Chapter 38: The Fish Has Taken the Bait, Counter-Encirclement

While Lin Heng was answering the questions of the Killing Heng Society members in a leisurely manner, the Cloud Sword Palace experts who had previously stepped aside began to move.

They produced chains prepared in advance, piercing the shoulder blades of the Killing Heng Society warriors. They then fed them a poison that suppressed internal energy, cutting off their meridians and sealing their power. These men could not die yet; there was still much information to be extracted from them. Once that intelligence was unearthed, they could wipe out the legacies and hidden backups left behind by their enemies, and also plunder a wealth of spoils from their persons. Of course, they could not be left unattended. To prevent any variables during the coming battle, their combat capability had to be neutralized.

"Master, send the signal. The people from Star Valley and Frost City are here," Lin Heng said, casting his gaze toward the distance. He could sense the sudden appearance of many powerful martial artists, surging toward the Cloud Sword Palace gate without any attempt at concealment. The Killing Heng Society had merely been an appetizer; tonight, the biggest fish had finally taken the bait. Given their speed, the net could be drawn in a matter of seconds.

"As it should be," Xiao Rang replied. He then executed the Ethereal Boundless Sword Technique, striking hundreds of sword beams into the sky in rapid succession. The beams radiated a brilliant white light, illuminating the pitch-black night and signaling all those watching the battlefield.

***

The moment the Killing Heng Society members clashed with Lin Heng, the elemental energy of heaven and earth around the Cloud Sword Palace gate became chaotic. Various formidable auras of intent soared into the sky, acting like lighthouses in the night, detectable from a great distance.

"It seems it is time for us to strike."
"Increase your speed."

Not far from the Cloud Sword Palace gate, the forces of Star Valley and Frost City had already quietly arrived. Upon sensing the aura of the distant battle, Star Valley Master An Nian issued the command.

Martial combat is fast. While it may take many exchanges for evenly matched experts to decide life and death, the lightning-fast speed of their strikes means that battles often conclude in an incredibly short time. Although the fight had only just begun, by the time they arrived, it would likely be drawing to a close. Even if Cloud Sword Palace were left with only a few hundred grandmaster-level martial artists to guard the gate, that level of strength was not something the so-called Killing Heng Society could handle.

The expected outcome was that the Killing Heng Society would be wiped out, while the Cloud Sword Palace experts, relying on their sword formations, would suffer few casualties but experience significant exhaustion, their combat power severely diminished. That would be the perfect moment for the two sides to play the role of the fisherman, harvesting the remaining Cloud Sword Palace experts and fulfilling their ambition to carve up the world between them.

Thus, the force of over two thousand experts stopped concealing their presence. The Star Valley contingent formed the Star Formation, while the Frost City contingent formed the Frost and Wind Formation. With their auras linked, their agility reached its peak. They transformed into blurred shadows invisible to the naked eye, rushing toward the Cloud Sword Palace gate; even the sound of their robes whipping in the wind was left far behind.

As they drew closer to the gate, their excitement surged. Victory was imminent, and a glorious new chapter was about to begin; history was about to be rewritten. Their spirits were heightened to the limit, and everyone’s fighting prowess was sublimated.

"Star Valley and Frost City have come to pay a visit!"

A long roar echoed, and An Nian arrived even faster than his voice. Before he had finished speaking, the over two thousand warriors from the two martial arts holy lands had already formed their ranks steadily upon the practice grounds.

At this moment, the situation on the field was exactly as he had imagined. The Killing Heng Society had been completely annihilated, having failed to pose a real threat; they had even been captured alive in a humiliating fashion, now being chained through their shoulder blades by the warriors of the Cloud Sword Palace.

However, what startled An Nian and his group was that they did not see the exhaustion of internal energy or the panicked expressions they had expected on the faces of the Cloud Sword Palace members. Instead, their expressions were playful, calm, and composed, as if they were watching a troupe of monkeys performing tricks.

In an instant, the high spirits of the triumphant Star Valley and Frost City forces were interrupted, and an inexplicable sense of unease welled up in their hearts.

"Are those Killing Heng Society people so useless that they didn't even drain the Cloud Sword Palace members' power? Are we feeling uneasy because we might have to pay a higher price than expected in the coming battle?" This thought occurred to everyone present.

However, before they could reach a conclusion, their keen martial senses picked up the sound of countless robes whipping through the air from all directions. High-level experts were approaching at extreme speed. Judging by their velocity, they were at least grandmaster-level, and there were many of them—roughly estimated to be two thousand.

Before they could contemplate this further, these experts had arrived at the Cloud Sword Palace gate, surrounding the Star Valley and Frost City forces in turn.

"Impossible! How could you be so united?" Seeing these sudden reinforcements, Star Valley Master An Nian’s face turned pale; he could no longer maintain his composure.

Many of these grandmasters were white-haired and deeply wrinkled, so old they could no longer maintain the appearance of youth. Their presence was understandable—they were retired Cloud Sword Palace experts who had returned to their families to spend their final years. But the appearance of another group left An Nian in absolute disbelief: the grandmasters whom the Cloud Sword Palace leadership had sent out to handle disturbances across the region had returned early.

Furthermore, many experts not affiliated with the Cloud Sword Palace had come to lend their aid. These included leaders and high-ranking officials from the five vassal states under the palace's jurisdiction, as well as figures from neutral factions. Some were even leaders of neutral factions within the territories of Star Valley and Frost City, yet they were all united in their support for the Cloud Sword Palace, standing against the two aggressors.

The thoroughness of these preparations made it clear that their plot had been seen through long ago. The Cloud Sword Palace had played along with their scheme, leading them to this very point. With these reinforcements, combined with the palace's own great grandmasters, their operation had become a joke. They could not kill Lin Heng, nor could they wipe out the Cloud Sword Palace. After expending vast energy and suffering heavy losses in manpower and resources, they had achieved nothing but the disposal of a bunch of demonic cultists.

"Why are we so united? That is an easy question to answer."

"If we don't support the peerlessly talented young master Lin Heng, who has attained the status of a supreme grandmaster at the age of only fifteen, should we support a bunch of withered corpses like you?" one of the experts who had come to assist called out.