Stronger with More Jobs

Chapter 549 - 259: The Jiang Family’s Roots Are Rotten

The face was resolute, marked by the traces of weather and a murderous aura honed on the battlefield, with eyes sharp as a hawk.

It was the target on the dossier photo.

Jiang Chengyue!

"Jiang Chengyue!!"

Wei Banmeng and his companions saw the figure clearly, their expressions suddenly tensed, and then turned extremely grim.

Anger, confusion, and the humiliation of being toyed with surged in their hearts.

"They know Jiang Chengyue is here."

Lu Jiuyuan’s voice was icily cold.

"And they sent so many elites to capture him!" Chu Kuanglan gnashed his teeth, "They had us running around like headless chickens in the daytime, wasting our time, while they come at night to reap the rewards?! Damn it!"

Fang Qingyu stood in the dark, expressionless, molten gold vertical pupils locked onto Jiang Chengyue and those surrounding him.

From the moment he saw those dozen or so Tier Two elites, he had already vaguely suspected this.

Now Jiang Chengyue’s appearance thoroughly confirmed the previous deduction.

This mission was deliberately delaying and misleading them.

It was entirely a smokescreen, a means to exclude them from the core, and possibly to drain their patience.

"Jiang Chengyue! Stop being obstinate and resisting against all odds!"

The leader of the encircling Grandmasters, a burly man whose aura was close to Tier Two Peak, spoke through a mask in a cold commanding tone, "You know very well, in this Glazed Light City, you cannot escape even if you had wings. Surrender, and perhaps you can retain some dignity!"

Jiang Chengyue stood atop the ruins, the cloak fluttered in the breeze stirred by the force field.

His gaze swept over the dozen or so peers surrounding him, his expression extremely complex. There were familiar auras among them, even comrades he once fought alongside.

Jiang Chengyue did not immediately reply.

He only slowly tightened his grip on the long knife in his hand, with an ancient design and a blade glinting with cold light.

Silence, like a cold tide, spread in the space enveloped by the force field.

"What do we do, Qingzi?"

Wei Banmeng looked at Fang Qingyu, voice extremely low, with a query and a hint of cold battle intent in his eyes.

"Do we keep watching? Or...?"

Fang Qingyu did not immediately answer, his gaze tightly fixed on Jiang Chengyue.

This "traitor’s" state was very strange. Although his aura was sharp as he faced the encirclement by peers, he did not have the craziness of a desperate person, but rather a heavy sense of sorrow and... a nearly stubborn resoluteness?

Moreover, that strike he just made through the wall was incredibly powerful, yet it clearly avoided the nearest encirclers. Otherwise, with the might and suddenness of that Sword Aura, it would be impossible not to have injured a single person.

Just then, Jiang Chengyue spoke, his voice low and hoarse, carrying a deep-seated weariness and bitterness, his gaze slowly swept over those masked figures, "Old Six, Ah Kun, and you all, do you still... not believe me?"

The addresses carried a familiarity of old times.

Causing a slight stiffening in the bodies of a few encirclers.

"Silence!"

The leading burly man shouted harshly, cutting off Jiang Chengyue’s words, with suppressed anger and a barely detectable hesitation in his voice.

"Jiang Chengyue! How dare you speak of trust?! You defied the ancestral rules, questioned the decisions of the ancestor, and openly defamed the ancestor’s reputation in the council, do you still deserve to be a member of the Jiang Family?! You betrayed the Jiang Family, betrayed Glazed Light City!"

His voice echoed within the force field, full of accusations.

"I advise you to drop your weapons obediently!"

The burly man took a deep breath, pointing at Jiang Chengyue, "In consideration of past relationships, I can plead for mercy on your behalf to the ancestor, sparing your life."

"Spare my life?"

Jiang Chengyue’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile, filled with endless desolation and ridicule.

He slowly shook his head, the bitterness in his eyes immediately replaced by a nearly blazing determination, "No, you are wrong. I’m not the one who is wrong!"

His voice suddenly rose, carrying a penetrating force, shouting resolutely:

"It’s you! It’s the entire Jiang Family! It’s rotten from the root!"

"Insolent!!" The burly man erupted in rage, as if his deepest taboo was struck, "Take him down!"

With the command, the dozen or so Tier Two Grandmasters and Divine Chosen hesitated no longer and erupted at once.

Sword light, Sword Qi, Fist Aura, various skills...

Like a flood breaking through a dam, rushed towards Jiang Chengyue at the center of the ruins from all directions.

"Kill!"

The roar and energy explosions instantly shattered the brief silence.

Facing the siege of a dozen peers, Jiang Chengyue’s eyes showed not the slightest hint of fear, but instead burst forth with astonishing battle intent.

The ancient long knife in his hand emitted a clear, resonant hum!

"Sky Splitting·Thousand仞 Slash!"

The blade light flashed brilliantly.

In an instant, dozens of fierce blade shadows seemed to appear simultaneously around him.

Precisely aiming towards the incoming attacks from all sides.

Ting-ting-tang-tang!

Boom! Sizzle——!

The clashing of metal and the explosive collisions of energy instantly intertwined into one.

Jiang Chengyue’s figure darted like a phantom within the narrow encirclement.

He did not choose to confront all the attacks directly, instead using exquisite stepping techniques and sword momentum to find gaps in the raging waves of assault, either diverting, deflecting, or counteracting the force!

The depth of his combat experience was terrifying, constantly avoiding deadly coordinated attacks at the last possible moment, even counterstriking with a sword slash forcing encirclers to defend.

The battle was exceptionally fierce, and the destructive power was astonishing.

The surrounding ruins continually collapsed and shattered under the violent energy impacts, the ground furrowed with deep trenches.