Nangong Wenyang had been in a foul mood these past few days. Ever since Chen Fengyang had taken the Town-Suppressing Seal, Nangong Shenhe had ordered him not to provoke the Chen Clan, especially Chen Xiao.
Back in the city, Nangong Wenyang had gathered a group of young wastrels from the smaller and mid-sized clans and spent every day bickering with the Four Great Talents, led by Chen Xiao. With Nangong Wenyue backing him, he might not have won any major victories, but he had never missed a chance to humiliate them.
But now the Chen Clan had secured its position as the city lord's family, and Chen Xiao had gained powerful backing. Yet at this very moment, his father had forbidden him from picking a fight with the Chen Clan—and had even gone so far as to confine him to the estate.
Fortunately, three days ago, after several powerful cultivators fought in Moon-Gazing City, something seemed to have happened within the Nangong Family. Nangong Shenhe was run off his feet, Nangong Wenyue had encountered a snag in his cultivation, and Nangong Wenxing, Nangong Wenxue, and the others had inexplicably gone into seclusion.
Nobody had time to pay any attention to Nangong Wenyang, the family wastrel.
But Nangong Shenhe was no fool. How could he be unaware of the changes in Moon-Gazing City these past few days? And he knew his son's temperament all too well: arrogant and conceited, with no regard for anyone. If he ever left the estate, he was bound to offend everyone in the city.
Nangong Shenhe had assigned a family steward at the Division Spirit Realm to keep a close eye on Nangong Wenyang and stop him from going out to cause trouble.
Nangong Wenyang was merely an ineffectual member of the Nangong Family, with no right to know its secrets. As far as he knew, the Nangong Family was just one of the Aristocratic Clans in Moon-Gazing City.
At that moment, Nangong Wenyang stared, dumbfounded, at the family steward assigned to watch him. Somehow, a gaping hole had appeared in the steward's dantian. His Nascent Soul was gone, his eyes were wide open, and blood seeped from all seven orifices. The Storage Ring on his finger had vanished as well.
"Uncle?"
Nangong Wenyang cautiously nudged the man.
Thud.
The Division Spirit Realm steward toppled face-first to the ground, his life force gone.
Thud!
This time, Nangong Wenyang was the one who collapsed to the floor.
It was bizarre—utterly bizarre. He had only turned away for a moment, and the family steward had just... died without explanation?
What was going on?
Nangong Wenyang shakily climbed to his feet and left his room, intending to tell his father. But as soon as he stepped out of his courtyard, he saw a servant hurrying toward him in a panic.
"Young master, young master, something terrible has happened!"
The servant was one of the attendants who usually followed Nangong Wenyang around the city as he terrorized the locals. Though Nangong Wenyang had been confined, the attendant had continued using his name to throw his weight around and do as he pleased.
"W-what happened?"
Nangong Wenyang forced down his fear and asked.
"Chen Xiao went to the Heavenly Abode again with Bei Yu Xian, Li Changqi, and Canghai Chengkong to eat and drink without paying. And this time, they've booked the whole place, saying they're treating everyone in the city."
The attendant stammered as he recounted everything that had happened at the Heavenly Abode, embellishing the story quite a bit.
"Bastard!"
Nangong Wenyang felt the fury in his gut surge up all at once. The steward's death was immediately tossed out of his mind.
"Gather the family guards! Follow me to the Heavenly Abode!"
Nangong Wenyang knew his father wasn't at the estate, and the man watching him was dead. If he didn't go out and throw his weight around now, when would he?
The Chen Clan? Others might fear you, but I, Nangong Wenyang, don't! Wenyue can beat you up, and so can I!
The attendant was overjoyed. At Nangong Wenyang's command, he gathered the remaining household servants and guards—more than fifty cultivators at the Golden Core Realm or above—and they set off for the Heavenly Abode in a grand procession.
Because of what had happened three days earlier, Nangong Shenhe was run off his feet and had no time to deal with his son. He had simply left a family steward at the Division Spirit Realm to watch over him.
Who could have guessed that the steward would be killed? Meanwhile, throughout the Nangong Family estate, some were in seclusion recovering from their injuries, and Nangong Shenhe had quietly taken some of the family's elite disciples and elders to Mingyu Mountain to make arrangements there.
So, for the moment, everything in the Nangong Family was at the mercy of young master Nangong Wenyang. The family's core members and hidden experts who knew its true foundations had either been taken away by Nangong Shenhe or had gone into hiding. Those left at the estate were merely peripheral members who usually put on a show in the city.
When they heard that Chen Xiao had caused trouble at the Heavenly Abode, they were instantly incensed. The Heavenly Abode was one of the Nangong Family's main sources of income in the city. If Chen Xiao disrupted its business like this, wouldn't the family's interests suffer greatly?
One by one, they rolled up their sleeves and followed Nangong Wenyang to the Heavenly Abode in a grand procession.
"Young master, you're here?"
The head manager of the Heavenly Abode saw Nangong Wenyang arrive and felt his heart sink. He was good at reading people, and he knew very well who had come to the city these past few days.
So although he was furious when Chen Xiao brought people to "treat" everyone, he hadn't acted. He hadn't even informed the family, for fear of causing trouble.
But it was different now that young master Nangong Wenyang had arrived.
Nangong Wenyang's anger surged. He recalled the steward who had died miserably at the estate. Could Chen Xiao have killed him in secret?
That's it. It must have been him. Chen Fengyang got the Town-Suppressing Seal, and Chen Xiao thinks he has powerful backing. So he took advantage of the Nangong Family's weakened defenses to exact revenge... Heh. He thinks no one would find out? Does he take me, Nangong Wenyang, for a fool?
Nangong Wenyang's face twisted into a grimace.
"Chen Xiao, you worthless piece of trash! Get your ass out here!"
"First you killed a steward of the Nangong Family, then you brought a bunch of freeloading losers here to eat without paying. Do you think my Nangong Family is easy to bully?"
"..."
Nangong Wenyang's words rang through the entire Heavenly Abode. The cultivators who had been talking quietly fell silent at once.
Cold gazes, brimming with murderous intent, fixed on Nangong Wenyang.
With his remark about "freeloading losers" eating without paying, Nangong Wenyang had undoubtedly offended everyone in the Heavenly Abode.
Yet quite a few people narrowed their eyes.
A steward of the Nangong Family had died?
On its own, that would have been a minor matter. But happening at such a sensitive time, it was bound to raise suspicions.
Everyone already knew Nangong Xiangyan's identity, but they hadn't connected him to the Nangong Family in Moon-Gazing City.
After all, Nangong Xiangyan came from the Nangong Clan, a powerful family in Glazed Heaven known as the Southern Overlord. Moon-Gazing City, by contrast, was just a backwater. Besides, this Nangong Family had been established in Moon-Gazing City for several hundred years.
But now, Nangong Xiangyan had fought with a Mahayana Realm cultivator, and someone in this Nangong Family had inexplicably died...
Things seemed rather intriguing.
"Well, Brother Nangong, what's got you so worked up? What's made you so angry? Calm down, come on up and have a drink. Bei Yu and the others have just come out of seclusion, and I'm hosting a banquet to celebrate. You should join us for three cups."
At that moment, Chen Xiao's voice drifted down from upstairs.
"Chen Xiao, you've got some nerve. While my father was away, you sent someone to secretly murder a steward of my family. Today, I'm settling this score with you! Men, attack!"
The moment Nangong Wenyang heard Chen Xiao's voice, his face twisted with rage.
"Young master, something terrible has happened!"
Suddenly, a cultivator dressed as a Nangong Family servant stumbled in through the door.