Chapter 649: Zhou Tong's Shocking Return
One hundred li from Yuan Gate.
On a lone peak, more than a hundred Yuan Gate disciples were gathered, sharp gazes sweeping their surroundings as scouts periodically shot off to survey the distant terrain.
"What's that?"
Time trickled by until someone suddenly cried out.
Far on the horizon, the sky brightened sharply. Within that blazing light, countless figures seemed to be moving.
"Damn, signal!"
The sentries' faces drained of color. Terror flashed in their eyes as one of them shrieked.
Swish!
A flare of red shot into the sky and burst high above, visible even a hundred li away.
The signal had barely bloomed when the distant radiance rolled over them like a tidal wave.
Only then did they clearly see the countless figures advancing within the light, eyes filled with murderous hatred.
No words were exchanged.
Swarm after swarm of attacks screamed down from the heavens, slamming into the mountain and flattening it in moments.
…
Inside Yuan Gate's main sect.
Demonic qi coiled thickly over the grounds like a shroud, eerie wails echoing in the gloom.
Now, even this place had erupted into chaos.
Figures streaked through the air as they turned to look outward—where an endless sea of light and shadows was sweeping toward them.
There were so many, it was impossible to tell how many enemies had come.
Even with demonic light burning in their eyes, the Yuan Gate disciples blanched.
"Kill!"
A roar shook the sky as the vanguard of the Allied Army appeared outside Yuan Gate's mountain gate.
Many of them went red‑eyed at the first glimpse of their enemies, howling as tens of thousands charged forward at once.
"Hmph, suicidal fools."
A cold snort rolled over the battlefield.
A thousand‑zhang‑long black ribbon of light burst out from deep within Yuan Gate and swept across the oncoming ranks.
Anyone it touched rotted to bare bone in an instant, unable to even scream before they tumbled from the sky.
The survivors flinched back in horror, bloodlust giving way to fear as they scrambled to retreat.
The ocean of attackers rippled, then split apart as a vast gap opened.
Heavenly Palace's main force flowed into place at the center, led by Lin Langtian, Ying Xuanzhi, and the rest.
Their arrival sent a fresh jolt of energy through the Allied ranks.
New flames of hatred flared in the eyes now fixed on Yuan Gate.
Standing in mid‑air, Lin Langtian looked down at the demonic haze cloaking the sect, brows creasing slightly.
His voice boomed like thunder.
"Three Sect Masters—an old acquaintance has come calling. How long do you plan to skulk in the shadows?"
"Lin Langtian, you rebellious cur. You dare storm Yuan Gate's home? You're begging to die!"
A Yuan Gate elder snarled from above the mountain gate.
"This is your place to speak?"
Jin Wu's eyes bulged.
He opened his beak and loosed a piercing crow.
Soundwaves laced with divine might smashed through the air, tearing space as they hurtled toward the elder.
A streak of black light shot out from deep within the sect, slamming into the cry and scattering it.
"Hehe, your wings have grown, Lin Langtian. Have you forgotten the debt you owe Yuan Gate for your 'education'?"
Three streaks of shadow flashed from the depths of the sect and solidified in the sky.
On the right stood a silver‑haired man, his skin as pale and smooth as a baby's.
On the left, a white‑skinned elder in black robes, one ghost‑pale hand hanging at his side.
Between them hovered a white‑robed man whose presence radiated quiet power.
No one needed to ask who they were.
They were the three titans of Yuan Gate: Tian Yuánzi, Rén Yuánzi, and Dì Yuánzi.
"In hindsight, we never should have taken in such an ungrateful wretch.
"All we did was raise a tiger to turn on us." Tian Yuánzi said with a faint sigh, eyes fixed on Lin Langtian.
"What a joke.
"You think no one knows what you've done?
"Harboring filth, selling yourselves to Otherworldly Demons—so long as Yuan Gate stands, there is no justice in this land." Lin Langtian replied coldly.
To hear Tian Yuánzi speak of righteousness was beyond absurd.
The Demons were the mortal enemies of every living thing on the Tianxuan Continent. That alone was enough to damn Yuan Gate forever.
