~~~

When the attack hits, Xiao Zheng’s first reaction is to protect the Xiao Sect.

The Xiao Sect’s compound is more than a collection of buildings. It is more than impenetrable walls and imposing gates. Multiple types of defenses have been layered into the structure over the centuries, and all it takes is a single push of Xiao Zheng’s will for a translucent barrier to come into existence around the compound. As fire rains from the sky, not a single spark touches the Xiao Sect.

Xiao Zheng’s second reaction is to zero in on the one he believes is the most likely culprit, Yun Peng.

That is a mistake.

Xiao Zheng is acting on instinct. When faced with an attack of this magnitude, it is only natural for his mind to immediately assign blame to his biggest rival. Even so, it is the wrong conclusion, something Xiao Zheng is quick to discover. The moment in which his consciousness reaches out to Yun Peng is the moment in which he feels Yun Peng doing the same as him. Just like Xiao Zheng, Yun Peng is trying to verify who the culprit is.

At that moment, the leaders of the two most powerful Sects in Eastern Port City experience shock and bewilderment in equal measures.

If neither the Xiao Sect nor the Yun Sect is behind the attack, then this must be the work of an outsider. It is a revelation that has several implications, none of which are good. Both leaders come to the same conclusion at the same moment and turn away from each other, their momentary connection severed.

The entire exchange lasts no more than a few seconds, yet in those precious seconds, Eastern Port City is left suffering the brunt of the attack. Indignation rises within Xiao Zheng. Eastern Port City is his.

An insult like this shall not go unpunished.

Void Fist!

The power of Xiao Zheng’s Void Fist is far beyond that of his son’s. It engulfs the skies and extinguishes the flames in the blink of an eye.

It would be good, Xiao Zheng muses, if the rest of the night could be as simple as this. However, he does not believe he will be that lucky.

“Xiao Nan,” Xiao Zheng’s mind calls out to his nephew as he rises to his feet. “We are under attack by outsiders.”

“What shall you have me to do?”

Xiao Nan’s reply is quick and resolute. He has grasped the situation and is ready to carry out his orders. Not for the first time Xiao Zheng feels proud of his nephew. If Xiao Zheng weren’t so certain Xiao Nan would be thoroughly miserable in the position, he’d have made him his successor already. Alas, it is not to be. Xiao Nan would make a good Patriarch. Of that, there has never been any doubt, but the mental state the position would place him in would prevent Xiao Nan from reaching his full potential. A pity, but cases like Xiao Nan’s are not unheard of. One just needs to look at the Eternal Raging Valley’s Wandering Wind.

“I am giving you command of the disciples. Organize them as you see fit. The Elders will act at their own discretion.”

“Understood!”

No doubt. No hesitation. As expected of his nephew. Xiao Zheng cuts off the mental link before sending out specific instructions to each of the Elders.

Then he breaks through the ceilings.

Not just one ceiling, but every single ceiling on his way out of the main house. Xiao Zheng’s body rises into the night’s sky with unmatched speed, crossing tens of miles in less than a second. Just in time too. Xiao Zheng’s eyes narrow as he feels deadly intent aimed at Eastern Port City. Then they narrow further when he feels the power behind that intent.

It is the power of a cultivator in the Emperor Realm.

Void Step.

In an instant, the space separating Xiao Zheng from his foe is cast into the void. Xiao Zheng barely has a moment to see the attacker’s eyes widen in surprise before he strikes.

Xiao Zheng’s punch is backed by the power of someone in the Second Level of the Emperor Realm. The ensuing shockwave would have flattened every building in Eastern Port City had they not been so many miles above the ground.

Yet, the only thing Xiao Zheng’s punch accomplishes is knocking his opponent back a few yards.

“Good! Good! Good!” The outsider, a giant man dressed in a black and gold armor that looks ill-suited to contain his mighty muscles, shouts. His lips are pulled back in a wide grin, visible in spite of his thick, black beard and prominent mustache which have joined together in an attempt to take over the rest of his face. “That’s how it should be! It would be disappointing if this city couldn’t put at least this much of a fight!”

