In the afternoon, at Tianfeng City's eastern gate.
Three figures rode magnificent Wind Chasing Horses slowly into the city beneath the awestruck gazes of a squad of gate guards.
At their head was a young man dressed in the robes of an Azure Cloud Sect Inner Sect Disciple.
He was handsome, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, yet a faint trace of arrogance lingered at the corners of his mouth, while his gaze carried the scrutiny of one looking down from on high.
He was none other than the Wang Family's eldest young master, Azure Cloud Sect Inner Sect Disciple, Wang Teng!
Two middle-aged men in Azure Cloud Sect attire followed behind him.
Their temples bulged high, their auras as steady as mountains. Their cultivation had both reached the Qi Condensation Fifth Layer!
They were protectors dispatched by the Azure Cloud Sect to assist Wang Teng with this "mission."
"Tianfeng City is still the same as ever. Not a single change."
Wang Teng reined in his horse and casually swept his gaze across the bustling streets, his tone carrying a faint trace of contempt.
In his eyes, no matter how prosperous such a mortal city was, it remained a mundane place filled with the stink of copper, far inferior to the sect, where Spiritual Energy was abundant and life was peaceful and carefree.
"Senior Brother Wang, are we going straight to the Liang Family residence, or?" one of the middle-aged protectors asked respectfully.
Although their cultivation was higher than Wang Teng's, Wang Teng was one of the most outstanding Inner Sect Disciples, highly valued by a certain elder, with immeasurable prospects ahead of him.
Naturally, protectors like them had to serve him with utmost care.
"No hurry." Wang Teng waved a hand. "Let's go to the Welcoming Guest Tower first and find somewhere to stay. Then send someone to notify that trash Liang Feng and tell him to roll over here and see me."
"Yes." The protector nodded, not daring to raise the slightest objection.
The three rode toward the most luxurious restaurant in the city, the Welcoming Guest Tower.
Their Azure Cloud Sect Inner Sect Disciple robes were the finest pass.
Wherever they went, whether pedestrians and merchants or patrolling guards, all stepped aside, not daring to block them in the slightest.
Half an hour later.
Inside a private Heaven-grade room at the Welcoming Guest Tower.
Wang Teng sat high in the seat of honor, leisurely sipping premium spiritual tea.
Across from him sat someone fidgeting restlessly, his face alternating between green and white. It was Liang Feng.
Though the slap marks on Liang Feng's face had already faded, he looked utterly dejected, as if his very spirit had been drained from him.
"Brother Wang... you... you've finally come." Liang Feng forced out a smile uglier than crying.
"What, haven't seen you for a few days, and you've already been beaten into this sorry state?" Wang Teng set down his teacup and looked at him with a half-smile. "I heard you even lost your Liang Family's Azure Cloud Token?"
Liang Feng's face instantly flushed the color of pig liver.
This matter had already spread throughout Tianfeng City and become the greatest stain of his life.
"Brother Wang, don't say any more..." Liang Feng's face burned hot. "I... I was muddleheaded for a moment and fell into someone else's trap!"
"Fell into someone else's trap?" Wang Teng sneered. "What I see is that your gambling addiction got the better of you. You didn't have the skill, yet you still tried to sit at the gambling table like everyone else!"
"I..." Liang Feng was choked speechless and could only lower his head.
Before Wang Teng, this eldest young master of the Liang Family did not have even the slightest temper.
Whether in status or strength, he was crushed beneath the other man's heel.
"Enough. Looking at your cowardly face irritates me." Wang Teng impatiently waved a hand. "Tell me, have you found out who the person that won your Azure Cloud Token is?"
"N-No." Liang Feng's voice was as faint as a mosquito's. "My father has turned all of Tianfeng City upside down, but that kid seems to have vanished from the face of the earth. There isn't a single clue."
"Trash!" Wang Teng cursed without restraint. "The Liang Family can be considered the local tyrant of Tianfeng City, yet you can't even find one person. You're truly getting more useless the longer you live."
Liang Feng was scolded until he was drenched in abuse, yet he did not dare retort with a single word.
Seeing his spineless appearance, the disdain in Wang Teng's eyes deepened.
He had originally hoped to obtain that Azure Cloud Token through Liang Feng and give it to one of his senior sisters in the sect in exchange for some benefits.
Now, it seemed that plan had gone completely down the drain.
However, his main purpose in coming to Tianfeng City this time was not the Azure Cloud Token.
"Forget it. Set the token matter aside for now." Wang Teng changed the subject, lowering his voice a little. "How did the matter I told you to handle go?"
At the mention of business, Liang Feng finally regained a little of his composure.
He hurriedly said, "Rest assured, Brother Wang, everything has been arranged. We've contacted the people from the Blood Fiend Tower. They said the goods are ready. The time is set for midnight tonight, and the location is the Mass Grave west of the city."
"The Mass Grave?" Wang Teng frowned. "That place is thick with a sinister chill. Why did they choose it for the transaction?"
"They said it's rarely visited and the safest place," Liang Feng explained.
"Hmph, a pack of rats that cannot stand the light." Wang Teng snorted, though a flash of greed and fervor passed through his eyes.
"Brother Wang, what exactly is being traded this time? Why cooperate with a demonic organization like the Blood Fiend Tower?" Liang Feng finally could not hold back and voiced the doubt in his heart.
He only knew that Wang Teng had asked him to contact the Blood Fiend Tower for a secret transaction.
But Wang Teng had never told him what exactly was being traded.
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask." Wang Teng's gaze instantly turned cold, and the pressure of the Second Level of Qi Condensation bore down upon Liang Feng.
Liang Feng only felt his chest tighten, as if a massive boulder were crushing down on him. Even breathing became difficult.
"Y-Yes... I won't ask..." he hurriedly said.
Only then did Wang Teng withdraw his pressure in satisfaction. He said blandly, "You only need to know that if this transaction goes smoothly, the benefits I gain will exceed your imagination. When the time comes, there will naturally be a share for you as well."
"Thank you, Brother Wang! Thank you, Brother Wang!" The moment Liang Feng heard there would be benefits, his face immediately brightened with delight.
"Fine, get lost." Wang Teng waved a hand as if shooing away a fly. "Come find me here before midnight tonight. Remember, absolutely no third person can learn of this matter. Do you understand?"
"Understood! Understood!" Liang Feng nodded like a pounding garlic pestle, then scrambled and crawled out of the private room.
Watching Liang Feng's departing back, Wang Teng revealed a disdainful sneer.
"What a complete and utter idiot."
"Senior Brother Wang," one of the Qi Condensation Fifth Layer protectors, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke, "cooperating with the Blood Fiend Tower is ultimately like seeking the skin of a tiger. If this matter leaks, your reputation may..."
"What is there to fear?" Wang Teng said dismissively. "As long as I obtain that batch of Blood Soul Crystals, I can immediately use them to exchange for a Breakthrough Pill. Then I'll be able to break through to the Third Level of Qi Condensation in one stroke!"
"Once I reach the Third Level of Qi Condensation, my standing among the Inner Sect Disciples will become even more secure. At that point, who would dare criticize me over such a trivial matter?"
His eyes were filled with thirst and ambition for power.
"As for that trash Liang Feng, once the transaction is complete, we'll find an opportunity to dispose of him. A dead man won't babble."
Wang Teng's voice was cold, devoid of even a trace of emotion.
The two protectors' hearts both trembled. They exchanged a glance, each seeing a trace of horror in the other's eyes.
They knew that beneath the handsome and extraordinary appearance of this Senior Brother Wang was a person of ruthless cruelty.
Before you continue