"Why! Heaven gave me the opportunity to advance to the Earth-tier realm, yet allowed me to die so quickly…"
Feeling his life drawing to a close, Fei Lafu mustered all his strength and roared his frustration.
Ye Cangtian ignored him. His gaze swept towards the楼主 (Louzhu -楼主 is a title meaning "building owner" or "head of an organization," and is often left untranslated or transliterated as Louzhu in such contexts), and the two elders.
Thump! Thump…
With just a look, the 楼主 completely crumbled and knelt on the ground.
Although Tingfeng Tower still had three Earth-tier powerhouses, he knew they had no chance of winning.
To save his life, he had no choice but to kneel and beg for mercy. After all, it seemed his recent actions were utterly foolish and had ignited the opponent's wrath.
Even now, he doubted he could save his own life.
"Heh, do you think begging for mercy will do you any good?"
"Tell me, why did I come to the Twin Islands of Sun and Moon, and why did I attack you?"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. The one who eliminated the Third Elder was Qingdao, and it was at my instruction!"
Ye Cangtian's face broke into a mocking smile as he looked at the pleading 楼主 and the other two.
At this point, killing the three of them would not be difficult, so he saw no need to conceal the matter of the Third Elder.
Furthermore, he didn't want Huaxia to take the blame.
"What!"
With a single sentence, the 楼主 and the other two widened their eyes. They had always believed that Huaxia forces had eliminated the Third Elder.
After all, they had had intermittent cooperation with Po Xiao, although the cooperation had not been pleasant.
However, Fei Lafu had provided them with substantial compensation afterward, which should have appeased Po Xiao's anger.
But unexpectedly, everything had turned out differently.
It now seemed that seeking further cooperation with them was an act of courting death.
As he thought this, a terrifying idea suddenly flashed through the 楼主's mind.
The next moment, the 楼主 looked up at Po Xiao and continued, "Don't tell me, don't tell me you planned to destroy Tingfeng Tower from the very beginning?"
"You are correct."
"Our objective is the same as that of the Huaxia forces; we don't want to see Tingfeng Tower align with the Guangming Hall and strengthen them," Ye Cangtian said with a smile, waving his hand.
Upon hearing this, the 楼主's eyes lit up, as if he had grasped a lifeline.
He quickly spoke, "Po Xiao, how about letting us go this once? I guarantee I will announce on the Battle Network that all cooperation with Guangming Hall is severed, and we will go into seclusion again. What do you say?"
He had already decided that if the other party agreed, he would comply immediately.
Even if it drew Guangming Hall's wrath later, he wouldn't care. He still had the island protection formation, and it wouldn't be easy for Guangming Hall to retaliate.
It was better than dying here anyway!
"Heh, you are quite a clever person."
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian chuckled and continued, "But have you considered that even if I let you go, will the Huaxia forces let you off?"
"As long as your Dark Association lets us go, that's all that matters."
"I have my own ways to deal with the Huaxia forces!"
Upon hearing this, the 楼主's expression changed. He knew that the Huaxia forces would not let him off.
After all, Elder He should have been allied with the Huaxia forces. After so many years of imprisonment and Tingfeng Tower's overall betrayal, the other party would surely purge their own ranks.
However, he had no other choice. He could only take it one step at a time and get through the current predicament first.
"Fine, since you are so confident in dealing with the Huaxia forces, then I will fulfill your wish."
Ye Cangtian glanced at him with a helpless look and continued, "You can now announce the news on the Battle Network!"
"Good, good, good."
The 楼主, relieved, responded repeatedly. He then asked a guard to bring a computer.
After a series of actions, the 楼主 posted the news on the Battle Network. Ye Cangtian glanced at the message and found no issues with it.
He then said mockingly, "楼主, I wish you good luck."
As he spoke, Po Xiao's figure had already left the great hall.
...
The guesthouse.
Not long after Ye Cangtian returned, Qingdao and Lanyue emerged from their rooms.
They had previously disguised themselves and infiltrated Tingfeng Tower. They had overheard some of what had happened in the great hall.
