Everyone Died

Chen Yuan left through the cave entrance, but just as he stepped out of the government office, he ran head-on into five people.

Leading them was a burly bald man dressed in black. His head gleamed brightly, carrying a dark metallic sheen.

This man was the Blackwater Gang's leader, "Iron-Head Arhat" Yuan Dongtian. His external martial arts were extraordinarily formidable. It was said that blades and spears could not harm him, and that he could shatter weapons barehanded.

The four behind him were the Blackwater Gang's remaining four great protectors.

The Blackwater Gang had appeared here because Chen Yuan had drawn them over.

Strange incidents had been occurring frequently in Linked Mountains City lately. Yuan Dongtian had vaguely sensed that something was wrong, so he had already sent word to the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance.

Yuan Dongtian appeared rough and bold, but he was actually cautious and meticulous in his actions.

Originally, Yuan Dongtian had not intended to make any moves before the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance arrived.

But the disturbance Chen Yuan had created when he used Starshift to transfer the impact of the blood-fiend power had been far too great.

Nearly the entire Linked Mountains City had heard that deafening boom. It had been like an earthquake.

Yuan Dongtian could no longer sit still after such a huge disturbance, so he had brought the other four great protectors to investigate.

He had not brought any other gang members because he feared danger. The strongest among them would be able to flee in time if necessary.

When he encountered Chen Yuan now, Yuan Dongtian was slightly stunned.

Naturally, he recognized Chen Yuan. So had the commotion inside been caused by the Heavenly Wolf Gang? Or by Murong Qing?

"What exactly happened inside? Where is your adoptive father? Where is Young Master Murong Qing? Why are you the only one who came out?"

Looking at the bloodstains on Chen Yuan and his current condition, Yuan Dongtian's instincts told him that something was not right.

Chen Yuan sighed.

He had thought he could save one trump card, but it seemed he would have to waste it after all.

One of the protectors behind Yuan Dongtian impatiently barked, "The gang leader is asking you a question. Are you deaf?

"You don't even salute the gang leader when you see him. Is this how Jiang Kaitai taught you? No manners at all!"

Chen Yuan reached into his robes and grinned at them. "Of course they're all dead."

Yuan Dongtian instantly felt a chill shoot through his heart. He roared, "Run!"

The four great protectors behind him were all stunned.

Run? Why run? Had the gang leader noticed something?

The instant Yuan Dongtian turned around, Chen Yuan had already pulled Guanyin's Tears from his robes and triggered its mechanism.

In an instant, a piercing shriek erupted.

Countless blades, thin as cicada wings, shot out from the tiny jade purification vase like a rain of flowers descending from the sky. They were breathtakingly beautiful, yet carried endless savage killing intent!

The Bodhisattva lowered its eyes; Guanyin shed tears.

In an instant, everything within thirty feet before Chen Yuan became a hell of spinning blades.

The four great protectors were all at the Blood-Shifting Realm. Before Guanyin's Tears, they had almost no ability to resist, and in moments were sliced into minced flesh.

Not only their flesh, but even their organs and bones were shredded apart by those razor-sharp blades.

The four men scattered across the ground, reduced to pools of blood and flesh. It was impossible to tell how many people were even lying there!

Yuan Dongtian's external hardening arts, however, had not been cultivated for nothing.

Under Guanyin's Tears, he had apparently managed to run three steps before being killed.

He was also the only one who had not been sliced into minced meat. Most of the blades had lodged in his flesh, barely preserving the integrity of his corpse.

"Damn, that's bloody."

Chen Yuan clicked his tongue.

He truly had not expected the Divine Mechanism Pavilion's hidden weapon to be so powerful. No wonder it was so expensive.

There was no time to waste. Chen Yuan immediately returned to the Heavenly Wolf Gang.

Most of the Heavenly Wolf Gang's people had been sent out to keep watch, leaving only a handful in the gang headquarters.

Chen Yuan went straight into Jiang Kaitai's room, found the Heavenly Wolf Gang's roster, and destroyed it.

In the original plot, the Murong Clan had been able to track down and kill every member of the Heavenly Wolf Gang to vent their fury because they had possessed the roster.

If he did not destroy it, even if the Murong Clan did not know that he was responsible, they might still trace the matter back to him.

Afterward, Chen Yuan gathered some gold bars and banknotes.

When traveling, one could go without other things, but never without money.

Before leaving, Chen Yuan went to wake Zhang Xiaoyi, who was still asleep.

His strength was not great, and Chen Yuan did not want him to throw his life away, so he had never sent him out to watch for Jiang Kaitai's dead warriors.

Zhang Xiaoyi woke up groggily and said in surprise, "Young Master..."

Before he could finish, Chen Yuan stuffed a thick stack of banknotes into his hand.

"Get up now and leave the city immediately. Go wherever you want, but get as far from Linked Mountains City as possible. For the rest of your life, never mention that you once joined the Heavenly Wolf Gang."

After saying that, Chen Yuan flashed away and left the room, leaving Zhang Xiaoyi rubbing his head with a confused expression.

Chen Yuan did not care whether the other members of the Heavenly Wolf Gang lived or died.

Only Zhang Xiaoyi had loyally served him since his transmigration, running errands and helping him with many things.

Thus, before leaving, Chen Yuan had arranged a way out for Zhang Xiaoyi as well.

As for whether Zhang Xiaoyi would listen to him, that depended on his own fate.

After Chen Yuan left, Zhang Xiaoyi stared at the thick stack of banknotes in his hand, still completely bewildered and unable to grasp what was happening.

But moments later, he changed into fresh clothes, packed some simple luggage, and rode out of the city.

Zhang Xiaoyi knew that he was not clever. Since he was not clever, he should not waste his thoughts on useless matters. Obeying orders was enough.

