“How dare you!” snarled the old man in cyan when Wanfeng called him an enemy agent and came at him with the bamboo stick. “This seat is an arcane immortal and an enforcer of the Sovereign Meet. It would be one thing if your master were here in person, but a little junior like you will not talk with such disrespect! This seat will teach you a lesson in your master’s stead, young woman. You will learn to respect your elders and superiors!”

He grabbed unceremoniously at the bamboo stick.

“Ha!” Wanfeng scoffed, emerald radiance flaring out of her eyes. Her bamboo stick dodged the old man’s hand like it’d come to life, and snaked around to hit him squarely on the forehead.

Whack!

The arcane immortal howled in pain, his cultivation instantly repressed to the nothing of a mortal’s, leaving him lightheaded.

“Teach me a lesson in my master’s stead? No one other than milord is in any place to do that!” Wanfeng took swing after swing at the peerless immortal with her bamboo stick.

The stick contained a special power that suppressed one’s ability to fight back. Even being a mighty arcane immortal didn’t afford him any breathing space from the weapon. Round and round he stumbled, reeling from the blows of the bamboo stick under everyone’s shocked gaze.

You can do that to an arcane immortal?

The old man was one of the enforcers of the Sovereign Meet and had a duty to maintain order in the event. However, he was receiving a thorough beating right before the event commenced!

Enthusiasm for the Sovereign Meet suddenly dwindled greatly as the event abruptly lost a lot of shine. If it weren’t for the great rewards, many would’ve considered pulling out.

“The Sovereign Meet is holy, and the lord enforcer’s authority should be honored. How dare you commit such disrespect?! Monster spirits, join me in taking this cretin down!” The declaration came from the Silvermoon Wolfking, who was now leading the monster spirits in a charge toward Wanfeng.

Close to a hundred monster spirits followed after it and attacked with various combat arts and treasures, kaleidoscopic scintillation flashing from their bodies.

“You won’t hurt my senior sister!” The girl in a black dress who Wanfeng had been shielding sneered and stepped out of Wanfeng’s shadow, her hands forming a seal.

There was a gust of wind, and then...

“Dastardly monster spirits, how dare you throw your weight around like this in human territory? Do you think we humans will just roll over and take it? We kill!!” A few human cultivators lunged at the monster spirits with bloodshot eyes.

“Come back here, junior brother!”

“Senior brother, what’s with you?”

Their brethren’s abrupt charge caught some other cultivators by surprise. A beat behind, they hurriedly ran after their suddenly crazed companions.

Conflict started anew. Humans and monster spirits were dragged into another chaotic brawl, shattering the short-lived truce. The goal of the monster spirits was clear: the human void realm cultivator must not be allowed to reach maturity.

……

“Your little lover is in danger.”

Lu Yun and Qing Han were staying out of the chaotic melee. Although the girl in the black dress possessed a powerful entrancement art, it wasn’t enough to influence the two.

“Jealous?” Lu Yun turned to Qing Han and grinned merrily.

Qing Han didn’t dignify that with a response. Fine, fine, he somehow knows already. Can’t he just, well, pretend not to know?

“Don’t worry, Wanfeng will be fine. The treasure in her hand is enough to sweep away every opponent.” Lu Yun stroked his chin and whispered into Qing Han’s ear, “On the other hand, if we expose our identities, we’ll probably be taken out immediately. There’s more than one dao immortal observing everything here, waiting for us two to show up.”

Feeling Lu Yun’s hot breath hitting her ears made Qing Han fidget awkwardly.

Indeed, a strong presence descended from the sky as soon as Lu Yun spoke, separating the clashing human and monster cultivators.

“What’s going on here? What is the meaning of all this?!” A tall and burly immortal in golden armor strode down from the sky, scanning his surroundings with sharp eyes like those of a bird of prey. His aura as a dao immortal was on full display. “Explain yourself, Su Heng!”

Su Heng, the arcane immortal that’d become Wanfeng’s new punching bag, sat on the ground in a daze with empty eyes. He struggled to alertness when the dao immortal in golden armor demanded an answer.

Smack!

Before he could say anything, Wanfeng swept him down to the ground again.

Lu Yun rubbed his forehead. “She didn’t learn that from me!”

Qing Han gave him a sideways glance. “But I seem to remember her being your number one minion back when you were the greatest troublemaker in Dusk Province.”

Lu Yun hunched his back and didn’t respond.

Wanfeng normally appeared to be a gentle and delicate girl, but when it came to her bottom line, unusual ferocity would explode in defense of her principles.

……

“Allow me to explain.” Wanfeng grasped her bamboo stick lightly and answered softly, “This man tried to kill my junior sister.”

“Kill your junior sister?” The golden-armored dao immortal scowled when he saw Wanfeng knock down Su Heng, but he hesitated when he took a better look at the bamboo stick in her hand.

The girl in black shrank behind Wanfeng’s back.

“Are you sure the holy girl of the Star Demon Sect is your junior sister?” The dao immortal glowered at the girl in black. “Since when did your master turn into a villain running with the Star Demon Sect?”

Those in Destiny City only knew Wanfeng’s master as a mysterious heavyweight. He’d arrived at the city a few days ago and had taken down scores of arcane dao immortals with his bamboo stick. As a result, many powerhouses of the world had developed a healthy fear of bamboo sticks.

The dao immortal in golden armor was under the city lord’s personal command. Although he was wary of Wanfeng’s master, he wasn’t afraid of the mysterious man. After all, the city lord of Destiny was one of the greatest immortals in the world. Even Zhao Fengyang, the previous Nephrite Celestial Emperor, had once sought guidance from the city lord.

“Who she is doesn’t change the fact that she’s my junior sister. As for the Star Demon Sect...” Wanfeng paused. “If you think my master is a member, I won’t deny it.”

Her master, Lu Yun, was the head of the Star Demon Sect! Wanfeng would love it if Wayfarer joined the Star Demon Sect, so why would she deny it?

“Witches from the Star Demon Sect are to be dealt with!” The golden-armored dao immortal scowled and prepared to strike.

“Hold!” another voice interjected suddenly. “The Sovereign Meet is commencing soon. In Destiny City, all living beings in the world of immortals, be they human, monster spirit, divine, or demonic, are equal here—members of the Star Demon Sect and other major factions included.“

The new speaker was a young man in silver armor. He wore it with an uncommon grace and genteel presence. He seemed to garner the favor of heaven and earth simply by existing, and people couldn’t help but look at him.

“Milord!” The dao immortal bowed to the young man in silver armor. This young man was the city lord’s disciple and a void realm cultivator.

“At ease.” The young man nodded slightly. “Who started this? Who caused the conflict between the monster spirits and human cultivators?”