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Chapter 446: I Won, Brother

And Zhao Lan was nowhere to be seen.

As impossible as it might seem, Ye Qing’s survival could only mean Zhao Lan’s death.

But how?

How did Ye Qing do the impossible?

They had envisioned all kinds of possibilities while the fog covered up the last bits of the battle. They had imagined Zhao Lan ripping Ye Qing’s remaining limbs off, Zhao Lan destroying Ye Qing’s dantian and meridians, even Zhao Lan beating Ye Qing to death with his bare hands.

The one thing they didn’t expect was Ye Qing to live, and Zhao Lan to die.

For a time, the entire peak was engulfed in a strange, oppressive silence. Even Fang Muyun and Chu Wangsun were looking at Ye Qing with indecipherable expressions on their faces.

“How... How on earth did Zhao Lan lose? I thought he consumed the Hanba’s blood essence?” The Harmony King rubbed his eyes furiously, but Ye Qing’s silhouette didn’t waver. Zhao Lan didn’t just lose the battle, he was so dead they couldn’t even find a speck of him on the battlefield.

“Incredible. He is everything we hope to find in our youth and more,” Lei Xiaodan showered Ye Qing with praise after a long exhalation.

“Do you know what happened, Xiaodan? Tell us already!” The Harmony King immediately spun on the Judicial Commissioner. Everyone else looked curious as well.

Lei Xiaodan began his explanation, “After consuming the Hanba’s blood essence, Zhao Lan was as strong as a Half-Step Grandmaster. This power comes with a huge flaw, however. It’s only a temporary power boost. As soon as the blood essence had run out of power, Zhao Lan would be weaker than he ever was.”

“Young Ye knew this, which was why he fought to drag out the battle as much as possible. In fact, Zhao Lan’s power was already declining when he was fighting against Young Ye’s Soulstealer-class Strange Artifact. Zhao Lan himself noticed this, which was why he stopped wasting time on the Strange Artifact and went for Young Ye.”

“Unfortunately for him, Young Ye was ultimately stronger than him. He used that strange fog and something to kill Zhao Lan and win the match.”

Everyone fell silent for a time. Lei Xiaodan made it easy, but Zhao Lan was as strong as a Half-Step Grandmaster after he consumed the Hanba’s blood essence. Forget a late-stage Spirit Purifier like Ye Qing, not even some of them could claim that they could definitely drag out the fight long enough to kill Zhao Lan.

Despite the massive gap in power, Ye Qing had kept his cool, figured out the way to defeat Zhao Lan, used his strength to delay Zhao Lan long enough for him to start weakening, and even killed Zhao Lan at the very end. What a monster!

If before they thought that the nickname “Qing Emperor Junior” was just the ramblings of the foolish and ignorant, now they were really starting to think that Ye Qing deserved it.

“Forgive my ignorance, but do you know what sort of method or technique the Qing Emperor Junior used to turn the tables around, Lord Lei?”

Lei Xiaodan shook his head. “My apologies, but I would like to know that answer myself. Mayhaps Lord Hong can answer our question?”

Everyone turned to look at Hong Jianglong, but the man was grim-faced and unmoving like a statue. He clearly had no intention of entertaining their question.

There was a golden flash, and Ye Qing was finally teleported out of the platform.

“Joyless!”

“Are you okay, Joyless?”

“What medicine do you need?”

Lin Yuhuai, Chu Nianjiu, Qi Xuanyun, Gao Ningan and more had been waiting for him. They immediately swarmed the young man and showered him with concern.

“I’m fine.” Ye Qing raised his head with difficulty and shot them a smile, though it was difficult to tell since his face had taken a literal pounding from a pseudo Disaster-class Stranger.

He then looked at Lin Yuhuai and declared in a solemn voice, “I won, brother.”

“Joyless...” Tears welled in Lin Yuhuai’s eyes. Although he wasn’t the reason Ye Qing and Zhao Lan clashed—he was just an unfortunate victim who was caught in an insane man’s scheme—but it was a fact that Ye Qing tried to kill Zhao Lan because the bastard had hurt him. If it wasn’t for him, there was a chance this wouldn’t devolve into a life-or-death struggle, small as it was.

But before Lin Yuhuai could say anything, Ye Qing continued, “Hehe, thank the heavens I bloody won, man! I bet ten thousand silvers that I would kick that bastard’s ass! Had I lost, I would be completely broke! I swear, my heart had never raced harder than just now!”

“Er...” Lin Yuhuai swallowed whatever words he wanted to say back down his throat. It looked like he was touched for nothing.

“So? What do you all think?” Ye Qing winked at his companions proudly and arrogantly. “I’m super strong, aren’t I? Do you want to know I turned the tables around and killed Zhao Lan in the end?”

“Yes!” Qi Xuanyun replied honestly like the good boy he was. The surrounding people couldn’t help but incline their ears in his direction as well.

“Hehe, the answer is... I’ll tell you later!” Ye Qing cackled.

“You and your jokes! Well, at least that proves that you’re okay.” Chu Nianjiu let out a sigh of relief.

“Of course I’m okay. I’ll be better than okay if someone can give me some of his wine!” Ye Qing grinned.

“Keep dreaming, bud. Can you even open your mouth right now?” Chu Nianjiu rejected the request mercilessly.

“Heavens, my friend is so heartless he wouldn’t offer me a drink even when I’m on the brink of death.” Ye Qing sighed sorrowfully. “What’s even the point of living anymore? I think I’ll just die.”

As soon as he said this, Ye Qing collapsed on the floor. He wasn’t moving.

“Joyless?!”

“Brother Ye!”

Lin Yuhuai and Qi Xuanyun exclaimed in shock and horror.

