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In a lone valley, sieged by mountains on three sides and a narrow trail on the fourth, the sunâs warm glow barely reached this place throughout the year. Being shrouded in mist, this place was a cesspool of poisonous insects and rats.
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Yet this particularly strange environment led to the development of some of the rarest herbs the world had ever seen. To gathered such ingredients, men braved many dangers through the valley, where the mortality rate was incredibly high and the ghosts of the fallen exacerbated the gloom.
People came to call it, Hell Valley.
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A thousand years ago, a powerful group stumbled upon this odd place and established a foothold. They even set up a 5th-grade array to safeguard from the gruesomeness of this valley.
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This group was the You house, one of the Seven Noble Houses of Tianyu Empire. With time, people came to call this valley as the strongest house that could oppose the Imperial family.
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Until now.
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In Hell Valleyâs meeting hall, Valley Lord You Wanshan was in a poor mood as he sat on his throne. Out of the 12 total seats, 9 seats were occupied by elders. Each time he glanced at the empty seats, his eyes turned savage.
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âYou Ming!â
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You Wanshan bellowed, âDo you mean to say that three of Hell Valleyâs elders are dead because of a single kid?â
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Kowtowing on the ground and shivering uncontrollably, You Ming replied, âI wouldnât even think of lying to Valley Lord. Elder Jian, Elder Yun, as well as my master, Seventh elder, were indeed killed by Luo clanâs steward, Zhuo Fan!â
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âUseless wench!â You Wanshan slapped the table, âYou knew he killed two elders before so why didnât you report this sooner?â
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âSpare me, Valley Lord! It was my master who forbade me. Master found it too weird and ordered me to keep it to myself. He told me that he will find the opportunity to deal with Zhuo Fan. But before he could, Zhuo Fan broke into our city andâŚâ
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At this point, You Mingâs voice was choked with sobs.
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The rest of the elders snorted.
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[All demonic cultivators are cruel and cold, so why is this punk getting so worked up?]
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Throwing such a show would make them despise him instead.
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The elders were all clear this wasnât his fault yet refrained from pardoning him. If theyâd trade places, they would do the same. If not, theyâd be accused of rash thinking and that would be used as an excuse by some others to remove them.
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Who would believe that a fresh Bone Tempering kid could kill a Profound Heaven seasoned expert if not for it happening before countless eyes?
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âValley Lord, You Ming might have erred, but he had no control over what happened. Our first priority is to deal with the aftermath.â
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This was spoken by the first elder on the right as he stood up, âTianyu Empireâs mighty clans have set their sights on us. If we let that kid go unpunished, what will the people think? We will become the laughingstock of the empire and our vassal clans will abandon us.â
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You Wanshan frowned, his eyes filled with cruelty, âGrand Elder is right. We cannot let that punk get away with this! Wasnât he some steward of Luo clan? Weâll make the Luo clan answer for his transgression!â
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âValley Lord, you mustnât!â
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A deep and worried voice traveled from an old man with raven hair, seated on the opposite side of Grand Elder.
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You Wanshan snorted, âSecond elder, what are you trying to say? Do you think itâs alright for someone to kill our people, shame us, and then walk away? What will others think of Hell Valley?â
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âValley Lord, I am not stopping you from settling this debt. OnlyâŚâ
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Second elder muttered something before resuming, âValley Lord should remember the ban the Emperor enacted a year ago on the seven houses which was against stepping foot in Windgaze City. If we breach it openly, it will give the Imperial family the excuse to strike.â
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âSecond elder makes a fair point. This is not the time to move in the open. And there are also reports that the Imperial family and Veiled Dragon Pavilionâs experts are patrolling nearby Windgaze City. We will fall into their trap if we go!â Grand Elder urged.
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Eying the two most respected elders, You Wanshan hesitated for a while before spatting through gritted teeth, âWe canât do this, we canât do that! What else can we actually do?â
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Even the elders turned silent.
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You Wanshan sighed, âThis wouldnât have been such a headache if the seventh elder was here. Blasted punk, he managed to rob me of my wisest adviser. When I get my hands on you, I will skin you alive!â
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Seeing them all pensive, the kneeling You Ming darted his eyes left and right before making a tentative remark, âValley Lord, may disciple be so bold as to convey a solution?â
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âHumph, the elders meeting is not something you can join. Get the hell out!â You Wanshan barked without even looking at You Ming. But Grand Elderâs gesture detained him, âValley Lord, the kid can be considered as seventh elderâs successor. Why not give him a chance?â
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You Wanshan conceded when he heard the Grand Elderâs reason.
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You Mingâs heart burst with joy as he rushed to explain, âValley Lord, this discipleâs humble opinion is to ignore the Luo clan. From my observation, Luo clan is relying on Zhuo Fan. With him around, even if we remove the Luo clan, it will only make it worse for us. But if Zhuo Fan is out of the picture, then the Luo clan will fall from grace. They will have no hope of replacing us, Hell Valley!â
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You Wanshanâs eyes flickered, âGo on.â
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âYes!â His mouth twisted in a smile, You Ming said, âWe cannot approach Windgaze City, but Zhuo Fan is nowhere near it either. We just need to focus all our efforts in dealing with him.â
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âAnd how will we find him?â You Wanshan questioned.
