Chapter Seventeen: When Ants Devour an Elephant

At the moment when the starlight left Tian Xingyao aghast, Gui Yufeng, on the other hand, grew calmer. Whenever something major happened, he always managed to compose himself—he knew that in moments of crisis, negative emotions would only drag him into the abyss, so he had always been able to keep his cool.

Staring coldly at the three corpses, Gui Yufeng sneered, “Clearly, this isn’t the handiwork of the Six Gates, but whoever did this moves fast—they’re a ruthless bunch.”

Tian Xingyao ventured cautiously, “Before we came, I heard the Guardians say that the Blade Sovereign Sect seemed to have its eye on us. Could this be their doing?”

Gui Yufeng frowned. “Not many in the Blade Sovereign Sect could take out their men in an instant. But if they had help with poison, it’s a different story. Even one of their Hall Masters could pull it off then. But there’s only one Hall Master in the Yizhou region—Lei Tingfeng. I’ve seen him before. If it really is him, and he has someone with poisoning skills at his side, by now they’ve probably already circled ahead to deal with Xiao Wu and the others.”

Tian Xingyao’s expression changed. “I’ll go check!”

“No need.” Gui Yufeng replied coldly, “It’s already too late to hurry back now.”

Just as Zhang He suspected, this man was indeed a veteran of countless battles. Though they had fallen into an ambush, his mind remained startlingly clear, and his judgment was still precise.

At that moment, the sound of clashing metal rang out from the convoy ahead, punctuated by screams of agony—clearly, people were dying in the chaos.

Even now, Gui Yufeng’s expression did not change as he patiently listened to the tumult. An experienced player could judge the general course of a battle by the sounds alone, and from them, he had already gleaned useful information:

“They have at least five men, three of them are tough fighters, strong in external martial arts. Xiao Wu is surely done for. Xiao Sanzi and Huang Damao have always been rash; they’re bound to lose their nerve and double back for support. Their enemies will use poison to cut them off, and once the poison clears, they’ll concentrate their fire and turn on Huang Damao and the others—they’ll just be rushing to their deaths.”

Gui Yufeng truly lived up to his reputation as a seasoned veteran; his assessment was flawless. Lei Tingfeng’s Azure Dragon Blade danced among the crowd, the prowess of a fourth-rank expert not to be underestimated. These second-rank Hall Masters fell one after another; those who survived were gravely wounded, while Brother Lailige’s great axe and Sanlun’s iron staff mopped up the rest.

Meanwhile, the poisonous fumes released by Hidden Fragrance and Aspirin spread through the entire Skyway. The wisps of purple and green smoke weakened players’ constitution and strength attributes by 15-20 percent. Unless one held their breath or possessed advanced internal skills, there was no way to resist.

“We have to go help them!” Tian Xingyao grew anxious. He had trained alongside his senior and junior brothers for a long time, and their bonds ran deep. Now that they were on the brink of failure, he couldn’t stand by and watch—everyone had worked too hard for this mission to die and be sent back to the city in vain.

In these evil missions, if a player died, the quest would be terminated. That meant if you died, even if your companions completed the mission later, you’d get nothing in reward.

Gui Yufeng remained eerily calm. “No. We’re not going anywhere.”

Tian Xingyao was stunned. “We’re just going to stand here and watch Xiao Wu and the others get killed?”

Gui Yufeng sneered. “So long as I don’t die, they’ll have to die. Their real target is me. If I’m still alive, they can’t take the government silver. If I stay put, sooner or later, they’ll come here to die.”

A cold wind suddenly swept down the Skyway, and a chill rose from the soles of Tian Xingyao’s feet. At last, he understood Gui Yufeng’s intentions: he didn’t care about the lives of his fellow disciples at all—not even those who had followed him through life and death.

The carts weren’t going anywhere, and neither was the government silver. As long as he held out and wiped out the enemy, the silver would still be in his hands—but with fewer people left to share the quest rewards. Why would he care about the others’ lives? In fact, he might prefer for as many as possible to die.

Tian Xingyao’s heart grew cold with the wind. This was the way of the martial world—only the cold, merciless flash of blades and swords, none of the so-called brotherhood he’d imagined. In these times, “brotherhood” was worth nothing compared to these fifteen carts of gold.

Gui Yufeng slowly drew the Blue Edge Sword from his side. The gleam of the blade illuminated his icy features as he caressed its edge, the cries of agony from the darkness ahead continuing unabated, yet he seemed not to hear them at all.

“Xiao Tian, if you think I just want a bigger share of the rewards, you’re mistaken,” Gui Yufeng said softly. “What is the Blade Sovereign Sect? To me, they’re just a mob. In this Yizhou district, apart from Qingcheng and Tangmen, our Starfire Sect is the third largest. If our Hall Masters can’t even deal with a gang of rabble, what use are they? Dying and returning to the city is the best lesson they could get.”

Tian Xingyao remained silent. At this point, any words would be superfluous.

Gui Yufeng continued, “But you’re different. I suspect there’s more than five of them this time—probably members from other sects as well. You’re stronger than Xiao Wu and the others. You shouldn’t die here.”

