Chapter Ninety-Seven: I Shall Come in Person and Take Back What Was Given!-Just Came Down the Mountain and Was Surrounded by Beautiful Senior Sisters(A Lonely Scene on the Desert)

"That was Ito Sasuke, the legendary one of the ten greatest shadow-level masters in all of Japan!"

"Did you kick him to death?"

Gu Qing'er stared in disbelief, yet the storm of dust billowing through the air and the old man lying motionless on the ground proved that none of it was an illusion.

"Good heavens, Ye Tian, you actually defeated a shadow master in one move!"

"I must be losing my mind!"

That was a shadow master!

In the legends of Japan, only those whose strength came infinitely close to the level of a martial king, or whose fighting style was so bizarre and troublesome that even a martial king would find them a headache, could be called shadow masters.

In other words, even if this Ito Sasuke were the lowest among the ten shadow masters, he still should not have been someone Ye Tian, a Northern Dipper realm cultivator, could kill in an instant!

Could it be that he was still hiding his true strength?

Looking at Ye Tian's profile, this was the first time Gu Qing'er had felt the urge to scream in frustration.

Brother, there has to be a limit to how much you conceal yourself!

"What are you thinking? I don't have that kind of strength." Ye Tian shook his head lightly. Though he had a touch of pride, he was not arrogant enough to think he could instantly slay a quasi martial king.

As he spoke, he lifted a hand and pointed into the distance.

The old man lying there began to fade, his figure slowly dissolving.

"Shadow Escape, substitution technique!"

Suddenly, a blinding silver flash erupted, and Ito Sasuke's figure appeared out of the shadows at the side!

Under the startled gazes of Gu Qing'er and the others, Ye Tian drew his blade without hesitation and met the sharp strike that came sweeping toward him.

Clang!

With a collision that shook the eardrums, the two parted at once and stood facing each other.

"I didn't expect I had still underestimated you."

Ito Sasuke wore a solemn expression, his brows furrowed with deep confusion.

Too strange, far too strange!

The young man before him looked to be barely in his twenties at most, yet his gaze was as deep as a bottomless abyss, impossible to fathom.

Beneath that youthful face lay a depth of mind no one could see through.

This was absolutely not something that could be dismissed with some excuse like "mature for his age."

With his many years of experience reading people, Ito Sasuke knew that only ancient monsters who had lived beyond a hundred years could possess such inscrutable calculation.

Terrifying.

Was this man really an old master disguised as youth, or some hidden great power reborn into the world?

Whichever it was, he seemed like someone utterly out of his league, which only deepened his dread and made him dare not act rashly.

"Who exactly are you?"

"Who am I?" Ye Tian grinned, baring his teeth. "Back then, when your ancestor Ito Tomohito came to Moon-Viewing Cave on Small Square Mountain seeking immortality, he asked the same question."

Small Square Mountain, Moon-Viewing Cave!

Hearing those thunderous names, Ito Sasuke's heart jolted.

Ito Tomohito was the ancestor's name, while Small Square Mountain and Moon-Viewing Cave were the immortal residence the ancestor described to his clan after returning!

According to the Ito family genealogy, ten Ito clansmen once found a small hill, where an immortal with white hair and a boy's complexion was sunning himself atop the mountain, so they went to seek instruction.

The immortal led them to a grotto and named it Moon-Viewing Cave.

Within the cave, the immortal instructed them for three days. After teaching them three immortal arts, he urged everyone to leave, and warned them that if war ever broke out between the two nations, those who had inherited the immortal arts must not turn them against the Dragon Kingdom.

"Otherwise, I shall come in person and reclaim what I bestowed!"

Recalling the deeds recorded in the genealogy, Ito Sasuke could not help but break out in a cold sweat.

So the ancestors had spoken no falsehood: if they ever used immortal arts to strike back at the Dragon Kingdom, the immortal would appear once more and take everything back!

No, he had to retreat.

His scalp tingled. At this moment, Ito Sasuke was utterly convinced that Ye Tian must be the reincarnation of that legendary immortal, come to settle accounts with them!

"All ninja forces, withdraw at once!"

He roared, barking the command in Japanese, then hurled the samurai sword in his hand aside and fled for his life.

"Why did he run?"

Tang Wanyue looked at Ye Tian with a strange expression. It seemed as though Ito Sasuke feared this man deeply, yet just now the two had clearly fought to a draw.

Faced with that questioning look, Ye Tian spread his hands helplessly.

"How would I know?"

He had only recalled, from Ye Changsheng's memories, the old tale of the Ito family's quest for immortality, so he had mentioned it offhand.

He had never expected the man to react so violently, frightened out of his wits by a single sentence.

"If you won't tell me, fine. But he won't get away. Outside the stronghold there are nothing but Cleaners and the Northern Suppression Army."

Tang Wanyue did not dwell on it. After speaking, she plunged back into the battlefield and joined the others in the slaughter.

...

"Go! Every direct descendant of the Ito clan, withdraw at once! We are returning to Japan!"

Reaching the rear of the stronghold, Ito Sasuke wore a face of panic, only to see Ito Mi sitting in his seat, a smile on her face.

His rage exploded at once.

"Mi, how dare you overstep your place and sit in my seat!"

"Clan Head, don't be angry. I was merely curious and wanted to know what it feels like to sit in the clan head's position."

As she spoke, Ito Mi propped her long legs on the armrests and sighed in perfect Dragon Kingdom speech.

"I've long heard that the Japanese know how to enjoy themselves, and the rumor is true indeed. Later, I'll have this thing moved back and use it as a sofa."

"Mi, your Dragon Kingdom speech is actually this good... no, you're not Mi!"

"Who are you!!" Ito Sasuke let out a desperate roar.

"Didn't you just see me? Since you ignored me, I came to find you."

Controlling Ito Mi's body, Ye Tian drew the long samurai sword and, without another word, swung it in a single devastating stroke!

"You are... the immortal!"

Ito Sasuke hurriedly parried the woman's sudden attack and fled in another direction without looking back. "Immortal, if you truly are an immortal, why bind yourself to the trivial affairs of the mortal world?"

"Slaughter and strife are the natural state of mortals. What good can it do you to meddle in all this?"

"If you are willing to spare my Ito family a path to survival, my clan can enshrine you for generations, and you shall enjoy incense offerings for ten thousand ages!"

He was afraid. Truly afraid.

An immortal who had lived from centuries past until now, able with the slightest gesture to control the powerful clansmen under his command, was simply beyond reason.

At this moment, Ito Sasuke had completely lost the courage to resist.

However, after running only a few steps, he found his legs as if filled with lead, no longer able to lift, his entire body frozen in place.

From the shadows, Ye Tian's true body slowly stepped forward.

"Japanese are treacherous and faithless; it's not as though this has only happened once or twice. I expect nothing from you."

"As clan head, you refuse instruction and disregard the family rules; this is filial impiety."

"You join the war and slaughter lives; this is cruelty."

"You learn my immortal arts, then turn them against my clansmen; this is betrayal."

"So, you should go to hell and repent."

The one speaking was not only Ye Tian, but also the lingering memories that once belonged to the Wanderer of Mountain Bearing.

As the words fell, a fierce blade light swept toward Ito Sasuke. In panic, he raised his sword to block, only to suddenly see countless members of his clan appear upon the blade's edge, transformed into vicious ghosts, wailing as they surged toward him.

Clang!

The samurai sword snapped into two, and with it was severed Ito Sasuke's head.