Many people were looking forward to the ultimate showdown between Jiang Fei and Yagyu Munenori on the Golden Summit of Mount Emei tonight. Therefore, most arrived at the foot of the mountain well in advance, with many even staying at the summit ahead of time.
However, there were always some who, despite their high anticipation for this duel, were more interested in its outcome than the process. For them, what they wanted to see was simply whether Jiang Fei would end up dead or alive at the very end.
Once they got that result, nothing else mattered.
That result was Jiang Fei’s life or death.
Among those who desired and craved this outcome the most was naturally the world’s top-tier, leading assassin organization, ‘Heaven’s Net’.
They had invested untold amounts of manpower, material resources, and funds in their attempts to successfully eliminate Jiang Fei, yet ultimately suffered heavy losses for little gain, their efforts proving counterproductive.
For instance, Bear Blind, a mole they had painstakingly cultivated within the military; Du Ziliang, a mole placed within a top-tier family in the traditional Chinese medicine world; and even the profligate young master Hua Handong, who was initially tasked with arranging assassins to kill Jiang Fei in Jincheng.
These were among Heaven’s Net’s most crucial assets deployed within China. The resources and effort expended on each of these assets were immense, not something that could be compensated for by mere manpower or money alone. What they required most was time and opportunity. Even with doubled efforts now, they weren’t guaranteed to cultivate such moles again.
Unfortunately, they had invested all these resources, only to see them completely depleted without achieving any desired effect.
Not only had Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) within China not been damaged or utterly declined, but after several trials, it had grown even stronger, as if adversity had fortified it. Jiang Fei had not died; instead, he grew more powerful with each encounter, causing Heaven’s Net greater losses each time, pushing them almost to the brink of desperation.
Thus, their person-in-charge, in a moment of inspiration, finally thought of the idea of ‘killing with a borrowed sword’.
They lured Yagyu Munenori, Japan’s number one swordsman and contemporary sword master, hoping to use his hand to eliminate Jiang Fei, this thorn in their side.
They believed that once Jiang Fei died, the TCM Association would immediately be left leaderless and easily destroyed, reverting to its former vulnerable state.
The Elephant Washing Pond is located in the high-altitude area of Mount Emei, at 2,070 meters above sea level. Surrounded by drifting white clouds and ancient towering trees, on a clear autumn night with a bright moon high in the sky, all is silent under the boundless pure moonlight. Gazing up at the starry expanse, one feels as if floating like an immortal.
“The Moonlit Night at Elephant Pond” is both the famous scenery here and the origin of its name.
At night, the bright moon hangs in the sky, its reflection shining in the pond, merging water and sky into one, creating a serene and beautiful scene. Snowflakes drifted down, dusting the vermilion main hall with a coat of white.
Two foreigners who looked like tourists, with blond hair and blue eyes, were here admiring the snowfall.
“Why aren’t we going up directly? What’s the use of waiting here?” a tall, burly man asked, looking towards the mountain peak in the distance.
The other man, of more average build with a high nose bridge, large eyes, and thin lips—his features strikingly three-dimensional, fitting the traditional Western handsome man archetype—replied, “We just need to wait here for the result. After the fight ends, someone will naturally come and inform us. If we go up, among all those Chinese faces, we’d be easily spotted. That would be troublesome.”
This handsome man was formally the one who had met with Du Ziliang of the Du family in Beijing back then.
At that time, Du Ziliang was responsible for crippling the TCM Association, while this man was in charge of the operation to assassinate Jiang Fei.
The tall man said casually, “We just need to stay far away, not get close to them, right?”
The handsome man shook his head. “The martial arts these Chinese practice are profound and unpredictable. Their sensory perception is even sharper than grassland animals. Even if we keep our distance, if we try to watch their fight, we’d likely be discovered.”
“Is this Jiang Fei really as formidable as you all say?” The tall man frowned, skepticism in his expression.
The handsome man gave a cold laugh. “I’d say, not just us, but even among those elusive, rarely-seen figures in our organization, I don’t think any of them could be certain of killing Jiang Fei!”
The tall man was slightly startled. “If he’s that powerful, can Yagyu Munenori definitely kill him?”
The handsome man smiled confidently. “Yagyu Munenori, Japan’s number one master, is not a reputation gained without reason. The likelihood of Jiang Fei dying by his hand this time exceeds ninety percent!”
“But what if Yagyu Munenori defeats Jiang Fei but doesn’t kill him in the end?”
“Having defeated Jiang Fei would necessarily mean the outcome was determined only after inflicting serious injury. And a severely wounded Jiang Fei—couldn’t we kill him then?”
Hearing this, understanding dawned in the burly man’s eyes. He realized why, on the day of Jiang Fei and Yagyu Munenori’s decisive battle, they still had forces lying in ambush.
It was just in case…
Aside from those who wanted Jiang Fei dead not going up the mountain, there were also others who wanted to go up but arrived late.
For example, this woman in tight leather, whose figure, looks, and aura greatly resembled the Black Widow from Marvel’s The Avengers—Christina.
Last time, the three of them had joined forces and still suffered a setback at Jiang Fei’s hands. She had said she would come to the Golden Summit today to see how Jiang Fei would die at Yagyu Munenori’s hand, so naturally, she came to witness Jiang Fei’s death.
However, her status was unusual, so she disdained arriving early like the majority.
On the surface, she came alone, but following her in the darkness were two others. However, these two were different from the ones in Daocun last time.
Among them, Round Table Knight McEvoy, having suffered severe injuries at Jiang Fei’s hands which caused his cultivation to regress, had directly returned to his home country. Archdeacon Frank, however, had not returned. The other person accompanying Frank this time was also dressed in priest-like attire.
But this person’s vestments—the cassock, surplice, and so on—were strikingly bright red.
This was the so-called Cardinal of the Church!
The two followed Christina silently, their expressions calm as they rapidly ascended Mount Emei. They were not assassins from the Heaven’s Net organization; they had no fear of their group being exposed or discovered by Jiang Fei or others.
The summit where Jiang Fei and Yagyu Munenori were dueling was off-limits to most Chinese martial artists, but for Christina, a Cardinal, and an Archdeacon, it naturally posed no problem.
Under the astonished gazes of the assembled martial artists, three Western foreigners effortlessly soared and landed on the peak.
The moment Christina alighted amidst the drifting snowflakes, she happened to see Yagyu Munenori execute his Clone Slash, and Jiang Fei close his eyes.
However, before Christina could even gasp in surprise, Yagyu Munenori’s Clone Slash revealed its final killing move, aimed at taking Jiang Fei’s life.
“That wretched man is going to die?!”
But then, Jiang Fei’s eyes, which had been closed, snapped open in an instant. Without any hesitation or thought, the wooden sword in his hand shot forward with unwavering determination, swift as a loosed arrow!
