"What’s going on? The great bell at the top of the City Lord’s Mansion is never rung unless sothing major has happened. Why did it suddenly start ringing?"
"The City Lord is right here at the Shen Family’s. How could sothing like this be happening?"
"What’s happening? It feels like sothing big is about to go down."
Just as the crowd was abuzz with discussion...
DONG!
The bell rang a second ti.
"How outrageous! Who in the world is ringing the alarm bell!" Ye Xiao Zheng walked out, his face grim.
Just then, an Iron Guard ca hurrying over from a distance with a middle-aged man in tow.
The newcor was none other than one of Ye Xiao Zheng’s most trusted advisors, Feng Hai, a man skilled in strategy!
Ye Xiao Zheng’s eyes lit up, and he hurried forward. "Old Feng, what happened? Who was so bold as to ring the bell without authorization?"
Feng Hai took two steps forward, his face ashen. "My lord, this is terrible! n from the Xu Family, led by several experts, have stord the City Lord’s Mansion with unstoppable force! They’ve already seized control of most of our forces there. Xu Daolin is on the Martial Arts Arena at the mansion, demanding to hold the Celestial Phoenix City martial tournant ahead of schedule. He’s the one who rang the bell!"
"What!?" Ye Xiao Zheng was stunned. "This is Evil Wind Valley’s territory! How dare they be so audacious! Where did the Xu Family find experts capable of storming the City Lord’s Mansion?"
Feng Hai glanced at the people from Evil Wind Valley and said, trembling, "Among the n who stord the mansion, soone recognized two of the Spirit Martial Realm experts... they’re from the Imperial Dragon Sect... That’s why many of the experts in the mansion didn’t dare to resist..."
"That’s impossible!" Ye Xiao Zheng roared.
"What’s so impossible about it? The Xu Family simply wants to replace you, Ye Xiao Zheng, and take control of Celestial Phoenix City. Without the tacit approval of soone from the Imperial Dragon Sect, how would they dare make such a move?"
Shen Lang walked out of the room, his expression indifferent.
Everyone’s gaze imdiately focused on him once again.
Shen Lang gave a light wave of his hand. "Let them go. The real show is about to begin. But rember this, everyone: I hope you’ll all refrain from spreading news of what happened here in the Shen Family. It’ll be better for everyone that way."
The mont he finished speaking, a figure rushed out and declared sternly, "Anyone who dares spread word of what happened at the Shen Family will be making an enemy of Evil Wind Valley! I trust none of you will forget Elder Shen’s words!"
Seeing Drunken Thousand Cups’s posturing, everyone lowered their heads, not daring to et his gaze. Inwardly, however, they were laughing their heads off.
The one who least wanted the events here to get out was, of course, Drunken Thousand Cups, who had been thoroughly humiliated by Shen Lang.
’This guy’s brain has clearly been scrambled.’
’You should have let your fellow sect mbers say sothing like that. Shouting it yourself just makes you a laughingstock, doesn’t it?’
Ling Chen and the group from Evil Wind Valley watched the still-posturing Drunken Thousand Cups, a little speechless.
The urge to cleave him in two with a single sword strike rose in their minds once again.
’If it weren’t for the chaos this bastard caused, would I have been forced to offer up a rare treasure like the Sword Lotus?’
Although a large part of offering the Sword Lotus was to win over Shen Lang and also to give face to Xue Dangdang, the situation at the ti had developed to a point where it felt, no matter how you looked at it, like he was being forced. For a Hall Master of the Punishnt Hall, a man whom others feared and kept their distance from, this feeling was sothing he hadn’t experienced in many years.
After the Iron Guards lifted the blockade, Ye Xiao Zheng was the first to leave with his group.
Following him, the mbers of the other influences here also took their leave one by one, rushing back to their own families... The attack on the City Lord’s Mansion ant that Celestial Phoenix City might be getting a new master. This would have a massive impact on every family and influence within the city.
At a ti like this, picking a side was crucial.
One wrong move could lead to disaster.
...
Once the people from the major influences had all left, only those from the Shen Family and Evil Wind Valley remained.
Shen Haoxuan and the Grand Elder walked over to Shen Lang’s side and asked in low voices what should be done.
