Chapter 20: The Profound Light Sect Is Just a Prelude

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: The Profound Light Sect Is Just a Prelude

"The match begins in fifteen minutes! Ticket checks will stop then," a voice announced.

"Sirius Valley welcomes Elder Gongsun Jie."

SWISH!

SWISH!

Just as Gongsun Jie and Zhong Wenhao’s duo were about to enter the valley, two freshly painted vertical banners suddenly unrolled beside the Mountain Gate. They looked as though they had been prepared well in advance.

Gongsun Jie froze on the spot.

"What is going on?" he wondered.

He had still been over three miles away from Sirius Valley. How could the other party have discovered his arrival so quickly?

He had come from Weining City on a whim. With his Lightweight Skill, the journey from Weining City had taken barely a few minutes, leaving Cao Bin far behind in the dust.

In such a short window of time, who could have possibly sent a message ahead?

He wondered if he had wrongly blamed Cao Bin and if Lord Li of the Fun People Club truly possessed Divine Abilities.

Or perhaps there was another Half-Step Grandmaster like him inside the Fun People Club?

Staring at the two banners that had suddenly dropped down, Gongsun Jie subconsciously clenched his fists. "There’s a conspiracy behind this," he thought. "They might be targeting the Profound Light Sect..."

"Elder Gongsun, what’s wrong?" Zhong Wenhao asked in confusion, watching Gongsun Jie suddenly halt.

"It’s nothing. Let’s go!" Gongsun Jie shook his head, his gaze turning resolute once more. What did it matter if they had a Half-Step Grandmaster? He had roamed the Martial World for decades. He dared to go toe-to-toe with even Huaiyi, the Grand Elder of the Red Flame Sect. He feared no one.

The ticket checks had stopped. Many people had yet to enter the valley, but seeing the Sirius Valley gang members blocking the gate, those who hadn’t bought tickets could only watch helplessly from the outside.

The dignitaries and nobles had entered early on. Those arriving now were mostly commoners, and faced with sword-wielding figures of the Martial World, they didn’t dare force their way in.

Gongsun Jie shot a disgusted glance at the banners by the valley entrance. "Grandstanding," he scoffed.

He darted forward, ready to force his way into Sirius Valley.

Suddenly, a figure materialized in front of him, abruptly forcing him to a halt.

Gongsun Jie jumped in shock. Such a fast Body Technique! It was nearly on par with his own. Could this person be the backing behind Sirius Valley?

Gongsun Jie sized Li Ye up. The man had conspicuous short hair and looked remarkably sharp and clean-cut, but his face was completely unfamiliar. Gongsun Jie had no impression of him whatsoever. Most crucially, the other party seemed entirely too young.

"Elder Gongsun, you arrived right on time just as expected. Welcome, welcome!" Li Ye’s face beamed with an enthusiastic smile, making him look just like an old acquaintance of Gongsun Jie.

As soon as the words fell, countless eyes immediately converged on Gongsun Jie, followed by a chorus of whispers.

"That’s Gongsun Jie?"

"A Half-Step Grandmaster? He doesn’t look all that impressive!"

"The two Young Heroes beside him look quite decent, though..."

"But didn’t he bring too few people? The Fun People Club has eleven people taking the field!"

Gongsun Jie’s old face darkened. "Who are you?"

"I am the founder of the Fun People Club, known in the Martial World as Lord Li." Li Ye smiled and cupped his fists, then turned to Zhong Wenhao and his companion. "Wenhao, Zhirou, since you’ve successfully received Elder Gongsun, go wait inside the valley. The match will begin shortly."

Gongsun Jie abruptly spun around to face Zhong Wenhao and Zhu Zhirou.

The two of them froze, staring dumbly at Li Ye. They hadn’t expected to hear such a thing from him.

"Do we even know you?" they thought. "You’re just slinging mud out of nowhere!"

Seeing that Gongsun Jie’s gaze was off, Zhong Wenhao inwardly panicked but quickly protested aloud, "Elder Gongsun, don’t listen to his nonsense! We don’t know him at all. We’ve never even met him before."

Zhu Zhirou raised an eyebrow.

SHING!

She yanked out her treasured sword and pointed it at Li Ye. "You scoundrel, stop trying to sow discord! We clearly came here to back up Gongsun Jie—"

"I never said you weren’t here to back him up!" Li Ye, a master of sowing discord, gave Zhu Zhirou a bewildered look, shaking his head with a chuckle. "But the match hasn’t started yet. Elder Gongsun and I still have some Profound Light Sect matters to discuss. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to hear, so it’s better if you go wait at the arena first. Zhenghui, come lead these two Young Heroes into the valley to wait."

