Over a hundred disciples of Lingxiao Pavilion, led by Yang Kai, were swiftly heading toward War City.
When they had first arrived here, Yang Kai and Shadow Nine had taken less than two days, which included time spent searching for them. But now, returning, Yang Kai estimated it would take at least four or five days. After all, the strength of these fellow disciples varied greatly. Although many had advanced to the Zhenyuan Realm, there were still quite a few at the Separation-Union Realm and even the Qi Movement Realm.
Yang Kai was in no hurry. He simply chatted and laughed with Su Yan, leading the way at the front, enjoying this carefree, pleasant time.
After more than a year apart, the bond between them hadn't faded; if anything, it had grown stronger.
Walking side by side with her, Yang Kai could even sense the True Yuan within their bodies engaging in a very peculiar fusion. Sometimes, when a thought arose in one mind, the other seemed to vaguely guess it. The feeling was quite wondrous.
One heart, one body, minds attuned—they were likely not far from that state.
Right now, nearly two thousand li away from War City.
A large group of people was hiding in the thick grass, waiting silently.
The leader was Qiu Ziruo of the Qiu family from the Eight Great Families of Zhongdu, Qiu Yimeng's half-brother. Qiu Ziruo had originally been an ally of Yang Shen, the sixth son of the Yang family. However, after Yang Kai's surprise attack that night on Yang Shen's manor, stealing his command flag and forcing him out of the competition, Yang Shen's forces had been handed over to the seventh son, Yang Ying. Qiu Ziruo therefore followed Yang Ying.
Just a few days later, Yang Ying voluntarily withdrew. The warriors under his command gathered at Yang Zhao's manor.
All told, Qiu Ziruo had switched allegiances three times. His frustration was extreme. While these changes were forced upon him, they still cost him face—at the very least, his judgment of people seemed highly questionable. Whichever young master of the Yang family he followed, that young master ended up eliminated.
Before the battle for succession had even begun, Qiu Ziruo, Qiu Yimeng, and the Qiu family head, Qiu Shoucheng, had discussed the battle's probable course. Qiu Yimeng had favored Yang Kai, going so far as to temporarily leave the family with a group of battered remnants from the Qiu Rain Hall to join him.
Facts proved Qiu Yimeng had chosen a good ally!
But the Yang Shen whom Qiu Ziruo and Qiu Shoucheng had backed hadn't made it to the end.
Qiu Ziruo was now seething with determination, vowing to support Yang Zhao to victory in the battle for succession. That would solidify his own position as heir to his family.
Besides Qiu Ziruo, Kang Zhan of the Kang family was also present.
These two were young masters of the Eight Great Families of Zhongdu, future heads of those families.
To deal with Yang Kai, without someone from the Eight Great Families stepping forward, they couldn't command the situation. Thus, the two had been dispatched by Yang Zhao.
As for Yang Zhao himself, he had to remain in War City. If he left, he might suffer the same fate as Yang Shen and be forced out.
Beside these two were Xiang Chu of the Xiang family and Nan Sheng of the Nan family. These two families had countless, tangled grievances with Yang Kai. Learning they were to mobilize against him, they naturally volunteered, eager to wash away past humiliations.
Yang Zhao agreed readily.
In addition, three or four other factions of considerable strength had also gathered here!
"Brother Kang, is the Second Young Master's information accurate? Surely Yang Kai isn't that reckless?" After waiting for over a day with no sign of movement, Qiu Ziruo couldn't help growing impatient.
Hearing this, Kang Zhan chuckled softly. "Just be patient, Brother Qiu. Since the Second Young Master said so, there's no problem."
Qiu Ziruo looked at Kang Zhan with some puzzlement. "Brother Kang seems to hold the Second Young Master in high regard."
Kang Zhan smiled faintly. "Don't laugh, Brother Qiu, but when the battle for succession first began, I actually intended to ally with the Second Young Master. Because I felt, with his methods, he was capable of achieving great things."
"Oh? Then why did you choose the Seventh Young Master?" Qiu Ziruo raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding. Kang Zhan had originally been an ally of Yang Ying, the seventh son, but had switched to Yang Zhao's side after Yang Ying's withdrawal.
"Couldn't be helped." Kang Zhan smiled wryly and shook his head. "The Second Young Master chose Ye Xinrou of the Ye family, so I had no choice but to pick someone else."
A knowing and slightly suggestive glint appeared in Qiu Ziruo's eyes. He nodded. "Beauty always has its advantages."
"Indeed. Beauty—every man loves it, especially someone as delicate and lovely as Ye Xinrou." Kang Zhan licked his lips.
Qiu Ziruo also chuckled. As fellow young masters and misses of the Eight Great Families, they both knew Ye Xinrou's character and background quite well, and naturally understood that her relationship with Yang Zhao was far from ordinary.
It was precisely because of this that Ye Xinrou was currently very trusted in Yang Zhao's manor. As allies of Yang Zhao who had joined later, Qiu Ziruo's and Kang Zhan's status wasn't as high as hers.
But they didn't care much about that. Their own status wasn't low to begin with.
"Supposedly, the information this time came from that woman personally going to Zhongdu to investigate." Kang Zhan gave a sleazy laugh. "When the eldest miss of the Ye family personally takes action, is it possible that the deputy gang master of some underground faction wouldn't be handled? With just a little sweetener, he'd probably be completely under her spell."
"That's true." Qiu Ziruo nodded, wondering if Ye Xinrou ever used such a honey trap on him, whether he could keep the secret. Especially if his life depended on it.
"Even if Yang Kai is clever and capable, he probably never imagined that based on just a few trivial clues, the Second Young Master could deduce that he left War City!" Kang Zhan chuckled softly. "He thought he covered his tracks perfectly, but there were still some flaws."
"No one is perfect!" Qiu Ziruo shook his head slightly. "Yang Kai is about our age. If he did everything perfectly, would the rest of us even have a chance to live?"
"True enough." Kang Zhan nodded with a laugh. Even as he said this, he couldn't deny Yang Kai's formidable methods. If it weren't for the Second Young Master's meticulous attention to detail, they probably wouldn't have this rare opportunity.