Chapter 311

Under the guidance of his subordinates, Lu Xingfeng rode his horse straight to the Tian Shu Sect, while Ning Yao followed closely beside him with a grim expression.

Along the way, Lu Xingfeng's mind kept flashing back to that night over ten years ago when his attempt to seize power failed.

He had originally been sure of victory, but he never expected that Ye Zhiqiu's daughter and Xiao Qidi would inexplicably emerge from the bottom of Zhuiyingjian, instantly reversing the situation.

The result was that he suffered severe injuries and a broken arm, fell into the abyss, and clung to life with only a breath left……

If not for a miracle that let him encounter a Time-Space Gate, cross over to another world, and meet Ning Hai, he would truly have died miserably inside Zhuiyingjian, leaving no trace.

Such an extraordinary experience filled Lu Xingfeng with myriad emotions, and he became even more convinced that he was the chosen one; his past failures and pains did not break him but instead made him stronger.

Soon, the entire Tian Shu Sect, and even Ye Zhiqiu, will crawl at his feet.

Even the whole of Daxuan will become his kingdom, and by then he will be able to reclaim, a hundredfold, what Xiao Qidi and Ye Zhiqiu's daughter owe him!

Just thinking about it made his blood surge and his eyes sparkle with extreme excitement.

So, in order to give Ye Zhiqiu a 'surprise,' he also wore a mask to conceal his appearance.

"President Lu, we've arrived, right here." said the subordinate leading the way.

Lu Xingfeng reined in his horse, looked up, and saw a large gate about ten meters away, with the three large characters 'Tian Shu Sect' written on it.

Inside the gate was a stone slab staircase, with lush trees on both sides.

"Fifteen years have passed, and the Tian Shu Sect not only moved its sect to this place near the bustling market, but even made its gate overly petty—it seems Sect Leader Ye Zhiqiu isn't doing a very good job…" Lu Xingfeng muttered to himself with a cold smile.

"Ye Zhiqiu?" Ning Yao heard the name, both surprised and resentful, "Don't tell me the woman you're looking for also has this name."

Lu Xingfeng turned his head to glance at her, "What do you mean, you know someone named Ye Zhiqiu?"

Neither side thought the name referred to the same person.

Ning Yao's eyes flashed with venomous light, "I really do know someone named Ye Zhiqiu; she's actually a relative of mine, but I'd love to kill her."

Before Lu Xingfeng could ask further, a young man walked out from inside the gate, clasped his hands, and said, "Gentlemen, what brings you here?"

Lu Xingfeng sized up this unfamiliar sect disciple, held his head high, and said coldly, "Tell your Sect Leader to get out and see me."

The young man frowned slightly, "May I ask who you are? To speak so wildly before our Tian Shu Sect. Do you know that our Tian Shu Sect, as the sole ancient sect passed down from antiquity, has now submitted to the Daxuan court and no longer involves itself in the petty squabbles of the martial world?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xingfeng was both angry and amused, "Hahaha! The mighty Tian Shu Sect actually submitted to the Xuán court? Pathetic! Utterly pathetic! Your Sect Leader is a good-for-nothing!"

"If you continue to be this arrogant, don't blame me for being impolite!" the young man warned, drawing the long sword at his waist.

Lu Xingfeng glanced at the long sword and sneered, "Not bad, you even use a refined-iron long sword. Your Sect Leader clearly possesses far superior techniques, yet you let the whole sect fall to this state—women simply aren't capable of great deeds!"

"What are you saying?!" Ning Yao glared at him.

Lu Xingfeng quickly said, "Not including you."

"Bold madman! How dare you insult our Sect Leader!" the young man, unable to contain his rage, leapt forward and thrust his sword at Lu Xingfeng.

Bang!

Lu Xingfeng's subordinate drew a pistol and pulled the trigger.

With a gunshot, the young man crashed to the ground, clutching his bleeding belly, and exclaimed in terror, "This… what kind of weapon is this!"

"Isn't it more powerful than your Sect Leader's personal weapon?" Lu Xingfeng said proudly, "Even if your Sect Leader in this era could possess an extraordinary mind and create firearms, compared to genuine thermal weapons, that's merely child's play!"

The young man, terrified, mustered all his strength despite the pain, turned his head and shouted loudly, "Come quickly! There are bandits causing trouble!"

His voice spread along the direction of the steps.

Soon, a group of disciples wearing sect robes came flying forward, swords in hand.

"I said I want to see your Sect Leader; if a few people don't die, she won't show herself, right?" Lu Xingfeng, facing the sect disciples advancing aggressively, showed no contempt, merely raising his hand casually.

Bang bang bang!

A series of gunshots rang out.

These disciples hadn't even gotten a chance to make a move before they all collapsed in pools of blood.

