Volume Two: A Bandit's Life - Chapter Seventy-One: Winds and Clouds Gathering

Inside the council hall of the Tianyi Water Pavilion.

"Pavilion Master, everything has been arranged. We can make our move in the next few days!"

An outer-ring God King hurried into the hall to report this latest news, while hundreds of God Kings gathered inside awaited final confirmation.

"Good! Three days from now, we will dispatch our forces to Duanshui City. This time, I will not only wipe out the Purple Mystic Alliance, but also annihilate the Duanshui Sect that has allied with them!"

Wu Long, the Pavilion Master of the Tianyi Water Pavilion, suddenly stood up and made a loud declaration.

Having bided his time for nearly a hundred years, Wu Long could finally let out a long-suppressed breath of relief. It was not that the Tianyi Water Pavilion had no desire to strike the Purple Mystic Alliance over the past century, but rather that they were unable to—or temporarily dared not—do it alone.

Ever since the defection of the Purple Mist Heaven, the strength of the Purple Mystic Alliance had grown considerably. Subsidiary factions such as the Sun-Moon Alliance and Qianhong Island were no longer sufficient to deal with the Purple Mystic Alliance. Without the direct intervention of the Tianyi Water Pavilion, they refused to make another move.

Wu Long himself had his own reservations. True, the Tianyi Water Pavilion was stronger than the Purple Mystic Alliance, but that did not mean victory would come easily. After all, combined with the Duanshui Sect, the two factions now boasted several hundred God Kings. Furthermore, the Purple Mystic Alliance possessed three formidable experts whom Wu Long was not entirely certain he could defeat. If a genuine war broke out, even if the Tianyi Water Pavilion emerged victorious, it would be a pyrrhic victory that left their power severely depleted.

Such heavy losses were something the Tianyi Water Pavilion could ill afford. Over the course of countless epochs, the Tianyi Water Pavilion had forcibly suppressed the development of many smaller factions precisely to consolidate its own supremacy. Once their strength was compromised, there was no guarantee that those previously suppressed factions would not harbor rebellious ambitions. If that happened, maintaining their position as the tenth-ranked power would become exceedingly difficult, and destruction might even ensue.

Affecting the whole body with a single tug, Wu Long was weighed down by numerous considerations. This was why the Purple Mystic Alliance had been given another hundred years of peaceful development—a hundred years of growth that Wu Long had witnessed with his own eyes, fueling his burning hatred for those reckless God Kings who had sought refuge under the Purple Mystic Alliance.

Now, however, Wu Long could finally launch an assault on the Purple Mystic Alliance with absolute peace of mind. He had spent a fortune to enlist the aid of two other bandit factions. With three of the God Realm's top ten bandit powers moving in unison against the Purple Mystic Alliance, it was simply not a resistance the alliance could withstand, nor did the Tianyi Water Pavilion need to worry about sustaining heavy losses.

Three days later, the Tianyi Water Pavilion mobilized one thousand God Kings and eight thousand Heavenly Deities, marching imposingly toward Duanshui City. The God Kings did not use spatial teleportation; their explicit purpose was to let everyone in the God Realm witness the procession, amplifying the influence of the Tianyi Water Pavilion and demonstrating that opposing them would lead to no good end.

The Moon Radiance Alliance and the Soul-Breaking Manor—the two factions invited by the Tianyi Water Pavilion at great expense—also dispatched one thousand God Kings and nearly ten thousand Heavenly Deities each. The three allied forces, totaling three thousand God Kings and over twenty thousand Heavenly Deities, converged outside Duanshui City.

The residents within Duanshui City were already gripped by panic. A total of six hundred God Kings from the Duanshui Sect and the Purple Mystic Alliance guarded the various city gates, while Qin Si, Qin Shuang, and the others had already led a group of fighters out into the open skies beyond the city.

Outside Duanshui City, the Purple Mystic Alliance and the Duanshui Sect had deployed a mere twelve God Kings in total—eight from the Purple Mystic Alliance and four from the Duanshui Sect. Apart from Qin Si and Li Yang, every single one of these twelve had comprehended the profound realm of spatial-temporal stillness.

