Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When Cao Duantian devised this set-up, his father and the Sect Patriarch of the Tiger Subdue Sect were not in the know. Cao Duantian thought that Jiang Yi was definitely going to die. Furthermore, the one who acted was not him but Qiu Bai, Huo Gu, and Meng Da. Even if Mo Shen pursued the matter, it would not implicate him.
Taking 10,000 steps back—even if Mo Shen somehow managed to piece the whole incident together and guessed that the mastermind was Cao Duantian, so what? Without proof, would Mo Shen dare to go to Tiger Subdue Mountain to create trouble? Sect Patriarch Cao was not known as the second strongest in the Snow Region for nothing.
What he did not expect was that the formidable martial artists from all three races—combined with the Fire Chi Race that could effectively negate Jiang Yi’s Icebound Thousand Miles—were ultimately not able to kill him. Even Mo Yao’er had escaped. Jiang Yi had even annihilated the formidable martial artists from the three races!
All this was actually not that big a concern. The matter at hand now was that a Demigod Eldress from Heaven Hidden Sect was just in the vicinity and had witnessed the entire incident. If word of what happened spread, Cao Duantian would become everyone’s target.
Not only the three races, but even Heaven Devil Race would be looking to confront him. He would definitely not be able to remain as young clan head as well. Tiger Subdue Sect could even be attacked by the various races. If Heaven Hidden Sect intervened, Tiger Subdue Sect could even be eliminated.
Plop!
The thought of all this weakened Cao Duantian’s legs as he immediately knelt down. He bowed deeply to Fifth Eldress, and fearfully said, “Fifth Eldress, I was momentarily blinded by ambition. Please be magnanimous and forgive Duantian this time.”
“Keke!”
Jiang Yi smiled mockingly. He did not know the seriousness of this matter and didn’t know the stature of the Heaven Hidden Sect in the Snow Region. He was purely looking at the spineless Cao Duantian with disdain—a Young Master such as him kneeling down.
“There is no use in you kneeling in front of me.”
Fifth Eldress said expressionlessly, “The Heaven Hidden Sect has never intervened in the disputes of the Snow Region. We were here to see the ice flowers and thus, by coincidence, passed by this area. Young Clan Head Duantian, since I had encountered this incident, I naturally wish for a peaceful settlement. I hope there will be no more slaughtering, and that you can put this matter to rest. As long as the various races do not start fighting again, that would be a blessing to mankind, a blessing to the Snow Region. What do you think?”
“Fifth Eldress’ teachings are absolutely right. Duantian will strive to fulfill Fifth Eldress’ wishes.”
Cao Duantian hurriedly cupped his hands in response and sighed with relief. Fifth Eldress did not seem to have the intention to pursue this matter any further; she was just trying to be a pseudo saint this once. Her intentions were clear: Duantian was to put this matter to rest and to prevent the three races and the Heaven Devil Race from fighting. Then, this matter would be considered over.
Put this matter to rest?
Thinking about this gave him a headache. Three young clan heads and so many martial experts were dead; how could he put this matter to rest? How was he going to give an explanation to the three clan heads? He couldn’t possibly say that they were all killed by the ice beasts?
That’s right! The Ice Beast King!
Cao Duantian swiftly thought of a good idea. There was an Ice Beast King imprisoned in Tiger Subdue Sect. He could release this Ice Beast King and fabricate the battlefield. Since there were no witnesses nearby, this matter could be covered up as much.
“Mo Xing!”
Cao Duantian gazed towards Mo Xing, his murderous look vanishing in a flash. He silently told himself that when there was a chance in the future, he would definitely kill Jiang Yi to avenge what had happened today.
“Jiang Yi, three others were watching nearby. I had already taken care of them.”
In the meantime, Fifth Eldress and Jiang Yi were trading voice transmissions. She paused for a while and continued her transmission. “You wish to borrow Heaven Devil Race’s hand to eliminate the Dwarf Race; this idea is not bad. However, you were too anxious. I have helped you to settle this incident, but you are on your own from now on. The Heaven Hidden Sect cannot intervene too much into the disputes in the Snow Region. This is our Sect rules.
“You should go back to Heaven Devil Race first and cultivate your abilities for a period of time, before continuing to plan your next step. Do not worry about Ruoxue. She possesses a rare Astral Body; the elders in the Sect all love her very much. She would not suffer the slightest in Heaven Hidden Sect.”
