Chapter Seventy-Four: The Might of the Martial Alliance

“Hmph, you think you’re someone important? Who do you think you are?” Master Ou showed not a trace of pleading. He knew Su Ye’s character well—Su Ye had dared to kill even Yu Xingkun; begging for mercy would only be futile. At this moment, he had to suppress Su Ye’s arrogance by force.

“Su Ye, do you see this? All these people belong to our families. This is power you cannot possibly contend with. You are already doomed. If you want the Jiang family to be buried with you, go ahead and try.”

The martial artists surrounding them, hearing Master Ou’s boldness—even with the Thunder Sword at his throat—felt emboldened by their own family backgrounds.

“That’s right! We’re true scions of noble families. If we want to hire a powerful fighter to kill you, it’s a trivial matter!”

“Little beast! The Jiang family can barely protect itself. Do you think your reckless bravado is enough to scare us off? Don’t be delusional! We’re going to kill the Jiang family now—I’d like to see who dares stop us!” Yu Wenhuan, finally seizing his chance, shouted wrathfully.

All at once, countless lackeys joined in, their cries surging higher and higher, threatening to drown out all else.

Su Ye stood at the center, surrounded by formidable foes, their gleaming weapons pointed at him. Yet he showed not an ounce of fear; his sharpness was on full display as he shouted, “Against you hypocrites, do you think I would stay here and fight if I didn’t have a backup plan? Hmph—Brothers of the Martial Alliance, it’s your turn to appear!”

Everyone was startled. Even those martial artists who were about to attack the Jiang family halted in their tracks, shocked that Su Ye had invoked the “Martial Alliance.”

In all of Yang City, the Martial Alliance was a force that every family both feared and relied upon.

What did Su Ye mean by this?

Master Ou, forced to kneel, seemed suddenly to grasp what was happening, and his face turned ashen.

The representative of the Martial Alliance, who had so far remained silent, suddenly let out a laugh and strode forward, coming to stand at Su Ye’s side, instantly drawing the gaze of all.

“Ladies and gentlemen—I am Ouyang Licheng. I believe everyone knows who I am. I am a steward of the Martial Alliance, and I came here today specifically to see which family has become so audacious as to disregard the rules of the Alliance. Now, I see clearly!”

These words, sharp as knives, left every family in a state of shock.

Truth be told, none of the families present were entirely clean; Ouyang Licheng could have accused any one of them! At first, he had been sitting with the Yu and Zhou families, appearing to favor them.

But now, his attitude seemed to side more with the Jiang family and Su Ye.

Whose side was Ouyang Licheng really on?

Master Zhou, clutching his severed arm, said coldly, “Since the Martial Alliance’s representative has spoken, you should see clearly that this wretch has committed murder in public. The Alliance should arrest him at once and rid the world of such evil!”

“Yes, yes! Finally, the Martial Alliance can’t stand it anymore! Capture Su Ye and destroy the Jiang family! They slaughtered the head of our Yu family and killed so many—utter beasts!” Yu Wenhuan bellowed as well.

But the atmosphere had already grown tense and strange, and even Yu Wenhuan’s own voice faltered as he spoke.

Something was wrong. Why hadn’t Ouyang Licheng acted yet? Why was Su Ye still calmly holding his sword, so composed?

Could it be…

Ouyang Licheng laughed and proclaimed, “You Yu family, three years ago, secretly harmed Su Ye and stole his Thunder Vein. The truth is now exposed, and yet you still try to play the victim? Hmph! How brazen you are!”

Uproar!

The entire hall broke out in chaos.

No one expected Ouyang Licheng to publicly hold the Yu family accountable—he was clearly siding with Su Ye!

Many among the Yu family panicked and protested, “You may be with the Martial Alliance, but you can’t just ignore reason! This is a personal feud between us and Su Ye! Does the Alliance really need to intervene?”

“Indeed, the Martial Alliance does not meddle in personal vendettas! Yang City is vast—countless are killed or maimed in feuds every day! But you Yu family have used such means to defraud the Alliance of cultivation resources, monopolizing many positions! Now you use that as a pretext to exterminate the Jiang family—your actions are as ruthless and vile as any demon or outlaw!” Ouyang Licheng’s roar sent many people staggering back.

He turned his gaze to the heads of the Zhou family and the kneeling Master Ou, declaring, “You two families—rats and snakes in the same nest! You tarnish the Alliance’s reputation, violate its rules, and scheme to carve up the Jiang family! You deserve punishment as well!”

A low murmur ran through the hall.

No one had expected Ouyang Licheng, so quiet until now, to suddenly speak with such sharpness.

Master Zhou’s face darkened; he signaled to the warriors beside him and shouted, “Su Ye, you dare threaten even the Martial Alliance’s representative! All warriors, follow my command—charge together and rescue the representative! Be wary; Su Ye is ruthless and has already stabbed the representative several times. Protect the representative at all costs!”

At first, the surrounding fighters hesitated, but then they understood: Master Zhou planned to kill Ouyang Licheng as well!

