Black Clouds Pressing Down on the City
The martial arts world was in turmoil. Although nothing seemed amiss on the surface, a great deal of unrest was actually spreading throughout both the south and the north.
Lu Li stood atop a large tree, gazing into the distance, when suddenly a dark figure appeared beside him, transforming into the appearance of a Shadow Assassin. The assassin knelt on one knee and said to Lu Li, "Master, message has come from number 777. After receiving the message, Bright Moon Tower's high-end forces have gone to Golden Sand Island to regroup, while their lower-end forces have all dispersed and gone into hiding."
"How many people are there on Golden Sand Island now?" Lu Li nodded and continued to ask.
"Number 999 has been roughly confirmed. There are about eight genuine Celestial Warriors, and dozens of fake Celestial Warriors. There are also about 300 secret martial artists," the Shadow Assassin replied.
The Shadow Assassin, or the Shadow Legion, have transformed into a star in the Shadow Dreamlands. After undergoing mutation and modification, they can create a Shadow Assassin simply by mobilizing magic.
Lu Li has currently created a total of 1,000 Shadow Assassin, ranked from 1 to 999. There is also a possible mutated Shadow B. These 1,000 Shadow Assassin can be said to share a single will, or they can be said to be different people.
The Shadow Legion is connected by a mysterious network of links, and their spiritual will is unified. This entire spiritual will can be called the Shadow Legion, with the stars in the Shadow Dreamlands as its central core.
In addition, the Shadow Assassin under the Legion all have different personalities, which leads to different styles of action for Shadow Assassin with different numbers. The most special one is Shadow B, who completely does not accept the numbering and always refers to himself as Shadow B.
Therefore, the Shadow Legion can also be called the Thousand Faces Legion. Each Shadow Assassin can be seen as a different face of the Shadow Legion as a whole. For example, the number one who has been by Lu Li's side for many years has a steady and serious personality.
Shadow B, who is always on the run, is full of gay swearing and rambling during battles. Some Shadow Assassin seize the opportunity to strike and kill, while others believe that their "Shadow Assassin" is simply a matter of seeing someone die, and that's what an assassination is.
In addition, because these Shadow Assassin belong to the Star of Envy, they are proficient in various illusion techniques centered on sensory interference. Lu Li sent some of them, whose personalities were suitable for surveillance, to various places to monitor and obtain the information that Lu Li wanted.
"I understand." Lu Li nodded. Shadow Assassin No. 1 bowed slightly, his figure dissipating into black mist. Then, Lu Li looked at the crowd below the tree and said calmly, "Target: Golden Sand Island. Mission: Kill every living creature on the island that does not belong to the Black Heaven Hall."
"Yes, Palace Master!!" More than twenty people responded in unison, their auras astonishing. Six of the ten Palace Masters were present, along with a number of Vice Palace Masters and some other skilled individuals. All of them showed expressions of excitement.
They had just heard Lu Li and the Shadow Assassin's words. Facing the large number of experts on Golden Sand Island, they only felt excitement and confidence, because they were from the Black Heaven Hall and they followed the Black Heaven Hall.
How could a martial artist not crave battle? Especially such an earth-shattering battle, a battle that would determine the future of the Southern martial arts world—whether the righteous path would prevail or the Black Heaven Hall would. And these people all wore unrestrained smiles, believing that the Black Heaven Hall would surely win.
This is an unreasonable confidence. Regardless of whether the enemy outnumbers us or whether their combat strength is greater than ours, in their minds, the Black Heaven Hall will definitely win. No matter how difficult or intense the battle is, they will surely Black Heaven Hall. This kind of confidence is neither normal nor correct, but we do need this kind of confidence.
Meanwhile, the island lord of Golden Sand Island welcomed the twenty-odd people from Bright Moon Tower. These were the high-end combat force of Bright Moon Tower, including an elder who was a true Celestial Martial Artist, and the Cloud Tower Master, a master who combined his own martial arts with the Chosen Martial Arts. There were also two fake Celestial Martial Artists, and the rest were all skilled in secret martial arts.
"Lord Yun, Elder Feng, welcome, welcome," said Ye Zhen, Lord of Golden Sand Island.
Golden Sand Island is not a sect, but at most a family force, but it has a great reputation in the south and even the entire martial arts world.
Originally, this place was just the secluded residence of a Celestial Martial Artist a hundred years ago. Thirty years ago, Ye Zhen, the master of Golden Sand Island, was just an ordinary martial artist. After his tendons were severed by his enemies, he was thrown into the sea.
Unexpectedly, Ye Zhen survived the ordeal and was rescued by the celestial martial artist who lived in seclusion there. His hands and feet were repaired with a secret healing medicine. Afterward, Ye Zhen became the disciple of that celestial martial artist and diligently practiced martial arts.
Afterwards, he left the mountain to seek revenge and met a confidante, Yun Ya from Bright Moon Tower. The two joined hands and made a great name for themselves in the martial arts world at that time. In the end, the two of them broke through to the level of Celestial Warrior, which became a popular story in the martial arts world.
After Ye Zhenyun and Ya Ya broke through their limits, they returned to Jinsha Island to live in seclusion. They took on some disciples, and whenever any martial arts practitioners needed secret medicine, the couple would never hesitate to use it. As a result, Jinsha Island has maintained a high reputation in the martial arts world for more than ten years. Even after the incident with Qi Yunfei, no one looked down on Jinsha Island.
"Island Master Ye, before we retreated, we left some clues to ensure that the Black Heaven Demon Cult members would be lured to Golden Sand Island." After exchanging greetings with Ye Zhen, Lord Yun spoke directly. Ye Zhen's wife, Yun Ya, was his cousin, and the two families had a close relationship, so there was naturally less formality between them.
"According to the message Feng Qing sent three days ago, the Black Heaven Demon Sect should already be on their way today. Even if they are fast, it will take them five days to reach Bright Moon Tower and catch up with Golden Sand Island. We need to make proper arrangements."
"That's right. If it weren't for Feng Qing, we wouldn't have known that the Black Heaven Hall was actually planning to personally lead a team to attack the Bright Moon Tower. It's just a pity about Feng Qing." Yun Ya shook her head and sighed from the side. She was over fifty years old, but she still looked like an eighteen-year-old girl, youthful and beautiful.
In terms of relationship, Feng Qing is Yun Ya's niece. Qi Yunfei was the top disciple of Golden Sand Island. After his debut, under Yun Ya's care, he first went to Bright Moon Tower and met Feng Qing. They were originally a perfect couple, but when they traveled together, they unexpectedly encountered the Black Heaven Hall at the South Heaven Sect, and that happened.
Although Feng Qing, as an inside agent, sent back a lot of information, her reputation has been completely tarnished over the years as the Pride Hall of the Black Heaven Hall. Even if she defeats the Black Heaven Hall in the future, the best outcome for Feng Qing will be to live in anonymity for the rest of her life.
What Yun Ya also found regrettable was Qi Yunfei. He was too arrogant and proud. After what happened, they didn't blame him, but Qi Yunfei hadn't shown up or returned to Golden Sand Island, which was truly worrying.