“My thanks to Fifth Eldress!”
Jiang Yi cupped his hands in thanks and looked deeply at Su Ruoxue. He ran far away and never looked back once.
Su Ruoxue’s gaze was cold as ice; never once had she looked directly at Jiang Yi. At the moment when he was about to leave, she finally looked at his back as he left, her eyes carrying a sliver of confusion.
Fifth Eldress waited for Jiang Yi to leave, then looked towards Cao Duantian, and said, “Young Clan Head Duantian. You should head back too. Do your best to resolve this matter. If the various races start fighting because of this, I will personally make a trip up Tiger Subdue Mountain.”
“Let’s go!”
After speaking, Fifth Eldress looked towards the four Saint Ladies. The five of them rose up into the air and floated away like immortals.
“Huff, huff…”
Cao Duantian forcibly suppressed his recklessness and took a few long breaths. He ordered, “All to spread out and put this area on lockdown. Do not let anyone come near. Shishui, you will go back with me. Let’s look for Father and Sect Patriarch and ask for forgiveness.”
“Lockdown?”
A few elders were a little confused as they looked at Cao Duantian. The latter sighed helplessly and said, “The only way to settle this matter now is to release the Ice Beast King that we have locked up. If not, we have no explanation to offer the Clan Heads from the three races. You all must remember never to let anyone find out what happened. If not, the Tiger Subdue Sect will be doomed eternally.”
“Ice Beast King?”
The few elders’ faces soured. This Ice Beast King caused the Tiger Subdue Sect much grief back then. In order to capture it, the Tiger Subdue Sect sacrificed thousands of lives while the Sect Patriarch also personally joined the fray in the end. It was originally captured for Cao Duantian to make the final breakthrough; it will definitely be hunted and killed by the three races if it was released. This would be a huge loss to the Tiger Subdue Sect.
“Mo Xing, I swear to kill you!”
It would be a huge loss for Cao Duantian, too. He gritted his teeth as he swore loudly, his face filled with anguish and fury as he ran northward as fast as he could.
“What are the people from Tiger Subdue Sect doing?”
From thousand-odd miles away from the Ice Island to the west, Jiang Yi was sitting cross-legged in the ice layer. He had not gone back to Heaven Devil Race; he also didn’t go and look for Mo Yao’er and company. He had already been sitting here for a full two days, using his Divine Perception to investigate.
Fifth Eldress had said that he was too impatient and asked him to go back and cultivate further before planning his next move. However, Jiang Yi could wait no longer. Living like this was extremely arduous for him. As long as the Dwarf Race was not eliminated, he could not eat or sleep.
Since Fifth Eldress had appeared and had evidence against Cao Duantian—in the near future, there was no way Cao Duantian would dare to come and kill Jiang Yi. They would also have thought that he had gone back to Heaven Devil Mountain. He was very safe here.
He had investigated for two days, wanting to know how Cao Duantian would resolve this matter.
The death of three young clan heads and so many formidable martial artists, if made known to all, would rile up the three races involved. If Cao Duantian was not able to come up with a reasonable explanation, the Fifth Eldress would help him to explain. Hence, Jiang Yi wanted to find out what Cao Duantian was up to and if there was any opportunity Jiang Yi could make use of.
Using the Heaven Devil Race to destroy the Dwarf Race was one possibility; for the Dwarf Race, Fire Chi Race, and the Mammoth Race to engage in battle with the Tiger Subdue Sect was another. As long as the Dwarf Race started a battle with other races—depleting its strength, all that was left would be to chase them out of Dwarf Mountain.
For the past two days, the disciples from Tiger Subdue Sect were constantly patrolling a thousand-mile radius around the Ice Island. Any martial artist that came close to the Ice Island was warned and made to leave. Jiang Yi gathered that Cao Duantian was trying to prevent the information from leaking; Jiang Yi was waiting for Cao Duantian’s next move.
Roar!
On the fourth day, Cao Duantian’s next move finally showed itself. From the direction of the Ice Island came a ferocious roar. The sound was earth-shaking; Jiang Yi could hear it from a thousand miles away.
“Is this an Ice Beast King or an Ice Imp King? Cao Duantian’s plan to push the blame to someone else is admittedly not bad!”
Jiang Yi’s eyes widened as he thought furiously. He smiled and said, “Since Cao Duantian wants to muddy the waters, let me help to make the waters muddier. After all, only when the waters are muddy can I take advantage of the situation.”
