Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 280 Night Standoff, Murong's Father

"Young Master Murong, wait!"

A voice came from ahead, startling the two of them.

At this moment, the two had just escaped from a predicament and were in a state of extreme fear.

Only after clearly seeing the person's appearance did he breathe a sigh of relief.

The man was dressed in black, with a handsome face and a heroic air; it was none other than Yi Jifeng.

"It's you..." Murong Fu breathed a sigh of relief.

"wrong!"

Gongye Qian immediately realized something was wrong: "Young Master Yi, didn't you leave Suzhou half a month ago? What are you doing here now?"

Yi Jifeng is a righteous young hero and a man of justice.

This persona brought him many benefits, but also had its drawbacks, namely, that he would always intervene to help those in need.

Otherwise, it would violate the code of chivalry and affect his public image and reputation.

Therefore, his last rescue of the Alliance headquarters and confrontation with Dongfang Bubai was not only for the advancement of the plan, but also to maintain his persona.

After all, he hadn't left Suzhou yet at that time, and the house he lived in was a gift from the head of the Zhu family, and it wasn't far from the manor where the alliance headquarters was located.

If he discovers a problem at the Alliance headquarters but fails to provide assistance, it will damage his image as a righteous young hero.

Therefore, even if Yi Jifeng wanted to kill Murong Fu with his own hands, he had to leave Suzhou half a month in advance.

Because if he doesn't leave, how will he deal with the Sun Moon Cult's complete occupation?

As a righteous young hero, should we tolerate the rampant activities of a demonic sect like the Sun Moon Cult?
The best solution is naturally to leave beforehand.

Anyway, he's not the leader of the alliance, so this place has nothing to do with him anymore. He'll leave first, and once he's out of sight, he won't have to worry about it.

But he himself did want to kill Murong Fu with his own hands.

Firstly, to avenge the Zhu family head.

Secondly, to vent my anger.

Gongye Qian quickly realized this possibility and questioned, "Young Master Yi, although we have a grudge, the Sun Moon Sect is about to hunt us down. Are you perhaps planning to take advantage of our misfortune? Or do you intend to join forces with that demonic sect to deal with my young master?"

They are extremely skilled at using moral blackmail.

Unfortunately, Yi Jifeng's moral bottom line has been getting lower and lower with each of his actions with the Sun Moon Cult and Jinjiu.

Yi Jifeng ignored Gongye Qian's words and stared at Murong Fu, saying, "I don't care if you want to seize the position of alliance leader, since I'm already prepared to step down from that position. But you shouldn't have killed Uncle Zhu so arbitrarily!"

"so what?"

The series of defeats, coupled with today's ambush, had made Murong Fu extremely angry and irritable.

Now, anyone who appears in front of him could become the target of his anger.

What's more, this person is Yi Jifeng!
If it weren't for this person, my plans in the Western Xia Kingdom wouldn't have failed.

If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have needed to make any comparisons, and naturally I wouldn't have acted rashly, thus falling into a trap and losing my subordinates and retainers.

Not to mention that on that night, while he himself was making a fool of himself, Yi Jifeng actually stole the show at the Alliance Manor.

The contrast between the two sides is truly stark.

Murong Fu gritted his teeth, filled with boundless hatred for Yi Jifeng, and said, "He deserves to die!"

"It's you that damn it!"

Yi Jifeng shouted, and then a sword rang out as the Yuhua Sword, which he had been carrying on his back, was drawn from its sheath.

The ultimate techniques of the Eight Styles of Famous Swords were unleashed, resonating with the Rain Flower Sword. In an instant, the Rain Flower Sword transformed into four sword shapes, floating behind Yi Jifeng.

"Young Master Yi!"

Gongye Qian glanced behind him. Faced with this situation of being chased, he really didn't want to fight: "You are the heir of Mingjian Villa. Taking advantage of others in their distress, aren't you afraid of disgracing the reputation of Mingjian Villa?"

"Shut up!"

It was Murong Fu who rebuked him: "Stop talking nonsense, just kill him!"

Yi Jifeng wanted to kill him.

Murong Fu, however, had long wished to kill the other party.

The current situation, however, satisfies the wishes of both parties.

"That's...ok."

Although Gongye Qian was somewhat helpless, he was powerless to stop it at this moment. Then, his eyes flashed with sternness, and he took the lead in attacking Yi Jifeng.

Yi Jifeng pointed, and four swords flew from behind him, their sword light chilling. In the blink of an eye, they repelled Gongye Qian.

He then left one sword shadow to deal with Gongye Qian, while the other three sword shadows merged into one and blasted towards Murong Fu.

