Chapter 138: Borrowing the Tiger's Might

"Su Ye is here! Run for your lives!"

This sentence spread like a terrifying plague, infecting every martial artist. They did not dare to face Su Ye in combat and could only flee to save their lives. Miao Quan, one of their leaders, found himself in a dilemma: to run or not to run?

If he fled along with the others, how could he face his clansmen in the future? How could he maintain his authority? But if he did not run, his fate would be the same as Miao Ba’s—to be ruthlessly slaughtered.

"Su Ye—you are wantonly killing our people; I have recorded this debt! Just you wait—" Hatred surged across Miao Quan's aged face as he shrieked while retreating into the darkness.

"I am waiting for you right now. Come on!" Su Ye charged forward in a rage.

"Don't get cocky. You are just a fox borrowing the tiger's might. Once these three days pass, I will personally take my revenge!" Miao Quan shouted, but he had already vanished into the night, taking many injured warriors with him.

Su Ye gave chase for a distance, scattering their ranks, but unfortunately, he could not find a trace of Miao Quan in the darkness. However, along the way, he found a Miao warrior he had kicked aside, still rolling on the ground, unable to escape.

Seeing Su Ye approach, the warrior collapsed in terror and pleaded, "Don't kill me! I don't know anything. We were only following the Chief's orders to kill whoever possessed the Thunder-Inducing Bead. Please, you must not blame us!"

"The Chief?" Su Ye gritted his teeth. He never imagined that this matter involved the Miao Chief. It was a pity that the old man had not entered Thunder City; otherwise, he could have taken his revenge right then and there. Regardless, the feud between him and the Gu witches was now set in stone.

"Please, don't kill me! Actually, our Chief has no grudge against you; he just wants the Thunder-Inducing Bead you have. We never intended to kill anyone, truly! You have to believe me, really!" The warrior would say anything to survive.

"I won't kill you, but you must come back with me to save those people."

Su Ye was not a bloodthirsty maniac. Now that he had his answer, he would save his rage for the Miao Chief. Still, feeling unsatisfied, he shouted into the dark city, "No matter who it is, whoever wants to kill me, I will make them pay in blood!"

Su Ye returned with the captured warrior in tow. Upon arriving, he found Jiang Liuying and Gang Jin still there, with Wu Bozhong and his group assisting in neutralizing the Gu poison.

"Su Ye, you're back! Are you alright?" Seeing him return, Jiang Liuying hurried over. Her fair hand reached out to grasp his arm, but she hesitated, fearing an electric shock.

The others looked at Su Ye with strange expressions. He seemed to possess a special aura that could even resist the "Wrath of the Gu King." Such a figure must hold deep secrets and a formidable background—someone worth befriending. If not befriending, then certainly not offending. At the same time, they felt fear and wariness; Su Ye’s sharp edge was fully revealed, and by tomorrow morning, the entire Thunder City would know his name.

However, Su Ye’s cultivation was not high—only at the third level of the Qi Gathering Realm. His invincibility tonight was merely borrowed from the power of the Gu King’s wrath. Getting too close to him might invite the displeasure of other forces.

Wu Bozhong hesitated for a moment, his expression grave. "Su Ye, let's put everything else aside for now and save them first! They have been poisoned by the Gu..." He noticed the Gu witch warrior following behind Su Ye, presumably a prisoner.

Su Ye gestured toward the captive with his chin. "Go take a look. How do we undo this Gu poison?"

"I know this. This is the 'Heart-Eating Gu' from our village. What looks like moss is not the true poison; the real infection has already reached their hearts! As soon as you try to remove the moss on the outside, the Heart-Eating Gu will awaken and begin to devour the heart..." The warrior, fearing for his life, quickly added, "But don't worry! As long as you don't touch the moss, the Gu will die after twenty-eight days."

Su Ye frowned. He had never expected such a terrifying poison to exist.

Jiang Liuying grabbed the warrior by the collar and snapped, "Enough talk! Tell us, how do we dispel it? Is there no faster way?"

"This... perhaps our Chief has a way, but I really don't! During these twenty-eight days, as long as you don't remove the moss, you'll be fine—it will just be very painful," the warrior replied, trembling.

Gang Jin let out a heavy breath, clutched his wound, and gritted his teeth. "As long as it doesn't take my life, a little pain is nothing!" Everyone was moved by his willpower.

Wu Yan seized the opportunity to say, "Let's not stay here any longer. Let's head into the city to settle down and recover."

"Then I shall trouble you, Senior Wu!" Su Ye said in a deep voice. At this point, he had no choice but to trust Wu Yan.

"Hahaha, Su Ye, you are too polite! From the moment I saw you, I felt a connection! Come, follow me. I guarantee no one will dare disturb you again." Wu Yan immediately took the lead.

Watching from afar, the other warriors whispered among themselves. They had witnessed Su Ye’s immense power and were surprised that Wu Yan had managed to establish a connection with him. If their combined forces were to unite, the whole of Thunder City would tremble. Most of them held no grudge against Su Ye, so they followed suit as Wu Yan moved on.

Soon, they reached the second wall of Thunder City, where many houses had been built against the ramparts. In front of every house was a large bonfire, and even in places where no one would normally pass, torches were stuck into the ground.

"Where do all these torches come from?" Jiang Liuying asked suddenly.

"Heh, Miss Jiang is very observant! We are not short on fuel in Thunder City! You came from the sea, so you must have encountered some of those strange sea beasts, right?" Wu Bozhong asked with a smile.

At the mention of this, everyone felt a lingering fear, their faces turning pale.

"In the sea, there are too many sea beasts that multiply rapidly! A large portion becomes our food, and the rest becomes our fuel. After you stay here a while, you will discover all sorts of strange things about Thunder City."

Su Ye sighed inwardly. He didn't need to stay long to realize that Thunder City was filled with anomalies. Take the "Gu King's Blade Sharpening," for example—what other city in the world had such eerie occurrences?

Exhausted and hungry, everyone fell asleep quickly that night. Just after Su Ye entered his room, Jiang Liuying snuck in and whispered, "Su Ye, most of the Jiang family’s supplies were lost. Even my clothes are gone, and this set is still wet—it's so uncomfortable! Do you have any clothes? Give me a set."

"I have some, but they are men's clothes..." Su Ye felt a headache coming on.

"It doesn't matter. I dressed as a man for a masquerade once; it was quite dashing. Hurry, take them out and let me see which one fits!" Jiang Liuying had already begun to remove her outer layer.

Su Ye opened his storage conch, channeling his Qi to create a glowing aperture. He reached in, rummaged around, and pulled out a set of clothes. "I only have the clothes and trousers; I don't have anything else!" He handed the garments over.

Jiang Liuying’s pretty face flushed, knowing exactly what he meant. She feigned calmness, her voice raising slightly, "It doesn't matter. I won't wear those; it'll be cooler."

With that, she grabbed the clothes and ducked into the room to change.

Left waiting by the door, Su Ye felt bored. He had experienced too much today. Furthermore, with the sudden absence of Jiang Ziyang and Ouyang Yunfeng, their group felt leaderless. It was only now that Su Ye realized he had been enjoying the title of a genius and living without a care in the world, all because he had the Jiang family as his powerful backing.

Now, it seemed, he had to rely solely on himself.

Just then, a shrill scream erupted from the room where Jiang Liuying was changing:

"Ah..."