Chapter 94

"Yan Sue'e has been hiding her true strength!"

In the night sky, after Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong had flown for dozens of miles, Shang Bo suddenly spoke.

"Oh?"

Ji Wenlong's expression changed, and he said, "Has her life-bound calamity already reached its peak?"

Shang Bo thought for a moment and shook his head, "Not yet. She should be like me now, having found the fourth primordial calamity but not fully refined it."

Ji Wenlong snorted, "This old fox indeed kept something in reserve. If we hadn't joined forces to test her this time, we might be the ones to suffer next!"

After a moment, Ji Wenlong spoke again, "So, her injuries might not be as severe as they appear?"

Shang Bo thought for a moment and said, "Our original intention was just to scare them, making them dare not leave the Four Spirits Mountain for a while, delaying their discovery and response to the beast tide. In this regard, our goal has been achieved."

Ji Wenlong nodded but still felt a bit regretful, "It's a pity that it was Yan Sue'e who came out. If it had been someone else, even Lang Xiaoyun, they might have met their end under our joint ambush, and then been swept away by the beast tide. We might have had a chance to break through the Four Spirits Mountain!"

At this point, Ji Wenlong sighed again, "What a pity!"

Shang Bo smiled, "Just the impact of the beast tide alone is indeed unlikely to succeed, as we will also be affected by it. And don't forget, Liu Laoer is still trapped in the Coral Forest by the Moon Rose Society. Unless we leave him to die, the Four Spirits Mountain will have a chance to catch its breath."

Ji Wenlong looked frustrated and cursed, "Liu Laoer, that useless troublemaker!"

Shang Bo naturally didn't take it seriously. Among the four major families of Tongyou City, Ji Wenlong and Liu Jitang were truly close friends. Otherwise, why would Ji Wenlong have rushed to Tongyou Peak to take charge after Liu Jitang's mysterious disappearance, instead of Deputy Mountain Masters Yun Jing or Shang Bo?

"But..." Shang Bo's expression was somewhat hesitant.

"But what?" Ji Wenlong asked eagerly.

After some consideration, Shang Bo said, "Big Brother Ji, have you thought about why Yan Sue'e, after being forced to reveal her true strength by our joint attack, no longer needs to deceive us, and her injuries are not as severe as they appear? Why is that?"

Ji Wenlong's eyes flashed, "You mean she was putting on a show for Lang Xiaoyun and Ran Bili?"

Shang Bo smiled, "If my guess is correct, the internal conflicts within their group are far more serious than we imagined. Yan Sue'e is plotting, not against us, but against her own people. We might as well wait and see!"

Ji Wenlong pondered, "We already know her true strength, and the fourth-stage 'common blood' from the Fengyan tribe has died at your hands. So, Yan Sue'e is probably targeting the other three major tribes..."

At this point, Ji Wenlong sighed again, "Xiao Shang, um, I'll still call you Shang Lao Si. This way, it sounds like the four major families of Tongyou City are truly united."

Shang Bo smiled but didn't speak, having already guessed what Ji Wenlong was about to say, and it wasn't the first time he had said it.

However, Ji Wenlong's next words were slightly unexpected: "The head of the College's Merit Department, Shang Bing, has become Kou Chongxue's sworn brother. What do you think about Shang Lubi, the third of the 'Three Cold Ones of Youzhou'?"

Shang Bo smiled indifferently, "Another fourth-stage expert for the college, that's a good thing..."

"You know I'm not talking about that!"

Ji Wenlong rudely interrupted him, "Shang Lubi is his sworn brother. Why did he let his sworn brother remain anonymous in the college he personally established for twenty years? What does he want to do? Who is he targeting? Don't you understand?"

Shang Bo didn't speak, only urging his life-bound calamity light to speed back towards Tongyou Peak.

