NOVPUB◎Blocking All Retreat, the Confrontation◎
This was undoubtedly a scheme years in the making.
Amuyan, Chang Ci, the Grand Elder of the Hall of Pillars, and the Six Heroes of the Carefree Sect—all were mere pawns manipulated by the unseen hand of the mastermind, forced to play their roles in one chess game after another.
Amuyan’s words sent shockwaves through the crowd.
Not only the wandering martial artists but even the elders and disciples of the Carefree Sect wore expressions of disbelief.
To deceive a foreign girl, pin all the blame on her, and then hide in the shadows to reap the rewards—this was beyond despicable!
And this wasn’t the first time.
Over twenty years ago, they had exploited the naive and ignorant Amuyan. Now, they had led everyone here to push her forward as the scapegoat. If not for Manager Lu secretly unraveling his schemes, would they still be kept in the dark?
For years, Xie Tongshu had remained silent, harboring doubts and fearing the leverage Helian Zheng might hold.
Only after confirming that Manager Lu possessed the Yin-Yang Gu did he dare to reveal the truth of the past.
The other four heroes, realizing the full picture, felt too ashamed to face Pei Zhi.
They had been foolish and despicable. Whether or not they were the ones who poisoned Huan Meng, they could not escape blame.
Standing before Pei Zhi, they couldn’t even bring themselves to utter an apology.
Could a simple "sorry" ever make up for the suffering the Huan family had endured?
Young Master Huan had been forced to wear a mask in public all these years, enduring the agony of the poison gnawing at his body—yet they had known nothing of it.
If not for Manager Lu, Young Master Huan might have already…
Helian Zheng was a sinner. Chang Ci was a sinner. Amuyan was an accomplice. And so were they.
As everyone digested the truth, Lu Jianwei pondered the earlier confrontation.
Helian Zheng had avoided answering Wan Cong’s question about the ninth-rank Martial Monarch, instead diverting attention with his outburst of hatred. Was it to cover for an "ally"?
No, he wasn’t that "noble."
The most plausible explanation was—
He himself didn’t know the identity of that Martial Monarch.
Lu Jianwei broke the silence. "There’s one thing I don’t understand. I’d appreciate your clarification, Sect Leader Helian."
Helian Zheng snorted. "What else do you want to ask?"
"What was the purpose of the massacre you and Zhuang Wenqing incited at the inn’s arena? The martial artists present were few in number. Such an act couldn’t possibly overthrow the martial world."
Helian Zheng’s face twisted in disgust.
"That had nothing to do with me. It was Zhuang Wenqing’s own idiotic decision. If you want to know his motives, you can ask him yourself—in the afterlife."
Lu Jianwei: "I believe you. After all, from the moment you first met Amuyan to now, as sect leader, you’ve always been under Zhuang Wenqing’s control. How strange—a ninth-rank Martial Monarch, yet taking orders from an eighth-rank."
"Nonsense!" Helian Zheng bristled like a scalded rat. "I am the leader of the Carefree Sect! Why would I obey him?!"
"Because from the very beginning, you were a pawn of the Thousand Miles Tower. You treated Amuyan and Chang Ci as pawns—did you never realize you were also a puppet in someone else’s hands? Otherwise, why would Zhuang Wenqing act without consulting you at the arena?"
"I am no puppet! I am the leader of the world’s greatest sect! Who could possibly control me?! Lu Jianwei, don’t think you can spout nonsense just because you have the backing of a hidden sect. What do privileged people like you understand?"
"You’ve repeatedly mentioned hidden sects—seems you’re quite fixated on them." Lu Jianwei chuckled. "But given your history, even if you knew of their existence, you wouldn’t care so much. So I suspect… the real person obsessed with hidden sects is that ninth-rank Martial Monarch hiding in your sect, isn’t it?"
Figures like Ling Zong, Zhao Xian, and Shangguan Huai surely knew of hidden sects, yet they never brought them up.
Helian Zheng: "…"
"Zhuang Wenqing always claimed he wanted to uncover the secrets of my sect and force my masters to reveal themselves. I only half-believed him before. Now, I’m convinced."
Helian Zheng: "What are you implying?"