Chu Nianjiu’s wine gourd slipped out of his hand and hit the ground as he blurted, “You gotta be kidding me! You’re actually dying because I didn’t give you my wine?!”

It was at this moment Hong Jianglong appeared next to Ye Qing and checked his pulse. A few seconds later, his expression turned extremely ugly. “Hmph! What was he thinking acting like he was fine when he’s anything but?”

“Is Joyless okay, my lord?” Lin Yuhuai asked worriedly.

“His spirit is spent, his mind is damaged, his internal organs are covered in wounds, his blood vessels are damaged, and he’s missing an arm. He’s not dead yet, but he’s going to die if we don’t get him treatment soon,” Hong Jianglong uttered coldly. “What the hell are you guys still standing here for? Take him to the Pacification Bureau already!”

“R-Right! At once!” Everyone responded.

“Actually, never mind. I’ll take him there myself.” Suddenly, Hong Jianglong changed his tune. “Mister Farseeing, can you take over as the host for a bit? I’ll return as soon as I take him to the Pacification Bureau. His condition can’t wait.”

“It’s more important to save lives. Please do as you wish, Lord Hong,” Fang Muyun replied quietly.

“Thank you for your understanding.” Hong Jianglong nodded and carried Ye Qing into his arms. A flash later, he was soaring down the peak.

......

After Hong Jianglong reached the foot of Flying Dragon Mount, Hong Jianglong suddenly said, “There’s no one here. You can stop pretending now.”

“My lord...” Ye Qing opened his eyes and coughed a little.

“So? What did you want to talk about?” Hong Jianglong asked. He was the one who checked Ye Qing’s pulse after he collapsed, so he knew that the young man was faking unconsciousness. The reason he did this was because he had something to tell him.

“Can you please find out where Zhao Lan got the Hanba’s blood essence?” Ye Qing asked weakly.

Hong Jianglong understood his meaning immediately. “You think that someone gave Zhao Lan the Hanba’s blood essence to kill you? Maybe the same one who lured you to the Corpse Ship last time?”

“Got it in one.” Ye Qing nodded.

“Do you have evidence?” Hong Jianglong asked.

Ye Qing shook his head. “No. It’s just a feeling, but I don’t think I’m wrong. You know as I do how precious a Hanba’s blood essence is, and I highly doubt anyone from Ragged Villa can afford such a thing. Even if they could, they wouldn’t waste it on a disciple.”

A Stranger’s blood essence had many uses. It could be used to forge Strange Artifacts, create pills, cultivate martial arts, and even nurture or awaken a Stranger’s bloodline. It was as valuable as a Soulstealer-class Strange Artifact, if not more. It made little sense that the Ragged Villa would give Zhao Lan a Hanba’s blood essence just to win the Hidden Dragon Meet.

Of course, there was a chance Zhao Lan had come across the blood essence on his journey, but it was worth looking into regardless.

“Makes sense.” Hong Jianglong agreed with Ye Qing’s assessment. “I’ll send someone to investigate Zhao Lan’s residence and everyone he has contact with as soon as possible.”

Another question occurred to Hong Jianglong afterward. “If you suspect that Zhao Lan did not come by the Hanba’s blood essence by accident, then why didn’t you keep him alive for interrogation?”

“Trust me, I want to. But had I held back during that match, then I wouldn’t be here to speak to you at all. Cough! Cough!”

When Zhao Lan sensed that the blood essence was running out of power and charged him, Ye Qing immediately used the Child of Blood Demon to blind Zhao Lan in both sight and spiritual perception. It was to buy more time and deplete the blood essence’s power even more.

The Child of Blood Demon was created from the original fog he obtained from the Corpse Ship, so of course it inherited its anomalous qualities as well. Besides disrupting one’s senses, it could also induce hallucinations in his target.

When Zhao Lan’s power had declined to a certain degree, Ye Qing used up all of his spiritual power and executed a full-powered “Hellfire Red Lotus Saber Art”.

Zhao Lan wasn’t just ungodly strong after transforming into a Hanba, he was impervious to all physical damage as well. At the very least, his fist art, saber art and more couldn’t get through at his current level. Therefore, he could only attack Zhao Lan’s mind.

The “Hellfire Red Lotus Saber Art” had less application than the “Heavenly Demon Captures The Soul”, but it was deadlier. Sin and karmic hindrance also fueled its power, and the Hanba was the representative of disaster and calamity. It would take more than several books to detail the sheer amount of sin and karmic hindrance a Hanba had accrued in a lifetime, much less all of them. Therefore, the Hanba was the perfect prey for the “Hellfire Red Lotus Saber Art”.

As expected, the “Hellfire Red Lotus Saber Art” was able to inflict serious damage to Zhao Lan on the first strike, but he wasn’t dead yet. So, Ye Qing consumed a golden dragon-serpent rune to restore his spirit to the max before unleashing “Hellfire Red Lotus Saber Art” a second time. It was only then the Hanba incarnate finally burned to ash.

Ye Qing didn’t make a single mistake or show a shred of mercy throughout the process. He couldn’t. After all, one misstep was all it took to ruin it all, and the price of failure was death.

Of course, the other reason he used the Child of Blood Demon was to prevent the spectators—or more specifically, Chu Wangsun—from finding out that he could use the “Hellfire Red Lotus Saber Art”.

Chu Wangsun already suspected that he was the “thief” who took his Duckweed Flower and forced him to kill his student back then, and he had used the saber art against him before. To reveal the “Hellfire Red Lotus Saber Art” right now would be the same as admitting he was guilty. Heavens only know how much trouble he would be in.

He had no intention of entering the frying pan so soon after he leaped out of the fire. He just knew that it was going to be a most miserable experience.