"Hey, you know Blue-Shade God-Venerable?" Evan Lin whispered to Lena Zhong, keeping his voice low.
"I've heard of him, but that was ages ago. They say he was already a super big shot in the Shadow Divine Palace, mid-stage God-Venerable, tens of thousands of years back. He’s been holed up ever since, so now he might be late-stage God-Venerable for all we know.
Everyone in the God Realm respects him—he’s super upright. Maybe he’s here for the Rainbow Court auction too," Lena said, her voice dropping.
Evan Lin went quiet for a moment. With Blue-Shade God-Venerable here, today's mess was basically over. But he knew Dominic Bai would soon figure out he wasn't really Stormtower, and when that happened, the guy would probably go all out to crush him. This grudge? Locked in for life. Evan clenched his fists—he'd pay it back, tenfold.
"No need for all the formalities. You guys aren’t gonna fight again, right? My old bones can't handle another round! Dominic Bai, you’re the city lord—shouldn’t you figure things out before swinging your fists? Always itching for a fight—think you’re king of the world or something?" Blue-Shade God-Venerable snorted.
"God-Venerable, you’re absolutely right. I was way too reckless. Next time, I’ll watch myself!" Dominic Bai said quickly. Facing a super expert like this, he was basically an ant—of course he had to be polite.
He shot a look at Victor Bai, who looked a lot better now, and said, "Victor, spill it. What really happened? Why’d they beat you up? With God-Venerable here, if you messed up, I won’t cover for you. If it’s their fault, I hope God-Venerable will get justice for my son!"
Victor Bai glanced at his dad, then at Blue-Shade God-Venerable, and put on his best wounded look. "Dad, here’s the deal. I went out with Hu Liang and the guys to chase Allen Hua and Ruby Wang, but these two blocked us. We argued, then started fighting. Hu Liang and the others got killed by those two, and I got wrecked by that kid."
"Really? You're not lying to me, are you?" Dominic Bai’s face darkened—if his son was innocent, he didn’t need to hold back at all. Worst case, he could call out the Rainbow Court Lord; late-stage God-Venerable, even Blue-Shade God-Venerable would have to give face.
"Dad, even if I was crazy I wouldn’t dare lie to you! Please, you have to get justice for me!" Victor whined, putting on a super pitiful face.
Blue-Shade God-Venerable had watched the whole thing, knew exactly what had gone down. "You two, come over here. City Lord Dominic wants to hear the real story. Just say it straight—with me here, nobody’s gonna lay a finger on you."
Evan Lin and Lena Zhong walked up to Blue-Shade God-Venerable. Evan caught Victor Bai glaring at him like he wanted to bite his head off, but Evan just sneered—defeated losers weren’t worth worrying about. He spoke up:
"Victor Bai’s antics in Azure Moon City pissed off gods and men alike. You know the saying—never mess with a brother’s wife. But he tried to snatch someone else’s girl and even went for the kill. If he wasn’t the city lord’s son, someone would’ve chopped him up ages ago.
Allen Hua and Ruby Wang really love each other, but Victor just had to butt in. I couldn’t stand it, so I helped Allen break out of Azure Moon City. On the way back, his crew chased us down. We had to stall them, but I didn’t lay a finger on Victor—he’s the city lord’s kid, gotta watch myself.
But he acted like he owned the place, was rude to Lena, and even wanted to kill me and mess with her. Tell me, shouldn’t scum like that be cut down? Still, we held back for the city lord’s sake and just gave him a beating. He sent out a distress signal right after—that’s why you all showed up," Evan Lin said, voice steady and unyielding.
Dominic Bai’s face twisted, turning the color of pig liver. He knew his son was totally in the wrong and couldn’t say a word. Honestly, Victor was lucky to still be breathing after all this.
But there was one thing bugging him. These two—one was mid-stage God-King, the other just early-stage God-Lord. By rights, Lena Zhong should’ve tangled with the God-King, Evan Lin should’ve been squashed by the God-Lord. So how come two of his men were dead, one was wrecked, and Evan and Lena were totally fine?
"My son messed up, so thanks for going easy on him. I’ll make sure he gets a good lesson when we get home. But here’s what I don’t get—why isn’t this kid hurt at all? Did Lena Zhong fight all three of them by herself?" Dominic Bai asked, still confused.
"Dad, it was that kid who trashed me! You gotta stand up for your son! Lena Zhong’s from Stormtower, so we didn’t dare touch her, but that kid—he’s gotta die!" Victor Bai shouted, voice cracking.
"He beat you? You’re late-stage God-Lord, he’s just early-stage. How’d he pull that off?" Dominic Bai felt his pride get stomped, but he had to ask.
"Let me explain," Evan Lin said. "He came at me with his sword, but I didn’t have a weapon, so I just punched him. Didn’t expect to mess him up that bad—if I’d known, I’d have held back. But facing a late-stage God-Lord, I gotta go all out or I’m dead meat."
Dominic Bai wanted to dig a hole and hide—his son got wrecked by a bare-handed early-stage God-Lord. Useless to the extreme. For a second, he was totally speechless.
But Dominic wasn’t city lord for nothing—he was sharp. No wonder Stormtower sent Lena Zhong to recruit this kid. Evan Lin was a monster talent.
And Blue-Shade God-Venerable had stepped in for the same reason. With two big powers eyeing him, Dominic couldn’t touch Evan now—he’d have to bide his time and look for a chance later.
But since he’d already opened his mouth, Dominic had to give Blue-Shade God-Venerable an answer. He forced a laugh. "So that’s how it is. Little brother, you’re insane—beating my son who’s two realms above you! Today’s mess was my son’s fault. Sorry, everyone—I’ve got stuff to handle at the mansion, so I’m out!"
He shot Victor Bai a glare, then slapped him so hard Victor flew dozens of meters, blood spraying everywhere. Victor was out cold.
"Get this loser outta here—today’s shame is off the charts!" Dominic barked. Then he and his men flew off toward the City Lord’s Mansion, dragging Victor Bai behind...