For this battle, Qin Si had truly shed blood and made a massive sacrifice. From the treasures brought out of the Purple Mystic Mansion, he had directly produced ten second-rate Grandmist spiritual treasures. This represented fully half of his entire inventory. These Grandmist spiritual treasures were all congenital items from Qin Yu's new universe, possessing earth-shattering might.

Duan Shuai already possessed an offensive second-rate Grandmist spiritual treasure, and this time Qin Si gifted him a defensive second-rate Grandmist spiritual treasure as well, vastly boosting Duan Shuai's confidence. Duan Shuai's baseline strength was by no means weak; otherwise, he could never have become the leader of a major faction.

Even Li Yang received a dagger-shaped second-rate Grandmist spiritual treasure. Originally, Qin Si had intended to hand the golden spear over to Li Yang, but Li Yang declined. The golden spear could unleash its maximum potential only in Qin Si's hands, whereas the small dagger suited Li Yang far better.

The Tianyi Water Pavilion, the Moon Radiance Alliance, and the Soul-Breaking Manor commanded a combined force of three thousand God Kings and nearly thirty thousand Heavenly Deities. In terms of sheer numbers, they outnumbered the Purple Mystic Alliance and Duanshui Sect by nearly fourfold.

"So many God Kings," Qin Si murmured. Though a trace of tension lingered in his heart, he maintained his usual playful grin, nudging Qin Shuang and Li Yang beside him. "Two Vice Alliance Masters, how many of them do you suppose are planning to surrender and join us?"

True to his usual temperament, Qin Si spoke without the slightest attempt at discretion, his words carrying clearly to the ears of Wu Long, Hua Jianxiong the commander of the Moon Radiance Alliance, and Zheng Qiu the commander of the Soul-Breaking Manor.

"Hmph, death is at your doorstep and yet your tongue remains as sharp as ever," Zheng Qiu said with a disdainful sneer toward Qin Si. "Qin, don't tell me you intend to rely on just the twelve of you to deal with our three thousand God Kings? Would you like us to grant you some time to gather more troops?"

Wu Long made no move to stop Zheng Qiu; in fact, he welcomed the idea of the enemy assembling all their forces so they could be wiped out in a single sweep.

"To deal with a mob of unorganized rabble like you lot, our current group is more than enough," Ziyan retorted before Qin Si could speak.

"Ziyan, today I will make you understand the consequences of betraying the Tianyi Water Pavilion. Kill them!" Unwilling to waste any more breath, Wu Long waved his hand dismissively, and the hundreds of God Kings standing behind him immediately surged forward in a swarm.

"Well now, Brother Wu Long, you are certainly making a mountain out of a molehill. With a mere twelve people, you insisted on dragging both of our factions here to lend a hand. It seems to me your extravagant payment has gone to waste," Hua Jianxiong chuckled heartily as he watched the rushing tide of God Kings, wearing an expression of leisurely ease.

Although Zheng Qiu offered no verbal comment, his gaze suggested his thoughts were largely aligned with Hua Jianxiong's.

"Brother Hua, Brother Zheng, although there are only twelve people here, do not forget that Duanshui City itself still holds quite a few God Kings. By my rough estimation, the total number of God Kings belonging to the Purple Mystic Alliance and the Duanshui Sect is fast approaching one thousand," Wu Long said, brushing off their mockery with a solemn expression. "The twelve individuals before your eyes constitute the backbone and core strength of the Purple Mystic Alliance and the Duanshui Sect. My Tianyi Water Pavilion is fully capable of handling them ourselves. As for the God Kings hiding within Duanshui City, I must trouble the two of you to deal with them."

While they were talking, the hundreds of charging God Kings had already clashed with Qin Si and his companions.

