Chen Chuan had been stationed with the City Defense Camp for over forty years. He had witnessed countless bloody storms and handled innumerable cases, both big and small. Yet the brutal scene before him in the courtyard still sent chills down his spine.
Long Lin Bang’s guest official, Changlin – a master of the Seven Springs technique with a black mole between his brows – now lay in a pool of blood. He had been cut in half at the waist, with his arms nowhere to be seen.
Beneath the courtyard wall lay about ten corpses, scattered haphazardly, all clearly slain by one sword stroke. In addition, the ground was littered with vicious armored spiders and chaotic webs stretching in every direction. They were frozen beneath frost and ice crystals, clearly the result of someone triggering a large-scale mass destruction magical device. …
This was nothing less than a grand spectacle! And the architect of this brutal scene was none other than a youth who appeared to be under twenty years old. If this young fellow truly came from the Cang Li Tribe, he was undoubtedly a rising star of the tribe’s potential.
Such a person was not someone he could afford to provoke now, and certainly not in the future. Reporting this upward… would only dredge up more trouble, involving the inner power struggles of Nine Li City’s higher-ups. Li Weiyi lit the bone lamp and hung it back up on the old poplar tree.
Under the lamp’s shining light, the bloodstains in the courtyard looked exceptionally vivid. Combined with the corpses scattered all over, it added a chilling, ghostly terror to the scene. Chen Chuan’s face had softened, and he asked, “Who is the owner of this estate?”
“It’s me.”
Zhao Meng strode out. His six-meter tall figure even made the ground tremble slightly. His internal magical power was circulating through him, turning his skin to a golden hue and his hair was like burning flames.
His voice thundered like crashing lightning. It was the prearranged order from the deceased predecessor that had him present himself in such a commanding manner.
“Senior Brother, this is Captain Chen of the City Defense Camp…”
Li Weiyi, seeing Zhao Meng in such an extraordinary state for the first time, was greatly surprised. Zhao Meng, not in the least courteous, walked up to Chen Chuan with the bearing of a dragon and a tiger, and demanded, “When we rented this estate, we paid the City Defense silver.
When we were ambushed by villains and nearly all killed, why did the City Defense Camp come so slowly?” In Chen Chuan’s eyes, Zhao Meng’s oppressive presence was far stronger than even the iron-blooded style of Xie Jin. His flesh, refined through cultivation like if it had been cast in gold, was unheard of for someone of Spring Surge Realm.
Chen Chuan felt that, just based on his body alone, Zhao Meng could easily tear him in half. After all, this was Xie Jin’s senior brother. The master here was definitely even more fearsome.
No matter what, Chen Chuan could not imagine that Zhao Meng had only opened one spring. Facing a strong opponent, Chen Chuan quickly clasped his hands in greeting in respect, not daring to even ask Zhao Meng for the Li Civil Register.
He explained, “We never expected that someone could be so brazen as to trespass into a civilian residence so close to the city domain and commit robbery and arson. Please don’t lose your temper, sir. The City Defense Camp will not let this slide and such incidents will never happen again.”
Li Weiyi, surprised by Senior Brother’s intimidating presence, stepped aside like a junior disciple who always followed his senior, in order to further highlight Zhao Meng’s overpowering aura. After a quarter of an hour, the two finished their exchange. Chen Chuan stepped out of the estate’s gate, patting his chest as he promised to swiftly uncover who was behind this.
Then he commanded more than twenty City Defense guards outside to carry away all the corpses from the courtyard and clean the ground thoroughly. With his hands clasped behind him, Li Weiyi looked out toward the departing City Defense soldiers and said, “Senior Brother, you see it now – only those with formidable strength receive respect.
Otherwise, we would have been taken away by now. Of course, this also shows that there’s something untoward with Chen Chuan himself.” Zhao Meng laughed and said, “I thought as much.
Our so-called strength now seems a bit empty; others probably see me as someone from the Five Seas Realm of tremendous prowess. If our true strength were ever exposed, the City Defense Camp and Long Lin Bang would come up with countless ways to come after us, with full repayment.”
“Five Seas Realm.”
Li Weiyi pronounced those three words. At this moment, those three words in his heart could completely represent dignity, status, and a sense of security – they had to be attained.
