Hope, Part 1

On the ground, Yong Xiang lay supine, blood trickling from the corner of her eye due to an injury to her eyeball.

"If you have the guts, kill me!!" she managed to squeeze out.

"Kill you? Heh, come to think of it, I've put up with you for a long time too."

Zhang Rongfang's expression remained calm. He walked up to her again, grabbed her hair with his right hand, and flung it to the left.

Smack

With her intact hand, Yong Xiang grabbed his wrist and acupoint, flipped over, and slammed her shoulder into Zhang Rongfang's cheek with all her might.

Even though the Three Voids Super Grade only has one hand left, it can still unleash tremendous destructive power in a very short time.

This strike is a rare Breaking Limit Skill from the Great Completion Martial Classic: Shaking Shattering Bee!

This move also gathers all of Yong Xiang's power at this moment. Once it hits, even Zhang Rongfang will be stunned!

Zhang Rongfang held his palm in front of his cheek, steadily blocking the blow.

A vortex of air exploded between her palm and shoulder, and the enormous force sent Yong Xiang crashing to the ground, where she rolled several times.

"Truly remarkable, to be able to deliver such a blow after such severe injuries."

Zhang Rongfang stretched out his arms, and the palms of his hands that had just blocked the attack were now slightly red and swollen.

"Go ahead and kill me if you dare!!" Yong Xiang struggled to her feet and said again.

"I'm sorry." Zhang Rongfang shook his head slightly. "Taijing Zi wouldn't dare kill you, and neither would I."

"So."

He walked up to the other person.

In an instant, he shot out with both fingers, precisely pinching Yong Xiang's last arm.

Click.

Fracture or breakage.

Before Yong Xiang could let out a scream.

She was lifted up and faced the sky.

Zhang Rongfang pressed down with his knees, bending the person downwards.

Bang!

With a crisp cracking sound, the spine broke.

Tears and snot streamed down Yong Xiang's face at the same time. She opened her mouth wide and let out a silent roar.

By this time, the others around had already finished fighting.

With Zhang Yunqi and other experts from the Rebel Sect surrounding them, the already heavily damaged caravan was now utterly vulnerable.

Several experts were dragging the still-unrevived Spirit Vein towards the depths of the forest.

They were clearly very experienced in surrounding and killing Spirit Vein.

And coincidentally, Zhang Rongfang also needed several Spiritized Person as individuals to verify the Eastern Sect's experiments.

There is no need to surround and kill them.

Take care of the last convoy escort.

Zhang Yunqi sighed, walked to Zhang Rongfang's side, and looked at Princess Yongxiang.

"I'll deliver the final blow. After all, she's of Royal Bloodline."

"What trouble would there be if we actually killed her?" Zhang Rongfang put Yong Xiang aside and understood the hidden meaning in her words.

"It's troublesome. The Spirit Court's Snow Rainbow Pavilion can recognize that your hands are stained with royal blood immediately," Zhang Yunqi replied in a deep voice.

He looked at Zhang Rongfang at this moment.

He had witnessed Zhang Rongfang's attacks just now.

Clearly, this Human Seed Daozi far more complex than he appears on the surface.

His martial arts skills are definitely not just what he himself said, that he had only just broken through the External Medicine.

Those few consecutive moves were all at the top level of Internal Method in terms of speed, explosiveness, and reaction.

Zhang Rongfang "Imperial Clan blood," fell silent for a moment, looking at Princess Yongxiang, who had fallen into a coma.

"It seems Brother Yun Qi is determined to tie me to this?" He suddenly laughed.

"From the moment you opened the Secret Cache, weren't we already bound together?" Zhang Yunqi shook his head.

"Yes, that's true. Then, everything is in your hands." Zhang Rongfang nodded.

"Please hurry, the resurrection time of the Snow Rainbow Pavilion Spirit Meridian behind me has arrived, it should be coming soon."

"Um."

