100: Chapter 100 The Demonic Sect suffered considerable losses this time!

This operation, he had indeed been somewhat negligent.

He hadn't anticipated that the Demon Sect had already laid such an extensive trap.

The hall fell into silence for a moment.

Before long, footsteps sounded from outside, accompanied by the crisp voice of Sikong Qianluo.

Behind her, Mu Liangyue was being pulled inside, a trace of helplessness on her face.

'This is my Junior Sister. She has a way to make them talk.'

Mu Liangyue's gaze swept over the people in the hall as she offered a slight bow.

'Then we'll trouble you.'

Everyone returned the courtesy, their attitudes respectful, not daring the slightest bit of negligence.

After Sikong Changfeng finished speaking, Mu Liangyue nodded in acknowledgment, then was immediately pulled away again by Sikong Qianluo.

Sure enough, not long after, under the effects of her Fire Charm Technique, those men's willpower crumbled, and they spilled everything they knew, holding nothing back.

When the information was brought before everyone and they saw that the leaders were actually Cannot Be Bound, their expressions immediately changed.

Those two are both old Devil Heads.

In their early years, they stirred up trouble in the Jianghu of Northern Li, committing many murders. Their strength was extremely formidable.

They are especially skilled at joining forces to face enemies; once they work together, their combat power multiplies.

'No wonder they could escape from the Martial Arts Hall Master's hands. To think it was actually them.'

Baili Dongjun nodded as he spoke.

He had clashed with these two in his early years and hadn't gained any advantage at the time.

However, now, if he were to face them, he had a fair chance of winning.

'Cannot Be Bound personally taking action means the Demon Sect's eastern campaign has already begun.

These two hold no low status in Heaven Beyond Heaven.'

The Head of the Wen Family frowned deeply.

'What is Tianqi saying?'

'Tianqi has already mobilized troops, but currently, the war between Northern Li and Southern Solitude remains unresolved, and military forces are stretched thin.

However, it's also unclear whether Southern Solitude's mobilization this time is related to Heaven Beyond Heaven.'

The Confucian Sword Immortal's expression was worried.

'I heard General Lei Mengsha and Prince Langya Xiao Ruofeng have already led troops to the Southern Solitude battlefield.'

As soon as the Confucian Sword Immortal's words fell, the Elder from Lei Clan's expression changed slightly.

That Pillar General of Northern Li, the 'Scorching Ink Young Master' on the Hundred Knowledge Hall's Young Master Ranking, was originally from Lei Clan.

Moreover, he was originally the most influential figure from Lei Clan in Northern Li.

It's just a pity that, for violating the clan rules by joining the military, he was expelled from Lei Family.

Everyone present noticed the change in the Lei Clan Elder's demeanor and tactfully changed the subject.

'Alright, the matter of Heaven Beyond Heaven's eastern campaign is primarily for the imperial family to handle.

What's proper for us right now is to first resolve Snow Moon City's issues.'

Sikong Changfeng spoke up, and everyone voiced their agreement.

The Lei Clan Elder also collected his thoughts and began participating in the discussion about the investigation and elimination plan for the Demon Sect's array nodes outside the city.

Not long after, another piece of news arrived.

Sikong Changfeng took the intelligence report and abruptly stood up.

'What is it?'

The few people beside him immediately sensed something unusual.

'A suspected Demon Sect stronghold has been discovered outside the city, but it seems to have already been attacked.'

Sikong Changfeng looked at the Lei Clan Elder, a hint of probing in his tone.

'It's said they encountered an attack from a type of explosive specially made by your Lei Clan. The sound of the explosion reportedly echoed for ten miles.'

Hearing this, the Lei Clan Elder was taken aback, his brows immediately furrowing.

An explosion audible from ten miles away—explosives of such power were not common in Lei Clan.

Moreover, they were costly to produce and not highly practical.

But from the description, it did indeed seem like the handiwork of Lei Clan.

'Let's go, take a look at the situation.'

Baili Dongjun stood up, grabbed the wine pot on the table, took a swig, and spoke.

Everyone nodded, rising one after another, preparing to head outside the city to investigate.

These individuals were all top-tier experts, quite confident in their own strength.

While traveling, they used their lightness skills, pulling ahead of their other companions from Snow Moon City, arriving first at the location mentioned in the intelligence.

As dawn broke and the first light of morning appeared, two partially overlapping, radially-shaped giant craters suddenly appeared before Baili Dongjun, Sikong Changfeng, and the others.

Within a radius of a hundred zhang, traces of destruction from the explosion were visible.

Many corpses, not yet cleared away, lay scattered haphazardly on the ground.

'Good heavens, your Lei Clan actually possesses such astonishingly powerful weapons of mass destruction! If used on a battlefield, a few of them could probably change the course of a major battle!'

The Head of the Wen Family felt his scalp go numb just looking at it.

To cause such destruction, its power was imaginable.

'Head Wen, you flatter us. Although Lei Clan possesses such firearms, they are extremely few in number and have exorbitant production costs,' the Lei Clan Elder first modestly replied, then frowned again, 'However, these traces don't seem to be caused by firearms.'

'Not firearms? It wasn't done by your Lei Clan?'

Everyone was taken aback.

'We need to examine it more carefully.'

Just as they were about to land, Sikong Changfeng suddenly flicked his long spear, sweeping it in an arc that stirred up a fierce gust of wind.

In an instant, countless mechanisms were triggered on the ground, and a large number of hidden projectiles shot out.

'These Demon Sect people are indeed treacherous!'

Everyone exclaimed in unison.

After landing, the Lei Clan Elder crouched down to examine the traces.

Actually, there was no need for close inspection—there wasn't even a hint of gunpowder smell in the air, and there were no signs of scorching inside the craters.

