"Have you contacted our fellow disciples?"
Upon hearing Bi Futian’s words, Xu Lianyu’s face lit up with joy.
Gong Xinghui and Bi Futian quickly nodded, recounting the events of the past ten days to Lin Chen and the others.
It turned out that during this period, the two of them had contacted other disciples. According to the messages received, members of the Black Cloud Sect were gathering at a place called Qianyun Mountain, where they were refining Yin Sha Puppets using the Heavenly and Earthly Treasures and Yin Sha Qi within the secret realm.
Despite discovering and attempting to stop the Black Cloud Sect’s actions, their people were not easy to deal with. The elite disciples’ attempts to intervene had all failed, and they had not succeeded in halting the Black Cloud Sect’s behavior.
Gong Xinghui and Bi Futian planned to join the elite disciples and take action together, but since Lin Chen and the other two had not awakened, they had yet to make a move.
Now that Lin Chen and the others were awake, they would surely go to assist their elite peers.
"What’s the combat power of the strongest person from the Black Cloud Sect?"
Lin Chen slightly furrowed his brow, feeling that the situation was not so simple. The Black Cloud Sect daring to refine Yin Sha Puppets so brazenly suggested that they were not afraid of Jade Cauldron Sect members coming to cause trouble.
"According to the intelligence provided by Brother Huang Liang, this person’s combat power is comparable to a half-step Melding Earth Realm. Brother Huang Liang fought him and didn’t last more than ten moves," Bi Futian said, shaking his head helplessly as he shared the strength of their opponent.
One reason he had been waiting instead of setting out was precisely that, even if the two of them went, they were not confident they could take on that strong member of the Black Cloud Sect. However, Lin Chen, Xu Lianyu, and Wang Yilin were different. If the three of them unleashed their full power, they all possessed strength comparable to a half-step Melding Earth Realm, naturally making them capable of dealing with that powerful enemy.
Hearing what Bi Futian and the other had said, Lin Chen finally understood why these two had been waiting for him. He didn’t say much else; being relied upon was inevitable, after all, he and his senior sister had demonstrated combat power far too formidable to be compared to an ordinary Ninth Layer Spirit Gathering Martial Artist.
However, hearing the intelligence Bi Futian had relayed, the Black Cloud Sect disciple named Zhao Ye was much stronger than suggested, and Lin Chen guessed that even at his full capacity, he might not be a match. Orıginal content can be found at novel•fire.net
Lin Chen’s cultivation had reached the Sixth Layer Spirit Gathering Realm, enabling him to fight undefeated against ordinary Ninth Layer Spirit Gathering Martial Artists.
But in the presence of true Heavenly Prides, the gap between the Ninth Layer and the Sixth Layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm was still quite significant, especially considering this Zhao Ye was even stronger than Jia Shaluo.
Perhaps only his two senior sisters, once their seals were undone, would be able to handle him; Lin Chen naturally wouldn’t let them risk their cultivation potential anymore.
"Did that brother come up with any plans with you?"
Lin Chen raised his head and looked at Bi Futian and the other, inquiring further.
Since Gong Xinghui and Bi Futian had already been waiting for them, they could set out to meet up with Huang Liang and the others, which meant they must have devised a battle plan.
However, to Lin Chen’s disbelief, Gong Xinghui and Bi Futian shook their heads, saying there was no plan, and that Huang Liang had just told them to go and coordinate with the others.
This left Lin Chen truly speechless; he finally understood why the Jade Cauldron Sect disciples had suffered such heavy casualties.
It turned out these fools had no plan, no tactics, no strength, but had the audacity to barge into a place prepared by the Black Cloud Sect. This was nothing but courting death.
They seemed to have a handle on every move of the Black Cloud Sect, but it could very well be a trap laid by the Black Cloud Sect, just waiting for them to fall in.
"Did Brother Huang Liang mention how many people the Black Cloud Sect has, how many Ninth Layer Spirit Gathering Martial Artists they have, and how many among their remaining people are at the Ninth Layer of Spirit Gathering Realm?"
Lin Chen couldn’t help but continue to press for answers.
But the answers from Gong Xinghui and Bi Futian once again nearly drove Lin Chen mad.
There were over two hundred disciples from the Black Cloud Sect, with half of them at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm.
Meanwhile, Huang Liang and his group had only a hundred people, with just fifty at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm.
Lin Chen looked at Leng Dong and the others, and even if they were to gather with Huang Liang and his men, they would still be outnumbered by the Black Cloud Sect. Their cultivation was even less than that of their enemies, and their combat strength was also inferior. Without a plan or tactics, wouldn’t this be simply marching to their deaths?
Seeing Lin Chen’s grim face, Gong Xinghui and Bi Futian also realized that this matter was somewhat absurd, because the chances of winning were too slim, yet for the sake of the sect, they had no other choice.
If they allowed the Black Cloud Sect to mass refine Yin Sha Puppets, it would be the time of destruction for the Jade Cauldron Sect.
"No, this is no different from courting death."
"If you want me and the two senior sisters to join your action, you must improve your strength to ensure a chance of success in this operation," Lin Chen said, looking at Gong Xinghui and Bi Futian.
Upon hearing this, both were very helpless.
It was not so easy to improve one’s cultivation.
Wang Yilin and Xu Lianyu were somewhat curious as they watched Lin Chen; they knew that since Lin Chen could say such things, he must have a plan.
Lin Chen looked at everyone, drew out his long sword from his waist, and based on the descriptions given by Gong Xinghui and Bi Futian, drew a map on the ground.
"Look, this is the current location of the Black Cloud Sect, this is Brother Huang Liang’s current position, this is..."
Lin Chen pointed out everyone’s current positions one by one, and also drew the routes used by the Black Cloud Sect disciples to collect Yin Sha Qi as described by the two men.
Then Lin Chen developed a tactical strategy, which was to split their forces into two groups, one to directly assault the place where the Black Cloud Sect was refining puppets, and the other to ambush the disciples collecting Yin Sha Qi.
To refine puppets, those from the Black Cloud Sect would surely ensure that the Yin Sha Qi was undamaged, drawing people away to protect it. This would leave vacancies at the front, reducing the difficulty for their frontal assault.
As long as they could break through the front, the people from behind would come to aid, and by then, caught off guard both at the front and back, the two-way encirclement would surely throw the Black Cloud Sect into disarray.
"What a good plan, let’s get moving quickly!"
Gong Xinghui and Bi Futian clapped their hands in approval after hearing Lin Chen’s plan and tactics.
"What a good plan my ass, the key to the success of the plan is that our Jade Cauldron Sect disciples must be stronger than them. With our current strength, this plan cannot be executed at all, which is why I called for you to improve your strength," Lin Chen said speechlessly, thinking these two really had no sense of combat strength at all.
Hearing Lin Chen’s words, everyone’s faces showed a look of dejection, as short-term improvement of strength was simply impossible.
Lin Chen looked at the disheartened crowd and slowly stood out.
"Have you ever heard of a Killing Formation?"