Chapter Forty-Two: Titans Gather

Sun Hao delivered another vicious kick straight at Tong Jin’s dantian, with a level of brutality that clearly aimed to shatter the latter’s dantian entirely, crippling his martial arts and reducing him to a total cripple.

Lying flat on the ground, Tong Jin watched the approaching kick with eyes split wide in terror and veins bulging. At that exact moment, he finally felt his body regain its mobility, and with a desperate burst of strength, he rolled backward along the ground, narrowly dodging the incoming blow.

Seeing that Tong Jin was still able to evade his brutal assault, Sun Hao let out a laugh instead of anger. "Hahaha, this makes it much more interesting! Keep dodging! Let's see you act arrogant now, let's see you be so fierce!" With that, he lunged forward, raising his leg to strike once more.

Right then, a faint buzzing sound rang out, and a dark shadow shot straight toward Sun Hao’s face. Believing it to be a hidden weapon thrown by Tong Jin in his dying struggle, Sun Hao tilted his head to dodge. Unexpectedly, the dark shadow seemed to have eyes of its own; it adjusted its trajectory to follow his moving face and shot forward with pinpoint precision. Sun Hao’s reflexes were extremely fast, and protective true qi instantly enveloped his entire body.

To his shock, a sharp, piercing pain suddenly erupted across his face!

"Ah—ahhh—!"

A miserable, agonizing scream echoed throughout the entire Tianchen Gang. Yet for a moment, no one on the scene reacted; everyone simply watched as Sun Hao, who had just lunged forward to deliver a vicious kick, suddenly clutched his face with both hands and shrieked in excruciating pain, with no one having any idea what had just happened.

Enduring the agonizing pain in his hands and all over his body, Tong Jin scrambled to his feet. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone’s attention was focused on Sun Hao in the center of the courtyard, he bolted rapidly toward the outer gates.

Sun Hao was doomed to die today. Although Tong Jin’s initial intention had merely been to vent his anger for Su Tan, the latter’s murderous attempts had ultimately brought about his own destruction.

Buzz—Following closely behind as he rushed out of the Tianchen Gang was that very same dark shadow that had just delivered the venomous bite. At that moment, it landed on the chest of Tong Jin as he ran desperately along the street, then crawled into his robes and vanished from sight.

After a long while, chaotic noises and terrified shouts finally broke out within the Tianchen Gang. Without looking back, Tong Jin knew that with Sun Hao dead, the Tianchen Gang would never let him go. He had two choices before him at this moment: first, to flee; second, to return to the Imperial Palace for sanctuary. However, he knew clearly that if he hid in the Imperial Palace, Bai Xuan would undoubtedly protect him, which would inevitably ignite a war between the two major factions. He did not want to drag others down with the disaster he had brought upon himself.

"Sigh, it seems I have no choice but to leave the Holy Capital far behind," Tong Jin muttered inwardly with tightly furrowed brows, though he felt no regret.

Glancing down at his hands, which were twisted and deformed from fractures and now completely numb, he suddenly remembered that the manual for the Fierce Sun Palm was still left inside the Imperial Palace. He immediately altered his route and sprinted toward the direction of the Imperial Palace.

As Tong Jin hurried toward the Imperial Palace, the entire Holy Capital was already in an uproar. The chief disciple of the Tianchen Gang had been murdered, and his death was both horrifying and bizarre. This news swept through the entire city like a heavy bombshell, and just as everyone was speculating whether it was merely a rumor, the Tianchen Gang’s mobilization of nearly their entire membership to search the city instantly confirmed that the news was true.

"Who on earth could be so bold as to dare kill even Sun Hao of the Tianchen Gang?"

"Indeed. I heard that while Sun Hao was nominally the chief disciple of the Tianchen Gang, he was actually the illegitimate son of Tianchen Gang Leader Sun Tianchang. Things are going to get lively now."

"Shh, watch your tongue! The Tianchen Gang has people all over the city right now—do you have a death wish?"

"By the way, I heard that when Sun Hao died, it was extremely bizarre; he literally melted into a puddle of flesh..."

