Super God Grandmaster
Chapter 1008 - 1008 994 Iron Chains Across the River

Chapter 1008: Chapter 994: Iron Chains Across the River Chapter 1008: Chapter 994: Iron Chains Across the River “Could it be that everything has been the doing of Xiong Shuobo?” Ren Haotian speculated.

Li Bo, who was behind him, responded, “That’s unlikely. Even if Xiong Shuobo did want to play dirty tricks, such as driving Fang Ziren insane or killing so many disciples of the Heavenly City Sect, and placing two men beside me, he doesn’t have that capability.”

“If not him, then everything he said was true. That means the ringleader must be someone extraordinary,” Ren Haotian pondered.

Muttering to himself, Ren Xiongbei thought about those who knew of his relationship with Lin Ruoqin—mostly everyone was from Immortal City. The only ones who could have arranged for Xiang Zi to come would be people from the Immortal City, and the martial arts utilized, together with the Immortal Pearl… everything pointed to Immortal City. However, the Immortal Pearl had never left his son’s possession, and he still trusted his son. Shaking his head, he said, “It must be someone from Immortal City.”

“Someone from Immortal City?” Ren Haotian voiced his confusion. “How could that be?”

“Think about it, no outsider knows about my relationship with Lin Ruoqin, yet he also knew my martial arts. What’s important is that the group of men who surrounded Fang Ziren were also using the martial arts of Immortal City.”

“Could Xiong Shuobo have been mistaken?”

“Although the guy is a bit of a buffoon, those underlings of his… it would be impossible for them to deceive him and cover up any flaws without him noticing. He even swore an oath to end his lineage; it shouldn’t be false,” Ren Xiongbei said.

“But he also said he saw the Immortal Pearl. The Immortal Pearl has always been in my hands, never leaving them. I didn’t drink any alcohol yesterday either.” Ren Haotian felt there was something very strange about this.

“No, perhaps the masked man didn’t use the Immortal Pearl; it might have been the Heavenly Pearl,” said Ren Xiongbei.

Ren Haotian froze, and murmured, “The Heavenly Pearl, father, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

“The Heavenly Pearl and the Immortal Pearl are very similar. It’s possible to mistake one for the other if we do not examine them carefully and employ some tricks to disguise them.”

Ren Haotian was even more astounded and said, “The Heavenly Pearl seems to be in Longhun’s possession.”

After hearing this, Li Bo quickly shook his head and said, “The Heavenly Pearl is not with Longhun. When we attacked Dragon Slayer Island, I personally captured several of Longhun’s trusted followers. Although I didn’t force them to reveal Longhun’s whereabouts, I did learn something from them. When Longhun surrounded Fang Ziren, Su Zhanze captured Shi Xueqin, who is close to Longhun, intending to use Shi Xueqin to kill Longhun. Longhun left, and under Su Zhanze’s threat, handed over the Heavenly Pearl, so it has not been in Longhun’s hands for a long time, which is also why Longhun was not seen using the Heavenly Pearl during their encirclement of Heavenly City.”

“But Su Zhanze has already fallen off a cliff.”

“But the Demon Palace hasn’t found Su Zhanze’s body.”

Ren Haotian, deep in thought, murmured, “Are you saying Su Zhanze might not be dead?”

Hearing such an analysis, Ren Xiongbei muttered, “Maybe Su Zhanze isn’t dead; he just hasn’t shown up. That’s right, it makes sense now. He must be the one. Only he could have brought in the disciples from Immortal City Sect, only he could have placed an Xiang Zi by my side, and only he might know that I have a lover and have stolen my Xionghun Palm Technique.”

Ren Haotian kept staring over, hardly daring to believe it, but his father’s analysis was convincing and it suddenly dawned on him. He cursed, “What a son of a bitch! How could he do such a thing? We should expose him immediately.”

“How do we expose him? Take two Secret Manuals over to Xiong Shuobo and Wan Shajiang and tell them they’re fake, that we’ve been played by Su Zhanze? Do you think they would believe us? You can’t even prove whether Su Zhanze is dead or has gone mad, no one will believe us,” Ren Xiongbei said.

After hearing this, Ren Haotian was at a loss for words, cursing, “Did we desecrate his ancestral grave? Why would he want to frame us like this, why?”

“He hates me, desires the Sect Leader position, and through this means, wishes to get the Dragon Slaying Secret Manual and to frame me—a killing two birds with one stone, or rather, hitting two targets with one arrow.”

“How can there be such a wicked person? What should we do?” Ren Haotian was completely at a loss.

“We have to head back to Immortal City first, that group of people want to gobble us up; they won’t reason with us,” Ren Xiongbei said.

“Right, it seems that’s the only way. We must return to Immortal City,” Li Bo stated.

“By doing this, aren’t we allowing misunderstandings to persist?” Ren Haotian said angrily; he hadn’t expected Su Zhanze to be so cruel.

“Of course, but right now that group won’t listen to you. Even if I were in their place, I wouldn’t believe these are all lies. It might have been possible to explain if we found out when the fake copies of the Dragon Slaying Secret Manual were discovered. But your explanation now is certainly impossible. We have to think of a way to save our lives first,” Ren Xiongbei responded, feeling it was too late for any explanation, akin to the frustration of a mute person suffering from bitterness.

“I’m afraid Xiong Shuobo and Wan Shajiang won’t let us off easily.”

“Of course, for the sake of the Dragon Slaying Secret Manual, they are willing to do anything,” Ren Xiongbei felt quite unlucky to be manipulated by others this way.

