Staring at the headless corpse sprawled across the long street and the scattered chunks of flesh, the Sigilforge martial artist hidden in the shadows couldn't help but sigh, "Decisive and ruthless, swift as the wind—it's best not to provoke such a youth. If you can't kill him in one strike, he'll become a nightmare in your heart!"
As for those Core Formation martial artists who had designs on Ian Song, they secretly rejoiced: luckily Ray Bolton charged in first. If they’d rushed up recklessly, they’d have ended up just like him and his crew.
Inside the Imperial Crown Auction House, Sherry Summers slowly withdrew her gaze, a trace of shock flickering in her eyes.
"That kid must be cultivating a Royal-Grade technique. Such power—so vast, so domineering!" Nineteenth Uncle exclaimed in admiration.
"If he’s cultivating a Royal-Grade technique, why would he want to buy King-Grade techniques from us?" Sherry Summers was full of confusion, her eyes brimming with curiosity. She wondered silently, Just who are you, really?
— — —
On a small hill a thousand li outside Skyroc City, three figures flashed into view—Ian Song and his companions had arrived.
With his cultivation breakthrough, the Art of Great Teleportation now reached a maximum distance of five hundred li per jump. Just two jumps, and they’d crossed a thousand li.
"Are you planning to keep following us, or will you return to Myriad Flower Valley?" Ian Song released the masked girl and asked seriously.
"Of course this fairy will..." The masked girl trailed off, hesitation flickering across her face. She’d come under her master’s orders to protect this guy, and at first treated it as just another mission, not taking him seriously. But as they spent time together, she realized he was actually a formation master—his arrays could even trap and kill Sigilforge martial artists.
Later, he revealed that unbelievable Art of Great Teleportation, and inside the Imperial Crown Auction House, he flaunted astonishing wealth. But what truly made her see him in a new light was the fierce street battle just now.
He’d just stepped into Core Formation, yet could easily kill others of the same realm. The strength he unleashed was nearly on par with late Core Formation experts. The more she watched, the more shocked she felt—this guy was shrouded in mist, impossible to truly see through.
Now, his strength was already equal to hers. With that Art of Great Teleportation, even Sun-Soul Realm experts might not be able to kill him. Her presence was basically redundant.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed—and a bit annoyed, too. The way he asked her felt like he was burning bridges after crossing them.
"I have a score to settle with the Zhu Family. There's no need for you to get mixed up in it!" Ian Song's voice rang out again.
The masked girl's annoyance melted away at his words. So he was worried about dragging her down—not trying to ditch her. At the same time, a strange sense of concern welled up in her heart: "The Zhu Family has Sun-Soul Realm experts. They're no joke. Even with your formation techniques, you might not be able to handle them, and you could end up losing your life!"
"Don't worry, I'm not that foolish. I won't clash with them head-on!" Ian Song replied seriously. "But you got caught up because of me—now you're wanted by the Scarlet Flame Sect. As compensation, let me give you a gift!"
As he spoke, Ian Song took out a warm jade bottle and handed it to Vivian Ouyang.
Vivian's expression changed slightly. She said coldly, "What kind of person do you take me for? I'm only protecting you because my master ordered it—your gift doesn't interest me!"
Ian Song was stunned for a moment, then realized she must have misunderstood his intentions. He smiled, grabbed her small hand, and forced the pill bottle into her palm. "Your talent's pretty poor. If you don't get help, this genius will leave you in the dust soon. The pills in this jade bottle can improve your aptitude. And I'm giving you this because I see you as a friend, not for any other reason. Of course, if you don't consider me a friend, you can refuse."
"I...!" Vivian Ouyang opened her mouth, but in the end couldn’t say a word. Instead, a warm feeling blossomed in her heart as she silently repeated, Friend, huh?
In the end, Vivian Ouyang left, returning to Myriad Flower Valley to report back.
But just before leaving, she told Ian Song her real name—Vivian Ouyang.
After Vivian Ouyang departed, Ian Song sent Chloe Snow into the Divine Temple to continue cultivating. He set out alone for Hongtian City, changing his appearance before entering the city to look like a man in his early thirties.
He had no idea that his clean, ruthless execution of Ray Bolton and his lackeys had made him famous in Skyroc City—and, of course, put him on the Ray Family’s hit list.
It was said that the Ray Family had already sent several Sigilforge experts, leading a squad of Core Formation martial artists, to hunt him down.
Of course, even if he knew, Ian Song wouldn’t care.
Hongtian City wasn’t as grand as Skyroc City, but it was still a major metropolis.
After wandering around for a while, Ian Song found an inn and checked in.
Several days passed in a blur.
After several days of investigation, Ian Song gained a fairly detailed understanding of the Zhu Family’s power.
Unlike other cities where various clans share power, in Hongtian City the Zhu Family reigns supreme—mostly thanks to the backing of the Prince of Jin.
As a result, the Zhu Family acts like the local tyrant of Hongtian City—their scions can walk wherever they please and do as they like.
More than half the businesses in the city are tied to the Zhu Family, and the rest pay them protection fees. At this point, the Zhu Family is swimming in wealth.
Rumor had it their assets totaled at least a billion taels of gold.
Beyond Hongtian City, the Zhu Family also controlled industries and assets in several nearby towns.
Ian Song chose the Zhu Family’s base in Linyuan City as his first target.
Linyuan City lay northwest of Hongtian City, the two cities separated by more than eight hundred li.
The Zhu Family’s steward in Linyuan City was Zach Zhu, a collateral branch member with mid Core Formation cultivation.
With the Zhu Family’s prestige behind him and central authority far away, none of the other clans in Linyuan City dared oppose him—they all scrambled to curry favor. Nearly every day, he attended a different banquet thrown in his honor.
That day, after returning from a banquet, Zach Zhu lounged half-drunk inside his lavishly decorated carriage. One arm was wrapped around a young beauty, while his other hand roamed freely inside her clothes, drawing gasps and giggles from the girl.
Outside the carriage, a squad of Divine Sea martial artists acted as bodyguards, escorting him toward his Linyuan City mansion.
"Slash!"
Suddenly, a figure appeared atop a nearby rooftop, striking downward with a sword from above.
The sword strike was blindingly fast, like a comet chasing the moon. Before the Divine Sea bodyguards could even react, Zach Zhu’s carriage was cleaved in two.
Instinctively, the guards looked over, horrified to find that not only had the carriage been split in half, but Zach Zhu inside had also been sliced cleanly in two. If he’d been alert, his mid Core Formation cultivation might have let him dodge, but years of luxury, alcohol, and lust had dulled his vigilance—so he was killed in a single stroke.
At that moment—
A shadow flashed through the air, sword-light gleaming again and again. One by one, the Divine Sea bodyguards grunted and collapsed to the ground. Though none died, each man’s dantian was pierced by sword qi, turning them all into cripples.
That night, Zach Zhu—the Zhu Family’s steward in Linyuan City—was sliced in half by a single sword strike, and every Divine Sea-level Zhu Family martial artist in the city had his dantian destroyed by sword qi, leaving them crippled.
When the news broke, Linyuan City’s martial clans were shaken—and secretly, some were thrilled. Years of suffering under the Zhu Family’s oppression had left them bitter; now that someone was challenging the Zhu Family, they couldn’t help but rejoice.