“You have to keep up the act of being a Five Seas cultivator. We’ve got a tough fight to fight tonight.”
Li Weiyi did not believe that Chen Chuan would provoke Long Lin Bang on their behalf. The so-called “uncovering the mastermind behind it” was all for show. To truly solve the big trouble Long Lin Bang had caused, they would have to rely on themselves. …
Night had deepened, and the air was slightly cool. Li Weiyi sat alone on the threshold of the main gate, repeatedly using a gray cloth to wipe the blood off the Yellow Dragon Sword. In a basin nearby used for washing cloth, the water slowly turned deep red.
Zhao Meng sat under the old poplar tree in the courtyard, his demeanor calm and collected even though inside he felt utterly insecure. Old Liu and Old Guan were cleaning the bloodstains from the courtyard. None of them dared to escape at this point – they all knew that fleeing now would only lead to a quicker death.
They had to arrange themselves for a life-or-death showdown with Long Lin Bang to force the enemy to weigh their pros and cons, in hopes of gaining a shred of hope.
“Clatter!”
“Clatter!” …
Dense footsteps approached swiftly from the far end of the four-zhang-wide main street. Led by Deputy Leader Tang Yan and Flag Leader Shi Chuanyu, several dozen Long Lin Bang members emerged en masse from the shadowy parts of nearby buildings. All dressed in black, they sent the street’s vendors and residents into a frightened silence.
In that moment, the very air on the street seemed to become thick and heavy. Li Weiyi glanced over and noticed that the Long Lin Bang members were not carrying any knives or weapons, which immediately reassured him. Since that was the case…
They would have to put on an even more imposing stance. Before long, all the Long Lin Bang members stopped in front of the estate’s gate, all eyes fixed on Li Weiyi. But he continued nonchalantly wiping his long sword, treating them as if they were nothing.
This calm, confidence, and fearless bearing made the Long Lin Bang members too intimidated even to speak. Shi Chuanyu stepped forward and saluted Li Weiyi, then glanced toward Zhao Meng sitting in the courtyard. Not beating about the bush, he got straight to the point, “I am your subordinate, Shi Chuanyu.
I had the eyes but failed to recognize the true divine power. Tonight, Long Lin Bang admits defeat. The two of you must have been terrified by our actions.
We have prepared a generous gift as a token of our sincerity, hoping to turn hostility into peace.” Li Weiyi remained silent, his gaze falling on Tang Yan standing behind Shi Chuanyu. On that old man emanated an extremely dangerous aura; it was evident that he was the one in Long Lin Bang truly capable of ending matters decisively.
Tang Yan had already been sizing up Li Weiyi, finding him much younger than expected. But this young man’s ferocious record tonight had cost Long Lin Bang dearly. Tomorrow, they would surely be the laughingstock among many gangs in the suburbs.
The adversary was full of confidence and seemed unafraid. With a kindly smile forcing itself onto his weathered face, Tang Yan stepped to the right of Shi Chuanyu, clasped his hands, and introduced himself, “This old man is Tang Yan, Deputy Leader of Long Lin Bang.
The subordinates under me have no vision, and have brought great calamity upon our gang. They deserve to be punished severely by this young friend’s hand. Here is the deed for this estate; I ordered its expedited preparation just now.
Please, kindly accept it.” After Tang Yan produced the deed, Shi Chuanyu handed it over. Li Weiyi took a quick glance and inside his heart he was greatly shocked.
One must understand that even a small estate in this area would cost tens of thousands of silver coins. Their three-acre estate would require no less than two hundred thousand silver coins – something they could never afford. Such a grand sum!
Without a change in expression, Li Weiyi withdrew his gaze and said coolly, “Where are my men?” Tang Yan gestured with his hand. Four of the Long Lin Bang members in black then brought over Zhao Zhizhu on a palanquin and helped him to stand before Li Weiyi.
Zhao Zhizhu’s injuries had been treated; his dislocated arms had been reset, though it was still evident that he had suffered inhuman treatment. Li Weiyi waved his hand, signaling Old Liu and Old Guan to help him down. The four Long Lin Bang members who had brought Zhao Zhizhu all knelt on the ground, kowtowing and pleading with terrified expressions.
