Chapter 749: The Lord Master’s calculations (2/2)

So He Yilian really is stalling on purpose! He knew that Long Feiye had internal injuries? What despicable tactics!

He Yilian speedily backed away into the distance. Even with both of his arms gone and cuts all over his body, even with fresh blood flowing from his wounds and the threat of toppling over any second, a treacherous smile graced his features!

He had to hold on!

No matter what, he had to keep fighting until the end. Even if the last bit of effort killed him, he had to wait for Long Feiye to die first! The Lord Master2 once said that one maintained an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour. Lord Master had arranged for him to enter Celestial Mountain and hide by Cang Qiuzi’s side for years just so he could repay his loyalty in this moment! Once, he had doubted his goals and secretly snuck down to ask the Lord Master wha he was supposed to do. His innate talent was extraordinary, yet he was forced to hide his skills. Over the past few years, he had witnessed Long Feiye’s exploits in the martial arts world and felt unresigned to it all. He even entertained thoughts of betraying the Lord Master and showing off his true abilities, then pledging full alliance to Cang Qiuzi. He wanted to help his master seize the position of sect leader.

But in the end, he held out. He still dreaded the Lord Master and couldn’t imagine the consequences of a betrayal. All he could do was keep waiting. When Long Feiye brought Han Yunxi to the mountain this time, he sent multiple secret missives to the Lord Master to update him on events here. Last night, the Lord Master gave him his first reply.

The contents of the letter gave him a sleepless night. The Lord Master had actually predicted that Cang Qiuzi would lose his match and ordered him to head onstage and challenge Long Feiye afterwards. He wasn’t to attack, only defend and drag on time. The last sentence in the letter stated that this was a possible chance. It might not succeed, but if he didn’t seize the moment, he’ll never get another one like it again.

He Yilian didn’t understand what he meant and even suspected the Lord Master was sending him to his death. He was still debating what to do when the ranking matches finally came around. It wasn’t until he saw Cang Qiuzi being swiftly eliminated that he believed in the Lord Master’s words. Thus, he went onstage and challenged Long Feiye. It wasn’t until the other man started having trouble attacking him that his doubts disappeared. Like the crowd, he assumed that the man was simply tormenting him on purpose. Now he trusted the Lord Master completely. He thanked him from his heart, and himself for making this choice!

It was clear that Long Feiye was harboring internal injuries–serious ones too. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have fallen to his knee without reason! Long Feiye must be insane to attack Cang Qiuzi with such massive sword qi despite his state. It would be easy for him to enter cultivation insanity in this state, thus reversing the flow of his blood and qi until he died!

He Yilian looked at Long Feiye’s ashen face as his grin grew broader and broader. He couldn’t wait. Even if he died, he had to beat Long Feiye first. After all these years, he could finally defeat him!

Today was worth it!

Long Feiye knelt on the floor, his hands grasping his sword for support as he bowed his head. Close up, one could see that his temples were covered in sweat as blue veins popped out from his head. Although he didn’t show it, who knew what kind of turbulent waves were churning beneath the surface? He was gritting his teeth and bearing it gamely!

“Admit defeat! Or else he’ll die!” Han Yunxi was on her feet and ready to rush down, but the sword sect master stopped her.

“He’ll never admit defeat. You’ll only distract him if you go down now.”

“I don’t want to watch him die! I can’t!” Han Yunxi’s voice grew hoarse. She tried to dash away, but the sword sect master had a death grip on her hand. “Han Yunxi, if you understand his pride, then you can’t let him accept a loss!”

Han Yunxi gave a start, her face covered with tears. “Grandmaster, are you just going to look on as he dies? Can you really do that?”

It was deathly silence around the plaza. Everyone was focused on the movements onstage. He Yilian and Long Feiye were about 15 steps apart, one a bleeding, standing mess, the other a kneeling enigma with his head hung.

Time trickled by. The sword sect master had no words to reply Han Yunxi, but he was as anxious as a ant on a hot pan. Feiye couldn’t admit defeat or withdraw from the match, so his only choice was to keep fighting. But if that was the case, he had to hurry up. Delaying any longer would only worsen the effects of his Lustbite Seal. Once the Nirvana Heart Arts lost the power to keep it in check, even gods would be hard pressed to save him!

Why? Why isn’t he moving yet? Has he already…

The sword sect master didn’t dare to finish his thoughts. Meanwhile, He Yilian had started his advance. He had been waiting for Long Feiye to continue as well. As long as they kept moving, Long Feiye’s condition would deteriorate faster. But Long Feiye didn’t budge. He was planning to wait it out, but he couldn’t hold on for much longer!

Despite standing, he could lose consciousness at any time. Blood dripped unceasingly from his body. He was afraid that he’d die from blood loss long before Long Feiye ever budged. No matter what, he couldn’t miss out on this chance…

1. Cheng Yaojin (程咬金) – a famous Tang Dynasty general depicted in folklore as a “somewhat inept and bumbling warrior who sometimes shows up at the right place and right time to save the day.” Two sayings abound about the man: 1) “Cheng Yaojin shows up suddenly along the way” (Chinese: 半路殺出個程咬金): Used to describe a situation where someone shows up unexpectedly and disrupts a plan. It is also used to describe an unwelcome busybody who shows up where he/she is not wanted; and 2) “Cheng Yaojin and his three axe strokes” (Chinese: 程咬金三板斧): Used to describe someone with a limited repertoire of skills, i.e. someone relying on the same old tricks.

2. Lord Master (公主) – the same mysterious leader first referenced back in Chapter 729 (term has been updated to this new title).