There was a Wu Family Tavern near the docks of Tianling Commandery in Wu Province.
It was one of Tianling Commandery's famous taverns, usually thronged with guests, its entrance bustling like a marketplace.
Today, however, a group of fully armed soldiers in iron armor had surrounded the Wu Family Tavern since Chen Hour.
A great iron banner had also been planted atop the tavern, snapping in the wind. Martial artists nearby paled at the sight and took detours.
A month earlier, the Iron Banner Gang had invaded Wu Province. With tens of thousands of eighth-rank members and over a dozen Earthly Ranking experts, their offensive had toppled mountains and overturned seas. In barely a dozen days, they had shattered Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower's ironclad domain, routing its forces and bringing its pillars and rafters crashing down.
Many famous experts of Wu Province's martial world had perished in this battle.
Back when Chu Xisheng had swept through Wu Province's younger generation and earned the name Chu One-Saber, none of its martial artists had imagined that he would one day lead tens of thousands of men back here and become another overlord of the Grand Canal.
When Chu Xisheng arrived at the docks aboard the Sun-Bathing Divine Vessel, he sensed three powerful presences inside the tavern.
They belonged to Situ Tang and his wife, and the Cloud-Dream Demon King. All three had arrived early.
Chu Xisheng smiled and nodded at the armored soldiers, thanking them for their efforts, then pointed at Feng Liancheng and Gu Mingyue with a trace of displeasure. "You two!"
Feng Liancheng and Gu Mingyue had been responsible for capturing Tianling Commandery and had yet to hand it over to Divine Strategy Crimson Thunder Hall, which would soon be stationed here.
Chu Xisheng had already sent a Message