Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Chapter 546: Old Injuries Acting Up

"Shameless scoundrel!"

The cry of outrage came from the audience at the Emperor's Mound, who had an omniscient view of the entire scene as it unfolded. Unlike the three brothers of Thunderbolt Stronghold, who were caught in the heat of battle, the spectators had a front-row seat to the tragedy.

It all began with Chu Liang encountering a disciple from the Puppetry Sect who had been sent as bait. At first, there was nothing remarkable about the encounter. But when the Thunderbolt Stronghold brothers unknowingly walked into the Earthfire Sect's ambush in the valley, things started to get interesting.

While the fierce battle raged on, Chu Liang stood on the sidelines, quietly observing for a long time. In many ways, he was no different from the spectators watching from the spectator stands.

Meanwhile, his teammates followed at a measured pace, maintaining a safe distance behind him. This allowed them to avoid drawing attention while ensuring that they could arrive quickly when needed.

The more intense the head-on clash between the Earthfire Sect and Thunderbolt Stronghold grew, the more cunning Chu Liang's scheme appeared.

As Chu Liang allowed the three heavily injured brothers from Thunderbolt Stronghold to sit and heal, his teammates, who had been trailing at a distance, suddenly began to accelerate. At this point, even a fool could see what he was planning.

Clearly, Chu Liang was using the excuse of letting them heal to buy time for his reinforcements to arrive.

"Taking advantage of someone's weakness is one thing, but bringing in so many people? That's just too much!" one indignant spectator exclaimed, his voice echoing across the spectator stands.

"Chu Liang, Chu Liang, heartless and cruel!" shouted another spectator. It was likely that this spectator had attended the Mount Shu Summit in the past and remembered that familiar chant.

"It's no surprise he would do something like this. His teacher is none other than Di Nufeng!" added a more knowledgeable spectator, pinpointing the source of Chu Liang's cunning behavior.

"Truly a shameless scoundrel!"

"…"

The crowd's rising anger wasn't just fueled by the stark contrast between the honorable, head-on battle earlier and Chu Liang's scheming tactics.

Most of them were furious because they had placed their bets on the Thunderbolt Stronghold advancing to the next round—the Battle at the Imperial City. After all, the disciples of the Thunderbolt Stronghold that joined this assembly were very powerful and fierce.

This unexpected disaster took everyone by surprise.

In the Assembly of Immortal Sects, such upsets were not uncommon, but the fallout was often dire. Whenever a major upset occurred, many corpses would be fished out of the rivers surrounding the capital of Yu the following day, as there were many who gambled everything in hopes of striking it rich overnight.

Compared to the anger and disdain of the majority, a small group of individuals seemed out of place, quietly reveling in their happiness.

These were either locals from Mount Shu or the few who placed bets on the Mount Shu Sect, hoping for something unexpected to happen. Even though they were happy, they only dared to smile subtly, careful not to reveal their joy amidst the crowd.

After all, the Assembly of Immortal Sects was also notorious for being a time when fights and brawls erupted most frequently in the capital of Yu.

However, among them was an eighty-something-year-old woman who looked remarkably young and beautiful, standing out with her especially brazen demeanor.

She clapped her hands and laughed heartily as she said, "As expected of my disciple! He hasn't learned much over the years, but he has inherited two-tenths of my wisdom. Hee-hee-hee!"

Old Sun and Old Huang, standing beside her, exchanged knowing glances, thinking to themselves, If you had two-tenths of his wisdom, there'd be no place for us in this world.

But, of course, they didn't dare voice their thoughts aloud.

Instead, Old Sun simply mused, "The combined strength of those Earthfire Sect brothers was truly terrifying. And for the three young men of Thunderbolt Stronghold to survive such a self-destruction shows their incredible resilience. If Chu Liang had acted recklessly on his own, they might have escaped. By delaying slightly, he managed to trap them completely. That was truly a clever plan."

"Indeed," Old Huang nodded in agreement. "You make a good point. As expected of Ah Feng's disciple. He has a great chance of winning the championship this time."

Old Sun glanced at Old Huang, who had become notably more obedient after being reprimanded, and smiled. "Weren't you the one who didn't think highly of Mount Shu?"

"What are you talking about?" Old Huang quickly retorted, "I've always been a loyal fan of the Mount Shu Sect! Every time I see Jiangjiang and Chu Liang together, I feel happy. Jiangjiang! Jiangjiang! A national beauty! And Chuchu! Chuchu! With a big brain and muscles…"

"Disgusting," Old Sun grumbled, unable to bear the sight of him cheering like that.

…

While storms raged outside the illusory realm, Chu Liang and the others inside the illusory realm remained blissfully unaware.

As soon as Monk Pushan landed, he immediately noticed the ground littered with soul crystals and the three severely injured brothers of Thunderbolt Stronghold. Pushan had grown used to such scenes. His fellow monks, however, were taken aback by the sight before their eyes.

Whenever he would go on a mission with Chu Liang, he knew he wouldn't just be getting easy spoils. More often than not, the spoils would just fall into his laps—opportunities he couldn't even avoid!

