The City Lord's Estate!
Commander Guo knelt on one knee. Before him stood a middle-aged man in purple robes, his expression somber.
"City Lord, you must uphold justice for us! That little bastard deceived us all. He wasn't trash at all."
He sounded on the verge of tears. A dignified first-rank guard of the City Lord's Estate, he had returned in tattered clothes. The other guards all had wounds on their necks. Their opponent had shown mercy.
"Is what you say true?"
The city lord of Canglan City, whose real name was Qi Enshi, had governed Canglan City for over twenty years.
"Every word is true. They can all bear witness."
Ten guards knelt outside the main hall, unqualified to enter, their right hands still covering their necks. This was a humiliation.
"Father..."
A man and a woman emerged from behind the curtains. The woman was young, in the bloom of her twenties. The other was an old man in his fifties, with a hooked nose and a fierce face.
The woman was Qi Ningyun, Qi Enshi's youngest daughter. She had entered the Imperial Academy two years ago. The old man standing beside her was Zhao Yuanjia, a senior instructor at the Imperial Academy. His status was lower than Baili Qing's, but it was far from low.
Those accepted as an instructor's disciples possessed exceptional talent. Most students at the Imperial Academy had to cultivate on their own. Without a powerful background supporting them, they could hardly move a single step within the academy.
"Yun'er, how is the sinister Yin Qi in your body?" Qi Enshi's expression changed as he asked with concern.
"It poses no serious problem for now. I must thank Master for traveling all the way from Imperial Capital City especially to bring me a Nine Yang Fruit." After speaking, Qi Ningyun bowed to Zhao Yuanjia.
During this visit home, she had gone to the Sunset Mountain Range to train and encountered an attack by a powerful Yin Scorpion Beast. She had been afflicted with sinister Yin poison, which could only be treated with medicines of utmost strength and Yang.
While people were sent to scour Canglan City for medicinal ingredients of utmost strength and Yang, others traveled day and night to Imperial Capital City to notify her master, Zhao Yuanjia. The sinister Yin Qi had finally been removed, and after a few days' rest, she would be fine.
"Thank you, Instructor Zhao. Words cannot express my gratitude for such a great kindness. I will hold a grand banquet tonight to welcome you." Qi Enshi hastily cupped his hands in salute.
As the city lord of Canglan City, he was himself at the marrow cleansing first level, but he still fell short compared to an instructor of the Imperial Academy.
"You are thoughtful, City Lord Qi. Yun'er was unwell. As her master, I naturally couldn't stand by with folded arms."
Being treated with respect pleased Zhao Yuanjia greatly. He stroked his beard, looking every bit an otherworldly expert.
"Father, what was that about trash just now?"
Qi Ningyun had a naturally seductive appearance and upturned phoenix eyes. She was not particularly ugly, but her cheekbones lacked flesh, and her lips were like thin blades. One glance marked her as the sharp-tongued, mean-spirited sort.
Commander Guo hurriedly shuffled over on his knees and recounted everything that had happened that day. A hint of surprise appeared in Qi Ningyun's eyes. She had long heard of the Xu Household's famous live-in son-in-law. She had not returned for two years, yet he had changed so much.
"City Lord, when has our City Lord's Estate ever suffered such a loss? If we don't destroy the Xu Household, what will remain of our dignity?"
Commander Guo embellished the story, even mentioning how Liu Wuxie had insulted the City Lord's Estate. It was entirely fabricated. To avenge his humiliation, he would stop at nothing.
"The Xu Household? I heard Baili Qing also came to Canglan City, apparently for a girl from the Xu Household," Zhao Yuanjia suddenly interjected.
He had left Imperial Capital City at the same time as Baili Qing, and their paths had crossed for a stretch of the journey.
"That's right, that very Xu Household. I just received word that their daughter has already left Canglan City with Baili Qing to begin cultivating at the Imperial Academy ahead of schedule."