Throughout the Holy Capital, discussions about the incident could be heard everywhere. If Tong Jin had known that a single bite from the venomous ant would cause such a massive commotion, he would not have known whether to feel honored or helpless...

Others who received the news at the same time were Shennongzi of the Divine Repose Palace and the leaders of the various other major factions. Apart from the Master of the Immortal-Guarding Pavilion, who remained too reclusive, and Imperial Lord Bai Xuan, who was not currently inside the Holy Capital, Tianchen Gang Leader Sun Tianchang immediately invited the other several giants to gather within the Tianchen Gang.

The Tianchen Gang was desolate and quiet at the moment, with almost all of its forces dispatched to search the area. Inside the grand hall, Sun Tianchang sat at the very top with a gloomy expression. Seated in the guest chairs before him were six individuals—precisely the leaders of the Scarlet Fire, Zhengyang, Divine Sect, Suppressing Thunder, and Dragon-Roaming factions, along with Shennongzi of the Divine Repose Palace. Among them, Shennongzi was the oldest, followed in descending order by Scarlet Fire Leader Chen Pingcan, Zhengyang Leader Jin Buzai, Divine Sect Leader Yifeng, Suppressing Thunder Leader Shanhu, and the youngest, Dragon-Roaming Leader Pan Tianlong.

"I suppose you have all heard the news. The dignified chief disciple of my Tianchen Gang has met his end at the hands of some scoundrel right within our own stronghold," Sun Tianchang said in a low voice, laden with suppressed fury and grief.

The youngest of them, Pan Tianlong, stood up and asked, "Brother Sun, has it been discovered who carried out the deed?"

As soon as this question was asked, except for Shennongzi, who still sat half-crooking his eyes in composure, all the other faction leaders looked toward Sun Tianchang simultaneously, eager to hear the answer.

"I am not afraid of being laughed at by you all: judging by his appearance, the brat is only around fourteen or fifteen years old, yet his cultivation had actually reached the Lesser Accomplishment of the Qi-Transforming Realm. Before Hao'er was harmed, this little bastard had already taken a palm strike from me..." Ignoring the gasps of astonishment from the crowd, he continued, "Given the brat's condition at the time, he certainly shouldn't have been able to harm Hao'er..." At this point, Sun Tianchang paused.

"How on earth was the chief disciple of Gang Leader Sun killed? Stop beating around the bush and speak plainly if you have something to say," bellowed the loud, impatient voice of Suppressing Thunder Leader Shanhu. Dressed in a black-and-yellow tiger-skin robe, he gave off a fierce and formidable aura.

Sun Tianchang glanced at Shanhu, showing no displeasure at the remark, and instead said slowly, "This is precisely why I invited you all here today. I suspect that the Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant has reappeared in the martial world."

"What!"

"The Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant!"

"..."

The crowd gasped in shock almost simultaneously, and even Shennongzi, who had been keeping his eyes closed in meditation, snapped them open in astonishment, a sharp gleam flashing through his aged eyes.

"It is indeed the Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant!" Sun Tianchang affirmed.

Zhengyang Leader Jin Buzai chimed in, "Does Gang Leader Sun have any evidence for this claim?"

Sun Tianchang let out a cold snort—though clearly not directed at those present—and said through gritted teeth, "The body of my Hao'er melted into a puddle of black blood within mere moments, and the emanating stench of rotting corpses is the best possible proof." At this memory, the inner grief overwhelmed the battle-hardened, fifty-year-old man, leaving him momentarily speechless.

The others let out soft sighs to show their sympathy.

The Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant was notoriously infamous. After being completely exterminated decades ago, this venomous creature had vanished from the world. Never had they expected it to resurface in the martial world now.

Shennongzi, however, was lost in deep shock. He was not startled by the emergence of the Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant; rather, he had roughly guessed the identity of the fourteen- or fifteen-year-old youth who had made the strike. He then let out a silent inward sigh and, without a trace, slowly closed his eyes once more.

"Tell me, could this person have any connection to Imperial Lord Bai Xuan?" At that moment, Pan Tianlong of the Dragon-Roaming faction suddenly asked.