Who Betrayed Whom?

In the silent night, Du Ge's keen senses sharpened several times over, and he heard every word of the conversation between Feng Shiyi and the others.

Unbelievable!

He hadn't even Backstabbed them yet, and these guys had already betrayed him!

Who had he been working himself to the bone for?

So much for brotherhood.

Of course, Du Ge understood them. Five people launching a frontal assault on a gang full of experts sounded like something out of a fantasy. It was only natural that they didn't want to make pointless sacrifices.

But Du Ge had his own difficulties. His Keyword was maintenance and Backstab. If he retreated to the Feng Family, not only would he fail to maintain their interests, he'd also lose his chance to Backstab them. Who knew what would happen to his attributes?

If they turned against him later, he might not even be able to protect himself.

After all, whether or not Feng Zhong had interfered, someone at Feng Manor would end up blaming him for this. The old fox Feng Shiren might even sell him to the Iron Palm Sect in exchange for the Feng Family's safety.

It wasn't a matter of right or wrong. That was human nature.

Returning to the Feng Family would mean losing everything, so even if he had to charge straight into the Iron Palm Sect, he had to do it.

Only then could he keep the initiative in his own hands. He could maintain them when he wanted, Backstab them when he wanted, and maximize his gains.

Once bound to their Keywords, ordinary thinking no longer applied to people like them. Take Wang San, for example. Did he really want to collect a dead man's hand?

He'd been forced into it...

Feng Shiyi and the others couldn't leave, either. Setting aside the fact that Feng Shiyi was their main fighting force, if they left, who would Du Ge maintain—and who would he Backstab?

"Second Master Feng, I never thought you were such a coward. You've already killed one of the Iron Palm Sect's hall masters. If you don't kill Qiu Yuanlang, do you expect him to wipe out the Feng Family?" Du Ge stood beside the last dead guard, roaring in anguish. "Where can you run to? You killed a hall master of the Iron Palm Sect!"

The surroundings were utterly still. The screams of the guards at the entrance had already alerted the gang members inside. Du Ge's shout threw the entire Iron Palm Sect into an uproar.

Feng Shiyi's mind rang. He froze in place, the world spinning around him, and nearly fainted. His eyes turned bloodshot in an instant, and he screamed hysterically, "Feng Qi, I'll fucking—"

"Second Master Feng, you can't keep making the same mistake." Du Ge cut him off, continuing to shout so everyone could hear. "That's right, we outsiders could risk our lives to hold off the Iron Palm Sect for you. But what about the Feng Family? If you flee in the face of danger and abandon your allies to save yourselves, the Feng Family's reputation will be ruined! You can rebuild a home, but once your reputation is gone, a martial artist's backbone is broken.

"Our heads can be severed, our blood can be spilled, but our reputation must never be lost. Second Master Feng, we must defend the Feng Family's good name with our blood and our lives!"

Holy shit!

Defend the Feng Family's good name?

He was driving Feng Shiyi into a dead end!

That was ruthless!

Watching Du Ge, righteous and indignant, Wang San was completely stunned. He understood why Feng Qi was doing this, but to make the right decision in such a short time—his mind was razor-sharp. There was no denying it.

He'd turned maintenance into an attack skill. At that moment, Wang San finally understood the true meaning of a persona. A great door slowly swung open in his mind, and he seemed to glimpse an entirely new world.

Forcibly maintain, forcibly Backstab!

Du Ge's attributes surged upward. Seeing Feng Shiyi stop in his tracks, he was overjoyed. The Iron Palm Sect had already been alerted; Feng Shiyi couldn't run now. If he dared to lead the Iron Palm Sect's people back with him, he'd only speed up the Feng Family's destruction.

Torches blazed inside the Iron Palm Sect.

In no time, the courtyard was brightly lit. More than two hundred gang members, armed with sabers and swords, glared at Du Ge and Wang San from the entrance, their eyes burning with fury.

They'd come knocking in the middle of the night and were still acting so arrogantly. If the Iron Palm Sect didn't wipe them out, how could they ever hold their heads up?

Even clay figurines had a temper, let alone people who'd been dragged out of bed...

And judging by what that guy had said, he'd killed one of the Iron Palm Sect's hall masters and now wanted to assassinate the sect leader to eliminate future trouble. He really had some nerve. What did he take the Iron Palm Sect for?

"I never expected the little Feng Family to produce a few men with real courage. You've certainly earned my respect." A voice boomed like thunder. An old man in his fifties, his hair graying, bounded over in a few leaps and stopped outside the gate. He looked at Du Ge and Wang San, his presence imposing even without anger. "Are you two here to kill me?"

"And Second Master Feng, Feng Shiyi," Du Ge replied, standing tall as he gave Feng Shiyi's name.

In the woods, Feng Shiyi's eyes were practically spitting blood. This bastard, this bastard—he really was a demon! He hadn't come to protect the Feng Family. He'd come to cut off its roots!