“Why is Su Zhanze so ruthless? Does he hate us that much?”

“What’s the use of talking about it now? We talked about hitting two targets with one arrow. We must hurry back to Immortal City.” Staying outside was certainly dangerous; those people already believed Liu Yunzhi’s death was his doing and that he had driven Fang Ziren mad. How could they listen to him? Only Immortal City was a refuge; staying outside for one more day meant one more day of danger.

“I won’t let Su Zhanze succeed. He thinks he can obtain the complete Dragon Slaying Secret Manual this way, but he doesn’t know we’ve already tampered with one of the manuals. He deserves this,” Ren Haotian thought, and he felt much better.

“It seems it’s the retribution he deserves,” Ren Xiongbei said, feeling dizzy from hunger, lamenting how he had fallen victim to a woman and a traitor.

Ren Xiongbei continued, “Li Bo, we need to leave quickly.”

“Dad, we can’t just leave like this; we should find a way to explain ourselves.”

“What can we possibly explain?” Ren Xiongbei didn’t know what to do either, only that their safety lies in returning to Immortal City. He said, “It won’t take long for the people of the Immortal and Demon Realms to pin this incident on us.”

“So are we going to be completely without a defense? Can’t we find Lin Ruoqin?”

“That girl has disappeared without a trace, it’s hard to say whether she’s even alive.”

Upon hearing this, Ren Haotian looked over, at a loss for words.

“I never thought anyone could have bribed her.”

“We can find Xiang Zi.”

“Who knows where Xiang Zi has gone? He did such a thing; how could he still help you? It’s not going to happen.”

Ren Haotian blurted out, “Dad should never have trusted that girl.”

Ren Xiongbei was left speechless.

In the South Sea pirates, the banner belonging to the Iron Ten Thousand Bandits rang loudest.

Iron refers to Shao Hengjiang, known as Iron Chains, a man true to his nickname. With iron chains stretched across the river, he prevented anyone from going up or down, a man of extreme cunning and viciousness. But to survive in the complex South Sea, one must possess a modicum of intelligence, which certainly wasn’t lacking in him.

Wan is Wan Liyun, known as Cloudless Ten Thousand Miles, the second in command of the Iron Ten Thousand Bandits. Strong and stocky, almost gorilla-like in build, with a temper as volatile as his stature suggests, his face displayed an invincibility that few could match.

As Qiandu Xiang’s right-hand man, Hai Jingtian, carrying a large batch of gifts, came to meet Shao Hengjiang, the latter had no choice but to receive him with utmost respect. Now, Hai Jingtian held favor beside Qiandu Xiang, who had become the Sect Leader of the Sacred Spirit Sect.

The relationship between the Iron Ten Thousand Bandits and the Sacred Spirit Sect had always been fraught. Yet, Shao Hengjiang and Qiandu Xiang shared a particularly splendid relationship, collaborating countless times over the years.

Shao Hengjiang saw the current time as an excellent opportunity. With Qiandu Xiang as the Sect Leader of the Sacred Spirit Sect, he could use this chance to seek peace with the Sect, preferring one less enemy and one more friend—especially when that friend was among the most powerful in the South Sea islands. If he could gain Qiandu Xiang’s permission, he could swiftly bring all the pirates around Iron Ten Thousand Island under his banner, the perfect moment to bolster the might of the Iron Ten Thousand Bandits.

He was also well informed about the events that had transpired on Sacred Spirit Island.

Shao Hengjiang quickly stood up, with Wan Liyun following behind him.

Shao Hengjiang began with a compliment, “Wow, such an honor for the Sacred Spirit Sect’s leader, esteemed by ten thousand and above all, to visit us in your busy schedule, truly a glory for Iron Ten Thousand Island.”

Beneath his modest words, he hinted that the other party must have come with a request.

Hai Jingtian promptly responded, “Ha, I’m just trying to make a living, there’s no need for flattery.”

“Bring out our finest Cloud Mist Tea,” Shao Hengjiang continued: “After all, you are Qiandu Xiang’s favored man, who doesn’t know about it nowadays?”

“Hey, let’s leave out words like ‘favored man.’ It’s a life of hard labor and travel.” Hai Jingtian seemed uninterested in prolonging pleasantries and went straight to the point, “Being a wise man, you know we came here for a reason. Well, I’ll speak frankly then, our new Sect Leader agrees with your idea.”

The ‘idea’ referred to Shao Hengjiang’s ambition to claim the sea area near Iron Ten Thousand Island.

Wan Liyun laughed coldly upon hearing this; the Iron Ten Thousand Bandits had long had the strength to unite the surrounding islands.

But Shao Hengjiang knew that without a nod from the Sacred Spirit Sect, even if they unified the area, it could still bring unwanted trouble. So, gaining the Sect Leader’s approval was like getting a guarantee.

“Just make sure you don’t overstep your bounds,” he added.

“Who dares? We’ve long been looking forward to reform and become upright people, it’s just that others won’t give us the chance,” Shao Hengjiang said, swiftly changing the topic: “You’ve come all this way; is there anything you need our help with?”

“Help us take care of a group of people.”

“Who?”

“Some ships, named Sky Vault and Dragon Startle, are coming to Sacred Spirit Island soon. We don’t want them to arrive.”

“Preventing the Sky Vault and Dragon Startle from reaching Sacred Spirit Island, what’s the meaning of this?” Wan Liyun didn’t understand.