Chapter 239: To Apologize to the World

Chapter 239: To Apologize to the World

"The Ten Thousand Concealment Heart" is a fake!

Lord Night is also a fake!

This turn of events truly feels surreal.

However, upon closer reflection on what was seen above East City today, Lord Night indeed did not appear in person.

But if "The Ten Thousand Concealment Heart" is not the real Ten Thousand Concealment Heart, but rather a demon from Evernight Valley,

then this sudden appearance of Lord Night here could either be the work of "The Ten Thousand Concealment Heart," or he has been hiding within Heavenly Avenue City all along.

Just waiting for today to stage this drama.

Regardless of which scenario, with the technique of 'human skin trickery, flaying and making clothes,' it is entirely possible.

However, what truly seems strange now is:

Why did Lord Night hide this 'human skin trickery, flaying and making clothes' technique for so many years, merely to give "The Ten Thousand Concealment Heart" a chance to rise to fame?

And his betrayal of the Youquan Cult's leader leaves one puzzled about his true intentions.

The Seven Great Sects of East City are no ordinary entities; the three major cults united can stand against them.

If one of them is missing, their strength would inevitably be insufficient.

Unless Lord Night's true goal is to first unify the three major sects of the cult, then launch a decisive attack on Heavenly Avenue City!

But in that case, he shouldn't have been the first to act with the Youquan Cult.

Previously, the Youquan Cult was blocked by Qingshou Mountain and Yuhan Valley, so how could he have had the chance to lead his forces to attack the Chimei Forest?

This thought churned in their minds, and among the leaders of the Seven Great Sects, except for Zhuo Dongming, the others were somewhat confused.

They vaguely sensed something elusive in their thoughts, but couldn't grasp it at the moment.

However, now is indeed a golden opportunity.

If they could truly keep the Sect Leader Youquan in Tianqu City, even if it meant some casualties, it would be worth it!

So, when Su Mo spoke these words, the leaders of the Seven Great Sects had already sprung into motion, surrounding the Sect Leader Youquan.

Yet, this sensation was oddly peculiar.

Su Mo proposed that the Sect Leader Youquan should meet his end in Tianqu City, and the seven sect leaders acted at once upon hearing this.

It almost seemed like they were obeying Su Mo's orders...

The Sect Leader Youquan's mask quivered faintly.

One wrong move, and he found himself betrayed—who could have seen it coming?

But after looking around, he couldn't suppress a sinister chuckle:

"With just you lot... you think you can kill me?"

"Ha ha ha."

Xia Xuanran casually waved his folding fan a couple of times:

"Sect Leader, what do you mean? We simply wish for you to stay in Tianqu City for a hundred years or so.

"When the time comes, if you wish to leave, we certainly won't stop you."

Luo Changsheng almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

For the first time, he felt that Xia Xuanran could actually say something worthwhile.

He immediately nodded repeatedly: "Brother Xia makes a good point, Sect Leader. We have prepared a comfortable bed and a fragrant chamber for you. Why not move there to rest?"

The others also agreed, finding Xia Xuanran's suggestion quite clever.

Exactly right!

Sect Leader Youquan was momentarily enraged. Having roamed the martial world for decades, when had he ever been ridiculed like this?

But the angrier he got, the calmer he became.

His gaze suddenly swept over the leaders of the seven factions, landing on "Wan Zangxin," who had been skinned.

Frowning deeply, he said, "Today... if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get. However, there is one thing I still don't understand!

"Night Lord's scheme—is his goal really just to give the eastern factions of East City a chance to attack my Ghost Forest?"

"Hahahaha!!!!"

"Wan Zangxin" suddenly burst into laughter, his upper body skin completely torn off by Wan Zangxin, making his laughter eerily sinister.

He pointed at the people present: "You all are seriously underestimating my lord! What he is planning is beyond your imagination!

"The Heavenly Spring's Twelve Swords have long been ready to die, and as for you...

"Hehe, one day, my lord will avenge me!"

His gaze swept over everyone present, finally glaring fiercely at Wan Zangxin:

"You truly have the nerve. If so, then don't blame me for being ruthless!!

"That Wan Zangxin is from the Wusheng..."

At that moment, a flash of sword light appeared!

Wan Zangxin, who had been standing there calmly, suddenly struck.

With a single thrust, he pierced "Wan Zangxin's" throat.