"Baseless slander. Do you have proof?"
Tian Yuánzi's gaze flickered, but his voice stayed hard.
So long as he refused to admit anything, what could Lin Langtian say?
"Oh, you want proof?"
A young man's voice cut in.
Lin Langtian turned slightly as the black‑robed figure beside him stepped forward.
At the sound of that voice, Ying Xuanzhi went rigid.
Color drained from the Dao Sect master's face as his expression twisted between a dozen emotions.
Lin Langtian caught the reaction and smiled faintly.
Since he had rescued Zhou Tong from Yuan Gate, the man had never once returned to Dao Sect.
He had only said he'd failed his master and was too ashamed to go back.
He'd hidden his face behind that black robe ever since.
Now, it seemed, he had finally decided to step into the light.
Slow, steady fingers emerged from his sleeve and grasped the edge of his hood.
Before the eyes of tens of thousands, Zhou Tong drew the cloak back.
A handsome young face appeared.
The Allied forces rippled like a disturbed pond.
Lin Langtian glanced over his shoulder, just in time to see Ying Xuanzhi's face turn bone‑white.
The Dao Sect master's hand shook as he pointed at the young man, disbelief etched into his features.
"You… you… Zhou Tong… you're alive?! How can this be?"
Zhou Tong?
Zhou Tong?!
The name exploded through the Dao Sect ranks.
Disciples stared, stunned, as the impossible revelation sank in.
"How… how is that possible?
"Senior Brother Zhou Tong died at Yuan Gate's hands a hundred years ago. How can he be standing there?" Ying Xiaoxiao whispered, fists clenched tight.
Ying Xuanzhi trembled where he stood.
Shock, joy, anger, and guilt all warred in his eyes.
Lin Langtian watched the reaction spread and shook his head slightly.
Even after a century, Zhou Tong's shadow still loomed large over Dao Sect.
No wonder Lin Dong had measured himself against the legend at every turn.
"It really is Senior Brother Zhou Tong."
Ying Huanhuan's voice was soft but certain. Her icy blue eyes stayed locked on him, full of complicated light.
She, too, had once looked up at that back with awe.
"Zhou… Zhou Tong… is that truly you?"
Ying Xuanzhi's voice shook as he stared at the familiar face.
"Brother Langtian, what's going on?
"How is Senior Brother Zhou Tong alive—and Heavenly Palace's Grand Elder no less?"
Ying Xiaoxiao blurted, confusion and emotion written all over her face.
Rumors had long whispered of a mysterious Grand Elder in Heavenly Palace, a phantom no one had ever clearly seen.
No one had ever guessed he would be their own former heaven‑favored genius.
"Hehe. Better to let Brother Zhou tell it himself." Lin Langtian said lightly, stepping back.
Some reunions were best spoken in one's own words.
Zhou Tong nodded slightly.
His gaze slid past Ying Xiaoxiao to Ying Xuanzhi.
"Master…"
The single word scraped out of his throat, rough and thick.
"Zhou Tong… what's going on?
"You… you were…"
Ying Xuanzhi could barely form the question.
How had this disciple, whose death had haunted him for a century, suddenly appeared before his eyes again?
Zhou Tong stared at the man who had watched him grow, seeing the new lines in his face and the white in his hair.
He remembered those sleepless nights of worry he had caused.
Tears fell before he recognized they had come.
"Master, I failed you.
"I stained the trust you placed in me."
His voice broke as he began to speak.
He told them how he had walked into Yuan Gate's trap, fallen into the hands of the three Sect Masters, and barely clung to life.
He spoke of the long nightmare that followed and the moment Lin Langtian had torn him from the abyss and taken him into Heavenly Palace's fold.
No one interrupted.
Everyone listening knew Zhou Tong's name and his story; he had once been one of the brightest lights in the Eastern Xuan Region.
Now those half‑remembered tales came to life again as the man himself stood before them, scars on his soul and fire still in his eyes.
"So that's how it was…"
Ying Xuanzhi murmured at last.
