It was the middle of the night. Shen Fei had just finished cultivating and was about to put out the light and go to bed. Suddenly, a clamor of footsteps came from outside his window, along with the faint glow of fire in the distance.
He immediately walked to the window and lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside. A dark red glow shone in the direction of the City Lord's Mansion, far brighter than its usual nighttime lights.
Something was wrong. He had barely furrowed his brows when a servant knocked at the door, his voice laced with panic. "Young master, something terrible has happened! Word is spreading everywhere-the Dark Guild has attacked the City Lord's Mansion! The master wants you to gather in the front hall."
Shen Fei answered, quickly took the sword hanging on the wall, and threw on his outer robe before heading out.
Quite a few people had already gathered in the front courtyard. The family guards wore armor and gripped their weapons, their expressions tense. Shen Hong stood on the steps, his face so dark it seemed water could drip from it. When he saw Shen Fei approaching, he immediately called out to stop him.
"What are you panicking for?" His voice was not loud, yet it silenced every sound in the courtyard. "We haven't established what happened yet. No one is to act rashly. Wait for news first. We'll decide what to do once Ye Zong stabilizes the situation."
Shen Fei understood perfectly. Shen Hong wanted to wait and see. The Dark Guild had come with overwhelming force this time, and no one knew how things would end. By holding his troops back, he would leave himself room to maneuver no matter which side won. Put plainly, he was gambling with the safety of the City Lord's Mansion.
Shen Hong had made the same choice in his previous life when the Demon Beasts breached the city. He had abandoned the city and fled, caring nothing for whether its people lived or died, so long as he saved his own family first. Shen Fei did not argue. He lowered his head and answered, "Yes."
Shen Hong nodded in satisfaction, then turned and entered the front hall to discuss matters with several elders.
The guards remained in the courtyard, awaiting orders. No one dared act on their own. Shen Fei stood at the back of the group and swept his gaze around. No one was paying attention to him.
He quietly stepped back twice, then used the corridor pillars as cover to circle around to the side gate in the rear courtyard. Only one old servant guarded the gate, and the commotion out front had long since drawn his attention. With his back to Shen Fei, he craned his neck to peer over.
Without alerting him, Shen Fei gently pushed the gate open and slipped out.
He turned into the nearby alley, confirmed that no one was around, and summoned the Shadow Mantis. A black phantom emerged from the shadows, its blade-like forelimbs gleaming coldly.
Shen Fei fused with his Demon Spirit. Dark Spiritual Power covered his entire body, and his presence vanished in an instant. His innate Shadow Stealth activated, and he seemed to melt into the night.
He raced across the rooftops toward the City Lord's Mansion, using the shadows cast by the buildings as cover. He was nearly twice as fast as usual. Wind swept past his ears, carrying a faint scent of blood. The closer he came to the City Lord's Mansion, the louder the commotion grew. Battle cries, clashing weapons, and the roars of Demon Beasts mingled together.
He had just turned into a narrow alley off a side street beside the City Lord's Mansion when a dark figure rushed straight toward him. The man wore a black robe and a mask, clutching a bulging cloth bundle to his chest. His Spiritual Power fluctuations were at gold rank 2-star.
He had just climbed over a side wall of the City Lord's Mansion. From the look of it, he had gotten what he wanted and was preparing to retreat.
The two came face-to-face, and both froze for a moment. The black-robed man quickly recovered. Seeing that Shen Fei was merely a young family scion whose Spiritual Power fluctuations were only at gold rank 1-star, he immediately broke into a savage grin. He stopped fleeing, blocked the middle of the alley, and summoned his own Demon Spirit.
A Poison-Tailed Scorpion half as tall as a person crawled out of the black mist. His shell shone with an oily black gleam, and his raised stinger glimmered a lurid green. "Kid, you're out of luck," the black-robed man rasped. "Running into your granddaddy here was your bad fortune."
Shen Fei said nothing, tightening his grip on his sword. Gold rank 2-star, just like him.
Seeing his silence, the black-robed man assumed he was scared witless. With a sneer, he commanded the Poison-Tailed Scorpion to pounce.
The Poison-Tailed Scorpion moved swiftly. His stinger drove straight toward Shen Fei's left shoulder, trailing a foul-smelling gust. If it struck, the poison would instantly paralyze half his body.
Shen Fei shifted his footing and dodged sideways. The shadow cast by the alley wall happened to cover half his body. Using it as cover, he flickered and vanished from the black-robed man's sight. Shadow Stealth.
The black-robed man froze for a moment, then sneered. "A paltry trick." He commanded the Poison-Tailed Scorpion to turn around and sweep his stinger toward the shadows behind him.
With a clang, the stinger struck the wall, scattering chips of stone. Nothing there.
Just then, Shen Fei burst from the shadows to his left.
His sword, wrapped in dark Spiritual Power, thrust straight toward the black-robed man's neck. Alarmed, the man hurriedly raised his left arm to block.
He wore a Fine Iron Bracer on his arm. In theory, blocking a sword strike at gold rank 1-star should have posed no problem.
With a sharp clang, the sword tip struck the bracer.
The black-robed man was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw Shen Fei swing his other hand, unleashing a dark blade of energy. It was the Shadow Mantis's Life-Bound Blade Slash, far sharper than an ordinary Fine Iron Sword.
He tried with all his strength to block it, but he was already too late.
There was a soft shick. The blade energy sliced through the bracer and continued on to cut open his carotid artery. Blood sprayed onto the black wall, carrying a warm, metallic reek.
The black-robed man's eyes bulged wide. He clutched his neck, choking out ragged sounds. He tried to say something, but no words came.
He staggered back two steps, swayed, and fell heavily to the ground. After a few spasms, he lay still. Deprived of his host's Spiritual Power, the Poison-Tailed Scorpion swayed, then dissolved into black mist.
Shen Fei caught his breath and withdrew his Demon Spirit. The attack had looked swift and clean, but it had actually consumed nearly thirty percent of his Soul Force.
He crouched and searched the black-robed man's body.
He found a black token engraved with a skull emblem-a Deacon Token of the Dark Guild.
There was also half a sheet of folded parchment. He unfolded it and found a Defense Map of the Inner City, with several warehouse locations circled in red.
It seemed the Dark Guild's surprise attack was not merely about killing people. Their primary objective was to sabotage the formation Nie Li was setting up. Apparently, they had already begun to fear him.
Shen Fei tucked the token and Defense Map inside his robe, then glanced at the corpse on the ground. He had no time to deal with it. If he left it here, the City Guard would come to collect it.
He stood, wiped the blood from his sword, and continued toward the inner courtyard of the City Lord's Mansion.
The farther he went, the louder the thunderous crashes became. These were not ordinary sounds of battle, but the tremors of something heavy smashing into the ground, accompanied by the sizzling crackle of exploding lightning.
Shen Fei's heart sank. Judging by those sounds, whatever was inside was probably beyond gold rank.
He quickened his pace and vaulted over a courtyard wall, quieting his breathing as he landed.
The inner courtyard was a wreck. Several side buildings were ablaze, flames leaping high and painting half the sky red. Guards hunted down the remaining Dark Guild members everywhere, their battle cries rising one after another.
In the clearing of the rearmost courtyard, lightning exploded again and again, so dazzling that it hurt to keep his eyes open. Shen Fei edged toward it along the corridor pillars, his heart pounding.
He had a premonition that what he was about to see would completely overturn everything he knew.
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