But "Wan Zangxin's" face showed no anger at being interrupted; instead, his grotesque face twisted into a malicious smile.

As if the scheme had succeeded!

Wan Zangxin closed his eyes, reached out to press on his face, and casually pushed him off his sword tip.

This happened so suddenly that even though everyone present was a master, they couldn't react in time.

Only Su Mo could have stopped it, but he didn't.

He simply watched Wan Zangxin quietly.

"Ah, why... why did you have to kill him?"

Luo Changsheng was filled with regret:

"The bloodshed in Tianqu City has left three masters bedridden, unable to move.

"All these events are undoubtedly related to this man.

"We needed to interrogate him thoroughly, to force him to reveal everything he knew. Only then could we satisfy the public!

"Now that you've killed him with a single sword strike, who will provide us with answers?"

And what did that impostor mean with his final words?

Wan Zangxin is silent? What does that mean?

Wan Zangxin smiled:

"Senior Luo, there's no need to worry. I will certainly provide an explanation.

"Today, I am here to explain myself to the martial world and to my sect..."

Hearing this, everyone, including Sect Leader Youquan, turned their gaze to Wan Zangxin.

They saw his eyes flicker with emotion, and after a long pause, he let out a soft sigh:

"All the chaos in Tianqu City today stems from me.

"As a child, my life was quite miserable.

"My mother died early, leaving me to wander the streets, where I was bullied by others.

"It was then... that I encountered the Night Lord."

He was about to tell the whole story in front of everyone in Tianqu City.

Given the situation, the connections involved naturally piqued everyone's curiosity.

It was only fair to hear the full story before acting further.

"I was young and naive back then—how could I have known anything about righteousness or evil?

"Anyone who gave me a meal, I naturally saw as a good person.

"And back then, in my eyes, no one in the world was better than him.

"He gave me food, made me new clothes, brewed medicine when I was sick, and cared for me day and night..."

Wan Zangxin spoke calmly, his words tinged with nostalgia.

But as everyone listened, they couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

Just what kind of person was the Night Lord?

A towering figure in the demonic path, capable of blotting out the sky!

Ruthless and cunning, his schemes were beyond imagination.

How could someone like him also take care of a child?

Was Wan Zangxin perhaps deceived?

Or maybe, Night Lord wanted to use him for something, hence the small acts of kindness.

Of course, everyone understood.

To Wan Zangxin at that time, these small favors were seen as great acts of kindness.

Given this kindness, it's easy to see why The Heavenly Spring's Twelve Swords came to be.

As expected, Wan Zangxin's next words confirmed this:

"Since I was a child, I've been struggling on the streets, never sure where my next meal would come from.

"Often teetering on the edge of life and death.

"I trusted only myself, never anyone else.

"This was the first time I placed so much trust in someone.

"So, when he told me he wanted to find a master for me, I naturally refused outright.

"He wasn't angry; he simply told me.

"The master he found for me was someone very important to him.

"But due to some misunderstandings, they had stopped interacting.

"They couldn't even meet face to face.

"Whenever they met, it would inevitably turn into a life-and-death struggle.

"So, he wanted me to become that person's disciple. The man was already very old, with unresolved grievances in his heart. If I could serve by his side and bring him some joy for a few years, it would be my way of repaying Night Lord's kindness.

"Since I was young, I had nothing to learn on the streets, but I did develop a sense of the martial world's ways.

"I felt that Night Lord's kindness to me was as weighty as a mountain, so I naturally had to repay it.

"So, I agreed.

"But how easy was it to become that person's disciple?

"Yet Night Lord guided me every step of the way, as if foreseeing everything. In the end, I did become that person's disciple...

"Becoming his final disciple in his later years.

"This is how the chain of events unfolded.

"The events that followed, I have already mentioned.

"While I trained under my master in the Heavenly Spring's Heart-Cleansing Sword, I secretly copied the sword techniques and handed them to Night Lord.

"He told me at the time that this sword technique was a closely guarded secret of the sect.

"But due to their long-standing feud, my master refused to teach it to him.

"So he had me pass on the manual piece by piece."

"At the time, I truly believed it..."

Hearing this, Luo Changsheng couldn't help but interject:

"So, once you grew up and understood things better, you should have realized it was all just the Night Lord's lies.

"Is that what drove you apart?"