"I always wondered—why you vanished so suddenly.
"So Yuan Gate had already been colluding with the Demons even then…"
His head turned slowly toward the three Sect Masters, rage twisting his features.
"Tian Yuánzi!
"You dared use such despicable tricks on my disciple—today, I'll take your life!"
With a roar, he launched himself forward, Yuan Power exploding from him as he hurled a devastating strike straight at Tian Yuánzi.
Tian Yuánzi only sneered.
"Do you really think you can still stand as my equal, Ying Xuanzhi?
"You're the one courting death."
Swish!
Rén Yuánzi blurred into motion, appearing before Ying Xuanzhi like a wraith.
His hand flexed. Space twisted violently as a wave of Samsara‑level power surged forth.
Boom!
Ying Xuanzhi's fierce attack smashed into Rén Yuánzi—and blew apart.
The Dao Sect master was sent flying, blood spraying from his lips.
Rén Yuánzi took a single step forward and vanished, reappearing in front of him an instant later.
One finger thrust out, aimed squarely at Ying Xuanzhi's forehead.
Brutal, efficient, merciless.
"Father!"
Ying Xiaoxiao and the others paled, horror breaking across their faces.
"Samsara Stage…"
Zhou Tong's eyes went wide as he felt the aura around Rén Yuánzi.
He moved to intervene—
But Lin Langtian's arm barred his way.
A streak of black shot from his sleeve and unfolded into a shadowy figure in mid‑air.
The figure gripped a long, pitch‑black blade and stared coolly at Rén Yuánzi.
No trace of emotion marked its features.
It simply swung.
Swish!
There was no blast of energy, no storm of Yuan Power.
Yet Rén Yuánzi's pupils shrank.
A sense of mortal danger clawed up his spine.
The blade flashed.
It sheared through his Samsara aura as if through smoke and bit deep into his flesh.
Blood sprayed.
Rén Yuánzi screamed, body hurtling backward as space itself warped to carry him back to Yuan Gate's side.
He clutched his bleeding arm, staring with naked fear at the dark figure floating before Lin Langtian.
"Be careful. That thing is not ordinary."
Tian Yuánzi's eyes were slitted as he studied the shadow. His voice dropped.
Rén Yuánzi's jaw clenched.
He had meant to deliver a decisive opening blow. Instead, the upstart had slapped his hand away.
"This boy came prepared."
Dì Yuánzi's first words since appearing were cold as the grave.
"Prepared or not…"
Tian Yuánzi's expression smoothed back to icy calm.
"We will see how far that takes him."
"Lord Lin, my thanks for saving me."
Back among his allies, Ying Xuanzhi clasped his hands deeply toward Lin Langtian, still shaken.
"Think nothing of it.
"You are my elder, and now a comrade‑in‑arms of the Alliance.
"Stepping in was only right."
Lin Langtian said, glancing once at Ying Xiaoxiao.
He caught her gaze and had to clear his throat, rubbing his nose with a faint, awkward smile.
"In any case, I owe you thanks for saving my disciple.
"I never had the chance to thank you properly for Zhou Tong."
Emotion roughened Ying Xuanzhi's voice.
He had treated Zhou Tong as his own son, nearly throwing Dao Sect's future away to storm Yuan Gate when the youth had vanished.
To see him alive again now was a gift he had long since stopped daring to hope for.
"Yuan Gate and the Demons wronged Brother Zhou.
"Pulling him from their claws was only fair payment.
"But all three Sect Masters have touched upon the Samsara Stage.
"If you charge in blind for revenge, you'll only be throwing your life away.
"Leave them to me. You can support from the flanks."
Lin Langtian's tone was light, but there was iron beneath it.
Ying Xuanzhi hesitated, then nodded slowly with a bitter smile.
"In that case… I'll trouble you, Lord Lin."
Lin Langtian dipped his head and stepped forward into the open sky.
The three Sect Masters waited ahead, black qi roiling around them.
He met their gazes and let a smile curl his mouth.
"Well then, you three.
"Ready to die?"
(END CHAPTER)
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