News Spreads, Qingzhou's Winds and Clouds Stir

The next day

The dawn in Luoxia City was awakened by a thick, unresolvable smell of blood.

Just as the sky began to lighten, several early-rising cultivators passing by the street outside the City Lord's mansion were the first to catch the nauseating scent.

At first, they thought it was blood spilled from a butcher shop.

But the closer they got to the City Lord's mansion, the stronger the smell of blood became, so strong it felt like it could solidify.

It seeped out through the cracks in the doors and windows.

"Something's wrong..." an old Xiantian Realm cultivator stopped, frowning as he looked at the tightly shut vermillion gate of the City Lord's mansion.

"At this hour, the City Lord's mansion gates are usually already open. Why is it so quiet today?"

A middle-aged cultivator next to him nodded, his voice laced with unease.

"Yeah, I haven't even seen the guards at the gate... This smell is too bizarre."

A few brave cultivators gathered together and, mustering their courage, pushed the gate of the City Lord's mansion.

The heavy wooden door, which usually required two guards to open, now creaked open a sliver with surprising ease.

Beyond the gap lay hell.

Morning light slanted through the opening, illuminating the ground littered with corpses.

Over three hundred guards lay scattered in the courtyard and on the steps, each with a thin bloody gash on their neck, their eyes wide open, faces frozen in extreme terror.

Blood stained the bluestone path, forming winding rivers that gleamed eerily in the morning sun.

"Ah--!"

A piercing scream shattered the morning tranquility.

A female cultivator, her face ashen, collapsed uncontrollably, her sword falling limply from her grasp. Her white dress was splattered with blood.

"People are dead! The City Lord's mansion is full of dead people! Everyone is dead!"

Fear spread like a plague.

News, as if it had grown wings, instantly reached every corner of Luoxia City, and even spread to other cities in Qingzhou.

Low-level cultivators no longer dared to approach the City Lord's mansion, gathering only in hushed whispers on street corners, their faces pale as paper.

"Heavens! The City Lord's mansion had over three hundred guards, plus three Grandmaster personal guards, how could they all have died in one night?"

"Those were Grandmasters! Grandmasters who could shatter a small mountain with a single punch! How could they die so easily?"

"What about the City Lord? The City Lord is a powerhouse of the Void Glimpse Realm! What happened to him?"

Just as the cultivators of Luoxia City were plunged into panic, several figures descended from the sky like birds, landing steadily before the gate of the City Lord's mansion.

They slowly walked into the City Lord's mansion of Luoxia City.

"Hiss, such strong killing intent. It seems the Luoxia City Lord is likely beyond saving," said a scout.

Inside the City Lord's mansion, everything was in disarray. Everyone in the mansion had been killed with a single sword strike to the throat, some with expressions of deep terror still lingering on their faces.

Seeing this scene, the scouts felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, their bodies chilled to the bone.

If they hadn't been seasoned veterans, accustomed to battle, they would have likely been scared out of their wits by this horrifying scene.

The lead scout's Adam's apple bobbed violently, his voice trembling. "Th-three Grandmasters... three hundred elites... and they didn't even have a chance to fight back?"

Another scout stared intently at the hair-thin sword mark on the ground, his face ashen.

"This... this sword is incredibly sharp, and the sword technique was so swift! A single strike to the throat, no chance to retaliate!"

The last scout's gaze swept across the center of the courtyard, his pupils contracting sharply, and he cried out in shock, "Look! That's..."

His face was pale as paper, his eyes wide.

All of them simultaneously noticed that the blood on the ground had formed the words "Misty Rain Tower," like a blooming blood-red flower.

"This Misty Rain Tower is truly ruthless and merciless. How have we never heard of this force before?"

"They wiped out the entire Luoxia City Lord's mansion overnight."

"Indeed, judging by the tragic scene here, Misty Rain Tower is definitely not an ordinary force. Its power is unfathomable."

"I have heard of this force. Several days ago, news spread from Qingzhou City that it was an assassin organization."

One of the scouts said.

"Oh? An assassin organization? In that case, someone must have bought the Luoxia City Lord's life."

At this moment, a scout saw the headless corpse, the cut on its neck smooth and even, clearly a sword decapitation.

His pupils contracted sharply, and he cried out in shock:

"It seems the Lord of Luoxia City has indeed met with misfortune,"

"This body must be the remains of the Lord of Luoxia City. It's just that his head is missing."

Hearing this, everyone looked at the headless body.

"To be killed by a single sword strike, the attacker's strength far surpasses that of the Lord of Luoxia City. Otherwise, it would be impossible to succeed with just one blow.

"I surmise his head was taken by Misty Rain Tower to fulfill a task."

"Misty Rain Tower is truly audacious. Knowing that the Lord of Luoxia City had powerful backing, they dared to disregard his connections entirely and directly destroy his mansion."

"It appears a storm is brewing in the Eastern Region."

The crowd spoke.

"I bid you farewell."

A scout said, and then left the City Lord's mansion. He had gathered all the information he needed and had to rush back to report this incident to the power behind him.