Chapter 139: Giddy with Success

This person was none other than Elder Wei, who had initially challenged Lin Hao in the grand hall and was defeated by him in a single move.

Zheng Xi had been torn to pieces, Elder Hong's meridians were utterly shattered, and the leaders of all three major sects had been dealt with. Now, only this Elder Wei remained.

The three of them had spearheaded the siege against the Qingfeng Sect; how could Lin Hao possibly let them go?

Especially when he recalled the trusting and entrusted look in the eyes of Qingyun and the Sect Master at the very end, Lin Hao now bore the entire weight of the Qingfeng Sect upon his shoulders.

Even if not a single soul remained and he was left entirely by himself, Lin Hao was determined to protect the Qingfeng Sect at all costs.

He absolutely could not allow anyone to provoke the Qingfeng Sect ever again.

With this thought, Lin Hao unleashed the entirety of his oppressive aura.

With a crisp "crack," the sound of something shattering echoed through the air.

As Lin Hao drew closer and closer, Elder Wei found himself entirely unable to withstand the overwhelming pressure, and his body buckled, forcing him straight down onto his knees.

Judging by the sound, his kneecaps must have been crushed.

One could see that his knees had already sunk deep into the ground.

This demonstrated just how heavy Lin Hao's pressure was; even his spine was forced to bend downward.

By the time Lin Hao finally stopped right in front of him, blood was already trickling from the corners of his mouth.

With a dull thud, his entire body collapsed onto the ground before Lin Hao.

Lin Hao lifted his feet and stepped right up to him.

Forcing himself to raise his head, trembling all over, and wearing an expression of utter terror mixed with cowardice, Elder Wei stammered, "Lin Hao, let me tell you, don't do anything rash."

"Rash?! What do you mean by rash? Weren't you quite imposing just a moment ago? Hm?"

Hearing this, Lin Hao looked at him as if he were hearing a joke. He let out a cold laugh, squatted down, used the cloud disc in his hand to hook up the man's chin, patted his cheek, and said with utter disdain.

Hearing himself being so humiliated by Lin Hao, a deep flash of resentment and shame crossed the elder's eyes.

However, the very next moment, realizing that his fragile life was tightly clenched in Lin Hao's hands and that he was completely incapable of resistance, he quickly put on a pleading expression and said, "This, this—actually, you can't entirely blame me for this matter. You saw what happened just now, everything against the Qingfeng Sect was orchestrated by Zheng Xi; it has nothing to do with me at all. At most, I'm just an accomplice."

Fearing retaliation from Lin Hao, he shifted all the blame entirely onto Zheng Xi.

Then, seeing that Lin Hao remained silent, he assumed his words had struck a chord with him.

A flash of joy crossed his heart, and his eyes darting around, he turned to look at the disciples surrounding him and shamelessly continued, "Besides, even when we made our move earlier, I only exchanged blows with you and even ended up getting injured by you; I didn't lay a hand on anyone else.

I never harmed a single person from the Qingfeng Sect before you."

Everyone present was far from foolish; the underlying meaning of his words was crystal clear to all.

Therefore, the moment these words left his mouth, the expressions of everyone in the entire hall shifted, and an uproar ensued, including among the disciples of his own sect.

The disciples of the Red Lotus Sect and those brought along by Zheng Xi all looked at Elder Wei with disbelief in their eyes, which quickly morphed into intense hatred.

"Elder Wei, you!"

While the disciples of his own sect merely felt hatred without voicing it, the disciples of the other sects refused to take this lying down. Someone stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger at the elder.

At that moment, Lin Hao cast a single, heavy glance in their direction, and the person immediately choked back their words and fell silent.

Everyone present began to tremble with fear, scurrying away to distance themselves as far as possible from Lin Hao, terrified that Lin Hao might be swayed by Elder Wei's words and turn his killing intent toward them.

Seeing Elder Wei's desperate plea and observing the expressions of the others, the corners of Lin Hao's mouth curled upward into a smile.

It seemed as though he had indeed been persuaded by Elder Wei, and he even withdrew a portion of his oppressive aura.

Seeing this, Elder Wei assumed that his words had hit the right note with Lin Hao. Moreover, with the pressure slightly lifted, Elder Wei felt he could finally straighten his spine once more.

He looked at Lin Hao with an expression of pleasant surprise.

Then, growing a bit too full of himself in his sudden relief, he let down his guard and blurted out, "See? Everything I said makes sense, right? And you witnessed it with your own eyes—I didn't personally attack anyone just now. Every debt has its debtor; you shouldn't be coming after me."

Hearing this, an even broader smile spread across Lin Hao's face.

Seeing this reaction, Elder Wei grew even more eloquent and talkative.

However, completely immersed in his own fantasy of escaping death and the sound of his own voice, he utterly failed to notice the bizarre quality behind Lin Hao's smile, nor the chilling murder intent hidden within his gaze.

He chattered on relentlessly, shifting all the responsibility onto the people around him.

Suddenly, mid-sentence, he felt a wave of biting coldness surrounding him. The people from his own faction had retreated three paces back because of his earlier words, and some looked as though they wanted to tear him to pieces.

Moreover, sensing the change in Lin Hao, everyone silently backed far, far away from this man.

Leaving him entirely isolated right where he stood.

Not even the disciples of his own sect remained by his side anymore.

Their expressions were icy and filled with fury.

Only then did he realize that something was terribly wrong. He stopped talking, looked up at Lin Hao, and stammered, "Lin Hao..."

