The Dawn of Hope

While Chen Feng was dealing with Jiang Hong, elsewhere, outside the Xingfeng Sect...

Jiang Yaotian arrived with four elders and Jiang Chen. They saw no one at the entrance to the Xingfeng Sect, and all was quiet around them.

"Chen'er, stay here. Let's go."

Jiang Yaotian said this because bringing Jiang Chen along would only be a burden.

"Yes, Father!"

Jiang Chen promptly leaped into a nearby tree and hid.

From there, he could see everything at the Xingfeng Sect's entrance.

Jiang Chen was extremely confident. His father and four elders had come together this time. Even if those people possessed powerful weapons, they could never be a match for his father and the others.

Jiang Yaotian and the other four soon approached the Xingfeng Sect's entrance again.

Almost as soon as Jiang Yaotian and the others appeared at the entrance...

Gunfire rang out in an unbroken barrage, and a dense rain of bullets shot toward them.

But the five Xiantian experts seemed to have been prepared. They instantly circulated their Gang Qi to defend themselves.

The bullets struck the Gang Qi and ricocheted away with a series of metallic pings.

After feeling the force of the bullets striking his Gang Qi, Jiang Yaotian looked excited. "This thing really is extraordinary!"

Although the attacks could not hurt him, they were already enough to suppress him.

Moreover, he could clearly feel his Gang Qi being rapidly depleted.

"I'll hold them off. You go!" Jiang Yaotian shouted to the Jiang Household elders.

He then circulated his Gang Qi and advanced alone.

Jiang Yaotian's figure constantly shifted across the field.

He blocked most of the bullets aimed at the other Jiang Household elders.

Feeling the pressure ease, the other four Jiang Household elders did not hesitate. Their figures flickered as they charged toward Wang Hu and the others' hiding place.

For Xiantian experts, a single second to catch their breath was enough to change the course of a battle.

Wang Hu, who was firing his gun, was horrified when he saw this. "Watch out!"

But his warning came too late.

A Jiang Household elder rushed up to the nearest Xingfeng Sect martial artist.

Before the Xingfeng Sect martial artist could raise his gun, the elder's Gang Qi struck him dead.

Wang Hu's eyes instantly turned red. The thirteen inner-sect martial artists with guns had been following him all this time.

He had long since come to regard them as his brothers. How could his heart not ache when one of them died before his eyes?

"Fall back!"

Wang Hu shouted as he fired.

The entrance was too open and not suited to their battle. Once a Xiantian expert closed in, they would have almost no way to resist.

All they could do now was retreat inside the sect and use the terrain to hold the enemy back.

When the Jiang Household elders saw Wang Hu and the others preparing to flee, they immediately wanted to pursue them, but Jiang Yaotian stopped them.

"No need to chase them."

Hearing Jiang Yaotian's words, the elders all abandoned the pursuit and came before him.

One of the elders handed Jiang Yaotian the submachine gun he had taken from the Xingfeng Sect martial artist he had killed.

Jiang Yaotian accepted the submachine gun and examined it carefully before exclaiming, "The craftsmanship of this thing is truly extraordinary."

Every detail of the submachine gun amazed him.

But Jiang Yaotian's excitement far outweighed his astonishment. This thing would belong to the Jiang Household from now on!

If the Jiang Household's martial artists could all be equipped with weapons like this, they would surely slaughter their way in all directions. They might even be able to dominate the Yue Kingdom.

This kind of weapon could already narrow the gap between Postnatal martial artists and Xiantian experts.

The thought alone filled Jiang Yaotian with excitement.

"Household head, aren't we going in?" an elder asked.

As the elders saw it, the Xingfeng Sect's trump cards were only these weapons, although they were very powerful.

But the martial artists using them were weak.

The strongest was only at the Ninth Layer of the Acquired Realm. They might be able to deal with one or two Xiantian experts, but they were no match for the five of them.

Jiang Yaotian glanced at the Xingfeng Sect. He still had not received any word from Jiang Hong.

This puzzled him somewhat. With Jiang Hong's strength, finding Chen Feng should not have been a problem. Why was it taking so long?

"Wait for word from Sister Hong. Let these people live a little longer. They can't escape anyway!"

Without word from Jiang Hong, Jiang Yaotian still felt somewhat uneasy.

He planned to wait for Jiang Hong. The Xingfeng Sect was already surrounded by them, and their opponents could not escape even if they wanted to.

Inside the Xingfeng Sect, Wang Hu led his people back in, and Liu Qian hurriedly brought people to meet them.

"Brother Wang Hu, are you all right?" Liu Qian asked with concern.

Wang Hu and his men were now the Xingfeng Sect's strongest fighting force. If anything happened to them, there would truly be no hope.

"I'm fine!" Wang Hu looked dejected. The death of his subordinate weighed heavily on his heart.

"I've already sent someone to check the north side. It's close to the great forest, so we have a better chance of breaking through there," Liu Qian said.

They had all watched the battle between Wang Hu's group and the Jiang Household's five Xiantian experts.

Wang Hu and the others were clearly no match for them. Their only option now was to abandon the Xingfeng Sect and flee into the great forest to the north.

The Xingfeng Sect martial artists around them all looked at Wang Hu, waiting for his decision.

Wang Hu looked at the people of the Xingfeng Sect. He was under immense pressure.

The Xingfeng Sect was no longer the sect that had once had only a few dozen people.

In the past, he would certainly have stayed and led his men in a fight to the death. He, Wang Hu, was not afraid to die.

But now there were too many things to consider.

Sect Master, where are you... Wang Hu immediately thought of Chen Feng. If Chen Feng were here, he would surely have a way to resolve this crisis.

Although Chen Feng rarely concerned himself with the Xingfeng Sect's affairs, he was its backbone.

With him there, everyone would have confidence.

Just as the Xingfeng Sect martial artists waited dejectedly for Wang Hu's decision...

A figure was walking slowly toward them from within the Xingfeng Sect.

His steps were slow, and it was not until he drew near that a Xingfeng Sect martial artist noticed him.

"It's the sect master! The sect master has come out of seclusion! The sect master has come out of seclusion!"

The Xingfeng Sect martial artist who had spotted Chen Feng immediately shouted.

He was so excited that tears streamed down his face.

In an instant, everyone's gaze converged on the figure slowly walking toward them.

Though the figure came from the darkness, he was like the dawn of hope, illuminating everyone there.

Atop Hengduan Mountain.

Qin Yao and Wang Tian had watched the entire battle between the Xingfeng Sect and the Jiang Household members.

"Five Xiantian experts! The Jiang Household's foundation is truly terrifying," Wang Tian said in shock.

Qin Yao asked in puzzlement, "The Jiang Household clearly drove Wang Hu and the others back, so why aren't they entering the Xingfeng Sect?"

Qin Yao had noticed something amiss. Wang Hu and the others had just fled in disarray, clearly outmatched.

Yet the Jiang Household members had not pursued them and were instead waiting at the entrance. It was far too strange.

"In any case, the Xingfeng Sect has no hope left at all. We should go back to our sect, pack our things, and leave."

Wang Tian looked dejected. At this point, he felt the Xingfeng Sect had no hope left.

Even after using its trump cards, it still could not deal with the Jiang Household. Only destruction awaited the Xingfeng Sect.

Their best course was to pack up their valuables and leave Hengduan Mountain as soon as possible.

But after Wang Tian finished speaking, Qin Yao did not answer. Puzzled, he turned to look at her.

Qin Yao was staring blankly toward the Xingfeng Sect's entrance as she said,

"Sect Master Chen is back!"