Chapter Thirty-Two: The Phoenix Martial Division

Although Li Xingyu was extremely fast, the envoy’s actions this time were far beyond his expectations. By the time Li Xingyu reached him and tried to stop him, it was already too late. He dodged aside, narrowly avoiding the blood that spurted from the envoy’s neck. Glancing at the envoy, now slumped against a tree, Li Xingyu shook his head and quickly moved against the other two men in black. He worried they might also attempt suicide, and with his cultivation, even if they did, he would ensure at least one of them survived.

These two were clearly not as decisive or fearless as the envoy. Perhaps still in shock, they offered little resistance when Li Xingyu attacked, and were soon subdued. After confiscating their weapons and sealing their meridians, he finally turned his gaze to Qin Xiaotian and the others.

They, too, were obviously still in shock. When Li Xingyu looked at them, they were startled, not recognizing him and fearing he might silence them as witnesses. As Li Xingyu approached, their faces showed a mix of relief and unease, with a trace of fear in their eyes. Seeing their expressions, Li Xingyu smiled, then used his sword to cut the ropes binding their hands and feet. After a moment’s thought, he also unsealed their meridians. Clearly, Li Xingyu believed that, given the strength he had just displayed, they would not dare act rashly. Even if they tried, he had nothing to fear from them.

Once free, Qin Xiaotian first moved his limbs, spat out the leaves stuffed in his mouth, and sat down to adjust his internal energy, which had become sluggish after his meridians were sealed. As for Chen Jingrou, her first act of freedom was to spit out the disgusting piece of cloth from her mouth, after which she gagged for quite some time. Then, with fury, she marched over to the two helpless men in black and began kicking them with all her strength, muttering as she did, “Serves you right for kidnapping me! Shoving that filthy rag in my mouth—you’ll pay for this…”

Li Xingyu understood her grievance and anger, and allowed her to vent. Watching her curse and kick, he couldn’t help but smile. “What are you laughing at? How dare you laugh at me?” The girl, caught up in her righteous anger, momentarily forgot Li Xingyu’s power and was about to continue when he intervened.

Seeing her almost done, Li Xingyu worried she might kill them and said, “That’s enough. A few kicks will do. These two are still of use to me.”

“Who are you to tell me what to do?” she retorted, but then caught the sharpness in his eyes and, recalling his earlier display of strength, dared not argue further. She stopped, feeling wronged. Soon her gaze shifted to the dead envoy. “If I can’t punish the living, I can at least take it out on the dead,” she thought. Shooting a glance at Li Xingyu, she walked over to the envoy and began kicking him as well. Remembering how he had tried to humiliate her, she drew her sword and was about to hack at him when Li Xingyu’s voice rang out, “Stop! What do you think you’re doing?”

“He tried to… He was despicable! I won’t be satisfied until I cut him to pieces!” Li Xingyu hadn’t expected her to be so ruthless. “It’s true what they say: never provoke a woman,” he thought. “No. Come back here.” Li Xingyu had a certain respect for the envoy’s unwavering loyalty, whether it was to protect his master’s secrets or to safeguard his own family. Either way, the man had shown courage, and in Li Xingyu’s view, the dead should be left in peace, not subjected to further indignity.

Though Chen Jingrou was still indignant, she dared not defy Li Xingyu. She reluctantly kicked a couple more times before returning, fuming inwardly that he was a heartless brute to treat someone as beautiful and lovely as herself so harshly. Somewhat afraid of Li Xingyu, she kept her distance upon returning, choosing instead to stand beside Qin Xiaotian for a sense of security.

“Speak. Tell me everything you know.” Li Xingyu did not threaten them, but simply released a powerful aura, exerting immense pressure.

“We are…” one of the men in black began, but the other cut in, “Big brother, we can’t! If we talk, the organization will never let us go.” Despite his firm tone, Li Xingyu detected uncertainty in his eyes. Deciding to press them further, he said, “If you refuse, I’ll hand you over to that young lady. You know what that means.”

“Am I really that terrifying?” thought Chen Jingrou, annoyed by Li Xingyu’s words. The two men exchanged glances and, recalling her earlier wrath, quickly caved under the combined pressure of Li Xingyu’s aura and their own fear of death.

“We’re members of the Phoenix Martial Group. The one who just killed himself was the group’s envoy, the one tasked with delivering orders from our master. We truly don’t know our master’s identity, nor do we know what our master intended to exchange Miss Chen for. That’s all we know, honestly.” The other nodded vigorously in agreement.

“The Phoenix Martial Group? I can’t believe you belong to that organization,” Qin Xiaotian exclaimed in surprise. Li Xingyu glanced at him but said nothing, continuing to question the men about the group. When he was satisfied that he had squeezed out all they knew and was convinced they were telling the truth, he said, “You may go now. I promised that if you cooperated, I’d consider sparing you. I’m not one for senseless killing.”

The two men were taken aback, but realizing that a master of his caliber would keep his word, they quickly departed once Li Xingyu unsealed their meridians. Although Qin Xiaotian and Chen Jingrou both felt uneasy about letting them go, the decision was Li Xingyu’s, so they said nothing.

After the men had left, Li Xingyu turned to Qin Xiaotian. “You know about the Phoenix Martial Group? Tell me, what kind of organization is it?” Qin Xiaotian thought for a moment before replying, “I’ve only heard my master mention them. It’s said to be a very mysterious group. Their core members—the envoys—are few, but they have many outer members like those who just left. The organization is peculiar; it’s not like a sect, a martial alliance, or anything similar. No one knows who their master really is.” After a brief pause, he shared everything he knew, though it was mostly rumor and not particularly useful.

“I know their background runs deep, and there are a few similar groups. My father once said their backers might actually be the same,” Chen Jingrou chimed in, intrigued by the discussion.

“Oh? So you’re familiar with these groups too. Can you tell me their names and any distinguishing features?” Li Xingyu asked.

“I’m not telling you. You were so mean to me just now and even let my kidnappers go!” Perhaps having realized that Li Xingyu was not as ruthless as he appeared, Chen Jingrou’s capriciousness returned.

Qin Xiaotian, however, did not share her confidence. He knew that all great martial artists were eccentric, and anyone who had reached such a high level would be strong-willed. As long as one didn’t provoke or threaten them, they might not be cruel, but otherwise, one could never be sure. So he quickly spoke up, “The other groups she mentioned are the Phoenix Shadow Group, the Phoenix Slayer Group, and the Phoenix Letter Group. These are even more mysterious and are rarely involved in the martial world, so little is known about them, and almost no one knows any real details.”

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