"You weren’t satisfied with being sect leader—you wanted to rule the entire martial world. But Zhuang Wenqing never took you seriously. All he cared about was probing my sect. Your ambitions and plans meant nothing to him."
This was evident from how Zhuang Wenqing had tried to frame Helian Xue at the arena.
To him, Helian Zheng and the entire Carefree Sect were disposable pawns.
Where did his confidence come from?
The only explanation was the mysterious ninth-rank Martial Monarch in the Carefree Sect.
Helian Zheng wasn’t stupid. He grasped Lu Jianwei’s meaning almost instantly.
"You mean—"
Lu Jianwei turned to Pei Zhi. "I once asked you about the former leader of the Thousand Miles Tower."
Pei Zhi understood immediately. "So all of this likely traces back to Fu Ji. Zhuang Wenqing’s actions were probably carried out under his master’s orders."
"Fu Ji? Didn’t he die long ago?"
"I recall he perished thirty years ago, which allowed his disciple Zhuang Wenqing to succeed him."
"Manager Lu, Commander Pei, do you have proof?"
Lu Jianwei had no proof—only bold conjectures and logical deductions. But she doubted anyone here would dare confront that ninth-rank Martial Monarch.
Still, she trusted her instincts.
Just then, on her system’s map, a green dot that had remained stationary on a remote peak several miles from Bright Moon Peak suddenly moved.
Silently, it slipped away, vanishing beyond the Carefree Sect’s borders.
Lu Jianwei’s suspicions were confirmed.
The ninth-rank Martial Monarch had no reason to leave—unless he knew Helian Zheng was cornered, and the activation of the Jade Stone Array was inevitable. He didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire.
"Helian Zheng, he’s gone," Lu Jianwei warned.
No one else present could sense the ninth-rank Martial Monarch’s presence.
Helian Zheng closed his eyes, focusing for a few breaths. His expression shifted, and he looked at Lu Jianwei with astonishment.
"How did you detect him from so far away?"
He couldn’t sense the ninth-rank Martial Monarch at all.
Yet Lu Jianwei, who had only recently stepped into the ninth rank, possessed sharper perception than him?
"I have my methods."
Helian Zheng: "No wonder the Thousand Miles Tower was so desperate to uncover your background. Hidden sects truly are extraordinary."
He didn’t miss the chance to stir greed in the others.
"He left because you’ve become expendable," Lu Jianwei said, toying with the glass bead on her wrist. "Aren’t you thinking of how to escape?"
"I have nowhere to run. You’re right—I was just a pawn. Zhuang Wenqing and his master are the true masterminds behind everything. They forced me into this."
Lu Jianwei raised an eyebrow. "A moment ago, you claimed not to know his identity. Now you sound so certain. Hard to believe."
"I’ve suspected it for a while," Helian Zheng replied, eerily calm now. "Zhuang Wenqing often exchanged letters with him, speaking of him with reverence."
"Thirty years ago, Fu Ji supposedly died attempting to break through to the ninth rank," Zhao Xian said gravely. "The news came from the Thousand Miles Tower. Could he have been scheming even then?"
At that time, no one could verify the truth of the news—after all, no one would curse themselves to death, nor would anyone openly sacrifice a Martial King from their own sect.
“If it really is him, what is he planning?” Ling Zong felt a headache coming on.
Just as everyone was distracted by this speculation, Helian Zheng suddenly scattered a cloud of powder and swiftly fled toward the cave.
Lu Jianwei’s inner energy surged, and the poisonous dust floating in the air obediently settled to the ground under the invisible force of her power.
“Sect Leader Helian, are you trying to activate the Jade Stone Array?”
Helian Zheng’s retreating figure stiffened abruptly.
One foot had already stepped into the pitch-black cave entrance, half his body still outside.
“The most crucial array node is inside this cave,” Lu Jianwei slowly drew her Frost Coil Blade, “but unfortunately, the other nodes are unmanned. Your array can no longer be activated.”
The Jade Stone Array was a killing formation, its method of activation brutally cruel—it required human lives as fuel.
The disciples of the Carefree Sect sent to each node had only known they were undertaking an extremely important task, unaware they were destined for mutual destruction.
