Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

The alliance of teams from the imperial family, Ascending Dragon Academy, Monastery Tower, and Night Saber Sect was currently led by the Sixth Princess.

Since Zhang Chen had joined, his opinion carried equal weight. However, due to his modest and gentle personality and his reluctance to be in the spotlight, he rarely spoke.

Some time before, someone delivered them a letter.

"It's Ye Yongxing from the Celestial Pivot Pavilion," the Sixth Princess said to the group after reading it. "He invites us to join forces in an attack against the alliance led by the Mount Shu Sect."

"Celestial Pivot Pavilion?" Guo Zhanfeng responded. "They're likely allied with the Celestial King Sect and the Sea King Sect, both of which are powerful teams. If we can join forces with them, we should have no trouble taking down the alliance of the Mount Shu Sect, Great Astral Sect, and their allies."

"Chu Liang secured a large number of soul crystals from the Penglai Supreme Sect. If we divide his loot between our sects, it should be more than enough to guarantee our advancement to the next round," added Feng Yan from Monastery Tower.

"But…" Zhang Chen hesitated slightly. "The Celestial King Sect has always maintained friendly ties with the Mount Shu Sect. At such a crucial moment, would they really be willing to trample on the Mount Shu Sect?"

"Feng Chaoyang is all brawn and no brains. He probably won't even consider such matters," Guo Zhanfeng said. "Feng Chaoyang has always seen himself as a rival to Yang Shenlong. With Chu Liang having killed Yang Shenlong, he'll naturally want to test his own strength against him."

"While Yang Shenlong was alive, no one dared to compare; now that he's dead, all these so-called 'equals' are crawling out of the woodwork," Guo Zhanlei scoffed.

The Sixth Princess passed the letter around before saying, "It's precisely because Chu Liang had the power to eliminate Yang Shenlong that they fear him now. The letter from Ye Yongxing mentions that he has divination abilities and he foresaw that the Mount Shu Sect would win the championship in this Assembly of Immortal Sects. This is our only opportunity to kill Chu Liang. If we let him advance to the round of the Battle of the Imperial City, it will be even more difficult to eliminate him."

For those participating in the Assembly of Immortal Sects, everyone's ultimate goal was victory. Even if two sects had good relations in ordinary times, it was normal to disregard that at such a moment.

The Thirteenth Prince said, "Opportunities like this are rare, and missing it might mean it won't come again. We should act. If we're concerned about any ambush or deception, we can take precautions and make preparations."

"…"

After a brief discussion, the group gathered their forces, raised their sabers, and began advancing.

As they charged toward the location provided by Ye Yongxing, they spotted a young monk in white robes, standing on a hillside and patiently pushing a small wooden cart.

In the cart sat a delicate-looking young man with a serene smile on his face, softly humming, "I sat on the tower, gazing at the mountain scenery[1]..."

Everyone instantly recognized him. "Chu Liang!"

"Brother Zhang, long time no see," Chu Liang greeted Zhang Chen with a smile before calling out loudly to the group below the hill. "Forgive me, I'm injured and unable to rise to greet you, so please, come up on the hill and let's all have a chat."

His calm demeanor, however, made everyone pause in their tracks.

It was only recently that people began to learn of Chu Liang's existence. He had quickly risen to fame across the lands of the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten, gaining a reputation for his exceptional cunning.

At this moment, as he faced the huge group of fierce people, he didn't hide or flee but instead invited them up on the hill. Could this be some kind of trap?

"Hmph, he's just bluffing," Guo Zhanfeng scoffed, readying himself to strike.

At that moment, Pushan, standing beside Chu Liang, suddenly lifted his robe, causing Guo Zhanfeng to pause.

Then, they watched as Monk Pushan pulled out a feather fan and began fanning himself casually, a sly, wicked smile spreading across his face, as if he was saying, "Come on up."

"…" This provocative attitude instantly enraged the crowd.

Not only did Guo Zhanfeng move forward, but the warrior monks of Monastery Tower also strode ahead, ready to attack.

Just then, Monk Pushan lifted his robe once more and abruptly turned around, as if reaching for something.

The crowd halted once more.

When Pushan turned back, they saw he was holding an orange, which he began peeling calmly before taking a bite.

"…" The group was speechless.

If you are just taking out an orange, why are you being so dramatic?

At this moment, the Thirteenth Prince shouted, "Clearly, their main force is occupied fighting the Celestial Pivot Pavilion; they're just putting on an act to stall us. Move up quickly and finish them off!"

No one disagreed with his statement. Without hesitation, they surged forward, each one leaping up the hillside.

…

As the alliance led by the team from the imperial family flew up the hillside, a deep rumbling filled the air. The skies darkened abruptly, and a force as ancient as the primordial wilderness descended, pressing down with an overwhelming intent to crush everything in its path.

Suddenly, a large number of men leapt out from both sides.

