At this moment, three men stood quietly outside the sect. When they saw the newcomers, all three respectfully saluted a black-clothed man and said, "Protector, greetings! Everything is ready—just waiting for you and the brothers to strike!"
The black-clothed man glanced at the three and said, "You've done well. The mysterious Lord will reward you. Here is your antidote for this month. As long as you do your best for the Lord, you won't be treated unfairly!"
With that, three pills appeared in his hand, which he handed to each of them. The three men were overjoyed and immediately swallowed the pills, as if afraid someone might snatch them away.
"Since Crescent Moon Sect's people have already been poisoned, let's finish this quickly. Our actions have already stirred up a commotion in the Azure Tide Ruins. After tonight, we'll need to lay low for a while and wait for things to settle down before acting again. Brothers, drain as much blood as you can before we disappear!" said the black-clothed man.
Everyone was naturally excited and quickly entered the Crescent Moon Sect. If Evan Chu were present, he'd notice that even the weakest among these people had at least Eighth-Layer Divine Martial Realm strength. Combined with the prior poisoning, it's no wonder they could wipe out an entire sect overnight.
Although Evan Chu and Master Shaw had uncovered the dark organization's plan, in order not to alert the enemy, they could only sacrifice some disciples. Of course, some disciples were secretly hidden away—these were actually Crescent Moon Sect's true core strength. But because they'd all been poisoned and lost their combat power, Master Shaw had arranged for them to be concealed in the underground chambers within the sect.
At this moment, Evan Chu and Master Shaw were waiting for the arrival of the black-clothed men in the main hall. Evan Chu had merged his body into the earth, while Master Shaw sat atop the dais, deliberately putting on a sickly appearance.
From time to time, agonized screams echoed from the disciples. Hearing these cries was like a knife twisting in Master Shaw's heart, making him feel terrible. His hatred grew deeper—he wished he could rush out and tear those murderers to pieces.
Although these disciples were either weak in strength or lacking in talent, they were still lives. Dying like this was truly heartbreaking.
Enduring the pain, Master Shaw suffered in silence until a group from the black-clothed man's team finally arrived at the main hall. Lucas Young was among them. Seeing Master Shaw on the dais, he said to the others, "That's the master of Crescent Moon Sect—he's already at Fourth-Layer Saint Martial Realm. If you drink his blood, your cultivation could rise by one or even two layers."
"Someone like that should be left for the Protector to absorb. Let's go find someone else instead," one of the black-clothed men said.
Lucas Young frowned and said, "No, something feels off. A lot of people seem to be missing from the sect. The ones we've drained so far are all the weakest. Could it be we've been discovered?"
"You're too timid. So what if we've been found out? The Lord's poison is unmatched—no matter where they hide, they'll be easy to find," the black-clothed man replied.
At that moment, Master Shaw rose from his chair, his face contorted with fury as he fixed his gaze on Lucas Young. "Lucas Young! You treacherous wretch—how could you betray your master and your ancestors? Why did you bring these fiends to poison your own sect? These are brothers who have lived and fought alongside you for decades!
You threw the entire sect into the abyss for your own selfish survival! Tell me, do you feel no shame? How could you do this to me?"
Master Shaw’s words struck Lucas Young like a thunderclap. He immediately dropped to his knees, voice trembling with tears: "Master, I never wanted this! But the poison inside me is killing me—if I don’t obey them, I’ll die for sure! I had no choice!"
"Still making excuses? The entire sect is poisoned because of you. Are you satisfied now? You doomed us all just to save yourself—your crime is unforgivable! Even poisoned, killing you should be easy. Prepare yourself!" Master Shaw spat, lunging at Lucas Young, though his steps were shaky.
"Old Shaw, you’re still dreaming of killing me when you’re poisoned by the mysterious Lord? You really don’t know when to quit. Since you raised me all these years, I’ll see to it you get a burial after you die," Lucas Young sneered, springing to his feet.
"Hahahaha! Master Shaw, who would’ve thought you’d end up like this—betrayed by your own disciple? Surprised? This is karma. Back when you betrayed your closest brother, you should’ve known you’d face retribution one day!" a black-clothed man suddenly taunted.
"Protector, greetings!" "Protector, greetings!" the others said respectfully to the black-clothed man.
"Who are you? Why do you want to destroy Crescent Moon Sect? Today, you won't leave here until you explain yourself!" Master Shaw demanded.
"If you weren't poisoned, maybe you'd have the ability to stop us. Too bad you can't even stand straight now, so how could you kill us? Just thinking about how much stronger I'll get after drinking your blood makes my heart pound with excitement," the black-clothed man sneered.
Master Shaw didn't get angry, but kept up the act: "Being betrayed by your own beloved disciple is probably the worst thing in life. But what I don't understand is—how do you know about what happened so long ago? That was more than two hundred years ago. Who exactly are you?"
"Who I am isn't important. What matters is that you must die today. There's a saying: 'What people don't know is only what they haven't done themselves.' Heaven's net is vast and never misses—this is your retribution!
Back then, after you betrayed your closest brother and got the Heavenmoon Codex, you vanished. When you reappeared, you'd already broken through to the Saint Martial Realm. To hide your crime, you even changed your name and founded this sect here. But what you didn't know is your brother never actually died. When he was on the verge of death, my Lord saved him. Destroying Crescent Moon Sect today is just fulfilling his wish," the black-clothed man said.
"No! Impossible! You’re lying! I saw him die with my own eyes—how could he possibly be alive? You’re slandering me! His death had nothing to do with me. Even if he stood before me today, I wouldn’t be afraid!" Master Shaw shot back.
"Enough. I'm done talking. After I drink your blood, you'll see him for yourself. He's endured unimaginable pain just to see this day!" the black-clothed man said.
With those words, he lunged at Master Shaw with blinding speed. But Master Shaw was even faster—he unleashed a thunderous palm strike, the force crackling with wind and lightning...
[Editorial Note: The following is a chapter release schedule and not part of the story.]
(Three chapters at noon, two at night—a total of ten chapters!)