How could Qi Enshi fail to hear Commander Guo's embellishments? They had not bought the Nine Yang Fruit, but ultimately, the City Lord's Estate had still been offended.
"Father, what do you intend to do next? Are we simply going to let this matter go?"
An icy menace appeared on Qi Ningyun's face. Fortunately, her master had arrived in time to save her life. The Xu Household's live-in son-in-law had actually disregarded whether she lived or died and refused to surrender the Nine Yang Fruit. That angered her somewhat.
"Let it go?" Qi Enshi gave a cold laugh. In all these years, no one had dared slap him, Qi Enshi, in the face. This was the first time. How could he leave it at that?
"Then what should we do? The Xu Household's daughter has entered the Imperial Academy and has Baili Qing looking after her. Killing her family wouldn't seem appropriate, would it?"
A trace of killing intent appeared at the corner of Qi Ningyun's mouth. The City Lord's Estate's standing must never be shaken. It concerned her presence at the academy. Only with a family of standing would she receive attention there.
"Three days ago, that trash offended the Wan Household and Tian Household at the beast-fighting arena. In a month, the Xu Household will naturally be erased from Canglan City. There's no need for us to act. The Wan Household has curried favor with the Xue Household. Nothing could be more suitable than letting them act."
This news had long since reached the City Lord's Estate. The plan was to kill with a borrowed blade.
Baili Qing was a she-devil with unpredictable moods. Who knew whether she would vent his anger on others over the Xu Household?
The best approach was to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.
Everyone nodded. Zhao Yuanjia also agreed with Qi Enshi's suggestion. It was better not to offend Baili Qing if they could avoid it. That she-devil was too terrifying; her demonic reputation had long since spread throughout the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty.
The Xu Household's side courtyard!
Liu Wuxie stared fixedly at the Pill Furnace. He had only one chance and could not miss it.
He had absolute faith in his alchemy, yet at this moment, he was somewhat nervous, afraid of failure.
The Wan Household's relentless pressure, the Tian Household's coercion, the Pill Treasure Pavilion's threats and inducements, the City Lord's Estate hanging like a sharp sword above his head, an outsider tearing up his marriage contract before his eyes—this succession of blows had failed to crush him.
The alchemical flames blazed fiercely. Dense Qi of the Great Desolation poured from his palms, controlling the flames and wrapping the entire Pill Furnace.
The Nine Yang Fruit and Crimson Spirit Grass had completely dissolved. The other ingredients had been successfully purified several days earlier, awaiting only these two medicinal ingredients.
Time passed, second by second. Liu Wuxie was drenched in sweat, without time to wipe it away. His hands suddenly lifted the furnace lid, and fierce flames surged into the Pill Furnace. This was the final step: forging.
In ordinary alchemy, alchemical flames were rarely allowed inside the Pill Furnace. It was too risky.
He was only in the Acquired Realm and could not refine third-grade pills. He could only take the risk.
A rich medicinal fragrance filled the small courtyard. Two translucent pills darted through the flames. With every refinement, their medicinal potency became purer, while the impurities within were constantly removed.
His hands formed seals, sending large numbers of spirit inscriptions into the pills. Spirit inscriptions could be used not only for pills but also for weapons and inscribing talismans.
Once the spirit inscriptions were engraved, the pills possessed powerful spirituality and spun rapidly.
"Collect the pills!"
The flames suddenly vanished, and the Pill Furnace rapidly cooled. Wrapped in True Qi, two Meridian-Restoring Pills landed in his palm.
"It worked!"
At this moment, the corners of Liu Wuxie's eyes grew somewhat damp. Only after reconnecting his heart meridians could he do more and accelerate his cultivation.
Taking the pills, he returned to his room. He needed to enter seclusion for a time and use the Meridian-Restoring Pills to break through to the Xiantian Realm in one stroke.
The Xu Household's main hall!
Hu Shi walked in carrying weapons, unable to suppress the excitement on his face.
