CHAPTER 342: CHAPTER 342: BIG OOPS_1

「Meanwhile.」

In a dense forest five hundred meters away.

Dong Zheng stood by a large tree, his head bowed, his face terribly grim.

Originally, he was here for training and happened to encounter a man and a woman. Finding out that they had stolen ten Red Fire Glazed Trees, he followed them, planning to kill them and steal their loot. But he didn’t expect Qin Feiyang and his companions, including the Wolf King, to emerge midway and snatch the ten Red Fire Glazed Trees before him.

He intended to continue hiding, awaiting an opportunity to assassinate the two humans and the wolf. But unexpectedly, the Wolf King had sensed his presence. Luckily, the two humans and the wolf were naive enough to be deceived by him.

But those were ten Red Fire Glazed Trees! A total of thirty leaves! They could be used to refine thirty Vermilion Glazed Pills. This was a considerable fortune; he couldn’t stand the loss!

After contemplating for a while, he pulled out an Image Crystal Stone and quickly activated it.

An elderly figure quickly formed. It was an old man in white, who asked, "Third Young Master, what do you need from this old servant?"

Dong Zheng said, "Steward, bring some men to the outskirts of the city immediately."

The Steward was a little taken aback and asked in confusion, "Why go outside the city?"

Dong Zheng answered darkly, "I found ten Red Fire Glazed Trees, but Qin Feiyang got to them first."

"Qin Feiyang is also outside the city?" the Steward asked, surprised and doubtful.

Dong Zheng nodded. "Yes. He, along with that Fatty and that Rogue Wolf, are in the jungle behind me."

"Their cultivation isn’t strong, is it?" the Steward asked, confused. "With your current strength, Third Young Master, shouldn’t they be easily dealt with?"

"If I could deal with them, would I be asking for your help?" Dong Zheng said fiercely. "I received news yesterday that Qin Feiyang shattered Shao Jian’s arm with a single palm strike. Shao Jian’s strength is comparable to mine, and even he wasn’t his opponent, so I definitely can’t handle him. In any case, get over here quickly and avenge Dong Cheng!"

"Third Young Master, don’t be hasty," the Steward advised. "Killing Qin Feiyang is no small matter. This old servant must first go and request permission from the Family Head."

"MM." Dong Zheng nodded.

Once Dong Zheng gave the Steward his coordinates, he deactivated the Image Crystal Stone.

Dong Zheng muttered, a ruthless glint in his eyes, "Qin Feiyang, so what if you’re a Top Grade Alchemist? As long as you leave the Holy Temple and the State City, you’re just fish on the chopping block, ripe for the slaughter!"

However, he was unaware that not far away, there was a black rock. The two humans and the wolf were hiding behind it, their eyes fixed on him intently. A distance of over five hundred meters was nothing to them now. They had already started lurking and eavesdropping when Dong Zheng began his conversation with the Steward.

Therefore, Qin Feiyang, Fatty, and the Wolf King had heard every single word of their conversation.

This kid really does harbor ill intentions, just as expected, the Wolf King communicated telepathically.

"Courting death!" Fatty sneered coldly and whispered, "Boss, we have to deal with him quickly. Otherwise, when that Steward arrives, they’ll be the ones dealing with us."

Qin Feiyang nodded. "He likes to act, so I’ll play along. Don’t reveal any killing intent. Watch my signals and act according to the situation."

Fatty and the Wolf King nodded.

Qin Feiyang walked out from behind the rock, a faint smile on his face, and called out loudly, "So you’re here! I’ve had quite a time looking for you."

With that, he, along with the Wolf King and Fatty, ran towards Dong Zheng.

"EH?" Dong Zheng’s pupils contracted. He turned to look at the two men and the wolf. "What do you want? Are you still worried? Planning to kill me to ensure my silence?" A hint of alertness flickered in his eyes.

"Silence you?" Qin Feiyang forced a smile and shook his head. "Brother Dong, you’re an Eight-star War King. While I have a few tricks up my sleeve to hold my own, if we were to fight, it would likely result in mutual destruction."