Judging from Shen Lang’s earlier words, he definitely knew what was going on. Although Shen Haoxuan and the others were terrified of him and felt uneasy, they had to ask for clarification.
Shen Lang glanced at them and said coolly, "If you don’t want anything to happen to the Shen Family, then keep your people on a tight leash. Don’t let anyone take a single step outside the Shen Family estate."
GULP.
Shen Haoxuan swallowed hard, the corner of his eye twitching a few tis.
He imdiately spun around and said sternly, "Did you all hear that? Everyone from the Shen Family is to return to their hos at once and are forbidden from leaving the estate! Anyone found leaving without permission will be severely punished!"
The Grand Elder imdiately shooed all the Shen Family mbers away like a flock of ducks, leaving only a few of the old-tirs behind.
"Iron Guard, hear my command! Guard the Shen Family estate, and report any and all activity imdiately." With a wave of his hand, Ling Chen set the Iron Guard into motion.
Then, Shen Lang, his group, and the people from Evil Wind Valley all went into the inner room.
It was only then that Yi Hongchen found the chance to use a voice transmission to tell Ling Chen everything about Xu Daolin and Yuwen Huaji.
Ling Chen’s expression changed drastically. "Sothing like this, why didn’t you say so sooner!"
’I wanted to, but I couldn’t find an opportunity, could I?’
’Besides, I had no idea things would develop this quickly!’
He had just arrived in Celestial Phoenix City a short while ago and hadn’t even had ti to investigate before Xu Daolin made his move.
Shen Lang chuckled. "You can’t bla him. They simply didn’t know Xu Daolin would act so fast. Right now, if I’m not mistaken, the Valley Master and a group of Elders back at Evil Wind Valley are probably still bickering."
"Then... what is your aning, Elder Shen?" Ling Chen asked with a frown.
Although Shen Lang was much younger than him, ever since witnessing his thods and seeing his deanor, Ling Chen found it impossible to treat him as a re youth.
Subconsciously, Ling Chen had already placed Shen Lang on a very high pedestal.
Shen Lang’s gaze swept over them, and he noticed that it wasn’t just the people from Evil Wind Valley; Shen Haoxuan and several Elders were also staring at him expectantly.
"This matter involves the Imperial Dragon Sect. To put it bluntly, it’s a conflict of interest between Yuwen Huaji’s faction and Ye Xiao Zheng’s backers within the sect... Yuwen Huaji has struck first to gain the upper hand; it’s possible Ye Xiao Zheng’s backers don’t even know about this yet. Evil Wind Valley is caught in the middle of this, which is a very sensitive position. If the Young Valley Master had truly been murdered by Xu Daolin, knowing the Valley Master’s personality, he would have led his experts here to execute Xu Daolin on the spot, even without the Elder Council’s permission."
Pausing here, Shen Lang continued, "The problem is, first, the Young Valley Master escaped unhard because I saved him. Second, even if you truly wanted to kill Xu Daolin, you have no proof. Without proof, Yuwen Huaji will turn the tables on you. While Evil Wind Valley might not fear him, it would still cause a lot of trouble. If the Imperial Dragon Sect protects him, you will be the ones to suffer. No matter how you slice it, Evil Wind Valley is a subordinate influence of the Imperial Dragon Sect."
The people from Evil Wind Valley listened to Shen Lang with rapt attention, the expressions in their eyes extrely complicated.
Ling Chen said with a grim expression, "Your concerns, Elder, are my concerns as well. Evil Wind Valley isn’t far from Celestial Phoenix City. If the Valley Master sends people, they will certainly make it in ti. Even though my Cultivation is no match for Yuwen Huaji’s, I can still keep him occupied for a while... Evil Wind Valley will absolutely not let this go! We cannot allow an influence that used us as a pawn and nearly killed Hongchen to take over Celestial Phoenix City! But..."
As he spoke, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
There were too many twists and turns involved, especially with the Imperial Dragon Sect in the picture.
And with Yi Hongchen and the others alive and well, it was hard to say whether the Valley Master could make the decision to annihilate the Xu Family at the risk of offending Yuwen Huaji.
Even if the Valley Master wanted to, the Elders probably wouldn’t let him.
