Chapter Thirty-Nine: Let’s Negotiate Terms!

Yang Ye crashed heavily to the ground, feeling as though his bones were about to splinter apart, his whole body limp and powerless. Some of his internal meridians had actually ruptured, and the flow of star force within him was sluggish. On the other side, Jiang Lei too lay sprawled on the ground, but compared to Yang Ye, Jiang Lei’s injuries were not nearly as severe. The star force from Yang Ye’s assault penetrated him with incredible strength, seeping almost instantly into his body.

A loud explosion sounded from Jiang Lei’s body, ripping a gaping hole in the front of his shirt. Jiang Lei used his own star force to force Yang Ye’s energy out of his system. Spitting out the sand and grit that had splashed into his mouth, Jiang Lei rolled over and stood up. He glanced at the unmoving Yang Ye lying on the ground, then turned to look at his elder brother, Jiang Yu. After more than ten minutes of fierce battle, Jiang Yu’s star force reserves had been nearly depleted, and under Long Xiaoqing’s relentless assault, he was on the brink of collapse.

Weighing his options, Jiang Lei decided it was more urgent to help his brother. As long as Long Xiaoqing was eliminated, the gravely injured Yang Ye would pose no threat. With a burst of speed, Jiang Lei charged straight toward Long Xiaoqing. “Bind!” he commanded in a deep voice, unleashing a powerful surge of star force to envelop Long Xiaoqing. This was the same move he had used against Yang Ye earlier.

But—

A sudden explosion echoed. The star force Jiang Lei sent had only just wrapped around Long Xiaoqing’s seemingly delicate frame when she broke free instantly. The backlash of star force reverberated, forcing Jiang Lei’s fingers to splay wide, nearly crippling one of his hands. What immense power! Was she even human? Only then did Jiang Lei comprehend the torment his brother Jiang Yu was suffering.

He immediately joined the fray, attacking Long Xiaoqing alongside Jiang Yu. At last, Jiang Yu found a moment to catch his breath. Had his younger brother Jiang Lei not come to his aid, he knew he wouldn’t have lasted another five minutes.

Elsewhere in the estate, fierce battles erupted. Yang Ye’s fifty-one followers had already stormed into the manor. Though they had only recently left prison, their combat prowess was undiminished—if anything, their tactics were cunning and ruthless. They never fought alone, instinctively forming teams of two or three. Some carried sniper rifles designed specifically to deal with cultivators, targeting wounded Jiang family guards. Each shot almost always claimed a life.

In the ten minutes since the battle began, many Jiang family guards had perished at the hands of the fifty-one, yet not a single one of Yang Ye’s men had fallen. For them, having finally escaped the prison, there was no way they would throw their lives away so easily.

As for the battle between Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing, most preferred not to get involved. If Inspector Ye and Lady Ye managed to kill the two old monsters at the stellar level, it wouldn’t be too late to join them. If Inspector Ye and Lady Ye died, well—that would be even better… At least a large portion of the fifty-one held such thoughts.

But Zhou Hun was different. Seeing Yang Ye lying gravely wounded, and Jiang Lei joining the assault on Long Xiaoqing, Zhou Hun immediately rushed to Yang Ye’s aid. Observing Zhou Hun’s rescue attempt, several others among the fifty-one followed suit, trailing behind him. At the same time, a few Jiang family members burst out from the villa, hoping to kill Yang Ye while he was down.

A gunshot rang out. One Jiang family member fired at Yang Ye, who lay on the ground. The bullet missed its mark, as Yang Ye rolled away just in time. Witnessing this, Zhou Hun immediately changed direction, leading his men to attack the Jiang family members who had emerged from the villa.

Yang Ye finally had a moment to recuperate, channeling his star force to restore himself. As he controlled the flow of star force within, Yang Ye kept a close watch on Long Xiaoqing’s battle. Under the combined assault of two late-stage stellar cultivators, Long Xiaoqing was repeatedly struck, crashing hard to the ground. Each time, Jiang Yu and Jiang Lei thought she would not rise again, but Long Xiaoqing would spring up in an instant, charging at them once more.

