~~~

Rumbling Thunder City is the seat of General Nie Dan’s power.

The city is built on top of the mountain it is named after and sprawls all the way down. The oldest and wealthiest parts of the city are high up. One can find large houses, open streets, parks, and all sorts of luxuries there. There are even artificial waterways running around the mountain.

As one goes down, the houses get smaller and the streets dirtier, though that does not mean the people there are poor. Far from it. Rumbling Thunder City is one of the wealthiest cities in the Storm Dragon Empire, comparable to any major city of the Crimson Cloud Empire. Thanks to General Dan, the people do not need to worry about the war or fear being attacked by opportunistic bandits.

The rest of the empire is not so lucky.

To avoid causing any panic, the Eternal Flame Clan’s delegation lands two miles away from the city. While they did inform General Dan of their visit and its purpose ahead of time, Liu Jin doubts anyone expects their delegation to be so big. The average citizen has probably never seen a single flying vehicle before today, let alone over a hundred. It is better to err on the side of caution.

They draw lots to decide on a messenger and send him to announce their arrival. While the unlucky chosen runs, the rest continues at a more sedate pace, keeping the flame-wheeled wagons only two feet above the ground. By the time they make it to the city, the gates have been opened, and the people of Rumbling Thunder City have come out to greet them.

Only ten wagons cross the gates as there is little point in seeking accommodations for everyone. Only those whose presence in the city is essential will go in. The rest will camp outside, though considering how comfortable and spacious some of the wagons are, it can hardly be called camping.

The main street goes from the city gates to the top of the mountain, all in a single straight line. It takes over an hour to reach the end. They could have done it in less than a minute, but the celebration gets in the way. People from all over the city have come to watch. They stand on both sides of the street and cheer for them as they pass by.

Liu Jin supposes this is an unusual event for them. Delegations from the Eternal Flame Clan have come here in the past, but never in such numbers and never quite so dramatically. Some of the younger disciples, caught in the excitement, open the windows to wave back at the people. A few even stand on the roof of the wagons.

Someone, most likely the City Lord, has arranged an orchestra to play and accompany them on their way to the top. There are also fireworks, though the daylight makes them not as impressive as they could be.

At the top of the mountain is a mansion with cobalt blue roofs and white walls with gold flowers painted on them. Liu Jin can detect three sensory barriers around the structure, three conditional barriers that will activate when any of the sensory barriers are triggered, and three inactive barriers that need to be manually activated. The barriers are constructed so each one increases the power of the next, achieving maximum power when all nine are working simultaneously.

“Welcome, guests from the Eternal Flame Clan. It is truly a pleasure to have you here.”

The one who welcomes them is not General Nie Dan. His Qi is far too weak for it to be him. The man is only in the Earth Realm and barely at that. Most likely, he is the City Lord of Rumbling Thunder City. He wears white and blue robes adorned with gold. His face is wide but not fat, and there are many laugh lines around his mouth.

He is not laughing right now.

There is a smile on his face as he greets them, but it is too tight to be natural, and there is no hiding the beads of sweat on his brow.

“Greetings, City Lord Chu,” Mud says before anyone else in their delegation can do so. He gets a dirty look from Feng Zhi and from a black-haired Core Disciple from the Exploration Division. “We are overwhelmed by your hospitality. Truly, the reputation of Rumbling Thunder City as the gem of the Storm Dragon Empire is well-earned.”

The smile on City Lord Chu’s face becomes a little more genuine. “It is General Nie that is to thank for the state of the city. I am but a humble steward of his grace.”

“A good steward is worth his weight in gold,” Mud replies, making Liu Jin’s eyebrows rise. Looking at him now, no one would guess what Mud’s usual mannerisms are like.

“Thank you! Thank you! I am not worthy of those words,” the City Lord says, bowing his head multiple times. “Please, come inside. General Nie is waiting for you.”

And therein lies the issue.

Genera Dan did not come out to greet them.That reveals much about the General’s attitude towards their visit.

Oh well, Liu Jin always knew this wouldn’t be easy.

~~~

A banquet has been prepared for them in the main hall with all sorts of important city officials. Three long, rectangular tables have been arranged in a U-shape, and the servants move about in the middle, bringing all sorts of delicious food. There is also music and scantily-clad dancers, though Liu Jin does not pay them much attention.

General Dan is in the room.