Helian Zheng had intended to sacrifice these innocent disciples to drag everyone present down with him.
But his paranoid nature made him distrust the ignorant and incompetent, so he had entrusted the most critical nodes to his puppet followers.
Before Lu Jianwei’s arrival, he had been unaware of the existence of the Yin-Yang Gu. Even after the puppet gu’s queen was extracted, he hadn’t panicked.
The Jade Stone Array was his greatest trump card.
Though the puppet gu was now useless, his trained death warriors would still loyally carry out his orders.
Once the array activated, everyone on Bright Moon Peak would either die or suffer grievous injuries.
But now, under Xiao Wu’s command, those puppet warriors no longer had the chance to sacrifice themselves to trigger the array.
“How could you possibly—”
“Wen Zhuzhi, the wealthiest man in Jiangnan, though physically impaired, is a master of esoteric arts.” Wan Cong sighed deeply. “Sect Leader Helian, you’ve lost this round fairly.” 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Manager Lu had forcefully dismantled his scheme, and Pei Zhi had cut off Helian Zheng’s last escape route.
How could he flee now?
Ling Zong and the others stood ready for battle.
Apart from the Five Elites of the Carefree Sect, the remaining elders and disciples were trapped in a dilemma.
“Helian Zheng, your schemes run deep!” Lang Ye raised his blade and slashed, “You murdered Elder Huan and his family, and subjected Young Master Huan to years of torment—you deserve death!”
Helian Zheng gathered inner energy in his palm, preparing to strike Lang Ye, when his heart suddenly seized. He let out a muffled groan, spitting a mouthful of blood.
The golden queen of the puppet gu was crushed instantly by Lu Jianwei.
Compared to the love gu’s queen, his connection to the puppet gu’s queen was far more intimate—the backlash from its death was even more severe.
“Lu Jianwei, do you think mere backlash can kill me?” Helian Zheng turned and vanished into the darkness of the cave. “I am a Ninth-Level Martial King—do you dare fight me?”
The tragedy outside Moonview City was still fresh in memory. A battle between two Ninth-Level Martial Kings would leave no one present unscathed—either gravely injured or dead.
Helian Zheng could afford not to care, but Lu Jianwei could not.
“Alliance Leader Ling, evacuate everyone.” Without hesitation, Lu Jianwei gripped her blade and stepped into the cave.
She was the only one here who could face Helian Zheng in battle.
“Jianwei.” Pei Zhi stood behind her. “I’ll await your triumphant return.”
Lu Jianwei waved a hand behind her without turning. The sunlight at her back made her look like a warrior clad in golden armor, carrying light into the darkness.
“I’m going too!” Lang Ye darted into the cave.
Soon after, Xie Tongshu, Yin Sui, Lou Qingyi, and Luo Xianshan followed.
The flames of vengeance burned fiercely.
The cave was narrow, long, and pitch-black, making it impossible to discern direction or sense the presence of a Ninth-Level Martial King.
This was Helian Zheng’s domain—he could navigate it blindfolded, even lying in ambush within the shadows.
For the Five Elites of the Carefree Sect, surrounding Helian Zheng in the cave was an extremely dangerous endeavor.
But for Lu Jianwei, the lightless cave was the perfect stage.
With her unique mental techniques and acute senses, she could pinpoint Helian Zheng’s location.
“Xiao Ke, have they retreated from the peak yet?”
“Not yet—there are too many people.”
A sudden sword glare shot from the side, cold as a serpent’s tongue, carrying boundless killing intent.
The Frost Coil Blade clashed against the sword’s edge, “Overwhelming Frost” unleashed to its fullest—white crystalline frost encased the raging sword light, vast and endless.
Helian Zheng’s swordsmanship was formidable. His blade pierced through the woven net of frost, aiming straight for Lu Jianwei’s neck.
Earlier, he had used only ten percent of his strength—now, he wielded thirty.
“Lu Jianwei, I dare use thirty percent now. Next, it’ll be seventy, eighty, ninety. Do you dare match me?”
A Ninth-Level Martial King’s ninety-percent strength could obliterate this cave in an instant, the ensuing shockwave scattering debris outward—none of the lower-level martial artists nearby would survive.