Su Ye shouted, “How bold you are, to show such disrespect for the Martial Alliance!”

“Heh, blame yourself!” Master Zhou retreated—he couldn’t let Su Ye behead him.

The Martial Alliance was terrifying, but he had no other path now!

At that moment, a cold voice thundered from afar, brimming with authority: “How dare you! You would even kill a representative of the Martial Alliance?!”

Everyone turned to look. No one knew when, but squads of warriors had begun pouring into the manor from outside.

They all wore the unique uniforms of the Martial Alliance, each exuding an uncompromising aura from afar.

At their head was a young man in his twenties.

He strode forward with a gust of wind at his back, his might rolling off him—it was Ouyang Yunfeng of the Martial Alliance.

Su Ye saw Ouyang Yunfeng from a distance and breathed a silent sigh of relief; he had once healed Yunfeng’s heart on the island, saving his life.

When the warriors saw Ouyang Yunfeng, they cried out in shock.

“It’s the Young Master!”

“Young Master Yunfeng is here! Why did he come in person?”

Master Zhou turned and, seeing Ouyang Yunfeng, his massive frame stiffened. Moments ago he had been fierce and murderous; now, as though facing his nemesis, his expression crumbled.

Who could have predicted that just as he was about to kill Ouyang Licheng, the Young Master himself would witness it?

What was he to do now?

To ordinary citizens and even some scattered martial artists, the true strength of the Martial Alliance was a mystery. In the past, every region had its own shadowy forces; now, the Martial Alliance was the ruler of all such powers.

In Yang City, all underground dealings, every trade in pills, spirit herbs, forged weapons—whether materials going out or coming in—had to go through the Martial Alliance.

For example, the Ou family’s special forging materials were controlled by the Alliance; where the weapons went, at what price, with which outside partners—all was decided by the Alliance.

Over the years, the Martial Alliance had taken on this responsibility and role.

Naturally, the martial artists trained by the Alliance were the most formidable.

“Young Master, I—I was only joking just now. I’d never dare disrespect the Alliance! Our Zhou family is part of the Alliance—how could we harm our own?” Master Zhou was nearly unable to stand.

Even the Yu family’s loudest, the kneeling Master Ou, all turned pale, at a loss for words.

When Ouyang Yunfeng took over as Young Master, he had gone through rivers of blood; Yang City had been bathed in carnage.

His nickname, “Demon Surgeon,” was in part due to his vow to mold a city of order—countless twisted faces and dark forces had been forcibly reshaped by him into what they were today.

Ouyang Yunfeng shot Master Zhou a cold glance, then looked at Su Ye, surprised to see him holding his sword to Master Ou’s throat.

Though he had promised Su Ye on the ship to cooperate from within, he hadn’t imagined Su Ye would truly turn the tide.

“Master Jiang—” Ouyang Yunfeng gazed at the Jiang family, his voice solemn. “The Martial Alliance is late! Today is the day I cleanse our ranks!”

Cleansing the ranks!

The Yu, Zhou, and Ou families recoiled in terror; some began to beg for mercy outright.

No one wanted to die.

Ouyang Yunfeng finally turned to Su Ye, and his voice was grave: “Su Ye, you are one of the Jiang family as well. You may carry out the cleansing for the Martial Alliance.”

What?

Let Su Ye cleanse the ranks?

He was essentially authorizing Su Ye to kill.

The kneeling Master Ou trembled. If he had dared to shout before, now he had no ground left to stand on. Not even ten Ou families could shake the Martial Alliance now.

“No—no—Young Master, my Ou family was deceived by the Yu family! Please, spare us! We will change, I promise! Su Ye, I’ll do anything—serve you forever—just…”

Su Ye only smirked. Why listen to this nonsense? If Ouyang Yunfeng hadn’t arrived in time, what would have become of him? He’d have been hacked into pieces, no question.

“Die!”

With a fierce swing of the Thunder Sword, Su Ye lopped off Master Ou’s head with a crack.

The severed head rolled like a ball, coming to a stop at Yu Wenhuan’s feet.

Yu Wenhuan stood as if struck by lightning, unable to move, on the verge of collapse.

Truth be told, all those present were warriors, living on the edge of the blade. How many of their hands were truly clean? These families had always come with ambitions of dominance.

Many among them had killed before, but never had they seen one as ruthless as Su Ye.

From now on, the very mention of Su Ye’s name would make them tremble.

Yu Wenhuan’s stunned gaze drifted from the severed head, only to see Su Ye, sword in hand, striding toward him.

It was as if every step Su Ye took was over a bed of corpses.

“Su Ye, no—please, I’ll follow you, I’ll leave the Yu family—spare me, I beg you—”

The Thunder Sword in Su Ye’s hand hummed, but his bearing showed not a trace of malice, only a chilling righteousness. He had killed many, but only those who deserved death.

Even the “Yanhuang” aura within him seemed to respond, sending forth a golden glow, as if urging him to use his sword to cut through all the darkness of the world.

“You—deserve to die!”