He sits at the center table. He is a tall, muscular man who does not look at all at home in the dark robes he wears. Perhaps if his robes were armor, they would fit him better. His hair is dark and short except for his large sideburns. His eyes are bright blue, and a thin scar runs from his forehead to his chin.

Despite the ongoing festivities, there is not even a hint of a smile on his face.

He is in the Fifth Level of the Emperor Realm.

Liu Jin is not sure if that should be surprising. To the people of this country, General Dan is one of the three major powers. Yet, from the perspective of the Eternal Flame Clan, he is only on the same level as an Elder of one of the four main divisions.

Even though he’s holding back his power to allow the celebration to take place, his presence hangs over the room. However, it is nothing compared to being in the presence of all Elders of the Eternal Flame Clan at once. For Liu Jin, who has experience being in the same room as Elder Xue, General Dan’s presence is all too easy to bear. Mud and Feng Zhi likely have an easier time than him.

It puts in perspective who holds power in this alliance, not that that has ever been in doubt.

“Wonderful! Wonderful!” City Lord Chu says, standing up and clapping when the dancers finish their number. There is sauce on his cheek and some stains on his robes. He is evidently a man who enjoys eating. “Truly, our city is blessed with wonderful talent.”

“Indeed,” says the Core Disciple from the Division of External Relations. His name is Yuan Tao, though he does not seem to be related to the deceased Yuan Yi. “No matter how many times I visit, I am always left in awe of this great city.”

With a few seemingly harmless words, Yuan Tao casually insinuates he is closer to the people of Rumbling Thunder City than the rest of the delegation. Feng Zhi narrows his eyes.

“It is indeed a great city,” Feng Zhi says, bringing his cup up. “One with many great people-”

“Then why are you trying to destroy it?!”

The angry shout rips through the room. A young woman marches into the grand hall with a fierce look on her face. A group of servants watches from a few yards away in shock. Most likely, they had tried and failed to stop her.

“Daughter!” City Lord Chu rises from his seat, his face pale and wide with panic. “What are you doing here?”

“Saying what none of you dare to!” The City Lord’s daughter shouts back. If Liu Jin remembers the briefing session correctly, her name is Chu Jiayue. “We invite you to sit at our table. We welcome you with food, music, and drinks. However, you bring us nothing but calamity! The people in our territories are safe and happy, but you will have us gather all our soldiers and march until there is not a single one left!”

No one says anything. No one stops the young woman from speaking. The words she is saying are probably the words they did not dare to say.

“You praise our city, but what will happen to our peace if we follow your orders? War! You are nothing but harbingers of doom!”

“Daughter! That’s enough!” The City Lord says at last, but the damage has already been done. The festive mood is completely gone, and only cold and uncomfortable silence remains.

“Impressive.”

Feng Zhi’s voice cuts through the silence and makes all eyes turn back to him. However, his gaze does not move away from the daughter of the City Lord.

“Daughter of Rumbling Thunder City, there is much fire in you, and your courage deserves praise,” he says. “However, you misunderstand something.”

“Oh?” The daughter of the City Lord glares at him. “What am I misunderstanding?”

“That you are already at war,” Feng Zhi replies, making sour looks appear all around the room.

“You speak of the peace of Rumbling Thunder City, but what of the peace of the border territories? Why can’t they eat this delicious banquet and dance like the people of Rumbling Thunder City? The answer is simple. Because they’re at war. Every day of their lives, they’re at war. You were at war yesterday, a year ago, and the year before that. You are at war even as we speak. Will anyone here deny that?”

Once again, no one speaks.

Feng Zhi stands up and spreads his arms.

“If any of you sees us as warmongers, you are gravely mistaken. We do not come to stoke the fires of war. We’re here to snuff them out entirely.”

It says a lot about the force of Feng Zhi’s personality and Qi that the feeling in the room is swayed by his words. The people shaken by the City Lord’s daughter’s words suddenly seem more at ease.

Yuan Tao frowns.

“How can we trust those words?!” The daughter of the City Lord asks. “No matter what you say, you are asking us to place our lives in your hands!

“The men we brought are not just for show, Young Miss,” Feng Zhi remarks.

“They cannot be more than a thousand. Not even five hundred,” Chu Jiayue fires back. “It will be our soldiers who fight.”

“Each one of our men is worth more than one hundred. That I guarantee.”

