Chu Yang smiled at them, but he thought in his heart, “The powerful enemy lineup has made everyone despair and lose confidence… This is not a good sign.”

“Chu Yang, the Li Clan is only after the four of us!” Suddenly, the countenance of one of the officers turned extremely serious. “It doesn’t have much to do with all of you. Therefore, if we’re dead… the enemy will drop their guard somewhat. Thereafter, you will be able to find an opportunity to get out.”

He paused for a moment before he continued, “The nine of us… Let’s split up!”

A jolt went through Chu Yang as he turned his gaze to the four officers.

All four of them looked forthrightly at him. The look in their eyes was very calm and peaceful. It was obvious that this wasn’t an issue that had only just come to them; the four of them had been discussing this a lot of times in secret.

And they finally brought it up now.

Since the four of them didn’t have any hope of escape at all, what was the point of implicating so many close friends?

At this moment, before they even realized, they had already seen Chu Yang and the others as friends whom they could entrust their lives to.

Extraterrestrial Demons be damned!

Chu Yang was silent for a moment before he said, “We’ve been together for more than ten days. I’m sorry, but I haven’t even asked for your names.”

The officer who had spoken earlier smiled and replied, “We don’t have our own names anymore ever since the moment we joined the Interrogation Hall. I’m Interrogation Officer One while you can call the three of them Interrogation Officer Two, Interrogation Officer Three and Interrogation Officer Four.”

There was warmth in his eyes. “There are a total of 36 of us brothers! We’re ranked by our age, not our cultivation. Among us, the one with the highest cultivation is Interrogation Officer Seventeen, who’s a fourth-grade Supreme Martial Artist… Hurhur, so he won’t be able to affect the situation much either.”

Chu Yang nodded. “Do you mean to say that you don’t intend to fulfill Master Lang’s dying wish anymore? And willing to allow the ten of you to die in injustice just like that?”

Chuckling, Interrogation Officer One replied, “If it’s possible, we naturally will fulfill it. But judging from the current situation, I believe that Master Lang will not blame us even if we can’t.”

“I understand what you’re saying.” Nodding, Chu Yang went on, “What you wish to do is to clarify our relationship with each other so that you will not implicate us. Therefore, you are thinking of sacrificing yourselves in exchange for our safety.”

“I am very touched,” said Chu Yang. “But I would like to point out a few things to you.”

“First of all, we are seen as one body right now. Not only will the Li Clan not let the four of you off, but they also will not let us off. Only when all of us are dead will the matter of them killing Lang Yilang and going against law-enforcement officers be forever hidden.”

“Therefore, even if you are dead, they will continue to pursue us nonetheless.”

“Secondly, if our brothers died in battle because they were trying to protect each other, we would be very sad but also very proud. Only a protection method such as this, where we stand by and do nothing while watching all of you give your lives… is putting shame on us.”

“We’re all friends now; surely we wouldn’t allow our friends to go through such shame?”

“Thirdly, giving up is a kind of habit.” Chuckling, there was a kind of strong resolution in Chu Yang’s eyes. “Perhaps we might survive if you give your lives today. But at the end of it, it is us who have given up on all of you. If, in order to survive, I give up on you today because I have no other choice, then tomorrow, if I were to be left with no alternative again, do I give up on them too in order to survive?”

As he spoke, Chu Yang pointed at Wei Wuyan and the rest.

“If it goes on like this… there will come a day where, left with no other choice, I would give up on my parents, wife and children too. Because… by that time, giving up would have already become a habit.”

“In the end, even if I’m still alive, I would have become no different from an animal!”

Chu Yang continued solemnly, “Be it my morals or my actions, I cannot give up.”

“Even if it’s a hopeless situation!”

Interrogation Officer One and the other three were silent for a while. Then, they said, “Since Brother Chu has put it like that, then us brothers shall die together! Haha… Even if we die, the journey to Hell won’t be lonely when you have your good buddies with you!”

“Wrong!” Chu Yang replied calmly, “Who said that we’re definitely going to die?”

“It has already reached this point; do you still think that we can fight our way out?” asked a somewhat astounded Interrogation Officer Three.

Facing such a situation, even Wei Wuyan, Wan Renjie and the other two, who had always held absolute confidence in Chu Yang, had long lost all hope, much less the four of them!

“I remember that there’s a saying called ‘There is always a way out’!” Chu Yang’s voice was deep and calm as he said, “Hopeless situations may exist but within one, there are bound to be chances of survival! If even your heart becomes trapped in a hopeless situation and acknowledges the situation to be hopeless after falling into one, that’s when you would truly be doomed for eternity!”

“Chance of survival…” Interrogation Officer One smiled dismally as he said, “Brother Chu, I admit that what you’ve said makes a lot of sense but… what chance of survival is there to hope for with our current situation? We have neither food supplies nor reinforcements while the Li Clan’s clutches reach everywhere. Furthermore, we’re surrounded by troops ten thousand times our strength and unfamiliar with the terrain while stuck in their home ground…”

“Although it looks on the surface as if we’re in a hopeless situation right now… if you think about it carefully, we still have a lot of chances of survival.” Chu Yang raised his hands and spread out his ten fingers as he spoke. “See, right now in the entire continent, the Li Clan is equivalent to being the mass target of everyone. The eight Super Clans are not letting up at all; right before we entered the north-west, the boundaries of the north-west have already started being taken over by the eight Super Clans.”

“Experts from the eight Super Clans have definitely already infiltrated the north-west. As long as we can make contact with any of them, there’ll be more chances of survival for us. This is the first point.”

