That day, Ian Song suddenly remembered the four assistants of the Nine-Sun Sword Immortal.
All of them were no weaker than Victor Tu, and one of them was even a late-stage Golden Immortal.
Experts of this caliber would never be obscure nobodies. So, with a thought, Ian entered the Divine Temple.
"Thief! I'll kill you!"
The moment Ian appeared, the blue-robed man lunged at him, eyes burning with hatred.
Bang!
Ian casually raised his hand and slapped him away; the man went flying.
"Are you going to kill us or let us go? Just say it—locking us up here, what's the point?"
The other three weren't as impulsive. The tall, burly Kane Kun fixed Ian with a steady gaze and asked in a deep voice.
"First, tell me who you all are."
Ian replied, calm and unhurried.
"Kane Kun, city lord of Azurecrest City," the burly man said, then nodded at the others. "They're the city lords of Watercrest, Goldcrest, and Redcrest."
"Just as I thought!"
Ian nodded. He had already suspected their identities.
"So, what are you planning to do with us?"
Kane Kun pressed, his voice low and steady.
"Just stay put for now. Maybe one day I'll let you out."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ian vanished without a trace.
Having reaped so many benefits from Whitecrest City, Ian set his sights on the other four Emperor Cities.
Azurecrest City was the closest to Whitecrest, so he decided to hit it first—clean out their vault, take over their medicine mountains. With all the city lords locked up, leaving their treasure untouched would just let someone else profit.
"I'm heading to the other cities. You girls want to stay here, or tag along?"
Before setting out, Ian gathered his women to ask their opinions.
"Our cultivation's too low. If we go with you, we'll just drag you down. Better to stay here and help you handle things!" Diana Toba said.
"I'm with her," Lila Li nodded.
The rest quickly voiced their choices—most wanted to stay in Whitecrest City. Wei Lena and Chloe Snow looked interested in going, and Muse and Winnie, who'd been trying to get into Ian's bed, also wanted to tag along. But when the main group stayed, they kept quiet.
"Alright, you guys stay in Whitecrest City. With Cici and Joy around, nobody's touching you!"
Both of them had already evolved into sixth-generation vampires, packing Golden Immortal-level power. Especially Joy—her strength was nearly at peak Golden Immortal. Unless a Profound Immortal showed up, nobody could touch them.
Traveling alone, Ian reached Azurecrest City in just one day.
Compared to Whitecrest, Azurecrest City was bigger and busier—the place was thriving. Victor Tu's insane looting had left Whitecrest's economy in the dust.
Before leaving, Ian called in Steward Mi, who told him Kane Kun still had three Golden Immortal subordinates—one mid-stage, two early-stage.
Immortals lived forever; closing up for ten or twenty years was nothing, and even a few centuries in seclusion wasn't unusual. So Kane Kun's absence hadn't affected Azurecrest City's operations at all.
After a quick sweep of the city, Ian headed straight for the City Lord's Mansion.
"Halt!"
The Mansion guards shouted dutifully.
He was here to loot the Mansion's immortal stones and medicines, so a fight was inevitable. Ian didn't bother with words—he just made his move.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, the gate guards were all sent flying by Ian's casual slaps.
"Whoa, someone's actually forcing their way into the City Lord's Mansion!"
"Who is that guy? He's got guts, barging into the Mansion!"
"Hmph! Is he looking to die? An Earth Immortal who hasn't even formed an immortal body, making trouble in the City Lord's Mansion?" sneered one of the Earth Immortals.