Chapter 292 - 291: A Venerable Comes to Challenge, the Heaven-Blasting Gang Reappears

Qin Yang looked at the blood-red threads in his palm.

He fell into deep thought.

After his Blood Clones had advanced, his mastery of the Clone Technique had become far more refined.

These three blood-red threads were the very tethers connecting him to his Clones. Now that they had snapped, it meant the imprints had been triggered and the Clones had been moved from their original positions.

’Someone has made a move against them!’

"So the Venerable Alliance made a move..."

Qin Yang clenched the dissipating threads of blood, deep in thought. He stood up from his meditation cushion and released his Spiritual Power to scan the villa. He confirmed that Xia He, Li Zixuan, and the others were all in their respective rooms.

A wave of relief washed over him.

’It’s good that they’re still here.’

’Thank goodness I sent Clones!’

’If the Venerable Alliance had actually acted and managed to abduct Li Zixuan and Li Qinghe to blackmail me, the consequences would have been unimaginable.’

’Fortunately, I was one step ahead!’

Qin Yang felt a sense of relief.

Just as he was lost in thought...

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ!

His phone vibrated in his pocket. Qin Yang took it out and saw it was a call from Elder Li. This wasn’t unexpected, so he answered.

"Qin... Young Friend Qin, something’s happened!"

Elder Li’s voice on the other end was frantic. The sound of howling wind in the background suggested he was rushing somewhere. "The Venerable Alliance just attacked! Xuanxuan..."

He was so anxious he was rambling, unable to form a complete sentence. He sounded utterly panicked.

"Elder Li, calm down. Don’t panic."

Seeing this, Qin Yang soothed him in a soft voice, "Tell me slowly."

His calm words seemed to work. Elder Li on the other end of the line managed to catch his breath. He then explained that Li Zixuan had been captured, relaying a complete description of the black-robed person’s appearance and strength.

"Are you sure you saw correctly? They were wearing a mask?"

Qin Yang caught the key piece of information, and his brow furrowed slightly.

’The Venerable Alliance is mostly composed of prestigious and orthodox sects. When they operate, they almost always show their true faces. It’s rare for a Venerable to conceal their identity.’

’But this description of a masked person...’

’Why does it sound so much like the Beast God Sect?!’

’Have they teamed up?’

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Qin Yang continued to reassure Elder Li.

"Okay, I understand. Elder Li, please focus on ensuring your own safety for now. I will handle the rest."

Shortly after he hung up, a call from the Commander came through. He informed Qin Yang of Xia He’s abduction and said that a special team had been assigned to the case.

A moment later, Li Daoming also called to report Li Qinghe’s mysterious disappearance from the library.

"Everyone, rest assured!"

Qin Yang recited the same script, expertly placating them. "I will inform my elders about this. I’ll notify you the moment I have any news."

After finally managing to calm everyone down,

they finally hung up.

"Sigh, that’s finally over."

Qin Yang sighed.

’Their intentions are obvious.’

’Since they went to the trouble of "capturing" Li Zixuan and the others, they’re clearly targeting me.’

’They’re trying everything they can to lure me out.’

’And then they’ll spring their trap.’

’To deliver the message, a Venerable might even show up soon to dangle the bait.’

"Luring me into a trap."

After figuring this out,

Qin Yang wasn’t in a hurry. He moved a lounge chair out into the courtyard, settled down to relax, and even had Xiaobai prepare some drinks while he snacked on sunflower seeds.

As he watched the storm clouds gather, he himself remained perfectly still.

...

...

「Half an hour later.」

RUMBLE!

The sky over Fuhai District darkened. Ominous clouds gathered, and deafening thunder echoed across the heavens.

A figure appeared between the clouds, slowly descending over Fuhai District. The oppressive aura of the Venerable Realm pressed down, blanketing the entire villa.

"Qin Yang!"

The next moment,

the black-robed Venerable appeared above the villa as expected, looking down from on high.

"What is the meaning of this, Your Excellency?"

Qin Yang got up from his lounge chair and looked up at the black-robed Venerable, letting out a lazy yawn. "Coming all this way just to give me a hard time again?"