Clearly, they were the ones who had left Zhao Zhizhu in such a state. Li Weiyi lifted his head and fixed his sharp, sword-like gaze on Tang Yan. Tang Yan waved his hand and said, “They have made a mistake, and indeed must pay the price.
Break off all their arms and legs, and let them fend for themselves.” After the four were dragged away, there followed a series of shrill, agonized screams and the crashing sound of bones shattering. Li Weiyi felt neither pity nor sympathy.
In Long Lin Bang’s way, hardly anyone in the gang was a good person. Whatever fate they met was entirely deserved.
“With such sincerity from the Deputy Leader, I, Xie Jin, will gladly accept this deed,” Li Weiyi continued.
“But I worry that one dark night, a similar incident might happen again…”
From within the courtyard came Zhao Meng’s roar, as mighty as a tiger’s howl and a dragon’s cry, “Then we’ll fight Long Lin Bang, settle our differences, and see who is truly stronger.” Tang Yan’s eyes darkened slightly.
If it hadn’t already escalated to this point, if it hadn’t been that the young miss on their side had managed to smooth things over, and if it hadn’t been that these two might even have the backing of the Cang Li… how could Long Lin Bang tolerate such humiliation?
With a smile, Tang Yan assured, “Rest assured, from now on nothing like this will occur again. May I ask, is Master Qi doing well?” Li Weiyi continued to keep that white-robed odd fellow around, feeling that he was a Bug Tamer of some significant value—a potential bargaining chip in negotiations with Long Lin Bang.
Originally, he had planned to use him in exchange for Zhao Zhizhu. Now, however, Li Weiyi had a new idea: “So the old fellow is still alive. Deputy Leader, how much silver are you willing to exchange him for?”
Tang Yan internally cursed Li Weiyi’s greed, but thinking that the other side only dared to rent an estate even in the suburbs, it was clear they were broke. If it could be solved with silver coins, then it wasn’t much of an issue. This time, they would first let it pass!
After some haggling, Tang Yan eventually redeemed Master Qi for one hundred thousand silver coins. When Tang Yan later learned that the redemption only returned Master Qi, and not those armored spiders, his face turned an angry shade of green.
Li Weiyi stood up and looked toward the grand procession of Long Lin Bang members coming in and then departing just as grandly, exuding an aura that said he was not to be trifled with; he loudly declared, “A word of advice, Deputy Leader – it would be best not to assign anyone to monitor us.
If I discover it, I will personally send the corpses back to Long Lin Bang.” Tang Yan, already a hundred paces away, his chest heaving violently, his eyes full of murderous intent. Shi Chuanyu said, “Deputy Leader, did you notice the strength of that person in the courtyard?”
Tang Yan replied, “It can be confirmed – he is undoubtedly of the Five Seas Realm. He ingested the blood of two types of ancient immortal beasts. Didn’t you notice it yesterday?”
Shi Chuanyu hurriedly explained, “Yesterday he deliberately concealed his cultivation level, his divine radiance subdued. With my realm… Ah, my own cultivation isn’t enough…
I admit my error…” Tang Yan’s face turned serious as he said, “Abnormal races can only drink the second type of ancient immortal beast’s blood upon reaching the Five Seas Realm, except for those with unique constitutions. But those individuals are even rarer than those with Pure Immortal Bodies and are of no reference value.”
“Could we really just let this go? The price we’ve paid tonight is far too high,” Shi Chuanyu said, unwilling to accept the situation.
Tang Yan replied, “First, we must find out their true connection with the Cang Li. Should the ties be deep, then not only tonight but in the future, they will pay a terrible price. And if the connection is shallow, then surely not only openly today, but secretly as well?”
“By the way, that brat Xie Jin is likely not of the Five Seas Realm. Most probably, he is a martial cultivator capable of opening eight springs.”
Shi Chuanyu had a similar feeling; Xie Jin’s oppressive aura was far less than Zhao Meng’s. He said, “Should we publicly post his name on the Five Burials Temple, and let the Buddhas judge for us with the enemy? If we can manage to kill him, wouldn’t that at least vent some of our anger?”
The Five Burials Temple was the largest assassin organization in the underground underworld market of Nine Li City. Rumor had it that they were backed by Xu Fodu of the Coffin Mountain—the notorious one among the three great barbarian thieves in the Southern Realm.
(End of Chapter)