Clearly, Yi Jifeng still harbored a deep-seated resentment towards Murong Fu for defeating his combined Four Swords technique.

With the help of the Rain Flower Sword, the power of each sword shadow he unleashed has greatly increased. Now, the three swords combined are comparable to the four swords combined in the past, and even slightly more powerful.

That's why he deliberately separated a sword shadow, using only three swords combined to deal with Murong Fu.

Murong Fu, unaware of the changes, saw that his opponent was only using the three swords combined, and immediately sneered, preparing to use the Star Shift technique to deal with it.

But as soon as the two techniques collided, Murong Fu instantly sensed something was wrong.

The combined power of the three swords was so great that he could hardly cope with it, and the terrifying force directly knocked him back.

A month ago, when faced with the combined attack of four swords, he didn't actually know how to counter it, but he had Deng Baichuan by his side to help him.

Now, there is no one else around, and I can only rely on myself.

He was forced back more than ten steps by the sword shadow, and only by using all his strength to activate the Star Shift technique could he finally reduce the power of the sword shadow to seventy or eighty percent.

However, two or three tenths of it remained, breaking through his "Dou Zhuan Xing Yi" technique, and directly struck Murong Fu's chest.

"Hehe, I knew it..."

Yi Jifeng wasn't stupid. He didn't notice anything amiss during the battle a month ago, but after thinking about it carefully later, he realized something was wrong.

As expected, Murong Fu did not rely on his own abilities to block the combined attack of the four swords.

Now, however, this has been proven true.

"In that case, you can die in peace!"

"No! Young Master Yi!" Gongye Qian shouted hurriedly, trying to stop Yi Jifeng.

But Yi Jifeng had already unleashed three sword shadows, attacking Murong Fu.

Murong Fu was hit in the chest by the residual power of the three swords combined. He appeared to have no external injuries, but his internal meridians and organs had been severely impacted.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his eyes showed a look of terror.

In that instant, a sword aura flew in and shattered the three sword shadows.

Yi Jifeng was taken aback.

Before he could even react, a man in black flew through the darkness, landing nimbly beside Murong Fu, grabbing him and about to leave. Yi Jifeng quickly created four more sword shadows to try and stop him.

However, the black-clad man's strength was unknown. Even with Murong Fu in his grasp, his lightness skill still surpassed the speed of Yi Jifeng's four sword shadows, making it impossible for Yi Jifeng's attacks to catch up.

Just as the two were about to disappear into the night, a crimson-gold radiance suddenly shot out, like a shooting star in the night, and crashed straight into the man in black.

The attack came extremely fast. The man in black was startled and immediately stopped, gathering his strength to deal with it.

With Murong Fu in one hand, he could only use his other hand to fight back. He immediately unleashed his most skilled technique, striking the crimson-gold light with his palm.

Its crimson-gold radiance was actually that of an embroidery needle, which possessed such divine power only because it was enveloped by Dongfang Bubai's true energy.

At that moment, when he slapped it, it actually flipped back.

A figure in red suddenly appeared, grabbed the embroidery needle, looked at the man in black, and sneered, "Shifting Stars? Heh, since you're in the coffin, you might as well lie there quietly and not run out!"

The man in black trembled, a look of shock flashing in his eyes: "You know who I am?"

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Since I am going to take over Jiangnan, how can I not investigate the number one martial arts family in Jiangnan?"

Dongfang Bubai sneered: "Besides, you've been quite active these past six months. Using their own methods against them, so many martial artists in the Jianghu have died from their own unique skills. This wasn't done by Murong Fu, so who else besides you possesses the skill of 'Shifting Stars'?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned.

Gongye Qian, having escaped the sword shadow, exclaimed in surprise, "You...you are the former patriarch?"

Murong Fu was also extremely surprised: "Father! You're still alive?"

Yi Jifeng asked in surprise, "This man in black... is he Murong Bo? It's said he's been dead for many years. Could it be that he faked his death?"

Dongfang Bubai said coldly, "It doesn't matter. After tonight, this person will undoubtedly be truly dead!"

The man in black was Murong Bo, Murong Fu's father and the previous head of the Murong family!

He looked at Dongfang Bubai and said, "You are so young yet possess such strength; you should cherish your life even more. You should have let me leave just now."

Dongfang Bubai laughed and said, "You old codger, you've lived for so many years and you're only a Second-Level Grandmaster. You're no better than me by a hair's breadth. What are you spouting nonsense about? Die!"

Dozens or even hundreds of embroidery needles instantly shot out from his hand, coated with the true energy of the Sunflower Manual, radiating a crimson-gold brilliance, like a meteor shower, appearing magnificent in the night.