'It can be confirmed it wasn't caused by firearms. It was something else!' the Lei Clan Elder stated decisively.

Just as everyone was puzzled, Baili Dongjun suddenly sighed.

'It's the self-detonation of masters.'

'Self-detonation?' Baili Dongjun's words momentarily stunned everyone.

'That's right. To cause this kind of destruction, it must be the self-destruction of masters. And I can probably guess who.'

Baili Dongjun's expression was complex.

The others were all perceptive people; hearing this, they naturally thought of a certain answer.

'You mean... Cannot Be Bound?'

Scholar Sword Immortal Xie Xuan's tone held shock.

The Head of the Wen Family and the others all turned their gazes to Baili Dongjun, awaiting his confirmation.

'It should be them.' Baili Dongjun nodded with a grave expression.

'To achieve this destructive effect, those who acted must have been at least at the Carefree Heaven Realm, and they must have acted jointly.'

He looked at the gourd-shaped large crater before him, then at the surrounding Demon Sect Disciples who had died in strange postures.

'Look at these people. They bear no signs of struggle wounds. They should have been directly killed by the shockwave of the self-detonation.'

Upon hearing this, everyone looked around.

Clearly, the Demon Sect suffered significant losses this time.

Upon closer inspection, indeed, no other causes of death were found.

'If it were truly the work of an external enemy, it would inevitably have provoked fierce resistance. Such peaceful deaths wouldn't be possible.'

'That makes sense.'

Sikong Changfeng also nodded in agreement.

'But the question is, why would Cannot Be Bound do this?'

This was what everyone found most baffling.

Why would two masters at the Carefree Heaven Realm suddenly run back to a Demon Sect stronghold and commit mutual destruction?

Even more astonishingly, judging from the traces, they had acted almost simultaneously.

'I'm afraid this matter can only be asked of that Martial Arts Hall Master.'

When Baili Dongjun reached this point, a trace of emotion tinged his tone.

Everyone immediately understood.

So, these two had fled all the way from the Martial Arts School. Calculating the time, it matched—they must have disregarded True Qi depletion, sprinted all the way here, and immediately executed a mutually destructive Move upon arrival.

But the whole affair seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

A few people involuntarily shuddered.

One must know, Cannot Be Bound, fighting individually, possessed strength on par with most of those present, with very few being slightly inferior.

If the two joined forces, they became even stronger.

Two such masters had perished so inexplicably.

And they had taken quite a few of the Demon Sect's own people with them.

Most unsettling was this unknown factor.

Several of them couldn't help but feel even more awe towards that mysterious figure—Su Rui.

'Later, have Qianluo inquire about the situation.'

Baili Dongjun pondered for a moment before finally speaking.

However, Sikong Changfeng shook his head upon hearing this.

'Let it be. With such a lofty figure, it's better for us to let things take their natural course.'

If they rashly tried to probe, it might instead create a rift in that person's heart. Wouldn't that be a loss outweighing the gain?

Seeing Sikong Changfeng's firm attitude, Baili Dongjun didn't persist further.

Indeed, for a truly lofty figure, one shouldn't use underhanded methods to investigate.

If the other party didn't mind, answers would come sooner or later.

'Very well. Regardless, although they seem unwilling to get involved in the conflict between us and the Demon Sect, this time they've still been of great help.'

Baili Dongjun clasped his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance towards Snow Moon City.

'Previously, that Disciple from the Martial Arts School, Li Hanyi, stepped forward and forced out the Demon Sect's hidden agents in the city.

I sent some gifts at the time to express gratitude, but it always felt inadequate.

Now that this matter is concluded, what do you think would be appropriate to send?'

Actually, Baili Dongjun didn't originally want to worry too much about such matters.

But Su Rui gave him considerable pressure.

Not to mention now even the City Lord had enrolled in that Martial Arts School.

Strictly speaking, he himself could be considered a junior of the Martial Arts School lineage.

Even in terms of seniority, he would have to call Li Changsheng 'Ancestral Master.'

That skipped three generations in seniority, but he couldn't very well make decisions on his own.

'How about gifting him a new Martial Arts School? I heard his current one is already very dilapidated, and the surrounding land deeds are in our hands.'

Sikong Changfeng, who had been responsible for managing Snow Moon City's properties, was most familiar with these details.

'That's a good idea. It doesn't seem too deliberate either.'

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Snow Moon City was originally jointly managed by several factions, and Li Changsheng had long since stopped handling affairs.

If they could build a good relationship with that Martial Arts Hall Master, it would naturally be the best choice.

Besides, if the Martial Arts School expanded, it would need manpower to manage it. They could conveniently assist nearby.

'Then it's settled. I'll arrange for someone to handle it when I return.

Additionally, the Demon Sect suffered a major setback this time. They'll likely be cornered and act rashly, moving ahead of schedule.

Everyone must be prepared.'

After Baili Dongjun finished speaking, the group each instructed their Disciples to handle the scene, seeing if they could discover more clues.

...

In the city.

The major events of last night were already spreading like wildfire.

It was said that the top three in this Grand Competition all came from that Nameless Martial Arts School.

Even ordinary commoners were discussing it animatedly.

'Ah, I've seen that Hall Master with my own eyes! He bought vegetables from my stall!'

A female vendor said proudly, beaming.

Several neighboring stall owners gathered around to listen.

'You have no idea, his looks are truly handsome! I reckon even the immortals in the heavens look like that!'

'Really? Is that true?' everyone exclaimed in surprise.

Beside her, a simple and honest middle-aged man muttered, 'Don't talk nonsense. You've never seen an immortal.'

Hearing her husband's rebuttal, the woman immediately placed her hands on her hips and glared. The man quickly shrunk his neck and said no more.

'But you won't see him around these days,' the woman said, a note of regret in her tone.

It wasn't just here.