At least you’re self-aware, Dong Zheng sneered inwardly, his caution somewhat easing. He chuckled. "Then, what does Brother Qin want with me?"

"Naturally, it’s about what just happened," Qin Feiyang said with a smile. "Brother Dong, please don’t be offended, but I don’t entirely trust you to keep quiet about this. Yet, I can’t exactly kill you to silence you either. I’ve been thinking, and I’ve come up with a solution that benefits us both."

"What solution might that be?" Dong Zheng asked.

It doesn’t matter what plan you have, he sneered inwardly. Soon, not only will I snatch those ten Red Fire Glazed Trees, but I’ll take your lives too!

Qin Feiyang said, "There are ten Red Fire Glazed Trees, aren’t there? We split them equally. That way, you’ll have a stake in this and won’t be able to tell anyone."

Dong Zheng laughed. "Dragging me into this with you? You’re quite cunning. What if I refuse?"

Qin Feiyang replied, "Then we’ll have no choice but to fight to the death."

Dong Zheng frowned. "So, I only have the option to agree?"

"Correct," Qin Feiyang affirmed with a smile.

"SIGH!" Dong Zheng heaved a deep sigh, then nodded. "Alright. It’s my bad luck for running into you. Let’s just say I’m making a new friend!"

"Haha... Brother Dong truly understands the bigger picture!" Qin Feiyang laughed heartily. "I, Qin Feiyang, am honored to call you friend. I’ll give you the Red Fire Glazed Trees right now." He walked up to Dong Zheng and reached into his robe.

Rumor has it this fellow is hard to deal with, but looking at him now, he’s not so impressive after all, Dong Zheng mused, a sense of contempt rising within him.

However, what Qin Feiyang pulled out was not a Red Fire Glazed Tree! It was Blue Snow!

The two were extremely close, almost touching. Dong Zheng had completely let his guard down.

SHK! Blood sprayed! Qin Feiyang easily executed the ambush, plunging Blue Snow into Dong Zheng’s chest and piercing his heart!

Instantly, a heart-wrenching, agonizing pain, like a surging tide, swept through Dong Zheng’s body and mind. Dong Zheng was stunned. He instinctively looked down. Seeing the dagger embedded in his chest, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

Qin Feiyang’s lips curled slightly. He leaned close to Dong Zheng’s ear and whispered, "Surprised, aren’t you?"

"You’re quite the actor; even I was almost fooled. But you underestimated me. I, Qin Feiyang, haven’t survived this long by mere luck. When it comes to acting, you’re still far too inexperienced."

With that, Qin Feiyang pulled out Blue Snow and, quick as lightning, stabbed Dong Zheng in the lower abdomen.

"AHHHH!" Dong Zheng shrieked, his face contorted in a ferocious snarl. "Even if I die, I’ll take you with me!" A Battle Soul erupted from behind him, soaring into the sky.

"HEH!" The Wolf King grinned. An enormous, golden beastly apparition materialized and directly devoured Dong Zheng’s Battle Soul.

"How can this be?!" Dong Zheng’s eyes bulged in fury.

"There’s much you don’t understand, but unfortunately, you’ll never get the chance to learn," Qin Feiyang sneered, kicking Dong Zheng squarely in the lower abdomen.

THUD! Dong Zheng was sent flying, crashing violently against a large bluish rock. He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground, dead on the spot.

"Little punk, daring to mess with us? Truly courting death," Fatty licked his lips. "As the Third Young Master of the Dong Family, his Qiankun Bag must be full of treasures!" He then started walking towards Dong Zheng.

"Don’t get sidetracked by small gains! We need to leave, now!" Qin Feiyang grabbed Fatty and, with a wave of his other hand, opened a teleportation portal.

Just then, a dozen or so figures materialized out of thin air. The leader was none other than Steward Dong of the Dong Family!

"Third Young Master...!" Upon seeing Dong Zheng lying in a pool of blood, Steward Dong ground his teeth, his eyes flaring with murderous intent.

"Qin Feiyang, I swear I’ll make sure you die without a burial place!" he roared. With a wave of his hand, he launched a blast of Battle Intent towards the teleportation portal.

