No More Pretenses

"You... you people..."

He opened his mouth, as though he had suddenly understood something.

But it was too late.

A Tang Sect disciple drove a sword through his chest from behind.

Qiangu Zhangting looked down at the blade protruding from his chest. He raised his head and cast one last glance at Na'er before collapsing for good.

The melee continued.

But Chen Xing was already manipulating the illusion from the shadows, separating and surrounding the remaining Spirit Pagoda members one by one.

Nearly another half hour passed.

By the time the three factions finally stopped fighting, more than thirty people lay on the ground.

The Spirit Pagoda had suffered the most deaths.

Shrek and the Tang Sect had taken casualties too.

And the Dragon Pearl had long since vanished.

Chen Xing and Na'er exchanged a smile, then switched off their recording Soul Tools and tucked them away.

"Let's go."

Deep in Dragon Valley, at the end of a passageway.

Chen Xing activated his Disguise Ring and took on a different face.

It was the face of the Tang Sect disciple who had openly pursued Na'er just moments ago!

Two days later.

Outside the entrance to Dragon Valley.

Long Yeyue of Shrek, Zang Xin of the Tang Sect, and Qiangu Dongfeng of the Spirit Pagoda arrived almost at the same time.

They should have arrived sooner, but each of the three had been held up by other matters.

Long Yeyue's face was livid.

"Qiangu Dongfeng, what is the meaning of this?"

Zang Xin's brows drew tight.

"I want to know that too. Why did your Spirit Pagoda people go for the kill in there?"

Qiangu Dongfeng said nothing, his face grim. His eyes kept searching for his grandson.

Just then, Na'er emerged from Dragon Valley.

Her clothes were in disarray, her face was pale, and blood stained the corner of her mouth.

She walked slowly, as though her strength were spent.

"Na'er!" Qiangu Dongfeng hurried over. "Where's Zhangting? Why hasn't he come out?"

Na'er looked up, her eyes reddening.

"The young master... Shrek and Tang Sect disciples surrounded and attacked him. By the time I got there, it was too late."

Qiangu Dongfeng's face went white.

"What did you say?"

Na'er took a damaged Soul Tool recorder from her clothes and handed it to him.

"I recorded this inside, but Soul Power damaged the recorder. Only part of the recording survived."

Qiangu Dongfeng took the Soul Tool and channeled Soul Power into it. Images unfolded in midair.

The footage was blurry, but it clearly showed Shrek and Tang Sect disciples surrounding Qiangu Zhangting, punching and kicking him.

It did not show Na'er watching, nor Qiangu Zhangting calling to her for help.

There was only chaos, the mob attacking him, and Qiangu Zhangting's furious roar before he fell.

Qiangu Dongfeng's fists clenched until his knuckles cracked.

"Shrek! Tang Sect!"

Long Yeyue's and Zang Xin's expressions changed too.

"That's impossible!" Long Yeyue protested. "Our Shrek disciples would never do such a thing!"

"Then how do you explain this footage?" Qiangu Dongfeng's voice trembled.

Just then, a Tang Sect disciple staggered out of Dragon Valley.

He was covered in blood, clutching something tightly to his chest.

"Elder Zang... I have evidence..."

Zang Xin hurried over.

"What evidence?"

The Tang Sect disciple handed him a bloodstained crystal ball, tears spilling from his eyes.

"A junior disciple gave this to me before he died... He said... he said I had to bring it out..."

Zang Xin channeled Soul Power into it, and images appeared.

The scene returned to two days earlier.

In the Surface Secret Realm of Dragon Valley, before the chaos had erupted.

The gray-haired Tang Sect disciple—the young man who had just reached out to Na'er at the entrance—

was walking with several fellow Tang Sect disciples.

He stopped suddenly, his expression changing.

"Careful. The Spirit Pagoda people followed us."

Before he finished speaking, Qiangu Zhangting charged out of hiding with several Spirit Pagoda disciples.

"So you're the Tang Sect men cozying up to Na'er?" Qiangu Zhangting said through gritted teeth. "Get them!"

The Spirit Pagoda disciples rushed forward together.

The gray-haired disciple moved to shield his companions, snatched up a recording crystal ball, and thrust it into another Tang Sect disciple's arms.

"Run!" he shouted. "Give it to Elder Zang! Don't let the Spirit Pagoda get away with this!"

"Senior Brother!" the disciple cried.

"Don't look back!" The gray-haired young man charged forward, using his body to block a beam of Soul Power from the Spirit Pagoda.

The beam pierced his chest.

He glanced down, yet managed a smile.

"Run..."

The Tang Sect disciple fled in tears.

The recording cut off there.

Zang Xin watched to the end, his face darkening completely.

"Qiangu Dongfeng, take a look."

Qiangu Dongfeng took the crystal ball. One glance left him frozen.

"This... this is impossible..."

"Impossible?" Zang Xin laughed in fury. "A Tang Sect disciple died bringing out this evidence, and you call it impossible?"

Long Yeyue leaned in for a look, her face livid. "Qiangu Dongfeng, your Spirit Pagoda plays a vicious game."

Qiangu Dongfeng jerked his head up. "My grandson is dead too! You think your people are innocent?"

"Your grandson led an ambush against the Tang Sect and died in the melee. Who's to blame for that?" Zang Xin refused to yield an inch.

"Say that again!" Qiangu Dongfeng's Soul Power erupted.

Long Yeyue and Zang Xin stepped forward together and stood shoulder to shoulder.

"Shrek and the Tang Sect stand together," Long Yeyue said coldly. "If you want a fight, we'll give you one."

Zang Xin's voice was grave. "But think carefully. Does the Spirit Pagoda truly want to go to war with us here?"

A Spirit Pagoda elder behind Qiangu Dongfeng quickly grabbed him. "Dongfeng, don't act rashly."

Qiangu Dongfeng's chest heaved as he glared at Long Yeyue and Zang Xin.

He hated them.

He hated Shrek and the Tang Sect.

More than that, he hated that his grandson had been so foolish.

But he also knew that if they fought now, the Spirit Pagoda would gain nothing.

"Fine." Qiangu Dongfeng gritted his teeth. "Just fine."

He turned to leave, but threw one last warning over his shoulder. "This isn't over."

Na'er stood behind Qiangu Dongfeng, head bowed, without saying a word.

She knew Chen Xing had altered the footage on her Soul Tool recorder.

She also knew Chen Xing had forged the images in the Tang Sect's crystal ball with an illusion.

Chen Xing stood outside the crowd, wearing a Concealment Ring and watching the whole performance.

Beside him, Tang Wulin also wore a Concealment Ring. He stared at the scene before him in shock.

"Brother... you arranged all this?"

Chen Xing nodded slightly.

"But the footage Na'er gave them was real. I saw it happen..."

"Yes, it was real."

"Then what was in the crystal ball..."

"Fake."

Tang Wulin opened his mouth but could not find a word to say.

"Brother, that's just too..."

"Too what?"

"Too ruthless."

Chen Xing smiled and said nothing.

Both sides had evidence. Both believed the other side was responsible.

Now the Spirit Pagoda and the Shrek–Tang Sect alliance were bitter enemies.

That evening, just as Chen Xing had expected, the three factions fell out completely.

Qiangu Dongfeng left with the Spirit Pagoda members, but not before issuing another warning.

"This isn't over."

Long Yeyue and Zang Xin each led their people away, their eyes burning with anger toward the Spirit Pagoda.

Chen Xing took Tang Wulin with him. They followed at a distance, strolling toward Heaven Dou City.