"In the end, he has never truly trusted us. Establishing Tongyou College and uniting with the surviving major families of Youzhou was just a temporary measure. His true goal is to use the college to subtly suppress and weaken the influence of our noble families! Over these twenty years, how many of the surviving families in Tongyou City remain, besides the so-called 'four major families'? Even if their bloodline descendants still exist, they are merely struggling to survive. Their extraordinary legacies have all become part of the scripture hall!"

At this point, Ji Wenlong continued, "Speaking of the scripture hall, there's also Dong Qianzui! Who would have thought that this old man, who had been drunk for over a decade, could still burst with fourth-stage power at the last moment? He must have been waiting for this day all along!"

At this point, Shang Bo knew he had to say something.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Big Brother Ji, if that's the case, why did you help him establish Tongyou College in the first place?"

Ji Wenlong snorted, "Back then, the major families of Youzhou were in decline, and establishing Tongyou College was just a temporary measure!"

Shang Bo added, "To put it bluntly, in the face of the threat from the Cangling Realm, we survivors had to unite all our forces and huddle together for warmth."

Ji Wenlong remained silent, tacitly agreeing.

Shang Bo continued, "But now, although we can barely maintain the situation, the threat from the Cangling Realm still exists. If the four major families start to split the college at this time, wouldn't we be engaging in internal strife?"

Ji Wenlong grumbled, "I fear that in a few years, Tongyou City will no longer have the four major families, but only Tongyou College!"

Shang Bo disagreed, "But the fact is, over these twenty years, the four major families of Tongyou City have grown alongside Tongyou College!"

Ji Wenlong countered, "But what about the other noble families of Youzhou back then? How many have lost their legacies? How many have become ordinary? How many have even lost their bloodline? The four major families still exist only because Tongyou College still needs their support. But what about the future? What if one day Tongyou College becomes so powerful that it no longer needs the four major families? What if one day you and I grow old and are no longer deputy mountain masters of Tongyou College?"

This time, it was Shang Bo's turn to be silent.

Ji Wenlong thought for a moment and, in a rare change of tone, said, "I understand the importance of the college to the entire Tongyou City, and even to the entire Youzhou. I don't necessarily want to cause internal strife or compete with Kou Chongxue. I just prefer a more peaceful way to take what my Ji family deserves over the years, maintaining the independence of my family. I might be able to coexist with the college on equal terms!"

Shang Bo looked at Ji Wenlong with some surprise. This was the first time in over a decade since Tongyou City established itself on Tongyou Peak that the old man had tried to change his stance.

But Shang Bo still shook his head, "Big Brother Ji, it's impossible, at least for now!"

Ji Wenlong snorted, "I know you still remember Kou Chongxue's past support, but I must solemnly warn you not to forget your family and your origins! Your Shang family, although not one of the five major families of Youzhou, was still a first-class extraordinary family below them! Don't you want to restore your family's former glory, and even surpass it?"

With that, Ji Wenlong took the lead and returned towards Tongyou Peak, not speaking again on the way.

Shang Bo watched Ji Wenlong's retreating back for a moment, then quickly shook his head and sped up to catch up.

...

While Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo were having a debate that would affect the rise and fall of the entire Tongyou City, Shang Xia and his group were only a few dozen miles away from Tongyou Peak. They could even see the recall beacons lit on Tongyou Peak and the six deputy peaks.

However, the number of people returning to Tongyou Peak with Shang Xia had increased from two or three dozen to four or five dozen, almost doubling.

The signs of the approaching beast tide were becoming more evident, and they had been attacked by beast herds multiple times on the way.

Fortunately, these beast herds were limited in number and had not yet formed a large scale. Among Shang Xia's group were many martial realm experts, who could still handle the situation.

However, even so, some people were still careless and got injured or even killed during the beast attacks.

At this moment, they were attacked again, but this time the attack was different. The targets were not the extraordinary martial artists of Tongyou Peak, but the mutated rain swallows that had been circling in the sky, leading the way.

A group of wolf eagles suddenly appeared overhead and began hunting the mutated rain swallows.

...

This chapter is a bit shorter.