The man’s Qi blazes around him, and just like that, Xiao Zheng realizes the situation is far more dangerous than he could have imagined.

“Fierce God Raging Whip!”

A lash of white-hot flames several miles long erupts in the sky and is swung down with merciless force. If Xiao Zheng dodges, the attack will strike the city. Against that level of power, even the barrier surrounding the Xiao Sect’s compound won’t be enough. The only option Xiao Zheng has is to counter the attack.

“Engulfing Void!”

Unlike Void Fist, which distorts the space around an opponent to cause damage, Engulfing Void is a primarily defensive technique that seeks to engulf the enemy’s attacks to reduce them to nothing. It is among the Xiao Sect’s best defensive moves and requires a tremendous level of skill to use. Even someone as talented as Xiao Nan needed a long time to learn the technique.

Against the Fierce God Raging Whip, Xiao Zheng’s Engulfing Void is not enough.

Over three-fourths of the attack are negated, yet the rest spills over and continues its path down towards the city.

“Severing Palm!”

Space is severed in a microsecond. The attack which only needed to travel in a straight line to hit the city suddenly finds itself without a route forward. A path towards its target no longer exists because it has been severed.

“Nine-Fold Severed World!”

The technique is one that Xiao Zheng has seen twice before in his life, yet this is the first time he has ever felt grateful for it. By completely cutting off an area from the rest of the world, an alternate space is created. That is the Yun Sect’s Nine-Fold Severed World.

They will not need to worry about collateral damage while in this space.

“I must admit some surprise. I was not counting on your support.”

Yun Peng snorts as he flies over to Xiao Zheng’s side. “Good. I had no intention of giving it. Nothing would make me happier than your death. However, the destruction of Eastern Port City is not something I wish for. Clearly, you cannot guarantee that.”

Xiao Zheng failed to stop the Fierce God Raging Whip completely. Thus, Yun Peng had acted.

However, even Yun Peng’s intervention had been unable to stop the attack entirely. A minor fraction of it had overcome the speed of his Severing Palm. Doubtlessly, Eastern Port City has been struck by it already. The damage it has caused is something they can only speculate.

“Instead of being surprised by my presence, you should kowtow before me in thanks. Clearly, the Xiao Sect has no manners.”

“The Yun Sect speaks of manners? I see some people truly have no shame.”

“Shame? Oh, I do know shame. I am ashamed of having to join forces with you! My ancestors must surely be weeping right now for this grievous loss of face.”

“If anyone’s ancestors are weeping, then they are doubtlessly mine. Still, I suppose you have your uses. It is good luck this attack happened today and not later. In a few months, you’d have already been dead by my hand.”

“Months? In one month, I’d have killed you for sure!”

Xiao Zheng and Yun Peng. They are the leaders of the strongest Sects in the city, yet now, they bicker like children.

At least, that is what it looks like.

Throughout their entire exchange, the two never once look at each other. They never once take their eyes off their opponent.

Yun Peng is in the Ninth Level of the Renegade Realm.

Xiao Zheng is in the Second Level of the Emperor Realm.

“What’s this? Murong Bang stands before you, yet you fight with each other instead! Ha! I cannot recall the last time I was taken this lightly.”

This outsider… this… Murong Bang…He is in the Fifth Level of the Emperor Realm.

Murong Bang has the advantage, and he knows it. The reason why Xiao Zheng and Yun Peng have been able to trade barbs is that Murong Bang has allowed them to do so. He is content to wait until they attack.

“You are quite flippant for someone who has committed an act of war,” Xiao Zheng says. “Tell me, why is a general from the Storm Dragon Empire attacking our Eastern Port City?”

Murong Bang laughs.

