I Can See Your Combat Power

The initiators of the bloodbath had earlier fled on the Blue Luan bird, leaving the few with ressentiment to smoulder without any respite.

They immediately spread out, flying to different mountain peaks, hoping to find any clan members who might have survived the wrath of the Blue Lotus. Even though they knew their chances were slim, they still descended onto the mountains, heads down.

The entire mountain was enveloped in a haze of azurite miasma, the residual fury of the Blue Lotus. The faint scent of lotus was laced with intense poison, yet irresistibly fragrant.

Tang Zhen saw that some of the clan fighters and servants who accidentally entered the miasma were turned into standing statues.

Realizing this, the scene before him, he understood all too clearly; under the wrath of the Blue Lotus, there would be no survivors. This was the heaviest loss the Tang Clan had suffered in the ongoing conflict between the two clans.

Purging the toxic haze using his spiritual power, Tang Zhen collapsed at the peak of the Nanelian Mountain, feeling wave after wave of helplessness.

As the miasma cleared, the clan members who had been observing from the perimeter finally entered the battlefield. Looking at their relatives turned into blue crystals, dismembered and scattered, many lost control, sobbing uncontrollably as they collected the fragmented crystal statues.

“This isn’t your fault,” Tang Siyuan gently said, as he placed his palm on dejected Tang Zhen’s shoulder, “I was the one who asked you to join me in chasing them. Falling for their ruse and allowing so many of our clan members to die is my responsibility.”

After a hundred years of a tense stalemate, Tang Siyuan thought he had completely understood the Mi Clan, but the recent events had forced him to reassess them, particularly their Luan bird’s speed, which shattered his previous understanding.

The speed was as good as phoenix’s. When the squad led by Mi Tiger demonstrated their true speed, he realized belatedly that they had fallen for a trap. But by the time they hurried back, the three peripheral mountains had already transformed into devastated battlegrounds.

He knew that Tang Zhen would not be able to forgive himself and took all the blame, hoping it would make his old buddy feel a bit better.

“Don’t make excuses for me,” answered Tang Zhen, standing up and gazing into the distance, his voice deep, “I want to go to Beast Valley in South Ridge.”

As the head of defense of the Tang Clan, since he couldn’t protect North Mountain, he needed to make the Mi Clan pay in blood.

The expression on Tang Siyuan’s face was complicated. He knew that Tang Zhen was still unable to come to terms with the death of so many clan members, but he couldn’t allow his longtime comrade to do something rash out of guilt. Trying to dissuade him, he said, “I understand your feelings about our clansmen, there’s no way to take revenge by doing this. South Ridge Beast Valley is surrounded by countless blood crows day and night, we couldn’t even get close, let alone launch an attack!”

The entity least afraid of arial attacks in Longzhou was definitely the Mi Clan. They had numerous pet spirit birds at their disposal that were like ears and eyes, watching in the sky. Even if they stole Mi Tiger’s Luan Bird from his squad, they still wouldn’t be able to approach the South Ridge Beast Valley without being surrounded.

“What you need to think about now is not this, but how to re-defend North Mountain!” Tang Siyuan stood in front of Tang Zhen, turning his old comrade’s head towards him, “Look at me, forget about revenge! Right now, this little squad is prowling deep in the enclosure of North Mountain. They are waiting for us to make a foolish mistake so that they can launch another surprise attack. Look at the people around you. Do you want to see the same tragedy happen in North Mountain again!?”

Upon Tang Siyuan’s persuasion, Tang Zhen finally calmed down. Looking at his sobbing clan members and the crystal shards scattered on the ground, he clenched his fists, flushed and pushed Tang Siyuan away, “Do you know that I cannot stop their squad? You’ve seen the speed of that Luan Bird. Do you think we can catch up? All we can do is to play defense!”

Pointing at the peak blown open by the lotus throne, Tang Zhen roared, “Did you see that?The ability to unleash Blue Lotus Rage of that magnitude, this squad is composed of top martial ascendants from the Mi Clan. How many martial ascendants from our clan do we need to be on standby day and night at North Mountain to hold against them? And if they make one mistake, this Blue Lotus will fall on any one of the mountain peaks!”

Tang Siyuan was well aware of the validity of Tang Zhen’s arguments. With their martial arts cultivation at this level, they could easily predict what kind of damage this small squad could inflict on North Mountain.

But the problem was that their clan was already short of soldiers. As the Chief of Defense, asking the family for reinforcements would mean requesting that the venerated ones end their closed-door cultivation. The side that showed weakness first would clearly be at a disadvantage in this war.

Tang Zhen felt this way because he wasn’t aware of Tang Zhi’s plan. So he felt that a request for reinforcements would make the entire family passive. At this moment, Tang Siyuan really wanted to lay out the entire plan before his old friend, telling him that as long as they could hold on till spring, they would see a turn for the better. But in the end, he said nothing, looking at Tang Zhen with a face full of guilt.

After venting for a short while, Tang Zhen also calmed down. His anger was simply because of his own sense of helplessness. In the end, if things had come to this point, it was still because he wasn’t strong enough.

The two, once calm again, stood at the peak of South Emei Mountain, watching their clansfolk cleaning up the battlefield. There was silence for a long time.

As they stood lost in thought, a thunderous voice rang out from the sky over North Mountain. The sound wave quickly enveloped the entire North Mountain settlement.

“Mi Tiger, what are you doing hiding in that cloud in the northwest? Are you planning to sneak attack Shooting Crow Mountain again?”

That sudden warning stunned Tang Siyuan and Tang Zhen at the top of South Emei Mountain. However, those familiar with Tang Luo immediately identified his voice and, trusting him, the two took to the air, flying swiftly towards Shooting Crow Mountain.

Before the two could reach Shooting Crow Mountain, Tang Luo’s warning sounded again.

“Everyone on Shooting Crow Mountain quickly retreat back to their homes. All ascendant warriors prepare to launch coordinated attacks; those who can’t, prepare your spirit arts. Stand by while facing the cloud layer in the northwest!”

“The two martial ancestors on Shooting Crow Mountain, don’t move. The Great Elder and the Head of Defense are already on their way. Don’t panic!”

Above the cloud layer, Mi Tiger’s face was gloomy. Not only was their covert attack exposed, but now the people on the Shooting Crow Mountain were on alert. But as they had already reached here, he had to release a Blue Lotus anyway!

“Prepare the coordinated attack!” Mi Tiger ordered in a low voice, and the three began to gather their spiritual power under the cover of the clouds.

But before the Blue Lotus could form, Tang Luo’s instructions echoed again:”All Ascendants hold your spirit arts, stand your ground. The two martial ancestors, immediately release Sky-Picking Hands towards the cloud!”

Just as the three forming the Blue Lotus were preparing to launch it, two golden palms appeared mid-air, heading towards the cloud.