How can you still have the nerve to be looking at things here

“A figure like that could never have gone unnoticed.”

“Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless he’s one of those ancient monsters who revived from the Imperial Fall Era tens of thousands of years ago.”

Li Yunzhi’s pupils suddenly contracted.

“Whoever he is,” Old Ce’s muffled voice came from inside the black jade bookmark, “whatever you do, don’t provoke him. That girl from the Tong family sure got lucky this time. If she can cling to this powerful backer… Heh. Forget the Shu family—even if someone from Emperor Court Mountain came calling, they’d have to think twice.”

Standing at the bow of the boat, Li Yunzhi remained silent for a long time.

At last, he let out a sigh. His body transformed into a streak of light and vanished over the surface of the river.

…

North of Tianshui City, the Shu Residence.

The sprawling estate showed none of the luxury one would normally expect.

Its towering walls were built of black basalt, and every ten steps stood a watchtower carved with intricate formation patterns.

Compared with the Tong family’s gaudy, money-soaked splendor, the Shu family exuded a suffocating air of austerity and slaughter.

The head of the Shu family—and the lord of Tianshui City—Shu Wanjuan was seated in the grand armchair of his study.

The study was enormous, yet far from empty.

Massive bookshelves covered all four walls, but they held no books of sages. Instead, they were crammed with countless jade slips.

This was the intelligence hub of Tianshui City. Countless reports flowed in from all over the region, were sifted through, and then placed on his desk.

Tianshui City had been anything but peaceful lately.

Last month, the “Tong Family Ancient Sword” had suddenly erupted for reasons unknown, its radiance visible throughout the entire city…

Word had spread like wildfire, drawing all manner of unsavory figures from far and wide.

Although Emperor Court Mountain had issued an order strictly forbidding the major factions from fighting within the city, rules had always been meant to restrain gentlemen, not villains.

“Things are getting chaotic…”

Shu Wanjuan rubbed his brow. Fatigue flashed through his eyes, but it was overshadowed by something darker and more sinister.

At that moment, the heavy nanmu doors of the study were shoved open.

“You still have the nerve to sit here reading?!”

The voice arrived before its owner.

A moment later, an extravagantly dressed woman adorned with pearls and jewels stumbled into the room.

Her eyes were swollen and red, utterly lacking the dignified bearing expected of the wife of an Immortal King.

Shu Wanjuan did not even raise his head. His gaze remained fixed on the intelligence report in his hand as he said coldly, “Get out.”

“I’m not leaving!” The woman rushed to the desk and shrieked, “Feng’er has been crippled! His knees were shattered, and even his natal spirit sword was broken!”

Shu Wanjuan glanced at the hand covered in rings pressing down on the jade slip. The corner of his eye twitched.

“Move your hand.”

“Your son is practically crippled, and you’re worried about this worthless junk?!” The woman slammed her palms against the desk hysterically. “That’s your own flesh and blood! He was beaten like this on our territory, and you, his father, don’t even say a word?”

Shu Wanjuan slowly raised his head.

His face was refined yet intensely imposing, with temples touched by frost and narrow, elongated eyes.

There was not a trace of warmth in them now.

“I’ll say this one last time.”

“Move your hand.”

The woman shuddered, as if a basin of ice water had been poured over her head.

She had been married to Shu Wanjuan for several thousand years and knew this man’s temperament all too well.

The calmer he seemed, the more fiercely the anger was burning inside him.

She instinctively pulled back her hand and retreated half a step, her voice taking on a tearful note. “Dear… Feng’er is suffering so badly… You have to stand up for him…”

Shu Wanjuan lowered his head again, his tone utterly even. “He’s over a hundred years old, yet only at the late Golden Core stage. He went out with four guards and was beaten like a dead dog, his legs broken before he was thrown back.”

“That isn’t suffering.”

Shu Wanjuan turned a page of the jade slip and said indifferently, “That is called being useless.”

“You…” The woman stared at him in disbelief. “How can you say that about Feng’er? He’s your only son!”

“Precisely because he’s my son, he deserves to die.” Shu Wanjuan snorted coldly. “Normally, I wouldn’t care if he threw his weight around using my name. But does he not understand the current situation? The city is filled with powerful outsiders, and he still had to make a grand show of trying to abduct some woman. The fact that he wasn’t killed on the spot means the other party showed mercy.”

“Go back to the rear compound. Stop getting in my way.”

