"Wait, wait... let me catch my breath."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Zhang Daoyuan suddenly felt a headache and quickly held onto a chair to sit down, nearly collapsing.
The eighth-rank extraordinary from the Hongchen Pavilion had been captured?
The Tianluo Ghost King, whom their Zheng Yi Sect had been pursuing for a hundred years, had been dealt with by Ye Ling?
The thought of these things made Zhang Daoyuan feel incredibly shocked, even struggling to breathe.
From the beginning, everything Ye Ling had done or said had surpassed ordinary comprehension.
Zhang Daoyuan knew Ye Ling was strong, even believing Ye Ling was qualified to contend for the title of China's strongest extraordinary.
But even China's strongest could not effortlessly distort space, nor could they casually deal with an eighth-rank extraordinary!
Zhang Xia Xia was also bewildered, unsure how to describe her feelings.
"Master Ye... are what you said true?"
Zhang Xia Xia asked cautiously. Although she knew Ye Ling had no reason to lie to them, what Ye Ling said was simply too shocking.
Destroying the Tianluo Ghost King... this had been the aspiration of the Zheng Yi Sect for a hundred years, the wish of generations of Heavenly Masters!
Countless elders had shed tears on their deathbeds, and countless Heavenly Masters had disappeared while searching for the Tianluo Ghost King...
If the Tianluo Ghost King was truly destroyed, then the Heavenly Masters resting in the netherworld could finally find peace.
This matter was too significant for Zhang Xia Xia to believe.
"There's no need to lie to you about this, and I estimate that people from the Dragon Department will notify you soon. You'll understand then."
"However, I didn't call you here to discuss the Tianluo Ghost King. This fellow is the real crisis your Zheng Yi Sect needs to face now."
Ye Ling kicked Zhang Qi, who was lying on the ground, and said to Zhang Daoyuan.
After catching his breath, Zhang Daoyuan managed to calm down and asked Ye Ling, "Master Ye, what do you mean?"
Now that the assassins had been apprehended, what danger could their Zheng Yi Sect still face?
Ye Ling said, "Don't forget, it was the Hongchen Pavilion that targeted you, not this guy."
"He's just a pawn."
"Although I dealt with Zhang Qi, I can still contact the Hongchen Pavilion using his identity, but the Hongchen Pavilion has already begun to suspect my identity, and another member of the assassination team is still hiding from me."
"He is skilled in disguise. He should have transformed into one of your Zheng Yi Sect's Heavenly Masters by now. He is the true blade of the Hongchen Pavilion."
"There are other assassins..."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Zhang Daoyuan realized the seriousness of the situation, and his expression turned solemn.
The Heavenly Master Succession Assembly was a grand event for the sect leader to select the next successor. Zheng Yi Sect's Heavenly Masters and disciples would all be present, and the sect leader would frequently interact with all the Heavenly Masters.
If one of their colleagues turned out to be an assassin, assassination would become impossible to guard against.
The sect leader could not avoid interacting with the Heavenly Masters.
Otherwise, this Heavenly Master Succession Assembly would become a joke!
Furthermore, the Zheng Yi Sect was a renowned major sect with numerous disciples. It would be impossible to identify an assassin disguised as a Heavenly Master!
This put their Zheng Yi Sect in a passive position once again.
"Master Ye, what should we do now?" Zhang Xia Xia, unable to think of a solution, quickly asked Ye Ling.
Since Ye Ling had summoned them, his master and disciple, he must have had some ideas in mind.
Ye Ling said, "There is a way, but it requires your cooperation."
Zhang Daoyuan asked, "How should we cooperate?"
Ye Ling smiled slightly and beckoned to Zhang Daoyuan and Zhang Xia Xia, "Lean in."
The two leaned towards Ye Ling. Upon hearing Ye Ling's plan, their mouths widened, and their eyes were filled with shock.
...
After instructing Zhang Daoyuan and Zhang Xia Xia on what to do, Ye Ling transformed back into Zhang Qi's appearance and headed towards the back mountain.
