Chapter 210: Self-Redemption?

Inside a pitch-black, silent cellar.

Two distorted, shifting shadows were cast upon the dark walls.

Occasional snippets of conversation added an even more sinister aura to this eerie cellar.

“How is it? How much of your strength have you recovered so far?”

A man softly asked the blurry shadow before him.

The shadow seemed to ponder, remaining silent for a moment before responding, “Thirty percent.”

Hearing this, the man’s brows slightly furrowed. “That’s too little. How long until you fully recover?”

The shadow raised a single finger.

“Ten years!” the man exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

“One hundred years.”

The air fell into a brief stillness.

The man took a deep breath, somewhat helplessly saying, “That’s too slow.”

The shadow seemed to guess what the man was thinking and continued, “Actually, there is a faster method, but it requires the help of the Martial God, Your Excellency.”

The man narrowed his eyes. “Let’s hear it.”

The shadow leaned closer, lips moving: “”

One minute later.

“Alright, but before that, I have one more question for you.”

“Feel free to speak, Martial God Master.” The shadow replied calmly with a smile.

The man’s gaze sharpened, piercing like needles into the shadow’s form.

“Should I address you as the Sect Leader, or… Your Excellency, Sky Demon?”

——

“Yan Thunder Destruction Slash!”

Ahead, over a dozen fleeing remnants of the Heaven Demon Sect instantly vanished into nothingness.

From behind, Zhang Qianyue rushed forward, stepping on crackling thunder.

Old Zhang looked at the scene before him, a trace of confusion appearing on his face.

“Strange, why are you so enthusiastic about doing this sort of thing?”

Jiang Yan collected all the spatial rings left behind by the corpses, smiling as he replied, “With Tianyuan Star in chaos, these troublemaking cultists are naturally to blame. Even for the sake of Tianyuan Star’s people, I, Jiang, should be proactive!”

Jiang Yan’s words were impassioned. If Zhang Qianyue didn’t know his true nature, he might have already believed him.

“Fine, if you don’t want to say, then don’t. But I must remind you, the people you’ve killed are just some worthless trash from various Anti-Sect Factions. If you truly encounter high-ranking members of the Anti-Sect Factions, with your level as a Sixth Rank Martial Artist, you’ll likely struggle to handle them.”

“That method you used to kill the Helmsman probably can’t be used again, right?”

To this day, Zhang Qianyue still believed that Jiang Yan, as a Sixth Rank Martial Artist, had used some extremely costly secret technique, perhaps even one that shortened his lifespan, to kill the Eighth Rank Celestial Phenomenon Helmsman.

But he wasn’t far off. Jiang Yan’s Instant Kill Law was indeed an undisclosed secret method—commonly known as a secret technique.

Except this secret technique not only had no cost but was also used by Jiang Yan as a regular attack.

Regarding Zhang Qianyue’s misunderstanding, Jiang Yan merely smiled without speaking, neither confirming nor denying it.

“Alright, tomorrow night I have to follow the [Purge Squad] to catch a few big fish. You shouldn’t tag along for the fighting and killing. While the Sky Demon hasn’t appeared yet, you should leave this planet.”

“Old Zhang, how big are these ‘big fish’ you’re talking about?”

Jiang Yan skipped over Zhang Qianyue’s warning, showing interest in the so-called big fish.

“Don’t, don’t ask about such things. This operation is exceptionally dangerous. Even an Eighth Rank Martial Artist like me has to be extremely cautious. Moreover, this matter is classified as highly confidential. Jiang, kid, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but revealing such information beforehand would be irresponsible to my teammates.”

Jiang Yan scratched his head, putting on an innocent and harmless expression.

“Old Zhang, don’t worry. Since you say this place is so dangerous, I simply won’t go.”

“Hahaha, I didn’t expect you to be so unexpectedly obedient!”

Old Zhang patted Jiang Yan’s shoulder with relief.

“Law of the Jungle,” Jiang Yan silently repeated in his heart.

Then, smiling, he waved at Old Zhang. “Although it was a chance encounter, since it’s none of my business, I’ll take my leave now.”

In the sky above.

“Extremely dangerous, is it?”

“Then I have no choice but to go.”

Down below, Zhang Qianyue walked along the road. Although Jiang Yan had agreed quite readily, for some reason, he felt a bit uneasy in his heart.

Just then, a phone call came through.

“Old Zhang, this mission is extremely tough. According to intelligence from above, the elite remnants of the Heaven Demon Sect are hiding in that place, and there are also some high-ranking members of the Anti-Sect Faction there, huddling together for warmth. So, this is going to be a hard battle.”

“Alright, I’ll be extra careful.”

Zhang Qianyue nodded in assurance.

Suddenly, laughter erupted from the other end of the phone.

“Hahahaha, just kidding, Old Zhang! I heard that for this operation, the Martial God Master himself is taking action. We just need to follow behind him—there’s no way we’ll encounter any danger!”

The voice on the phone was unusually excited, thrilled at the prospect of witnessing the Martial God’s majestic presence.

“Even the Martial God is personally involved? It seems this operation is foolproof.”

Thinking this, Zhang Qianyue’s expression grew solemn.

“It looks like tomorrow night, my grudge with the Heaven Demon Sect will be settled once and for all.”

He found a stone pier to sit on, wearily lit a cigarette, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

“This world has both good and bad. I can’t stubbornly believe that everything in the world is like this just because of the things I’ve experienced.”

Yesterday, the peerless Body Cultivator Hong Luo, the Martial God who had not returned for a thousand years, left the Six Alliance on behalf of all Body Cultivators.

On the same day, Xiao Chunwei, leader of the Justice Alliance, also withdrew from the Six Alliance, deploying additional troops to encircle and suppress the remnants of the Anti-Sect Faction.

Hong Luo had not returned to the Heavenly Source for a millennium, yet now, at this critical moment for Tianyuan Star’s survival, he chose to take action. How could Zhang Qianyue not admire him?

It was said that Hong Luo was born with weak Martial Way aptitude, so he forged a new path by cultivating ancient Body Cultivator secret techniques. Later, he encountered a bottleneck and left the Heavenly Source a thousand years ago in search of the ultimate path for Body Cultivators.

Five hundred years ago, the fame of Hong Luo, the Martial God, resounded throughout the entire Galactic Domain.

He was an immensely righteous man who hated evil, with a bold and straightforward nature. Even though he was not on Tianyuan Star, he inspired the admiration of all Body Cultivators there, who spontaneously formed a Body Cultivator organization—though it was not officially recognized.

As for Xiao Chunwei, there was even less to say. In Zhang Qianyue’s impression, this person was practically the only one in the Six Alliance who got things done. Anyone familiar with Tianyuan Star knew how much he had contributed to its development.

The Righteous Alliance under his command was even more renowned, with most of its members being Martial Way masters of unwavering integrity and unyielding character.

Those people, Zhang Qianyue felt, were worthy of respect.

With them around, Tianyuan Star would not fall!

As the cigarette burned out, the lifeless look in Zhang Qianyue’s eyes cleared.

Clenching his fist, the slight weariness on his face gently eased away.

“So many people are persevering. What reason do I, Old Zhang, have to talk about giving up?”

He patted his own face, looked up at the stars above, and completed a redemption within himself.

A sudden flash of lightning, and the cigarette butt in his hand turned to ash and vanished.

Zhang Qianyue slowly walked away, stepping on the reflection of the Starry Sky beneath his feet.