Chapter 536: Chapter 407: Successful Annihilation, Qing Chan’s Emotional Threads

By the time Chen Ping’an and Gu Qingchan reached the Blood Flame Cave, the battle was already over.

"It’s over?" Chen Ping’an asked, surprised. "How did it end so quickly?"

Based on the earlier situation, the Garrison Commandant’s Office had a slight advantage, but not enough to end the battle this quickly.

The battle may have ended, but plenty of people were still inside the Blood Flame Cave, cleaning up the aftermath. Chen Ping’an wanted to ask what had happened when he heard a voice call out from nearby.

"Lord Chen."

Chen Ping’an turned and saw it was Zhong Zeyu, the commander coordinating the encirclement on the western front. Zhong Zeyu’s face was a little pale, but the joy in his expression was plain to see.

This encirclement had been fraught with complications. They had severely underestimated the situation at this Ten Thousand Demons Sect stronghold, making the operation far more difficult than anticipated. As a top-tier expert himself, he had faced constant danger during the chaotic battle, as if walking on thin ice.

If not for his many trump cards and outstanding self-preservation skills, he likely would have died here.

But now, everything was fine. The situation was under control. The more difficult the encirclement, the more credit he would receive as the commander of a battlefront. The greater the struggle, the sweeter the reward.

This was exactly how Zhong Zeyu was feeling. He was in the middle of coordinating the cleanup of the battlefield when he spotted Chen Ping’an and called out to him.

The moment the words left his mouth, however, he began to regret it. Beside Chen Ping’an, he saw a stunningly beautiful figure in a pale blue court dress.

The Ice Soul Divine Needle, Gu Qingchan.

’Damn it! How could I have forgotten about her!’

Zhong Zeyu was filled with regret as the image of the two of them gazing at each other resurfaced in his mind. But what was done was done. He could only bite the bullet, walk forward, and respectfully say, "Greetings, Elder Gu."

Gu Qingchan’s mind was elsewhere. She gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

Seeing that Gu Qingchan didn’t seem offended, Zhong Zeyu breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

’Thank goodness... If I’d angered Elder Gu, I’d be in real trouble.’

"Lord Zhong." Chen Ping’an smiled and clasped his hands in a salute.

He had been looking for someone to explain the situation, so Zhong Zeyu’s arrival was perfectly timed. He voiced his confusion, and after Zhong Zeyu’s explanation, Chen Ping’an finally understood what had happened.

After the Ten Thousand Demon Thieves retreated, the besieging forces held the advantage in the battle inside the Blood Flame Cave. However, an advantage was one thing, but a swift, crushing victory was unrealistic. After all, the Ten Thousand Demons Sect still had several Grandmasters on their side, most notably the man in black, who was a veteran Mid-Jade Balance Stage Grandmaster.

Just as the battle was reaching its peak, three Grandmasters arrived as reinforcements. They joined the Grandmasters already present to suppress the Ten Thousand Demons Grandmasters.

For this operation against the Ten Thousand Demons, they had dispatched an ample number of Grandmasters—far more than just the seven. In addition to the Grandmasters who ventured deep into the stronghold, several others were stationed outside to secure the perimeter and ensure no one escaped. Yan Shibao of the Cloud-Pushing Mountain Palm, whom Chen Ping’an had met earlier, was one of them. He had remained outside during the assault and hadn’t entered with the main group.

Their arrival as reinforcements probably meant they had received some kind of news.

Their inclusion significantly widened the gap in power with the Ten Thousand Demons Sect. Furthermore, during his fierce battle with the man in black, Cloud Concealing Sword Feng Wuhen had suddenly unleashed an incredibly powerful killing technique: the Cloud Shadow Flying Sword. With a single strike, he severely wounded the man in black, who was also at the Mid-Jade Balance Stage. Later, with the help of the other Grandmasters, they managed to corner and kill him on the spot.

However, in his death throes, the man in black managed to severely injure one of our Grandmasters. If Feng Wuhen hadn’t wounded him so badly earlier, that Grandmaster would likely have perished here.

In this battle, all of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect’s Grandmasters were annihilated; not a single one escaped. They had hoped to capture one or two Ten Thousand Demons Grandmasters alive to extract more intelligence, but ultimately, they were unable to achieve their goal.

Capturing a Grandmaster alive in a real battle is an incredibly difficult task, almost as hard as ascending to the heavens.

Defeating a Grandmaster is easier than suppressing one. Suppressing one is easier than killing one. And the most difficult task of all is capturing one alive. The difficulty of capturing a Grandmaster alive is far beyond anyone’s imagination, much higher than that of killing them.

Those who reach the level of Grandmaster have generally achieved Enlightenment. Regardless of their personality, most are not cowards who cling to life and fear death. When faced with a hopeless situation, they would rather die than be taken alive.

Forget about an ordinary Mid-Jade Balance Stage practitioner; even if a Top Grandmaster were to act, capturing even the most common Grandmaster alive would likely come down to sheer, ethereal luck.

However, if a Great Grandmaster were willing to act, supplemented by a specific Trapping Secret Technique, the difficulty might be significantly lower. But even that isn’t a guarantee. After all, some Grandmasters, seeing that all is lost, will decisively self-destruct. They do so with such speed that not even a Great Grandmaster could stop them in time.

"So that’s what happened." After listening to Zhong Zeyu’s explanation, Chen Ping’an understood.

’So Feng Wuhen is truly worthy of the title Sword Cultivator, to be able to severely wound the man in black, who was also at the Mid-Jade Balance Stage. When he unleashed his full power, his combat strength must have approached the level of a Top Grandmaster.’

’None of the three Mid-Jade Balance Stage Grandmasters in this operation were simple characters; each one had more hidden up their sleeve than the last. According to the State Grandmaster Chart, the strongest of the three should have been Breaking Army Saber Situ Ba. Yet in the end, it was the seemingly invincible Breaking Army Saber Situ Ba who perished here, while the other two revealed their true capabilities.’

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