Lu Jianwei met him with thirty percent of her own power.
Blade and sword grew fiercer, the surrounding stone walls cracking under the force. Pebbles rained from the ceiling, only to be pulverized by the overwhelming energy.
“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Lu Jianwei didn’t hesitate. “Go ahead and try.”
Helian Zheng: “Such arrogance!”
A low rumble echoed through the narrow passage, tremors radiating from deep within the mountain. The evacuating crowd quickened their pace.
A battle between two Ninth-Level Martial Kings was no spectacle for mortals.
The Carefree Sect’s Five Elites, venturing deeper into the cave, felt this most acutely.
The walls around them shook violently, as though they might collapse at any moment.
“Let’s not go further,” Yin Sui said. “We can’t intervene.”
Xie Tongshu halted, turning back to wait outside the cave, his whisk broom in hand.
The others did the same.
Sometimes, charging ahead despite impossibility wasn’t foolishness—it was a balm for the soul.
Lang Ye stared fixedly at the rumbling cave. “Manager Lu has only just reached the Ninth Level. In a contest of raw power, she might not win. We must wait for the right moment to strike Helian Zheng down.”
No one disagreed—they were all thinking the same.
Inside the cave, Lu Jianwei and Helian Zheng fought like a storm, clashing from one passage to another, surrounded by rubble as stones continued to fall from above.
Since her arrival in this world, she had fought many battles—but none as exhilarating as this.
Thirty percent, fifty, seventy—the cave groaned under their assault, on the verge of collapse.
If this continued, both would be buried alive.
Helian Zheng lashed out with another sword strike, then darted toward another exit—this one opening onto a sheer cliff!
He had prepared for this, grasping a rope hidden among the vines. With a slash of his sword, the cave wall exploded, sealing the exit with falling rocks to block Lu Jianwei.
—At least, that was what he imagined.
Unfettered Steps was a peerless movement technique. If anyone in this world could outpace Lu Jianwei, it certainly wasn’t Helian Zheng.
Before he could leap from the cave, her blade was already slicing toward his back.
The icy edge tore through his robes, blood gushing forth, staining the azure fabric in sprawling crimson.
In his pain, Helian Zheng missed the rope, forced to grab at the cliff’s vines to slow his fall.
Lu Jianwei didn’t hesitate—she swung her blade at him. Helian Zheng swiftly dodged, but the vine he clung to snapped, forcing him to grab another.
She struck again. He switched again.
After several repetitions, Helian Zheng had no more long vines left to grasp.
His eyes burned with fury. "You’re truly determined to kill me?" he spat. "If we joined forces, the entire martial world would be ours to command!"
Lu Jianwei raised her blade.
"I have no interest in ruling the martial world."
"Then what do you want?" Helian Zheng pressed desperately. "Money? I have plenty! Once we stand above all others, we’ll have even more!"
As a Ninth-Level Martial King, clinging to the cliffside wasn’t his only means of survival. Even if he fell, he could cushion the impact with his inner energy, escaping with minor injuries at worst.
But standing before him was Lu Jianwei—his equal in strength.
Helian Zheng had nowhere left to run.
"Lu Jianwei, if I die, I’ll drag others down with me! You won’t escape either!"
Gathering ninety percent of his inner energy, he unleashed a devastating surge upward.
A Ninth-Level Martial King’s near-full power was enough to collapse the cliffside. Lu Jianwei had no choice.
If she countered with equal force, the resulting shockwaves would ripple for miles, sending boulders tumbling—she’d lose her footing at the cave entrance.
If she dodged without restraint, the collapsing cliff would still force her away.
Either way, she’d fall into the abyss alongside Helian Zheng.
The overwhelming force rushed straight for Lu Jianwei’s face.
Helian Zheng waited, eager to see her panic. He even loosened his grip slightly, ready to drag her down with him.
But Lu Jianwei merely lifted a hand. Under his disbelieving stare, she enveloped his attack with her own energy, steadily dissolving and absorbing it with absolute control.
Ninety percent of a Martial King’s power? It was nothing less than a feast.