Zhang Yunqi stepped forward, grabbed Yong Xiang, and ran away at breakneck speed.

The best way to deal with this hot potato is naturally to take advantage of the sea while we're still alive and solve all the problems.

As for how long they can keep it a secret, that depends on luck.

Zhang Rongfang watched him leave.

He didn't really care about conspiring with the Rebel Sect.

After opening the Secret Cache and obtaining a great deal of confidential information, he knew that once this matter was leaked, even as Daozi of the Great Dao Sect, he would inevitably be caught in the eye of the storm.

But you can't hide fire with paper.

Now that we've come this far, there's no turning back from the moment we obtained the secret.

So they simply cooperated with the Rebel Sect.

All the members of the Rebel Sect present would be criminals involved in the attack on Yong Xiang.

This is the Pledge of Allegiance.

From this moment on, this group of people were truly and completely bound together.

"Mr. Zhang Ying, although I don't know what you and my Foster Father discussed, I hope we can cooperate happily from now on."

At this moment, another woman with a silver V-shaped mask walked up to Zhang Rongfang and slowly extended her hand.

"Of course. From today onwards, we are all on the same side." Zhang Rongfang smiled and extended his hand.

The two shook hands lightly, marking the first contact between Zhang Rongfang and the rest of the Rebel Sect under Zhang Yunqi.

After surrounding and killing Yong Xiang, the next step was to clean up the mess.

The group suffered relatively few casualties; despite having more skilled fighters than the convoy, only four people died and a dozen were injured.

After quickly cleaning up the scene, they moved all the corpses together, doused them with Fire Oil, and set them on fire.

A huge fire broke out.

Zhang Rongfang and the other members of the Rebel Sect then quickly withdrew.

Zhang Yunqi's adopted daughter Zhang Zhenhai, briefly explained some contact information to Zhang Rongfang before quickly leaving with her entourage.

Neither of them mentioned Zhang Yunqi and Yong Xiang.

If it is discovered that the Royal Bloodline was responsible for the ambush, everyone present will face a far more brutal extermination than what is happening now.

Therefore, many things can only be left unsaid.

Shortly after Zhang Rongfang left the scene.

The Rebel Sect, carrying the corpses of their own people, quickly arrived deep in the Huang Jing Mountain.

In the dense Woodland.

Rows of tombstones carved from wood are neatly arranged here.

Behind the tombstone are mounds of varying sizes.

Zhang Zhenhai waved his hand.

Let those who Rebel Sect the faith carry up the bodies of their deceased brothers and sisters.

Some carved stone tablets, while others dug up the soil.

There was no coffin; they simply dug a pit, threw the body in, and buried it on the spot.

The only protection was provided by a few Entering the Ranks individuals from the Rebel Sect who guarded the cemetery.

They usually practice martial arts here while guarding the cemetery.

This was to prevent wild animals from digging up the grave mounds and eating the corpses.

Soon, the corpses were buried one by one, the mounds of earth closed, and the tombstones were slowly erected and placed.

"Take care." Zhang Zhenhai placed his hand on his left chest and bowed slightly.

All other members of the Rebel Sect performed similar rituals.

The Rebel Sect has been established for over thirty years, and it gathers unfortunate people who harbor extreme hatred for the Ling Ting.

Among them, some were enemies of their brothers, some of their parents, some of their clans, and some of their country and past grievances.

All the hatred brought them together for the purpose of taking revenge on Ling Ting.

So when they heard that the operation to kill the Noble of the Ling Ting required manpower to be recruited.

Within just over ten minutes, hundreds of people from the Rebel Sect had signed up.

Zhang Yunqi selected more than forty people from among them, all of whom were skilled.

They were indeed all skilled fighters. Driven by extreme hatred, many of the martial arts practiced by the Rebel Sect were self-harming techniques, pursuing only extreme lethality.

"Have they all been buried?"

Suddenly, a deep voice interrupted Zhang Zhenhai's thoughts.

