Chapter 549 - 331: Enough
Chapter 549: Chapter 331: Enough
"Haha... Brother Xu, Brother Sun, I knew you guys would be fine." A hearty laugh rang out. Xu Yang and Sun Tao turned around to see Jiang Fan walking over with a few young men.
Their clothes were somewhat torn, clearly indicating they had just endured a bitter battle. Jiang Fan, in particular, bore several distinct Fist Seals on his body; blood stained the corners of his mouth, and his aura was unsteady.
"I wanted to help you, but my opponents were too strong. I didn’t want to drag you down with me," Jiang Fan said with a chuckle.
Sun Tao smiled. "We appreciate the thought, Brother Jiang. We felt the exact same way."
"Brother Jiang, who beat you up like this?" Xu Yang asked curiously. The people accompanying Jiang Fan all possessed powerful auras—they were undoubtedly geniuses on the Lingyun List—yet every single one of them was injured.
"I did, naturally," Li Chuyang’s voice rang out.
Xu Yang looked over his shoulder. Li Chuyang strode over, also flanked by several young men with formidable auras. The moment they locked eyes with Jiang Fan’s group, the atmosphere grew instantly tense.
"Cut the act. You aren’t in much better shape than I am," Jiang Fan scoffed coldly.
Li Chuyang’s hair was a mess, his robes were stained with blood, and his aura was just as unsteady. Xu Yang used to think Li Chuyang merely picked fights with Jiang Fan because of a belligerent nature. Now, it was apparent there was a deep-seated grudge between them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have rallied their respective crews for a brawl during such a critical event as the Secondary Dragon Ascension.
"We were just short on time. If we had exchanged another hundred blows, I definitely would have defeated you," Li Chuyang said with a conceited expression.
Jiang Fan couldn’t be bothered to bandy words with him and simply found a line to queue up in.
"Xu Yang, Sun Tao, weren’t you eliminated by Huo Xiaochen and Lin Jingyu? Don’t tell me you’re trying to slip through unnoticed. Didn’t you hear Dean Chu’s warning?" Qi Xuancheng, who had been trailing Li Chuyang’s group, suddenly spoke up, looking utterly surprised. In his mind, there was no way Xu Yang and Sun Tao should have passed this trial.
At his words, Li Chuyang and the others glanced over. Since they were all Dragon Ascending Disciples, they were naturally aware of the feud between Xu Yang’s group and Huo Xiaochen.
"If a mediocrity like you can pass, then we must be slipping through unnoticed?" Xu Yang chuckled.
Qi Xuancheng’s face darkened instantly. "Are Huo Xiaochen and Lin Jingyu really such trash that they couldn’t even eliminate you?"
Liu Rumei, Zhang Jun, and the others looked at Qi Xuancheng in astonishment. They couldn’t believe someone actually had the nerve to call Huo Xiaochen and Lin Jingyu trash. None of them mentioned that Xu Yang’s group had beaten Lin Jingyu to death; instead, they just stared at Qi Xuancheng like he was a clown.
"Perhaps they never ran into each other," Li Chuyang offered. Once a chaotic melee broke out, you couldn’t always find the exact opponent you wanted to fight. If they hadn’t kept their eyes locked on Jiang Fan’s crew from the very beginning, they might not have had the chance to clash either.
"Huo Xiaochen is here. Why don’t you ask him yourself if he’s trash?" Sun Tao suddenly laughed, pointing behind them.
Qi Xuancheng turned around to see Huo Xiaochen, Kong Cheng, and the others walking over with sullen expressions. Huo Xiaochen was glaring at him with cold, sinister eyes.
Qi Xuancheng’s face immediately paled. He hadn’t expected the man in question to overhear him, though Huo Xiaochen’s temper seemed unusually mild today.
"Huo Xiaochen is injured. Who managed to hurt him?" one of Li Chuyang’s companions asked, clearly moved upon seeing the bloodstains and pale face.
"It was probably Gu Qingfeng," Qi Xuancheng said. He knew that Gu Qingfeng had agreed to help Xu Yang’s group fight Huo Xiaochen’s side in exchange for academic credits.
"I wasn’t the one who injured Huo Xiaochen," Gu Qingfeng said, shaking his head.
"I was talking about Gu Qingfeng, not you," Qi Xuancheng glared back. He didn’t recognize Gu Qingfeng by sight.
