Chapter Eighty-Three: The City Lord's Invitation

Mo You aimed a dragon claw at the assassin in black, and shouted, "You turtle bastard, why are you running away? Weren’t you going to fight to the death with Lord Dragon? Come on, I’ll stretch out my neck for you to cut—why aren’t you coming?" Mo You’s dragon claw hand attacked the black-clad man wildly, reminiscent of an octopus, and though the strikes seemed reckless, anyone struck would certainly be gravely injured, if not killed.

"Let’s do this!" The black-clad man glanced at the crowd of cultivators watching, shouted loudly, and rushed at Mo You with his sword. Now, he was prepared to fight to the death, for Mo You had stripped him of all dignity—there was no other option. If he didn’t risk everything now, he’d surely lose.

"Haha, now that’s a good child. Lord Dragon is here!" Mo You laughed and quickly engaged the black-clad man in battle. At this point, he had no other choice: he had driven his opponent mad with taunts, and if he didn’t kill him tonight, he would surely be killed himself. So Mo You decided to fight with everything he had.

Boom! Boom!

Mo You waved his dragon claw hand, and soon he and the black-clad man were locked in fierce combat. Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

Many cultivators in Xuanwu City gathered around the inn to watch the fight, and even some of the city’s powerful figures came out to observe. Yet they did not intervene in the battle between Ye Zihan and the black-clad assassins, as they wanted to see the martial techniques these black-clad men possessed. Unfortunately, most of these experts could not decipher the assassins’ skills.

Some, however, understood. When they realized the style and background of the black-clad men, a chill ran down their spines—the power behind these assassins was truly terrifying. Initially, some powerful cultivators wanted to stop the slaughter in Xuanwu City, but now, following the city lord’s lead, they remained silent. The force backing these black-clad men was not to be trifled with.

Those who understood watched closely, while others simply enjoyed the spectacle. The battle at the small inn had awakened everyone in Xuanwu City, and the fight between Ye Zihan and the assassins became a lively spectacle for the masses.

"Ah!"

As the crowd watched intently, another chilling scream echoed in the night, drawing everyone’s gaze skyward.

"Haha, this is the price you must pay tonight!" Chen Yiyan swiftly killed a black-clad man with a single blow of his axe, clearly delighted. Now, their group had slain four of the assassins, leaving only six. With a little more effort, they might defeat the rest.

Bang.

The assassin slain by Chen Yiyan fell to the ground, joining the corpses of four black-clad men already lying there. Chen Yiyan continued to battle a five-element realm assassin, and if he killed this opponent as well, the enemy would surely lose control.

Chen Yiyan himself was battered and bruised, but compared to the two assassins he’d killed, it was well worth it. Yan Chen faced a five-element realm assassin as well, and the pressure was immense. Yet, with his desperate fighting style, the opponent could not easily overwhelm him.

Desperate fighters like Yan Chen forced even stronger assassins to be cautious. If they managed to kill Yan Chen, he could still wound them, perhaps even seriously. Such life-for-life tactics were not easily countered.

"Go die! Lord Dragon is tired of playing with you. When you see King Yama, don’t say it was Lord Dragon who killed you—I’d be embarrassed!" As he battled the black-clad man, Mo You shouted his crude threats, his voice betraying his imminent victory.

---

"Ah!"

Another terrifying scream rang out, followed by the familiar sound of blood spraying into the air—a chilling and unmistakable noise.

"I never expected Chen Yiyan and Ye Zihan to fight together. Who are these assassins, and why are they targeting these young men? The three youths, and a dragon—clearly disciples from a great family."

"Isn’t it obvious? That dragon must belong to the young brother called Ye Zihan. As far as I know, neither Yan Chen nor Chen Yiyan have such a beast as a pet."

"What? The dragon is actually the pet of that youth? Of the obscure Ye Zihan? That’s astonishing. The so-called Heaven-defying Pavilion must be an ancient hidden clan; otherwise, it’s impossible for someone to have such a noble beast as a pet."

"Indeed. Now that Ye Zihan can stand against these powerful foes, we truly underestimated the strength of the Heaven-defying Pavilion."

Chen Yiyan and Mo You had slain five black-clad men, shocking all the cultivators of Xuanwu Lake and Xuanwu City. The young men were truly mad, outnumbered yet already killing half of their ten opponents—a terrifying ratio.

"Yan Chen, let Lord Dragon help you finish him off. My claws are itching!" Mo You flew toward Yan Chen and struck the black-clad man locked in combat with him, his enormous dragon claw sweeping across the sky.

