"Are you Grandmaster Li of the Guangyun Domain? Your illustrious presence truly brings splendor to my humble abode! Had I known you were coming, I would have gone out to welcome you. Forgive me, forgive me."
Xia Yutang reacted quickly, his expression changing in an instant as he hurried to speak.
"You needn't play dumb. There are no outsiders here," Li Chen said calmly.
Xia Yutang paused slightly. "Grandmaster Li, what do you mean?"
Li Chen said, "You should know why I've come looking for you. I can also guess that there's probably some Great Power behind you who couldn't bring himself to refuse you protection."
"But that doesn't matter. I won't make things difficult for him. I only need to dispose of you in secret and avenge myself. Then my thoughts will flow freely, and petty scoundrels will tremble."
"And once I've done all this, your backer will have no evidence with which to accuse me, nor any way to make trouble for me."
At those words, Xia Yutang nearly felt his soul fly beyond the heavens.
How could anyone be so cunning!
He had guarded against a thousand possibilities, but never against Li Chen stooping so low as to plot a sneak attack.
What Xia Yutang did not know, however, was that during his campaign in Great Qian, Li Chen had once used six Nascent Soul-level combatants to ambush the Earl of the Beautiful River.
And who was the Earl of the Beautiful River? Merely a local strongman with a Foundation Establishment Yin Spirit.
Although that had been done to avoid alerting the defenders of a major city, it was proof enough that Li Chen placed few restraints on himself. His methods were simple and direct, yet meticulously planned.
"I'm very sorry, but this is the cruelty of