cang.
Both bore injuries; Zhuge Cang, in particular, had his chest clothed soaked in fresh blood, his complexion ashen.
Wang Changchun also had a conspicuous wound going through his left chest, but his eyes were lively, and he was in much better condition than Zhuge Cang.
Wang Changchun, while using his Divine Thought to navigate, moved swiftly through the forest alongside Zhuge Cang.