Some died on the spot, others were on their last breath.

The guard disciple with the relatively lightest injury could only clutch his belly and crawl, rolling and scrambling, to seek help.

Lu Xingfeng, however, had the patience to wait a bit longer, after all today was a good day for his return as king, and he wanted to savor every moment.

Thus he didn't notice at all that Ning Yao, seated on the horse beside him, was staring intently at the blood-soaked ground, a faint red glimmer flickering in her pupils, and even licked the corner of her mouth.

"Who dares to storm my Tian Shu Sect and slaughter my sect disciples!" a low, stern reprimand echoed from afar.

Lu Xingfeng and Ning Yao both snapped back to attention, unconsciously revealing a look of surprise.

Because this voice sounded somewhat… familiar.

Before the voice had finished, a tall, straight figure in white robes shot down the steps like lightning, then steadily landed at the gate, a powerful invisible aura shaking the horses outside so they kept stepping back.

Lu Xingfeng reined in his mount, stared fixedly at the person appearing before him, and the next second his pupils involuntarily contracted.

Even Ning Yao was stunned, she widened her eyes to examine the white-clad person carefully, then looked at Lu Xingfeng in astonishment.

"I am the Sect Leader of the Tian Shu Sect, Lu Xingfeng!" the white-clad person shouted, brandishing his blade with angry eyes, "You petty scoundrels, quickly report your names! I'll leave you a whole corpse!"

Lu Xingfeng's mind went blank, and he froze on horseback.

Ning Yao recovered from her shock, quickly sorted through what she knew, and exclaimed, "So this isn't your world after all? This is another parallel world! Then… this Sect Leader is you in this world?"

Lu Xingfeng had already sensed something was off.

But now, he is unwilling to believe it.

"Tell Ye Zhiqiu to get out and see me!" Lu Xingfeng roared.

The white-robed Lu Xingfeng frowned, "Ye Zhiqiu? Who is that? There's no one named Ye Zhiqiu in our sect! You must have come seeking vengeance and gotten the wrong place!"

"No… there's no Ye Zhiqiu?" Lu Xingfeng's pupils under the mask trembled violently, "You… you're lying to me! Ye Zhiqiu is the current Sect Leader of the Tian Shu Sect! She was taken in as a female disciple by the previous Sect Leader twenty-five years ago! You…"

The white-robed Lu Xingfeng said with a stern face, "What nonsense are you spouting! Our sect never accepts female disciples; as the senior disciple of the former Sect Leader, I succeeded to the position of Sect Leader after his passing. Where on earth did you come from, you lunatic?!"

"How can this be, how can this be! I don't believe it!" Lu Xingfeng grabbed and ripped off the mask on his face.

When an almost identical face appeared before the white-robed Lu Xingfeng, the air seemed to freeze.

The white-robed Lu Xingfeng stared for a moment, then shouted angrily, "Fine! You actually used disguise techniques to impersonate me, the Sect Leader, and came to my sect to kill my disciples! No matter who you are, I'll have your life!"

His words hung in the air, and white‑clothed Lu Xingfeng brandished the Long Sword, thrusting straight forward.

Clang!

A crisp sound rang.

The sharp refined‑iron Long Sword, gripped by Lu Xingfeng on horseback with his right hand on the blade, sparked a shower of sparks.

White‑clothed Lu Xingfeng gasped, "What… what is this martial art?"

Snap!

The Long Sword was instantly crushed.

Lu Xingfeng on the horse dismounted like a phantom, and in the blink of an eye seized white‑clothed Lu Xingfeng's throat, gritting his teeth as he said, "This martial art is called high technology."

White‑clothed Lu Xingfeng's face flushed red as he was choked, circulating Internal Strength to resist, but the next second his neck was crushed.

Lu Xingfeng did not hesitate to kill his other self in this world, his cold face frowning as he said, "Strange… every generation Sect Leader inherits the Tian Xuan Heart Method, yet this guy… his martial art is so poor, his Internal Skill so weak…"

"How do you know… that our sect's lost supreme art is called… called the Tian Xuan Heart Method…" White‑clothed Lu Xingfeng finished the last sentence in terror and confusion, then choked to death.

Lu Xingfeng released his grip, and the white‑clothed corpse fell to the ground like a dead dog.

"Uncle Lu…," Ning Yao dismounted and walked to his side.

Lu Xingfeng's complexion turned extremely grim, blood vessels bulging in his eyes; he let out a sudden roar and, like a madman, charged toward the steps.

Ning Yao and the dozen or so subordinates hurried after him.

Lu Xingfeng stormed into the sect, asking anyone he saw where Ye Zhiqiu was; of course he received no answer, so after questioning each one he killed them.

Ning Yao and the subordinates also joined the slaughter, allowing no one inside the sect to escape.