The young master had saved his life, and he believed that the young master would not harm him.

Since that was the case, he would simply do whatever the young master told him to do.

The next morning, all of Linked Mountains City erupted into chaos.

The people of both the Heavenly Wolf Gang and the Blackwater Gang ran around like headless flies, unable to find their own gang leaders.

Only after searching all over Linked Mountains City did they finally discover that pile of minced flesh in front of the government office, along with Yuan Dongtian, who had nearly become another pile of minced flesh.

Then the two gangs entered the tunnel together. When they saw Jiang Kaitai's and Murong Qing's corpses, everyone was instantly dumbfounded.

The higher-ups of both gangs had died here at once. Even a member of the Murong Clan had died here. This was a disaster of earth-shattering proportions!

And the problem before them now was that no one knew what to do.

The leaders of both gangs were dead. The Heavenly Wolf Gang's Three Elites and the Blackwater Gang's five great protectors were dead as well.

In their eyes, although Chen Yuan's corpse had not been found, with so many people dead, Chen Yuan was surely dead too. Perhaps he was among that pile of minced flesh.

The corpses had been cut too finely by Guanyin's Tears, becoming one enormous mass of bloody meat. At a glance, people would believe there were seven or eight bodies in it.

Even an old coroner with decades of experience would not have been able to determine how many people had died there.

With no leader to command them, the two gangs could only temporarily send people to seal off the area around the government office and prevent outsiders from entering.

Afterward, the hall masters of both gangs returned to scheme separately, considering how they should handle matters from here on.

After giving it some thought, two kinds of people emerged in both the Heavenly Wolf Gang and the Blackwater Gang.

One kind sensed that the atmosphere in Linked Mountains City was wrong and immediately packed up their valuables, deciding that retreating first was the best choice.

The other kind was brimming with ambition and wanted to use this chaos to rise to power.

After all, the gang leaders were gone. The Heavenly Wolf Gang's Three Elites and the Blackwater Gang's five great protectors were gone as well. These hall masters were now the strongest people in all of Linked Mountains City, with the greatest authority in their hands.

This was the perfect chance to swallow up the other halls. Perhaps then, Linked Mountains City would be theirs to rule!

Thus, after one day of silence, the two gangs began fighting and slaughtering one another throughout Linked Mountains City.

And it was not a confrontation between the two gangs. Instead, the individual halls formed alliances and descended into chaotic battles, each fighting for itself.

At the top of Worry-Free Tower, Wen Rou watched the fighting erupt throughout Linked Mountains City, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.

Jiang Kaitai was dead. Yuan Dongtian was dead. Even Murong Qing was dead.

Just what had that boy Chen Yuan done?

Although everyone outside claimed that Chen Yuan had died as well, Wen Rou absolutely did not believe it.

It had been that boy's idea to send word to the Murong Clan and lure the Murong Clan's people here.

Gently shaking her head, Wen Rou stopped thinking about these matters, because she too was leaving today.

Thanks to Chen Yuan, the Skywind Rain-Listening Tower had completely confirmed the shocking intelligence that the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance's divine weapon, the Sun-Piercing Sword, had encountered a problem.

This piece of intelligence alone was enough for Wen Rou to rise two ranks within the Skywind Rain-Listening Tower.

A small city like Linked Mountains City naturally could not contain her. Next, she might leave Youzhou and head directly to one of the great Central Plains provinces to become the leader of the intelligence network.

Therefore, the developments in Linked Mountains City no longer had anything to do with her. They would become the concern of the next intelligence-network leader.

Wen Rou went downstairs and directly instructed the attendant to close Worry-Free Tower and hang up a sign announcing that it was shut.

From this day onward, there would no longer be a Worry-Free Tower in Linked Mountains City.

Aside from inheriting the existing information, the new intelligence-network leader would not continue using Worry-Free Tower as a base. Instead, they would establish a new operation.

This was also a rule of the Skywind Rain-Listening Tower. They would not operate from one location indefinitely. Whenever personnel changed, the base had to be changed as well, which made things safer.

While all of Linked Mountains City was in complete turmoil, most martial artists did not care that Worry-Free Tower had closed.

Only some lower-level martial artists felt a little melancholy, since they would never again find a tavern with such cheap drinks.

Of course, what they missed even more was that seductive and charming proprietress.

The chaos in Linked Mountains City lasted less than a day before settling down.

Because people from the Murong Clan and the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance had arrived.

The One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance had come because the Blackwater Gang had long since sent them word.

The Murong Clan had sent people because they discovered that Murong Qing had used the Divine-Artifact Avatar of Starshift.

Creating a Divine-Artifact Avatar of Starshift was not easy. One had to choose ancient jade of considerable age, then carve formations into it to reinforce it.

Finally, the weapon master who controlled Starshift had to personally seal the divine artifact's power within the ancient jade before a Divine-Artifact Avatar could be created.

Therefore, Murong Clan members would only use a Divine-Artifact Avatar when they had reached a truly life-or-death predicament.

And once it was used, Starshift's side would react as well.

In Dragon City, after sensing that Murong Qing had used Starshift, the clan realized that something was wrong. They immediately sent people rushing there by secret methods regardless of the cost, riding at full speed to investigate. That was why they happened to arrive at the same time as the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance.

Even more coincidentally, the person sent by the Murong Clan this time was Murong Li, the very person who had come to Linked Mountains City in the original plot.

The One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance had sent a young man in his twenties named Shi Tianxing, who was likewise the person dispatched to Linked Mountains City in the original plot.

If Chen Yuan had been there, he surely would have sighed. Although the plot had already changed, it seemed that everything had somehow returned to its original course.