Chapter 166 - 165: I Alone Am Enough

Situ Kong’s face remained completely devoid of emotion. Seeing Night Rose charging toward him, he shifted his left foot half a step to the side and thrust out a hand. His fingers curled like an eagle’s claw, aiming straight for her throat.

"Situ Kong!" A cold, piercing voice suddenly rang in everyone’s ears.

A dark silhouette abruptly lunged at Situ Kong, launching a vicious kick directly at his chest.

It was Ye Xuan!

Seeing the newcomer, Situ Kong’s expression finally changed. Sensing the ferocity of Ye Xuan’s power, Situ Kong didn’t dare to take the blow head-on. He quickly retracted his arm and spun away, narrowly dodging the attack.

Immediately after, Situ Kong stomped down hard, shattering the marble floor beneath his feet. He shot forward like a wild, untamed horse, pouncing toward Ye Xuan with a speed that the naked eye could barely track.

Their figures quickly entangled. The hand-to-hand combat produced a series of dull thuds as their fierce struggle escalated.

BOOM!

Situ Kong missed a kick and slammed his foot into the waist-thick tree behind Ye Xuan. With a loud CRACK, a massive fissure split the trunk.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Ye Xuan rolled to the side. Arching his body like a drawn bow, he stomped his feet against the ground and unleashed a devastating punch aimed straight at Situ Kong’s heart. The strike was unstoppable.

Refusing to back down, Situ Kong clenched his fist and met Ye Xuan’s attack head-on.

BANG!

The collision of their fists erupted in a deafening blast. Situ Kong stumbled back several steps, only stopping when he slammed into a tree. Sputtering out a mouthful of blood, his body swayed violently before he dropped to one knee.

Although Ye Xuan was also forced back two steps, with a thin trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, he managed to stabilize his stance.

In this clash, Situ Kong had ultimately lost.

Everyone’s eyes went wide. Zhu Yeqing and the others, in particular, stared at the scene in utter disbelief. Situ Kong’s hoarse, ragged gasps scraped against their eardrums as a sudden, heavy silence fell over the surroundings. Even Night Rose looked at Ye Xuan in sheer shock.

She had known five years ago that Ye Xuan was strong, but she never imagined he had reached such a terrifying level. While Situ Kong hadn’t been killed by the single punch, it was painfully obvious to everyone present that he was no match for Ye Xuan. It was simply inconceivable! Situ Kong was ranked second on the Celestial Ranking! If even he couldn’t defeat Ye Xuan, then only their boss could handle this.

Zhu Yeqing and the others stared at Ye Xuan in terror, treating him as their deadliest foe.

"Ye Xuan," Situ Kong called out his name, using the tree trunk behind him to slowly pull himself up. "I never expected your strength to grow this much over the past five years. I have to admit, letting you escape back then was the biggest mistake the Celestial Ranking ever made.

"It’s a genuine pity we didn’t wipe out all of you Four Palaces’ Hall Chiefs that day."

As he spoke, Situ Kong discreetly signaled Zhu Yeqing and the rest, gesturing for them to find an opening to take Ye Xuan down in one fell swoop. Their nerves pulled taut, Zhu Yeqing and the others slowly adjusted their positions.

Ye Xuan shot Situ Kong a passive glance before walking over to Night Rose and pulling her up from the ground. "How are you? Are you alright?"

"Are you kidding? How could anything be wrong with me," Night Rose muttered, twitching her lips as she put on a brave front.

"You shouldn’t have come. This matter has absolutely nothing to do with you. If you provoke the Celestial Ranking again because of me, your situation will only get worse."

Seeing Ye Xuan appear had made Night Rose’s heart skip a beat, but she still didn’t want him risking himself to save her. The true power of the Celestial Ranking went far beyond this. Flicking the Soft Sword she had dropped on the ground up with her foot, she caught it firmly in her hand and re-entered a combat stance.

Ye Xuan’s eyes flickered, his expression solemn and resolute. "You’re being hunted by the Celestial Ranking because you helped me. I can’t just wash my hands of this. Besides, I already owe you twice. Consider this my way of repaying the favor.

"Moreover, even without you, a war between our Four Palaces and the Celestial Ranking is inevitable. We still haven’t avenged what happened five years ago."

As soon as Ye Xuan finished speaking, Situ Kong let out a string of cold laughter. "Ye Xuan, five years ago, your Four Palaces were no match for our Celestial Ranking. Now, the White Tiger Chief is dead, Xuanwu is crippled, and the only Hall Chiefs left are you and the Vermilion Bird.

"What makes you think the Four Palaces have what it takes to fight us now?"

Hearing Situ Kong bring up the events of five years ago, Ye Xuan’s demeanor shifted drastically. His sharp gaze locked onto Situ Kong’s eyes. "To kill you all, I alone am more than enough."

Such sheer arrogance!

Upon hearing this, Situ Kong’s expression instantly darkened. With a grim face, he shot a look at his disciples. The group immediately swarmed forward, intent on taking Ye Xuan down in one coordinated strike.

Ye Xuan had noticed their little maneuvers all along, but he simply hadn’t bothered to point them out. In his eyes, Situ Kong and his disciples were no different from trash.

"Ye Xuan, watch out!" Not daring to lose focus, Night Rose shouted a quick warning before charging fiercely into the fray.

Ye Xuan didn’t waste his breath. Snatching a discarded dagger off the ground, he weighed it in his hand, pushed off his toes, and followed closely behind her. With a swift, decisive motion, he plunged the blade straight into the heart of the man at the front of the pack. Blood sprayed out like a geyser, but Ye Xuan’s face remained completely devoid of emotion as he yanked the dagger free and launched his next attack.

He spun around and kicked away someone trying to ambush him from behind, then hurled a Flying Knife that buried itself perfectly into the attacker’s throat. Eyes wide with shock, the man dropped his weapon. His trembling hands flew up to clutch his profusely bleeding neck before he collapsed unsteadily to the ground.

Without pausing for even a second, Ye Xuan picked up a long whip and snapped it out with a loud CRACK. The whip coiled tightly around Jiu’s arm. With a violent tug, he yanked her right out of the tree. She crashed into the ground with a heavy THUD.

Seeing the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl, Ye Xuan hesitated for a fraction of a second, his brow furrowing involuntarily.

"Ye Xuan! Don’t hurt Jiu!" Night Rose yelled, glancing over at the girl while fending off her own opponents. She still harbored affection for this little junior sister who was always sticking by her side.

"Worry about yourself before worrying about others!" Seeing Night Rose distracted, Situ Kong instantly struck out with his palm.

Already injured and unable to dodge in time, Night Rose was sent flying several meters through the air. A mouthful of blood sprayed from her lips as a piercing agony radiated from her left shoulder.

It seemed her left arm was now useless.

Gritting her teeth, Night Rose ignored the injury and scrambled back up. In a life-or-death battle, there was no room for the slightest lapse in concentration or margin for error. Every single second dictated who lived and who died.

Though Ye Xuan didn’t understand why Night Rose wanted him to spare the young girl, he showed mercy. Knocking Jiu unconscious with a swift chop to the back of the neck, he sped off to bail Night Rose out of danger.