Tian Xingyao nodded and silently drew his own sword.

By then, the sounds of battle ahead had already ceased. The Starfire Sect’s Hall Masters had been utterly annihilated. Out of the darkness, Lei Tingfeng, Sanlun, Lailige, Hidden Fragrance, and Aspirin appeared.

“So it really is you,” Gui Yufeng said coolly to Lei Tingfeng. “A mere Hall Master of the Blade Sovereign Sect, and you dare set your sights on government silver? Don’t flatter yourself.”

Lei Tingfeng had felt an ominous premonition the moment he saw the decoy convoy. He hadn’t expected to be facing men from the Starfire Sect. If Zhang He’s analysis was correct, there had to be one or two experts among them, which meant the Starfire Sect’s Guardian was present. Even the weakest Guardian would be fifth-rank at level 100. Perhaps the difference between first and second rank wasn’t so stark, but the gulf between fourth and fifth rank was as wide as a chasm.

But things had come to this; once the arrow was drawn, it had to be loosed. Whether he would rise in fortune hinged on this one fight.

Sanlun’s iron staff and Lailige’s great axe came at Gui Yufeng from left and right, roaring like tigers. They had all underestimated the power of this Guardian. Gui Yufeng suddenly leaped up, his toes tapping lightly on the iron staff, soaring like an eagle straight for Hidden Fragrance in the rear.

No one had expected Gui Yufeng’s first target to be the poisoner. He had judged that Hidden Fragrance was the greatest potential threat. Once the one launching hidden attacks and poison was dealt with, what could three brute-force martial artists do against an internal arts expert?

The Blue Edge Sword traced a cold arc through the air, but from the woods at the side, three streaks of black light shot toward Gui Yufeng’s flank. The sword instantly became a whirling sheet of light, which, as it spun, deflected the black streaks and sent them flying back the way they came.

Pretender was startled—such skill! This opponent was surely a fifth-rank player.

As Gui Yufeng landed, Lei Tingfeng’s Azure Dragon Blade was already entangling him. Gui Yufeng’s sword style was one of lightness, agility, and speed. Though he couldn’t force the Azure Dragon Blade aside, it was never knocked from his hand, either. A faint orange glow began to emanate from the Blue Edge Sword—Gui Yufeng was quietly channeling his internal energy to boost his strength.

Internal energy was a crucial attribute for players in “Dynasty.” It didn’t directly represent magical damage, but its uses were endless. When activated, it could greatly enhance other attributes. Channel it into strength, and your power would increase; into agility, and you could use lightness techniques; into courage, and your chance for critical hits would rise dramatically. Of course, these enhancements only lasted for a limited time—overextending would damage your internal energy, just like with stamina, causing it to steadily decline.

The duration depended on the depth of your internal skill, and the ways of channeling it were many. You could enhance both your attack and agility at once, or even more attributes and martial arts, but that depended on the strength of your cultivation method. A single, simple method could never achieve such versatility.

As Gui Yufeng activated his internal energy, Lei Tingfeng, a master of external martial arts, began to falter. The Blue Edge Sword seemed to possess endless, flexible force. Each mighty strike of the Azure Dragon Blade was gently deflected, only slightly, as if the wielder’s hand had trembled, breaking the flow of his techniques and leaving him irritable and unable to recover his rhythm.

Any seasoned expert knew that if this went on, flaws would inevitably appear.

On the avenue, blade and sword flashed like falling willow leaves, and although the two seemed evenly matched, in truth Lei Tingfeng gained not the slightest advantage. Gui Yufeng, holding his breath against the poisonous fumes, launched himself into the air and, like lightning, stabbed at Hidden Fragrance. The attack was so swift, and Gui Yufeng had forced it out while enduring a sneak attack from Pretender’s three deadly spikes.

Above Gui Yufeng’s head, red numbers floated: “-212!”

Yet Hidden Fragrance was instantly run through the throat by the Blue Edge Sword, falling back in a spray of blood. It was a perfect strike—the gold damage number: “-513!”

As soon as Hidden Fragrance fell, Gui Yufeng unleashed a flurry of attacks on Aspirin nearby, leaving her battered and bloodied. The damage indicator “-90” soared above her head. Only as she collapsed, grievously injured, did she realize the true might of this Starfire Sect Guardian. Gui Yufeng’s left hand reached out through the air, and suddenly grass and debris from the ground swirled up, gathering into a ball in his grasp.

With a muffled “boom,” the bundle burst into a mass of orange flames. Gui Yufeng flicked his hand, and the fireball hurtled toward Pretender.

“Careful, it’s the Starfire Sect’s Starfire Palm!” Lei Tingfeng warned.

The ghostly fireball was neither particularly fast nor slow, yet it carved a strange S-shaped arc through the night air, its curve so wide that its origin was impossible to judge.

Pretender couldn’t dodge, nor could he bear it head-on. For a moment, he stood frozen. But the fireball did not strike him directly—it bounced off a tree trunk, then another, rebounding five or six times. The huge trees caught fire one after another, crashing down in a jumble, burying Pretender beneath a heap of burning timber.