Battle Through the Heavens: Emperor Yan, please restrain yourself; your elder brother is truly hones

Within Senma Rong's dantian, a Three-Dragon Thunderfire enveloped his mostly shattered battle crystal, growing stronger through absorption and forming a suppressive force.

"Lord Lin, you and Master Gu Ni are a bit late." Zhang Yuan turned to Lin Zhengqing and laughed, "If you had been a few minutes later, your trip would have been in vain."

Lin Zhengqing approached Zhang Yuan, the spear in his hand gradually dissipating. His eyes held a hint of amazement, and he smiled helplessly, "It's not that we arrived too slowly, it's that you finished the battle too quickly. I didn't expect you to have been hiding your strength."

Lin Zhengqing certainly didn't believe that Zhang Yuan's strength had improved in the past few days, but rather that he had held back when he fought against Jialiebi.

Who would have thought that a sixteen-year-old boy would be a five-star Grand Master, even stronger than the patriarchs of the three clans in Wutan City?

Zhang Yuan didn't explain anything, and said, "I didn't expect Jia Liebi to come in person. I was just lucky."

He wasn't being modest, nor was he showing off. The main reason this battle ended so quickly was indeed good luck.

Who would have thought that Jialiebi, whom he had harmed, would actually come in person?

Chapter 31 What an incredible achievement!

In Zhang Yuan's view, the fact that the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist were able to annihilate them so quickly was largely due to luck.

According to his original plan, he would use his talent to provoke Galebi and Obapa, causing them to collude with the Nine Thieves of the Illusionary Mist to attack him.

In fact, the Gama Empire also has assassin organizations. Even if they can afford it, they don't necessarily have to hire bandits. It's just that Zhang Yuan provided them with the perfect combination of timing, location, and people, leaving them with only this option.

However, his guess that these two families could contact the Nine Thieves of the Illusionary Mist was just that, and the plan could still fail. Fortunately, he asked Ling Ying to keep watch and confirmed that Jia Liebi and Aobapa were in contact with the Nine Thieves of the Illusionary Mist.

He had this plan in mind, but his real target was the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist, not the Jia Lie and Oba clans. This was because he lacked the military merits to be promoted to captain, and he wanted to lure them out and kill a few of them.

However, the plan progressed too smoothly. He successfully cooperated with Lin Zhengqing and the Mittel Auction House, so he decided to go even further and wanted to take down all the Nine Thieves of the Illusionary Mist and also crush the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families.

However, the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist managed to escape several purges by the Empire, and even a Fighting King could only kill a few of them. Zhang Yuan didn't dare to say that he could definitely take them down. He thought that killing one more would bring him more merit.

Who knew that Jialiebi would cooperate with the Nine Thieves of Illusion Mist? He was clearly injured and was the least likely candidate for a Grand Master to come here from either of the two clans.

During the confrontation with the Xiao family, after shattering Jialiebi's battle qi armor, he secretly buried a Three Dragon Thunderfire, which was supposed to detonate the battle crystal after lying dormant for half a month, causing the latter to either die or be crippled. The Jialie family still couldn't find the culprit.

But now, when they met in the Illusionary Mist Mountains, his cultivation level was already above that of Jialiebi. He directly detonated the strange fire from a distance, turning into a Great Dou Master and self-destructing, causing unexpected damage to Jiu Zei.

His earlier verbal sparring with Senma Rong was not only to wait for Lin Zhengqing and Gu Ni to arrive, but also to buy time to mobilize the strange fire and to obtain some information.

All I can say is that everything is just right; even without Lin Zhengqing and Gu Ni's help, he could handle it on his own.

However, to convict Garrett and the Obama family, their cooperation is still required.

"Luck?" Lin Zhengqing smiled and said, "Young friend, you are too modest. Although I have lived a few more years than you, I admire your wisdom greatly."

“Not bad.” Gu Ni came to Lin Zhengqing’s side, took off his clothes and hat, and said, “Young friend, your plans are flawless, there’s no need to be modest. It’s just a pity that the two of us were unable to help much this time.”

Zhang Yuan: "."

It's too complicated to explain, so just think what you think.

"You two are too kind. You'll have to put in a lot of effort in dealing with the Jia Lie family and the Oba family," Zhang Yuan smiled at the two men, subtly reminding them of the agreement.

"Is there any concrete evidence that they colluded with the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist?" Lin Zhengqing asked.