A major faction truly differed from lesser groups. Although they were all in the realm of God Kings, Li Yang's Netherworld Dragon Swallow combined with the Ultimate Inch-Flash could instantly slaughter over a dozen God Kings from minor factions. Yet against the God Kings of the Tianyi Water Pavilion—whose cultivation and equipment were vastly superior—even slaying a single opponent required a tremendous exertion of effort.

Qin Shuang had a slightly easier time. Spatial stillness combined with the Dark-Cyan Single-Breath Staff meant that nearly every God King he faced was dispatched in a single strike. Even so, the overwhelming power of that battle-defying staff was diluted considerably against such disciplined foes.

"Pfft!" A golden spear pierced straight through a God King's head, shattering his soul utterly into dust.

"Ah, Dad is truly biased. It would have been wonderful if he had given me the Remnant Snow Divine Spear instead," Qin Si complained continuously as he twirled the golden spear.

"Freeze!" The single word uttered by Duan Shuai caused the three God Kings directly in front of him to halt all movement instantly, their weapons still poised mid-air. By the time they regained their freedom of action, they found one of their companions already missing.

"Brother Qin, could you refrain from lamenting your grievances right now and focus on killing?" Duan Shuai pleaded as he sidled up next to Qin Si.

Oddly enough, Qin Si had not deployed any large-scale spatial rifts this time, leaving many spectators baffled. Moreover, his movements were utterly erratic and difficult to predict; rather than engaging opponents head-on, he favored intermittent sneak attacks. Yet despite this, the number of God Kings who fell by Qin Si's hand remained the highest of all.

"Whoosh!" Dense purple flames engulfed several God Kings, but before Ziyan could make a move, a few wisps of golden light flashed past. The life force within those purple flames was instantly extinguished. Before Ziyan could figure out what had happened, Qin Si had already vanished to slaughter elsewhere.

"Ultimate Inch-Flash!" Abandoning the Netherworld Dragon Swallow entirely for the moment, Li Yang unleashed his most ferocious offensive technique—the Ultimate Inch-Flash. A dozen dazzling beams of light flashed by in a blinding instant. Every single God King struck by that tiny point of light suffered severe injuries, and that was even with low-grade heavenly divine artifacts protecting their bodies.

"Die!" It was Qin Si once more. Before Li Yang could launch another attack, Qin Si's figure flickered past at blinding speed, swiftly finishing off the God Kings who had already been heavily wounded.

"You really know how to swoop in and steal the kills," Li Yang chuckled helplessly.

Hua Jianxiong and Zheng Qiu stared dumbfoundedly at the twelve blood-crazed individuals, inquiring cautiously, "Brother Wu Long, are you... quite certain you don't require our assistance here?"

"No assistance is needed from the two of you here. Duanshui City, however, requires your forces to go and knock some sense into them," Wu Long replied, radiating absolute confidence and showing not the slightest hint of surprise at the sheer might displayed by Qin Si and his group.

"Very well, Brother Wu Long. Take care of yourself; we will lead our men to flatten Duanshui City," Zheng Qiu said, pulling on Hua Jianxiong's sleeve. The two leaders led their respective armies and flanked around to the opposite side of Duanshui City.

"Hmph, Purple Mystic Alliance, let us see what you do now," Wu Long muttered with a cold, triumphant sneer.

"The opportunity has arrived." A sharp glint flashed in Qin Si's eyes, and his movements grew even more rapid. Almost everywhere he passed, God Kings fell. Thanks to his support and cover, their group of twelve remained completely unscathed, whereas nearly a hundred of the Tianyi Water Pavilion's hundreds of God Kings had already perished.

"Hmph, enjoy yourselves a little longer." A murderous intent flickered across Wu Long's eyes as, from time to time, God Kings behind him quietly vanished into thin air, heading off to parts unknown.

"Hmm?" Qin Si, who had been diligently seeking out targets for sneak attacks, suddenly felt a prickle of wariness. He realized that although he had already slain a considerable number of enemy God Kings, the total count of opposing God Kings seemed strangely undiminished.

"Form the array!" At that exact moment, Wu Long—who had been observing the battle from afar—suddenly let out a thunderous roar.

(To be continued)