However, Shen Lang had long been planning to kill with a borrowed knife. He’d intended from the start to use Evil Wind Valley to tie down Yuwen Huaji, so how could he let them back down now?
Shen Lang’s own power was not enough to resist Yuwen Huaji. But he had been sched against by Xu Daolin—not only had Xu Daolin frad him for harming Yi Hongchen, but he had also nearly plunged the Shen Family and his relatives into crisis. Given his personality, there was no way he would just stand by and watch the show as if nothing had happened.
Since he had deliberately created the right conditions for Xu Daolin and even concealed his own return to Celestial Phoenix City, it was all for the sake of delivering the final blow—to completely ruin Xu Daolin’s plans at the last mont!
If he lost Evil Wind Valley’s support in tying down Yuwen Huaji, then Shen Lang’s only option against him right now was to "flee"!
If it truly ca to a critical mont, his only choice would be to have Zuo Wentian step in and kill the man.
Other than that, there was no other way.
But Zuo Wentian was also a ticking ti bomb; it was best not to use him if he could avoid it.
Besides that option, even if Zeng Wuming and the others were willing to act, their Cultivation at the Xuanwu Realm Third Heaven was simply too far from Yuwen Huaji’s at the Peak of Xuanwu Realm.
They weren’t even in the sa league and wouldn’t be of much use.
As long as no one could check Yuwen Huaji, Xu Daolin was guaranteed to win this fight.
And from then on, the Xu Family would beco the masters of Celestial Phoenix City.
But the blade that was Evil Wind Valley was right here for the taking...
Shen Lang smiled faintly. "Evil Wind Valley can choose to do nothing, but the price and consequences of doing nothing will be far greater than the consequences of doing a little sothing."
"I’d like to hear the details!" Ling Chen’s eyes lit up.
Shen Lang nodded. "May I ask, Hall Master Ling, how much do you know about Ye Xiao Zheng’s backer in the Imperial Dragon Sect? What is Evil Wind Valley’s relationship with him?"
"One of Ye Xiao Zheng’s elders is in the Imperial Dragon Sect. His Cultivation is slightly weaker than Yuwen Huaji’s, and his status is a little lower as well... Celestial Phoenix City originally belonged to Evil Wind Valley, but that senior used his connections to forcibly hand it over to Ye Xiao Zheng. As for us in Evil Wind Valley... it would be impossible to say we have no complaints. So, although the Celestial Phoenix City Lord’s Mansion is our vassal, they aren’t exactly well-liked in Evil Wind Valley," Ling Chen said after a mont of thought.
Shen Lang raised an eyebrow. "If the two sides are evenly matched, then Evil Wind Valley must make a decision, or rather, a choice. Will you choose to rely on Yuwen Huaji, or on Ye Xiao Zheng’s faction?"
"This..." Ling Chen was stunned into silence.
’Evil Wind Valley could just sit back and watch. Why must we make a choice?’
Yi Hongchen, who had been listening quietly from the side, suddenly said angrily, "There is absolutely no way anyone from Evil Wind Valley would go curry favor with that old bastard Yuwen Huaji! The only reason Xu Daolin dared to be so arrogant as to trap and try to kill us in Halan Valley was because that old bastard ordered it! He wouldn’t have the guts otherwise! Besides, Elder Shen already said they’re doing this to prepare the Xu Family to beco a Profound Iron Level Influence!"
Ling Chen didn’t speak. His perspective was quite different from Yi Hongchen’s.
He needed to think about all this from the position of the Valley Master and the Elder Council.
’Looks like it’s ti to give you so stronger dicine,’ Shen Lang chuckled to himself.
The corner of his mouth curved up slightly as he said, "From my own standpoint, I hope you’ll take action. And from my standpoint as an Honored Elder of Evil Wind Valley, I also hope you’ll take action. Because if Evil Wind Valley doesn’t act now, a battle with the Xu Family will likely be unavoidable in a couple of days anyway."
"What do you an by that?" Ling Chen’s gaze sharpened as he asked.
"The Demon Iron Vein." Shen Lang uttered four words.
"I understand now!" Yi Hongchen shot to his feet. "Uncle Chen, we have to listen to Elder Shen!"
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