Chapter 1193, The Smiling Tiger: Zhang Heng

Translator: Silavin

  

Across the snow-blanketed earth, the atmosphere was profoundly strange.

 

Gaze after gaze drifted involuntarily toward Zhao Xueqi, standing there amidst the crowd.

 

To have earned the fearsome nickname of Blood Hand in a place as brutally competitive as the Myriad Beasts War Domain spoke volumes about the terror of his strength and the ruthlessness of his methods.

 

And yet here, before the eyes of all, Qin Yichen had sent one of the Blood Hand Five Eagles flying in full view of Zhao Xueqi himself. There was no other way to read it, it was a nakedly brazen slap across his face.

 

Qin Yichen’s gaze was perfectly tranquil as it rested on Zhao Xueqi, a faint and peculiar smile at the corner of his lips.

 

And Zhao Xueqi, in turn, was staring fixedly at Qin Yichen. For a single moment, it seemed as though even the endless wind and snow had stilled, and the entire expanse of Heaven and Earth fell into a silence deep as death.

 

Beneath that silence, not one of the assembled experts dared draw a breath too loudly. They all understood that these two fearsome individuals could erupt into violence at any moment.

 

“Ha ha! Zhao Xueqi, you really have been going from bad to worse!”

 

But that silence did not last long. All at once a roaring laugh rang out from behind the crowd, utterly unguarded, its owner was clearly unafraid of Zhao Xueqi.

 

“Zhang Heng!” At the sound of that voice, Zhao Xueqi’s expression shifted ever so slightly.

 

An instant later, to the sound of rushing wind, a young man in white robes swept in, bringing with him more than ten powerful experts.

 

This young man appeared to be no more than twenty-eight or twenty-nine years of age, yet the fluctuations of his aura made it perfectly clear that he was a terrifyingly formidable opponent.

 

At the sight of his group’s arrival, more than a few of the experts present changed colour. Some, it seemed, regarded Zhang Heng with even greater wariness than they held for Zhao Xueqi.

 

“Smiling Tiger, weren’t you off somewhere else? What brings you back?”

 

Zhao Xueqi let out a cold snort at the sight of the newcomer.

 

“Heh heh, and I have your deliberately leaked intelligence to thank for that, nearly costing this old man his life in some godforsaken place.” Zhang Heng, the Smiling Tiger, laughed coldly in return, his tone carrying a distinct edge of grievance.

 

It was evident the two of them were anything but cordial, and it seemed highly likely that the latter had fed him false information that had all but sent him to his death.

 

“You can only blame your own stupidity.”

 

Zhao Xueqi said this flatly. He was not afraid of Zhang Heng, though equally he had no particular fear of him either.

 

“Little Brother, that was a fine punch just now. You’ve already made an enemy of Zhao Xueqi, so why not see it through to the end? We’ll take him down together, right here and now.”

 

Amid the startled looks of the assembled crowd, Zhang Heng turned to Qin Yichen with a sudden, easy smile, raising the matter as though it were the most unremarkable thing in the world.

 

At these words, more than a few onlookers’ mouths twitched.

 

Zhao Xueqi was a man of terrifying reputation. To speak so openly of dealing with him to his face was something few beyond Zhang Heng would have had the audacity to do.

 

Though Zhang Heng’s tone sounded almost like banter, the cold gleam flickering in his eyes made it plain enough that this was not entirely out of the question.

 

Zhao Xueqi’s strength was certainly fearsome, but Zhang Heng was no pushover either.

 

Add to that, Qin Yichen whose depths were entirely unreadable, and it was not impossible that things might actually go Zhang Heng’s way.

 

Moreover, even if it came to blows and Zhao Xueqi could not be killed, at the very least it would leave him wounded, and in no position to make a play for the Sacred Energy Fruit.

 

In that instant, Zhao Xueqi’s brow gave a subtle twitch, and his expression darkened ever so slightly.

 

He had no fear of Zhang Heng or Qin Yichen individually, but should they genuinely join forces, he would have a difficult time on his hands.