Monstrous! Was she even human? Jiang Yu and Jiang Lei were secretly alarmed.

Time ticked by.

Suddenly, Yang Ye rolled over, his form flickering with a sharp whistle, charging toward Jiang Lei, who had just been forced back by Long Xiaoqing. Seeing Yang Ye rushing at him, Jiang Lei’s eyes widened in shock. In his eyes, Yang Ye had become a monster like Long Xiaoqing. In just a few minutes, the man he had gravely wounded was now fully revived!

Jiang Lei had no choice but to face Yang Ye once again. The four combatants tangled together. For Yang Ye, this was a blessing. At crucial moments, Long Xiaoqing always managed to rescue him from peril.

As time passed and their star force was depleted, Jiang Yu and Jiang Lei began to pant heavily. This was the most grueling battle they had ever endured.

The moment was right.

Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing exchanged a glance.

Suddenly, a green light shot from Long Xiaoqing’s chest—she unleashed her true form.

Long Xiaoqing pierced through Jiang Lei’s chest. Yang Ye followed closely, flickering forward and smashing Jiang Lei’s head with a powerful palm strike. With a loud explosion, Jiang Lei’s skull shattered.

“Second Brother!” Jiang Yu’s eyes widened with grief as he howled in anguish. Instantly, he darted toward Yang Ye.

Long Xiaoqing was ready. Her green light circled around, slicing across Jiang Yu’s neck. Having lost most of his star force, Jiang Yu was helpless against the dragon’s claws; with a wet crunch, Long Xiaoqing tore open his throat.

Consumed by rage, Jiang Yu disregarded his pain and struck Yang Ye’s chest with all his might. Yang Ye was sent flying once more, crashing heavily to the ground.

“Courting death!” Returning to her corporeal form, Long Xiaoqing saw Yang Ye gravely wounded and shouted in fury. In a flash, she appeared behind Jiang Yu and delivered a fierce whip kick to his rear.

Jiang Yu soared into the air, his body spinning rapidly. The enraged Long Xiaoqing flew after him, pummeling him relentlessly with her fists.

A series of thunderous blows resounded. Each time Jiang Yu’s body neared the ground, Long Xiaoqing would drive him back into the air. After several rounds, when Long Xiaoqing finally stopped, Jiang Yu’s body was unrecognizable, barely clinging to life as he fell.

Unlike Yang Ye, Jiang Yu lacked such monstrous healing abilities; after spitting a mouthful of blood, he breathed his last.

Thus, all four stellar-level experts of the Jiang family perished following Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing’s arrival in Xia Jing.

“Husband, are you alright?” After finishing off Jiang Yu, Long Xiaoqing hurried over to help Yang Ye up, her face filled with worry.

Yang Ye wiped the blood from his lips and grinned. “Don’t worry—your husband isn’t dead yet!”

Seeing Yang Ye still able to speak, Long Xiaoqing finally relaxed. She knew Yang Ye possessed formidable regenerative powers; unless his brain was severed or he was obliterated in a single blow, he could recover from any injury.

What followed was simple. With the Jiang family’s stellar experts eliminated, Yang Ye’s men no longer held back, storming into the manor to hunt down the remaining Jiang family members. The hired guards, seeing the hopeless situation, scattered and fled.

In less than half an hour, most of the Jiang family was either killed or captured alive and brought before Yang Ye. Among them were Jiang Wenchong, whose star sea had been destroyed by Long Xiaoqing, Jiang Ming, and several other younger members of the Jiang family.

“Jiang Wenchong, shall we discuss terms?” Sweeping his gaze over the vengeful Jiang Wenchong and the terrified, trembling Jiang Ming and other young Jiang family members, Yang Ye wore a cold, mocking smile.