“Yes, the evidence is irrefutable.” Zhang Yuan nodded and said, “I have already killed Jia Liebi. His head is right in front of us. I also had someone use a recording stone to record the scene of Jia Liebi appearing with the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist and surrounding us.”

Although Jialiebi self-destructed, Zhang Yuan controlled the Three Dragons Thunderfire to devour the flames, thus saving his life, since this was a great military achievement.

A recording stone is a special mineral that can be activated by anyone injecting battle qi. It then records the situation within a certain range, including sounds and the movement of grass. The recording time and range depend on the quality of the recording stone. The lowest quality one is worth the same as a high-level yellow-rank battle skill book. It cannot be reused, so very few people play with it.

"That's good." Lin Zhengqing smiled and said, "After I return to Wutan City, I will follow the plan you devised to take down the high-ranking members of the Jialie family and the Aoba family, kill those involved in this matter, and return all the assets that the two families promised to return in accordance with the contract."

Zhang Yuan's plan was to host a banquet, behead the culprits, and then take them in as his dogs.

Lin Zhengqing hosted a banquet and drugged the individuals from the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families, who were both powerful fighters of three stars or above (those who were supposedly related). After publicly beheading them in accordance with the law, justice was served and the Xiao family's assets were returned.

The leader of the branch of the two clans who is more obedient can become the new clan chief and obey the Xiao family's orders.

"Perhaps, it doesn't need to be that complicated."

Hearing Lin Zhengqing's words, Zhang Yuan shook his head slightly, looked at Sen Ma Rong, whose body was paralyzed and unable to move, and asked, "Are you from the Izumo Empire?"

Senma Rong's pupils suddenly contracted, but even though his mouth had regained its ability to move, he still didn't speak.

"People from the Izumo Empire!?" Lin Zhengqing and Master Gu Ni's expressions changed drastically.

The Izumo Empire and the Gama Empire are sworn enemies, and there have always been frictions on their borders. The Northeast Province borders the Izumo Empire and has fought the most battles with it. The people of both empires are extremely hostile to each other.

If the Nine Thieves of the Illusionary Mist are from the Izumo Empire, then Galebi's collusion with him is not only a violation of imperial law, but also a treasonous crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family.

"Even though you don't say it, I know you definitely do."

Noticing the change in Senma Rong's eyes, Zhang Yuan coldly squatted down and lifted him up, then said to Lin Zhengqing and the other man, "I need to use some methods to interrogate him. Please wait a moment, seniors."

After saying that, he took Senma Rong away without waiting for their reply.

Lin Zhengqing and Gu Ni were very curious, but they didn't chase after them. Instead, they exchanged a glance and went to meet up with the other Black Armor Guards.

On the other side, after entering the depths of the mist, Zhang Yuan directly transformed into wings of strange fire and flew with Senma Rong to a cliff.

"You're the King of Fighters!?" Senma Rong's eyes widened in shock.

Zhang Yuan did not answer him, but asked, "Tell me your true identities and the true purpose of your visit here."

Senma Rong scoffed, his face full of disdain, and did not intend to answer.

"I admire you as a man," Zhang Yuan said, squatting down and smiling. "So I've decided to treat you well?"

“Torture?” Senma Rong sneered, “You little bastard from the Jia Ma Empire, I’m the ancestor of poison. If your methods can even make me frown, I’m not Senma Rong.”

clap clap clap!

Zhang Yuan extended his hand and clapped.

The royal family and major powerful sects of the Izumo Empire all used poison, which eventually evolved into a nationwide phenomenon. It was indeed quite perverse.

"Then I'll start."

Zhang Yuan infused Senma Rong with a strange fire.

He was too lazy to use methods like the Ten Great Tortures of the Qing Dynasty, so he didn't want Ling Ying to misunderstand and send the wrong message to Xun'er.

With the Three Dragons Thunderfire present, he could repeatedly torment and restore Senma Rong's body, and continuously amplify his sense of pain.

Let's see how long he can endure it, and how many times more pain he can bear.

"Let me go, let me die, let me die!"

Senma Rong looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with fear.

"Less than a quarter of an hour, only three times the pain. Your heart doesn't seem as hard as your mouth." Zhang Yuan said with a look of disgust.

He then smiled at Senma Rong and said, "You know what I want to hear, so start answering properly."

"If your answer doesn't satisfy me, or if I find out you're lying to me, I'll inflict four, five, or even ten times the pain so you can experience it a few more times."