The gate of the Zheng Yi Sect was located in the first half of the back mountain of Longdao Mountain, while the latter half of the back mountain was considered the Zheng Yi Sect's rear.
It was a true wilderness, inhabited by wild beasts.
Even the disciples of the Zheng Yi Sect rarely ventured into the back mountain.
Wu Chengcheng and Zhuge Yehan, upon hearing Ye Ling's instructions, had both arrived at an empty clearing in the back mountain.
However, Wu Chengcheng and Zhuge Yehan had only chatted briefly in the group chat initiated by 'Number One'. They were not very familiar with each other, and coupled with the suspicion cast on Zhang Qi by 'Number One', both Wu Chengcheng and Zhuge Yehan were wary of each other.
After meeting, the two did not even speak, each attending to their own business.
At this moment, Ye Ling walked out of the woods, glancing at the two, one fiddling with a Bagua disk and the other browsing his phone, and said, "Alright, all personnel are here. Let's each state the mission you've been assigned."
Wu Chengcheng had already been frightened by Ye Ling once. Seeing Ye Ling approach, she quickly put away her phone and said, "The Wu family's Sanshou is quite renowned in the circles, so I've gotten to know many people from various walks of life."
"Many of the extraordinary individuals who came to the Zheng Yi Sect to observe the Heavenly Master Succession Assembly have been secretly planted with charm seeds by me."
"At a critical moment, I can make them kill each other, creating chaos for the Zheng Yi Sect."
"Hmm." Ye Ling nodded, then looked at Zhuge Yehan, who was still playing with the Bagua disk, and asked, "What is your mission?"
Zhuge Yehan remained silent and did not answer Ye Ling.
The atmosphere around them instantly turned cold.
Seeing that Zhuge Yehan did not respond, Ye Ling sneered, "Are you still suspecting me of betraying the Hongchen Pavilion?"
Zhuge Yehan: "..."
Zhuge Yehan continued to remain silent, but from his attitude, Ye Ling could confirm that Zhuge Yehan had not let down his guard.
Ye Ling continued to taunt, "Hmph... As someone from the Wuhou Sect, you've become a dog of the Hongchen Pavilion. You, a piece of trash who sells out your clan for glory, have the nerve to suspect me?"
Boom!
As Ye Ling's words fell, a Qimen formation instantly unfolded from the Bagua disk in Zhuge Yehan's hand, engulfing Ye Ling.
Then, a fire dragon materialized out of thin air, roaring towards Ye Ling.
"You have no right to talk about me!"
Zhuge Yehan's expression turned sinister, his eyes filled with icy killing intent.
Seeing this, Ye Ling's lips curved slightly. He dispersed the fire dragon with one hand, leaped in front of Zhuge Yehan, grabbed his neck, and slammed him against a large tree!
"Little brat... when I, Zhang Qi, was serving the Hongchen Pavilion, you were still rolling around in your mother's womb!"
"I don't care why you betrayed the Wuhou Sect and joined the Hongchen Pavilion. You are now my subordinate, and you must obey my orders when executing missions!"
"The Qimen techniques you possess are not meant for you to attack your superior."
"Someone like you, an ant, I can crush a thousand of them in a day, understand?"
Ye Ling's gaze was extremely sinister, and his fingers tightened slightly, causing Zhuge Yehan's face to turn purple.
Wu Chengcheng, standing nearby, was terrified by Ye Ling's superb acting. She fell to the ground with a plop, looking at Ye Ling with a face full of horror.
She had previously seen rumors about Zhang Qi on the Hongchen Pavilion forum... it was said that although Zhang Qi appeared sunny and handsome, and treated people kindly, his true nature was an unadulterated demon!
Those who worked with him, if they showed the slightest disobedience, would be subjected to scolding at best, and execution at worst...
Earlier, Wu Chengcheng had been skeptical of those rumors, as Zhang Qi's appearance did not seem like someone who could do such things.
But now, seeing Ye Ling's treatment of Zhuge Yehan, Wu Chengcheng had completely believed it!
How could such a devil be a fake?