"You shameless scoundrels, resorting to ambushes—what a disgrace to our Phantom God Continent!" The black-clad man attacked by Mo You was startled by the sudden blow, and if not for his quick reflexes, he would have joined the other assassins in death.

"Stop your whining. Take Lord Dragon’s claw!" Mo You continued his relentless assault, giving the assassin no respite, sweeping over him with overwhelming force—his momentum equal to, if not greater than, Chen Yiyan’s.

"You’ve forced my hand!" The black-clad man had no other choice. Mo You and Yan Chen had cornered him, leaving him only the option to fight desperately.

"Go die!" Chen Yiyan shouted at the assassin battling Mo You, and brought his axe down on the man’s back—a bloody scene unfolded. The assassin, locked in struggle, was cleaved in two by Chen Yiyan’s axe, the sight gruesome and terrifying.

Blood sprayed before the assassin could even scream, his eyes wide in shock as his body split in two, staining the ground with crimson.

Bang, bang.

The two halves of the assassin’s corpse fell to the ground and trembled briefly before lying still—a biological reaction.

"Lord Dragon is here to help, big brother. Give me one of those bastards—I’ll send him to meet King Yama!" Now, with six assassins slain, only four remained. Mo You had time to assist Ye Zihan.

---

"Thank you, Mo You, little brother. I was just waiting for you to help me deal with these two damned fellows," Ye Zihan said gratefully, glancing at Mo You.

"This time, you’re lucky—we underestimated your strength. Next time, you won’t be so fortunate." At that moment, the black-clad man fighting Ye Zihan quickly disengaged and prepared to retreat, and the other assassins began to withdraw as well.

"Don’t run! I haven’t killed enough yet!" Chen Yiyan shouted angrily at the four assassins preparing to flee, frustrated that just as they’d gained the upper hand, the enemy was escaping.

"We’re leaving! These guys are insane. Next time, you’re dead—we’ll send you straight to King Yama!" The black-clad man led the other three away quickly. Tonight, they had indeed underestimated Ye Zihan and his companions. They had assumed Ye Zihan was merely at the Four Symbols realm, but he turned out to be at the Five Elements realm.

Their greatest blunder was failing to anticipate Ye Zihan’s pet—a sly dragon. Their defeat tonight was inevitable, for they had miscalculated the strength of Ye Zihan’s group.

Ye Zihan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fighting an opponent one realm above himself was no easy feat. Yan Chen, meanwhile, was frustrated; he had expected the city lord of Xuanwu City to intervene and stop the slaughter, but the lord, who had established the city’s rules, was nowhere to be seen—a curious affair.

"Brother Yan Chen, where should we go now?" Ye Zihan patted the equally battered Yan Chen and asked softly.

Yan Chen smiled, "I just want a good night’s sleep." He meant it; the battle with the assassins had exhausted them all.

"Brother Yan Chen, Brother Ye Zihan, let’s stay in the inn next door. Tomorrow’s affairs can wait till tomorrow. If they dare attack us again, they’re simply coming to die." After tonight’s intense battle, Chen Yiyan made progress in his Five Elements cultivation: from the early stage, he had advanced to the middle stage.

"Yes, let’s stay there," Yan Chen nodded and pointed to a nearby small inn.

By now, the guards of Xuanwu City had begun to clear the aftermath. They wept as they looked upon the bodies of their comrades—guards slain by the black-clad assassins. Had they recklessly charged into battle, their fate would have been the same.

"Chivalrous Yan Chen, chivalrous Ye Zihan, our city lord invites you to visit the city lord’s mansion for a discussion." At that moment, a uniformed cultivator approached Ye Zihan and Yan Chen and announced the invitation.

"Why didn’t your city lord intervene in our battle? What does he mean by this? Are his rules no longer to be followed?" Yan Chen looked coldly at the cultivator.

"Chivalrous Yan Chen, I don’t know why. Xuanwu City lost more than ten guards tonight—we want vengeance, too. But we really don’t know the reason. You should ask the city lord yourself," the servant from the city lord’s mansion explained nervously, puzzled himself. Given his knowledge of the city lord’s character, he suspected the assassins had powerful backing; otherwise, the city lord would have already punished them severely.

"Since the city lord of Xuanwu City has invited us, let’s go." Ye Zihan said, and asked the servant to lead the way. Now, Ye Zihan wanted to uncover the assassins’ identity, and the city lord surely knew something—otherwise, he would not have disregarded his own rules.