She turned around, and her father, Zhang Yunqi, was already standing in the open space to the side, bowing slightly towards the tombstone.

"Yes. They'd probably be quite satisfied to die in this ambush," Zhang Zhenhai said in a low voice.

"Perhaps." Zhang Yunqi straightened up and looked around.

All the Rebel Sect around him, the only ones whose eyes were exposed, revealed a hint of suppressed pleasure.

They ambushed and killed a convoy of Royal Bloodline! This is the biggest thing the Rebel Sect has ever done.

If the previous incidents were all minor skirmishes, this time is different!

"Leader, it is foreseeable that after this incident, the Ling Ting will be furious and send experts to investigate."

The experts from the Snow Rainbow Pavilion will definitely be dispatched immediately. While this ambush was satisfying, the potential repercussions need to be considered quickly, along with how to deal with them.

A Black-Clad Man stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting.

Zhang Yunqi nodded.

"It doesn't matter."

He raised his right arm.

Three purple patterns were clearly visible on the exposed forearm skin.

"Yong Xiang died by my hand. If there is any trouble, it will all come back to me. It has nothing to do with you."

"Foster Father," Zhang Zhenhai said incredulously, "Even if he's not killed outright, he'll still be stained with the Royal Blood Seal!?"

"I threw the man into the sea and let him drown. I didn't take any action directly."

But I didn't expect to get infected anyway. It seems that anyone standing within a certain range will get infected. Zhang Yunqi shook his head.

"But it's alright, we just happen to know too little about the Royal Bloodline. This trip will help us understand it better."

"Next time, just be more careful and discreet, and it will be fine."

He smiled dismissively.

"But Foster Father ..." Zhang Zhenhai wanted to say something more.

But he raised his hand to stop her.

"It's alright. Don't you know my strength and martial arts skills? Even a Grandmaster of the Ling Ting would have to find me first if they wanted to capture me." Zhang Yunqi smiled.

"But you don't need to take the blame for that person. This was originally what he wanted to do." Zhang Zhenhai couldn't understand.

"It's different." Zhang Yunqi shook his head. "That one is Human Seed, the hope for our future. The Eastern Sect left behind three Human Seed, each of whom was carefully selected and has the potential to revive its former glory."

Since we were assigned to guard this Secret Cache, it means we were bound to that person from the very beginning.

"This was a long-planned strategy. So many experts sacrificed themselves just to preserve these last three sparks, didn't they?"

He seems to take it all in stride.

"Therefore, our task is to quietly watch over that one as they grow up."

That's all.

Zhang Zhenhai bit his lower lip, recalling Zhang Rongfang's previous actions.

It must be said that although his strength is not as good as his Foster Father's, Zhang Rongfang's every move inexplicably gives people a sense of composure and ease.

It's as if nothing can easily change its expression or move it.

That kind of caution and confidence is something you can't see in ordinary masters.

"In fact, he is more suitable to be our leader than I am," Zhang Yunqi said calmly.

"As a leader, you must constantly lead your subordinates to victory. You must never panic or lose your composure under any circumstances."

The stability and confidence of an organization stem entirely from its leader. And in that respect, I'm not particularly strong.

"Why do you say that, leader? It is all under your leadership that we have been able to grow and thrive in Citong."

If it were someone else, they would have already declined.

"Leader, please don't belittle yourselves. We are willing to follow your instructions and make plans."

"From the moment you avenged us, we have only believed in you!"

One by one, the Rebel Sect members around him echoed his sentiments.

Zhang Yunqi smiled, clasped his hands in greeting, and returned the greetings to those around him.

But his thoughts drifted back to many years ago, to when his master, the Three Brilliance Old Man, entrusted everything of the Rebel Sect to him on his deathbed.

This heavy burden, involving hundreds of people whose lives depend on each other, suddenly fell on his shoulders; it must have been exhausting.

Now, finally, someone can share his burden. He is no longer everyone's only hope.