July had barely begun when autumn rain fell east of Cangshan.
The bleak autumn wind stirred the tavern banners in the small town. Martial wanderers traveling north and south sheltered beneath the eaves, but the bustle of the previous days was gone, replaced by a tense, swords-drawn oppression. Every gaze rested on the Yangchen Inn in the town center.
Outside the aging inn, several groups of martial artists stood before the doors. Their attire marked them as members of different gangs, and though their eyes met, no one spoke.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
Inside the inn's main hall, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Seven martial artists in different styles of dress sat scattered about, each with two or three disciples standing behind them.
Among the seven were Shi Boyi, the new head of Azure Dragon Cave; Guo Shubao, the Sect Leader of the White Gang in Liaobei Prefecture; Xi Tianlu, the new Sect Leader of Dragon River Manor in Langzhou Prefecture; Lu Wuniang, the Tower Master of Black Eagle Tower in Ya'an Prefecture; and Zhang Ke, the leader of the northern Canal Gang.
Seated at the two tables in the middle were Yao Shangqing, leader of the Sea Gang in Chong'a Circuit, and Tian Wuliang, Island Master of Thunder God Island in Tianpin Circuit.
In last year's Northern Liang martial world, these seven figures would only have ranked in the upper-middle tier. After all, the Ten Grandmasters still loomed over them.
Now, however, Xi Tianshang, King Gouchen, Hua Ling, Shi Daoyu, and the Left Xian King were all dead. By the rule of advancing through the ranks in order, these people already had one foot in the highest tier.
Outside, these seven, with their tangled grudges, could never have gathered in the same place. They would have