CHAPTER 463: CHAPTER 463 MOON SECT_1

Xu Lai tilted his head but said nothing.

Tan Chang looked around and lowered his voice. "Senior Xu, I’ve been waiting for you. Are you free? I have something I’d like to discuss..."

"Speak."

"What are your thoughts on the Moon Clan?" Tan Chang asked with utmost seriousness.

Instead of answering, Xu Lai posed a question of his own. "Is Chang’an City preparing for a counterattack?"

Tan Chang was startled. He had clearly asked a completely unrelated question, yet Xu Lai was able to deduce his purpose for coming today? This man... he was terrifying!

Without concealing anything, Tan Chang said gravely, "Yes. The Hua Country Martial Dao Association is preparing to join forces with the one faction, three sects, and nine pavilions to form an elite unit. They will head to the Moon to assassinate the Moon Clan."

Xu Lai sighed. He had thought Tan Chang sought him out for something regarding Yiyi, but it turned out to be just this minor issue.

Seeing Xu Lai’s expression change, Tan Chang felt sweat trickle down his forehead. Normally, any martial artist would be shocked to hear such major news. So why does Senior Xu look so resigned?

Tan Chang changed the subject. "Senior Xu, the president of the East Sea City Martial Dao Association and I suspect that... some human martial artists in Hua Country have defected to the Moon Clan."

Traitors. Whether on Earth or in the Immortal Domain, they have existed since ancient times. They are a product of complex human nature and can never be completely eradicated. Xu Lai wasn’t surprised in the slightest. In fact, he would have been surprised if there *weren’t* any spies among the humans sympathetic to the Moon Clan.

Tan Chang continued, "So, Senior, please be careful. As Moon Clan members are captured one after another, these spies probably won’t be able to hide their tracks for much longer."

As they were speaking, a white-haired old man with a hunched back approached from a distance, looking ancient. His eyes, however, were bright and lively, even more so than a young person’s.

Tan Chang glanced at the old man and then looked away. Mount Haitang had opened to the public after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and for the past couple of days, tourists had been visiting one of East Sea City’s landmarks to take photos. This old man must be here to see the Haitang flowers as well.

But to Tan Chang’s surprise, when the white-haired old man was only five meters from Xu Lai, he suddenly straightened his back, unleashing a terrifying pressure. He raised his hand and formed a fist, drawing in a massive amount of Spiritual Energy. It coalesced into a colossal fist that smashed down from the sky.

BOOM!

Tan Chang’s face paled. Even with his current Eighth Grade Boundary, he felt a profound sense of fear from that fist. This means the attacker is likely... a Ninth Grade Martial Ancestor!

"You dare!" Tan Chang roared, summoning his own Spiritual Energy to block the attack. But the gap in their Boundary was simply too vast. A single exchange was enough to send him flying.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning ghastly pale.

The massive Spiritual Energy fist didn’t slow, still hurtling toward Xu Lai. The white-haired old man stood proudly and sneered, but the words he spoke were not the language of Hua Country, leaving Tan Chang confused.

"Someone from Sakura Country," Xu Lai said, his hands clasped behind his back. His gaze completely ignored the Spiritual Energy fist, locking directly onto the white-haired old man. The man had just spoken the language of Sakura Country, and the meaning was simple: "Hua Country Martial Ancestors are nothing special!"

Very quickly, however, the white-haired old man’s face turned livid. His proudest punch had unexpectedly crumbled to pieces a zhang away from Xu Lai, dissipating back into Spiritual Energy.

"Who are you!" Tan Chang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and struggled to his feet, his expression incredibly grim.

To avoid unnecessary trouble and unrest, foreign Martial Artists wishing to enter Hua Country must register their names and addresses. Only after the Martial Dao Association confirms their information is accurate and that they have no record of harming civilians are they permitted entry. But one of the conditions of the entry agreement they must abide by is to not use their martial power at will, lest they be expelled. This foreign Martial Ancestor had dared to brazenly use Spiritual Energy, completely disregarding the agreement!

"I am Yu Shengjing. I have come to take Xu Lai’s life on the command of the Moon Sect Saint," the man announced in fluent Mandarin. He cracked a ghastly grin, revealing a mouthful of bone-white teeth as he stared at Xu Lai. "You must be Xu Lai."

Tan Chang was stunned. Sakura Country had Martial Artists, but unlike Hua Country, it was dominated by Sword Cultivators; over seventy percent of them followed the way of the Sword. As a result, Sakura Country was filled with countless Sword Cultivation dojos.

While Hua Country had its one faction, three sects, and nine pavilions, Sakura Country’s sole major sect was the Unity Sword Sect. Its founder was Watanabe Kazuichi, who three hundred years ago swept through the Martial Dao of Sakura Country with a single Bamboo Sword. He later crossed the sea on a stalk of bamboo for a pinnacle duel with Hua Country’s Xu Yanyang! Although the two were said to be evenly matched, rumors claimed that Xu Yanyang had won by a single move. Still, the battle made Watanabe Kazuichi famous. His status in the Martial Dao of Sakura Country was comparable to Xu Yanyang’s in Hua Country, making him the foremost figure in their martial world for the last three hundred years. For a sect to be named after him, its strength was plain to see.

Tan Chang exclaimed, "Are you from the Unity Sword Sect?"

If that were true, this would be a huge problem. The Unity Sword Sect had many powerful experts, and it was even rumored that Watanabe Kazuichi was still alive. How had Senior Xu offended them?

"The Unity Sword Sect? It isn’t worthy!" Yu Shengjing scoffed. "The Moon Sect is the Sect of a Saint. Watanabe Kazuichi is not worthy of the title ’Saint’."

Tan Chang’s frown deepened. Besides the Unity Sword Sect, Sakura Country had other Martial Dao sects? The Moon Sect... why had he never heard of it?

"The ’Moon Sect’ he’s talking about is probably the Moon Clan," Xu Lai said calmly. Yu Shengjing was using a Cultivation Technique that, while fragmented, was nearly identical to that of the Moon Clan’s, allowing him to absorb moonlight for Cultivation.

"The Moon Clan!?" Tan Chang was shocked. We were just talking about spies from the Moon Clan in Hua Country, and now one has popped up—even if he is from Sakura Country.

"How audacious!" Yu Shengjing rebuked angrily. "You Foreign Clans dare speak the name of the Moon Sect? An unforgivable crime! Kneel and worship the moon! Beg the Moon Sect Saint for forgiveness!"

Tan Chang trembled with rage. To halt the Moon Clan’s invasion of Earth, the bodies of countless Martial Dao forebears from Hua Country lay strewn outside Chang’an City! It was bad enough that not a single Cultivator from Sakura Country had ever come to help, but now there was a traitor colluding with them? His intentions are punishable by death!

Tan Chang roared furiously, "You’re not fit to be human! You’re a disgrace and the scum of the Human Race! If I were you, I would have taken my own life to atone for my sins long ago!"

"Hah," Yu Shengjing’s face was full of mockery. "Humans are too ignorant. If the Moon Sect Saint descends, he will advance the life on Earth a hundredfold. You who obstruct his arrival are the true sinners."

"How dare you!" Enraged, Tan Chang unleashed his Spiritual Energy to attack, even though he knew he was no match. The outcome was predictable. He was easily repelled by Yu Shengjing, sustaining another serious injury.

"Xu Lai," Yu Shengjing said, his posture haughty and his voice cold. "I have been ordered by the Moon Sect Saint to kill you. However, if you are willing to repent and join the Moon Sect, I am willing to mediate on your behalf and give you the opportunity to serve the Saint!"