Chapter 689 - 276: Personal Matter 3

Luo Zhixian moved again, vanishing into the churning sea below as if he had teleported.

A moment later, he reappeared, a massive head in his grasp. It belonged to none other than the Demon Sect’s Sixth Elder, Tu Wanjun, who had been struck into the depths of the sea, barely clinging to life.

The head’s eyes were wide, frozen with endless terror and disbelief.

And with that, all five True Essence Realm masters who had lain in ambush—Bai Cang, the brocade-robed elder, Mao Chengyue, He Jie, and Tu Wanjun—were utterly annihilated!

The sight sent a shock through Deng Ziheng, making his scalp tingle.

He knew Luo Zhixian was strong, but he had never imagined him to be *this* powerful!

Five True Essence Realm masters, one of whom was an old fiend like He Jie who had burned his very origin to temporarily return to the Late Stage, and yet they couldn’t even force him to draw a weapon!

Chen Qing’s own heart was pounding. He took a deep breath to calm the turmoil in his blood and murmured, "So this is the power of a Grandmaster?"

He could see it clearly. His master’s seemingly casual strikes were, in fact, the result of having cultivated his Ten Extremes Spear Intent to the supreme realm of complete mastery—effortless and sublime, turning complexity into simplicity.

"Master!"

Chen Qing stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Deng Ziheng also immediately stepped forward, clasping his fists solemnly. "Peak Master Luo."

Luo Zhixian nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Chen Qing. His tone was flat and emotionless. "Did you see clearly?"

"I saw clearly," Chen Qing answered solemnly.

"Did you understand?" Luo Zhixian asked again.

"I understood," Chen Qing nodded.

"What did you understand?"

"That without power, one is ultimately walking a dead-end path," Chen Qing said gravely.

In the face of such an absolute disparity in power, any scheme, any struggle, is utterly futile.

Hearing this from the side, the corner of Deng Ziheng’s mouth twitched slightly.

’Peak Master Luo had clearly just given a practical lesson on the Spear Path, meant for Chen Qing to grasp the application of Spear Intent. He never expected the kid to summarize it in such... an unvarnished and direct way. But on second thought, what Chen Qing said was the undeniable truth. In this Martial Arts World, power is the foundation of everything.’

Luo Zhixian glanced at Chen Qing but didn’t comment.

Deng Ziheng spoke at the opportune moment, his voice filled with emotion. "Peak Master Luo, I never expected you to come in person."

"I actually arrived long ago," Luo Zhixian said coolly.

"Arrived long ago?" Chen Qing was surprised.

’If Master had been lying in wait all this time, why didn’t he intervene when we were first surrounded?’

"Then Black Dragon Island..."

Deng Ziheng also realized that if Luo Zhixian had arrived early, then Black Dragon Island’s attitude and actions were likely all part of the Sect’s calculations.

"Before the Sect Leader sent you the extermination order, he had already reached some kind of agreement with Mo Yuan of Black Dragon Island."

Luo Zhixian continued slowly, "Allowing you to go to Black Profound Island served two purposes. First, it was an opportunity to eradicate a Demon Sect stronghold. Second, it was a way to ’deliver’ you to Black Dragon Island, where Mo Yuan would step in to offer temporary protection. This both guaranteed your safety and helped ease the Sect’s recently strained relationship with Black Dragon Island."

The fastest way to forge an alliance, and the fastest way to break one, is through a tangle of mutual interests.

With that explanation, both Chen Qing and Deng Ziheng understood everything.

Sect Leader Jiang Lishan had laid out the entire chessboard long ago. Their whole journey had been part of his grand design.

Chen Qing’s mind raced. ’The Sect Leader probably wanted to use this to observe the Gu Family’s stance and reaction as well.’

’And letting us clash with Yanzi Dock was a way to probe the depths of their collusion with the Demon Sect. He even used us as bait to lure out the Demon Sect’s hidden experts.’

’Those were just the parts of the plan I could discern. There were probably even deeper machinations at play.’

’For a man like the Sect Leader, every move on the board must first be weighed against the overall strategic position of the entire Sect.’

Evidently, the relationship between Yanzi Dock and the Demon Sect was even closer than the Sect had anticipated.

"Master, so are we heading back to Dongji City first?" Chen Qing asked.

"No."

Luo Zhixian’s gaze turned toward the depths of the Thousand Reefs Sea Region, his tone still flat. "First, we go to Yanzi Dock."

"Yanzi Dock!?" Deng Ziheng was stunned, a look of shock on his face.

Yanzi Dock had just lost three True Essence Realm masters—a crippling blow. The two sides were now locked in a blood feud.

’Going to their door now would be like walking straight into a trap. How could Yanzi Dock’s remaining experts possibly let this go?’

Luo Zhixian said coolly, "The Sect’s business is handled. Now it’s time to handle some private matters."

"Private matters?"

Chen Qing’s heart skipped a beat. ’Private matters?’ he wondered.

Deng Ziheng, on the other hand, recalled the various rumors Within the Sect about Luo Zhixian’s temperament. Though his face remained impassive, he had a sudden realization.

Luo Zhixian said no more after that, only adding coolly, "Let’s go."

Deng Ziheng immediately complied, turning the Treasure Ship around. The bow cleaved through the waves, no longer heading west toward Qiu Long Path, but racing straight into the depths of the Thousand Reefs Sea Region, toward the Feiyan Islands—the home of Yanzi Dock.

The cataclysmic battle that had just taken place sent out aura fluctuations as vast as the tides, alarming the powers on countless surrounding islands.

The Essence Qi that scattered upon the deaths of the True Essence Realm masters, combined with that all-annihilating Spear Intent, was like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, sending ripples spreading out at an incredible speed.

.....