Goldcrest City.
When Ian Song arrived at the City Lord's Mansion, he was mildly surprised to find that the other side seemed to know he was coming—there were no guards posted outside the estate.
But thinking about it, it made sense. The Five-Emperor Alliance was all closely linked, and since he'd already looted four cities in a row, Goldcrest City getting word and preparing in advance wasn't unusual.
Preparation is fine by him—otherwise, there's no challenge.
With that thought, Ian stepped into the City Lord's Mansion.
"This way, Young Master Song!"
A middle-aged man dressed as a steward greeted him politely.
Ian gave a playful smirk, curious to see what tricks they were up to, and nodded for the man to lead the way.
Led by the steward, Ian arrived at a large martial arena.
Looking up, he saw twelve people already arrayed on the arena, standing at attention.
Seven of them were Golden Immortals from Azurecrest, Watercrest, and Redcrest City. According to what he knew, Goldcrest City only had two Golden Immortals, so the remaining three must be outside reinforcements.
As the saying goes, enemies meet with blazing eyes. Trevor Chen stepped forward, glaring fiercely at Ian: "Demon Song, you're arrogant and lawless. This is where you'll be buried!"
Ian just laughed, slowly sweeping his gaze over the twelve Golden Immortals, a trace of disdain curling his lips. He shook his head lightly: "You lot aren't enough."
Not a single late-stage Golden Immortal among them—how could they possibly threaten him?
"Arrogant! Let me take you on!"
A Golden Immortal stepped out, sword in hand, pointing it at Ian with full momentum.
"Brother Ling, don't!"
Trevor Chen's expression changed and he quickly tried to stop him. Although this man was a mid-stage Golden Immortal, he was definitely no match for Demon Song. Back in Azurecrest City, even three Golden Immortals together were easily defeated.
"Brother Ling, don't be impulsive!" another Golden Immortal advised.
Their words were well-intentioned, but in Levi Ling's ears it sounded like they were looking down on him. He was a scion of the Ling family, one of the eight great clans of the Purple Dragon Domain, and had mastered the clan's eight secret Battle Saint Arts. Although only a mid-stage Golden Immortal, his true strength rivaled late-stage Golden Immortals.
He snorted coldly, "Hmph! Looks like you all have been scared witless by this punk. So what if he's a late-stage Earth Immortal? How strong can he be? Don't interfere—watch how I cut him down!"
Levi Ling's overconfidence made the three city Golden Immortals who'd suffered at Ian's hands smile bitterly. But since Levi was a Ling family scion, pushing him further might offend him. If they didn't warn him, and he was hurt or killed by Demon Song, they'd be blamed too.
"In that case, Brother Ling, be careful!"
Trevor Chen could only agree helplessly and sent a voice transmission to the others, telling them to be ready to jump in at any moment—they absolutely couldn't let Levi Ling get hurt by Demon Song.
"Are you sure you want to fight alone?"
Ian looked at Levi Ling with mild surprise.
"I alone am enough!"
Levi Ling puffed out his chest proudly. "Kid, bring out your Immortal Artifact! Let me see what you've got!"
Ian shook his head. "To deal with you, why would I need an Immortal Artifact?"
"Courting death!"
A flash of anger crossed Levi Ling's eyes. His Immortal Sword turned into a streak of dazzling light, shooting at Ian like lightning.
Seeing this, Ian just shook his head and casually flicked his middle and index fingers in succession.
The first flick struck the sword light, shattering it and revealing the true form of the Immortal Sword. The second flick landed on the sword itself with a crisp ding, making it hum as if wailing.
Levi Ling's face instantly changed, his eyes growing serious.
"Again!"
His momentum shifted. The Immortal Sword in his hand transformed into a swimming dragon, its roars echoing as he unleashed a fierce barrage at Ian.
"Is that all you've got?"
Ian scoffed, striding forward and slapping away the sword momentum with one hand, then landing a crisp slap on Levi Ling's cheek.
"Smack!"
A loud slap echoed. Levi Ling grunted as he was sent flying, a bright red five-finger mark blooming on his cheek. He tried to erase it with immortal yuan, but no matter how he channeled his energy, the mark wouldn't fade.
"Brother Ling, why don't we all go up together!"
Trevor Chen spoke up as well.
"No way! I was just careless!"
Levi Ling insisted, his body suddenly glowing with golden light as his aura soared.
"Again!"
With a roar, Levi Ling charged again.
His sword technique's power and speed had both increased dramatically, now rivaling late-stage Golden Immortal—clearly he'd activated some kind of secret art.
"Now that's interesting!"
Ian smiled and met him with his fists.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The two collided dozens of times in a flash, moving at extreme speed.
But in the next moment, Levi Ling was sent flying by Ian's punch.
Ian calmly said, "That's all."
"Bastard! I'll tear you to pieces!"
Humiliated by Ian, Levi Ling's eyes turned red as he charged again, roaring.
"Everyone, go!"
Trevor Chen shouted, leading the charge with his saber. The other ten Golden Immortals didn't dare slack off and attacked as well.
All twelve Golden Immortals joined forces, fighting without Immortal Artifacts, and Ian felt immense pressure.
He managed only ten exchanges before being knocked flying.
"Kill him!"
Seeing this, Trevor Chen and the others were secretly delighted, finally seeing hope of killing Ian Song.
For a moment, the twelve Golden Immortals attacked even more fiercely, especially Levi Ling, whose relentless assault was driven by a thirst to wash away his humiliation.
"Bang!"
Ian was knocked flying again, sent out of the martial arena.
The twelve didn't want to give him a chance to recover, chasing after him with murder in their eyes and even greater momentum.
But in reality, though Ian had been knocked away twice, with his divine body protecting him, he was completely unharmed.
Without a peak Golden Immortal's attack, they couldn't even scratch him.
Of course, he didn't have a masochistic streak.
So, he decided to use his sword technique.
With a grasp, the Yanhuang Sword appeared in his hand.
"Come!"
Sword in hand, Ian's aura changed dramatically. He narrowed his eyes, and with a flick of the Yanhuang Sword, he struck at the twelve. His swordsmanship was divine—few in the Immortal Realm could match him.
"Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!"
With one move, he injured four. The other eight retreated quickly, but broke out in cold sweat from fright.
"Damn, how is Demon Song's sword technique so terrifying!"
Trevor Chen's face changed dramatically, a sense of doom creeping in.
"This is just the beginning!"
Ian Song smiled at them.
"Every ten steps, one falls!"
A strange aura spread. Suddenly, all twelve Golden Immortals saw a flash of blood-red light before their eyes.
"Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!"
With this terrifying move, four were pierced through the brow by sword energy, their immortal souls shattered, their bodies crashing from the sky.
"Again!"
Once more, every ten steps, one falls.
"Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!"
Another four lost their heads.
In an instant, the remaining four lost all will to fight and fled in all directions.
"None of you are leaving!"
Sword light flashed; the four fleeing figures suddenly froze in midair for a second, then all dropped together.