“Are you here to seek revenge on me?” Lin Xiao asked, his expression turning slightly cold as he looked at the furious Mo Yi.
“That’s right!” Mo Yi replied with a snarl, his face twisting with rage. A murderous intent surged in his eyes. “Lin Xiao, the humiliation from that day—I’ll make you pay it all back today!”
“A bunch of defeated losers dare to talk so big!” Ling Hu roared, stepping forward with a fierce glare directed at Mo Yi. “No need for the boss to step in—I’ll handle this guy myself!”
Before Lin Xiao could respond, Mo Yi’s fury erupted at being insulted. He bellowed, “What are you, anyway? Who gave you the right to speak here?”
“Let’s see if I have the right—try me!” Ling Hu’s figure surged forward like a ferocious tiger or lion, unleashing a wave of overwhelming power. His fist seemed to pierce the air itself as it smashed towards Mo Yi with brutal force.
The sheer dominance of the attack made Mo Xuan and Mo Chang’s expressions shift. They’d been caught off guard by Ling Hu before, and now his strength had grown even further.
The gaunt middle-aged man standing silently to the side also grew solemn. It was clear this young man was exceptionally strong—enough to give him a sense of trouble.
Facing Ling Hu’s ferocious strike, Mo Yi didn’t dodge. An incredibly powerful aura burst forth from him, sweeping in all directions and crashing into Ling Hu.
“Martial King!” Ling Hu’s face changed drastically as he sensed the aura.
He could clearly feel that this opponent’s power far surpassed his own, unmistakably beyond the Heavenly Martial realm.
“Get lost!” Mo Yi’s fist shot out, as if it could shatter the very space around it, colliding heavily with Ling Hu’s punch.
*Boom!*
A loud crash rang out as wild energy waves exploded outward. Ling Hu was forcibly knocked back by the overwhelming force.
“Martial King! Mo Yi has actually stepped into the Martial King realm!” The Tianmen disciples’ expressions shifted, shock spreading across their faces.
Mo Yi had been a three-star disciple at Saint Yuan Academy, already formidable among ninth-level Heavenly Martial disciples. Now, having broken through to Martial King, his strength had undergone a earth-shaking transformation.
The gap between Martial King and ninth-level Heavenly Martial was immense.
Even their leader, Lin Xiao, might not be able to win as easily as he had before.
As Mo Yi’s Martial King aura radiated outward, even the gaunt middle-aged man’s expression changed. A Martial King needing their cooperation? The opponents were just Heavenly Martial cultivators—surely not that difficult to handle.
Since he was a Martial King, wouldn’t their Snake Valley crew end up as mere hired muscle for nothing?
His glance towards Mo Yi now carried a trace of wariness.
“So you’ve broken through to Martial King—no wonder you dared to show up!” Ling Hu’s eyes narrowed, his fists clenching tightly. “But even if you’re a Martial King, defeating me won’t be that easy!”
With that, a wild, domineering power surged within him, his aura skyrocketing. His eyes locked onto Mo Yi, ready to go head-to-head.
But just as Ling Hu was about to charge, a hand rested on his shoulder, and a calm voice spoke, “Let me handle this.”
It was none other than Lin Xiao. He gazed at Mo Yi ahead, two cold glints flashing in his eyes. “I’ll make everyone understand that breaking through to Martial King doesn’t mean you can come settle scores with Tianmen!”
“Hmph, big words! But today, I’ll show you the difference between Heavenly Martial and Martial King,” Mo Yi sneered icily. “Just like in the past—no one from the Lanlan Empire has ever made it alive into Saint Yuan Academy’s inner court.”
*Whoosh!* A wave of killing intent erupted from Lin Xiao. He’d learned about this from Mo Jiuxiao: due to the Mo Yu Empire’s targeting, the geniuses sent by the Lanlan Empire had all perished.
Later, to avoid such losses, the Lanlan Empire stopped sending talents to Saint Yuan Academy.
This was not only a humiliation for the Lanlan Empire but also cost them the chance to enter such a prestigious academy, weakening their strength in the long run.
“Thanks for the reminder. In that case, I’ll clean up this generation—and the last—of the Mo Yu Empire’s geniuses one by one!” Lin Xiao flipped his hand, gripping a longsword—the very one he’d taken from Mo Xuan as a trophy.
Seeing the sword again, Mo Xuan’s face flushed with anger. It remained a mark of his shame, though he currently lacked the strength to reclaim it himself.
“Clean them up one by one? What a joke! Figure out your own situation first!” Mo Yi drew a black sword, his piercing gaze fixed on Lin Xiao as he barked, “Attack! Wipe out everyone from Tianmen!”
“Let’s see who wipes out who—kill them!” Lin Xiao’s eyes flashed with cold light. With his command, Tianmen’s disciples—all far from ordinary—weren’t about to be scared off by a single first-level Martial King.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!* Powerful auras erupted from both sides, waves of killing intent filling the air. The entire space buzzed with the atmosphere of slaughter.
But just then, an immense, overpowering aura swept over both groups. It was several times stronger than Mo Yi’s, startling everyone and forcing them to halt.
“Everyone, causing such a ruckus in Black Wind City might not be wise. Three days from now, the Junzang auction will be held here. I hope you’ll all give me some face and settle this another way,” a detached voice spoke. Then, a black-haired old man appeared, flying in on wings of primal energy and hovering above the crowd.
“The Black Wind City lord!” Seeing the old man, Qing Yun’s eyes flared with cold fury, her gaze locking onto him. Her body even trembled slightly.
“Calm down!” Lin Xiao discreetly patted the back of Qing Yun’s hand, whispering a barely audible warning.
Qing Yun snapped back to her senses, quietly exhaling in relief. Thankfully, Lin Xiao had reminded her—otherwise, she might have been noticed by the city lord.
Fortunately, she and her brother had left secretly years ago, and no one in the city lord’s mansion knew their identities or paid attention to such minor figures.
Her father’s imprisonment had only happened after his recent return. If not for the precaution he’d taken, their identities—and the real key—would have been exposed.
The gaunt middle-aged man from Snake Valley narrowed his eyes. Normally, the city lord’s mansion ignored disputes between outside factions in the city. Why had they intervened today?
If the two sides didn’t fight, he’d end up with nothing to gain.
“The Black Wind City lord!” Mo Yi’s gaze hardened as he saw the city lord step in to stop them, his eyes brimming with unwillingness and killing intent.
But it was clear the city lord’s cultivation was at the third level of Martial King—far stronger than him.
And this was the city lord’s territory, backed by a fourth-tier beginner spirit controller. If things escalated, they’d be at a disadvantage.
After a pause, Mo Yi finally spoke, “The city lord is absolutely right. This is Black Wind City’s turf—we wouldn’t dare disrespect you.”
With that, his murderous gaze sliced towards Lin Xiao. “But if you want us to avoid a big fight, fine. Letting this go peacefully, though? That’s not happening.”