"He *is* Gu Qingfeng!" Li Chuyang announced.
Qi Xuancheng’s expression changed slightly. He hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "I was blind to greatness. Please forgive my ignorance, Brother Gu."
"You certainly are blind," Gu Qingfeng said. He was referring to the fact that Qi Xuancheng had no idea about Xu Yang and Sun Tao’s true strength, nor did he know they had already slaughtered Lin Jingyu. But he couldn’t be bothered to explain. Watching Qi Xuancheng make a fool of himself was quite entertaining.
Li Chuyang was also rather curious as to why Huo Xiaochen hadn’t eliminated Xu Yang and the others. He cupped his hands toward Huo Xiaochen and asked, "Brother Huo, exactly who did you face to end up so heavily injured? By the way, why don’t I see Brother Lin Jingyu and the others?"
Having attended the Kong Family banquet, he was acquainted with both Huo Xiaochen and Lin Jingyu, so it was only natural for him to strike up a conversation.
Hearing Li Chuyang poke right at their sore spot, Xu Yang, Gu Qingfeng, and the rest looked curiously at Huo Xiaochen’s group. Kong Cheng, Fang Xu, and Huo Xiaochen all twitched, their faces dark and silent.
"Is there something you can’t say, Brother Huo?" Li Chuyang frowned. Even if they had faced a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride, there was no need to be so secretive about it.
At this moment, Huo Xiaochen wanted nothing more than to tear Li Chuyang’s mouth off. Had he not lost enough face already?
"Brother Fang..." Li Chuyang turned to Fang Xu.
Fang Xu shot a glance at Huo Xiaochen and whispered, "Stop asking, Brother Li. Lin Jingyu is dead."
BOOM!
His words exploded like a thunderclap in the minds of Li Chuyang and his companions, leaving everyone around them completely dumbfounded. The surrounding crowd, who had been chatting about the previous battles, instantly fell silent and stared at Fang Xu in shock.
"Lin Jingyu is dead?" Li Chuyang gasped.
A genius ranked eleventh on the Lingyun List had actually been beaten to death. No wonder Huo Xiaochen and the others looked so terrible. Li Chuyang had personally witnessed just how terrifying Lin Jingyu’s talent was during the Kong Family banquet. He never expected such a genius to be killed in a chaotic free-for-all.
"How is that possible..." Qi Xuancheng’s mind was in turmoil. He had heard rumors earlier that geniuses from the Lingyun List had fallen, but he hadn’t expected Lin Jingyu to be among them. No wonder Xu Yang and Sun Tao were completely unharmed.
"Who did it?" Li Chuyang asked, utterly appalled. Even though Fang Xu had told him to stop asking, how could anyone not be curious upon hearing about Lin Jingyu’s death?
From all directions, everyone who overheard the news of Lin Jingyu’s death looked at Fang Xu with burning curiosity.
Fang Xu’s face twitched as he glanced toward Xu Yang and Sun Tao, who were standing right next to Li Chuyang. Before the selection began, their side had openly boasted about eliminating those two. Now, with Lin Jingyu dead and Huo Xiaochen injured, he simply couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. Furthermore, he had to consider the dignity of Huo Xiaochen and the Kong Family. Even though he remained silent, his gaze made it perfectly clear who was responsible.
"You... you killed Lin Jingyu?" Li Chuyang looked at Xu Yang and Sun Tao in sheer astonishment, his mind reeling. So the culprits were standing right next to him. No wonder Huo Xiaochen and the others were so tight-lipped and looked so grim when he asked.
"Impossible! How could they ever be a match for Lin Jingyu!" Qi Xuancheng wore an expression of absolute disbelief, refusing to accept that Xu Yang and Sun Tao had killed Lin Jingyu under any circumstances.
Gu Qingfeng, Liu Rumei, and the rest looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Don’t slander us. We had a great relationship with Brother Lin. How could we possibly kill him? He succumbed to his own heavy injuries," Xu Yang said, shaking his head and putting on a look of deep regret. He had no intention of carrying the reputation of being Lin Jingyu’s murderer.
Liu Rumei, Gu Qingfeng, and the others who had witnessed his ruthless methods felt their mouths twitch, wondering what the difference was between succumbing to heavy injuries and being beaten to death by him.