The many disciples of the Tian Shu Sect possessed martial arts, yet they were no match for the fine firearms.

Two hours later.

From the top to the bottom of the Tian Shu Sect, none were spared; even the livestock and cats and dogs kept by the sect were killed.

Ning Yao slipped past the subordinates, dragged several fresh corpses to a corner, and sucked the blood dry.

She didn't even know what had become of her.

Since more than ten years ago, when she almost died from reckless play and was rescued, she's always had a craving to taste fresh blood.

This uncontrollable urge has grown ever stronger.

But she doesn't want to be seen as a monster, so she endures as best she can, secretly looking for a chance to satisfy it quietly.

After draining the blood, she cleaned everything carefully before going to look for Lu Xingfeng.

At this moment, Lu Xingfeng sat despondently in the sect's main hall, staring blankly at the corpses littering the floor, the air thick with blood scent enough to choke a person.

"Uncle Lu, are you alright…?" Ning Yao stepped into the hall, inhaled a breath of blood‑laden air, and asked cautiously.

Lu Xingfeng remained unresponsive for a long time.

Ning Yao went to his side, sat down, and slowly wrapped her arms around his arm.

After a while longer, Lu Xingfeng looked up weakly and said, "Fifteen years, I have day and night hoped to return for revenge, to reclaim everything that was mine, only to find now that this isn't the world I came from; the heavens really love to play jokes…"

"So, in this world, there is no Ye Zhiqiu you're looking for?" Ning Yao asked.

Lu Xingfeng's eyes filled with pain and resentment, and he nodded slightly, utterly dejected.

A hint of joy rose on Ning Yao's face.

She still doesn't know what grudge Ye Zhiqiu from Lu Xingfeng's world holds against him, but her intuition tells her it must be a love‑and‑hate kind.

Even if Lu Xingfeng found him, he'd be reluctant to kill him, perhaps even keep him by his side.

Wouldn't that make him a rival in love?

Now this situation actually eases her mind.

"Alright, don't be so down," Ning Yao soothed softly, "Just consider that woman already dead."

Lu Xingfeng said nothing, the anger and resentment in his eyes showing no sign of abating.

"President, we have searched everywhere, there is no martial arts manual you mentioned," a subordinate reported in the hall.

Lu Xingfeng gave a bitter smile, "Heh… no wonder the Tian Shu Sect in this world has become so poor; it seems the supreme art left by the founding masters truly is lost. Never mind, my hopes are shattered; what's the point of seeking that thing?"

"Uncle Lu, you mustn't become despondent," Ning Yao said, "We still have to conquer Asia and the remaining lands."

Lu Xingfeng narrowed his eyes, murderous intent blazing, "Of course I can't be despondent; this flood of hatred must be vented. Since I can't find Ye Zhiqiu, then let everyone in Daxuan be sacrificed."

"Yao Yao, do you want to try what it feels like to hunt within the most advanced civilization's strongest empire of this era?"

He looked down at Ning Yao, his face bearing a wildly twisted grin.

Ning Yao also became excited, nodding repeatedly.

Lu Xingfeng took her hand and said, "Fine, then we'll kill first, lest we wait for our main force to arrive and we won't have enough to kill."

——

Another world.

The news that the Eastern Yi Islands have been completely cleared has already reached Xuan Guo.

During that time, Xuan Guo also launched a campaign into the Northern Region, annihilated the Xiongnu, and expanded its northern territories.

Xiao Qidi looked at the Xuan Guo map before him, now showing a massive addition of territories, and then turned his gaze to regions beyond its borders.

Conquering the steppe Xiongnu in the north, wiping out the island Yi tribes in the east, is only the first step of sweeping across the Eurasian continent and crossing the Pacific Ocean; farther away lie many vast lands.

However, future expansion will no longer require the thorough cleansing used for the Eastern Yi Islands, since the root of Huaxia's external threats in this world has been eradicated.

Moreover, Xuan Guo's aim is not merely territorial expansion; more importantly, it seeks to magnify Huaxia civilization, to free the whole world from barbarism and ignorance, and to let all humanity soar.

Only by allowing civilization to endure and continuously develop can a Spacetime Portal be opened one day.

Only then could he hope to return to that world again, and perhaps see once more the person he cannot forget…

Xiao Qidi pondered for a long while, then on a thick new document beside him, he wrote four characters—"Millennium Plan."

Besides, he took out a letter written last night from the desk cabinet.

The letter had already been sealed, he wrote line after line of small characters on the back of the envelope—

"If in my lifetime technology has not yet found that world, please, future generations, after a hundred years of my passing, keep my ashes safe; until one day in the future it succeeds, then bury my ashes in the land of that world. I suppose by then Ning Jinli will also no longer be among the living, so please have someone burn this letter before her tombstone."