Yet the more Bronze-Robed Heavenly Venerate thought it over, the more he began to regret it.

On his last visit here he had taken a nasty tumble; this time, out of caution, he had even contacted He Dantou of the Overseas Cultivators' Association and some fine hands from He Dantou's alliance center. But now, thinking it over, it had been utterly superfluous—a few men of the Iron-Robed Sect could have handled this easily on their own. Why hand the spoils to He Dantou and his lot?

After all, this place was, at any rate, Wei Zhao's lair. Since his women were all here, there would surely be no shortage of resources and treasures. Better to finish the business before He Dantou arrived—the Iron-Robed Sect, in the midst of rebuilding, was in direst need of resources right now, and there was no sense in letting outsiders reap the benefit for nothing.

"Uncle-Master, and you two senior brothers—no need to waste words on them. Let's get to it!" Bronze-Robed Heavenly Venerate shot the others a meaningful look.

The Iron-Robed Ancestor and the rest caught on at once and settled into their stances, ready to strike.

"Ha! For a grand ancient sect like the Iron-Robed Sect, you certainly put on quite the airs—so you mean to overwhelm the few with the many, is that it?" Wu Chengtian could not help but laugh at the sight.

At those words, the Iron-Robed Ancestor and the others flushed to the ears. They were, after all, venerable elders of the Iron-Robed Sect, held in high esteem—and to gang up, four against two, on youngsters like Qiu Lingshan and Wu Chengtian was a tale that would not sound at all good were it ever to get out.

Bronze-Robed Heavenly Venerate hastily came to the rescue: "Hmph! To deal with a pair of Wei Zhao's running dogs, do we really need to stand on the niceties of the Jianghu? To die at our hands is more honor than your ancestors ever earned!"

"Is that so? Since you mean to overwhelm the few with the many, then I'd like to see just who has more people." Qiu Lingshan smiled at that and gave a light clap of her hands. At the sound, four figures flashed out from behind the door.

Those four were Chen Yutian, Feng Tianlong, Pi Zhishan, and Pi Zhihai.

The jaws of Bronze-Robed Heavenly Venerate and his party dropped so wide you could have stuffed two eggs into each of their mouths. Damn it all—these four were all Heaven-Tier Great Perfection masters!

Even when they had first heard the news that the Iron-Robed Sect had been wiped out by Wei Zhao, their faces had never worn such grotesque shock as this. Holy hell, had the world gone mad? Had Heaven-Tier Great Perfection masters become cabbages, scattered all over the ground?

Watching the fools' expressions on those faces, Qiu Lingshan and the other five could not help but exchange smiles. Ever since Bronze-Robed Heavenly Venerate's last visit, they had changed the daily two-person rotation to a six-person one—and this was the day they had been waiting for!

As for why they were all Heaven-Tier Great Perfection, that was naturally thanks to Wei Zhao. Just before the Cloud-Tier Island plan set out, he had specially procured a great batch of Qi-Gathering Pills and raised everyone around him to Heaven-Tier Great Perfection before he was satisfied enough to stop.

Otherwise, given Wei Zhao's habitual caution, how could he ever have felt at ease abandoning these people and going off to Cloud-Tier Island alone?

At this very moment, the Iron-Robed Ancestor and his whole gang were scared witless, while that clown Zhen Yingjun had outright wet himself in his fright, sprawled on the ground in a spreading puddle.

What should have been a fine four-against-two setup had in an instant become four against six. What the hell were they supposed to do now?

The Iron-Robed Ancestor and the others could not help but wonder whether their old eyes had gone blurry—six whole Heaven-Tier Great Perfection masters leaping out at once, and all of them mere underlings of Wei Zhao's! This defied every law of nature!

"You said it yourselves—overwhelming the few with the many is nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone, at them!" Wu Chengtian laughed heartily and, without a moment's hesitation, charged straight at the Iron-Robed Ancestor, the strongest of the opposing side.

Qiu Lingshan and the other five exchanged a glance, and none of them held back either—each immediately picked a target and struck.

Gu Mengyao and the other unconscious women had already been secretly moved in advance to Han Jingyi's villa next door, so even if the enemy came knocking, they could strike back without the slightest restraint.

In such a situation, the Iron-Robed Ancestor and his three had no choice but to brace themselves for battle. If they ran now, they could forget about ever rebuilding the Iron-Robed Sect—they might as well band together and found a Turtle Sect instead.

Zhen Yingjun, worthless as he was, had only to be grazed by the shockwaves to collapse to one side, dead or alive unknown. As for the Iron-Robed Ancestor and his three—seasoned Heaven-Tier Great Perfection masters all, each more than a match for any single foe—they simply could not withstand Qiu Lingshan's superior numbers.

Six against four meant two of them could at any moment free up their hands to reinforce or strike from ambush! And on top of that, do not forget General Weiwu and the Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast—at this moment the field was essentially eight against four.

Even if the Iron-Robed Ancestor and his companions were somewhat more formidable than ordinary Heaven-Tier Great Perfection masters, being forced to fight two on one was still desperately hard; being suppressed on every front was inevitable. The only question was how long they could hold out.

To be so thoroughly suppressed by a pack of young juniors—at this moment the Iron-Robed Ancestor and his companions wanted nothing more than to die. They had come rushing over for revenge, only to be beaten so badly they could not even fight back. The fall from grace was far, far too great to stomach.

At this very moment, the one thing Bronze-Robed Heavenly Venerate could feel thankful for was that he had had the foresight to invite He Dantou of the Overseas Cultivators' Association in advance. Otherwise, today they would truly have smashed headfirst into an iron wall and lost every shred of face for the rest of their lives.

Still, he had only agreed on a date with He Dantou—as for when the man would actually arrive, they had never discussed anything concrete; it all depended on the other party's schedule.

What worried Bronze-Robed Heavenly Venerate was this: if the four of them could not hold out until He Dantou arrived with his men, then they were well and truly done for.

"Well, well—you old fellows have some backbone after all; it's rather impressive!" The chaotic eight-against-four battle had gone on for a full half hour. Though these four masters of the Iron-Robed Sect had taken quite a beating, they were still doggedly holding on, showing not the slightest intention of fleeing—which rather astonished Wu Chengtian and the others.

"Looks like they're waiting for reinforcements. The longer this drags on, the more trouble we'll have—let's finish this quickly and take the four of them down first!" Feng Tianlong, a man of wide experience, called out to rally them.

"Right!" Everyone answered in unison, their momentum surging like a rainbow, and in an instant the position of the Iron-Robed Ancestor and his three became perilous—at any moment they might leave their old lives on this spot.

Yet at that very moment, He Dantou's voice suddenly cut through the whole scene: "Finish it quickly, is it? I'd rather like to see just who's talking so big!"

As the words fell, He Dantou made his entrance wreathed in a powerful aura, and behind him followed three more masters of no lesser presence—all fine hands he had brought from the center, all of them Heaven-Tier Great Perfection in strength!