“Prove it!” She says. “I challenge you! Fight me, and if you lose, you and your men will leave right now!”

“Daughter!” This time the City Lord jumps over the table and makes his way over to where his daughter is. He puts himself between her and Feng Zhi. “Please, forgive her, Young Master. Her love for the people has blinded her! She does not understand who she is speaking to. Please, understand!”

“On the contrary, I think she makes a fantastic point.”

The City Lord pales.

“How can you be expected to trust our power without seeing it?” Feng Zhi continues. “That would be ludicrous. However, it would not be right for me to fight her.”

“Of course! Of course! Naturally!” The City Lord says, latching onto those words.

“Are you running away?!”

“Daughter!” Hisses the City Lord.

“If we fought, how would that serve as an example of the strength of our men?” Feng Zhi replies calmly before aiming his next question at the room. “Do you all not agree?”

“Of course!”

“Naturally.”

“Young Master Feng Zhi speaks the truth.”

Agreement comes from all sides of the room, making the Young Miss frown.

“This is why you will fight him.”

The entire room follows Feng Zhi’s pointed finger. All except Liu Jin. He does not need to.

It is aimed right at him, after all.

~~~

“This will be a simple match,” City Lord Chu says, rubbing some sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. His daughter and Liu Jin stand in the center of the room. “It will end when one of the fighters is unable to continue, at first blood, or when one of the fighters surrenders. Whichever happens first.”

He looks at his daughter as he says that, pleading with his eyes, but Lady Chu ignores him. She alternates between glaring at Liu Jin and Feng Zhi.

Liu Jin wishes he could glare at Feng Zhi too. Making him fight against the daughter of the City Lord is a daring move, considering how little Feng Zhi trusts him. If Liu Jin were to seriously injure Chu Jiayue, the mission would be greatly jeopardized.

“Ready?” The City Lord asks, stepping back to give the two fighters room. Liu Jin and Jiayue nod. “Begin!”

Jiayue runs towards Liu Jin, her hands sparkling with electricity.

“Lightning attunement. And already blue,” Liu Jin comments as he dodges her strikes. “Most impressive.”

“Silence!” The young woman yells as she speeds up her attacks, but that puts her no closer to reaching her target.

Chu Jiayue is in the Third Level of the True Realm. By the city’s standards, she is probably one of their greatest geniuses that is not part of the army. That gave her the confidence to speak out during the banquet and challenge Feng Zhi. However, that was a crucial mistake. Even though she is in the True Realm, her foundation as a cultivator is nowhere near as deep as that of someone like Huang Shing or Lu Mei.

Put simply, she is not Liu Jin’s match. He could end the fight right away, but that is not what this is about.

“Stop merely dodging and fight me!” The girl shouts. She cares too much about their surroundings to use wide-area attacks, which limits her further.

“Very well.”

However, Liu Jin can use his power without worrying about such things. He weaves around her punch and moves in.

“Argh!”

The girl clutches her arm in pain, but there is no wound there. The needle sharpened by Liu Jin’s Qi goes in and out too quickly to leave an injury. Chu Jiayue glares at him.

“I will not let you win!”

A jab crackling with electricity is dodged, allowing Liu Jin to strike her shoulder.

Her follow-up kick does not even graze him. He moves low, steps inside her guard, and strikes her stomach.

With every needle strike, Liu Jin targets and agitates her meridians. His goal is not to cripple her but to unbalance her Qi just enough to exhaust her. As she grows slower, Liu Jin starts targeting her nerves and blood vessels with impeccable precision.

By the twentieth strike, the Young Miss can barely remain standing. She cannot even see straight.

Liu Jin pokes her in the forehead.

She falls.

“Daughter!”

City Lord Chu cries for her, but Liu Jin catches Chu Jiayue before she touches the ground. He nods at Feng Zhi as he gives the young woman’s unconscious body to her father and is declared the winner. Hopefully, Feng Zhi understands what he just did.

“Look at her!” Feng Zhi says, gesturing at the unconscious Chu Jiayue with a sweep of his arm . “Not a single hair on her head has been harmed. Just as my underling did not harm the daughter of this city, so will the Eternal Flame Clan not harm a single person here!”

Liu Jin breathes a sigh of relief as the people cheer for Feng Zhi. He understood. Good.

However, as he looks at the still frowning General Dan, he knows the worst is yet to come.

~~~