"Do you have a way to help them escape this pit of fire?"

Of course, Zhang Yong and the other two hadn’t come for Xu Yang to mock them. They were here to ask for help.

Xu Yang shook his head. "What makes you think I can help them? Go ask Lu Ren. His reputation should carry some weight in Sharp Wind Hall."

Jiang Ping’s expression turned scornful. "A Ten Heroes Genius, an expert who has achieved Qi Cultivation Gang... You think he’d still give a damn about brothers like us?"

Among the three, Zhang Yong had quarreled and had a falling out with Lu Ren.

Before Lu Ren’s rise, Zhao Zhifei had always looked down on disciples from the lower class and had mocked Lu Ren as well.

He, on the other hand, had befriended Lu Ren the very first time Lu Ren stepped into the Weiyuan Hall’s Inner Courtyard, even giving him gifts and offering much help later on.

But from his tone, Xu Yang could tell that not only had Lu Ren refused to help him, but he now looked down on him too.

Zhang Yong said, "He’s one of the beneficiaries, too. He gets a cut of the contribution points we turn in. If he wanted to help us, he would have done it without us even asking. Before the new rule was even announced, he and Gu Haoming were already hiding out in Cyan Yang City. They haven’t shown their faces at all recently."

Xu Yang was amazed. ’So Lu Ren and Gu Haoming’s garrison duty at the Hundred Medicine Hall was because of this.’ He had been wondering why the two of them hadn’t returned to the Purple Sun Sect after their garrison task ended.

"Then the only other option is to forcibly defect from Sharp Wind Hall," Xu Yang said.

Of course, the three of them probably didn’t have the guts for that. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have run here to ask Sun Tao for help. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The trio’s expressions were incredibly grim. Zhang Yong said, "You remember Li Shun, the top disciple from Tiger Roar Boxing Hall, right? He was vehemently against turning in contribution points and threatened to quit Sharp Wind Hall.

Yesterday, while he was feeding Exotic Beasts on Beast King Peak, one of them suddenly went berserk and bit him to death."

Of course he remembered Li Shun. When they had joined Sharp Wind Hall at the Dragon Assembly, Li Shun and his junior brothers had been ecstatic, thinking they had latched onto someone powerful. He never thought he’d be used so quickly to ’kill the chicken to scare the monkeys’ and disposed of.

’So ruthless!’

This move of ’beating the mountain to frighten the tiger’ immediately intimidated Zhang Yong and the others. Though unwilling, they no longer dared to try any tricks.

Having heard enough of the drama, Xu Yang couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words and returned to his room.

He had his own troubles now and was in no mood to get involved in the trio’s affairs. Besides, he didn’t have the power to offend the Dawn Association and Sharp Wind Hall.

They had chosen their own path. As for their fate, they could only leave it to heaven.

He still had to go on garrison duty at the Hundred Medicine Hall tonight. Back in his room, he went straight to bed to sleep.

...

"What? Qin Ze, Yue Gui, and the others announced the five-person Alliance has been disbanded?"

In another courtyard, Ji Jincheng was baffled when he received the news that Qin Ze’s group had disbanded their Alliance.

’Why would they disband a perfectly good Alliance? Aren’t they afraid of being targeted and suppressed by the Eagle Society and Sharp Wind Hall?’

"They’re publicly claiming the Alliance served no real purpose, so they disbanded it.

However, according to the intel I’ve gathered, it seems to be because Xu Yang was targeted by a certain Steward and assigned a dangerous garrison mission in Cyan Yang City. They were worried that if they stayed allied with Xu Yang, they’d get dragged down with him and be made to suffer by that Steward, so they disbanded the Alliance to draw a clear line between themselves and Xu Yang," Li Xu said.

He was one of the three disciples from Gale Hall who had successfully completed Dragon Ascension. He now held a high position in the Eagle Society, responsible for gathering intelligence.

Ji Jincheng shot to his feet in shock. "What did you say? Xu Yang was targeted by a Steward and assigned to garrison duty in Cyan Yang City?"

He no longer cared about the five-person Alliance disbanding; he only cared about Xu Yang.

Li Xu nodded. "Yes. Apparently, he has to go to Cyan Yang City every afternoon and only gets to return in the morning. He barely has any time to cultivate. Qin Ze and the other three were probably afraid of getting the same treatment, so they rushed to draw a line."

Ji Jincheng’s expression flickered. If Xu Yang had to leave the Purple Sun Sect every day to travel to Cyan Yang City for his garrison duty, wouldn’t that present many opportunities to kill him?

’I can finally avenge Senior Brother Zhu Yang!’ A murderous intent flared up within him.

He had another identity: he was Ji Yun’s biological nephew.

’But Xu Yang has comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength. Not only would I fail to kill him, but trying to get revenge rashly would be suicide. And Junior Brother Kong Yu is off exploring some treasure land with people from the Heroic Assembly. What should I do?’

