"Got it!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt a swell of satisfaction in his heart as he looked toward the empty spirit pond.

The 18 explosive cauldrons in the courtyard were destabilizing more and more with every passing second.

However, the young man felt a change of heart.

'Even if I blow Zhang Mansion apart, what use would it be?'

'They could recover their wealth and assets within half a day or less.'

'But for me, I'll face great difficulty trying to leave after I escape into Yuan Mansion...'

Xu Xiaoshou turned to look around in thought.

He sustained the small flame that was cooking the cauldrons from afar as he walked outward to explore. He made his way toward the corner he previously was in.

'I guess I'm the only one who would walk so far away from my alchemy cauldrons.'

Xu Xiaoshou did not feel a hint of fear in his heart as he mocked his own actions.

If the pills were to explode, he would let them explode. Moreover, under the Boiling Soup method, as long as he did not attempt to condense the pill, it would not explode under normal circumstances.

He stared at the corpse of the guard that was laying on the floor.

Xin Gugu's sneak attack had eliminated the man.

Xu Xiaoshou did not stop him. Even if he wanted to, he was too late. If he had to stop him, he doubted that he would have stopped Xin Gugu.

'People will always change.'

He sighed softly in his heart and sprung into action. He removed the guard's attire and put it on before setting the corpse on fire as a way of sending him off.

"Rest in peace."

After he completed the ceremony, he gave the attire a pat-down.

The presence emitted from his body was the mid-stage of Origin Court, and it did not differ much from the guard.

He recalled the appearance and mannerisms of the door guard in his mind. Xu Xiaoshou altered his appearance slightly and attempted to mimic the door guard by stretching his mouth wide.

Xu Xiaoshou turned back to the eastern court. He felt like a clown gazing at the building of the sick.

"Goodbye."

Stretching his hand out, he pressed the back of his hand with his right hand.

"Activate, condensing method of infernal heavens!"

...

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Under the veil of the pitch-black night, the thundering sounds of over a dozen explosions were heard in succession and sent the ground shaking madly.

The success of the Red Gold Pill alchemy had shattered the windows of the Pill Pagoda and sent Yun He flying to the ceiling.

For the Spiritual Cultivation Pill, it had exploded close to half of the Pill Pagoda. Its wild and intense flames had almost engulfed the Pill Pagoda into nothingness.

The sheer terror that the explosions were capable of was completely unimaginable. The 18 copies of pills were made from Innate Pill ingredients that Xu Xiaoshou felt pained to use, but it seemed to have paid off.

He had taken the route away from the eastern court and was a distance away from the explosions.

The frightening presence of the explosion suddenly disappeared.

Xu Xiaoshou stood still.

The reason behind this was the presence of his Toughness.

He could withstand the impact, but the ground beneath him was not as strong.

The ground started to crack and split. The pieces of the earth and the snapped trunks of the spirit trees were lifted into the air. Within seconds, the impact had devasted the entire eastern court.

The houses collapsed, and the space was filled with all types of noises.

The air around him was murky and rose up to form a large grey mushroom cloud that completely covered the moonlight.

The world of Zhang Mansion had been blown to bits. Even those on Nantian Street and at the City Lord Mansion, as well as the many other powerful forces, were immediately drawn toward the direction of the explosion.

...

Inside the Pill Pagoda tower…

Shi Ti was borrowing the guise of the night to repair the seven layers of barrier outside of the wall.

The elder jumped in fright as he overheard the familiar sounds of the explosion.

The nightmare during the daytime had not passed in its entirety. Now, the nightmare had returned before he could even get into bed.

'Zhang family?'

'Ha-ha, looks like it's not just me who has bad luck!'

'It looks like Tiansang City won't be that peaceful for a while! Better fix up these barriers fast!'

...

City Lord Mansion…

The sounds of the explosions traveled to Fu Xing as well. The sounds slightly alarmed him. However, he dismissed his personal anxieties immediately.

"That should be from the direction of the Zhang family. Did they provoke any strong powers?" Fu Xing whispered to himself.

The lady with an excellent physique next to him turned toward the direction of the explosion as well.

"Young Master Fu, judging from this sound, it does not seem to be purely a battle between Master Stage individuals. There might be a possibility that it is a battle between new Sovereigns."

"Should we go over and take a look?"

Liu Qing was the one who asked. She had already healed from the previous battle with the scruffy-looking man thanks to the power of the City Lord Mansion.

She had full confidence in her abilities if she were to join in a battle again.

"There's no need."

Fu Xing replied with a dismissive wave, "The area of the Zhang family belonged to them alone. Besides, only people of the Zhang family reside there."

"If we went over and it was no big issue but something trivial, they might get upset with us and call us meddlesome."

"If it was a battle that they require assistance in, they would definitely ask so in that case..."

Fu Xing's lips curled upward. He continued with a smile. "Say no more in that case."

Liu Qing nodded but her gaze was fixated on the scene in the distance. Her face showed a hint of worry.

Her female instincts told her that the best method at the moment was to rush to the scene and eliminate the threat before it grew.

Yet, if Young Master Fu had said so and with much logic, she wondered if she truly had overthought the situation.

"This should not be any big problem.

"The rise in the number of people coming into the city lately must be the reason. Some of them could be those with a bad temperament."

She nodded to herself.

"Yeah, that should be the case."

...

Nantian Street: Small Manor…

"Has it started?"

Mu Zixi pouted her lips and stared at the mushroom cloud in the distance.

Others who chanced upon this view would have interpreted this as a final move in a battle.

With the chorus of explosions, the battle would come to its end and close quietly.

However, being Xu Xiaoshou's junior sister she was the only one who was acutely aware that this usually signaled a beginning.

Jumping off from the roof, she knocked her head slightly.

"Eh, come out and talk!"

...

The scene shifted to within the great hall of Zhang Mansion.

Peace and tranquility continued to persist within the great hall.

Zhang Xinxiong's friend, who was summoned for interrogation, had been slightly late in his arrival, but it was not something to be alarmed about.

Zhang Mansion was large and incredibly glorious. Its appearance was good enough for anyone who had not traveled the world to stop in their tracks. It was true that even if there was a guide, they would be captivated too.

The terrifying explosion had completely broken the moments of silence amongst the court in the great hall.

"What's happening?"

The people within the hall stood up immediately. All around, everyone had expressions full of shock.

"That sound… Was it an explosion in Zhang Mansion?"

A voice asked in shock, "Could it be that Elder Dai was practicing alchemy and caused a cauldron explosion?"

"Did water get into your head? Cauldrons exploding is a side effect. From of this alone, it is sure that someone launched an attack against us the Zhang family!"

"But who are our enemies?"

"..."

The question left every person speechless.

The individual had subtly expressed the thoughts, but the sentiment was felt by all those around him.

What the words actually meant were quite different.

It was rather a question of who among the massive amount of enemies the Zhang family had was behind the attack.

Zhang Taiying furrowed his brows intensely and inhaled deeply.

The issue with Xu Xiaoshou had been a pain in his neck recently. Now, there was someone who dared to attack the Zhang family in these crucial times.

"Death to them!"

Although he knew enemy forces who had plotted to ruin the Zhang family's plans for expansion, to witness an actual explosion attack was anger-provoking. He felt extremely annoyed.

"Slam!"

Zhang Taiying slammed his hand on the table and yelled in fury.

"Who did this? Find them immediately!"