Not good! Qin Feiyang’s pupils contracted.

It was too late! They wouldn’t make it into the teleportation portal in time. He grabbed Fatty and the Wolf King and retreated into the ancient castle.

BOOM! The Battle Intent arrived in an instant! With a deafening explosion, the teleportation portal was blasted to smithereens!

A deep, bottomless crater appeared in the ground, thick smoke billowing and obscuring the sky!

"Are they dead?" one of the men behind Steward Dong wondered.

"They must be!" another declared. "The Steward is a War Emperor. With a full-powered attack like that, given their strength, not even their bones should remain!" The ten men sneered as they looked down at the dust-filled crater.

"No! They’re not dead!" Steward Dong said grimly.

"How is that possible?" The ten men’s expressions changed drastically.

"There’s no mistake," Steward Dong said. "I clearly saw them vanish just before the Battle Intent hit." He waved his hand, and a gust of wind swept away the billowing dust and smoke.

But aside from Dong Zheng’s corpse, there was no trace of anyone else.

"Steward, could your eyes have deceived you?" one of the men asked, his face full of doubt as they scanned the area below. "How could anyone just vanish into thin air?"

Were my eyes really playing tricks on me? Steward Dong frowned. No! That can’t be it! Definitely not! Where could the two humans and the wolf be hiding now? But where exactly?

Steward Dong turned to a burly man on his left and ordered grimly, "Go down and retrieve the Third Young Master. See if there’s any chance of saving him."

The burly man nodded, swooped down to Dong Zheng’s side, and felt for a pulse. His expression instantly darkened. Cradling Dong Zheng’s body, he flew back to Steward Dong and reported in a low voice, "Third Young Master’s heart and Qi Sea are both shattered. He’s already gone."

"Damn it!" Steward Dong roared in fury. "Qin Feiyang, get out here! Even if you escape today, you can’t hide forever!"

However, only silence answered him.

The burly man holding Dong Zheng said, "Steward, they’re probably not here anymore. We should go straight to the Holy Temple and wait for them there."

"Alright." Steward Dong nodded. He opened another teleportation portal and declared grimly, "Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I will hunt you down! Let’s go!"

The group entered the teleportation portal one by one. After the portal vanished, Qin Feiyang, Fatty, and the Wolf King reappeared out of thin air.

The Wolf King said, "Xiao Qinzi, this has blown up. What do we do now?"

Fatty complained, "Brother Wolf, isn’t this all your fault? If you’d listened to us and gone straight back to the Holy Temple, none of this would have happened!"

"Damn it!" the Wolf King retorted angrily. "How was I supposed to know we’d run into such despicable scoundrels?"

Ultimately, it was all that man and woman’s fault. If those two hadn’t broken their promise, we wouldn’t have had to kill them, and Dong Zheng wouldn’t have seen us. Then we wouldn’t be in this mess.

"SIGH!" The Wolf King sighed in frustration. "We just came out to practice our battle techniques, and all this had to happen. It’s like we’ve been cursed with a lifetime of bad luck!" He turned to look at Qin Feiyang.

Fatty also looked at Qin Feiyang. They were both at their wit’s end, pinning all their hopes on Qin Feiyang to find a solution.

Qin Feiyang’s gaze flickered thoughtfully. After a moment, he shook his head. "It doesn’t matter."

Fatty and the Wolf King were stunned. It doesn’t matter? How can he be so calm?

"Whether we killed Dong Zheng or not, he would have tried to kill us," Qin Feiyang said. "We were bound to clash sooner or later, so what difference does it make? Besides, this incident has at least shown us that the Dong Family genuinely intends to eliminate us."

If the Dong Family didn’t harbor this intention, they would surely have stopped Dong Zheng. But instead, they not only failed to stop him but even sent Steward Dong with reinforcements to kill us. This clearly indicates that the Dong Family has been waiting for an opportunity all along. And Qin Feiyang has never been one to show mercy to those who want him dead. Therefore, even though things have escalated to this point, he didn’t regret his actions, nor would he blame the Wolf King as Fatty had.