Ji Jincheng thought for a moment, and soon a certain person came to mind.

Han Xing!

Han Xing had achieved Qi Cultivation Gang and comprehended Heaven-Reaching Strength while still in the Qi Gathering Realm. Killing Xu Yang wouldn’t be difficult for him.

If they didn’t take this opportunity to kill Xu Yang, it would be much harder once he also achieved Qi Cultivation Gang.

Leaving Li Xu behind, Ji Jincheng hurried off to find Han Xing. With his connection to Kong Yu, there was no way Han Xing would refuse to help.

Besides, ever since Han Xing and Kong Yu had joined forces to create the Eagle Society, their enemies had become mutual enemies.

...

When Xu Yang woke up, he found that Zhang Yong and Zhao Zhifei had left, and Jiang Ping was also gone.

Sun Tao leaned in curiously and said, "Junior Brother Xu, why did your Alliance disband?"

Xu Yang was taken aback. "The Alliance disbanded? Who said that?"

Sun Tao was shocked. "You don’t know? It’s all over the Outer Disciple circle now. Your Alliance has disbanded, and Qin Ze, Yue Gui, and the others have all publicly announced it."

Xu Yang became thoughtful. ’So that’s why the four of them stayed behind and had me leave first. They were discussing this matter.’

’I was just laughing at the drama surrounding Zhang Yong’s group, and now I’ve been betrayed by my own allies. The Alliance is disbanded, and I had to find out through someone else.’

"I was completely in the dark!" Xu Yang shook his head.

Ever since the incident with Li Rui’an, he knew the Alliance wouldn’t last, but he hadn’t expected it to disband so quickly. It was just a pity that he’d now lost a source of information.

"You really didn’t know anything? Did something unpleasant happen between you? Or did someone break the pact?" Sun Tao asked curiously.

When the five of them formed the Alliance, it caused quite a stir.

With geniuses like Qin Ze and Yue Gui, Xu Yang who had defeated Lu Ren, the Liu Family’s Fifth Miss, and the somewhat famous Chen Jiang, its prestige was arguably second only to Sharp Wind Hall and the Eagle Society.

Who would have thought it would disband so quickly, and without any major incident occurring?

"No, but I think I know the reason," Xu Yang said.

He thought for a moment and quickly understood. The only incident during today’s alliance meeting was him being targeted by Xiao Hua and assigned to garrison duty in Cyan Yang City.

"I wasn’t counting on them, but they sure were quick to draw a line," Xu Yang said with a self-deprecating laugh.

He actually had a good impression of the Alliance. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have revealed that he had comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength during the meeting to increase his own standing within the group.

He didn’t particularly like snooping around for news, so he had hoped that this Alliance, a good source of information, could be maintained.

But he never imagined that a single Steward’s power could be so great. Qin Ze and the others weren’t afraid of his grudge with Kong Yu, nor were they afraid of the Dawn Association, yet they were so scared of being targeted by Xiao Hua that they announced the Alliance’s dissolution without even informing him.

"What was the reason?" Sun Tao asked curiously.

"Xiao Hua!"

Xu Yang only had to say Xiao Hua’s name, and Sun Tao immediately understood that they were drawing a line to protect themselves.

"Those guys are too pragmatic! They’re just a bunch of treacherous, petty characters! Their ally runs into a bit of trouble, and they immediately rush to cut ties. Who would ever trust them again?" An angry expression immediately appeared on Sun Tao’s face.

"Senior Brother, trust and loyalty are small matters. The fact that I’m now hated by Xiao Hua—that’s the big issue.

In our Alliance, no one ever really sacrificed anything for anyone else. It’s only normal for it to disband when faced with an irresistible force."

Choosing the lesser of two evils. Xu Yang understood why Qin Ze and the others did it, and he didn’t resent them. They weren’t that close to begin with. It’s only human nature to seek fortune and avoid disaster. If he were in their shoes, he might have done the same.

Relationships between people are often built on mutual interest; he wasn’t so naive as to not understand this simple point.

He had considered all this when the Alliance was formed. He never expected them to be of one mind or to share life and death together.

Sun Tao said, "You’re certainly taking it well. But for them to not even inform you... that’s just low."

Xu Yang smiled. "They probably didn’t have the face to see me. How could they bring themselves to tell me?"

Sun Tao gritted his teeth. "That old dog Xiao Hua! It’s one thing not to help us, but he even suppresses us. He’s worse than a pig or a dog!"

"Senior Brother, watch your words! Someone might hear you. You should find a mission for yourself quickly, and don’t give him a chance to target you," Xu Yang advised.

A senior brother of Yue Gui’s has connections in the Task Hall.

The fact that Qin Ze, Yue Gui, and the others were in such a hurry to cut ties must mean that Yue Gui had heard something.

Sun Tao nodded. "I will."