Murong Bo put down his son, took the longsword from his hand, and unleashed the Dragon City Sword Technique, the sword energy flowing like a surging river.

With his other hand, he still unleashed the legendary skill of shifting stars.

This alone shows that he is far more capable than Murong Fu.

Because if Murong Fu wanted to use the "Star Shift" technique, he would always put down his sword first.

Murong Bo, however, was completely different.

He was actually using two unique skills at the same time.

"No wonder he's a father; he's lived several decades longer. He's really something."

Dongfang Bubai praised it.

However, she could see that Murong Bo's mastery of these two skills was far from reaching its peak. The reason he was able to achieve this was entirely due to the skills themselves.

She discovered that these two skills had many things in common and could complement and cooperate with each other.

In other words, the Dragon City Sword Technique and the Star Shift Technique were to be used together from the very beginning, a decision made by the creator of these two unique skills.

The Dragon City Sword Technique is continuous and can be used not only for attack but also for defense.

Furthermore, the ability to shift stars and deflect attacks can neutralize their force, deflect them, and even reverse them back onto the attacker.

With the two sets of special skills combined, the strategy is to defend tightly and look for opportunities to counterattack.

"However, passive defense and counterattack is still lacking. If there were a set of martial arts that can take the initiative to attack, this set of martial arts would be perfect."

Dongfang Bubai thought to himself, "I heard Jin Jiu say that the Murong family has a unique skill called 'Canhe Finger,' which must be that attack method."

One crimson-gold radiance followed another, but Murong Bo easily blocked them all.

For a moment, the two sides seemed to be at a stalemate.

Murong Fu, watching from the side, was overjoyed and said, "My father has cultivated for many years and his skill is far superior to that of Dongfang Bubai!"

Yi Jifeng couldn't help but sneer: "Didn't you hear your father say it himself? He and Dongfang Bubai are both Second Flower Grandmasters, at the same level!"

Murong Fu was speechless and had no choice but to change the subject: "As the successor of the Famous Sword Manor, how could you collude with a demonic sect like the Sun Moon Sect? Aren't you afraid that if this gets out, you'll lose face for your Famous Sword Manor?"

Yi Jifeng gripped the Rain Flower Sword tightly and said, "You've reminded me. Not a single person here today can be left alive!"

It seemed as if they were about to take action.

Startled, Murong Fu trembled and quickly moved closer to Murong Bo.

But Yi Jifeng ultimately did not make a move.

It wasn't that he was soft-hearted, but rather that the situation on the field had changed again.

Dongfang Bubai flicked out a silver needle, which blended into the countless crimson-gold rays of light.

This silver needle should have been blocked by the continuous sword energy of the Dragon City Sword Technique, just like the other radiance. However, when Murong Bo used his sword technique, he revealed a slight flaw, which allowed this silver needle to slip through.

The silver needle pierced Murong Bo's shoulder in an instant, and the Sunflower Manual's true energy, even more intense than flames, spread through his meridians, causing his arm to go limp and leaving him completely powerless.

Dongfang Bubai pressed his advantage, instantly unleashing a powerful move from the Sunflower Manual. Countless crimson-gold rays of light exploded around him, like a sunflower blooming, surging with endless light and heat, crashing towards Murong Bo.

With one hand crippled, Murong Bo could only use the Star Shift technique with his other hand, but it only deflected two or three layers of the power. The remaining eighty percent of the flames landed on him, blasting him away and setting his black clothes ablaze.

"Your swordsmanship is good, but your character is lacking!"

Dongfang Bubai sneered and gave his assessment of the battle.

The Dragon City Sword Technique is indeed a rare and exceptional skill, especially adept at defense, making it extremely difficult to break through.

However, although Dongfang Bubai did not practice swordsmanship, he had a master who was considered one of the top swordsmen of his time.

That was Dugu Qiubai.

Dugu Qiubai's sword philosophy is to anticipate the enemy's moves, exploit their weaknesses, and be invincible.

Dongfang Bubai also mastered this skill.

In addition, Murong Bo's Dragon City Sword Technique was far from perfect; a flaw would always appear in its continuous flow.

Dongfang Bubai saw through this flaw and seized the opportunity, which allowed him to break the Dragon City Sword Technique with a single silver needle.

Murong Bo lay on the ground, feeling as if a million burning embers had been forcibly stuffed into his body, constantly scorching his internal organs and limbs.

His clothes caught fire, and the black veil covering his face, along with his beard, burned away, revealing a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar to Murong Fu.

Murong Fu never expected that the next time he would see his father's face would be under these circumstances.

"Father……"

Murong Fu called out, his voice filled with endless sorrow.

Murong Bo shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Fu'er, Father... Father is useless..."

(End of this chapter)