Wang Zhenghui, who was in charge of security, hurriedly stepped forward with an apologetic smile. "Young Heroes, please."

"Elder Gongsun." Zhong Wenhao was at a loss, casting a pleading look at Gongsun Jie.

"What are you trying to pull, you scoundrel? If you want to fight, let’s fight right here!" Zhu Zhirou shouted, slashing her sword toward Li Ye. "Who knows what kind of ambush you have inside the valley? Trying to trick us into going in? No way!"

CLANG!

Li Ye extended two fingers and lightly pinched the edge of Zhu Zhirou’s blade. "Zhu Zhirou, once you’re at the arena, you must follow its rules. Elder Gongsun is still waiting. If you continue this nonsense, I’ll revoke your qualification for the match."

Zhu Zhirou stared at her trapped blade. She tried to pull it back but couldn’t budge it an inch. She was completely dumbfounded. "You... you..."

Throughout history, enemies only reasoned with you after you bared your fists. Realizing that Li Ye’s martial arts might not be inferior to his own, Gongsun Jie’s restless heart gradually calmed down. He narrowed his eyes and said flatly, "You have quite the skill, young man. Go on, you two. Wait for me inside the valley."

"Elder Gongsun," Zhong Wenhao said anxiously. He hadn’t expected Li Ye’s martial arts to be so high. For a moment, he found himself caught between a rock and a hard place.

He didn’t even dare to attack Li Ye anymore.

He could tell that Gongsun Jie had grown suspicious of them.

If he attacked now, Gongsun Jie wouldn’t necessarily help them. If he provoked Li Ye’s wrath, dying here would be completely in vain.

What terrified him even more was that he had no idea how their whereabouts had been leaked. After all, they had never even laid eyes on Li Ye before today.

How could there be someone in the Martial World who would spew such baseless lies? It was absolutely sickening.

Too many things had spiraled out of control. In this very moment, the Martial World experience his master had imparted to him was proving entirely useless.

"Go on, see you in the arena later." Li Ye released Zhu Zhirou’s sword. His face still carried a genial smile, but his voice was icy, and his eyes lacked a shred of emotion. "I’ve prepared for this match for a long time. I absolutely will not allow any accidents."

It was an expression honed by professional acting coaches—the standard gaze of a major villain who showed a total disregard for human life.

Meanwhile, his aura locked onto Zhong Wenhao beside him.

Zhu Zhirou was instantly terrified.

She turned her head to look at Gongsun Jie. Seeing that he had no intention of speaking up for them, her eyes turned red. She gritted her teeth, barely holding back her tears.

"You two, please!" Wang Zhenghui urged once more.

Li Ye watched the duo with a half-smile.

Zhong Wenhao gritted his teeth. "Zhirou, let’s go."

Zhu Zhirou took one last look at Li Ye. Meeting his gaze, she shuddered violently. She hurriedly brushed past him, following closely behind Wang Zhenghui alongside Zhong Wenhao as they walked into Sirius Valley.

As she walked, her heart was filled with regret. If she had known better, she would never have waded into these murky waters. How could the Martial World be so sinister? How could there be a villain like Li Ye, whose very gaze looked as if it wanted to devour people alive!

Once the two had left, Gongsun Jie looked at Li Ye and asked, "Who is your master?"

"Gongsun Jie, didn’t Cao Bin tell you?" Li Ye smiled, looking at him. "I’m not from this world."

"Cao Bin really did betray the Profound Light Sect." Hearing this, Gongsun Jie was infuriated. His aura sharply intensified as he glared at Li Ye with burning eyes. "Scoundrel, spare me the bullshit about higher civilizations. Tell me, what is your purpose? Why are you scheming against the Profound Light Sect?"

"Elder Gongsun, calm your anger." Facing Gongsun Jie’s rising aura, Li Ye maintained his playful smile. His ears strained to listen to the movements inside the valley as he chuckled. "You guessed right. This is indeed a conspiracy, not only targeting the Profound Light Sect, but also the Celestial Dao Alliance. You didn’t actually think Cao Bin was the only traitor within the Profound Light Sect, did you?

"To tell you the truth, we’ve been preparing for this grand maneuver for a very long time. The Profound Light Sect is nothing more than a catalyst..."