So, it really is an ambush after all? This thought flashed through the minds of everyone in the imperial family's alliance.

They were surrounded by members of the Great Astral Sect, South Melody Conservatory, and the Valley of the Three Absolutes...

In addition to the teams in the alliance led by Chu Liang of the Mount Shu Sect, there were also teams from the Celestial Pivot Pavilion, the Celestial King Sect, and the Sea King Sect.

These teams, who should have been allied with the imperial family, now stood alongside Chu Liang's alliance.

The powerful formation that now trapped the imperial family and its allies was, in fact, crafted by Ye Yongxing.

The genius from the Celestial Pivot Pavilion was also well-versed in the art of formations.

If the forces of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion, the Celestial King Sect, and the Sea King Sect had suddenly attacked, the members of the imperial family's alliance might still have had a chance to escape. But now, they were trapped within this formation. Their movements were restricted, and it was too late to flee.

The men from the Great Astral Sect and the Celestial King Sect charged into the imperial family and its allies like unleashed wild dogs, crashing through with ferocious intensity.

The forces of South Melody Conservatory and Celestial Pivot Pavilion provided support that worked like magic. On the other hand, the Sea King Sect and the Valley of the Three Absolutes played similar roles, flanking and launching ambushes with precision.

Ye Yongxing stood beside Chu Liang, smiling as he said, "If you hadn't devised this clever strategy to lure them into our trap, capturing all of them in one sweep wouldn't have been so easy."

"It's all thanks to Brother Ye's divination calculations. Your foresight in predicting the enemy's moves in advance was far more crucial," Chu Liang replied, returning the compliment.

"It's all thanks to your cleverness," Ye Yongxing said.

"Brother Ye played an important role," Chu Liang replied with a grin.

Monk Pushan watched the two of them exchange smiles and compliments, and the phrase "partners in crime" immediately popped into his mind.

He chuckled and said, "Both of you played a crucial role in the success of this operation; there's no need to be modest."

Unexpectedly, Ye Yongxing, who had been chatting freely with Chu Liang, glanced over at Pushan and suddenly wore an expression of discomfort, as if he couldn't bear to look at Pushan's face. Without saying a word, he quickly turned his face away.

"…" Pushan had grown used to it.

Ye Yongxing usually only spoke normally with Chu Liang. When he spoke with other Celestial Pivot Pavilion members, he tended to retreat into silence, so Pushan knew that Ye Yongxing was not targeting him.

The battle on the other side was quickly nearing its end, with most of the teams in the alliance led by the imperial family wiped out, leaving only the Thirteenth Prince standing.

He simply dropped his weapon, sat on the ground, and smiled.

"Huh?" Chu Liang looked at him curiously. "Why is Your Highness smiling?"

"I laugh because you are still not wise enough," the Thirteenth Prince said as he shook his head. "We expected that this might be a trick, so we entrusted all the soul crystals to someone else. Even if you kill us here, you won't gain much."

Chu Liang had noticed this from the start.

Of the men sent to attack the alliance led by the Mount Shu Sect, only Zhang Chen from the Ascending Dragon Academy and Guo Zhanfeng from the Night Saber Sect were present. Additionally, one warrior monk from the Monastery Tower was absent.

It was normal for some members to be absent. Clearly, they were worried that the main forces might face danger, so they assigned one member from each team to hold onto most of the soul crystals. This ensured that their sects had a chance to advance to the next round.

The imperial family likely didn't care about advancing, which explained why both the Sixth Princess and the Thirteenth Prince were here.

"Then let's wish them luck," Chu Liang replied with a smile.

…

On a rocky shore by the coast, Xu Fangling, Guo Zhanlei, and a warrior monk from Monastery Tower were gathered together, each feeling somewhat disheartened.

Fearing that this mission might be a trap, they had entrusted most of the soul crystals to these three, instructing them not to participate in the battle and to survive at all costs.

Although the three were the weaker fighters in their respective groups, they still wanted to participate, so naturally, they felt disgruntled.

"What's that?" Xu Fangling suddenly noticed a glimmer over the distant waves and gazed at it with curiosity.

Then she saw clearly—a cultivator appeared to be walking across the waves, his entire form glowing with a radiant light.

"An enemy?" The three immediately stood up, their senses on high alert.

In the blink of an eye, the radiant figure landed before them. It was a tall young man with a slightly lazy demeanor, as though he had just woken up.

"Ah…" he yawned, then looked at the three of them and said, "Apologies, everyone, but your soul crystals will be mine."

"Who are you?" Guo Zhanlei roared. "You certainly have a lot of nerve."

The young man responded leisurely, "I am Li Guanlong from the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals."

1. Script from Beijing opera Empty Fort Strategy. Talks about how the legendary strategist Zhuge Liang tricked the enemy into thinking that an empty location is full of traps and ambushes, and therefore tricked the enemy into retreating... ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: GT