 

“*Hmph!* Smiling Tiger, have you grown tired of stabbing people in the back? Does anyone actually dare to work alongside you anymore?”

 

From behind Zhao Xueqi, one of the Blood Hand Five Eagles let out a sudden cold snort.

 

“Is this a business you should butt into?”

 

The instant the words left that man’s mouth, Zhang Heng’s gaze snapped toward him, and a terrifying aura surged outward in a torrent.

 

Beneath that aura, many of the surrounding experts felt their breathing grow strained. Even a few whose cultivation was somewhat lower found the Yuan Energy within their bodies stirring beyond their control.

 

“Smiling Tiger, you are not yet in a position to step ahead of me!”

 

As that fearsome aura pressed down upon the Blood Hand Five Eagles, Zhao Xueqi’s cold snort thundered out as well, and in an instant, a tide of overwhelming Evil Energy rose up and easily repelled Zhang Heng’s surging momentum.

 

“Little Brother, there is a fortune beyond counting on that man. Why not strike together? Whatever we take, I’ll give you half.” Zhang Heng did not continue trading words with Zhao Xueqi, turning his gaze instead toward Qin Yichen.

 

To have sent a Peak Stage Martial Ancestor flying with a single fist, his strength was at least on the same level as his own. With that strength, they would hold the upper hand over Zhao Xueqi.

 

Zhao Xueqi’s expression darkened considerably. He had fully intended to make Qin Yichen pay a price, but in the blink of an eye, Zhang Heng’s arrival had completely reversed the situation.

 

The moment Qin Yichen agreed to act alongside Zhang Heng, his only option today would be to abandon the Sacred Energy Fruit.

 

Gaze after gaze, heavy with significance, settled upon Qin Yichen. No one had expected that this man who had gone entirely unnoticed until now would become the deciding factor in whether Blood Hand Zhao Xueqi could ascend Vibrant Vermilion Peak today.

 

“As for whatever grievances exist between the two of you, I trust you can settle them yourselves. I am merely a bystander passing through.”

 

Yet faced with the weight of all those stares, Qin Yichen simply shrugged his shoulders and spoke coldly.

 

Had the crowd not already witnessed Qin Yichen’s earlier display, it would have been very easy to overlook him entirely, but as things stood, no one was looking down on him for this. In their hearts, they quietly elevated him by two full tiers.

 

It seemed this man was not the oblivious simpleton he had appeared to be earlier. On the contrary, he was remarkably sharp.

 

Had he agreed to join Zhang Heng in moving against Zhao Xueqi, the latter would undoubtedly have nursed a deep and lasting grudge.

 

And whether Zhang Heng was genuinely proposing cooperation or merely playing him for a fool remained a very large question. After all, the Smiling Tiger had not earned that name for nothing, and who could say how many who had placed their trust in that smile had ended up dead beneath it.

 

Now, by stepping back, Qin Yichen ensured that even if Zhao Xueqi harboured resentment over what had already passed, so long as the man had any sense, he would not make a brazen move against him, not before the Sacred Energy Fruit had a rightful owner, at least.

 

“Ha ha, Little Brother, you are quite the smooth operator.”

 

Far from showing the slightest displeasure at the gentle refusal, Zhang Heng let out a hearty laugh, slapped Qin Yichen’s shoulder with easy familiarity, and smiled. “Then let us conquer Vibrant Vermilion Peak together. I am rather curious to see what sort of Dragon’s den and Tiger’s lair waits for us at the top.”

 

With that, Zhang Heng took the lead, sweeping ahead with the more than ten experts following in his wake, heading straight for the depths of the frozen world.

 

Watching him go, Qin Yichen found he understood rather well how a man of Zhang Heng’s nature had ended up deceived by Zhao Xueqi’s false intelligence and nearly lost his life in the process.

 

“Move out!” Zhao Xueqi shot Qin Yichen one last, long, and meaningful glance, then swept a hand forward, pressing close behind.