"Xu Yang and Sun Tao beat Lin Jingyu to death?"
"No wonder Huo Xiaochen’s face looked so awful!"
"What a twist! Huo Xiaochen and Lin Jingyu were the ones who lost."
Seeing Xu Yang implicitly admit it, the crowd erupted into an uproar. Lin Jingyu hadn’t run into a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride after all; he had been killed by the combined efforts of Xu Yang and Sun Tao.
"You guys..." Qi Xuancheng was horrified. "How is that possible? It has to be fake. Huo Xiaochen is standing right over there, and you still have the nerve to brag."
"Enough!" Huo Xiaochen’s furious shout rang out. The more Qi Xuancheng put him on a pedestal, the more humiliated he felt.
Qi Xuancheng jumped in fright. Looking at Huo Xiaochen’s gloomy expression, he had no choice but to accept the truth, regardless of how much he wanted to deny it.
"Xu Yang and Sun Tao beat Lin Jingyu to death..." His scalp tingled with dread. To think he had been repeatedly parading himself like a clown in front of these two! Earlier, he had even wanted to goad Li Chuyang into eliminating them, only giving up on the idea because Li Chuyang was too busy dealing with Jiang Fan.
"They actually managed to kill Lin Jingyu..." Li Chuyang still wore a look of disbelief. He had witnessed Lin Jingyu’s talent firsthand at the Kong Family estate, yet the man had surprisingly died at the hands of Xu Yang and Sun Tao. He desperately wanted to ask Xu Yang and Sun Tao how they had managed to pull it off, but upon seeing the icy expressions on Kong Cheng and Huo Xiaochen’s faces, he could only swallow his curiosity.
"Many thanks, Brother Wu. If it weren’t for you, Junior Sister Ye and I might not have made it past this trial," Zhang Hanzhou said, a fawning expression on his face.
The "Brother Wu" he referred to was none other than Wu Xiuyuan, who ranked twelfth on the Lingyun List. Among all of Ye Qiuling’s suitors, Wu Xiuyuan held the highest ranking, which was why she had ultimately chosen to team up with him. By sticking close to Ye Qiuling and relying on Wu Xiuyuan’s protection, Zhang Hanzhou had finally survived the chaotic melee.
"We are all friends here. There’s no need for thanks," Wu Xiuyuan waved his hand magnanimously.
"Friends are friends, but gratitude should still be expressed where it is due," Ye Qiuling said, cupping her hands.
A fiery passion flashed in the depths of Wu Xiuyuan’s eyes. "There’s no need to be so polite, Miss Ye. Even without me, who would have the heart to hurt you?"
"But we did team up in the end," Ye Qiuling replied, her face completely serious.
Zhang Hanzhou couldn’t help but marvel inwardly at Ye Qiuling’s impressive tactics. Even though Wu Xiuyuan had been the one sheltering them, under her masterful manipulation, he didn’t dare claim the slightest bit of credit.
Suddenly, Zhang Hanzhou’s eyes lit up as he spotted Qi Xuancheng, Li Chuyang, and their group. "Haha! Brother Wu, Junior Sister Ye, Qi Xuancheng and the others passed as well. Let’s go over and say hello."
Zhang Hanzhou strode forward. Ye Qiuling nodded and quickly followed suit.
Although Wu Xiuyuan looked down on Zhang Hanzhou and Qi Xuancheng, they were Ye Qiuling’s fellow disciples. He had no choice but to smile and follow along. He knew that Ye Qiuling was kind-hearted and cared deeply about her peers. Since she was still maintaining a hot-and-cold attitude toward him, he couldn’t afford to let his true feelings show.
"Qi Xuancheng, what are you zoning out for?" Zhang Hanzhou asked as he marched up to him.
"I... I wasn’t zoning out," Qi Xuancheng replied casually, still reeling from the shock that Xu Yang and Sun Tao had beaten Lin Jingyu to death.
"Not zoning out? It looks like your soul has left your body. Did you run into some master?" Zhang Hanzhou teased.
As he spoke, his gaze swept casually over the group, noticing that Li Chuyang looked equally out of it. Then, he spotted Xu Yang and Sun Tao standing nearby.
Zhang Hanzhou looked surprised. "Eh? Xu Yang, Sun Tao? Huo Xiaochen and Lin Jingyu actually let you off the hook? You guys sure have some dumb luck."