Over the past few days, the weapons workshop's troubles had turned many of Xu Yilin's hairs white. Business at the workshop worsened by the day, and it could barely cover its expenses. If nothing changed, the Xu Household would collapse on its own without the Wan Household needing to act.
"Patriarch, these are newly forged weapons. Please inspect them!"
Hu Shi had brought ten weapons in all, wrapped in blue cloth to keep their secrets from leaking. Passersby had not known what he was carrying.
Recently, the household's expenditures had shrunk severely. Many guards had resigned from the Xu Household to join the other three households, causing the Xu Household's standing to sink ever lower.
"Hu Shi, thank you for your hard work. Set them here for now." Xu Yilin waved a hand, telling him to put them down first.
The weapons workshop's masters had all been resting lately. Only Hu Shi was still studying new artifact-refining techniques. Many people had mocked him these past few days, thinking he vastly overestimated himself. What advanced artifact-refining technique could a mere apprentice possibly develop?
"Patriarch, please take a look."
His master had given him three days to work out the new artifact-refining technique. He had barely slept or rested. The bags beneath his eyes were dark, but his eyes shone brightly, and he could not suppress his excitement.
Xu Yilin had noticed Hu Shi's performance over the past few days and was focusing on nurturing him. He stepped down from his seat and drew a longsword. A cold gleam burst forth, accompanied by a wisp of escaping Sword Qi.
"This..."
The blue cloth had concealed its chill and Sword Qi. The instant it was drawn, it released a piercing sharpness.
"What a sharp longsword! It actually possesses a trace of spirituality!"
He swung the longsword, and tables and chairs in the distance shattered under its Sword Qi. The quality of this longsword approached that of a Spirit Artifact, something only thousand-refined steel could achieve.
"Hu Shi, where did these weapons come from?"
Xu Yilin seized Hu Shi's shoulders. The Xu Household could not forge weapons of such high quality, and he certainly would not believe Hu Shi had forged them.
"I forged them over these past three days."
Hu Shi was simple and honest. He scratched his bird's-nest-like hair. He had not bathed for three days and even smelled a little, yet Xu Yilin showed no trace of distaste.
"What!"
This time, it was Xu Yilin's turn to be shocked. He had established himself in Canglan City through artifact refining, yet he could not even understand Hu Shi's artifact-refining technique. It far surpassed ordinary methods.
"Hu Shi, did you develop these weapons yourself?" Overwhelmed with excitement, Xu Yilin gripped Hu Shi's shoulders and asked urgently.
"No, someone taught me and told me I had to work it out within three days."
Hu Shi was somewhat nervous. This was his first time being so close to the patriarch. He was only an ordinary artifact-refining apprentice who had obtained the position because his father worked for the Xu Household, earning a small number of gold coins each month.
"Tell me quickly, who taught you this artifact-refining technique? I must thank him properly in person."
He had to find this person. With this artifact-refining technique, the Xu Household would surely advance by leaps and bounds and earn large quantities of gold coins. Only then could they buy resources and train elite guards, giving them a chance to survive the coercion of the Wan Household and Tian Household.
"He... he wouldn't let me tell anyone."
Hu Shi stammered a little. His master had told him that day not to reveal what had happened.
"Then is he in Canglan City?"
A trace of astonishment appeared on Xu Yilin's face. Who could be helping the Xu Household in secret?
"Yes, right here in our Xu Household. If there's nothing else, I'll head back. Sorry for the trouble, Patriarch, but please deliver this saber scabbard to the young master." With that, he carefully took an exquisite saber scabbard from inside his robe.
Afraid he would let something slip if he stayed, Hu Shi hurriedly turned and left. His nature was too straightforward. If Xu Yilin applied even a little pressure, he would certainly tell him.
"Hu Shi, from now on, you are our Xu Household's chief artifact refiner. Whatever you need, just say the word. I will support you fully. Our artifact-refining workshop will be relying on you from now on."
Xu Yilin was decisive. A glimmer of understanding flashed through his eyes. He seemed to have guessed something, but he was not yet certain.