"Since you've seen through my Earth-level realm, do you still believe you can kill me?" Ye Cangtian smiled faintly, but his heart was somewhat heavy.
It wasn't just because the opponent's attacks were sharp and tricky, but also because of the ice-blue glowing dagger. The dagger brought him not coldness, but scorching heat, as if it were an ice flame. If it weren't for the dagger's existence, Carol's speed would have long been slowed by the Dragon Soul Blade. But now, Carol was not significantly affected. This could only indicate one thing: the effect of the ice flame was slightly inferior to the Dragon Soul Blade, but it had a restraining effect on it. Combined with Carol's understanding of assassination and his rich combat experience, this made Ye Cangtian's response less than effortless.
"Haha, kid, your strength truly exceeded my expectations!" Carol sneered. "But if you want me to stop here, you'll need to show me more skill!" In his opinion, what Ye Cangtian said was merely his lack of absolute certainty and an attempt to dissuade him. Since the opponent lacked confidence, he naturally had to try to kill Ye Cangtian. After all, between success and failure, life and death, there was a 50% chance. He was willing to take the risk!
"Alas! As one gets older, their brain really doesn't work as well!" Ye Cangtian sighed helplessly. "I just wanted to correct your belief in guaranteed victory, not to dissuade you! Do you think my Ye Cangtian's home is a place anyone can just come and go as they please?" Hearing the opponent's words, Ye Cangtian realized Carol had misunderstood. He sighed in exasperation, and then a cold killing intent flashed in his eyes.
Hiss!
Feeling Ye Cangtian's gaze, Carol suddenly gasped. That chilling killing intent was so pure that it made Carol tremble with fear. How many people had one killed to accumulate such a killing intent? Thinking of this, Carol couldn't help but feel ashamed. He, the God of Slaughter, was actually inferior to Ye Cangtian in this regard, which was truly unacceptable.
"Roar!"
In an instant, Carol let out a roar. The ice-blue light on his dagger suddenly flickered, as if it had transformed into real flames. He lunged forward fiercely, sweeping his dagger like a fiery serpent towards Ye Cangtian.
Seeing Carol fighting desperately, Ye Cangtian dared not be careless. The Dragon Soul Blade hummed softly as he met the attack with a sweeping blow.
Boom!
The two spiritual energies, one icy and one fiery, clashed and exploded. Carol was forced back several steps by the violent spiritual energy before he could stabilize himself. However, when his gaze fell upon Ye Cangtian, he found that Ye Cangtian had already leaped into the air, the Dragon Soul Blade descending like a black lightning bolt.
*Damn it!*
In that instant, Carol inwardly cried out in dismay. He had still underestimated Ye Cangtian's strength. After the direct confrontation of their killing moves, his body had been greatly affected, while Ye Cangtian hadn't. This left him with no chance to dodge and only the option to resist head-on.
Clang!
With his full counterattack, Carol narrowly blocked Ye Cangtian's great saber. But his entire body trembled violently. Logically, with such a good opportunity, Ye Cangtian would surely deliver a killing blow, but why had he blocked the attack so easily?
Clang!
As Carol pondered in confusion, another light clang sounded, and Carol's expression suddenly changed. The attack, which was light as a feather a moment ago, was now heavy as a mountain. Carol couldn't react to such a change at all. His knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground. It wasn't over yet; the dagger he used to block the saber, in the second collision, fiercely sliced across his shoulder, cleanly severing it.
"This..." Carol's face turned deathly pale. The smile in his eyes was gone, replaced by apprehension, even a hint of fear. The pain was unbearable, and with one arm gone, both his offense and defense would be greatly affected. If the fight continued, it would undoubtedly be a matter of nine deaths and one life for him.
"Ye Cangtian, how about we call it a truce?" Carol said quickly. "The Heavenly Net is willing to put aside our past grievances and cooperate directly with the Hidden Group..." He didn't want to die here like this, as it wasn't easy to become the God of Slaughter, nor to achieve his current status.
"Heh, Carol, do you think I would believe your words?" Ye Cangtian said coldly, showing no intention of letting Carol go. Firstly, the opponent had just been eyeing Tang Xinwan and the others, which had crossed his bottom line. Secondly, Carol now knew his strength. If this information got out, the other factions would become wary, making their plans difficult to implement. As for cooperation between the Heavenly Net and the Hidden Group? That was almost impossible. The Heavenly Net, as an assassin organization, naturally had a poor reputation, with people from various factions having died at their hands. If it weren't for the Bright Hall's overt and covert cooperation, they would have been in trouble long ago. Cooperating with such an organization would definitely tarnish the Hidden Group's reputation, so cooperation was out of the question. Lastly, there was Ye Cangtian's killing move. To secure victory, he had directly used the Yin-Yang Technique. This move had been used under the identities of Xuan Qi and Dawn in the Dark Association. If it were leaked, it could expose Dawn's identity, so Carol absolutely could not be left alive.
"Ye Cangtian, I can swear!" Carol continued, seeing the persistent killing intent in Ye Cangtian's eyes. "Besides, I am an Earth-level expert. Even with one arm missing, there are only a handful of people who can defeat me. I can serve you..."
"Even if you talk until you're blue in the face, I won't let you go!" Ye Cangtian snorted coldly and brought down the Dragon Soul Blade heavily.
"Damn it, since you won't spare me, then let's go to hell together!" Seeing Ye Cangtian make a move, Carol suddenly roared, his body exploding with power as he thrust his dagger towards Ye Cangtian's chest.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian showed a hint of a smile. His figure flickered, dodging the attack. At the same time, the great saber disappeared, replaced by a skull dagger.
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
With several sounds of piercing flesh, blood flowers bloomed on Carol's body.
"You, you're so strong..." Carol gasped. "But don't celebrate too soon. I may have fallen, but the Heavenly Net will avenge me!" He uttered, "I'll be waiting for you in the underworld..."
Carol knew his life was forfeit. With his last bit of strength, he spoke to Ye Cangtian.
"Heh, you seem quite confident in the Heavenly Net!" Ye Cangtian said, glancing at Carol. "But it's useless. One comes, I kill one; two come, I kill a pair! From now on, as long as I am here, China will be a forbidden zone for foreign forces!"
On the other side, hearing Ye Cangtian's domineering words, a glint flashed in Carol's eyes. He wanted to say more, but eventually, his head lolled, and he plunged into endless darkness.
Creak!
Having dealt with Carol, Ye Cangtian was in a much better mood, as he had obtained a very good dagger that would surely enhance his combat power. He pushed open the villa door. As soon as he entered, he was met by three pairs of eyes. The commotion outside had not only attracted the attention of Gu Qin and Gu Yue, but Tang Xinwan also knew about it. Now, seeing Ye Cangtian return safely, the heavy stones in the hearts of the three women were finally set down.
"We're going back to our rooms." Gu Qin and Gu Yue stood up, said a word, and then returned to their rooms. As they walked, the two women gave Ye Cangtian meaningful glances, clearly conveying that they had tried their best to conceal things, but it was futile. Ye Cangtian smiled faintly and said nothing. Too many things had happened recently; it was impossible to keep everything hidden.
As the saying goes, it's better to open up than to block. The reason Ye Cangtian had the captains of various factions stay behind as laborers was not just to have them trim the lawn. It was to subtly eliminate Tang Xinwan's fear of such matters. This effort had yielded results; at least Tang Xinwan no longer felt as disgusted or wary upon seeing those people, and her mindset had become much calmer. Therefore, Ye Cangtian believed that Tang Xinwan would be able to accept what had happened tonight.