Before he could utter another syllable, a sharp "snap!" rang out. His neck was effortlessly twisted by Lin Hao and broken in an instant.

His eyes still retained that lingering sense of relief from having narrowly escaped death, mingled with profound astonishment.

Without the slightest understanding that death was his ultimate destiny, he was swiftly and cleanly executed by Lin Hao.

With a heavy thud, his lifeless body collapsed onto the ground.

This sent another wave of shock through the crowd.

Some began to shout at the top of their lungs, "Everyone, retreat! Let's get out of here!"

Others possessed a bit more self-awareness. Realizing that Lin Hao's intent to kill them was profound and that today's matter could never be resolved peacefully, they gritted their teeth and yelled, "No! We have so many people here, why should we be afraid of just one man? Let's all charge together and kill him! If we don't, the Qingfeng Sect will be completely wiped out anyway!"

Hearing these conflicting cries, the crowd fell into turmoil and indecision.

At that moment, although Elder Hong of the Red Lotus Sect had all her meridians shattered, she somehow managed to stand up—perhaps having consumed some miraculous medicine—and walked step by step toward Lin Hao.

Though she felt terrified inside, one had to admit she possessed a certain backbone; instead of fleeing immediately, she dared to present herself right before Lin Hao.

Lin Hao eyed her, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes, just as Elder Hong spoke up, "Lin Hao, I know a way to open this cloud disc and release the people trapped inside. Cough, cough, cough!"

Hearing this, Lin Hao's pupils constricted in shock, and he blurted out, "You're telling the truth?!"

His eyes locked onto her with unwavering intensity.

He immediately unleashed the full pressure of his spiritual power.

"Hmph!" With a muffled groan, Elder Hong staggered slightly as a fresh stream of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. Yet she managed to stand ramrod straight, demonstrating no small amount of grit.

"Yes, I can release everyone trapped inside," she said firmly.

"They're not dead yet?" Lin Hao was immensely surprised. He had assumed that once sucked into the cloud disc, Qingyun and the others would have perished.

Now, Elder Hong had offered him a glimmer of hope. A surge of boundless joy welled up in his heart as Lin Hao anxiously demanded an answer.

Hearing this, a smile touched the corner of Elder Hong's lips, though her voice retained its languid and alluring tone. "Of course I have the certainty to let all of them out. However, you must hand this cloud disc over to me first."

Upon hearing this, a wave of joy washed over Lin Hao, and his hand instinctively moved to pass the cloud disc over.

Yet, catching himself in the nick of time, he glared warily at Elder Hong and pulled the cloud disc back.

Staring at her, Lin Hao demanded, "Why should I believe you, and what are your conditions for doing this?"

Seeing this cautious reaction, Elder Hong let out a soft chuckle, "Heh!" A flash of admiration crossed her eyes; it seemed Lin Hao possessed a fair amount of intelligence after all.

Subsequently, Elder Hong said, "Cough, cough, cough—of course I have my conditions. If I manage to release all of them today, well, I hope you will allow me to take the disciples of the Red Lotus Sect and leave this place safely."

"What do you mean by that? Does that mean you're just going to leave us behind?!"

Before Lin Hao could respond, the remaining two sects, now left completely without leaders, all turned their gazes toward Elder Hong.

Hearing that Elder Hong intended to take the Red Lotus Sect and abandon them, panic erupted among the crowd.

Fearing that they would be the only ones left behind to face certain death, anxiety quickly boiled over into chaos.

Meanwhile, joy flashed in the eyes of the Red Lotus Sect disciples as they looked at Elder Hong with expressions of unwavering loyalty.

However, the disciples of the other sects glared with open hostility at the members of the Red Lotus Sect.

With this single, simple sentence, the three major sects—which had barely managed a fragile unity—instantly fractured, leaving the Red Lotus Sect entirely isolated from the rest.

Paying no heed to the surrounding murmurs and gossiping whispers, Elder Hong stood her ground with a pale face, yet maintained a calm and composed demeanor.

It was as though she was utterly certain that Lin Hao would agree to her terms.

Observing this, Lin Hao raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why on earth should I agree to your condition?"

"Solely because I am the only one who can open this cloud disc, and solely because I am the only one who can release the people of the Qingfeng Sect. Tell me, are those two reasons not enough?" Elder Hong replied with absolute confidence.

Lin Hao fell silent for a moment, gazing intently at her as if trying to discern the truth behind her words.

After two full minutes, Lin Hao finally spoke, "Fine. If you can open this cloud disc—"

"It's a deal!" Elder Hong declared.

Suddenly, Lin Hao added, "However, that does not mean my Qingfeng Sect will let the matter rest here forever."

Understanding the hidden meaning behind Lin Hao's words, Elder Hong's expression stiffened for a moment.

Then, lowering her head in brief contemplation, she raised her gaze to meet Lin Hao's and said with earnest determination, "Deal. As long as you let our Red Lotus Sect leave safely today."

Hearing this, Lin Hao gave a slight nod.

Without further ado, he casually handed the cloud disc over to Elder Hong's hands, though his gaze remained rigidly fixed on her every movement.

His hands were poised for an immediate strike; the moment Elder Hong displayed even the slightest trace of deceit or treacherous intent, he was prepared to obliterate her utterly.

Elder Hong was acutely aware of Lin Hao's piercing gaze and the crushing pressure enveloping her entire body. At this moment, her meridians were completely shattered.

She was only managing to stand through the sheer efficacy of the medicinal pills she had consumed.