"Hmph, still talking tough!"

Seeing this, the messenger Venerable’s eyes flashed with a cold light. "I’d like to see how long you can keep that act up! Your friends are all in the hands of our Venerable Alliance now. Li Qinghe, Li Zixuan... Xia He..."

He slowly recited the names as if reading a list of the dead, all while sizing up Qin Yang. "Tomorrow at noon, the Alliance Leader wants to see you at the same place where you met him before."

As his voice fell,

"Is the Venerable Alliance really this despicable?"

Qin Yang feigned shock. "To think you’d resort to kidnapping?"

"Hmph, Qin Yang, it’s too late for you to have a choice in the matter,"

the black-robed Venerable floated amidst the clouds, looking down on Qin Yang below. His voice grew colder and colder. "Noon tomorrow. If you’re not there, don’t blame us for being merciless. You can wait to collect your friends’ corpses!"

After delivering his threat,

the black-robed Venerable departed, feeling immensely satisfied.

He left as if afraid to linger even a second too long.

......

"Tsk... he left in such a hurry."

Qin Yang watched the Venerable’s rapidly retreating back, sighed, and dismissed the Blood Clone he had hidden in the corner, somewhat disappointed he hadn’t gotten to use it.

’He was just a messenger, after all.’

’No point blowing him up if he’s not the main target.’

"Senior Brother?"

Just then, Li Zixuan’s voice came from behind him.

Qin Yang turned to see Li Zixuan and the others walking out of the villa. The commotion just now had been so loud that they could hear everything clearly from inside.

"I get it now, Old Qin! So this was your plan?"

Xia He asked, trembling, as he pulled out his phone and scrolled through the trending topics. "You had us do special training so that the seniors from the Heaven-Blasting Gang could take our places?!"

As he spoke, Li Zixuan and Li Qinghe both frowned, their eyes filled with worry as they looked at Qin Yang.

"Alright. Listen to me and don’t go anywhere."

Qin Yang clapped his hands and reassured them, "I told you before, the Gang Leader had a premonition that Jianghai would descend into chaos. It seems he was right."

As he spoke, he pointed to the Star Stones in the courtyard.

"With this Array active, it will conceal your auras. Even if a Venerable Powerhouse comes, as long as they don’t step deep inside the house, they’ll never be able to find you."

"Old Qin, you’ve really thought of everything."

Xia He looked at the Star Stones, deeply moved.

"But... Senior Brother..."

Li Zixuan opened her mouth, wanting to say more.

’Our martial uncles are out there disguised as us, taking on this risk in our place.’

’But now that something’s happened, I’m just here enjoying special training, unable to do anything. I can’t live with that!’

"That’s enough, Junior Sister. Behave."

Qin Yang, a step ahead, saw what she was thinking. He feigned anger and scolded, "This situation is very serious. What use would you be if you went? Anyone below the Grandmaster realm is no different from an ant before a Venerable."

As his voice fell,

"I..."

Li Zixuan bit her lip, lowered her head, and fell silent.

"Yeah, Xuanxuan, Master is right."

Li Qinghe also stepped forward to persuade her. "You should just stay here and not worry."

"Our martial uncles disguised themselves specifically to protect us. That’s why they put themselves out there as substitutes. If you go, you’ll just expose them and all their efforts will be for nothing, right?"

After being persuaded by both of them,

Li Zixuan could only give up on the idea.

"Alright, you all go back inside and continue your special training." Qin Yang waved them off. "If you’re weak, you train more. That’s the only way you can actually help."

A moment later, the courtyard was quiet again. After sending them away, Qin Yang took the Star Ring from his right hand and tossed it to Xiaobai, who was following beside him.

"Hm?"

Xiaobai caught the Star Ring, tilted her little head up, and stared at Qin Yang with wide eyes. "Master, why are you giving this to this Fairy?"

"Go to the kitchen and prepare all the best blood-replenishing dishes for this Gang Leader."

Qin Yang gazed in the direction the Venerable had disappeared.

"Next, the Heaven-Blasting Gang is going to make its move!"