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âIssue the Hell Kill Order and have the empire corner him!â You Ming revealed his savage side, âWe will then know where he is going, and before he returns to Windgaze City, we can just ambush him.â
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You Wanshan cackled, âGood, thatâs what weâll do!â
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âMen!â He then shouted orders, âIn my name as Hell Valleyâs leader, I declare the Hell Kill Order on Zhuo Fan. Anyone who provides clues to his location can become a vassal to Hell Valley. Anyone who brings me his head will become Hell Valleyâs number one vassal, ruling above all others!â
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You Wanshanâs sinister laughter echoed, to which You Ming followed up with a vile smile.
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[Zhuo Fan, you abomination! I wonât dare face you but now you have the whole empire after your head, he-he-heâŚ]
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Grand Elder smiled, [As I thought, this kid is still thinking about revenge.] But the elder didnât care since Zhuo Fan was the enemy of Hell ValleyâŚ
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Grand Elder stated, âValley Lord, even if we declare Hell Kill Order on Zhuo Fan, since he killed seventh elder, the weak clans wonât be his match. I think we will have to act if we want to end him after all.â
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âThen all elders move out, kill that bastard!â
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âWait!â
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Grand Elder gestured, âHe killed seventh elder, elders below seventh wonât be of any help. From Mingâerâs retelling of him, he must be a body refining demonic cultivator. The only ones who can stand up to him are the first five elders. FurthermoreâŚâ
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He turned to a red-haired elder, âFifth elder, you refined your body with the Scorching Demon Flame. Your unbreakable body is the perfect match for that kid!â
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âDonât look at me!â Yet the man in question shook his hands again and again while smirking, âI am about to join Drifting Flowers Edificeâs Hundred Pill Meeting. I donât have the time to run around after some snot-nosed brat!â
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âHumph, whatâs so great being invited by women to a meeting to discuss about pills? Is going there more important than taking revenge for the house?â You Wanshan snapped.
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Grand Elder lightened the atmosphere with a smile, âValley Lord, the Drifting Flowers Edifice may be made up of women, but they are still one of the seven houses. Establishing a close relationship will only work in our favor. They extended an invitation to fifth elder since they took an interest in his fire attribute cultivation method, in hope of refining new pills.â
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âHumph, how did a bunch of skanks climb up to our position? One day I will personally go and take over their domain.â You Wanshan said viciously.
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Grand Elder shook his head, âValley Lord, I would like to have You Ming participate in seventh elderâs place in our future elder meetings.â
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Staring at You Ming, You Wanshan nodded, âFine, raise him well, as the next Insidious Demon, ha-ha-haâŚâ
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You Ming was overjoyed in his bowing!
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Meanwhile, in Blackwind Mountain, Captain Pang was cultivating by sitting on 36 blades. His body was riddled with scars. While cultivating, black tendrils of energy would leave his body, drift around the blades, and return back to him.
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But as each black tendril went back into his body, a new bloody scar adorned his wreaked body, making him frown.
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Suddenly, a shadow grew before him and Lei Yuting came from behind.
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Cracking his eyelids, Captain Pang stood up with a smirk, âMiss Leiâs Elusive Shadow Art is becoming more and more outstanding. I didnât even notice you were coming.â
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âHumph, your Wraith Art isnât any less impressive, reaching Bone Tempering Stage in just a year. Youâre making those clansâ geniuses jealous.â
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âHe-he-he, itâs all because of brother Zhuo!â Captain Pang laughed and peeked next to him. Not five meters from him, a 15-year old was braving above other blades as sweat marred his brow and trailed along his scarred body.
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But around him were corpses riddled with wounds, as if hacked by countless edged weapons.
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âDamn it, what kind of vile method are you cultivating?â Lei Yuting cursed.
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Captain Pang replied with indifference, âOf the 20 kids you sent, only one barely made it. Send me another batch.â
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âWith just one survivor you want more?â Lei Yuting raised her voice in shock.
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Captain Pang smirked, âItâs actually quite a good result. For fifty to die while training in this art is normal. But for Luo clan, everything is worth it.â
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âHumph, you are hard at cultivating, and what is that brother of yours doing?â Snorting, Lei Yuting fetched a paper, âHe killed Hell Valleyâs seventh elder and theyâve issued a kill order.â
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âWhat?â Captain Pang burst into laughter, âBrother Zhuo truly does incredible things, shaking the world everywhere he goes.â
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Then he patted Lei Yutingâs shoulder, âMiss Lei, donât be too worried. With brother Zhuoâs skills, Hell Valleyâs order wonât affect him.â
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âHumph, who the hell cares about him.â Lei Yuting muttered through gnashed teeth, âHe just went and provoked Hell Valley over a girl. Since when was he so goody-goody?â
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Captain Pang grinned, âSo thatâs what it was, ha-ha-ha. Sometimes, brother Zhuo quite likes striking a heroic figure.â
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âHero? My ass! You think I donât know him?â Sighing, Lei Yuting turned into a shadow and vanished.
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Captain Pang shouted the next moment, âDonât mention this to young miss, especially the last part.â
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But Lei Yutingâs response didnât come. Captain Pang sighed, âAh, womenâŚâ
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