“Secondly, the climate of the north-west is extremely cold; it’s difficult for both humans and animals to survive here. However, the spiritual energy here is rich. Therefore, there is definitely a sizable number of experts who shun the material world living in seclusion here. If we can find one of them… this is not impossible, right?”

“Thirdly, why must we be so fixated on fighting our way out?” asked Chu Yang. “What if our objective isn’t to fight our way out but just to stay alive? In that case, we could very well head back where we had come from right now. Even though it is still fraught with obstacles, the resistance standing in our way as compared to heading out would be a million times lower! Surely we can keep our lives then?”

“And this is when we’re still completely relying on ourselves!”

“As for food supplies… All of us are Supreme Martial Artists. At the very least, we’re all able to turn spiritual energy into water. We won’t die from dehydration for sure; as for hunger… with our cultivation, we are not likely to die from starvation even if we don’t eat for three months. Are you saying that nine Supreme Martial Artists can’t even hunt a single rabbit successfully during the span of three months? Thus, no matter what, we will not starve to death.”

“The north-west is very big.” Chu Yang said, “Their territory is vast and stretches for millions of miles. Even though the Li Clan has run this place for ten thousand years, surely they can’t possibly have the entire place within their grasp, right? Besides, if they drive us into a corner and we head north into the vast and boundless wilderness, that place is the territory of the Three Stars Divine Clan. No matter how impressive the Li Clan is, surely they wouldn’t dare to provoke them?”

“Therefore, there are still a lot of paths of survival we can take!” Chu Yang asked seriously, “In comparison, there is only one path to death. Why must we choose this path that leads to death instead?”

“It is never too late for revenge; what’s the harm in taking a little longer with regard to Master Lang’s matter? It’s surely better than all of us perishing here and being wiped out?”

As Chu Yang spoke, the expressions on the others’ faces gradually relaxed.

Indeed, according to Chu Yang, they certainly weren’t all out of hope yet.

Although the chances were very slim, there was still hope nonetheless.

“Since that’s the case, what should we do now?” Rousing his spirits, Interrogation Officer One asked.

“Now, we need to do this and this…” Chu Yang exercised his brain at full capacity, trying to sort out a train of thought. He spoke slowly, almost pausing at every word.

When the others heard his plan, their eyes couldn’t help but reveal a sense of bewilderment, worry and some… excitement.

…

At the fifth gate.

The security of the Li Clan could be said to be iron-clad. In the sky, two Supreme Martial Artists were on guard every 15 kilometers, observing all activity near and far.

On ground, everyone lying in wait was even quieter as they waited for their prey to fall into the trap.

Even the dense forests on the sides were filled with white-robed figures standing attentively on guard.

Underneath a snowy white tent not far after turning the corner at the gate, two sixth-grade Supreme Martial Artists and one seventh-grade Supreme Martial Artist stood with their hands behind their backs.

“With this lineup, if we still allow them to get past the fifth gate this time, the three of us really won’t need to live on anymore,” said the seventh-grade Supreme Martial Artist with a deep voice.

This was the very culprit who had launched a sneak attack on Lang Yilang back then — Li Qinglei of the Li Clan!

One of the other men nodded and asked, “How is Qingyun?”

Li Qinglei’s expression turned grim. He replied, “He’s been struck by Lang Yilang’s Purple Crystal Hand. His entire body began to wane and shrivel from the second day onward! If we had dragged on for another day and his entire body turned into Purple Crystal, even euthanizing him would have been difficult. It’s I… who used my seventh-grade Supreme Martial Artist cultivation to shatter his skull while he was still alive! And… sent him on his way.”

The other two sixth-grade Supreme Martial Artists lowered their heads sadly. “We must avenge him!”

With much emotion, Li Qinglei said, “Qingfeng, Qingyu. We, together with Qingyun, are all from the same generation and members of the clan’s side branches. We’ve fought our way here today… I know how you must feel. But do you know… how I feel killing Qingyun with my own hand… hurhur…”

Shaking his head, he said, “It’s truly…”

“We understand. We will never blame you for it, Qinglei,” said Li Qingfeng and Li Qingyu gravely at the same time. “It’s all that goddamn Lang Yilang’s fault!”

“So, no matter what, we absolutely mustn’t let him escape this time!” There was a sinister and ruthless look in Li Qinglei’s eyes. “With Lang Yilang’s injuries… He should have died by now… However, if he is dead, then that means there are only nine first-grade Supreme Martial Artists left. How could they… possess such strong combat ability?”

He was extremely confident in his moves. By right, Lang Yilang’s injuries at that point should definitely have been fatal, but the recent series of events made him somewhat doubtful.

Right at this point, a Supreme Martial Artist on watch duty in mid-air sent them a message via telepathy. “Someone’s here!”

“How many are there?”

“Just one!”

“One?” The three of them found this rather strange. Why was there only one person?

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, someone walked over slowly from the inside. Dressed in flowy white robes, his features were handsome and his mannerisms charismatic — A graceful and beautiful man indeed.

He walked normally as he stepped forward in the snow, yet it was as if he were a celestial being from heaven strolling among the clouds. That natural ease and grace actually hit them right in the face.

It was Chu Yang.

Dressed in flowy white robes, it took merely a moment before he reached right in front of the fifth gate.

“Halt!” Someone shouted from the forest. Then, following a few whooshes, a few people jumped out.

Chu Yang said amicably, “I would like to trouble you to notify the higher-ups that I, Chu Yang, have something that I would like to discuss with the Li Clan elders.”