Seeing that Feng Shiyi had no intention of coming out, Du Ge looked at Qiu Yuanlang and the people behind him and chuckled. "Sect Leader Qiu, your Iron Palm Sect sent people to attack Xingyu Tower in the middle of the night for no reason. You think you can kill us, but we can't fight back? The rules of the martial world, its sense of honor, have been ruined by people like you who think they can do whatever they want just because they have stronger fists. Today, the Feng Family will lead the way in correcting this crooked trend. We'll defend the honor of the martial world with iron and blood."

"Defend the honor of the martial world?" Qiu Yuanlang waited until Du Ge had finished before laughing. He looked at him as if he were an idiot, then suddenly turned cold. "You killed Peng Chong?"

The crowd behind Qiu Yuanlang grew larger by the moment, but Du Ge was entirely unafraid. He met Qiu Yuanlang's gaze without backing down. "Those who kill will be killed in turn..."

"Sect Leader Qiu, don't listen to the demon's nonsense!" Feng Shiyi shouted as he emerged from the shadows. He glared fiercely at Du Ge, then dropped to his knees from a distance. "Sect Leader Qiu, the Feng Family only did something so foolish because the demon manipulated us. Otherwise, we'd never have dared oppose the Iron Palm Sect, even with ten times the courage. How could I possibly have been a match for Hall Master Peng? Those two used wicked methods to kill him..."

"Second Master Feng?" Du Ge looked at Feng Shiyi in surprise.

"Shut up!" Feng Shiyi roared. "You thief! If you hadn't spread your lies, how would the Feng Family have ended up like this? If I'd known, I should have struck you down the moment you possessed that body, you demon!"

"Demon?" Qiu Yuanlang looked at Du Ge with interest.

"That's right, Sect Leader. Those two are the Heavenly Demons you're looking for," Feng Shiyi said. "Heavenly Demons are different from ordinary people. They can grow only by acting in accordance with their attributes. Feng Qi's attribute is maintenance. He's silver-tongued and claims to be protecting the Feng Family's interests, but he's been using the Feng Family to grow while bringing disaster upon us.

"From this moment on, the Feng Family cuts all ties with him. He has no connection to us anymore. Without the Feng Family's protection, his strength will surely weaken. You can capture him and kill him, torture him, use him, or keep him—whatever you like. The Feng Family has nothing to do with it. I, Feng Shiyi, was blinded by foolishness. I'm willing to give my life to repay Hall Master Peng's. I only beg you to spare the old and young of the Feng Family. They're innocent. They knew nothing!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Feng Shiyi slammed his forehead against the ground. Before long, it was smeared with blood.

The Iron Palm Sect members erupted in commotion. All eyes turned toward Du Ge and Wang San, and whispers broke out.

Heavenly Demons?

Qiu Yuanlang ignored Feng Shiyi and studied Du Ge with interest. He glanced at Wang San, who was clutching the severed hand with an infatuated expression, and muttered, "So Heavenly Demons really do exist? He says you grow through your attributes, and yours is maintenance. Is that why you came to defend the honor of the martial world?"

"Yes."

Du Ge nodded.

When Feng Shiyi had declared that he was cutting ties with him, Du Ge finally understood what Wang San had meant by a decrease in attributes. His attributes had dropped by about a third. It seemed his maintenance had failed, but they hadn't fallen to rock bottom. That was probably because he'd successfully Backstabbed the Feng Family, and his actions to maintain peace in the martial world were still propping them up.

He looked at Qiu Yuanlang. If his attempt to maintain peace in the martial world failed this time, his attributes would probably drop even further.

Still...

Although the Feng Family had abandoned him, Du Ge decided to squeeze one last bit of value out of them. He looked at Feng Shiyi sadly. "Second Master Feng, even though you've abandoned me, my principles haven't changed. Once I take up maintenance, I'll maintain for life. I said it, and I'll see it through to the end."

With that, he turned to Qiu Yuanlang and laid his sword against his own neck. "Sect Leader Qiu, I'm willing to join the Iron Palm Sect and submit to your judgment. I only ask that you spare the old and young of the Feng Family, to honor the care I've shown them. Otherwise, I'll die right here, and all you'll get is a worthless Heavenly Demon corpse."

Feng Shiyi shuddered and abruptly raised his head to look at Du Ge. His hatred vanished in an instant. At that moment, he finally felt he might truly have been wrong.

Qiu Yuanlang stared at Du Ge in surprise. "He betrayed you, and you're still willing to protect him?"

Du Ge replied, "Once I take up maintenance, I'll maintain for life. It's my mission."

"Fine. I'll grant your request." Qiu Yuanlang looked at Du Ge approvingly and clapped his hands. "Those fools didn't recognize a piece of jade. From now on, you'll protect my Iron Palm Sect, and my Iron Palm Sect will protect you..."

Before Qiu Yuanlang had finished speaking, Du Ge's fallen attributes surged back in an instant—and rose even higher.