"If the answer satisfies me, I can give you a quick and painless resolution."

Zhang Yuan was handsome and had an extraordinary temperament; few women could resist the charm of his slight smile.

But in Senma Rong's eyes, he was a complete devil.

To him, the word "pleasure" sounded like heavenly music.

"I'll tell you everything."

Senma Rong told the whole story, without hiding anything.

After hearing this, Zhang Yuan gasped sharply.

"They say there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

"The pie didn't fall, but real money did."

"What an incredible achievement!"

Chapter 32 Izumo Empire's Dark Cloud Guard

Why do the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist always maintain a number of nine?

Why don't the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist develop their own network or gather more people?

Why can the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist move freely in the Illusionary Mist Mountains without being affected?

Why were the Nine Thieves of Illusionary Mist able to repeatedly escape the official crackdown by the Gama Empire?

Zhang Yuan found the answers to many more "whys" at this moment.

"What a wonderful surprise!"

The Nine Thieves of the Illusionary Mist are not ordinary people, but the Dark Cloud Guards of the Izumo Empire!

The Dark Cloud Guard is a special agency directly under the Izumo Empire's royal family, somewhat similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Ming Dynasty on Earth, but with a greater focus on assassination and intelligence gathering.

The Dark Cloud Guard is a group of orphans collected by the Izumo Empire. They are selected through a process of raising Gu (a type of insect used in traditional Chinese medicine) to identify those with the most talent, and then they undergo high-level training. The lowest-ranking members of the Dark Cloud Guard have the strength of a Battle Master and obey only the Emperor's orders.

The border of the Izumo Empire and the northeastern province of the Gama Empire are adjacent. Both countries have spies who gather intelligence on each other's countries, so the emperor of the Izumo Empire has taken notice of the Phantom Mist Mountains in the northeastern province.

It's not unusual for a mountain range to be shrouded in mist year-round, but it's quite unusual if this mist can also cause hallucinations, even affecting powerful warriors like the King of Fighters, especially in the eyes of a group of poison masters.

In fact, after the appearance of the Illusionary Mist, the royal family of the Gama Empire, the Yunlan Sect, the Alchemist Guild, and some powerful individuals did explore it, but they gained nothing and eventually chose to give up.

After noticing the Illusionary Mist Mountains, the emperor of the Izumo Empire was eager to explore them. However, he could not send powerful figures to conduct a large-scale search, so he dispatched nine Dark Cloud Guards to infiltrate the Gama Empire and investigate the Illusionary Mist Mountains.

As Dark Cloud Guards trained by the Izumo Empire, they grew up surrounded by poison from a young age. In addition, due to the special techniques they learned, they have extremely strong resistance to the Illusionary Mist. They are safe even in non-core areas of the Illusionary Mist Mountains, so they can come and go freely and have taken root there.

As for why there were nine people, it was because they had cultivated a formation called the "Nine Palaces Mystic Water Formation". Combined with the Four Elements Nether Turtle Pearl (a fourth-order magical beast, the Water Nether Turtle, may give birth to one in its lifetime), they could explore an area within a ten-mile radius. That's why they were able to discover the Dou Ling and Dou Wang powerhouses in advance when they were surrounded and attacked, and hide themselves.

Too many people make it difficult to hide, are redundant for formations, and easily attract attention and expose their identities. That's why they always maintain this number, do not develop a network in the Gama Empire, and do not collude with any families. If they suffer losses, they will ask the Izumo Empire's royal family for more people to be sent.

Being bandits was also a form of disguise for them. At the same time, they took advantage of favorable weather and location to seize resources for their own use. If it weren't for Zhang Yuan, their plan would have gone very smoothly, without any mishaps for more than ten years. Of the original nine, the remaining three have even grown into Great Dou Masters, and Sen Ma Rong is only one step away from becoming a Dou Spirit.

"After more than a decade of investigation, they have identified several locations that may contain treasures. These valuable items should not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. This information is only for me to know. We will investigate again when we have sufficient strength."

"The Nine Thieves of the Illusionary Mist have become nine Dark Cloud Guards of the Izumo Empire. This completely changes the meaning. The Galley family and the Oba family have not only violated the imperial law, but have also committed treason."

"."

With a flash of inspiration, Zhang Yuan quickly came up with an idea.

He squatted down again, placed a hand on Senma Rong, and smiled, "Very good answer, here's a little reward for you."

After saying that, he injected the strange fire again.