Seeing Po Xiao return, Qingdao could no longer contain his doubts and went forward to ask directly, "Po Xiao, in that situation, we could have completely wiped them out! Why did you..."
Now, Tingfeng Tower was left with only the 楼主, the Grand Elder, and the Second Elder, along with some insignificant guards.
If Po Xiao had given the order, would it have been difficult for the three of them to eliminate the opponents?
But now Po Xiao had spared the three. Wasn't this letting the tiger return to the mountain?
If the 楼主 pretended to concede but later colluded with Guangming Hall, wouldn't all their efforts be in vain?
Lanyue was equally perplexed.
In her opinion, after eliminating the 楼主 and the two elders, Elder He could have come out directly to clean up the mess. Why leave the three of them alive?
Looking at their confused gazes, Ye Cangtian smiled and said, "It's not that I didn't want to kill them, but I had reservations. It's one thing for others, but the 楼主 controls the island protection formation!"
His meaning was simple: if the 楼主 used the island protection formation to resist desperately, it might indeed lead to a mutual destruction scenario.
Therefore, he chose to end on a positive note.
Of course, this reason was primarily to fool Qingdao. After all, the island protection formation had been under Elder He's control for several hours, and the 楼主 couldn't control it at all.
As for his true reason, it was actually quite simple.
He wanted to use Ye Cangtian's identity, the identity of the young master of Yulong Villa, to deliver the final judgment to the 楼主 and the others!
To make them clearly understand the consequences of betrayal!
"What you said makes sense, but if we return like this without completing the mission, how do we explain ourselves?" Qingdao asked gravely after a moment of silence, listening to Ye Cangtian's explanation.
"The mission will not be incomplete; someone else will complete it for us!" Ye Cangtian said with a slight, mocking smile.
"Ah?"
"Who will complete such a dangerous mission for us?"
"Besides, those are three Earth-tier powerhouses! Who has that much strength!"
Qingdao was immediately bewildered and couldn't help but ask.
He had also been on the island for the past few days and hadn't discovered any allies of the Dark Association! Where did his words come from?
Ye Cangtian shook his head with a smile, blinked, and chuckled, "Have you forgotten our opponent? What do you think the Huaxia forces came here for?"
"That goes without saying... uh... I don't know..."
Qingdao had intended to reply that the Huaxia forces had the same objective as them.
But then he thought about it. The Huaxia forces had always operated in the shadows and hadn't made any significant moves. They didn't seem like they were opposing the Dark Association.
So, if he had to say something, he couldn't think of anything.
Ye Cangtian glanced at him, knowing it was somewhat difficult for the rough fellow, so he turned to Lanyue, "Lanyue, what do you think?"
Lanyue said softly, "The Huaxia forces came here with the same objective as us: they don't want to see Tingfeng Tower align with the Guangming Hall faction.
"The reason they haven't made a move is probably because they saw us make our move and feared causing unnecessary conflict with us, so they chose to remain hidden."
Hearing this, Qingdao's eyes darted around, and he seemed to understand something. He quickly said, "Can I interpret this as the Huaxia forces using us to kill, in other words, we're being used as pawns?"
"That's pretty much the gist of it," Ye Cangtian said, exhaling a smoke ring.
With that single sentence, Qingdao's face turned grim, and his anger flared. He roared, "Those sons of bitches from Huaxia, how despicable! If I get the chance, I'll chop them into meat paste!"
Heh heh.
Ye Cangtian chuckled and said, "Let's talk about it when the opportunity arises. Continuing our previous topic, since they are also here to destroy Tingfeng Tower, let's leave the subsequent matters to them. Perhaps there will be unexpected surprises."
Hearing this, Qingdao finally understood everything, and at the same time, he gave Ye Cangtian a thumbs-up in his heart.
Being able to utilize the enemy was a skill he couldn't match.
Seeing that the two had no objections, Ye Cangtian then said, "Alright, since you both understand, then quickly take your people and withdraw from the Twin Islands of Sun and Moon!"
"You're not leaving?" Qingdao asked, puzzled.