“You can tell that much? I wonder. Has the great Murong Bang finally become famous?!”

“Do not take us for fools,” Yun Peng scoffs. “Armor made from Dragon Scale Metal and Tearful Gold? What else can you be but a general of the Storm Dragon Empire?”

Reliable information from the Storm Dragon Empire is hard to come by. Not because the country is any good at keeping its secrets hidden, but rather because it is a chaotic, ever-changing place. However, if there is one aspect of the country that has not changed over the years is that armor made from Dragon Scale Metal and Tearful Gold is reserved for high-ranking members of the army. For centuries, the Storm Dragon Empire has kept a tight hold of those metals, and even its collapse into anarchy hadn’t changed this one truth.

“Tell me, has the Storm Dragon ordered this?”

“The Storm Dragon?” Murong Bang makes a confused face then throws his head back and roars with laughter. “As if the current emperor is worthy of a name like that! No! Someone like that is not worthy of loyalty. This Murong Bang certainly does not need his permission to act!”

Xiao Zheng frowns. Does that mean…? No, surely not.

No one would be so brazen.

“I am Murong Bang! One of the Three Heavenly Generals of the Storm Dragon Empire! I go where I wish and attack who I wish! This city! If I want to see it reduced to ashes, why should I hold back?!”

“You utter fool!” Yun Peng thunders, his Qi raging around him. “You imbecile! Do you not have any concept of what you have unleashed? Do you not understand the ramifications of your actions!”

There is a reason why Sects are not in a constant state of open warfare.

They’d destroy each other.

Sure, one Sect would eventually prevail over the others, but it’d do so after losing so much that one could hardly call it a victory. That is why Sects rarely confront each other directly. Instead, they scheme, compete, and maneuver themselves into advantageous positions.

However, Murong Bang has attacked Eastern Port City without a care in the world. He has attacked the Xiao Sect and the Yun Sect. Furthermore, he is a general of the Storm Dragon Empire who has attacked a territory that belongs to the Crimson Cloud Empire.

For a war between the two countries to erupt as a result of this attack is not impossible.

“Do not start saying such boring things.” For the first time, Murong Bang looks and sounds annoyed. He tosses his helmet aside, letting his wild hair flow freely. “Ramifications? You people are so fond of that word, but it just makes the great Murong Bang want to puke. Tell me something, the way you two countered my Fierce God Raging Whip, that was the first time in decades you’ve used that much power. Am I right?”

Neither Xiao Zheng nor Yun Peng say anything.

For Murong Bang, that is enough of an answer.

“Ha! Isn’t that ridiculous? To have so much power and not use it? How can people so powerful be so stupid? You sit around plotting and scheming. Always so afraid of anything resembling risk that you abandon yourself to inaction. Disgusting! Your schemes.Your alliances. Your games. The same disgusting things repeating themselves over and over.”

Murong Bang’s Qi flares with anger. White embers lick against his skin.

“Let me tell you what will happen. Tonight, this city will disappear. People will notice. It’ll take some time, but they will. You’ll point fingers at each other like children, but a few fingers will be pointed in the right direction. However, your empire is too mired in schemes to ever dare do something that looks remotely like taking action. You fear being attacked by your thousand tenuous allies so much that you’ll not dare attack an obvious enemy!”

The embers around Murong Bang have grown into a raging flame that cloaks his entire body.

“I am attacking you now because I want to! I will kill you all because I wish to! If there are any consequences to my actions, I will face them with overwhelming power! That is the only thing that is needed!”

Dangerous. There is no other way to describe this man. Murong Bang is a cultivator stripped of any pretense of civility. A savage who will live and die by martial might alone.

His philosophy is simplicity itself, yet it is that simplicity that makes him so dangerous.

“If you wish to save what is yours, then try to kill me! That is the only thing you can do.”

Murong Bang’s smile stretches into a mad grin.

“Do your best. Fight until you die and become kindling for me!”

~~~