Wan Zangxin gently shook his head:

"After all, he treated me very well, even if we only met a few times a year.

"But whenever he showed up, he tirelessly taught me martial arts.

"He taught me all the martial arts of Evernight Valley.

"He said that even though he followed the demonic path, he had big dreams.

"If he succeeded, the world would be at peace, and no child would have to wander hungry like I did.

"Thanks to my master, I knew right from wrong.

"But with him, it was always different.

"So, I kept hesitating, unable to decide.

"Even when I asked for the Tianquan Heart-Cleansing Sword to right past wrongs.

"He gave it back, saying he didn’t take the sword out of greed.

"But to learn from others to improve himself.

"After I grew up, I left my master and went to Wusheng Hall, but the issue remained unresolved.

"You probably know all about what happened at Wusheng Hall.

"I rushed back to East City and went straight to see my master.

"But what I found..."

At this point, his eyes were filled with a lifeless gloom:

"Master... Master... He had been gone for years!"

The room exploded in shock!

Luo Changsheng and the others exchanged shocked looks, and Zhuo Dongming blurted out:

"The Tianquan Elder... is gone?"

Wan Zangxin looked up, his eyes bleak:

"Even in his sixties, my master’s internal energy had only grown stronger.

"The Tianquan Heart-Cleansing Sword had reached its peak long ago.

"He was strong, healthy, and skilled—how could he just die?"

"He... the venerable one, was killed by the Five Demons Heavenly Demon Qi!"

"Was it the Night Lord who struck!?"

The expressions of the seven sect leaders immediately turned complex.

Wan Zangxin, however, appeared to be on the verge of tears and laughter:

"No... the venerable one, the venerable one... died by my own hands!!

"If it weren't for my trust in the Night Lord...

"If it weren't for me delivering the Tianquan Heart-Cleansing Sword entirely to the Evernight Valley...

"Even the Night Lord would have found it impossible to defeat the venerable one!

"It was I, I who personally caused my mentor's death."

As Wan Zangxin spoke these words, his hand gripping the sword hilt was already bulging with veins, trembling faintly.

For a moment, everyone was speechless.

The earlier complexity in their expressions stemmed precisely from this.

Indeed, it was Wan Zangxin who had personally caused the death of the Tianquan Elder.

Thirty years ago, the Tianquan Elder, known as the Tianquan Sword Deity, had shaken the Eastern Wilderness with his reputation!

And over these years, though he had lived in seclusion, according to Wan Zangxin, his martial arts had surpassed even those of thirty years ago.

Even if the Night Lord was highly skilled in martial arts, against such a person, the outcome of a battle would still be uncertain.

But if he knew the flaws in the Tianquan Heart-Cleansing Sword, understood every detail of this sword technique,

how could the Tianquan Elder possibly win?

Although the Tianquan Heart-Cleansing Sword that Wan Zangxin had taken to the Evernight Valley contained seventeen flaws,

what kind of people were the Night Lord and the Tianquan Elder?

The Night Lord would certainly not use the Tianquan Heart-Cleansing Sword in a battle against the Tianquan Elder.

These mere seventeen flaws were utterly meaningless in this context.

"I, Wan Zangxin... am a man of heavenly sin.

"Perhaps I should never have been born, otherwise, so many would not have suffered because of me.

"After this incident, I immediately sought the traces of the Night Lord, wanting to avenge my mentor.

"Wanting to sever all ties with him!

"But unexpectedly, on the way, I encountered the Five Ghosts Heavenly Net.

"They deceived me with excuses, leading me into a trap, and ultimately I was injured by their Five Demons Heavenly Demon Qi.

"My sins are beyond redemption, deserving of death ten thousand times over.

"But by then, there were already rumors that I, Wan Zangxin, had challenged Yuliu Jianxin, Liu Suifeng!"

"This must be another plot of the Night Lord. If I were to die, he would surely succeed.

"Even for this reason, I absolutely could not die back then.

"However, under the Wusheng Order, there are always those who lie in wait to ambush.

"In desperation, I had no choice but to disfigure myself and cling to life.

"It’s almost laughable... if it weren’t for Chief Escort Su saving me along the way.

"I would have already been dead.

"As I wandered, I feigned foolishness and followed Chief Escort Su, eventually arriving at Tianqu City...

"I knew the origin of the fake Tianquan Cleansing Heart Sword, and naturally, I couldn’t let him succeed.

