Chapter 308 - 150: Great Victory
As Liang Cheng followed the search Steward out of Lost Soul Valley, a Cloud Shuttle was already waiting at the mouth of the valley.
The Steward’s message had been timely. The Headquarters had sent someone directly. The man leading them stood at the shuttle’s prow, hands clasped behind his back. His hair and beard were completely white. It was none other than the Dean of the Headquarters, Zhong Lishuo.
Beside him, a figure in a coarse cloth martial robe was staring intently at the valley entrance, his eyes bloodshot.
Yang Wei.
"Cheng’Er!"
Yang Wei stumbled over, closing the distance in a few quick strides. He rushed up to Liang Cheng, grabbed his shoulders, and ran his hands all over him from top to bottom.
His bones were intact, his skin was warm, and his breathing was steady.
Only then did he believe that Liang Cheng was truly unharmed, that he hadn’t lost any limbs.
"Good... good..."
Yang Wei managed to say "good" twice, but his throat seemed to catch, and he couldn’t get a third word out. He turned his head away and roughly wiped his face with his sleeve.
Liang Cheng said nothing. He simply knelt and kowtowed.
Yang Wei couldn’t stop him in time. Once he was finished, he quickly bent down and pulled the young man to his feet.
"Master, Uncle Wang is dead. You can be at ease now."
Yang Wei’s expression was complicated, but there was a hint of pride in it.
"Good that he’s dead."
"It’s even better that you’re alright!"
He didn’t ask for any details, simply patting Liang Cheng’s arm.
"The Dean said you have to go to the Immortal Ascension Conference. This old man’s business is settled, so I’ll head back to the Martial Arts Academy in Lin Wu City. Don’t you worry about things back home."
"Alright."
Yang Wei took a step back, straightened his lapels, and faced Zhong Lishuo with a solemn, cupped-fist salute.
"Dean Zhong, I leave Cheng’Er in your hands."
Zhong Lishuo gave a slight nod.
Without another word, Yang Wei turned and started down the mountain.
Zhong Lishuo gave a slight nod to the Headquarters Steward beside him. The man immediately followed after Yang Wei, saying respectfully, "Martial Arts Hall Master Yang, this junior will escort you back to Lin Wu City."
Yang Wei didn’t refuse, as he also wanted to put Liang Cheng’s mind at ease. "Thank you."
Then he strode away without a single glance back.
Just then, Zhong Lishuo spoke. "I won’t pry into the details of what happened here. I know your character. So I will ask only one thing: do you need the Headquarters to intervene?"
Liang Cheng shook his head.
"This is a grudge I will shoulder alone."
"I will first enter the Penglai Sect. Once I have learned the Refining Spirit Skill and reached the realms of Core Formation and Breaking Mortality, I wish to settle all this cause and effect on my own."
"Excellent!"
Zhong Lishuo’s eyes filled with admiration.
’This is how a true prodigy should be.’
He gestured toward the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle.
"I will personally escort you to Profound Ice Island. We’ll be there in a day. You won’t be late for the Immortal Ascension Conference."
"Thank you, Dean."
Zhong Lishuo led Liang Cheng aboard the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle. With a slight shudder, the Cloud Shuttle rose thirty feet into the air, broke through the sea of clouds, and shot off to the northeast.
...
「Profound Ice Island. The outer grounds of the Immortal Ascension Conference.」
The arena area was a cacophony of voices.
But in the seating area for the Four Islands Alliance Headquarters, the atmosphere was dreadfully heavy.
Seventeen matches, thirteen losses.
Ye Zhiqiu’s chest was wrapped in bandages that were seeping blood, his expression livid.
Xiao Qingxue’s sword hand was still trembling slightly. She had just scraped by with a narrow victory, but anyone could tell her opponent hadn’t been fighting at full strength.
"Is that it?"
In the Profound Turtle Island seating area, a burly young man was toying with a long staff, a wild and arrogant smirk on his face.
"Is this the best the Four Islands Alliance Headquarters can do?"
His name was Meng Hu, the third-ranked Inner Sect Disciple of Profound Turtle Island, at the True Gang Middle Stage.
He was the one who had just defeated the Headquarters’ top disciple, Qin Lie, in three moves of his staff.
"What about that Liang Cheng of yours? The one who beat our Senior Brother Luo Zhan?"
Meng Hu jutted out his chin. "Weren’t there rumors he got a special invitation from the Penglai Sect? What, do specially invited disciples not have to attend the conference?"
No one from the Headquarters seats responded.
Meng Hu’s grin widened. He turned and stepped off the platform.
Below the stage, people from the various factions began to whisper among themselves.
"Have you heard? Liang Cheng went missing in Lost Soul Valley."
"I know, right? He hasn’t shown his face in a month. So what if his Life Token hasn’t shattered? He’s probably paralyzed in bed, waiting for someone to spoon-feed him."
"It’s a shame. Senior Brother Luo lost to him. I was hoping to see how strong this guy really was, but he just turned out to be a coward."
The sound of derisive laughter was harsh and grating.
Ye Zhiqiu shot to his feet, only to be pulled back down by Xiao Qingxue.
"Your wounds haven’t healed yet—"
"So you want me to just sit here and listen to this?"
Xiao Qingxue fell silent.
Just then, the Communication Token at Ye Zhiqiu’s waist vibrated.
"The Dean sent a message! Our junior brother has arrived safely at the Headquarters. He’ll be here soon. We can rest easy for now."
A look of joy appeared on Ye Zhiqiu’s face. He shared the news with Xiao Qingxue, and then, his mind finally at ease, he sat down to meditate and recover.
’Just you wait until my junior brother gets here. Let’s see how long you can keep up this arrogance.’
...
「On the arena platform.」
A disciple from Profound Turtle Island stood with his hands clasped behind his back, one foot pinning a blood-stained longsword to the ground.
The sword’s owner was currently being hastily carried off the platform by a group of Headquarters disciples. He was unconscious, a gash on his chest so deep that bone was visible.
"Is this all the Four Islands Alliance Headquarters is capable of?"
The Profound Turtle Island disciple’s voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried clearly across the entire venue.
"Our Senior Brother Luo Zhan lost to one of you, so I thought the Four Islands Alliance Headquarters must have produced some incredible prodigy."
He glanced down at the blood staining the toe of his boot and shook his head.
"Turns out you’re nothing special after all."
"You—"
In the Headquarters seats, Qin Wentian shot to his feet, only for Xiao Qingxue to force him back down.
"Calm down."
Xiao Qingxue’s voice was low.
"He’s doing it on purpose, trying to bait you onto the platform. You just finished a match and haven’t recovered. Don’t fall for his trap."
Qin Wentian’s chest heaved, his eyes turning red with fury.
Of course, he knew what the man was trying to do.
’But—’
"The great and mighty Headquarters doesn’t even have a single person who dares to fight?"
The Profound Turtle Island disciple scanned his surroundings, the corner of his mouth curling into a sneer.
"And what about that... Liang Cheng?"
"Weren’t there rumors he was recruited ahead of time by the Penglai Saint Sect? So where is he?"
"Could it be... he’s afraid?"
As soon as he said this, scattered laughter and jeers erupted from all corners of the venue.
The gazes from the Martial Dao prodigies of the other seven islands, once filled with probing caution, gradually shifted to amusement and contempt as they looked toward the Headquarters’ seats.
"I heard that Liang Cheng is the one who defeated Senior Brother Luo Zhan."