The Advantage Is on Our Side

Feng Qi stood before him with unwavering resolve, taking the blade for him, then threw himself over him without hesitation to serve as a human shield...

Scenes from the battle played unbidden through Wang San's mind. He looked at Feng Qi, his feelings complicated. He knew Feng Qi's Keyword was Maintain, but in that situation, one mishap and Feng Qi would have been finished!

By his count, Feng Qi had saved him at least three times...

Maintaining at the cost of his life! Suppose he really found his companion through the code phrase, and that person's Keyword was also Maintain—could they have gone that far?

Wang San looked at Dug's back and silently sighed. Feng Qi might be somewhat overbearing, but he had genuinely wanted to work with him. To trust a stranger so quickly in the Simulation Arena—was he clever, or was he foolish? Perhaps he really could put aside his prejudices and work with him through this Simulation Arena. Their Keywords complemented each other perfectly. If they coordinated well, it might not be impossible for both of them to break into the top ten.

Unfortunately.

Feng Qi had flipped the table too soon. If he had not turned himself into a living target, Feng Zhong would not have led the Iron Palm Gang to attack them...

Well.

If he had not flipped the table, the completely unprepared Wang San would already have been eliminated by Feng Zhong.

After turning it over in his mind, Wang San sighed again. He would go as far as he could. Meeting such a pure-hearted partner was his good fortune. Even if he failed to make the Simulation Arena's top ten in the end, the trip would not have been in vain.

Feng Shiyi said nothing and did not acknowledge the direct disciple kneeling on the ground. He knew the man could not be blamed. He himself had not been on guard against Feng Zhong either. Feng Zhong's disguise had been too flawless; there had not been the slightest crack to expose him.

Another direct disciple went to Feng Zhong's room to investigate.

Amid the corpses scattered across the floor, Feng Yunjie continued huddling in a corner, trembling. He had even forgotten to bandage his wounds, helpless as a child.

For a time.

The corridor fell silent.

A moment later.

The direct disciple who had gone to investigate Feng Zhong returned. Looking at Feng Shiyi, he shook his head. "Second Master, Feng Zhong has escaped."

Though he had already known this would be the outcome, Feng Shiyi's straight back still collapsed in an instant. He looked at Dug in a daze. "Seventh Master, the Feng Family is finished."

"Not necessarily." Dug shook his head. "Second Master, we still have a chance."

"What chance?" Feng Shiyi's voice was hoarse, but his eyes lit up. Like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline, he stared fixedly at Dug, his face full of expectation.

"The Iron Palm Gang may not necessarily launch a night raid on the Feng Family," Dug said. "First, the Feng Family is relatively far away. Second, they must first verify whether Heavenly Demons truly exist before sending people to the Feng Family, right? They receive a bizarre piece of intelligence, have no idea whether it is true or false, and then go exterminate an entire family? If Qiu Yuanlang were that stupid, the Iron Palm Gang would never have grown this large."

"So if we rush back now, there is still time for the Feng Family to flee?" Feng Shiyi's excited voice trembled.

"Why go back?" Dug smiled. "It would be impolite not to return a visit. On such a fine night, the Iron Palm Gang can come raid us—why can't we raid them?"

"..." Feng Shiyi froze. Suppressing the anger in his heart, he said, "Seventh Master, at a time like this, please stop making jokes."

"Second Master, I am not joking." Dug said seriously, "Remember our Peacekeeping Justice Group? A blight upon the martial world like the Iron Palm Gang, which for its own selfish gain casually seeks to wipe out entire families—shouldn't it be eradicated, so peace may be returned to the martial world? Leaving aside that we are the victims, even if we weren't, merely hearing of such a thing means we should step forward to seek justice for the victims and uphold righteousness!"

"..." Feng Shiyi was stunned by this earth-shattering declaration. He stared foolishly at Dug, utterly unable to find words.

Fuck!

Wang San's breathing caught. What kind of guts did this guy have? There was no need to seek death like this! Shouldn't they be hiding, keeping a low profile, and waiting for an opportunity to rise again?

The little trust and goodwill he had just built up vanished in that instant. Any thought of cooperation was once again thrown beyond the ninth heaven by Wang San. He still had to run when the time came.

Even if Feng Qi was a god-tier support, partnering with such a reckless fool was simply deciding he had not died fast enough.