Their formidable opponents, the members of the Earthfire Sect, had been decisively wiped out, and now the even stronger Thunderbolt Stronghold brothers lay severely injured, waiting to be finished off. The team from the Mount Shu Sect was, of course, delighted. The monks from Buddhist Cloud Monastery, who hadn't done much, were also happy to see the bounty lying all around.

The only ones who weren't happy were likely the three "lambs" waiting to be slaughtered.

"I don't care how many of you are here, I'll take you all on today!" Wei Tiandi roared. "Big Bro, Third Bro, you two go quickly!"

"The Five-Fire Divine Ape is dead. I am of no use staying here.," Deng Yixiao shouted, struggling. "I'll hold them off. Second Brother, Big Bro, you two go!"

"Don't let them look down on Thunderbolt Stronghold!" Du Wuhen shouted boldly, his voice filled with determination. "Second Brother, Third Brother, take care!"

As Wei Tiandi and Deng Yixiao charged toward the enemies, Du Wuhen turned and fled.

He was the only one going against the tide of battle.

It wasn't that Du Wuhen feared for his life—after all, what was death in the illusory realm, anyway? The truth was far more significant: the future of Thunderbolt Stronghold rested squarely on his shoulders. If they all died and the Mount Shu Sect managed to secure a place in the top ten, it would take the Thunderbolt Stronghold another sixty years to fight for a position in the Divine Nine again.

The reason the three brothers didn't flee together was due to the deep understanding built from years of fighting side by side.

The Purple-Lightning Divine Turtle and Five-Fire Divine Ape had both died in the earlier explosion, leaving Wei Tiandi and Deng Yixiao significantly weakened. In their current state, it was far more strategic for them to use up their remaining strength to help their senior brother escape. They knew that if they all tried to escape together, none of them would make it out alive.

Naturally, no one wanted to let Du Wuhen escape, and the enemies closed in quickly. But as soon as Deng Yixiao charged forward, he activated his Form of the Heavens and the Earth, which resulted in his body suddenly enlarging. With a powerful punch and a fierce kick, he forced back the two who tried to go after Du Wuhen.

At the same time, Wei Tiandi charged forward recklessly without a care of any injuries or perhaps death.

Both of them were on the verge of death, having given up all defenses. All they cared about was attack. Fueled by the determination to die with their opponents, they poured every ounce of strength into their punches, kicks, and divine techniques.

When one fought without regard for their life, they would become an unstoppable force; not even the strength of ten could stop them. In that moment of reckless bravery, Wei Tiandi and Deng Yixiao managed to hold off everyone around them for a brief but crucial moment.

It was only for a moment.

As lights flashed and a myriad of swords hovered in the air, the two massive figures were slain by the group, transforming into soul crystals that fell to the ground.

However, that brief moment created a gap that allowed Du Wuhen to escape, flying away on the Azure Mysterious Wind Bird. He soared through the air with such incredible speed that he was soon out of sight.

"What a shame," Chu Liang said, gazing at the distant sky. "One of them still got away."

"It's still a great harvest," Jiang Yuebai replied, his eyes scanning the soul crystals scattered across the ground. There were over ten from the Earthfire Sect alone, plus the ones they had collected earlier. Even after giving half to the Buddhist Cloud Monastery, the Mount Shu Sect would still have over twenty crystals.

That brought them very close to their goal.

The past two days had gone exceptionally well for the Mount Shu Sect. Each encounter had resulted in significant victories.

On the other hand, the monks from the Buddhist Cloud Monastery felt a bit embarrassed. Monk Pushan scratched his head and smiled, "How could we accept this? We didn't do anything, and we're getting half of your soul crystals. Why don't you take the bigger share and just give us a few?"

"Ah," Chu Liang said with a smile, "there is no need to calculate everything so clearly in a collaboration. It's about us helping each other. I may have put in more effort this time, but you can pitch in more next time."

"Alright," Monk Pucheng of Buddhist Cloud Monastery said, "Then Young Hero Chu, you can rest for a while, and we'll let my junior brother Pushan be the scout."

"That would not be..." Chu Liang was about to refuse.

Jiang Yuebai suddenly tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Let him go."

Chu Liang looked at Jiang Yuebai and saw a hint of pleading in her eyes.

"Alright then," he said with a smile. "We'll let Pushan be the scout."

"Huh?" Monk Pushan looked around at everyone, feeling a bit aggrieved. "Then Chu Liang, come with me, so I'll at least have some company."

"Um..." Chu Liang suddenly clutched his chest, feigning discomfort. "I think I am slightly injured, so I'm afraid I can't accompany you."

"In that case, Little Junior Brother, you can come with me..." Pushan turned to his fellow monk, Pujing.

"Uh..." Pujing clutched his chest as well. "I think I'm also..."

"You didn't even do anything earlier!" Monk Pushan shouted in exasperation.

"It's an old injury acting up!" Pujing declared seriously.

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: GT