Chapter 275: Chapter 126: Suppression, Despair! Heaven and Earth, Reversed! Kill

But based on her brief yet profound impression of Chu Fan...

’Would he really abandon his master, Cao Feng, and flee for his life at a time like this?’

’If he were really that kind of person, he wouldn’t be worthy of Duan Qingling’s concern.’

’The possibility of him running away is minuscule...’

A deep sense of powerlessness, like cold vines, wrapped around Duan Qingling’s heart.

The vines tightened, making it hard for her to breathe.

Duan Qingling wanted to do something, even if it was just to send a message or a warning.

But what could she do?

She was just an unremarkable junior member of the Duan Family.

In the face of a storm that threatened her family’s very survival, her wishes and feelings were as insignificant as dust.

The Duan Family would never dare to interfere in this matter.

Even the slightest involvement could bring catastrophic disaster upon the Duan Family.

In truth, everyone in Cyan Yang Ancient City now knew how powerful the Moon Worship Sect was.

Even if the Duan Family were willing to act, how could they possibly stand against the Moon Worship Sect?

All she could do was watch from afar, helpless.

Waiting for the tragic end that was sure to come.

"Chu Fan..."

She silently mouthed his name, her chest tight with a painful ache.

Outside the window, dark clouds piled up layer by layer, creating a sense of panic.

A storm that would sweep the entire city seemed ready to break at any moment.

That oppressive sense of despair, like the calm before a devastating storm, hung over all of Cyan Yang Ancient City.

And it weighed heavily on her heart.

’Perhaps I’ll never again see that young man with the bright eyes and cheerful smile.’

The storm was coming. The Seven Stars Gang Headquarter was like a lone boat in the tempest.

Awaiting its fate to be torn to pieces.

Everyone thought so.

...

「Almost at the same time...」

The winds of Cyan Yang Ancient City also swept over the high walls of the Fang Family, one of the Four Great Clans.

They rustled the leaves of several old trees in the courtyard, making a SHUSHING sound.

Like countless tiny sighs.

The Fang Family estate was deep and secluded. Its pavilions and towers exuded the heritage and majesty of a century-old Noble Family.

But within these high walls, which seemed to insulate it from the turmoil of the outside world, an intangible oppression weighed even heavier than what was outside.

In an embroidered chamber above, Fang Qingqing stood by the window.

She wore a pale cyan gown, her figure graceful and her features beautiful.

But her once-lively eyes were now filled with an unshakeable melancholy.

Her fingertips unconsciously traced the cold window lattice as her gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of courtyards and land on the northern part of the city.

’The New Seven Stars Gang...’

The tragic sight of the Blood Saber Sect’s annihilation hung over the heart of everyone in Cyan Yang Ancient City like a cold nightmare.

And the next target, without a doubt, would be the New Seven Stars Gang.

Fang Qingqing’s thoughts drifted to an even more mysterious figure...

...the mysterious man who wore the Evil Ghost Mask.

Unlike Duan Qingling, she relied on the Fang Family’s intelligence network and her own sharp intuition. She had a vague sense that the storm engulfing the city was inextricably linked to that mysterious Ghost-faced Man.

’For the New Seven Stars Gang to have so precisely sabotaged the Moon Worship Sect’s Blood Sacrifice and rescued over a hundred Blood Nourishing Realm disciples, they must have received top-secret information from the Ghost-faced Man.’

’Even the annihilation of the Blood Saber Sect likely has its roots in this.’

’The Moon Worship Sect must have seen the Ghost-faced Man use the Nine Blood Soul Blades and thus blamed the Blood Saber Sect for it.’

’But now, the Blood Saber Sect has been utterly annihilated, yet the Ghost-faced Man is still nowhere to be found.’

’Is he alive or dead?’

’Did he flee long ago, or is he still lurking in the shadows of Cyan Yang Ancient City, coldly watching the monstrous waves he himself created?’

As her thoughts swirled in turmoil, another young face suddenly broke into her mind...

That young man was named Chu Fan.

She had some impression of him.

Two years ago, by the soup kitchen set up by the Fang Family outside the city, she had seen a ragged, starving boy carefully lining up for a bowl of hot congee.

The last time she saw him was a few months ago, at the entrance of the Drunken Immortal Tower.

The Chu Fan of that time had undergone a complete Rebirth.

He had decisively taken action for an ordinary man who was being bullied by Blood Saber Sect Members.

He beat those arrogant Blood Saber Sect Members to a pulp.

That strength, that sharp spirit that defied authority, had made her take notice.

Afterward, rumors about him began to multiply.

Unparalleled talent, divine speed in his progress.

He became Cao Feng’s right-hand man and a rapidly rising figure among the younger generation of Cyan Yang Ancient City...

"Such a genius..."

Fang Qingqing sighed softly, a hint of imperceptible regret in her voice. "Will he, in the end, have his life cut short here?"

’Since the Seven Stars Gang has already dismissed all its ordinary disciples,’ she thought.

’With the potential Chu Fan has shown, Cao Feng and the others will surely have him leave this place of turmoil first.’

’The main targets of the Moon Worship Sect and Seven Stars Castle are the core leaders like Cao Feng and Li Qingxue.’

’They probably wouldn’t go to the trouble of hunting down a young disciple who has already left the gang.’

’He’ll most likely survive.’

The thought brought her a small measure of peace.

But what immediately followed was a more complex emotion.

She had no deep connection with the New Seven Stars Gang, or with Chu Fan.

And with Li Qingxue of the Seven Stars Gang, she was merely known as one half of the "Twin Prides of Cyan Yang." They had little private contact.

The survival of the Seven Stars Gang, logically speaking, had nothing to do with her, the Second Miss Fang.

Yet, for no apparent reason, she felt a sense of unease.

It was the desolation of a fox mourning a dead rabbit—a sorrow for the fall of one’s own kind.

It was the truest perception of this cruel world.

People or powers that were vibrant and alive just yesterday could completely disappear today, crushed into the dust of history.

Without making even the slightest ripple...

A force as strong as the Blood Saber Sect was annihilated overnight, with no one left alive.

The New Seven Stars Gang, which seemed to be rising swiftly and full of vigor, was now facing utter destruction in the blink of an eye...

Her Fang Family was a behemoth that dominated a corner of Cyan Yang Ancient City.

An existence that ordinary people looked up to.

But in the face of the storm stirred up by the alliance of the Moon Worship Sect and Seven Stars Castle, weren’t they, too, just a lone boat that could capsize at any moment?