"Seventh Master, perhaps you do not understand the Iron Palm Gang. Qiu Yuanlang is a top expert second only to the heads of the Five Sects and Three Schools. He has at least three thousand gang members under his command. A mere hall master is already equal to me in skill. The Iron Palm Gang has ten such hall masters, and each hall master is assigned one deputy hall master and four incense masters."

Afraid Dug would not understand, Feng Shiyi added, "An incense master's martial skill is already on par with Yunjie..."

"Are all these people usually at the Iron Palm Gang headquarters?" Dug interrupted and asked.

Feng Shiyi paused. "The Iron Palm Gang controls river transport and has many daily affairs. The hall masters and incense masters each have their own territories to oversee. There should normally be two or three hall masters stationed in Luyang City."

"One is already dead." Dug pointed at the fallen hall master.

"..." Feng Shiyi.

"This happened suddenly. Qiu Yuanlang certainly would not—and would not find it worth the trouble to—recall most of his people. Even if there were originally three hall masters in Luyang City, one is now dead, leaving at most two." Dug analyzed. "He certainly won't publicize the matter of capturing Heavenly Demons for everyone to know. Besides, judging from the fact that he sent only one hall master to raid us, he did not take the Feng Family seriously at all. Nine times out of ten, he will not have made any additional preparations. Perhaps the other two hall masters do not even know what happened here and are currently dreaming sweet spring-and-autumn dreams in some woman's bed. With the prepared striking the unprepared, our chances of killing Qiu Yuanlang in return are very high..."

Feng Shiyi had initially thought Feng Qi was delirious to suggest raiding the Iron Palm Gang, but after hearing his analysis, he suddenly felt the plan had great potential.

Wang San looked at Dug in surprise. In such a short time, this guy had analyzed so much. He was not stupid after all—so why did he keep doing stupid things?

Looking at the tempted Feng Shiyi, Dug said confidently, "Second Master, the advantage is on our side."

"Seventh Master, even if we can infiltrate the Iron Palm Gang, Qiu Yuanlang's Martial Arts are extraordinarily formidable. Even I fear I could not last three moves against him." After some thought, Feng Shiyi still shook his head. "Besides, all of us are injured, and Yunjie, he..."

"Second Master, we have Wang San." Dug draped an arm around Wang San's shoulders. "A quarter of an hour ago, you would never have imagined that we would annihilate every last one of the attackers, would you? Second Master, times have changed. Heavenly Demons have descended. Our old ideas about battle need to change as well."

Feng Shiyi looked at Dug, then at Wang San, unable to decide. "Seventh Master, if we fail, the Feng Family may face inescapable disaster. Why not be more prudent? If we return now, there is still time to escape..."

"You can escape for a time, but not for a lifetime." Dug frowned. "Are you willing to abandon the Feng Family's vast holdings? Regardless of the reason, we have already killed an Iron Palm Gang hall master. After suffering such a major loss, do you think Qiu Yuanlang will let us go? By then, once he gathers the other nine hall masters, what will the Feng Family use to deal with them? Besides, if the Feng Family weakens because of me, it means I have failed to maintain them, and my strength will inevitably decrease greatly. Who will protect you then? Wang San and Feng Jiu?"

Feng Shiyi fell silent. Wang San had only just joined them; without Feng Qi's protection, he would have been killed by the Iron Palm Gang hall master moments ago. As for Feng Jiu, who knew what torment he was suffering in the Feng Family? It would already be good enough if he did not become an enemy of the Feng Family. Expecting him to help them was pure wishful thinking.

After considering it from every angle.

Feng Shiyi actually discovered that Dug's proposal was the best course of action: seek life amid death! Dug asked, "Have you figured it out?"

Feng Shiyi drew a deep breath. "Fine. Let's do it."

"Good. Rest up for a moment, then we'll set out." Dug was full of high spirits. "We'll catch them completely off guard. But Second Master, find me a sturdier longsword. Don't let the enemy snap it so easily again."

Wang San followed up, "Find me a weapon that suits my hand too."

"Mm." Feng Shiyi looked at the two of them, drew a deep breath, and suddenly said, "If things do not succeed, Seventh Master may take Wang San and flee first. I will do everything in my power to cover your retreat."

Dug looked at Feng Shiyi in surprise. "Second Master, those words are a slap in my face. My nature is to maintain. I am the one who protects others—how could I let others protect me?"

"Seventh Master, this is not about who protects whom." Feng Shiyi let out a bitter sigh. "It does not matter if I die. So long as you live, the Feng Family will still have hope of continuing!"