Of course, the reason the Zhou Sky City Lord was able to gain the upper hand was mainly because Ian Song and Victor Ye were both hiding their true strength. After all, Gavin Yu was the main attacker—they were just supporting him.
"Zhou Sky City's Qi Luck, fuse into my body—kill!"
After nearly a hundred more exchanges, the Zhou Sky City Lord finally couldn’t hold back. The Zhou Sky soldiers were steadily being pushed back by the combined forces of the Azure Spring and Black Tortoise troops. If his forces were completely defeated, the amount of city Qi Luck he could control would sharply decrease. At that point, he wouldn’t be a match for the three of them working together, so he had to make one last desperate move before his army was completely routed.
Once Zhou Sky City's Qi Luck merged into his body, his aura surged even higher, golden light bursting from him and radiating supreme majesty.
His eyes narrowed sharply, locking onto Gavin Yu. Suddenly, his Divine Ability erupted, transforming into a giant palm covered in countless fist-sized scripture characters.
"Brahma Heaven Palm—die!"
Gavin Yu’s pupils suddenly contracted, his expression turning extremely grim. In the next instant, a long saber appeared in his hand.
"Wave-Breaker Slash—kill!"
"Boom!"
A hundred-zhang saber-qi and the giant palm collided in midair, erupting in a thunderous explosion. In the end, the giant palm prevailed, shattering the saber-qi and continuing its deadly charge toward Gavin Yu.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Gavin Yu roared ‘Kill!’ three times, his voice shaking the air. Gripping his saber with both hands, he hacked furiously, finally smashing the giant palm apart.
"Brahma Heaven Palm—again!"
But the Zhou Sky City Lord immediately unleashed a second Divine Ability palm. At the same time, his figure turned semi-illusory, rapidly closing in on Gavin Yu.
"You think I’m just here for show?"
Victor Ye snorted coldly and suddenly released a net-shaped magic treasure. The treasure erupted with dazzling golden light, and under its illumination, the Zhou Sky City Lord’s semi-illusory form was forced to become fully visible.
"Brother!"
Victor Ye shouted.
Ian Song instantly understood Victor Ye’s meaning and sent a flying sword slashing out.
With a squelch, the Zhou Sky City Lord’s body split in two.
At the same time, Ian Song sensed that his own Qi Luck had increased by several million.
Gavin Yu's face darkened, but he couldn’t blame Victor Ye or Ian Song. They had created the opportunity for him, yet he still failed to kill the Zhou Sky City Lord and nearly got killed himself. If he couldn’t seize the moment, who else could he blame?
With the Zhou Sky City Lord dead, the battle was basically over. The Zhou Sky troops instantly lost their backbone—some surrendered, some fled, and only a tiny handful kept resisting.
Feeling frustrated, Gavin vented his anger on the stubborn Zhou Sky soldiers, killing over a hundred before finally stopping.
Since Zhou Sky City was already taken, Victor Ye and Ian Song had no reason to stick around. They’d already claimed the main credit, so hanging around would just attract attention—better to take the spoils and leave.
As expected.
Not long after returning to Black Tortoise City, the imperial edict arrived.
After sending off the imperial envoy, Victor Ye brought Ian Song two more Qi Luck Gold Crystals.
Although Victor still wasn’t promoted this time, he did earn the chance to enter the Imperial Ancestral Mirror for cultivation.
Once he emerges from the Imperial Ancestral Mirror, he’ll probably break through to mid Nascent Soul. At that point, his rank will rise and he’ll become City Lord of an Earth-grade city.
A few days later, Gavin Yu sent over two storage rings.
One was Ian Song’s share of the spoils, the other was Victor Ye’s.
But Gavin Yu used those rings to stir up trouble.
Ian Song’s ring actually contained eight million low-grade spirit crystals, while Victor’s only had seven million. It was obviously meant to provoke.
Victor Ye didn’t fall for such a petty trick. Instead, he became even more enthusiastic toward Ian Song. “Brother Ian, have you ever considered taking up an official post? With your achievements, you could easily become City Lord of a Yellow-grade city. If you’re interested, I can petition His Majesty for you!”
Being City Lord means the dynasty pays you a salary, and you get to take thirty percent of the city’s tax revenue. Only by serving the court can you earn Qi Luck Gold Crystals.
“No thanks on the official post!”
Ian Song waved his hand. “It’s much more comfortable being a free cultivator!”
Victor Ye looked disappointed. “Bro, think it over. With the court backing you, cultivation gets a lot easier. Plus, your secret arts can kill late-stage Nascent Soul, and this is a rare national war. If you rack up a few more achievements, you might even be promoted to City Lord of a Profound-grade city. Opportunities like this only come once in a millennium—miss it and it’s gone!”
“Alright, I’ll think about it!”