"That’s why I launched a night assault, but I didn’t expect that after killing one, another would appear.

"It was also because the Night Lord, in the past, didn’t guard against me and actually revealed the secret techniques of the Evernight Valley. Otherwise, I would have thought it was a ghost, never imagining it was the macabre trick of skinning and crafting garments!

"At that time, my only thought was to kill the impostor in front of everyone.

"This way, their plot would surely be foiled.

"Unfortunately, after my first appearance, they discovered I was still alive.

"Zeng Quan of the Huayang Sect died as a result.

"Killing him wasn’t the goal; their aim was to use the Tianquan Cleansing Heart Sword to kill him, pin the blame on my long-deceased eldest senior brother, insult my sect, and force me out!

"They were certain I wouldn’t dare reveal my true identity, or else all this would come to light.

"But... what do I have to fear!?"

He raised his head and looked up at the sky:

"My master often said that a man standing between heaven and earth must look up without shame to the heavens and down without shame to the earth.

"Unfortunately, I am filled with shame and can never become the person my master envisioned.

"My entire life has been a farce, my sins are vast, and everything I’ve done is a mockery.

"Today, on this Cloud Cleansing Platform, I speak of these matters to give the world an explanation!"

As he spoke, he suddenly turned the sword in his hand and held it horizontally across his chest.

Su Mo’s expression changed: "What are you doing?"

Even the leaders of the seven major sects from East City, upon seeing this, quickly said:

"You... put down the sword. Though you were confused, it’s not entirely your fault!

"Don’t do anything rash."

Just as someone was about to step forward, Wan Zangxin barked sharply:

"Stop! With Sect Leader Youquan present, do you really dare to stop me? Aren’t you worried he’ll escape?"

His words left everyone present in stunned silence.

But then, Wan Zangxin laughed heartily at the sky and declared loudly:

"I, Wan, mistakenly trusted villains, stubbornly refusing to see the truth—this is my first crime!

"My master treated me with great kindness, yet he died because of me—this is my second crime!

"Passing the secret teachings of our sect into the hands of demons, leading to the slaughter of the righteous in East City—every drop of blood spilled is my crime, this is my third crime!

"Bearing such heavy sins, how can I possibly face the world!?

"Today, I will die to atone to the world, not daring to claim redemption for my sins, only hoping that in the afterlife, I may see my master again, and let him... kill me a thousand times!"

With these words, I turned my sword and was about to slit my own throat.

But at that moment, a flash of light arrived in an instant.

A burst of energy shot through the air, striking the blade directly.

I suddenly looked up, hearing a 'ding' sound, my sword already deflected.

I saw Liu Suifeng standing upright, glancing back at Su Mo with a slight nod.

Then he turned back to look at me.

I closed my eyes:

"Lord Liu, inviting you to debate swordsmanship in Tianqu City was not my doing.

"Today's predicament is far from what I desired.

"Now, I only seek death, with no desire for swordplay. I implore Lord Liu to grant me this final wish."

Liu Suifeng frowned, not good with words, he only felt that I should not die like this.

That's why he intervened.

Hearing this, he was speechless.

Instinctively, he sought help from Su Mo.

The burst of energy that shot through the air was Su Mo's doing, clearly sharing the same thoughts as himself.

Su Mo, known for his eloquence, might just convince me to reconsider.

And indeed, Su Mo had arrived by then.

Looking at me, he asked, "Do you truly wish to die?"

"...I have no other wish but to die!"

I looked calmly at Su Mo.

Su Mo nodded slightly: "As friends, I will accompany you on your final journey."

I was stunned, then smiled lightly at Su Mo:

"Thank you, Chief Escort Su. Knowing you has made my life worthwhile.

"Thank you!"

He spread his arms wide, closed his eyes, and braced for the end.

Liu Suifeng stared at Su Mo in shock, but Su Mo remained silent, his palm already ablaze with a menacing purple light.

In a flash, he lashed out, striking Wan Zangxin square in the chest.

The force surged through his chest and exploded out his back.

A violent wind erupted instantly, sending the spectators gathered at the edge of the Cloud Cleansing Platform reeling and tumbling to the ground. The sheer force was horrifying to witness.

A glimmer of relief flickered in Wan Zangxin's eyes before they closed for the last time, his lifeless body crumpling to the ground.