The woman clenched her teeth, tears welling in her eyes, but in the end she did not dare throw another tantrum.

She stamped her foot hard and ran out.

The study fell silent once more.

Shu Wanjuan set down the jade slip and leaned back in his chair, slowly exhaling a long breath of stale air.

“Come out.”

The air in the shadows twisted.

A middle-aged man in black armor materialized soundlessly, his features firm and his expression resolute.

He was the commander of the Shu family’s shadow guards—and the blade Shu Wanjuan trusted most.

“Patriarch.” Shadow One dropped to one knee, his voice low.

“Have you found out what happened?”

“Yes.” Shadow One kept his head lowered and spoke rapidly. “The one who acted on the pleasure boat was a young man wearing a mask. His bone age is low, and his cultivation appears to be only at the mid-Golden Core stage, but… he is unfathomably deep.”

“Mid-Golden Core?” Shu Wanjuan let out a mocking laugh. “Could someone at the mid-Golden Core stage snap Feng’er’s Flowing Light Sword with two fingers?”

“This subordinate is incompetent and was unable to determine his true background.” Shadow One paused before continuing. “However, I inspected the scene. The four guards were knocked unconscious by sheer physical force. As for the young master… his kneecaps were shattered instantly by an extremely sophisticated burst of internal force. His control over power has reached a level of absolute perfection.”

“Interesting.”

Shu Wanjuan’s fingers tapped lightly against the desk, producing a crisp, rhythmic knock.

“What about Tong Xiaoxiao?”

“Tong Xiaoxiao announced publicly that she will auction the ancient sword seven days from now.”

“Heh.” A mocking curve formed at the corner of Shu Wanjuan’s mouth. “Driving tigers out to devour wolves? I wonder whether that was her idea or her father’s. But… does she really think that by muddying the waters, the Tong family can emerge unscathed?”

He rose and walked to the window, pushing it open.

Outside, the lights of Tianshui City glittered like stars, reflected in his deep, unfathomable eyes.

“Patriarch, shall I take some men and deal with that brat…” Shadow One made a slashing motion across his throat.

“No.” Shu Wanjuan waved a hand. “The entire city is watching. If we act now, we’ll only give others a pretext to criticize us. Besides…”

He turned around, his gaze dark and profound.

“Don’t you think this sudden appearance of that young man is a little too timely?”

Shadow One froze. “What do you mean, Patriarch?”

“That sword from the Tong family had sat in Tianshui City undisturbed for tens of thousands of years. Yet at this precise moment, some people want to seize it while others want to protect it.” Shu Wanjuan sneered. “There are no saints who go out of their way to help strangers in this world. That brat may well be a pawn pushed forward by some faction. Or perhaps…”

He thought of an even more frightening possibility.

“Perhaps he’s bait sent by that person from Emperor Court Mountain to lure the fish.”

Shadow One’s entire body trembled, and he lowered his head even further.

A struggle at that level was already far beyond the reach of an ordinary shadow-guard commander like him.

“That sword…” Shu Wanjuan muttered to himself. “Although it’s merely an abandoned auxiliary sword, it was still touched by an Immortal Venerable’s karma. Even though I’m an Immortal King, I wouldn’t dare take it openly. This auction, however, is a perfect opportunity.”

“Pass down my orders.”

Shu Wanjuan’s voice suddenly turned cold, carrying a murderous edge.

“Strengthen the city’s defenses, especially around the auction venue. Set up the ‘Heaven-Locking Formation.’ For the next seven days, anyone who dares cause trouble in the city is to be killed without exception!”

“And one more thing…”

His eyes narrowed as he recalled the woman’s tearful complaint.

“Feng’er may be a good-for-nothing, but he still bears the Shu name. In Skywater City, breaking a member of the Shu family’s legs is the same as slapping me in the face.”

“Find out where that boy is staying. Don’t make a move. Just keep watch.”

“Once the auction is over, I want him alive.”

“Yes!”

Shadow One accepted the order, his figure once again merging into the darkness.

Shu Wanjuan gazed at the night beyond the window, the corners of his lips curling into a cruel smile.

“Skywater City bears the Shu name?”

“Feng’er, Feng’er… Your words may have been a little too arrogant, but in this small corner of the world…”

He suddenly clenched his fist. Spiritual energy burst from his palm with a muffled boom.

“You weren’t entirely wrong.”